► Almost all kisspeptin neurons in both of AVPV/PeN and ARC expressed CRH-R. ► A few close appositions of CRH fibers on some of kisspeptin neurons were observed. ► Many kisspeptin neurons in AVPV/PeN ...expressed GR. ► On the other hand, only a few kisspeptin neurons in ARC expressed GR.
Kisspeptin, a neuropeptide encoded by Kiss1 gene, plays pivotal roles in the regulation of reproductive function. Recently various stressors and stress-induced molecules such as corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and corticosterone have been shown to inhibit Kiss1 expression in rat hypothalamus. To determine whether CRH and glucocorticoids directly act on kisspeptin neurons, we examined the colocalization of CRH receptor (CRH-R) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in kisspeptin neurons in the female rat hypothalamus. Double-labeling immunohistochemistry revealed that most kisspeptin neurons in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus and periventricular nucleus continuum (AVPV/PeN), and arcuate nucleus (ARC) expressed CRH-R. We also observed a few close appositions of CRH immunoreactive fibers on some of kisspeptin neurons in AVPV/PeN and ARC. On the other hand, most kisspeptin neurons in AVPV/PeN expressed GR, whereas only a few of kisspeptin neurons in ARC expressed GR.
Altogether, our study provides neuroanatomical evidence of the direct modulation of kisspeptin neurons by CRH and glucocorticoids and suggests that stress-induced CRH and glucocorticoids inhibit gonadotropin secretion via the kisspeptin system.
Elevation of intracellular Ca2+ concentration (Ca2+i) activates Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinases (CaMK) and promotes gene transcription. This signaling pathway is referred to as ...excitation–transcription (E-T) coupling. Although vascular myocytes can exhibit E-T coupling, the molecular mechanisms and physiological/pathological roles are unknown. Multiscale analysis spanning from single molecules to whole organisms has revealed essential steps in mouse vascular myocyte E-T coupling. Upon a depolarizing stimulus, Ca2+ influx through Cav1.2 voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels activates CaMKK2 and CaMK1a, resulting in intranuclear CREB phosphorylation. Within caveolae, the formation of a molecular complex of Cav1.2/CaMKK2/CaMK1a is promoted in vascular myocytes. Live imaging using a genetically encoded Ca2+ indicator revealed direct activation of CaMKK2 by Ca2+ influx through Cav1.2 localized to caveolae. CaMK1a is phosphorylated by CaMKK2 at caveolae and translocated to the nucleus upon membrane depolarization. In addition, sustained depolarization of a mesenteric artery preparation induced genes related to chemotaxis, leukocyte adhesion, and inflammation, and these changes were reversed by inhibitors of Cav1.2, CaMKK2, and CaMK, or disruption of caveolae. In the context of pathophysiology, when the mesenteric artery was loaded by high pressure in vivo, we observed CREB phosphorylation in myocytes, macrophage accumulation at adventitia, and an increase in thickness and cross-sectional area of the tunica media. These changes were reduced in caveolin1-knockout mice or in mice treated with the CaMKK2 inhibitor STO609. In summary, E-T coupling depends on Cav1.2/CaMKK2/CaMK1a localized to caveolae, and this complex converts Ca2+i changes into gene transcription. This ultimately leads to macrophage accumulation and media remodeling for adaptation to increased circumferential stretch.
We examined the relationship between pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) test scores and elementary school teachers’ psychological variables, conceptions of teaching and learning and test utilization ...strategy, for mathematics. Through a web-based survey, participants responded to a six-item descriptive PCK test and to inventories of conceptions of teaching and learning and test utilization strategy. Data from 297 elementary school teachers were analyzed for associations with PCK scores. The results showed that constructivist conceptions and test utilization strategy were positively correlated with PCK test scores, and traditional conceptions were negatively correlated. In addition, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that traditional conception and test utilization strategy each showed unique associations with the PCK test. These results suggest the importance of teachers’ beliefs and test utilization strategies as related variables of teachers’ PCK.
•Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) during lactation induced early puberty onset.•Maternal HFD increased Kiss1 expression in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) at weaning.•HFD female pups showed increases in ...adipocyte size and serum leptin levels.•Prepubertal leptin administration had no effect on Kiss1 expression at weaning.•An early increase in Kiss1 expression in the ARC might accelerate puberty onset.
Nutrition has significant influences on the development of reproductive functions. Post-weaning manipulation of nutritional status has been shown to alter puberty onset accompanied by changes in the expression of kisspeptin, a neuropeptide encoded by the Kiss1 gene which plays important roles in pubertal development. However, information about the influence of overnutrition during early development is sparse. In this study, we examined pubertal development and Kiss1 mRNA expression in female pups reared by dams fed a high-fat diet (HFD) during lactation. Maternal HFD significantly increased body weight and accelerated puberty onset of female offspring. The number of Kiss1-expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) at weaning was significantly greater in pups of HFD-fed dams than in pups of dams fed a normal diet (ND), whereas no significant difference was observed in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus, the other Kiss1-expressing nucleus. Because adipocyte size and serum leptin level were increased in HFD offspring, we examined the effects of exogenous leptin during the pre-weaning period on Kiss1 expression. Unexpectedly, exogenous leptin had no effect on Kiss1 expression. In summary, we demonstrate that a maternal HFD during the early postnatal period induces increased Kiss1 expression in the ARC and early puberty onset in female offspring.
