Endogenous oxytocin levels in extracted saliva elevates during breastfeeding correlated with lower postpartum anxiety in primiparous mothers.

Background: Breastfeeding in the early postpartum period is expected to have mental benefits for mothers; however, the underlying psychobiological mechanisms remain unclear. Previously, we hypothesized that the release of oxytocin in response to the suckling stimuli during breastfeeding would mediate a calming effect on primiparous mothers, and we examined salivary oxytocin measurements in primiparous mothers at postpartum day 4 using saliva samples without extraction, which was erroneous. Thus, further confirmation of this hypothesis with a precise methodology was needed.

A Novel Ag -DNA Rod Comprising a One-Dimensional Array of 11 Silver Ions within a Double Helical Structure.

DNA/RNA duplexes containing metal-ion-mediated base pairs (metallo-base pairs) have potential applications in developing nucleic acid-based nanodevices and genetic code expansion. Many metallo-base pairs are formed within duplexes stabilized by Watson-Crick base pairs. Recently, the crystal structure of an Ag -DNA nanowire with an uninterrupted one-dimensional silver array was determined.

Generation of HepG2 Cells with High Expression of Multiple Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes for Drug Discovery Research Using a PITCh System.

HepG2 cells are an inexpensive hepatocyte model that can be used for repeated experiments, but HepG2 cells do not express major cytochrome P450s (CYPs) and UDP glucuronosyltransferase family 1 member A1 (UGT1A1). In this study, we established CYP3A4-POR-UGT1A1-CYP1A2-CYP2C19-CYP2C9-CYP2D6 (CYPs-UGT1A1) knock-in (KI)-HepG2 cells using a PITCh system to evaluate whether they could be a new hepatocyte model for pharmaceutical studies. To evaluate whether CYPs-UGT1A1 KI-HepG2 cells express and function with CYPs and UGT1A1, gene expression levels of and were analyzed by using real-time PCR, and metabolites of CYPs or UGT1A1 substrates were quantified by HPLC.

The boundary-expressed gene encoding a signaling peptide promotes cotyledon growth during embryogenesis.

The shoot organ boundaries have important roles in plant growth and morphogenesis. It has been reported that a gene encoding a cysteine-rich secreted peptide of the EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR-LIKE (EPFL) family, , is expressed in the boundary domain between the two cotyledon primordia of embryo. However, its developmental functions remain unknown.