Facilitation effect of incidental environmental context on the computer screen for paired-associate learning.

Three experiments, in which a total of 198 undergraduates engaged, investigate whether the incidental environmental context on the computer screen influences paired-associate learning. Experiment 1 compared the learning of foreign- and native-language words between a constant context condition, where the stimulus and response pairs were presented twice on the same 5-s video background context, and a varied context condition, where the pairs were presented twice on different video contexts. Repetition in the same context resulted in better learning than in different contexts, evaluated with a paper-and-pencil test.

Maternal Prebiotic Ingestion Increased the Number of Fecal Bifidobacteria in Pregnant Women but Not in Their Neonates Aged One Month.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can selectively stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria. Here, we investigated the effect of maternal FOS ingestion on maternal and neonatal gut bifidobacteria. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we administered 8 g/day of FOS or sucrose to 84 women from the 26th week of gestation to one month after delivery.

Reexamination of mood-mediation hypothesis of background-music-dependent effects in free recall.

The present study reexamined the mood-mediation hypothesis for explaining background-music-dependent effects in free recall. Experiments 1 and 2 respectively examined tempo- and tonality-dependent effects in free recall, which had been used as evidence for the mood-mediation hypothesis. In Experiments 1 and 2, undergraduates (n = 75 per experiment) incidentally learned a list of 20 unrelated words presented one by one at a rate of 5 s per word and then received a 30-s delayed oral free-recall test.

Sequential and spatial organization of metal complexes inside a peptide duplex.

To generate integrated organized molecular properties, multiple molecular components are required to be assembled into the molecular system with sequential and spatial accuracy in accordance with the design of the molecular assembly. Herein, we present a novel programmable synthesis of a cofacially stacked porphyrin array via repetitive construction of a peptide duplex. We designed and synthesized a novel porphyrin having two artificial amino acid moieties at the trans meso-positions.

Odor-context effects in free recall after a short retention interval: a new methodology for controlling adaptation.

The present study investigated context effects of incidental odors in free recall after a short retention interval (5 min). With a short retention interval, the results are not confounded by extraneous odors or encounters with the experimental odor and possible rehearsal during a long retention interval. A short study time condition (4 s per item), predicted not to be affected by adaptation to the odor, and a long study time condition (8 s per item) were used.

Prebiotic consumption in pregnant and lactating women increases IL-27 expression in human milk.

The consumption of probiotics by pregnant and lactating women may prevent the onset of allergic disorders in their children by increasing the concentrations of immunoactive agents such as cytokines in breast milk. Prebiotics such as fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) increase the number of beneficial organisms such as bifidobacteria. Thus, prebiotics may have an effect similar to that of probiotics.

Molecular epidemiology of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium isolates from cattle in hokkaido, Japan: evidence of clonal replacement and characterization of the disseminated clone.

The molecular epidemiology of 545 Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium isolates collected between 1977 and 2009 from cattle in Hokkaido, Japan, was investigated using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Nine main clusters were identified from 116 PFGE patterns. Cluster I comprised 248 isolates, 243 of which possessed a sequence specific to definitive phage type 104 (DT104) or U302.

Expression and characterization of bluetongue virus serotype 21 VP7 antigen: C-terminal truncated protein has significantly reduced antigenicity.

In the present study, group-specific antigen VP7 of bluetongue virus (BTV) serotype 21 isolated from cattle in Tochigi prefecture in Japan in 1994 was characterized by sequencing and expression. Gene was amplified from cDNA synthesized on viral dsRNA using reverse-transcriptase-PCR. Nucleotide sequence of this isolate showed high similarity with other published BTV VP7 sequences.

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium DT104 ArtA-dependent modification of pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins in the presence of [32P]NAD.

Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) definitive phage type (DT) 104 has become a widespread cause of human and other animal infections worldwide. The severity of clinical illness in S.

Cloning of porcine interleukin (IL)-12 receptor beta2 (IL-12Rbeta2) gene and its application to a rapid biological assay for human/porcine IL-12.

Porcine IL-12Rbeta2 gene was cloned from mRNA preparation of mitogen-activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined. To confirm the biological function, the entire open reading frame (ORF) was re-cloned into a mammalian expression vector, pcDNA3.1/Zeo(+), at the downstream of CMV promoter, and introduced to a Th1-like human lymphoma cell line, Jurkat E6-1.

Sialylation of N-glycans on the recombinant proteins expressed by a baculovirus-insect cell system under beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase inhibition.

We investigated the ability of a baculovirus-insect cell system to produce sialylated glycoproteins. Despite the presence of enzymes for synthesizing complex-type N-glycans, the most frequent structure of insect N-glycan is the paucimannosidic type, Man(3)GlcNAc(2)(+/-Fuc). The reason for the overwhelming assembly of paucimannosidic N-glycans is not yet well understood.