Ultrastructural analysis in yeast reveals a meiosis-specific actin-containing nuclear bundle.

Actin polymerises to form filaments/cables for motility, transport, and the structural framework in a cell. Recent studies show that actin polymers are present not only in the cytoplasm but also in the nuclei of vertebrate cells. Here, we show, by electron microscopic observation with rapid freezing and high-pressure freezing, a unique bundled structure containing actin in the nuclei of budding yeast cells undergoing meiosis.

Existence of giant mitochondria-containing sheet structures lacking cristae and matrix in the etiolated cotyledon of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Mitochondria are essential organelles involved in the production and supply of energy in eukaryotic cells. Recently, the use of serial section scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has allowed accurate three-dimensional (3D) reconstructed images of even complex organelle structures. Using this method, ultrathin sections of etiolated cotyledons were observed 4 days after germination of Arabidopsis thaliana in the dark, and giant mitochondria were found.

The other-race effect on the McGurk effect in infancy.

This study investigated the difference in the McGurk effect between own-race-face and other-race-face stimuli among Japanese infants from 5 to 9 months of age. The McGurk effect results from infants using information from a speaker's face in audiovisual speech integration. We hypothesized that the McGurk effect varies with the speaker's race because of the other-race effect, which indicates an advantage for own-race faces in our face processing system.

Behavioural red-light sensitivity in fish according to the optomotor response.

Various procedures have been adopted to investigate spectral sensitivity of animals, e.g. absorption spectra of visual pigments, electroretinography, optokinetic response, optomotor response (OMR) and phototaxis.

Comparative analysis of microRNA expression profiles in the colons of specific pathogen-free mice and germ-free mice.

MicroRNAs play an important role in microbiota-host crosstalk. In this study, we compared microRNA expression in whole colons of specific pathogen-free mice and germ-free mice. Forty-eight microRNAs were differentially expressed by more than 2-fold.

Perception of invisible masked objects in early infancy.

Recurrent loops in the visual cortex play a critical role in visual perception, which is likely not mediated by purely feed-forward pathways. However, the development of recurrent loops is poorly understood. The role of recurrent processing has been studied using visual backward masking, a perceptual phenomenon in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a following mask, possibly because of the disruption of recurrent processing.

Phase equilibrium and dielectric relaxation in mixture of 5CB with dilute dimethyl phthalate: effect of coupling between orientation and composition fluctuations on molecular dynamics in isotropic one-phase state.

Phase equilibrium and dielectric relaxation were examined for mixtures of liquid-crystalline (LC)-forming 4-cyano-4'-pentylbiphenyl (5CB) with dilute dimethyl phthalate (DMP). The mixtures were in an isotropic one-phase state at high temperatures T but were separated into nematic and isotropic phases at low T < TIN (isotropic-to-nematic transition temperature), and the isotropic phase disappeared and a nematic one-phase state was realized on a further decrease of T below another transition temperature . These TIN and data (phase diagram) were described considerably well by a simple model of free energy contributed from a Flory-Huggins type mixing entropy (no enthalpic contribution) and a Landau-de Gennes type nematic interaction.

Antioxidant p-terphenyl compounds in the mushroom Boletopsis leucomelas (PERS.) FAYOD and how they change via cooking.

Antioxidant compounds in the mushroom Boletopsis leucomelas (PERS.) FAYOD were isolated using chromatographic methods, and their structures were determined via detailed analyses using high-resolution atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. We identified five known p-terphenyl compounds (Bl-I, Bl-II, Bl-III, cycloleucomelon-leukopentaacetat, and Bl-IV) and one p-terphenyl new compound (Bl-VI); we determined the complete structure of cycloleucomelon-leukopentaacetat in this study.

DyP-Type Peroxidases: Recent Advances and Perspectives.

In this review, we chart the major milestones in the research progress on the DyP-type peroxidase family over the past decade. Though mainly distributed among bacteria and fungi, this family actually exhibits more widespread diversity. Advanced tertiary structural analyses have revealed common and different features among members of this family.

Plastid Anionic Lipids Are Essential for the Development of Both Photosynthetic and Non-Photosynthetic Organs in .

The lipid bilayer matrix of the thylakoid membrane of cyanobacteria and chloroplasts of plants and algae is mainly composed of uncharged galactolipids, but also contains anionic lipids sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) and phosphatidylglycerol (PG) as major constituents. The necessity of PG for photosynthesis is evident in all photosynthetic organisms examined to date, whereas the requirement of SQDG varies with species. In plants, although PG and SQDG are also found in non-photosynthetic plastids, their importance for the growth and functions of non-photosynthetic organs remains unclear.

Diversified amino acid-mediated allosteric regulation of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase for serine biosynthesis in land plants.

The phosphorylated pathway of serine biosynthesis is initiated with 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH). The liverwort Marchantia polymorpha possesses an amino acid-sensitive MpPGDH which is inhibited by l-serine and activated by five proteinogenic amino acids, while the eudicot Arabidopsis thaliana has amino acid-sensitive AtPGDH1 and AtPGDH3 as well as amino acid-insensitive AtPGDH2. In this study, we analyzed PGDH isozymes of the representative land plants: the monocot Oryza sativa (OsPGDH1-3), basal angiosperm Amborella trichopoda (AmtriPGDH1-2), and moss Physcomitrium (Physcomitrella) patens (PpPGDH1-4).

