The genome and transcriptome of Trichormus sp. NMC-1: insights into adaptation to extreme environments on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has the highest biodiversity for an extreme environment worldwide, and provides an ideal natural laboratory to study adaptive evolution. In this study, we generated a draft genome sequence of cyanobacteria Trichormus sp. NMC-1 in the QTP and performed whole transcriptome sequencing under low temperature to investigate the genetic mechanism by which T.

COL4A6 is dispensable for autosomal recessive Alport syndrome.

Alport syndrome is caused by mutations in the genes encoding α3, α4, or α5 (IV) chains. Unlike X-linked Alport mice, α5 and α6 (IV) chains are detected in the glomerular basement membrane of autosomal recessive Alport mice, however, the significance of this finding remains to be investigated. We therefore generated mice lacking both α3 and α6 (IV) chains and compared their renal function and survival with Col4a3 knockout mice of 129 × 1/Sv background.

Coil Embolization for Ruptured Basilar Tip Aneurysm After Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion.

Background: There is no published report of ruptured cerebral aneurysm accompanied by target vessel occlusion. We present a case of ruptured basilar tip aneurysm with concomitant basilar artery (BA) occlusion.

Case Description: A 53-year-old man presented to our emergency room with the acute onset of disturbance.

Estimation of Biocompatibility of Nano-Sized Ceramic Particles with Osteoblasts, Osteosarcomas and Hepatocytes by Static and Time-Lapse Observation.

We assessed the biocompatibility of nano-sized ceramic particles with several cells types. Though these particles have less than 100 nm in diameter, they act as submicron-sized particles in saline by aggregation that was estimated using laser diffraction particle size analysis (LDS). they act as submicro-sized particles in saline by aggregation based on laser diffraction particle size analysis (LDS).

Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) reduces cell number in canine histiocytic sarcoma cell lines.

Apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM) is initially reported to protect macrophages from apoptosis. In this study, we determined the effect of AIM on the macrophage-derived tumor, histiocytic sarcoma cell lines (HS) of dogs. Five HS and five other tumor cell lines were used.

Prolactin Suppression of Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Initiation of Mammary Gland Involution in Female Rats.

It has been demonstrated that mammary gland involution after lactation is initiated by accumulation of milk in alveoli after weaning. Here, we report that involution is also dependent on mammary GnRH expression that is suppressed by PRL during lactation. Reduction of plasma prolactin (PRL) by the withdrawal of suckling stimuli increased GnRH and annexin A5 (ANXA5) expression in the mammary tissues after lactation with augmentation of epithelial apoptosis.

Brain Metastasis of Pleural Mesothelioma after a Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an uncommon, fatal neoplasm induced by asbestos exposure. Brain metastases from MPM are extremely rare, with most such cases diagnosed only at the time of autopsy. This report describes what we believe to be the first case of MPM metastasizing to the brain after a subarachnoid hemorrhage, as well as the subsequent surgical removal of the brain metastasis.

Origin and genetic diversity of Egyptian native chickens based on complete sequence of mitochondrial DNA D-loop region.

Domestic chickens (Gallus gallus) play a significant role, ranging from food and entertainment to religion and ornamentation. However, the details on their domestication process are still controversial, especially the origin and evolution of African chickens. Egypt is thought to be important place for this event because of its geographic location as well as its long history of civilization.

TNF-α Induces Caspase-1 Activation Independently of Simultaneously Induced NLRP3 in 3T3-L1 Cells.

The intracellular cysteine protease caspase-1 is critically involved in obesity-induced inflammation in adipose tissue. A substantial body of evidence from immune cells, such as macrophages, has shown that caspase-1 activation depends largely on a protein complex, called the NLRP3 inflammasome, which consists of the NOD-like receptor (NLR) family protein NLRP3, the adaptor protein ASC, and caspase-1 itself. However, it is not fully understood how caspase-1 activation is regulated within adipocytes upon inflammatory stimuli.

Evaluating the Phylogenetic Status of the Extinct Japanese Otter on the Basis of Mitochondrial Genome Analysis.

The Japanese otter lived throughout four main Japanese islands, but it has not been observed in the wild since 1979 and was declared extinct in 2012. Although recent taxonomic and molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that it should be treated as an independent species, International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List considers it as subspecies of Lutra lutra. Therefore, the taxonomic status of this species needs to be resolved.

Synovial fluid matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9 activities in dogs suffering from joint disorders.

The activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in synovial fluids (SF) sampled from dogs with joint disorders was investigated by gelatin zymography and densitometry. Pro-MMP-2 showed similar activity levels in dogs with idiopathic polyarthritis (IPA; n=17) or canine rheumatoid arthritis (cRA; n=4), and healthy controls (n=10). However, dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture (CCLR; n=5) presented significantly higher pro-MMP-2 activity than IPA and healthy dogs.

Controlling an electrostatic repulsion by oppositely charged surfactants towards positively charged fluorescent gold nanoclusters.

A novel positively charged fluorescent gold nanocluster was successfully synthesized using the shortest cationic thiol, thiocholine. Effective control of electrostatic repulsion by the introduction of an anionic surfactant afforded a nanocluster that showed blue fluorescence emission.

Development of Stewart platform type ankle-foot device for trip prevention support.

This paper presents an ankle-foot device using a Stewart platform, which is a type of parallel-link mechanism, for trip prevention support. The developed device can reproduce the input motions of the ankle joint in six degrees of freedom by controlling six pneumatic cylinders at the same time. The root mean square errors of the 3-D position and rotation angle of the reproduced motions with the input motions (dorsiflexion and plantar flexion) were 6.