Purpose The purpose of the current study was to reveal the association between posture control and muscle activity by measuring the trunk and hip joint muscle activities in the upright and slump ...sitting positions in both the healthy participants and patients with recurrent lower back pain. Participants and Methods We recruited eleven patients of recurrent lower back pain and ten healthy participants. During the maintenance of the two types of posture, upright and slump, we collected the surface electromyography data. We assessed the following muscles: rectus abdominis, external oblique, thoracic erector spinae, lumbar erector spinae, internal oblique, lumbar multifidus, iliacus, serratus anterior, rectus femoris, tensor fascia latae, and gluteus maximus. We studied the differences in spinal–pelvic curvature and muscle activity between the upright and slump positions in each group. Results In the healthy group, comparison of the muscle activity in upright and slump positions for both the trunk (external oblique, internal oblique, lumbar erector spinae, and lumbar multifidus), and the hip muscles (iliacus and gluteus maximus) showed a significant decrease in activity in the slump position. In the group with recurrent lower back pain, although the external oblique, lumbar erector spinae and lumbar multifidus showed reduced activity in slump position, these values were smaller when compared to those in the healthy group. Conclusion This study aimed to clarify the relationship between posture (upright and slump) and the activity of the trunk and hip joint muscles in the healthy participants and the patients with recurrent lower back pain. The results indicated that postural changes caused by recurrent lower back pain significantly affected the activity of the muscles involved in controlling the posture.
Kisspeptin is a family of neuropeptides and the natural ligands of G protein-coupled receptor (GPR)-54. Kisspeptin/GPR-54 system is known to play a pivotal role in puberty onset and in the regulation ...of reproductive functions. To clarify the postnatal ontogeny of kisspeptin neurons in rat hypothalamus, we analyzed the expression patterns of kisspeptin mRNA from neonate to adult by in situ hybridization. In anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), kisspeptin mRNA were first detected at postnatal day (PND) 7 and postnatal week 3 in males and females, respectively, and the number of kisspeptin mRNA-expressing neurons increased during development in both sexes. In the arcuate nucleus (ARC), kisspeptin mRNA was present from PND3. In males, the number of kisspeptin mRNA-expressing neurons gradually increased during development. In females, the number of kisspeptin mRNA-expressing neurons in neonates was greater than in males; it significantly decreased at juvenile stages and then increased toward adulthood. These results indicate that the increase in kisspeptin mRNA expression in ARC across puberty might be involved in the onset of puberty. We also demonstrate that the kisspeptin mRNA-expressing neurons in ARC appear earlier than those in AVPV and show clear sex differences in their numbers during neonatal period.
In this study, organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on blend films comprising 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS pentacene) and polystyrene (PS) were fabricated. The blend ...films were prepared by electrostatic spray deposition (ESD). A vertically phase-separated structure (TIPS pentacene (top)/PS (bottom)) can be spontaneously formed without additional treatments such as solvent-vapor annealing, which is significantly different from the blend with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Due to the sharp phase-separated interface, OFETs based on the TIPS pentacene/PS blend films exhibited superior characteristics and operational stability.
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•Blend films comprising TIPS pentacene and PS were prepared by ESD.•Vertical phase-separation was spontaneously induced without additional treatments.•OFETs based on TIPS pentacene/PS blend films were fabricated.•OFETs with the sharp phase-separated interface exhibited superior characteristics.
The effect of Reynolds number on flow behaviors and pressure drag around axisymmetric conical boattails was experimentally investigated at low-speed conditions. Four conical boattails with slant ...angles of 12°, 16°, 20°, and 22° were studied. The Reynolds number ranged from 4.34 × 10
4
to 8.89 × 10
4
based on the model diameter. The global-luminescent-oil-film skin-friction measurement was employed to analyze the surface skin-friction topology. Quantitative skin-friction values at the centerline were obtained in this study. The results show that a separation bubble can be formed on boattail surfaces at angles from 12° to 20°. However, at a boattail angle of 22°, flow is fully separated near the boattail shoulder. The integrated afterbody pressure drag indicated that, at angles of 12°, 16°, and 22°, the Reynolds number has very small effect on the afterbody drag, while, at 20° the drag coefficient decrease was relatively large with increasing Reynolds number. We believe that this study provided the first results for a boattail angle of 20° and we observed that the size of the separation bubble decreased as the Reynolds number increased. The effect of the separation bubble on the pressure distribution was also examined in detail.
Graphical abstract
Abstract The understanding of supramolecular chirality in self‐assembled molecular networks (SAMNs) on surfaces generates a lot of interest because of its relation to the production of chiral ...sensors, reactors, and catalysts. We herein report the adsorption of a prochiral solvent molecule in porous SAMNs formed by a chiral dehydrobenzo12annulene (cDBA) derivative. Through the prochirality recognition of a solvent molecule, the supramolecular chirality of the SAMN is switched: the cDBA exclusively forms a counter‐clockwise pore through co‐adsorption of the solvent molecule in prochiral 1,2,4‐trichlorobenzene, while in 1‐phenyloctane it produces the opposite chiral, clockwise pore. The prochirality recognition of the solvent molecule in the chiral SAMN pores is attributed to the adaptable conformational changes of the chiral chains of the cDBA molecule.
Herein, a science‐based uranium and plutonium mixed oxide (MOX) property model is derived for determining the properties of MOX fuel and analyzing their performance as functions of Pu content, ...minor‐actinide content, oxygen‐to‐metal ratio, and temperature. The property model is constructed by evaluating the effect of phonons and electronic defects on the heat capacity and thermal conductivity of MOX fuels. The effect of phonons was evaluated based on experimental datasets related to lattice parameters, thermal expansion, and sound speeds. Moreover, the effect of electronic defects was determined by analyzing oxygen‐potential data based on defect chemistry. Furthermore, the model evaluated the effect of the Bredig transition on the thermal properties of MOX fuel by analyzing the irradiation test results. The derived property model is applied to the performance code to analyze fast reactor fuel pins.
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