Sarcopenia is an age-related skeletal muscle disorder characterized by the progressive loss of muscle mass and function, resulting in physical disability and mortality. Aberrant reactive oxygen ...species (ROS) generation and oxidative tissue damages in skeletal muscles have been implicated as one of key causative factors in the multiple mechanisms of sarcopenia. Tobacco smoke contains many toxic chemicals including highly unstable free radicals and ROS. Currently, heated tobacco products (HTPs) are widely used as substitutes for cigarette smoking around the world. However, it is poorly understood the effects of these new generation tobacco products on skeletal muscles. In the present study, we investigated the muscular injury induced by cigarette smoke extract (CSE) and HTPs using murine myoblast C2C12 cells as an in-vitro model. The exposure of either CSE or HTPs for 24 h decreased the cell viability in C2C12 myoblasts, which protected by treatment with 1 mM N-acetylcysteine (NAC). In addition, the differentiation to myotube and the expression of myogenic marker protein were suppressed by CSE or HTPs exposure. Interestingly, the formation of stress fibers was disrupted by the treatment with CSE, and the aberrant membrane protrusion was observed. These abnormalities in cytoskeletons and cell shapes were also rescued by the treatment of NAC. These findings suggested that CSE and/or HTPs can damage skeletal muscles through the impairment of cytoskeleton formation, which may contribute to the progress of muscular damages, and age-related muscular diseases.
Stem cell-derived retinal organoids (ROs) have been investigated for applications in regenerative medicine, retinal disease models, and the safety evaluation of compounds. Although the advent of 3D ...organoids has provided innovative avenues, some unresolved limitations are present in organoid research: passive diffusion of oxygen and nutrients limits organoid growth and functional gain. Vascularization might overcome the aforementioned problems because oxygen and nutrient enter into the organoid core. In this study, ROs and vascular organoids (VOs) were generated from healthy human iPS cells. By co-culturing them, we attempted to create vascular-like structures in ROs. Co-culture of ROs and vascular organoids showed type IV collagen and CD31 positive vascular-like structures in retinal organoids. When Co-culture of retinal organoids and vascular organoids were cultured under hyperglycaemic conditions, the basement membrane was thickening in VOs, occludin expression was significantly decreased, and the size of ROs themselves decreased. In conclusion, the co-culture of ROs with VOs made it possible to produce ROs with vascular-like structures, and vascularized ROs could respond to the severe diabetic retinopathy model.
In this paper, we construct a two-country business cycle accounting model in order to investigate quantitatively the relationship between Japan and the Asian Tigers. Our model is based on Backus, ...Kehoe and Kydland (1994) in which each economy produces tradable intermediate goods that are aggregated to form final goods within each economy. We apply the business cycle accounting method of Chari, Kehoe and McGrattan (2007) and find that the main source of high frequency fluctuation in output in each economy is the fluctuation of production efficiency within its own economy. Furthermore, the growth in the Asian Tigers'production efficiency had a significant positive effect on Japanese economic growth over the 1980-2009 period through the endogenous terms of trade effect.
In 34 hospitals in Kyushu area, the clinical effects and safety of fluconazole (FLCZ) against pulmonary mycosis were studied. To a total of 108 patients with respiratory diseases was FLCZ ...administrated. The results were as follows. 1. Sixty-six cases were evaluable for the clinical efficacy of FLCZ. In 8 cases of pulmonary cryptococcosis, the clinical efficacy rate was 100% (8/8). In 58 cases of pulmonary aspergillosis, it was 43.1% (25/38). Overall, the clinical efficacy rate was 50% (33/66). 2. Fungi were eliminated in 3 of 6 cases in which Cryptococcus was detected, and were eliminated in 8 and reduced in 4 of 30 cases in which Aspergillus spp. including A. fumigatus were detected. 3. Side effects were observed in 5 of 87 cases (5.7%), none of them was serious, however. Abnormal results of laboratory tests that might be related to the FLCZ administration were observed in 5 cases (5.7%). 4. From these results, fluconazole appears to be a potent antifungal agent for treatment of pulmonary mycosis.
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