Three-dimensional image analysis specifies the root distribution for drought avoidance in the early growth stage of rice.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Root system architecture (RSA) plays a key role in plant adaptation to drought because deep rooting enables better water uptake than shallow rooting under terminal drought. Understanding RSA during early plant development is essential for improving crop yields, as early drought can affect subsequent shoot growth. Herein, we demonstrate that root distribution in the topsoil significantly impacts shoot growth during the early stages of rice (Oryza sativa) development under drought, as assessed through three-dimensional (3D) image analysis. METHODS: We used 109 F12 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) obtained from a cross between shallow-rooting lowland rice and deep-rooting upland rice, representing a population with diverse RSA. We applied a moderate drought during the early development of rice grown in a plant pot (25 cm height) by stopping irrigation 14 days after sowing (DAS). Time-series RSA at 14, 21, and 28 DAS was visualized by X-ray computed tomography, and subsequently compared between drought and well-watered conditions. Following this analysis, we further investigated drought-avoidant RSA by testing 20 randomly selected RILs under drought conditions. KEY RESULTS: We inferred the root location that most influences shoot growth using a hierarchical Bayes approach: the root segment depth, which positively impacted shoot growth, ranged between 1.7-3.4 cm under drought conditions and between 0.0-1.7 cm under well-watered conditions. Drought-avoidant RILs had a higher root density in the lower layers of the topsoil compared to the others. CONCLUSIONS: Fine classification of soil layers using 3D image analysis revealed that increasing root density in the lower layers of the topsoil, rather than in the subsoil, is advantageous for drought avoidance during the early growth stage of rice.

Antimicrobial resistance patterns of Streptococcus uberis isolates from bovine milk in Chiba prefecture, Japan: association between multidrug resistance and clonal complex 996.

Streptococcus uberis is one of major pathogens causing bovine mastitis. However, there is poor information on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among the Japanese isolates. To provide treatment information for the mastitis caused by S. uberis in Japan, we aimed to clarify AMR patterns of the isolates from bovine milk mainly in Chiba. AMR phenotyping/genotyping [blaZ-erm(A)-erm(B)-mef(A)-linB-lnuD-tet(M)-tet(O)-tet(K)-tet(L)-tet(S)] and multilocus sequence typing were performed to analyze relationships between AMR patterns and clonal complexes (CCs). Resistance to tetracycline-, macrolide-, and lincosamide-classes was mainly associated with possession of tet(O), tet(S), erm(B), linB, and lnuD genes. CC996 was significantly associated with multidrug resistance (P<0.0001). These findings will aid Chiba farm animal clinics in treating bovine mastitis.

OsbZIP1 regulates phosphorus uptake and nitrogen utilization, contributing to improved yield.

Increasing nutrient uptake and use efficiency in plants can contribute to improved crop yields and reduce the demand for fertilizers in crop production. In this study, we characterized a rice mutant, 88n which showed long roots under low nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) conditions. Low expression levels of N transporter genes were observed in 88n root, and total N concentration in 88n shoots were decreased, however, C concentrations and shoot dry weight in 88n were comparable to that in WT. Therefore, 88n showed high nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE). mRNA accumulation of Pi transporter genes was higher in 88n roots, and Pi concentration and uptake activity were higher in 88n than in WT. Therefore, 88n also showed high phosphorus uptake efficiency (PUpE). Molecular genetic analysis revealed that the causal gene of 88n phenotypes was OsbZIP1, a monocot-specific ortholog of the A. thaliana bZIP transcription factor HY5. Similar to the hy5 mutant, chlorophyll content in roots was decreased and root angle was shallower in 88n than in WT. Finally, we tested the yield of 88n in paddy fields over 3 years because 88n mutant plants showed higher PUpE and NUtE activity and different root architecture at the seedling stage. 88n showed large panicles and increased panicle weight/plant. Taken together, a mutation in OsbZIP1 could contribute to improved crop yields.

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis with Atypical Clinical Morphology and Genetic Variants.

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is caused by pathogenic variants of the APC gene on the long arm of chromosome 5. An analysis showed an association between germline APC gene variants and clinical signs of FAP; however, attenuated FAP has also been reported in cases with pathogenic variants. In contrast, a phenotype of FAP with no APC germline pathogenic variant and with few signs has been reported. We herein report a 16-year-old girl in whom the presence of multiple large bowel cancers from a young age and several small bowel cancers reflected a carcinogenic tendency higher than that typical for FAP.

Serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein in monitoring disease activity and intestinal mucosal healing for biotherapy-naïve cases with ulcerative colitis.

