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Anti-tumor Effects of ErlotinibviaThymidylate Synthase Down-regulation in Pancreatic Cancer Cells
Full text linkBackground/Aim: In pancreatic cancer, gemcitabine and EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) are common chemotherapy options. Reports have shown that EGFR-TKIs suppress the expression of thymidine synthase (TS), an important enzyme for DNA biosynthesis, and increase sensitivity to gemcitabine in lung cancer. However, no such reports have been made in pancreatic cancer. Materials and Methods: Human pancreatic cancer cell lines MiaPaCa2, Panc1, and BxPc3 were used. TS mRNA and protein expression levels in the cells were analyzed after erlotinib treatment. In addition, the anti- tumor effect of TS knockdown was verified using TS siRNA, along with its synergistic effect when combined with gemcitabine. Results: TS expression was high in MiaPaCa2 and Panc1 cells and low in BxPc3 cells. After erlotinib treatment, TS mRNA and protein levels decreased markedly in MiaPaCa2 cells dose-dependently, but not in Panc1 cells. TS siRNA caused specific down-regulation of TS in MiaPaCa2 and Panc1 cells. TS down-regulation resulted in an anti-tumor effect in these cells (MiaPaCa2 42%; Panc1 38%; p<0.05), showing a synergistic effect when combined with gemcitabine. Conclusion: Erlotinib could have a synergistic anti-tumor effect when combined with gemcitabine via down-regulation of TS expression.Anticancer Research, 45(2), pp.503-510; 2025journal articl
The Costs of Living Side-by-Side with Monkeys: Economic Impacts on Commercial Farms and Property by Toque Macaques and Proposed Deterrent Strategies in a Rural Agriculture Area of Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka
Full text linkAs the human population has grown and expanded, increasing pressure is being put on natural habitats in Sri Lanka. This situation has led to a noticeable increase in human–primate conflicts. To understand the situation, we studied the interactions between humans and macaques in three administrative divisions of the Kurunegala District. Data was gathered from 875 informants through interviewer-administered questionnaires between 2020 and 2022. The monthly economic loss by commercial farmers due to macaque damage to fruits and vegetables doubled by 2022, amounting to approximately 5000 LKR. In non-fruiting seasons, losses from coconut damage increased, ranging from 3000 to 14,000 LKR/month, decreasing by over 50% during fruiting seasons. Property damage per household averaged between 850~4000 LKR/month. A cost of approximately 1200~3000 LKR was borne per household/month to deter monkeys from the fields. Macaques were the primary culprits for crop damage in this area, and were also responsible for property damage, surpassing that of other animals. The consensus among the community is that either relocating macaques to other forested areas or sterilizing them to control their population could mitigate the issue to some extent. An integrated management plan involving relevant stakeholders including the Forest Department, the Wildlife Conservation Department, the local agricultural agency, and local citizens is necessary to address the conflict arising from human–macaque crop utilization.Animals, 15(3), art. no. 366; 2025journal articl
An Osteoblast-Specific Enhancer and Subenhancer Cooperatively Regulate Runx2 Expression in Chondrocytes
Full text linkRunx2 is an essential transcription factor for osteoblast differentiation and chondrocyte maturation. The spatiotemporal expression of Runx2 is regulated by enhancers. We previously identified a 1.3 kb osteoblast-specific enhancer; however, mice with this deletion showed no phenotypes. A 0.8 kb conserved region detected near the 1.3 kb enhancer did not exhibit enhancer activity in reporter assays, whereas four tandem repeats of 452 bp (452 × 4) containing the most conserved region of 0.8 kb induced strong reporter activity in chondrocyte cell lines. However, chondrocytes of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) reporter mice using 452 × 4 did not express EGFP. When 452 × 4 was combined with the 1.3 kb enhancer, hypertrophic chondrocytes highly expressed EGFP. Moreover, the 0.8 kb region combined with the 1.3 