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学童期における運動出力のグレーディング能力の発達特性
No full textThis study aimed to elucidate the characteristics for motor control ability of gripping, jumping, and throwing in late childhood. First, 10‒year‒old boys and girls were instructed to perform three movements, i.e., gripping, standing long jumping, and throwing with maximal effort (maximum task), and subsequently, with 50％ subjective effort (half task). Participants' force (gripping) and actual distances (jumping and throwing) were recorded and analyzed. The relative values of the half task were calculated based on the maximum task, and the constant and absolute errors from the target value (50％) were evaluated. We compared the movements (gripping, jumping, and throwing) and sex of the children (boys and girls).
The relative values of the half task undershot the target level in all movements regardless of sex. Absolute errors values were high for jumping, throwing, and gripping in boys; on the other hand, these values in girls were higher for jumping than for gripping and throwing. Between boys and girls, constant errors in gripping and throwing were negatively greater in girls than in boys, and absolute errors in throwing were greater in girls than in boys. Moreover, there was no relationship between the values of maximum task and errors of half task in all movements in both boys and girls. In conclusion, the motor control ability showed different characteristics in each movement and was not related to motor ability with maximal effort in 10‒year‒old boys and girls.journal articl
Egg pattern mimicry in avian brood parasitism assessed using local image descriptors and human-eyes
No full textEgg pattern plays a critical role in avian brood parasitism where a brood parasite exploits a host's parental care by laying eggs in host nests relying on the host to rear the parasitic egg(s). It has been demonstrated that many hosts have evolved an ability to recognize and reject parasitic eggs, based on differences in egg patterns, as a defense against brood parasitism, while some parasites have evolved egg mimicry to counter the host defense. Egg pattern is a complex phenotype and its quantitative evaluation has been a focus of much research. In this paper, we propose a novel method for quantifying an egg pattern and assessing the degree of egg pattern mimicry—a measure of the similarity of a parasite egg to host eggs. Our approach is based on image analysis focused on local binary pattern (LBP) and its variant completed local binary pattern (CLBP) that captures the local structure of a pattern in an image. We compare the results obtained by LBP and CLBP with human-eye evaluation, a classical method widely used in previous studies. Both LBP and CLBP can successfully assess the similarity in egg pattern that is positively correlated with human-eye scores with a high accuracy rate. LBP tends to perform better than CLBP at small scales while CLBP performs better for a wide range of larger scales. Our method can be an effective alternative means of assessing the degree of egg pattern mimicry objectively, providing a useful tool for biologists studying avian brood parasitism. Many bird species have specific eggshell patterns (e.g. spots, blotches, lines) and it has been suggested that these patterns are an important functional trait, such as for camouflage against predators. We propose our method as a useful and objective tool for assessing egg patterns.journal articl
Encouraging probiotics for the prevention and treatment of immune-related adverse events in novel immunotherapies against malignant glioma
No full textAmong the malignant tumors in the central nervous system (CNS), glioma is the most challenging tumor to the public society, which accounts for the majority of intracranial malignant tumors with impaired brain function. In general, conventional therapies are still unable to provide an effective cure. However, novel immunotherapies have changed the treatment scene giving patients a greater potential to attain long term survival, improved quality of life. Having shown favorable results in solid tumors, those therapies are now at a cancer research hotspot, which could even shrink the growth of glioma cells without causing severe complications. However, it is important to recognize that the therapy may be occasionally associated with noteworthy adverse action called immune-related adverse events (IRAEs) which have emerged as a potential