Diversity of transactivation regions of DMRT1 in vertebrates.

Background: Doublesex and mab-3 related transcription factor (DMRT) 1, commonly found in all vertebrates, regulates the transcription of genes involved in the masculinization and maintenance of gonadal somatic cells and/or germline cell development. DMRT1 has a DNA-binding domain called the DM domain and a transcription regulatory region. Unlike the former, there is little knowledge about the latter transcription regulatory region.

Strength Assessment of Water-Glass Sand Mixtures.

For years, the chemical injection process has aided construction works by increasing the strength and water-sealing efficiency of sandy soil. Despite its growing popularity in projects, such as seismic strengthening and liquefaction mitigation, a unified understanding of how chemically treated soil develops its strength, especially under static conditions, remains elusive. Some studies have proposed that strength is derived from the tensile effects of dilatancy, where shearing of the sandy soil causes expansion, creating tension in the interstitial hydrogel and resulting in negative pressure that consolidates the soil particles.

Applicability of Additives for Ground Improvement Utilizing Fine Powder of Waste Glass.

As a solidifying material for ground improvement using inorganic waste as a raw material, the authors have been developing an additive mixture of the fine powder of waste glass containing a large amount of silica generated during the production of glass cullet and an alkaline aid (heat-treating type of "Earth-Silica; ES" additive). Furthermore, a solidifying material that solidifies by mixing this additive with the fine powder of blast furnace slag, which is a by-product of steel production, is also being developed. In this study, the authors reviewed the mixing process of the solidified materials, especially the one made with the heat-treating type of ES additive, omitting the heat treatment of the fine powder of waste glass and the alkaline aid and applying only the mixing treatment.

Desorption/ionization efficiency of peptides containing disulfide bonds in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

In order to elucidate the role of desorption/ionization efficiency of peptides in MALDI-MS, we focused on peptides with disulfide bonds, which form a rigid tertiary structure. We synthesized seven sets of peptides with one disulfide bond (oxytocin, somatostatin, [Arg(8)]-vasopressin, [Arg(8)]-vasotocin, cortistatin, melanin-concentrating hormone, urotensin II-related peptide) and five sets of peptides with two disulfide bonds (tertiapin, α-conotoxin GI, α-conotoxin ImI, α-conotoxin MI and α-conotoxin SI). Each peptide set consisted of three peptides: the oxidized form (S-S type), the reduced form (SH type), and an internal standard peptide in which all cysteine residues were substituted with alanine residues.

Cationic uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation are inducers of mitochondrial permeability transition.

To determine whether cationic uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation induce permeability transition in mitochondria, the effects of the divalent cationic sulfhydryl cross-linker copper-o-phenanthroline (Cu(OP)2) and the cyanine dye tri-S-C4(5) on rat liver mitochondria were examined. Like Ca2+, they accelerated mitochondrial respiration with succinate and induced mitochondrial swelling when inorganic phosphate (Pi) was present in the incubation medium. The acceleration of respiration and swelling were inhibited by the SH-reagent N-ethylmaleimide, and by the specific permeability transition inhibitor cyclosporin A (CsA).