kb enhancer induced EGFP expression in prehypertrophic and hypertrophic chondrocytes. The deletion of both the 1.3 kb enhancer and the 0.8 kb conserved region slightly reduced Runx2 expression in the limbs. However, neither homozygous nor heterozygous deletions in the Runx2+/− background showed phenotypes. The 0.8 kb conserved region itself lacked enhancer activity, but when combined with the 1.3 kb enhancer, EGFP expression was induced in chondrocytes with a similar expression pattern to Runx2. Therefore, the 0.8 kb conserved region has a novel function as a subenhancer.International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(4), art. no. 1653; 2025journal articl
Effects of Irregular Bathymetry on the Performance and Wake Characteristics of Tidal Stream Turbines: A Case Study of a Tidal Power Site
Full text linkTidal energy has emerged as a promising renewable energy source, with abundant marine resources available in many parts of the world. To exploit this resource efficiently, reliable and computationally efficient methods are required to analyze energy yields from tidal arrays in real sites worldwide. This paper investigates the impact of irregular-bathymetry seabed elements near a tidal turbine location on the turbine’s performance and wake. A high-resolution three-dimensional bathymetry model was created, and full-scale unsteady simulations were performed using the ANSYS-Fluent computational fluid dynamics tool and the Shear Stress Turbulence (SST) model for two cases: one with the site bathymetry and one with a flat seabed. Compared to the flatbed case, the results show a 1.84% increase in the average turbine power output for the site-bathymetry case. A 4.1% increase in average wake recovery rate was observed near the hill-like seabed features from 3D to 7D downstream from the turbine, followed by 11% reduction in wake recovery rate over the bathymetry slope from 9D downstream from the turbine. The findings of this study highlight the implications of bathymetry-generated effects in optimal site selection and tidal energy farm design.Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology, 39(1), pp.82-91; 2025journal articl
免疫複合体解析による病態関連タンパク質の同定
Full text link第9回長崎大学未来に羽ばたく女性研究者賞受賞者 研究展望長崎大学ダイバーシティ推進センター研究紀要, 3, pp.45-48; 2025departmental bulletin pape
Analysis of an English as a Foreign Language Lesson Using Social Cognitive Theory-A Case Study
Full text linkThis paper presents a case study of the effectiveness of an English as a Foreign Language lesson from the perspective of Bandura’s social cognitive theory, with particular emphasis on students’ perceived self-efficacy and adaptive emotions related to listening tasks. The teacher’s lesson structure, use of language and instructions, and interactions with students were analysed to assess their likelihood of fostering or inhibiting self-efficacy, and of encouraging or discouraging positive activating emotions in the students. Research has shown self-efficacy to be positively correlated with success in second language acquisition, and positive emotions such as enjoyment have been linked to higher proficiency in language learning. As such, development of students’ self-efficacy and promotion of positive emotions are considered as important elements of an effective EFL lesson. Observation of the lesson showed the implementation of pedagogical devices thought to promote self-efficacy in students: guided mastery experiences, opportunities for vicarious learning from similar models, and a learning strategy. In addition, the teacher’s conscientious use of pair and small-group work, humour, and positive feedback are likely to have encouraged a positive emotional experience for the students.多文化社会研究, 11, pp.371-380; 2025departmental bulletin pape
『ドゥーフ・ハルマ』の初稿および『和蘭字彙』のE項目の対照翻刻（上）
Full text link多文化社会研究, 11, pp.381-457; 2025departmental bulletin pape
马来西亚百年行团初创时期的教育贡献
Full text link马来西亚华人行业总会（原名为行团，1919年３月24日创立。简称行总）是马来西亚最大的商业团体联合会，至2024年６月共有134个合法华人商业社团加入。同时也是马来西亚唯一创办并拥有国民型华文小学，即吉隆坡燕美国民型华文小学（创立于1925年６月１日，其先后的名称有“华侨夜学校”“吉隆坡华侨小学”以及“吉隆坡燕美律国民型华文小学”）的商业社团组织。本文通过收集及阅读吉隆坡唯一的华文报刊“益群日报”（1919年３月至1929年12月31日出版），马来联邦法定“宪报”（1914年，1916年，1917年，1920年，1921年，1922年，1923年，1924及1925年出版）和“侨声日报”（1912年７月至1913年３月出版），整理1919年至1925年，从行总成立时的“18行团”演变到“32行团”的各种活动，发现除了创立华侨夜学校以外，也成为雪兰莪及彭亨数间华文小学的提议人及赞助人。行团创立期间正值中华民国初期社会动荡年代，能在吉隆坡这个新兴城市参与多家华文小学的建设和筹募发展经费难能可贵。本报告将根据第一手资料中整理出的史实，探讨行团创立初期参与多家华文学校的发展，发现行团在教育贡献盛大并且获得当时吉隆坡华人社会的认同。多文化社会研究, 11, pp.213-229; 2025departmental bulletin pape
