The impairment of the parasympathetic modulation is involved in the age-related change in mitral E/A ratio.

The mitral early to late diastolic flow velocity ratio (E/A ratio) is age-dependent. It has been considered that its age dependency reflects the age-related lengthening of left ventricular (LV) relaxation; however, the change in E/A ratio is far larger than that expected from those in LV relaxation. We hypothesized that an age-related reduction of the parasympathetic activity increases left atrial (LA) contractility, and that this accounts for the age-related change in E/A ratio.

A functional deficiency of TERA/VCP/p97 contributes to impaired DNA repair in multiple polyglutamine diseases.

It is hypothesized that a common underlying mechanism links multiple neurodegenerative disorders. Here we show that transitional endoplasmic reticulum ATPase (TERA)/valosin-containing protein (VCP)/p97 directly binds to multiple polyglutamine disease proteins (huntingtin, ataxin-1, ataxin-7 and androgen receptor) via polyglutamine sequence. Although normal and mutant polyglutamine proteins interact with TERA/VCP/p97, only mutant proteins affect dynamism of TERA/VCP/p97.

Overexpression of Cdk6 and Ccnd1 in chondrocytes inhibited chondrocyte maturation and caused p53-dependent apoptosis without enhancing proliferation.

Cell proliferation and differentiation are closely coupled. However, we previously showed that overexpression of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk6) blocks chondrocyte differentiation without affecting cell-cycle progression in vitro. To investigate whether Cdk6 inhibits chondrocyte differentiation in vivo, we generated chondrocyte-specific Cdk6 transgenic mice using Col2a1 promoter.

Increase of salt dependence of halophilic nucleoside diphosphate kinase caused by a single amino acid substitution.

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase (HsNDK) from an extremely halophilic archaea, Halobacterium salinarum, is composed of a homo hexamer, assembled as a trimer of basic dimeric units. It requires >2 M NaCl for refolding, although it does not require NaCl for stability or enzymatic activity below 30 °C. A HisN111L mutant with an N-terminal extension sequence containing hexa-His tag, in which Asn111 was replaced with Leu, was designed to be less stable between basic dimeric units.

Comparison of constitutive gene expression levels of hepatic cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes between Wistar-Kyoto and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Serum total cholesterol amounts in the stroke-prone hypertensive rat (SHRSP) strain are lower than in the normotensive control strain, Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat. To understand the strain difference, constitutive gene expression levels of hepatic cholesterol biosynthetic enzymes in male 8-week-old SHRSP and WKY rats were comparatively examined by DNA microarray and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses. Of 22 cholesterol biosynthetic enzyme genes, expression levels of 8 genes, Pmvk, Idi1, Fdps, Fdft1, Sqle, Lss, Sc4mol, and Hsd17b7, in SHRSP were less than 50% those of the WKY rats; especially, the expression level of Sqle gene, encoding squalene epoxidase, a rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, was about 20%.

Therapeutic efficacy of c-kit-targeted radioimmunotherapy using 90Y-labeled anti-c-kit antibodies in a mouse model of small cell lung cancer.

Unlabelled: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive tumor and prognosis remains poor. Therefore, the development of more effective therapy is needed. We previously reported that high levels of an anti-c-kit antibody (12A8) accumulated in SCLC xenografts.

Pneumonitis induced by rifampicin: a case report and literature review.

An 84-year-old woman being treated for miliary tuberculosis (TB) with rifampicin (RFP), isoniazid (INH), ethambutol (EB) and corticosteroids suffered from a persistent fever for five months. While tapering the dose of prednisolone, chest computed tomography (CT) revealed diffuse ground glass opacities (GGO) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) showed an increase in lymphocytes. After the anti-TB drugs were discontinued and the dose of the corticosteroids was increased, the CT findings and fever improved considerably.

Too much love, a novel Kelch repeat-containing F-box protein, functions in the long-distance regulation of the legume-Rhizobium symbiosis.

The interaction of legumes with N2-fixing bacteria collectively called rhizobia results in root nodule development. The number of nodules formed is tightly restricted through the systemic negative feedback control by the host called autoregulation of nodulation (AON). Here, we report the characterization and gene identification of TOO MUCH LOVE (TML), a root factor that acts during AON in a model legume Lotus japonicus.

[Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the lung treated by surgery and rituximab; report of a case].

We report a case of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma of the lung treated by surgery and rituximab. A 47-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of the lesion in the right middle lobe, which had enlarged gradually. Chest computed tomography(CT) scanning showed an infiltrative shadow of the right middle lobe.

Proportions of malocclusions in Japanese female adolescents over the last 40 years.

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of malocclusion in schoolgirls at a private high school and whether it has increased or not over 40 years by comparison with previous surveys on early and middle adolescence in Japan.

Materials And Methods: Conventional dental examination including evaluation of occlusion was performed in 2,378 schoolgirls who were enrolled in the seventh and the tenth grade between the years 2004 and 2006. The presence of maxillary protrusion, anterior crossbite, edge-to-edge incisor relationship, open bite, deep bite and crowding of teeth was recorded by visual inspection.

A free-standing, sheet-shaped, "hydrophobic" biomaterial containing polymeric micelles formed from poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) block copolymer for possible incorporation/release of "hydrophilic" compounds.