Effects of Dietary Education Program for the Japan Diet on Cholesterol Efflux Capacity: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aim: Improving cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has been regarded as a novel target for preventing cardiovascular disease. HDL reportedly has antioxidant properties which may contribute to its functions. We investigated changes in CEC with intake of the Japan Diet (JD) recommended by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society and the relationship of these changes to serum antioxidant concentrations.

Association of chronotype as assessed by the midpoint of sleep with the dietary intake and health-related quality of life for elderly Japanese women.

The relationship of chronotype differences with dietary habits and health-related outcomes among elderly people is not fully understood, although sex and generation differences are observed in human chronotype. Accordingly, we analysed the association of chronotype (as assessed by the midpoint of sleep) with dietary intake and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in elderly Japanese women. The subjects in this cross-sectional study were 1618 women aged 65 years and older who were grandmothers or acquaintances of dietetics students.

Selective attention to the mouth of a talker in Japanese-learning infants and toddlers: Its relationship with vocabulary and compensation for noise.

Infants increasingly gaze at the mouth of talking faces during the latter half of the first postnatal year. This study investigated mouth-looking behavior of 120 full-term infants and toddlers (6 months-3 years) and 12 young adults (21-24 years) from Japanese monolingual families. The purpose of the study included: (1) Is such an attentional shift to the mouth in infancy similarly observed in Japanese environment where contribution of visual speech is known to be relatively weak? (2) Can noisy conditions increase mouth-looking behavior of Japanese young children? (3) Is the mouth-looking behavior related to language acquisition? To this end, movies of a talker speaking short phrases were presented while manipulating signal-to-noise ratio (SNR: Clear, SN+4, and SN-4).

Ampelomyces strains isolated from diverse powdery mildew hosts in Japan: Their phylogeny and mycoparasitic activity, including timing and quantifying mycoparasitism of Pseudoidium neolycopersici on tomato.

A total of 26 Ampelomyces strains were isolated from mycelia of six different powdery mildew species that naturally infected their host plants in Japan. These were characterized based on morphological characteristics and sequences of ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (rDNA-ITS) regions and actin gene (ACT) fragments. Collected strains represented six different genotypes and were accommodated in three different clades of the genus Ampelomyces.

Attentional blink in preverbal infants.

Primary cognitive processes, such as spatial attention, are essential to our higher cognitive abilities and develop dramatically in the first year of life. The spatial aspect of infants' working memory is equivalent to that of adults. However, it is unclear whether this is true for the temporal domain.

Relations Between Urinary Albumin Excretion and a Dietary Intake of Fruits in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

Background: It was reported that microalbuminuria and a decline in renal function were associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and renal events and prognostic serious complications. Dietary factors and nutrients affecting microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetes remain unclear, and accordingly we conducted a cross-sectional study on the possible relevance of dietary factors to urinary albumin excretion in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: Forty-two patients with type 2 diabetes participated in this study, and these subjects were categorized into patients without microalbuminuria group with urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) of less than 30 mg/g Cr (n = 29) and a microalbuminuria group with ACR of 30 - 299 mg/g Cr (n = 13).

A high-fat diet in the presence of vitamin D deficiency status is associated with a negative influence on calcaneal quantitative ultrasound parameters in young adults: a cross-sectional study.

Vitamin D deficiency and a high-fat diet are considered health problems worldwide. The aims of this study were to examine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency in young adults, factors related to the vitamin D status, and the influence of vitamin D deficiency and/or a high-fat diet on bone parameters. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that a high-fat diet in the presence of a vitamin D-deficient status would have a more negative influence on bone parameters than a normal-fat diet with such a status.

Bead-based Padlock Rolling Circle Amplification under Molecular Crowding Conditions: The Effects of Crowder Charge and Size.

Bead-based padlock rolling circle amplification under molecular crowding conditions, which we have developed for ultrasensitive detection of DNA, is examined to improve the detection efficiency and sensitivity of the method as well as to gain insight into the mechanism of the method. Both non-magnetic and magnetic sepharose microbeads were employed. Biotinylated DNA had to be pre-immobilized onto the microbeads in order to obtain products on the magnetic beads.

Effects of Nutrition Education Program for the Japan Diet on Serum LDL-Cholesterol Concentration in Patients with Dyslipidemia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Aim: The Japan Diet (JD) recommended by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society based on the traditional Japanese diet is presumably favorable for preventing atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases, but few high-quality controlled clinical trials have examined its benefits as compared with other diets. We studied effects of nutrition education for JD intake as compared with partial JD (PJD) intake on serum lipids and inflammatory parameters in subjects with dyslipidemia.

Methods: A randomized parallel controlled clinical trial was conducted on outpatients with dyslipidemia.

Memory-specific correlated neuronal activity in higher-order auditory regions of a parrot.

Male budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) are open-ended learners that can learn to produce new vocalisations as adults. We investigated neuronal activation in male budgerigars using the expression of the protein products of the immediate early genes zenk and c-fos in response to exposure to conspecific contact calls (CCs: that of the mate or an unfamiliar female) in three subregions (CMM, dNCM and vNCM) of the caudomedial pallium, a higher order auditory region. Significant positive correlations of Zenk expression were found between these subregions after exposure to mate CCs.

Common Mechanism for Target Specificity of Protein- and DNA-Targeting ADP-Ribosyltransferases.

Many bacterial pathogens utilize ADP-ribosyltransferases (ARTs) as virulence factors. The critical aspect of ARTs is their target specificity. Each individual ART modifies a specific residue of its substrates, which could be proteins, DNA, or antibiotics.