Exposure to Secondhand Heated-Tobacco-Product Aerosol May Cause Similar Incidence of Asthma Attack and Chest Pain to Secondhand Cigarette Exposure: The JASTIS 2019 Study.

Although secondhand cigarette smoke is known to cause various health consequences, even the short-term effects of exposure to secondhand heated-tobacco-product (HTP) aerosol are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine short-term symptoms related to secondhand HTP aerosol exposure. An internet-based self-reported questionnaire survey was conducted in 2019 as a part of the Japan Society and New Tobacco Internet Survey (JASTIS) study.

CD19-targeted CAR regulatory T cells suppress B cell pathology without GvHD.

Regulatory T cells (Tregs) play essential roles in maintaining immunological self-tolerance and preventing autoimmunity. The adoptive transfer of antigen-specific Tregs has been expected to be a potent therapeutic method for autoimmune diseases, severe allergy, and rejection in organ transplantation. However, effective Treg therapy has not yet been established because of the difficulty in preparing a limited number of antigen-specific Tregs.

Author Correction: Formation of gold nanoparticles by glycolipids of Lactobacillus casei.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Post-column detection of cadmium chelators by high-performance liquid chromatography using 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphinetetrasulfonic acid.

Cd(II) is toxic to many species, including humans, because it inactivates a number of enzymes and induces cytopathic effects in the liver, kidney, and skeletal tissues in humans. Metallothionein and glutathione (GSH) play a major role in the protection against Cd(II)-induced toxicity in mammalian cells. In this study, a relatively simple method for detecting trace amounts of Cd(II) chelators was developed by using 5,10,15,20-tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphinetetrasulfonic acid (TPPS).

In Vitro Conversion of Activated T Cells into Stem Cell Memory-Like T Cells.

Adoptive T cell therapy is an attractive strategy in tumor immunotherapy. The transfer of in vitro expanded tumor-associated antigen (TAA)-specific T cells from patients may effectively destroy the original tumor cells. One of the limitations is a rapid acquisition of tolerant (anergy, deletion, dysfunctional, and/or exhausted) phenotypes.

Neural anti-inflammatory action mediated by two types of acetylcholine receptors in the small intestine.

Gastrointestinal prokinetic agents function as serotonin-4 receptor (5-HTR) agonists to activate myenteric plexus neurons to release acetylcholine (ACh), which then induce anti-inflammatory action. Details of this pathway, however, remain unknown. The aim of this study is to clarify the anti-inflammatory mechanism underlying the 5-HTR agonist, mosapride citrate (MOS)-induced anti-inflammatory action on postoperative ileus (POI).

Structural and functional analyses of calcium ion response factors in the mantle of Pinctada fucata.

The pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, is cultured for pearl production in Japan. The shell of the pearl oyster consists of calcium carbonate and a small amount of organic matrix. Despite many studies of the shell matrix proteins, the mechanism by which calcium elements are transported from the mantle to the shell remains unclear.

Generation and application of human induced-stem cell memory T cells for adoptive immunotherapy.

Adoptive T-cell therapy is an effective strategy for cancer immunotherapy. However, infused T cells frequently become functionally exhausted, and consequently offer a poor prognosis after transplantation into patients. Adoptive transfer of tumor antigen-specific stem cell memory T (T ) cells is expected to overcome this shortcoming as T cells are close to naïve T cells, but are also highly proliferative, long-lived, and produce a large number of effector T cells in response to antigen stimulation.

Decreased aluminium tolerance in the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with SSO2 gene disruption.

Aluminium ions inhibit growth of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Disruption of the SSO2 gene increased the susceptibility to aluminium. Sso2p belongs to the soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) family.

Synthesis of CdSe Quantum Dots Using Fusarium oxysporum.

CdSe quantum dots are often used in industry as fluorescent materials. In this study, CdSe quantum dots were synthesized using . The cadmium and selenium concentration, pH, and temperature for the culture of () were optimized for the synthesis, and the CdSe quantum dots obtained from the mycelial cells of were observed by transmission electron microscopy.

Formation of gold nanoparticles by glycolipids of Lactobacillus casei.

Gold nanoparticles have particular properties distinct from those of bulk gold crystals, and such nanoparticles are used in various applications in optics, catalysis, and drug delivery. Many reports on microbial synthesis of gold nanoparticles have appeared. However, the molecular details (reduction and dispersion) of such synthesis remain unclear.

Determination of ferric iron chelators by high-performance liquid chromatography using luminol chemiluminescence detection.

Iron is an essential element for higher plants, and its acquisition and transportation is one of the greatest limiting factors for plant growth because of its low solubility in normal soil pHs. Higher plants biosynthesize ferric iron [Fe(III)] chelator (FIC), which solubilizes the iron and transports it to the rhizosphere. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) post-column method has been developed for the analysis of FICs using the luminol/H2O2 system for chemiluminescence (CL) detection.

