Developmental impairments of craniofacial bone and cartilage in transgenic mice expressing FGF10.

Mutations in a common extracellular domain of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-2 isoforms (type IIIb and IIIc) cause craniosynostosis syndrome and chondrodysplasia syndrome. FGF10, a major ligand for FGFR2-IIIb and FGFR1-IIIb, is a key participant in the epithelial-mesenchymal interactions required for morphogenetic events. FGF10 also regulates preadipocyte differentiation and early chondrogenesis in vitro, suggesting that FGF10-FGFR signaling may be involved in craniofacial skeletogenesis in vivo.

Five-Year Follow-Up of a Child with Non-Syndromic Oligodontia from before the Primary Dentition Stage: A Case Report.

Background: Congenital absence of teeth is a major dental abnormality in pediatric dentistry and the absence of six or more teeth is defined as oligodontia. Few reports of patients with non-syndromic oligodontia without systemic disease have continued dental follow-up from an early age.

Methods: We performed the five-year follow-up from before the eruption of the primary dentition of a Japanese child with non-syndromic oligodontia and analyzed changes in dental arch growth.

One-Pot Production of L-threo-3-Hydroxyaspartic Acid Using Asparaginase-Deficient Escherichia coli Expressing Asparagine Hydroxylase of Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

We developed a novel process for efficient synthesis of L-threo-3-hydroxyaspartic acid (L-THA) using microbial hydroxylase and hydrolase. A well-characterized mutant of asparagine hydroxylase (AsnO-D241N) and its homologous enzyme (SCO2693-D246N) were adaptable to the direct hydroxylation of L-aspartic acid; however, the yields were strictly low. Therefore, the highly stable and efficient wild-type asparagine hydroxylases AsnO and SCO2693 were employed to synthesize L-THA.

Efficient asymmetric synthesis of abeo-abietane-type diterpenoids by using the intramolecular Heck reaction.

The synthesis of the abeo-abietane-type diterpenoids, i.e., (-)-dichroanal B, (-)-dichroanone, and taiwaniaquinone H, was achieved by using the intramolecular asymmetric Heck reaction.

Inorganic iodine incorporation into soil organic matter: evidence from iodine K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure.

The transformation of inorganic iodine (I(-) and IO(3)(-)) incubated in soils with varying amounts of organic matter (Andosols from the surface layer of an upland field and forest, as well as Acrisols from surface and subsurface layers of an upland field) was investigated by using the iodine K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES). After 60d of reaction, both I(-) and IO(3)(-) were transformed into organoiodine in surface soils containing sufficient amounts of organic matter, whereas IO(3)(-) remained unchanged in the subsurface soil of Acrisols with low organic matter contents. Transformation of IO(3)(-) into organoiodine was not retarded when the microbial activity in soil was reduced by gamma-ray irradiation, suggesting that microbial activity was not essential for the transformation of inorganic iodine into organoiodine.

Interaction between cyclooxygenase (COX)-1- and COX-2-products modulates COX-2 expression in the late phase of acute inflammation.

Prostanoid production depends on the activity of two cyclooxygenase (COX) isoforms. It is appreciated that COX-1 plays a role in physiological processes, whereas COX-2 acts in pathological conditions. However their roles, particularly roles of COX-1, have not yet been fully established in inflammation.