Explore the vast range of titles available.

Intraperitoneal administration of hydrogen (H 2 )-containing saline inhibited neuronal cell death in ischemic stroke in a number of animal models, but it is unknown whether H 2 is absorbed from the abdominal cavity into the blood and reaches the brain. In this study, we investigated whether intraperitoneal administration of saline containing H 2 inhibits neuronal cell death caused by cerebral ischemia and measured the concentration of H 2 in the carotid artery and inferior vena cava (IVC). Gerbils were subjected to transient unilateral cerebral ischemia twice, and saline or H 2 -rich saline was administered intraperitoneally three or seven times every 12 hours. We evaluated the number of apoptotic cells in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex on day 3 and the number of viable neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex on day 7. In addition, a single dose of saline or H 2 -rich saline was administered intraperitoneally, and blood H 2 levels in the carotid artery and IVC were measured. On day 3 of ischemia/reperfusion, the number of neurons undergoing apoptosis in the cortex was significantly lower in the H 2 -rich saline group than in the saline group, and on day 7, the number of viable neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex was significantly higher in the H 2 -rich saline group. Intraperitoneal administration of H 2 -rich saline resulted in large increases in H 2 concentration in the IVC ranging from 0.00183 mg/L (0.114%) to 0.00725 mg/L (0.453%). In contrast, carotid H 2 concentrations remained in the range of 0.00008 mg/L (0.0049%) to 0.00023 (0.0146%). On average, H 2 concentrations in carotid artery were 0.04 times lower than in IVC. These results indicate that intraperitoneal administration of H 2 -rich saline significantly suppresses neuronal cell death after cerebral ischemia, even though H 2 hardly reaches the brain.

Background Polyarthritis (PA) is an inflammatory joint disease, sometimes with vague clinical signs. Hypothesis/Objective Examine the occurrence of PA in dogs with increased plasma C‐reactive protein (CRP) concentrations, gait‐related clinical signs, or both, and characterize the epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory findings in dogs with PA. Animals Eighty‐one dogs with increased plasma CRP concentrations, gait‐related clinical signs, or both. Methods Single institution, prospective study. The occurrence of PA was examined in dogs with increased plasma CRP concentrations, showing gait‐related clinical signs, or both. Information such as breed, age at diagnosis, sex, body weight, clinical signs, laboratory results, clinical diagnosis, treatment, and therapeutic response was determined for dogs with and without PA. Results Of 81 dogs, 20 (25%) were diagnosed with PA, representing 11 breeds. Sex distribution was 10 males and 10 females, with a median body weight of 5.4 kg and a median age of 13.8 years at diagnosis. Half of the cases exhibited gait‐related clinical signs. Thirteen dogs had reactive PA, seven had primary immune‐mediated PA, and none had infectious causes. The PA group had higher serum total calcium concentrations than the non‐PA group, and the recovery rate for PA was 90%. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Polyarthritis should be included in the differential diagnosis for all dogs with increased CRP concentrations, even those without gait‐related clinical signs. Synovial fluid testing is indicated for dogs with high CRP concentrations, even after treatment for underlying diseases, particularly if they are only displaying vague clinical signs.

Colloidal photonic crystals, which are three-dimensional periodic structures of monodisperse submicron-sized particles, are expected to be suitable for novel photonic applications and color materials. In particular, nonclose-packed colloidal photonic crystals immobilized in elastomers exhibit significant potential for use in tunable photonic applications and strain sensors that detect strain based on color change. This paper reports a practical method for preparing elastomer-immobilized nonclose-packed colloidal photonic crystal films with various uniform Bragg reflection colors using one kind of gel-immobilized nonclose-packed colloidal photonic crystal film. The degree of swelling was controlled by the mixing ratio of the precursor solutions, which used a mixture of solutions with high and low affinities for the gel film as the swelling solvent. This facilitated color tuning over a wide range, enabling the facile preparation of elastomer-immobilized nonclose-packed colloidal photonic crystal films with various uniform colors via subsequent photopolymerization. The present preparation method can contribute to the development of practical applications of elastomer-immobilized tunable colloidal photonic crystals and sensors.