Background and Aim: Serum leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein level has been reported to be a useful biomarker in assessing mucosal healing in patients undergoing biotherapy, where mucosal lesions caused by ulcerative colitis are difficult to assess endoscopically. However, no such reports have been reported in biotherapy-naïve cases. Methods: Sixty-eight patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) who were biotherapy-naïve at Kindai University Hospital between October 2021 and October 2022 were enrolled. We prospectively examined the correlation between leucine-rich alpha-2 glycoprotein (LRG), C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and Geboes scores with clinical endoscopic activity using the Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES). Results: Mucosal healing was achieved in 39 (57%) patients. Univariate analysis revealed that the factors associated with mucosal healing were LRG (P = 0.0024), CRP (P = 0.1078), ESR (P = 0.0372), and Geboes scores (P = 0.0075). Logistic regression analysis identified LRG and Geboes scores as independent factors associated with mucosal healing assessed using MES (P = 0.0431 for LRG and P = 0.0166 for Geboes scores). Conclusion: LRG was found to be the easiest marker to monitor disease activity and mucosal inflammation in UC patients with biotherapy-naïve cases, with a performance equivalent to that of Geboes scores.

Reactivity of γ-glutamyl-cysteine with intracellular and extracellular glutathione metabolic enzymes.

Gamma-glutamyl-cysteine (γ-EC) is a precursor of glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis. We investigated whether it functions as a substrate for three intracellular and one extracellular GSH metabolic enzymes, which mediate the antioxidant defence function of GSH. Among them, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) exhibited substrate specificity for γ-EC, whereas glutathione reductase did not. The specificities of γ-EC and its disulphide form to GGT were comparable to GSH and its oxidized form, GSSG respectively. These results indicate that they can supply GSH constituent amino acids, glutamate, cysteine and cystine through degradation by GGT. γ-EC may contribute valuable antioxidant defence properties as a food and cosmetic additive.

Co-cultivation of sake yeast and Kocuria isolates from the sake brewing process.

Kocuria isolates collected from the sake brewing process have inhabited the Narimasa Sake Brewery in Toyama, Japan. To investigate the effect of these actinobacterial isolates on the growth and metabolism of sake yeast, co-cultivation of sake yeast and Kocuria isolates was performed in a medium containing tryptone, glucose and yeast extract (TGY), and a solution containing koji (steamed rice covered with Aspergillus oryzae) and glucose. In the TGY medium, the ethanol concentration and the number of living cells of each microorganism were measured. In the koji solution, the concentrations of ethanol and organic acids (citric acid, lactic acid and succinic acid) were measured. The results showed that in TGY media, the growth of each Kocuria isolate in the co-culture of the two Kocuria isolates was similar to that in each monoculture. However, the growth of both Kocuria isolates was inhibited in the co-cultures of sake yeast and Kocuria isolates. On the other hand, the growth and ethanol productivity of sake yeast did not differ between its monoculture and co-cultures with Kocuria isolates. In the koji solution, Kocuria isolates TGY1120_3 and TGY1127_2 affected the concentrations of ethanol and lactic acid, respectively. Thus, Kocuria isolates affected the microbial metabolism, but the effects were not identical between the two isolates. This strongly suggests that bacteria inhabiting a sake brewery may influence the flavor and taste of sake products of the brewery.

Population pharmacokinetics of tacrolimus in umbilical cord blood transplant patients focusing on the variation in red blood cell counts.

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE: The distribution of tacrolimus (TAC), an immunosuppressant used during cord blood transplantation (CBT)-one of the haematopoietic stem cell transplantations, to red blood cell (RBC) is approximately 90% in whole blood. In CBT patients, the total RBC count shows dramatic fluctuation due to conditioning before transplantation, including anticancer agents and total body irradiation, as well as RBC transfusions during the treatment period. Therefore, the amount of TAC in whole blood may show wide variation. However, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of TAC has been performed based on the whole blood concentration. In this study, to contribute to TDM of TAC in CBT, we performed the population pharmacokinetic (PPK) analysis of TAC in 56 CBT patients and investigated the factors that affected the concentration of TAC, focusing the variation of RBC count. METHOD: A one-compartment model was applied to the observed whole blood TAC concentrations, and a PPK analysis was conducted with a non-linear mixed effect model. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Our final PPK model indicated good robustness and accuracy. In addition, haemoglobin (Hb) level was an influential covariate on Vd, which was expressed as Vd(L) = 91.4 × (Hb/8.2)(-1.07) . WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION: In this study, our results showed the necessity for the Hb level monitoring during TDM of TAC in CBT patients and provided useful information for improving TDM strategy of TAC.

Recurrent abdominal pain caused by nephroptosis.

