PurposeTo compare optical coherence tomographic angiography (OCTA) and indocyanine green angiography (ICGA) images for detecting polypoidal lesions (PLs) and branching vascular networks (BVNs), and ...to measure the polypoidal areas (PAs) in patients with polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV).MethodsAll patients underwent ICGA, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCTA. We compared the detection sensitivity for PL and BVN, as evaluated by the ICGA and OCTA images. Furthermore, PA measured by ICGA was divided into two groups: one in which the area could be measured by OCTA (ICGA
OCTA
) and the other in which the area could not be measured by OCTA (ICGA
OCTA
).ResultsTwenty-one consecutive eyes of 21 patients (mean age, 73.8±9.8 years) were included. ICGA detected PL in all eyes (100%), whereas OCTA detected PL in 16 eyes (75.2%); ICGA detected BVN in 15 eyes (71.4%), whereas OCTA detected BVN in 20 eyes (95.2%). The mean PA in ICGA
OCTA
and ICGA
OCTA
was 0.24±0.04 and 0.14±0.01 mm
, respectively; a significant difference was observed between ICGA
OCTA
PA and ICGA
OCTA
PA (P<0.0001). In addition, the mean PA in the ICGA
OCTA
group measured by ICGA and OCTA was 0.24±0.04 was 0.19±0.04 mm
, respectively; these values were significantly different (P=0.0046).ConclusionsOCTA might detect more BVNs and fewer PLs compared with ICGA, and PL detected by OCTA might be smaller than those detected by ICGA.
Defatted and heat-treated soybean meal (SBM) was fermented using compound bacteria predominantly
Bacillus spp. under two different fermentation conditions until the material temperature reached 80
...°C: initial water addition of 30% (fermented for 7
h, FSBM-1) and 45% (10
h, FSBM-2). A fish meal-based diet and three non-fish meal diets containing SBM, FSBM-1 or FSBM-2 each at a 47.6% level with a 21.0% level of corn gluten meal were fed to rainbow trout (initial BW, 14.7
g) for 10
weeks. The growth and feed efficiency ratio of fish fed SBM diet and FSBM-1 diet were inferior to those of fish fed FM diet and FSBM-2 diet. Lower digestibility values of carbohydrates and lipids, especially of polar lipids observed in fish fed SBM diet were improved by the fermentation (SBM
<
FSBM-1
=
FSBM-2). Biliary bile acid content, proportion of cholyltaurine in the biliary bile, and bile acid concentration in the intestinal digesta increased by the fermentation (SBM
<
FSBM-1
<
FSBM-2). Morphological abnormalities in the distal intestine observed in fish fed SBM diet were moderately improved in fish fed FSBM-1 diet and were not observed in fish fed FSBM-2 diet. Morphological abnormalities in the liver of fish fed SBM diet were also improved in both FSBM diet groups. These results indicate that fermentation of soybean meal under appropriate conditions is beneficial for preventing various physiological abnormalities that occur in rainbow trout fed soybean meal. We conclude that properly fermented soybean meal is a promising ingredient as the main protein source in a non-fish meal diet for rainbow trout.
Neutron reflectometry is a powerful method for investigating the surface and interfacial structures of materials in the spatial range from nanometers to sub-micrometers. At the Japan Proton ...Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), a high-intensity pulsed neutron beam is produced with a proton accelerator at 220kW, which will be upgraded to 1MW in future. Beamline 16 (BL16) at the Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) in J-PARC is dedicated to a horizontal-type reflectometer, and in this beamline, neutrons are transported downward at two different angles, 2.2
°
and 5.7
°
, relative to the horizontal. In December 2008, we started to accept the neutron beam at BL16 with the old ARISA reflectometer relocated from the KENS facility, KEK, Japan; and we have now replaced it with the brand-new reflectometer SOFIA (SOFt Interface Analyzer). With a high-flux beam and instrumental upgrade, the observable reflectivity of SOFIA reaches around 10
−7
within a few hours for specimens on 3” substrates. In this paper, we will present the design and performance of the SOFIA reflectometer, and discuss some preliminary results on the device development for further upgrade.
A molecular peptide beacon was designed for fluorescence detection of IgG in a homogeneous assay. pH-triggered detection of IgG was demonstrated using a fluorophore-labeled peptide that incorporated ...a binding site in the Fc region of IgG with a complementary quenching site.