The association between 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline for hypertension and neonatal outcomes in Kenya: a retrospective study
Full text linkBackground: Hypertension in pregnancy serves to screen for adverse perinatal outcomes. In 2017, the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recommended a new blood pressure category with lower hypertension thresholds, excluding pregnancy. This study aimed to explore the association between the 2017 redefined blood pressure categories in pregnancy and neonatal outcomes such as preterm birth and low birth weight. Methods: This retrospective study used electronic records of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook registered by the Women and Infant Registration System. All women who had at least one antenatal care visit and delivery between January 2017 and April 2020 and between May and December 2022 were included in the study. A birth of less than 37 weeks was defined as preterm delivery. LBW was identified based on a newborn’s birthweight of less than 2500 g. The maximum blood pressure across all antenatal care visits was classified based on the newly recommended criteria. A generalized linear model with binomial distribution and logit link function was used to evaluate the association between new blood pressure categories and neonatal outcomes at different levels of health facilities. Results: We analyzed data from 825 women. Of these, the prevalence was 13.7% for elevated blood pressure, 15.2% for stage 1 hypertension, 4.5% for non-severe stage 2 hypertension and 1.2% for severe stage 2 hypertension. For lower-level facilities, no significant associations were identified between the redefined blood pressure category and preterm birth or low birthweight. At higher-level facilities, preterm birth was only significantly associated with severe stage 2 hypertension (adjusted odds ratio:10.94; 95% confidence interval:1.08–110.93; P = 0.04) and low birthweight showed no association with the redefined category. Conclusion: This study revealed no association between redefined lower blood pressure threshold and preterm birth and low birthweight in under-resourced settings. However, previous studies in well-resourced countries with larger sample sizes also reported a significant association. Therefore, further investigations are required.Tropical Medicine and Health, 53(1), art. no. 41; 2025journal articl
The timing of astaxanthin feeding influences lipid accumulation in the livers of high-fat diet-induced mice
Full text linkFood-derived marine carotenoids, such as astaxanthin (AX), are known to prevent obesity and steatotic liver disease (SLD) induced by obesity, whereas the degree and effect of AX remain controversial. In this study, we focused on the effects of AX on SLD, particularly on the effects of different AX feeding timings. A high-fat diet (HFD) was administered to male C57BL/6J mice to induce SLD. To examine the effects of AX, mice were divided into two groups: a high-fat diet with AX administered during the active period (AXA) and a high-fat diet with AX administered during the inactive period (AXI), and they were fed for 12 weeks. Compared to the HFD and AXI groups, the AXA group showed lower liver weight and tended to improve lipid-related parameters impaired by the high-fat diet. However, there were no significant changes among the three groups in fasting blood glucose and insulin levels. Interestingly, the AXA group exhibited an improvement in high-fat diet-induced fatty liver, with a significantly lower hepatic neutral lipid content. Liver lipid metabolism enzymes containing clock genebinding sequences in their promoter regions were found to be involved in this process. These results suggest that the functional effects of AX depend on intake timing.本研究では，高脂肪食誘導性肥満に対する海洋性カロテノイド類アスタキサンチン（AX）の給餌タイミングについて検討した。AX活動期における給餌は非活動期給餌群と比較して，高脂肪食によって誘導される脂肪肝を改善し，肝臓中性脂肪を有意に減少させた。その原因の一つとして，遺伝子のプロモーター領域に時計遺伝子の結合配列を持つ肝臓中脂質代謝酵素が関与していることが考えられた。以上より，AXの機能性は摂取するタイミングによりその効果が発揮される可能性が示唆された。長崎大学水産学部研究報告, 105, pp.1-9; 2025departmental bulletin pape