Association of nuclear cataract prevalence with UV radiation and heat load in lens of older people -five city study.

Epidemiological studies have reported that the frequency of nuclear cataracts (NUCs) is high among the elderly and in tropical countries. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and lens temperature are considered as key physical contributors, although their precise quantification is difficult. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of NUC prevalence with UV irradiation and heat load.

Estimation of the number of heat illness patients in eight metropolitan prefectures of Japan: Correlation with ambient temperature and computed thermophysiological responses.

The number of patients with heat illness transported by ambulance has been gradually increasing due to global warming. In intense heat waves, it is crucial to accurately estimate the number of cases with heat illness for management of medical resources. Ambient temperature is an essential factor with respect to the number of patients with heat illness, although thermophysiological response is a more relevant factor with respect to causing symptoms.

CDK5/p35-Dependent Microtubule Reorganization Contributes to Homeostatic Shortening of the Axon Initial Segment.

The structural plasticity of the axon initial segment (AIS) contributes to the homeostatic control of activity and optimizes the function of neural circuits; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we prepared a slice culture containing nucleus magnocellularis from chickens of both sexes that reproduces most features of AIS plasticity , regarding its effects on characteristics of AIS and cell-type specificity, and revealed that microtubule reorganization via activation of CDK5 underlies plasticity. Treating the culture with a high-K medium shortened the AIS and reduced sodium current and membrane excitability, specifically in neurons tuned to high-frequency sound, creating a tonotopic difference in AIS length in the nucleus.

Estimation of heat-related morbidity from weather data: A computational study in three prefectures of Japan over 2013-2018.

In recent years, the rates of heat-related morbidity and mortality have begun to increase with the increase in global warming; in this context, it is noteworthy that the number of patients transported by ambulance in heat-related cases in Japan reached 95,137 in 2018. The estimation of heat-related morbidity forms a key factor in proposing and implementing suitable intervention strategies and ambulance availability and arrangements. Heat-related morbidity is known to be fairly correlated to metrics related to ambient conditions, thus necessitating the exploration of new metrics to more accurately estimate morbidity.

Analysis of Neuro-Neuronal Synapses Using Embryonic Chick Ciliary Ganglion via Single-Axon Tracing, Electrophysiology, and Optogenetic Techniques.

The calyx-type synapse is a giant synaptic structure in which a presynaptic terminal wraps around a postsynaptic neuron in a one-to-one manner. It has been used for decades as an experimental model system of the synapse due to its simplicity and high accessibility in physiological recording methods. In particular, the calyx of the embryonic chick ciliary ganglion (CG) has enormous potential for synapse science because more flexible genetic manipulations are available compared with other synapses.

Regulation of axon arborization pattern in the developing chick ciliary ganglion: Possible involvement of caspase 3.

During a certain critical period in the development of the central and peripheral nervous systems, axonal branches and synapses are massively reorganized to form mature connections. In this process, neurons search their appropriate targets, expanding and/or retracting their axons. Recent work suggested that the caspase superfamily regulates the axon morphology.

A Novel Reporter Rat Strain That Conditionally Expresses the Bright Red Fluorescent Protein tdTomato.

Despite the strength of the Cre/loxP recombination system in animal models, its application in rats trails that in mice because of the lack of relevant reporter strains. Here, we generated a floxed STOP tdTomato rat that conditionally expresses a red fluorescent protein variant (tdTomato) in the presence of exogenous Cre recombinase. The tdTomato signal vividly visualizes neurons including their projection fibers and spines without any histological enhancement.

Optogenetic probing and manipulation of the calyx-type presynaptic terminal in the embryonic chick ciliary ganglion.

The calyx-type synapse of chick ciliary ganglion (CG) has been intensively studied for decades as a model system for the synaptic development, morphology and physiology. Despite recent advances in optogenetics probing and/or manipulation of the elementary steps of the transmitter release such as membrane depolarization and Ca(2+) elevation, the current gene-manipulating methods are not suitable for targeting specifically the calyx-type presynaptic terminals. Here, we evaluated a method for manipulating the molecular and functional organization of the presynaptic terminals of this model synapse.

Opto-current-clamp actuation of cortical neurons using a strategically designed channelrhodopsin.

Background: Optogenetic manipulation of a neuronal network enables one to reveal how high-order functions emerge in the central nervous system. One of the Chlamydomonas rhodopsins, channelrhodopsin-1 (ChR1), has several advantages over channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in terms of the photocurrent kinetics. Improved temporal resolution would be expected by the optogenetics using the ChR1 variants with enhanced photocurrents.

The anti-tumor agent, p-DDAP potently suppresses proliferation through apoptosis in human neuroblastoma NB-39-nu cells.

Retinoic acid (RA) is a chemotherapeutic agent used to induce neuronal cellular differentiation of neuroblastoma. However, because treatment with RA is associated with the side-effect of nyctalopia, efforts have been underway to identify new compounds that could potentially overcome these drawbacks. As part of these studies we have examined anti-cancer effects on the neuroblastoma NB-39-nu cells of p-dodecylaminophenol (p-DDAP), a novel derivative of N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4-HPR).

Drug resistance of enteric bacteria. IX. Distribution of R factors in gram-negative bacteria from clinical sources.

Many isolates belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae were collected in 1965 from the inpatients at geographically scattered hospitals in Japan. Among 2,650 Shigella strains examined, 58.4% were found to be drug-resistant; 95.