Isotemporal substitution of accelerometer-derived sedentary behavior and physical activity on physical fitness in young children.

This study investigates the effects of different types of physical activity (PA) on the physical fitness (PF) of young children in Japan, with a particular focus on how substituting sedentary behavior (SB) with active behaviors influences PF. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1843 participants aged 3-6 years from northeastern Japan. Using triaxial accelerometers, we quantified PA, and PF was assessed via standardized tests.

Circulating fructose regulates a germline stem cell increase via gustatory receptor-mediated gut hormone secretion in mated .

Oogenesis is influenced by multiple environmental factors. In the fruit fly, , nutrition and mating have large impacts on an increase in female germline stem cells (GSCs). However, it is unclear whether these two factors affect this GSC increase interdependently.

Nutrient responding peptide hormone CCHamide-2 consolidates appetitive memory.

CCHamide-2 (CCHa2) is a protostome excitatory peptide ortholog known for various arthropod species. In fruit flies, CCHa2 plays a crucial role in the endocrine system, allowing peripheral tissue to communicate with the central nervous system to ensure proper development and the maintenance of energy homeostasis. Since the formation of odor-sugar associative long-term memory (LTM) depends on the nutrient status in an animal, CCHa2 may play an essential role in linking memory and metabolic systems.

The polyol pathway is an evolutionarily conserved system for sensing glucose uptake.

Cells must adjust the expression levels of metabolic enzymes in response to fluctuating nutrient supply. For glucose, such metabolic remodeling is highly dependent on a master transcription factor ChREBP/MondoA. However, it remains elusive how glucose fluctuations are sensed by ChREBP/MondoA despite the stability of major glycolytic pathways.

Psychological distress and associated factors among Japanese nursery school and kindergarten teachers: a cross-sectional study.

The understaffing of nursery schools and kindergartens and the increasing workload of childcare workers are becoming significant issues in Japan. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was conducted to investigate the stress experienced by childcare workers and its antecedents. We distributed 2,640 questionnaires to childcare workers in Miyagi prefecture, obtaining a response rate of 51.

Ex Vivo Calcium Imaging for Visualizing Brain Responses to Endocrine Signaling in Drosophila.

Organ-to-organ communication by endocrine signaling, for example, from the periphery to the brain, is essential for maintaining homeostasis. As a model animal for endocrine research, Drosophila melanogaster, which has sophisticated genetic tools and genome information, is being increasingly used. This article describes a method for the calcium imaging of Drosophila brain explants.

Coupling of growth to nutritional status: The role of novel periphery-to-brain signaling by the CCHa2 peptide in Drosophila melanogaster.

The coupling of growth to nutritional status is an important adaptive response of living organisms to their environment. For this ability, animals have evolved various strategies, including endocrine systems that respond to changing nutritional conditions. In animals, nutritional information is mostly perceived by peripheral organs, such as the digestive tract and adipose tissues, and is subsequently transmitted to other peripheral organs or the brain, which integrates the incoming signals and orchestrates physiological and behavioral responses.

Comparison of treatment effects of teriparatide and the bisphosphonate risedronate in an aged, osteopenic, ovariectomized rat model under various clinical conditions.

Teriparatide and bisphosphonates are osteoporosis medications that increase bone mineral density (BMD) and prevent fracture, but each has a different mechanism of action. Teriparatide promotes bone formation, while bisphosphonates suppress bone resorption. In the clinical setting, however, drug selection is not always tailored to the particular clinical condition of the patient or mechanism of action of the drug.

The Nutrient-Responsive Hormone CCHamide-2 Controls Growth by Regulating Insulin-like Peptides in the Brain of Drosophila melanogaster.

The coordination of growth with nutritional status is essential for proper development and physiology. Nutritional information is mostly perceived by peripheral organs before being relayed to the brain, which modulates physiological responses. Hormonal signaling ensures this organ-to-organ communication, and the failure of endocrine regulation in humans can cause diseases including obesity and diabetes.

Transcriptional regulation of Drosophila gonad formation.

The formation of the Drosophila embryonic gonad, involving the fusion of clusters of somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs) and their ensheathment of germ cells, provides a simple and genetically tractable model for the interplay between cells during organ formation. In a screen for mutants affecting gonad formation we identified a SGP cell autonomous role for Midline (Mid) and Longitudinals lacking (Lola). These transcriptional factors are required for multiple aspects of SGP behaviour including SGP cluster fusion, germ cell ensheathment and gonad compaction.

The Drosophila actin regulator ENABLED regulates cell shape and orientation during gonad morphogenesis.

Organs develop distinctive morphologies to fulfill their unique functions. We used Drosophila embryonic gonads as a model to study how two different cell lineages, primordial germ cells (PGCs) and somatic gonadal precursors (SGPs), combine to form one organ. We developed a membrane GFP marker to image SGP behaviors live.

Isolation of the bioactive peptides CCHamide-1 and CCHamide-2 from Drosophila and their putative role in appetite regulation as ligands for G protein-coupled receptors.

There are many orphan G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for which ligands have not yet been identified. One such GPCR is the bombesin receptor subtype 3 (BRS-3). BRS-3 plays a role in the onset of diabetes and obesity.

