Asystole Due to Oculocardiac Reflex during Surgical Repair of an Orbital Blowout Fracture.

Bradycardia and asystole due to oculocardiac reflex (OCR) are potential intraoperative complications of periocular surgery. We report a case of asystole due to OCR that occurred during surgical repair performed 40 hours after an orbital blowout fracture. The patient had vomiting, bradycardia, and ocular motility disorder before the operation.

Association of chronotype as assessed by the midpoint of sleep with the dietary intake and health-related quality of life for elderly Japanese women.

The relationship of chronotype differences with dietary habits and health-related outcomes among elderly people is not fully understood, although sex and generation differences are observed in human chronotype. Accordingly, we analysed the association of chronotype (as assessed by the midpoint of sleep) with dietary intake and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in elderly Japanese women. The subjects in this cross-sectional study were 1618 women aged 65 years and older who were grandmothers or acquaintances of dietetics students.

Genetic Diversity among Clouded Salamanders (Hynobius nebulosus) in Shiga Prefecture.

The Japanese clouded salamander (Hynobius nebulosus) is a lentic-breeding species distributed throughout western Japan. Threats, such as habitat loss, have led to it being categorized as a vulnerable species. To explore the phylogeographic features and population differentiation among clouded salamanders in Shiga prefecture, we analyzed sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene.

Mechanism of Developmental Effects in Rats Caused by an N-Phenylimide Herbicide: Transient Fetal Anemia and Sequelae during Mid-to-Late Gestation.

Background: Rat developmental toxicity including embryolethality and teratogenicity (mainly ventricular septal defects [VSDs] and wavy ribs) was produced by an N-phenylimide herbicide that inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) common to chlorophyll and heme biosynthesis. Major characteristics of the developmental toxicity included species difference between rats and rabbits, compound-specific difference among structurally similar herbicides, and sensitive period. Protoporphyrin accumulation in treated fetuses closely correlated with the major characteristics.

Engineered platform for bioethylene production by a cyanobacterium expressing a chimeric complex of plant enzymes.

Ethylene is an industrially important compound, but more sustainable production methods are desirable. Since cellulosomes increase the ability of cellulolytic enzymes by physically linking the relevant enzymes via dockerin-cohesin interactions, in this study, we genetically engineered a chimeric cellulosome-like complex of two ethylene-generating enzymes from tomato using cohesin-dockerins from the bacteria Clostridium thermocellum and Acetivibrio cellulolyticus. This complex was transformed into Escherichia coli to analyze kinetic parameters and enzyme complex formation and into the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942, which was then grown with and without 0.

The effect of pyriproxyfen as a "population growth regulator" against Aedes albopictus under semi-field conditions.

An insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen, has been used for the control of a range of pest insects, including mosquitoes. Pyriproxyfen is effective in inhibiting adult emergence and sterilizing adult females. The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse), is an important vector of dengue and chikungunya, and is expanding its distribution throughout Europe and the Americas.

Efficacy of pyriproxyfen-treated nets in sterilizing and shortening the longevity of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae).

Pyrethroid-resistant malaria vectors have become a serious threat for malaria control, and bed nets that reduce the development of resistance are urgently needed. Here, we tested the effects of bed nets treated with the insect growth regulator pyriproxyfen against adult female Anopheles gambiae Giles (Diptera: Culicidae) under laboratory conditions. Noninsecticidal nets made of 195 denier monofilament polyethylene with a mesh size of 75 holes per square inch (equivalent to the Olyset Net) were dipped in a 0.

Attenuating effect of clock mutation on triglyceride contents in the ICR mouse liver under a high-fat diet.

Energy homeostasis is subjected to a circadian control that synchronizes energy intake and expenditure. The transcription factor CLOCK, a key component of the molecular circadian clock, controls many kinds of rhythms, such as those for locomotor activity, body temperature, and metabolic functions. The purpose of the present study is to understand the function of the Clock gene during lipid metabolism in the liver using Clock-mutant mice.

Relationship between dietary folate intakes, maternal plasma total homocysteine and B-vitamins during pregnancy and fetal growth in Japan.

Background: Adequate folate status in pregnancy is important for satisfactory pregnancy outcome.

Aim Of The Study: The objective of the present study was to evaluate folate status in healthy pregnant women by assessing dietary folate intakes and measuring changes in folate-related biomarkers including plasma tHcy, serum vitamin B(12) (B(12)), and serum and RBC folate concentrations in each trimester and to examine their relation to fetal growth.

Methods: From 94 pregnant women, 3-day-dietary records were obtained and blood was collected for plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), serum B(12), and serum and red-blood cell (RBC) folate measurements.

Effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 on immune function and serum albumin in aged and malnourished aged mice.

