Genomic view of heavy-ion-induced deletions associated with distribution of essential genes in .

Heavy-ion beam, a type of ionizing radiation, has been applied to plant breeding as a powerful mutagen and is a promising tool to induce large deletions and chromosomal rearrangements. The effectiveness of heavy-ion irradiation can be explained by linear energy transfer (LET; keV µm). Heavy-ion beams with different LET values induce different types and sizes of mutations.

Double Mutant Analysis with the Large Flower Mutant, , to Explore the Regulatory Network Controlling the Flower and Seed Sizes in .

Two growth processes, cell proliferation and expansion, determine plant species-specific organ sizes. A large flower mutant in , (), was isolated from a mutant library. In the flowers, post-mitotic cell expansion and endoreduplication of nuclear DNA were promoted.

An Argon-Ion-Induced Pale Green Mutant of Exhibiting Rapid Disassembly of Mesophyll Chloroplast Grana.

Argon-ion beam is an effective mutagen capable of inducing a variety of mutation types. In this study, an argon ion-induced pale green mutant of was isolated and characterized. The mutant, designated Ar50-33-pg1, exhibited moderate defects of growth and greening and exhibited rapid chlorosis in photosynthetic tissues.

Different mutational function of low- and high-linear energy transfer heavy-ion irradiation demonstrated by whole-genome resequencing of Arabidopsis mutants.

Heavy-ion irradiation is a powerful mutagen that possesses high linear energy transfer (LET). Several studies have indicated that the value of LET affects DNA lesion formation in several ways, including the efficiency and the density of double-stranded break induction along the particle path. We assumed that the mutation type can be altered by selecting an appropriate LET value.

Linear Energy Transfer-Dependent Change in Rice Gene Expression Profile after Heavy-Ion Beam Irradiation.

A heavy-ion beam has been recognized as an effective mutagen for plant breeding and applied to the many kinds of crops including rice. In contrast with X-ray or γ-ray, the heavy-ion beam is characterized by a high linear energy transfer (LET). LET is an important factor affecting several aspects of the irradiation effect, e.

Japanese physicians' preferences for decision making in rheumatoid arthritis treatment.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex chronic illness requiring continued medical care. During the past decade, the therapeutic options for RA have increased significantly; these often have a higher risk of adverse effects and are more expensive than traditional drugs. Rheumatologists may hence face difficulties when deciding on the optimal modality in initiating or changing treatment.

Comprehensive identification of mutations induced by heavy-ion beam irradiation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Heavy-ion beams are widely used for mutation breeding and molecular biology. Although the mutagenic effects of heavy-ion beam irradiation have been characterized by sequence analysis of some restricted chromosomal regions or loci, there have been no evaluations at the whole-genome level or of the detailed genomic rearrangements in the mutant genomes. In this study, using array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) and resequencing, we comprehensively characterized the mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana genomes irradiated with Ar or Fe ions.

Effect of high-LET Fe-ion beam irradiation on mutation induction in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Heavy-ion beams are powerful mutagens. They cause a broad spectrum of mutation phenotypes with high efficiency even at low irradiation doses and short irradiation times. These mutagenic effects are due to dense ionisation in a localised region along the ion particle path.

[What is professionalism?].

What is a profession? According to Cruess, it is an occupation whose core element is work that is based on the mastery of a complex body of knowledge and skills. It is a vocation in which knowledge of some department of science or learning, or the practice of an art founded on it, is used in the service of others. Its members profess a commitment to competence, integrity, morality, altruism, and the promotion of the public good within their domain.

Preferences of Japanese rheumatoid arthritis patients in treatment decision-making.

Objectives: We investigated the decision-making preferences of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using two different scales: the Decision Making Preference Scale (DMPS) and the modified Control Preference Scale (CPS). In addition, we evaluated the factors associated with patients' preferences for decision-making.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-administered anonymous questionnaire between October and December 2010 on 406 RA outpatients who consecutively visited 3 hospitals in Japan.

Molecular nature of mutations induced by high-LET irradiation with argon and carbon ions in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Linear energy transfer (LET) is an important parameter to be considered in heavy-ion mutagenesis. However, in plants, no quantitative data are available on the molecular nature of the mutations induced with high-LET radiation above 101-124keVμm(-1). In this study, we irradiated dry seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana with Ar and C ions with an LET of 290keVμm(-1).

Characterization of highly efficient heavy-ion mutagenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Heavy-ion mutagenesis is recognised as a powerful technology to generate new mutants, especially in higher plants. Heavy-ion beams show high linear energy transfer (LET) and thus more effectively induce DNA double-strand breaks than other mutagenic techniques. Previously, we determined the most effective heavy-ion LET (LETmax: 30.

Introducing the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) in Japan: results from a multicenter, cross-sectional study.

Purpose: Despite the growing importance of and interest in medical professionalism, there is no standardized tool for its measurement. The authors sought to verify the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX), a previously developed and tested tool, in the context of Japanese hospitals.

Method: A multicenter, cross-sectional evaluation study was performed to investigate the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the P-MEX in seven Japanese hospitals.

Assessment of professionalism: recommendations from the Ottawa 2010 Conference.

Over the past 25 years, professionalism has emerged as a substantive and sustained theme, the operationalization and measurement of which has become a major concern for those involved in medical education. However, how to go about establishing the elements that constitute appropriate professionalism in order to assess them is difficult. Using a discourse analysis approach, the International Ottawa Conference Working Group on Professionalism studied some of the dominant notions of professionalism, and in particular the implications for its assessment.

Impact and characteristics of quality of life in Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: To evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and investigate associations between the results of these QOL assessments and disease severity.

Methods: One-hundred sixty-three Japanese MS patients completed a questionnaire battery comprising the Functional Assessment of MS (FAMS), the Nottingham Adjustment Scale-Japanese version (NAS-J), and the European QOL scale (EQ-5D). Additional five factors affecting QOL as identified by MS patients in a focus group interview were also investigated: employment status, change of income, availability of disease information, communication with medical staff, and care received.

Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise for medical residents in Japan: a pilot study.

Context: Assessing medical professionalism among medical residents is of great importance. The Professionalism Mini-Evaluation Exercise (P-MEX) is a tool for assessing professionalism that was developed, tested for reliability and validated in Canada. Prior to the present study, no Japanese version of the P-MEX had been tested.

[A survey on constitutive elements of quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis].

Background And Methods: We conducted a survey on the constitutive elements of quality of life (QOL) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We recruited 20 MS patients to complete several questionnaires including Functional Assessment of MS (FAMS), Short Form 36 (SF-36), Nottingham Adjustment Scale-Japanese version (NAS-J), Sense of Coherence (SOC), and EuroQoL (EQ-5D). We also determined their Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores, and 10 of the 20 patients answered The Schedule of Individual Quality of Life-Direct Weighting (SEIQoL-DW) by semi-structured interviews.

[Clinico-pathological investigation of two patients with dementia with motor neuron disease].

Dementia with motor neuron disease (D-MND) is characterized clinically by frontal and neurological signs, and pathologically by localized atrophy of the fronto-temporal lobes and neuronal ubiquitin(Ub)-positive inclusions. In this study, we compared the clinico-pathological findings of two patients with D-MND. Case 1 (55-year-old male): At the age of 51, he developed personality change and disinhibition, lacking neurological signs.

Psychological adjustment has a greater effect on health-related quality of life than on severity of disease in Parkinson's disease.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of psychological adjustment to Parkinson's disease (PD) on the health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with this condition. One hundred eighty-three patients (77 male, 106 female; mean age, 65.8 years) were evaluated using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the Japanese version of the Nottingham Adjustment Scale (NAS-J).