Fluorescence microscopy enables the visualization of cellular morphology, molecular distribution, ion distribution, and their dynamic behaviors during biological processes. Enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in fluorescence imaging improves the quantification accuracy and spatial resolution; however, achieving high SNR at fast image acquisition rates, which is often required to observe cellular dynamics, still remains a challenge. In this study, we developed a technique to rapidly freeze biological cells in milliseconds during optical microscopy observation. Compared to chemical fixation, rapid freezing provides rapid immobilization of samples while more effectively preserving the morphology and conditions of cells. This technique combines the advantages of both live-cell and cryofixation microscopy, i.e., temporal dynamics and high SNR snapshots of selected moments, and is demonstrated by fluorescence and Raman microscopy with high spatial resolution and quantification under low temperature conditions. Furthermore, we also demonstrated that intracellular calcium dynamics can be frozen rapidly and visualized using fluorescent ion indicators, suggesting that ion distribution and conformation of the probe molecules can be fixed both spatially and temporally. These results confirmed that our technique can time-deterministically suspend and visualize cellular dynamics while preserving molecular and ionic states, indicating the potential to provide detailed insights into sample dynamics with improved spatial resolution and temporal accuracy in observations. Our cryo-optical microscopy rapidly freezes cells at an arbitrary timepoint during live imaging, enabling detailed observation of specific moments during dynamic events under cryogenic conditions.

Abstract Hypothalamic hamartomas (HHs) are rare, benign brain tumors or lesions of the hypothalamus that are predominantly identified in cases of epilepsy and central precocious puberty (CPP), whereas isolated manifestations of infantile obesity are atypical. We herein report an 8-month-old boy with severe obesity (Kaup index 26.4 [>100th percentile]) and uncontrollable hyperphagia. His growth chart demonstrated remarkable weight gain that exceeded the length gain in magnitude. Brain magnetic resonance imaging identified a lesion consistent with HH. There were no episodes or clinical findings of epilepsy, CPP, or Cushing disease. Hypothalamic obesity should be considered in the diagnosis even in infants with excessive weight gain due to overeating.

RNA-guided systems, such as CRISPR–Cas, combine programmable substrate recognition with enzymatic function, a combination that has been used advantageously to develop powerful molecular technologies 1 , 2 . Structural studies of these systems have illuminated how the RNA and protein jointly recognize and cleave their substrates, guiding rational engineering for further technology development 3 . Recent work identified a new class of RNA-guided systems, termed OMEGA, which include IscB, the likely ancestor of Cas9, and the nickase IsrB, a homologue of IscB lacking the HNH nuclease domain 4 . IsrB consists of only around 350 amino acids, but its small size is counterbalanced by a relatively large RNA guide (roughly 300-nt ωRNA). Here, we report the cryogenic-electron microscopy structure of Desulfovirgula thermocuniculi IsrB (DtIsrB) in complex with its cognate ωRNA and a target DNA. We find the overall structure of the IsrB protein shares a common scaffold with Cas9. In contrast to Cas9, however, which uses a recognition (REC) lobe to facilitate target selection, IsrB relies on its ωRNA, part of which forms an intricate ternary structure positioned analogously to REC. Structural analyses of IsrB and its ωRNA as well as comparisons to other RNA-guided systems highlight the functional interplay between protein and RNA, advancing our understanding of the biology and evolution of these diverse systems. The cryogenic-electron microscopy structure of the D. thermocuniculi IsrB protein in complex with its cognate ωRNA and a target DNA shows that the RNA-dominant IsrB effector complex shares a common scaffold with the protein-dominant Cas9 effector complex.

Data regarding expression levels of AHNAK2 in bladder cancer (BCa) have been very scarce. We retrospectively reviewed clinical data including clinicopathological features in 120 patients who underwent radical cystectomy (RC) for BCa. The expression levels of AHNAK2 in the specimens obtained by RC were classified as low expression (LE) or high expression (HE) by immunohistochemical staining. Statistical analyses were performed to compare associations between the two AHNAK2 expression patterns and the prognoses in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS). A Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients with HE had a significantly worse RFS and CSS than those with LE (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–2.98, p = 0.027 and HR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.08–3.38, p = 0.023, respectively). In a multivariate analysis, independent risk factors for worse RFS and CSS were shown as HE (HR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.08–3.53, p = 0.026 and HR: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.14–4.31, p = 0.019, respectively) and lymph node metastasis (HR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.09–3.84, p = 0.026 and HR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.25–4.97, p = 0.009, respectively). The present study showed that AHNAK2 acts as a novel prognostic biomarker in patients with RC for BCa.

In this study, all four stereoisomers of tryptoline or tetrahydro-β-carboline were synthesized in high yields by the catalyst-free amidation of methyl ester using methylamine under mild conditions. All isomers of the obtained amide and the precursor methyl ester were subjected to cell viability measurements on HeLa cells. The results indicated that the stereochemistry of the derivatives is clearly related to cell viability.