Evaluation of venous return in lower limb by passive ankle exercise performed by PHARAD.

This paper presents evaluation of venous return, i.e., blood flow volume of vein (BF), in the lower limb after passive exercise performed by our developed "parallel link type human ankle rehabilitation assistive device (PHARAD)".

Scanning Electron Microscope Observation of Carbon Nanotubes with Room Temperature Ionic Liquids: Effect of Their Hydrophilicities.

In this study, we succeeded in acquiring scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of carbon nanotube (CNT) derivatives with different surface properties based on an electro-conductive pretreatment using a room temperature ionic liquid (IL). The quality of the obtained SEM images depended on their surface properties and the hydrophilicities of IL used. When the hydrophilicities of both the sample surface and the IL were close, the obtained SEM images had a high resolution.

Mesoporous Europium-Doped Titania Nanoparticles (Eu-MTNs) for Luminescence-Based Intracellular Bio-Imaging.

Monodisperse and mesoporous europium (Eu)-doped titania nanoparticles (denoted as Eu-MTNs) were prepared by a co-synthesis method with the presence of a cationic surfactant (i.e., CTAB).

Compression-only CPR training in elementary schools and student attitude toward CPR.

Background: Little is known about the effectiveness of systematic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for elementary school children.

Methods: We introduced systematic training of chest compression-only CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) use to elementary school students aged 10-12 years at 17 schools. The questionnaire compared student attitudes towards CPR and their knowledge about it before and after CPR training.

Relationship between Structural Relaxation, Shear Viscosity, and Ionic Conduction of LiPF6/Propylene Carbonate Solutions.

The structure and dynamics of the solutions of LiPF6 in propylene carbonate over a concentration range of 0-3 mol/kg are studied with neutron spin echo spectroscopy, alternating-current (AC) conductometry, and shear impedance spectroscopy. The neutron diffraction shows a prepeak at ≈10 nm(-1) in addition to the main peak at ≈14 nm(-1) when the concentration of the salt is no less than 2 mol/kg. Compared with the frequency-dependent shear viscosity and AC conductivity, the relaxation of the shear stress agrees with that expected from the structural relaxation of the main peak.

X-ray diffraction and high-resolution TEM observations of biopolymer nanoskin-covered metallic copper fine particles: preparative conditions and surface oxidation states.

Metallic copper fine particles used for electro conductive pastes were prepared by the chemical reduction of cupric oxide microparticles in the presence of gelatin. After reduction, the fine particles were collected by decantation with pH control and washing, followed by drying at a moderate temperature. The surface oxidation state of the obtained copper fine particles could be considerably varied by altering the pH of the particle dispersion, as shown by X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.

[Evaluation of the Fundamental Performance of 4 Latex Agglutination Reagents to Measure Anti-TP Antibody Concentration and Detailed Investigation of Decision-Mismatched Samples].

Serological diagnosis of syphilis can be made by using the serological test for syphilis (STS) method for detecting a lipid antibody and Treponema pallidum (TP) method for detecting the anti-TP-specific antibody. In STS and TP methods, the basis using latex agglutination reaction has been used in many facilities. However, in latex agglutination, false-positive results due to non-specific reaction have sometimes been obtained in reactions of a routine laboratory test reagent detecting the anti-TP antibody used in our medical laboratory.

Relationship Between Clinical Features and T2-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Images in Symptomatic Rathke Cleft Cysts.

Background: It is not known when surgery is appropriate for the treatment for incidental Rathke cleft cysts because knowledge of their natural history is lacking. In this study, we sought to determine whether symptomatic Rathke cleft cysts could be distinguished by their signal intensities in magnetic resonance (MR) images. We analyzed the relationship between these signal intensities and clinical manifestations of the cysts and their patterns of expansion.

A Novel Physical Approach for Cationic-Thiolate Protected Fluorescent Gold Nanoparticles.

Knowledge on the synthesis of cationically charged fluorescent gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) is limited because the electrostatic repulsion between cationic ligands on the surface of NP hinders the formation of small Au NPs (usually less than ca. 2 nm) during nucleation in solvents. We herein propose a novel methodology for a synthesis of water-dispersible, cationic-thiolate protected fluorescent Au NPs by the sputtering of Au into liquid matrix containing thiolate ligands.

Speciation of two gobioid species, Pterogobius elapoides and Pterogobius zonoleucus revealed by multi-locus nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses.

To understand how geographical differentiation of gobioid fish species led to speciation, two populations of the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan for each of the two gobioid species, Pterogobius elapoides and Pterogobius zonoleucus, were studied in both morphological and molecular features. Analyzing mitochondrial genes, Akihito et al. (2008) suggested that P.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone is prerequisite for the constitutive expression of pituitary annexin A5.

Annexin A5 (ANXA5), a member of the structurally related family of annexin proteins, is expressed in pituitary gonadotropes. We previously reported that ANXA5 expression is stimulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). In the present study, we investigated ANXA5 expression in the anterior pituitary gland of GnRH-deficient mutant hypogonadal (hpg) mice.

Synthesis of magnetic mesoporous titania colloidal crystals through evaporation induced self-assembly in emulsion as effective and recyclable photocatalysts.

This study illustrates the directed self-assembly of mesoporous TiO2 with magnetic properties due to its colloidal crystal structure with Fe3O4. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized using co-precipitation techniques to a size of 28.2 nm and a magnetic saturation of 66.