Sheet-shaped materials with a large contact area relative to the drug targeting site lead to advantages over conventional particle-shaped drug carriers and have several advantages for their biomedical applications. The present study proposes a methodology for preparing a novel sheet-shaped "hydrophobic" and biocompatible biomaterial in which polymeric micelles are uniformly dispersed for the incorporation of "hydrophilic" compounds into the sheet. The methoxy-terminated poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactic acid) block copolymer (CH(3)O-PEG-b-PLA) was successfully synthesized by means of the anionic ring-opening polymerization of both ethylene oxide and dl-lactide.

Orbital metastasis secondary to pulmonary adenocarcinoma treated with gefitinib: a case report.

Introduction: Orbital metastases of lung cancer are rare. However, because the number of patients diagnosed with lung cancer is increasing, the probability that a physician will see a patient with an orbital metastasis is also increasing. Unfortunately, the clinical course and response of these patients to cytotoxic chemotherapy are generally poor and keeping a patient's quality of vision is difficult.

Galnt3 deficiency disrupts acrosome formation and leads to oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.

Galnt3 belongs to the GalNAc transferase gene family involved in the initiation of mucin-type O-glycosylation. Male Galnt3-deficient (Galnt3(-/-)) mice were infertile, as previously reported by Ichikawa et al. (2009).

Early nocturnal meal skipping alters the peripheral clock and increases lipogenesis in mice.

Background: In humans, skipping meals, especially breakfast, has been associated with obesity and other related syndromes. Recent studies in rodents suggest that fasting and feeding times are potential factors that affect the peripheral circadian clocks and metabolism. However, the link between fasting and obesity in rodents has yet to be fully demonstrated.

Transcriptional suppression of BACH2 by the Bcr-Abl oncoprotein is mediated by PAX5.

Bach2 is a lymphoid-specific transcription factor with a prominent role in B-cell development and apoptosis-induction in response to oxidative stress. We previously showed that Bach2 is downregulated in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), and here we demonstrate the mechanism by which Bcr-Abl mediates this phenomenon. We have cloned a 3.

Comparison of 2-amino-[3-¹¹C]isobutyric acid and 2-deoxy-2-[¹⁸F]fluoro-D-glucose in nude mice with xenografted tumors and acute inflammation.

Objective: 2-Deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) accumulates in tumors and also during active inflammation, including therapy-related inflammation. Additional PET tracers that are less avid to inflammation could be useful in differentiating cancer from inflammation and could complement the limitation of [18F]FDG-PET. 2-Amino-[3-11C]isobutyric acid ([3-11C]AIB) is a potential PET tracer for this purpose.

Novel human monoclonal antibody against epidermal growth factor receptor as an imaging probe for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed in many epithelial cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and is an attractive target for cancer imaging and therapy. We attempted a novel noninvasive imaging method to evaluate anti-EGFR human monoclonal antibody clones for determining the uptake of therapeutic anti-EGFR antibody in HCC.

Methods: In-vitro cell binding of nine I-labeled antibody clones was compared in the human epidermoid cancer cell line A431, in three HCC cell lines Hep-G2, SK-Hep1, and HuH-7, and in the EGFR-negative control cell line A4.

SP7 inhibits osteoblast differentiation at a late stage in mice.

RUNX2 and SP7 are essential transcription factors for osteoblast differentiation at an early stage. Although RUNX2 inhibits osteoblast differentiation at a late stage, the function of SP7 at the late stage of osteoblast differentiation is not fully elucidated. Thus, we pursued the function of SP7 in osteoblast differentiation.

Postmortem CT investigation of skeletal and dental maturation of the fetuses and newborn infants: a serial case study.

Physical maturation involving bones and teeth is a classic indication of fetal maturity in forensic practice, for which radiological examination is effective. The present study preliminarily investigated the efficacy of postmortem computed tomography (PM-CT) in estimating the gestational age of fetuses (n = 3) and newborn infants (n = 4), compared with plain radiography. Body length and weight estimated in reconstructed CT images approximated the measured values, providing additional data of body mass volume and fat development.

[Successful treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia complicated with autoimmune hepatitis-induced portal hypertension with all-trans retinoic acid].

A 35-year-old man admitted to the hospital for oral hemorrhage was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Remission from APL was achieved by induction therapy with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA); the PML/RARA fusion gene was not detected on PCR analysis. Despite complete molecular remission, severe persistent pancytopenia, massive ascites, and renal failure were observed.

Intraleaflet haemorrhage as a mechanism of rapid progression of stenosis in bicuspid aortic valve.

Background: The mechanisms are unknown why aortic stenosis (AS) progresses faster in patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) than those with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV). The objective of this study is to examine whether neoangiogenesis, haemorrhage in the aortic valve leaflet (intraleaflet haemorrhage) and macrophage infiltration are involved in the mechanisms of rapid progression of AS with BAV.

Methods: We retrospectively examined specimens of aortic valve leaflets obtained from patients who had undergone aortic valve replacement for AS (AS with BAV: n=22, AS with TAV: n=86).

Is the six-minute walk test appropriate for detecting changes in cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy elderly men?

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the six-minute walk test (6-MWT) can detect changes in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) induced by exercise training in healthy elderly men.

Design: Randomized and prospective controlled trial.

Methods: Thirty-two healthy untrained men, between 65 and 75 years of age, were randomly assigned to one of three groups: control (C, n = 12), endurance training (E, n = 10), or concurrent training (ER, n = 10).