The atypical N-glycosylation motif, Asn-Cys-Cys, in human GPR109A is required for normal cell surface expression and intracellular signaling.

Asparagine-linked glycosylation (N-glycosylation) is necessary for the proper folding of secreted and membrane proteins, including GPCRs. Thus, many GPCRs possess the N-glycosylation motif Asn-X-Ser/Thr at their N-termini and/or extracellular loops. We found that human GPR109A (hGPR109A) has an N-glycosylation site at Asn(17) in the N-terminal atypical motif, Asn(17)-Cys(18)-Cys(19).

High-performance liquid chromatography method for ferric iron chelators using a post-column reaction with Calcein Blue.

Iron (Fe) is an essential element for higher plants, which take it up from the soil at the root surface and transport it to shoots through the xylem. Fe(III) chelators, such as organic acids and phytosiderophores, play important roles in the acquisition and transportation of Fe(III). Therefore, a selective and sensitive method for analyzing Fe(III) chelators is required to study the many Fe-related physiological mechanisms in plants.

Microcirculation system with a dialysis part for bioassays evaluating anticancer activity and retention.

Medicines are distributed to the whole body and excreted over time. A micromodel of the circulation-excretion system was developed to mimic these processes. This system comprised a dialysis part, a microperistaltic pump, and a target tissue.

Substrate inhibition competes with halide inhibition in polyphenol oxidase.

Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) is a ubiquitous enzyme important in the food industry. Although PPO activity followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics at catechol concentrations of up to 1 mM, it slowly decreased at catechol concentrations above 2 mM. This result indicated that in addition to the active site (site A), the enzyme possesses a second catechol-binding site (site B) that exerts an inhibitory effect on PPO activity.

Micro total bioassay system for oral drugs: evaluation of gastrointestinal degradation, intestinal absorption, hepatic metabolism, and bioactivity.

A micro total bioassay system that mimics physiological processes was developed as a means of evaluating orally administered drugs. A new feature accounting for gastrointestinal digestion was added to the previous system, which consists of microintestine, microliver, and target components. The artificial micro-gastrointestinal tract employs synthetic digestive juices.

Micro total bioassay system for ingested substances: assessment of intestinal absorption, hepatic metabolism, and bioactivity.

Oral medicines and food constituents are absorbed in the intestine and metabolized in the liver, after which they exhibit their activity toward a target tissue. Micromodels of human tissues were developed to mimic these processes and bioactivities. By integrating the micromodels, we realized a micro total bioassay system for oral substances; this system comprised a microintestine, microliver, and the target components.

A microfluidic system to evaluate intestinal absorption.

Intestinal absorption rates vary with the nature of the substances involved. In-vitro experiments with cell culture inserts are often conducted to evaluate the intestinal absorption rate. These inserts, however, require large amounts of cells, samples, and culture media, and take a long time to evaluate.

Establishment of hybrid-derived offspring populations in the Ohomopterus ground beetles through unidirectional hybridization.

An approach to deduce the mechanism of stabilization of the hybrid-derived populations in the Ohomopterus ground beetles has been made by comparative studies on the phylogenetic trees of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. A phylogenetic tree based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal gene roughly reflects the relations of morphological species group, while mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene shows a considerable different topology on the tree; there exist several geographically-linked lineages, most of which consist of more than one species. These results suggest that the replacement of mitochondria has occurred widely in the Ohomopterus species.

Evolutionary history of Calosomina ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Carabinae) of the world as deduced from sequence comparisons of the mitochondrial ND 5 gene.

We deduced the phylogenetic relationships of 54 individuals representing 27 species of the Calosomina (Coleoptera, Carabidae) from various regions of the world from the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND 5) gene sequences. The results suggest that these Calosomina radiated into 17 lineages within a short time about 30 million years ago (Mya). Most of the lineages are composed of a single genus containing only one or a few species.

Anti-inflammatory cyathane diterpenoids from Sarcodon scabrosus.

Four novel diterpenoids were isolated from the fruiting bodies of Sarcodon scabrosus (Fr.) Karst. (Boraginaceae) together with neosarcodonin A.

Pattern of phylogenetic diversification of the Cychrini ground beetles in the world as deduced mainly from sequence comparisons of the mitochondrial genes.

The phylogenetic position of the tribe Cychrini within the subfamily Carabinae (the family Carabidae) was estimated by comparing the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene and the nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The phylogenetic trees suggest that the Cychrini would most probably be the oldest line within the Carabinae. Phylogenetic trees were constructed by comparing the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences from 33 species of the Cychrini from various localities that include the whole distribution ranges of the representative species within all the known genera in the world.