Exploratory study of cold hypersensitivity in Japanese women: genetic associations and somatic symptom burden.

Temperature perception is essential for humans to discern the environment and maintain homeostasis. However, some individuals experience cold hypersensitivity, characterized by a subjective feeling of coldness despite ambient environmental temperatures being normal, the underlying mechanisms of which are unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between subjective cold symptoms and somatic burden or single nucleotide polymorphisms to understand the causes of cold hypersensitivity.

A web-based survey on various symptoms of computer vision syndrome and the genetic understanding based on a multi-trait genome-wide association study.

A variety of eye-related symptoms due to the overuse of digital devices is collectively referred to as computer vision syndrome (CVS). In this study, a web-based survey about mind and body functions, including eye strain, was conducted on 1998 Japanese volunteers. To investigate the biological mechanisms behind CVS, a multi-trait genome-wide association study (GWAS), a multivariate analysis on individual-level multivariate data, was performed based on the structural equation modeling methodology assuming a causal pathway for a genetic variant to influence each symptom via a single common latent variable.

Genome-wide association studies and heritability analysis reveal the involvement of host genetics in the Japanese gut microbiota.

Numerous host extrinsic and intrinsic factors affect the gut microbiota composition, but their cumulative effects do not sufficiently explain the variation in the microbiota, suggesting contributions of missing factors. The Japanese population possesses homogeneous genetic features suitable for genome-wide association study (GWAS). Here, we performed GWASs for human gut microbiota using 1068 healthy Japanese adults.

Association between functional lactase variants and a high abundance of Bifidobacterium in the gut of healthy Japanese people.

Previous studies have shown that Japanese people exhibit a higher abundance of Bifidobacterium compared to people from other countries. Among the possible factors affecting the gut microbiota composition, an association of functional lactase gene variants with a higher abundance of Bifidobacterium in the gut has been proposed in some reports. However, no Japanese subjects were included in these studies.

Light and electron microscopic studies of the intestinal epithelium in Notoplana humilis (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida): the contribution of mesodermal/gastrodermal neoblasts to intestinal regeneration.

Some free-living flatworms in the phylum Platyhelminthes possess strong regenerative capability that depends on putative pluripotent stem cells known as neoblasts. These neoblasts are defined based on several criteria, including their proliferative capacity and the presence of cellular components known as chromatoid bodies. Polyclads, which are marine flatworms, have the potential to be a good model system for stem cell research, yet little information is available regarding neoblasts and regeneration.

Phospholipase C-β1 and β4 contribute to non-genetic cell-to-cell variability in histamine-induced calcium signals in HeLa cells.

A uniform extracellular stimulus triggers cell-specific patterns of Ca(2+) signals, even in genetically identical cell populations. However, the underlying mechanism that generates the cell-to-cell variability remains unknown. We monitored cytosolic inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) concentration changes using a fluorescent IP3 sensor in single HeLa cells showing different patterns of histamine-induced Ca(2+) oscillations in terms of the time constant of Ca(2+) spike amplitude decay and the Ca(2+) oscillation frequency.

[Thoracoscopic radical esophagectomy for cancer treatment].

More than 15 years have passed since thoracoscopic surgery was first employed in Japan as a treatment for esophageal cancer with curative intent. Because of the proliferation of techniques that can be used to obtain an adequate operative field, such as hand assist, placing the patient in the prone position, etc., the number of approaches to thoracoscopic surgery has been increasing, contrary to expectations of standardization.

To be or not to be a flatworm: the acoel controversy.

Since first described, acoels were considered members of the flatworms (Platyhelminthes). However, no clear synapomorphies among the three large flatworm taxa -- the Catenulida, the Acoelomorpha and the Rhabditophora -- have been characterized to date. Molecular phylogenies, on the other hand, commonly positioned acoels separate from other flatworms.

Detection and changes in levels of testosterone during spermatogenesis in the freshwater planarian Bdellocephala brunnea.

It was reported recently that vertebrate-type steroids exist and control reproduction in several groups of invertebrates, including molluscs. Sexually reproductive freshwater planarians of the species Bdellocephala brunnea have a limited breeding season in their natural habitat. This phenomenon suggests that some endogenous reproductive hormones might play a role in vivo.

Motility recovery during the process of regeneration in freshwater planarians.

Planarians are phylogenetically considered to be the most primitive animals to have acquired a central nervous system and a bilateral symmetry. However, very little is known about the relationship between planarian brain integration and motility. A behavioural and histological study was therefore undertaken in an aspect of planarian motility recovery during its process of regeneration.

Rhodopsin-like proteins in planarian eye and auricle: detection and functional analysis.

The presence of rhodopsin-like proteins in the eyes and auricles of the freshwater planarian Dugesia japonica was confirmed using anti-frog-rhodopsin rabbit IgG. The apparent relative molecular masses of these proteins were 65x10(3) and 62x10(3), and positive reactions to IgG were localized to the microvilli of the photoreceptor cells in the eyes and to the sensory cilia, rootlets and microvilli in the auricles. Eye- or head-excised planarians showed no negative phototaxis, whereas intact or auricle-excised planarians did.