Phytoplasma-conserved phyllogen proteins induce phyllody across the Plantae by degrading floral MADS domain proteins.

ABCE-class MADS domain transcription factors (MTFs) are key regulators of floral organ development in angiosperms. Aberrant expression of these genes can result in abnormal floral traits such as phyllody. Phyllogen is a virulence factor conserved in phytoplasmas, plant pathogenic bacteria of the class Mollicutes.

Functional characterization of the principal sigma factor RpoD of phytoplasmas via an in vitro transcription assay.

Phytoplasmas (class, Mollicutes) are insect-transmissible and plant-pathogenic bacteria that multiply intracellularly in both plants and insects through host switching. Our previous study revealed that phytoplasmal sigma factor rpoD of OY-M strain (rpoDOY) could be a key regulator of host switching, because the expression level of rpoDOY was higher in insect hosts than in plant hosts. In this study, we developed an in vitro transcription assay system to identify RpoDOY-dependent genes and the consensus promoter elements.

Nucleocapsid protein from fig mosaic virus forms cytoplasmic agglomerates that are hauled by endoplasmic reticulum streaming.

Unlabelled: Although many studies have demonstrated intracellular movement of viral proteins or viral replication complexes, little is known about the mechanisms of their motility. In this study, we analyzed the localization and motility of the nucleocapsid protein (NP) of Fig mosaic virus (FMV), a negative-strand RNA virus belonging to the recently established genus Emaravirus. Electron microscopy of FMV-infected cells using immunogold labeling showed that NPs formed cytoplasmic agglomerates that were predominantly enveloped by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane, while nonenveloped NP agglomerates also localized along the ER.

Onion yellow phytoplasma P38 protein plays a role in adhesion to the hosts.

Adhesins are microbial surface proteins that mediate the adherence of microbial pathogens to host cell surfaces. In Mollicutes, several adhesins have been reported in mycoplasmas and spiroplasmas. Adhesins P40 of Mycoplasma agalactiae and P89 of Spiroplasma citri contain a conserved amino acid sequence known as the Mollicutes adhesin motif (MAM), whose function in the host cell adhesion remains unclear.

The effects of once-weekly teriparatide on hip geometry assessed by hip structural analysis in postmenopausal osteoporotic women with high fracture risk.

Weekly administration of teriparatide has been shown to reduce the risk of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures in patients with osteoporosis at higher fracture risk in Japan. However, its efficacy for hip fracture has not been established. To gain insight into the effect of weekly teriparatide on the hip, hip structural analysis (HSA) based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was performed using the data of 209 postmenopausal osteoporotic women who had participated in the original randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing the effects of once-weekly 56.

Hip structural analysis: a comparison of DXA with CT in postmenopausal Japanese women.

Geometry of the proximal femur is one determinant of fracture risk, and can be analyzed by a simple method using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The aim of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of hip structural analysis (HSA) using clinical data in postmenopausal Japanese women. A total of 184 postmenopausal women aged 51-88 years (mean, 70.

Effect of the cathepsin K inhibitor odanacatib administered once weekly on bone mineral density in Japanese patients with osteoporosis--a double-blind, randomized, dose-finding study.

Unlabelled: The efficacy and safety of oral placebo or odanacatib 10, 25, or 50 mg once weekly for 52 weeks were evaluated in a double-blind, randomized, multi-center study in Japanese female and male patients with osteoporosis.

Introduction: Odanacatib is a selective and reversible cathepsin K inhibitor that decreases bone resorption and increases bone mineral density (BMD).

Methods: The primary efficacy endpoint was percent change from baseline to week 52 in lumbar spine BMD.

Diagnostic criteria for primary osteoporosis: year 2012 revision.

In 1995, the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Metabolism (now the Japanese Society for Bone and Mineral Research) established the Osteoporosis Diagnostic Criteria Review Committee. Following discussion held at the 13th scientific meeting of the Society in 1996, the Committee, with the consensus of its members, proposed diagnostic criteria for primary osteoporosis. The Committee revised those criteria in 1998 and again in 2000.

[Assessment of the exposure dose value displayed on operator console in a computed tomography system deciding exposure dose from positioning image].

The aim of this study was to assess the exposure dose value (DLP) displayed on the operator console in a computed tomography system with automatic exposure control (CT-AEC) which decides the exposure dose from a positioning image. We measured exposure dose with two kinds of CT systems and evaluated the error of the displayed DLP value on the operator console against the measured DLP value. The assessment was performed in three sites: head and neck, upper chest, and lower abdomen.

[Study of the additional filter in transcatheter hepatic arterial embolization].