Identification of the novel bioactive peptides dRYamide-1 and dRYamide-2, ligands for a neuropeptide Y-like receptor in Drosophila.

A number of bioactive peptides are involved in regulating a wide range of animal behaviors, including food consumption. Vertebrate neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a potent stimulator of appetitive behavior. Recently, Drosophila neuropeptide F (dNPF) and short NPF (sNPF), the Drosophila homologs of the vertebrate NPY, were identified to characterize the functions of NPFs in the feeding behaviors of this insect.

Microscopic polyangiitis accompanied by pleuritis as the only pulmonary manifestation of occupational silica exposure.

A 68-year-old man, who had worked for processing quartz-containing stones for more than 50 years, complained of low-grade fever and arthralgia. Mediastinal lymph nodes were markedly swollen on chest computed tomography. Pathological findings of the lymph node were compatible with silicosis, with a high titer of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA).

Stimulatory actions of lysophosphatidic acid on mouse ATDC5 chondroprogenitor cells.

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) are bioactive lysophospholipids that affect various cellular processes through G protein-coupled receptors. In our current study, we found by in situ hybridization that E11.5 mouse embryos strongly expressed the LPA receptor subtype LPA(1) in cartilaginous bone primordia and the surrounding mesenchymal cells.

Tre1 GPCR initiates germ cell transepithelial migration by regulating Drosophila melanogaster E-cadherin.

Despite significant progress in identifying the guidance pathways that control cell migration, how a cell starts to move within an intact organism, acquires motility, and loses contact with its neighbors is poorly understood. We show that activation of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) trapped in endoderm 1 (Tre1) directs the redistribution of the G protein Gbeta as well as adherens junction proteins and Rho guanosine triphosphatase from the cell periphery to the lagging tail of germ cells at the onset of Drosophila melanogaster germ cell migration. Subsequently, Tre1 activity triggers germ cell dispersal and orients them toward the midgut for directed transepithelial migration.

Tumbling, an interactive way to move forward.

The migration of Drosophila border cells has become a powerful model with which to genetically identify guidance cues that control the directed migration of a group of interconnected cells. During oogenesis, border cells delaminate from an epithelial layer and move collectively toward the oocyte. In vivo observation has been added to the impressive experimental toolkit available to study border cell migration.

Anti-angiogenic activity of basic-type, selective cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 inhibitors.

Indole- and indoline-type basic COX-1-selective competitive inhibitors, 5-amino-1-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-1H-indole (1) and 5-amino-1-(3,5-dimethylphenyl)-2,3-dihydro-1H-indole (2), were found to possess anti-angiogenic activity estimated as a tube formation-inhibition using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).

Control of lateral migration and germ cell elimination by the Drosophila melanogaster lipid phosphate phosphatases Wunen and Wunen 2.

In most organisms, primordial germ cells (PGCs) arise far from the region where somatic gonadal precursors (SGPs) are specified. Although PGCs in general originate as a single cluster of cells, the somatic parts of the gonad form on each site of the embryo. Thus, to reach the gonad, PGCs not only migrate from their site of origin but also split into two groups.

Angiogenesis inhibitors derived from thalidomide.

5-Hydroxy-2-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-1H-isoindole-1,3-dione (5HPP-33: 10), which was obtained during our previous structural development studies on thalidomide, was revealed to possess potent anti-angiogenic activity in a human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) assay. Thalidomide (1) and its metabolite, 5-hydroxythalidomide (5-HT: 2), which possesses a hydroxyl group at the position corresponding to that of 5HPP-33, as well as IMiDs (immunomodulatory derivatives of thalidomide: 3 and 5), also showed weak or moderate activity in the same assay.

Design and synthesis of subtype-selective cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors derived from thalidomide.

A series of substituted indoline and indole derivatives with cyclooxygenase (COX)-inhibitory activity was prepared during our structural development studies based on thalidomide as a multi-template lead compound. Structure-activity relationship studies indicated that the nature of the substituent introduced at the benzene ring of the indoline (indole) backbone, and the length and type of the linking group between the nitrogen atom of indoline (indole) and the N-substituent are important for the activity. This study has led to the identification of COX-1-selective inhibitors, and these should be useful not only as pharmacological tools to investigate the physiology and pathophysiology of COX, but also as sophisticated leads for the development of novel drugs to treat COX-associated diseases, such as inflammatory diseases, and cancer.

N-phenylphthalimide-type cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors derived from thalidomide: substituent effects on subtype selectivity.

Several N-substituted phenylphthalimide and phenylhomophthalimide derivatives with cyclooxygenase (COX)-inhibitory activity were prepared during structural development studies based on thalidomide as a lead compound. Substituent effects on the subtype selectivity were investigated.

Phenylhomophthalimide-type NOS inhibitors derived from thalidomide.

Thalidomide shows moderate inhibitory activity toward neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS), but not toward endothelial NOS (eNOS). Structural development studies of thalidomide yielded novel phenylhomophthalimide-type NOS inhibitors with enhanced activity and different subtype selectivity.