The discovery of novel natural products through the exploration of distinct microorganisms is crucial for advancing drug discovery research. In this study, we focus on a unique environmental resource, microbial masses known as "Tengu-no-Mugimeshi." From the culture broth of Lecanicillium aphanocladii FKI-9593, isolated from Tengu-no-Mugimeshi collected at Mount Kurohime, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, we report the isolation of two novel tetrapeptides, tengupeptins A (1) and B (2), as well as the known compound oosporein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective This study examined the factors associated with the status of group activities provided to older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic by community groups aiming to improve the health and social interactions of older adults. Methods A mail survey was conducted with 372 leaders of neighborhood associations and Senior Citizen Clubs in November 2020 in Ward A, Tokyo. The questionnaire asked leaders about the status of group activities provided by neighborhood associations and the aforementioned clubs for older adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Minimally invasive surgical treatment of myelopathy caused by central thoracic disc herniation (TDH) is challenging to carry out because reaching the herniation site is difficult and the thoracic spinal cord is fragile. In this study, using the posterior-lateral approach for central TDH with myelopathy, we present a novel procedure of transcostal microendoscopic discectomy (TCMED).
Technical Note: The patient was operated in a prone position under general anesthesia.
Syphilis has been increasing in adult infections in recent years, and ocular syphilis includes not only uveitis but also a variety of optic nerve and retinal lesions. We report a case of syphilis that caused unilateral optic papillitis and outer retinopathy complicated by diabetic retinopathy and improved with antibiotic treatment. The patient was a 61-year-old woman.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The activities of external oblique (EO) and internal oblique (IO) muscles during forced expiration in a trunk-neutral posture are insufficient for muscle strengthening. Furthermore, these activities during forced expiration may be affected by trunk postures, which can change respiratory muscle activity. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of trunk posture on the EO and IO muscles' activities during forced expiration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGraefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol
November 2024
Purpose: To observe the choroidal vasculature in patients with tilted disc syndrome (TDS) using en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to evaluate the symmetry of the choroidal vascular pattern in the macular area.
Methods: En face OCT was performed using a Plex Elite 9000 (Zeiss) with a 12 × 12 mm image of the macula, which was flattened with retinal pigment epithelium and segmented into choroidal layers. The middle/large choroidal vessels were evaluated for vertical symmetry qualitatively by the retina specialist coauthors and quantitatively by binarization analysis of choroidal vessel density and mean vessel diameter.
The case is a 12-year-old girl. She was diagnosed with cashew nut allergy in infancy. She experienced the following allergic symptoms at age 11: sore throat after ingesting gummy bears containing citrus-derived pectin; sore throat, nausea, and severe abdominal pain after ingesting jelly containing yuzu (citrus junos) seeds and peel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMethylotrophic yeast is a useful host for producing heterologous proteins using the unique and strong alcohol oxidase 1 (AOX1) promoter, which is induced by methanol and repressed by various carbon sources. However, methanol is preferably avoided in industrial-scale fermentation given its toxicity, flammability, and explosiveness. To develop a protein production system under reduced methanol supply conditions, we attempted to characterize the AOX1 promoter induction activity by comparing derepression conditions with methanol induction conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHere, we present an autopsy case of long-standing myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) in a patient who developed a pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). DM1 is a progressive genetic disorder that affects multiple organs, including the respiratory muscles. Several nationwide registry-based cohort studies have suggested that patients with DM1 have an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancers such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to propose a methodology for developing a mechanistic model for viral clearance of the minute virus of mice (MVM) on flow-through anion exchange (AEX) chromatography. Protein surface analysis was applied to investigate the possibility of molecular interaction between the recombinant biotherapeutic and MVM. The protein product-free Tris buffers were spiked with MVM, and the MVM elution profile from AEX chromatography was quantitatively analyzed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) for pooled fractions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTelomeres in most somatic cells shorten with each cell division, and critically short telomeres lead to cellular dysfunction, cell cycle arrest, and senescence. Thus, telomere shortening is an important hallmark of human cellular senescence. Quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (Q-FISH) using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections allows the estimation of telomere lengths in individual cells in histological sections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Mech Behav Biomed Mater
September 2024
Short-time sintering of dental zirconia not only improves manufacturing efficiency of zirconia prosthetics, but also enables an attractive situation in which prosthetic treatment can be completed within a single visit. Although many studies have clarified the effects of heating rate and dwell time on the properties of dental zirconia during short-time sintering, there are only a few studies on rapid cooling. In this study, we investigated the effect of cooling rate on dental zirconia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo investigate the precise mechanism of xenon (Xe), pharmacologically isolated AMPA/KA and NMDA receptor-mediated spontaneous (s) and evoked (e) excitatory postsynaptic currents (s/eEPSC and s/eEPSC) were recorded from mechanically isolated single spinal sacral dorsal commissural nucleus (SDCN) neurons attached with glutamatergic nerve endings (boutons) using conventional whole-cell patch-clamp technique. We analysed kinetic properties of both s/eEPSC and s/eEPSC by focal single- and/or paired-pulse electrical stimulation to compare them. The s/eEPSC showed smaller amplitude, slower rise time, and slower 1/e decay time constant (τ) than those of s/eEPSC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWorld J Microbiol Biotechnol
May 2024
Recombinant protein production technology is widely applied to the manufacture of biologics used as drug substances and industrial proteins such as recombinant enzymes and bioactive proteins. Various heterologous protein production systems have been developed using prokaryotic and eukaryotic hosts. Especially methylotrophic yeast in eukaryotic hosts is suggested to be particularly valuable because such systems have the following advantages: protein secretion into culture broth, eukaryotic quality control systems, a post-translational modification system, rapid growth, and established recombinant DNA tools and technologies such as strong promoters, effective selection markers, and gene knock-in and -out systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) affects approximately half of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), contributing to falls and fractures. Oxidative stress, which is linked to DM-induced hyperglycemia, has been implicated in the onset of DPN. Although exercise is recommended for patients with DM, its effect on DPN remains unclear.
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