It is well known that Interventional Radiology (IVR) is useful. However, the patient dose in IVR is increasing because of the prolongation of fluoroscopic time and the increase in the number of radiographies in recent years. We studied the adequacy of the additional filter for the decrease of the skin surface dose in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma of transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE).

[Study on the accuracy of regional cerebral blood flow measurement using N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine: effects of differences in venous sampling site and static imaging direction in one-point venous sampling method based on the causality model].

Purpose: We have previously reported the method of regional cerebral blood flow measurement using N-isopropyl-p-[123I]iodoamphetamine, in which the input function into brain was estimated from one-point venous blood sampling value based on the method of causality analysis between input and output functions. In the present study, we examined the effects of differences in blood sampling site and direction of static image collection on the accuracy of estimating input function using this method.

Methods: The subjects consisted of 50 patients of right forearm venous sampling and 50 patients of left forearm venous sampling.

[Method of calculating patient skin surface dose in transcatheter arterial embolization].

The usefulness of interventional radiology (IVR) in clinical practice is well known. However, patient dose in IVR has recently been increased as a result of the prolongation of fluoroscopic time and the increased number of radiographies. We studied a simple method of calculating skin surface dose in patients who underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma by obtaining the value of a dose area product meter attached to the digital subtraction angiography system.

Measurement of regional cerebral blood flow with 123I-IMP using one-point venous blood sampling and causality analysis: evaluation by comparison with conventional continuous arterial blood sampling.

Objective: Arterial input function represents the delivery of intravascular tracer to the brain. The optimal setting of this function is essential for measuring regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) based on the microsphere model using N-isopropyl-4-[123I]iodoamphetamine (123I-IMP), in which the arterial 123I-IMP concentration (integral value) during the initial 5 min is usually applied. We developed a novel method in which the arterial 123I-IMP concentration is estimated from that in venous blood samples.

Fractal analysis of bone architecture at distal radius.

Bone strength depends on bone quality (architecture, turnover, damage accumulation, and mineralization) as well as bone mass. In this study, human bone architecture was analyzed using fractal image analysis, and the clinical relevance of this method was evaluated. The subjects were 12 healthy female controls and 16 female patients suspected of having osteoporosis (age range, 22-70 years; mean age, 49.

Side-to-side differences in cortical bone mineral density of tibiae in young male athletes.

The importance of physical activity in the development and maintenance of bone mineral density (BMD) is widely accepted. However, the effects on cortical BMD have not been clarified in detail. The present study examined bilateral asymmetries in cortical BMD of the tibia using peripheral quantitative computed tomography.

Comparison of vertebral morphometry in the lumbar vertebrae by T1-weighted sagittal MRI and radiograph.

Purpose: In this study, we investigated the usefulness of T1-weighted sagittal MR images at the lumbar vertebrae in the vertebral morphometry, in comparison with lateral radiographs.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 42 men (mean age: 53.0 years) and 41 women (mean age: 57.

Therapeutic effects of alendronate 35 mg once weekly and 5 mg once daily in Japanese patients with osteoporosis: a double-blind, randomized study.

The efficacy and safety of treatment with oral alendronate (ALN) 35 mg once weekly for 52 weeks were compared with those of ALN 5 mg once daily in a double-blind, randomized, multicenter study of Japanese patients with involutional osteoporosis. The primary efficacy end point was the percent change from baseline in the lumbar spine (L1-L4) bone mineral density (BMD) after 52 weeks of treatment. In this study, 328 patients were randomized to ALN 5 mg once daily (160 patients) or ALN 35 mg once weekly (168 patients).

[Fractal analysis of trabecular architecture: with special reference to slice thickness and pixel size of the image].

Many analyses of bone microarchitecture using three-dimensional images of micro CT (microCT) have been reported recently. However, as extirpated bone is the subject of measurement on microCT, various kinds of information are not available clinically. Our aim is to evaluate usefulness of fractal dimension as an index of bone strength different from bone mineral density in in-vivo, to which microCT could not be applied.

[Diagnosis with bone mass].

In diagnostic criteria of osteoporosis proposed by WHO, the severe osteoporosis is defined as a patient with a value for BMD or BMC more than 2.5SD below the young adult mean value in the presence of one or more fragility fractures. When severe fragility fracture occurs from the second to forth lumbar vertebra, the lumbar BMD could be over-estimated.

Effects of genetic and nutritional factors on bone mineral density in young adults.

To estimate the genetic and dietary factors influencing bone mineral density (BMD) in young adults, a total of 53 healthy volunteers (HV) (age 20.89+/-1.34), from whom informed consent was obtained, answered a questionnaire on dietary factors and had DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells analyzed for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for vitamin (Vit) D receptor (VDR), estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha), interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL1RA), and apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genes.