Objective: Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is a serious nutritional problem that causes immune dysfunction in elderly people. Probiotic lactic acid bacteria may potentially modify immunity; however, there is little evidence to elucidate the influence of these bacteria on PEM in the elderly.

Methods: The immune modulation effects of lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus johnsonii La1 (La1) were examined in aged mice and aged mice with PEM.

Folate intakes and folate biomarker profiles of pregnant Japanese women in the first trimester.

Objective: To assess the status of dietary folate intake, serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate, and related nutritional biomarkers in healthy Japanese women in early pregnancy.

Design: A cross-sectional, observational study.

Subjects: Pregnant women in the first trimester, at 7-15 weeks gestation (n=70), who were not consuming any folate supplements or folate fortified foods.

Oral-tolerance induction in diet-induced obese mice.

Objective: It is known that immune functions are altered in various ways by obesity. However, changes in the intestinal immune system resulting from obesity remain poorly understood. Oral tolerance is a system that suppresses antigen specific immune responses to orally administrated antigens.

Analysis of the effect of leptin on immune function in vivo using diet-induced obese mice.

Leptin can regulate several immune functions. However, the role of leptin on lymphocyte function has not been recognized in vivo. Accordingly, we have investigated the effect of leptin on starvation-induced immune dysfunction using diet-induced obese mice.

Estrogen altered oral tolerance induction in type II collagen-induced murine arthritis.

Background: Estrogen plays an important modulatory role in the immune system, and is concerned with the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although the mechanism has not yet been clarified. Oral tolerance, a form of specific peripheral tolerance, which is recognized as a new therapeutic strategy, is related to the function of gut-associated lymphoid tissue.

Methods: In this study, using collagen-induced arthritis as an animal model of RA, the effects of 17beta-estradiol (E2) on oral tolerance induction were investigated.

Effect of diet-induced obesity on ovalbumin-specific immune response in a murine asthma model.

Some epidemiologic surveys have demonstrated that asthma is more prevalent in obese children and adults. However, the mechanism of association between obesity and asthma has not been fully clarified. This report investigates a murine model for antigen-induced asthma and diet-induced obesity from an immunologic perspective.

Effect of obesity and insulin on immunity in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Objective: To understand the effect of obesity and insulin on immune functions in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).

Subject: Fourteen obese NIDDM (body mass index (BMI)=30.6+/-1.

Change of cytokine balance in diet-induced obese mice.

Although decreased T-cell function has been observed in obese human subjects and genetically obese animals, the precise role of immune functions in obesity is still unclear. To investigate immune functions in obesity, we examined the proliferative responses of splenic lymphocytes and their capacity to produce cytokines in the presence or absence of leptin, the protein produced by the obese gene, in diet-induced obese and control mice. For induction of obesity, C57BL/6J mice were fed a high-fat diet for 13 weeks.

Sugar regulates mRNA abundance of H(+)-ATPase gene family members in tomato.

The plant plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase energizes the secondary uptake of nutrients and may facilitate cell expansion by acidifying the cell wall. In yeast, Glc stimulates the accumulation of H(+)-ATPase mRNA, and the growth rate supported by various sugars is correlated with H(+)-ATPase protein abundance. Expression of three H(+)-ATPase genes, LHA1, LHA2, and LHA4, was previously detected in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum).

The diageotropica mutation and synthetic auxins differentially affect the expression of auxin-regulated genes in tomato.

The effect of a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) mutation, diageotropica (dgt), on the accumulation of mRNA corresponding to tomato homologs of three auxin-regulated genes, LeAux, LeSAUR, and Lepar, was examined. The dgt mutation inhibited the induction of LeAux and LeSAUR mRNA accumulation by naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) but had no effect on NAA-induced Lepar mRNA accumulation. The effect of two synthetic auxins, NAA and 3,7-dichloro-8-quinoline carboxylic acid (quinclorac), on the accumulation of LeAux, LeSAUR, and Lepar mRNA was also examined.

Assignment of most genes encoding major peroxisomal polypeptides to chromosomal band V of the asporogenic yeast Candida tropicalis.

The peroxisomes of the asporogenic yeast Candida tropicalis contain about 20 major polypeptides (PXPs). We have isolated a number of genes encoding them; 11 POX genes encoded independent PXPs and three POY genes were likely to encode three other PXPs. To locate these genes on the chromosomes, chromosomes of C.

Studies on a new herbicidal antibiotic, homoalanosine.

Homoalanosine having a herbicidal activity was isolated from the culture filtrate of a soil isolate SC-1688 which was classified as Streptomyces galilaeus. The chemical structure of homoalanosine was determined to be L-2-amino-4-nitrosohydroxyaminobutyric acid by analyses of spectral and biological data. The antibiotic has high herbicidal activity at low concentrations against especially common cocklebur and ladysthumb among the tested weeds and crops.