This study investigated the effect of n-3 to n-6 fatty acid ratios in broodstock diets on reproduction and fatty acid composition of broodstock and eggs of the Japanese eel. Broodstock were fed with ...a commercial diet supplemented with various lipids for 3 months before induction of maturation. The supplemental lipids were prepared by a combination of corn oil and pollack oil (corn oil alone (CO); corn oil:pollack oil
=
1:1 (MX); pollack oil alone (PO)). Weight gain of broodstock during the feeding trial was slightly lower in fish fed PO compared to the other two groups, but the differences were not significant. Buoyant egg rate and fertilization rate in the CO group were higher than the other two groups. However, the lowest hatching rate was found in the CO group. Fatty acid composition of diets affected the composition of broodstock and egg fatty acids, in particular arachidonic acid (AA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels. Elevated levels of the corn oil supplementation significantly increased AA level and decreased EPA level in polar lipids. In contrast to AA and EPA, there was no notable effect of dietary lipids on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) level. The present study suggests that both n-3 and n-6 fatty acids are necessary for reproduction as well as growth of eel broodstock, and a higher ratio of n-6 to n-3 fatty acids negatively affected embryogenesis.
Ozone mixing ratios in the upper stratosphere, observed with a millimeter‐wave radiometer at Rikubetsu (43.46°N, 143.77°E), Japan, from November 1999 to February 2017 showed both interannual and ...seasonal variation, which was characterized by a winter maximum and a summer minimum. During the study period, the summer minima were nearly constant whereas the winter maxima varied interannually and also displayed short‐term variability. The observed ozone mixing ratios at 1 hPa were anticorrelated with temperature at 1 hPa from MERRA‐2 data. The slope of the relationship between the logarithm of ozone concentration and the reciprocal of temperature differed between winter data and both summer and annual data. Therefore, we inferred that both chemistry and dynamics affect short‐term variation of ozone mixing ratios in winter. We then examined the contribution of the polar vortex to interannual variations in ozone and temperature at 1 hPa. When the polar vortex was strong, wave number‐1 planetary waves at high latitude propagated toward the midlatitudes instead of vertically. The vertical component of the wave number‐1 Eliassen‐Palm flux along 43°N at 1 hPa was strongly correlated with zonal mean zonal wind along 60°N at 50 hPa. When the zonal mean westerly wind was strong in December, upper stratospheric (~1 hPa) temperatures over Rikubetsu and over a point on the opposite side of the globe (by longitude) were significantly lower and higher, respectively, than the climatological temperature. Thus, planetary wave propagation related to zonal mean westerly wind strength induced early winter interannual variation in upper stratospheric ozone in the midlatitudes.
Key Points
Upper stratospheric O3 measured by a millimeter‐wave radiometer at Rikubetsu, Japan showed large interannual variation in winter
Interannual variations in the wave flux at the latitude of Rikubetsu and Arctic polar vortex strength were analyzed using MERRA‐2 data
In strong vortex years, more wave flux comes from high latitudes to midlatitudes, which causes large O3 variation over Rikubetsu in winter
Two analytical methods for the evaluation of photocatalytic oxidation and reduction abilities were developed using a photocatalytic microreactor; one is product analysis and the other is reaction ...rate analysis. Two simple organic conversion reactions were selected for the oxidation and reduction. Since the reactions were one-to-one conversions from the reactant species to the product species, the product analysis was simply performed using gas chromatography, and the reactions were monitored in situ in the photocatalytic microreactor using the UV absorption spectra. The partial oxidation and reduction abilities for each functional group can be judged from the yield and selectivity, and the corresponding reaction rate, while the total oxidation ability can be judged from the conversion. We demonstrated the application of these methods for several kinds of visible light photocatalysts.
Background and purpose:
Protein transduction domains (PTDs), such as Tat, antennapedia homeoprotein (Antp), Rev and VP22, have been extensively utilized for intracellular delivery of biologically ...active macromolecules in vitro and in vivo. There is little known, however, about the relative transduction efficacy, cytotoxicity and internalization mechanism of individual PTDs.
Experimental approach:
We examined the cargo delivery efficacies of four major PTDs (Tat, Antp, Rev and VP22) and evaluated their toxicities and cell internalizing pathways in various cell lines.
Key results:
The relative order of the transduction efficacy of these PTDs conjugated to fluorescein was Rev>Antp>Tat>VP22, independent of cell type (HeLa, HaCaT, A431, Jurkat, MOLT‐4 and HL60 cells). Antp produced significant toxicity in HeLa and Jurkat cells, and Rev produced significant toxicity in Jurkat cells. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that the uptake of PTD–fluorescein conjugate was dose‐dependently inhibited by methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin, cytochalasin D and amiloride, indicating that all four PTDs were internalized by the macropinocytotic pathway. Accordingly, in cells co‐treated with ‘Tat‐fused’ endosome‐disruptive HA2 peptides (HA2‐Tat) and independent PTD‐fluorescent protein conjugates, fluorescence spread throughout the cytosol, indicating that all four PTDs were internalized into the same vesicles as Tat.
Conclusions and implications:
These findings suggest that macropinocytosis‐dependent internalization is a crucial step in PTD‐mediated molecular transduction. From the viewpoint of developing effective and safe protein transduction technology, although Tat was the most versatile carrier among the peptides studied, PTDs should be selected based on their individual characteristics.
British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 1143–1152; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707678; published online 28 January 2008
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