Daily Lifestyle and Inflammatory Skin Diseases

Throughout life, it is necessary to adapt to the Earth’s environment in order to survive. A typical example of this is that the daily Earth cycle is different from the circadian rhythm in human beings; however, the ability to adapt to the Earth cycle has contributed to the development of human evolution. In addition, humans can consume and digest Earth-derived foods and use luxury materials for nutrition and enrichment of their lives, as an adaptation to the Earth’s environment. Recent studies have shown that daily lifestyles are closely related to human health; however, less attention has been paid to the fact that obesity due to excessive energy intake, smoking, and alcohol consumption contributes to the development of inflammatory skin diseases. Gluten or wheat protein, smoking and alcohol, sleep disturbance, and obesity drive the helper T (Th)1/Th2/Th17 immune response, whereas dietary fiber and omega-3 fatty acids negatively regulate inflammatory cytokine production. In this review, we have focused on daily lifestyles and the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases.     

KRAS/BRAF Analysis in Ovarian Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma Having Synchronous All Pathological Precursor Regions

Ovarian low-grade serous carcinoma is thought to begin as a serous cystadenoma or adenofibroma that progresses in a slow stepwise fashion. Among the low-grade serous carcinomas, there is a high frequency of activating mutations in the KRAS or BRAF genes; however, it remains unclear as to how these mutations contribute to tumor progression. This is the first report to track the histopathological progression of serous adenofibroma to low-grade serous carcinoma. Each stage was individually analyzed by pathological and molecular genetic methods to determine what differences occur between the distinct stages of progression.     

Effects of fullerene C60 on the friction and wear characteristics of ceramics in ethanol

For the combinations of a pin of Si₃N₄ and five kinds of disk, the friction and wear test was carried out in ethanol, and in ethanol containing C₆₀ particles (1 wt%). A topographical analysis was also performed on the micro-asperities of the wear surfaces to estimate the behavior of C₆₀ particles, and the degree of surface damage. As a results, the following facts were found. (1) The addition of C₆₀ particles in ethanol decreased the wear rates of such ceramic disks as Al₂O₃, SiC and TiC and of the mating Si₃N₄ pins. (2) The addition of C₆₀ particles decreased the mean coefficient of friction for SiC, Si₃N₄, and TiC disks. (3) The wear rates of pin and disk depended on the topographies of worn surfaces such as the mean depth of micro-grooves, the mean tip radius of micro-asperities and so on.     

Comparison of the gel-forming ability and gel properties of α-lactalbumin,lysozyme and myoglobin in the presence of β-lactoglobulin under high pressure

α-Lactalbumin (α-La) and lysozyme (LZM) each contain four disulfide bonds but no free SH group, whereas myoglobin (Mb) possesses no disulfide bond or free SH group. In this work, the pressure-induced gelation of α-La, LZM and Mb in the absence and in the presence of β-lactoglobulin (β-Lg) was studied. Solutions of α-La, LZM and Mb (1–24%, w/v) did not form a gel when subjected to a pressure of 800 MPa and circular dichroism analysis revealed that both α-La and LZM are pressure-resistant proteins. In the presence of β-Lg (5%, w/v), however, a pressure-induced gel formed for α-La and LZM (each 15%, w/v) but not for Mb (15%, w/v). One- and two-dimensional SDS-PAGE demonstrated the disulfide cross-linking of proteins was responsible for the gelation. Although α-La and LZM are homologous and have the same disulfide bond arrangement, the texture and appearance of the gels formed from α-La/β-Lg and LZM/β-Lg were markedly different even when induced under the same experimental conditions. Microscopic analysis indicated that phase separation occurs during the gelation of LZM/β-Lg but not during the gelation of α-La/β-Lg. NMR relaxation measurement revealed that the association of water molecules with the protein matrix in the α-La/β-Lg gel is tighter compared to that in the LZM/β-Lg gel. These results indicate that the gel-forming ability of a globular protein under high pressure is related to the primary structure of the protein, and that the gel properties depend on the cross-linking reaction and on the phase behavior of protein dispersion under high pressure.     

Hypoxic Culture Maintains Cell Growth of the Primary Human Valve Interstitial Cells with Stemness

The characterization of aortic valve interstitial cells (VICs) cultured under optimal conditions is essential for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying aortic valve stenosis. Here, we propose 2% hypoxia as an optimum VIC culture condition. Leaflets harvested from patients with aortic valve regurgitation were digested using collagenase and VICs were cultured under the 2% hypoxic condition. A significant increase in VIC growth was observed in 2% hypoxia (hypo-VICs), compared to normoxia (normo-VICs). RNA-sequencing revealed that downregulation of oxidative stress-marker genes (such as superoxide dismutase) and upregulation of cell cycle accelerators (such as cyclins) occurred in hypo-VICs. Accumulation of reactive oxygen species was observed in normo-VICs, indicating that low oxygen tension can avoid oxidative stress with cell-cycle arrest. Further mRNA quantifications revealed significant upregulation of several mesenchymal and hematopoietic progenitor markers, including CD34, in hypo-VICs. The stemness of hypo-VICs was confirmed using osteoblast differentiation assays, indicating that hypoxic culture is beneficial for maintaining growth and stemness, as well as for avoiding senescence via oxidative stress. The availability of hypoxic culture was also demonstrated in the molecular screening using proteomics. Therefore, hypoxic culture can be helpful for the identification of therapeutic targets and the evaluation of VIC molecular functions in vitro.     

Two-dimensional “transXend” detector with band structure absorbers for third-generation energy-resolved computed tomography with improved spatial resolution

Energy-resolved computed tomography (CT) is a method that can generate multiple CT images reconstructed by the X-rays in specific energy ranges. We have previously discussed a lattice absorber type of X-ray detector for energy-resolved CT. We have now developed a band absorber type detector with the aim of improving spatial resolution. We compare spatial resolution and contrast-to-noise ratios for the two types of detectors.