limitation of the therapy. Multiple classes of mediators have been developed to enhance the ability of immune system to target malignant tumors including glioma but may also be associated with the IRAEs. In addition, it is probable that it would take long time after the therapy to exhibit severe immune-related disorders. Gut microbiota could play an integral role in optimal immune development and/or appropriate function for the cancer therapy, which is a vital component of the multidirectional communication between immune system, brain, and gut, also known as gut-brain-immune axis. Here, we show the potential effects of the gut-brain-immune axis based on an “engram theory” for the innovative treatment of IRAEs.journal articl
Estradiol replacement improves high‐fat diet‐induced insulin resistance in ovariectomized rats
No full textThe role of 17β-estradiol (E2) in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced alteration of the protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathway in ovariectomized (OVX) rats is unclear. Therefore, we examined whether chronic estrogen replacement restores HFD-induced impairment in insulin sensitivity by its effects concomitant with alterations in the Akt isoform 2 (Akt2) and Akt substrate of 160 kDa (AS160) phosphorylation in muscles of OVX rats. Nine-week-old female Wistar rats underwent ovariectomy under anesthesia; after 4 weeks, subcutaneous implantation of either E2 or placebo (PL) pellets was performed, and HFD feeding was initiated. Intravenous glucose tolerance tests were performed to assess insulin sensitivity. Following insulin injection into rats’ portal vein, the liver and gastrocnemius muscle were dissected for insulin signaling analysis. We observed that HFD increased energy intake and body weight in the PL group; however, it was temporarily decreased in the E2 group. Adipose tissue accumulation was larger in HFD-fed rats than in normal chow diet (NCD)-fed rats in the PL group; however, this difference was not observed in the E2 group. HFD reduced insulin sensitivity in the PL group only. In vivo insulin stimulation increased Akt2 phosphorylation in the muscles of NCD-fed rats in both groups. In contrast, HFD affected insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt2 and AS160 in the muscles of rats in the PL group but not in the E2 group. Our data suggest that E2 replacement improves HFD-induced insulin resistance, and this effect is accompanied by the alterations in the Akt2 and AS160 phosphorylation in insulin-stimulated muscles of OVX rats.journal articl
Umbelliferose Isolated from Cuminum cyminum L. Seeds Inhibits Antigen-Induced Degranulation in Rat Basophilic Leukemia RBL-2H3 Cells
No full textCuminum cyminum L. (cumin) is an annual plant of the Umbelliferae family native to Egypt. We previously showed that the aqueous extract of cumin seeds suppresses degranulation by downregulating the activation of antigen-induced intracellular signaling molecules in rat basophilic leukemia RBL-2H3 cells. However, the active substances in the extract have not yet been identified. Accordingly, herein, we aimed to ascertain the water-soluble substances present in cumin seeds that inhibit degranulation, which led to the identification of umbelliferose, a characteristic trisaccharide present in plants of the Umbelliferae family. Our study is the first to reveal the degranulation-suppressing activity of umbelliferose, and quantification studies suggest that cumin seed powder contains 1.6% umbelliferose. Raffinose, an isomer of umbelliferose, was also found to significantly suppress antigen-induced degranulation, but less so than umbelliferose. Both umbelliferose and raffinose contain sucrose subunits in their structures, with galactose moieties bound at different sites. These differences in structure suggest that the binding of galactose to the sucrose subunit at the α1-2 bond contributes to its strong degranulation-inhibiting properties.journal articl
Aspects of psychosocial stressors in wintering-over at Japanese Antarctic station
No full text本稿では，南極探検を行った第一世代，南極観測を
開始し厳しい住環境の中で活動を続けてきた第二世
代，快適な住環境下で観測活動を続ける第三世代の南
極での越冬生活における心理社会的ストレスの諸相に
ついて，各世代の日本の越冬隊経験者による手記を基
に考察した。第三世代に特徴的なものとして，「対人
ストレスの比重の大きさ」，「人間関係の近さからくる
慣れや甘え」，「単調な日常の閉そく感」を指摘し，各
世代に共通するストレスを，「隊内の人間関係の摩擦」
「固定された集団の閉鎖性」「対外的な摩擦」「孤立の
ストレス」「個人内に生じる変調」に大別して提示した。
特に，越冬生活における「受け入れがたい価値観との
共存」や「人の気も知らないで」というネガティヴ感
情の言語化と，「些細な対人ストレスの日常的反復」
という構造的な側面への指摘は，長期閉鎖環境におけ
る心理社会的ストレスを考えるうえで有用な視点と考
えられた。journal articl