Nephroptosis is a benign disorder defined as a significant descent of the affected kidney as the patient moves from supine to erect. Patients with nephroptosis sometimes manifest symptoms including abdominal pain, back pain, nausea and hematuria, while the majority of those are asymptomatic. Downward migration of the affected kidney induced by a postural change from the supine to the upright position underlies the pathophysiology of nephroptosis. The diagnosis of nephroptosis is difficult since routine imaging examinations are conducted in the supine position alone. Here, we report a case presenting recurrent abdominal pain due to unknown causes. This patient was successfully diagnosed as nephroptosis by ultrasonography and drip infusion pyelography, both of which were performed in both supine and upright positions. This case report strongly suggests that we need to take into consideration a possibility of nephroptosis when we encounter with patients complaining abdominal and/or back pain due to unknown causes.

Correction: Capacity for survival in global warming: Adaptation of mesophiles to the temperature upper limit.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215614.].

Capacity for survival in global warming: Adaptation of mesophiles to the temperature upper limit.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommends keeping the increase in temperature to less than a two-degree increase by the end of the century, but the direct impact of global warming on ecosystems including microbes has not been investigated. Here we performed thermal adaptation of two species and three strains of mesophilic microbes for improvement of the survival upper limit of temperature, and the improvement was evaluated by a newly developed method. To understand the limitation and variation of thermal adaptation, experiments with mutators and by multiple cultures were performed. The results of experiments including genome sequencing and analysis of the characteristics of mutants suggest that these microbes bear a genomic potential to endure a 2-3°C rise in temperature but possess a limited variation of strategies for thermal adaptation.

Microfluidic Fabrication of Morphology-Controlled Polymeric Microspheres of Blends of Poly(4-butyltriphenylamine) and Poly(methyl methacrylate).

Multicomponent polymer particles with specific morphology are promising materials exhibiting novel functionality which cannot be obtained with single-component polymer particles. Particularly, the preparation of such kinds of polymer particles involving electrically or optically active conjugated polymers with uniform size is a challenging subject due to their intense demands. Here, microspheres of binary polymer blend consisting of poly(4-butyltriphenylamine) (PBTPA)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) (1:1 in weight) were produced via a microfluidic emulsification with a Y-shaped microreactor, and a subsequent solvent evaporation method. The flow rate of the dispersed phase (polymer solution) was fixed to 7 µL/min, and 140 or 700 µL/min of the flow rate of the continuous phase (aqueous 0.6 wt % of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution) was utilized to produce the dispersion with different diameter. The concentration of dispersed phase was adjusted to 0.1 or 1.0 w/v%. Core-shell, Janus and dumbbell type microspheres were obtained dependent on the flow rate of continuous phase. Incomplete core-shell type microspheres were produced for the blend involving low molecular weight PMMA. Complex Janus and core-shell type microspheres were fabricated by the addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to continuous phase. It is found that final morphologies are strongly dependent on the initial conditions of dispersion including the particle size suggesting that the morphologies are governed by the kinetical factors together with the conventionally accepted thermodynamic ones.

The distress and benefit to bereaved family members of participating in a post-bereavement survey.

BACKGROUND: Few studies have simultaneously collected quantitative data regarding the positive and negative effects of participating in post-bereavement surveys. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey in October 2013. Potential participants were caregivers for family members who had died in four inpatient palliative care units, two home hospices, and a general hospital. We collected opinions regarding the distress and benefit of completing a post-bereavement survey. After collecting data, we provided feedback to participating institutions in the form of study results and de-identified open-ended comments. RESULTS: Of 692 potential participants, 596 were sent questionnaires; 393 returned questionnaires were valid and analyzed. Of the respondents, 62% reported being distressed by completing the questionnaire. Female participants and those who were mentally ill during the caregiving period reported more distress. However, 86% of respondents reported they found the questionnaire beneficial. Better quality of end-of-life care and respondent depression were associated with more benefit. Major benefits were: contributing to the development of end-of-life care as a family (63%); expressing gratitude to the hospital and medical staff (60%); and looking back and reflecting on the end-of-life period (40%). Feeling benefit was not correlated with feeling distressed (P = -0.02). CONCLUSION: In this large-scale study on the effects of post-bereavement surveys in Japan, many bereaved family members reported that completing the survey was beneficial. In addition to possibly having feelings of distress, post-bereavement surveys might also be beneficial to end-of-life care facilities.

Effective DNA fragmentation technique for simple sequence repeat detection with a microsatellite-enriched library and high-throughput sequencing.

Two different techniques for genomic DNA fragmentation before microsatellite-enriched library construction-restriction enzyme (NlaIII and MseI) digestion and sonication-were compared to examine their effects on simple sequence repeat (SSR) detection using high-throughput sequencing. Tens of thousands of SSR regions from 5 species of the plant family Myrtaceae were detected when the output of individual samples was >1 million paired-end reads. Comparison of the two DNA fragmentation techniques showed that restriction enzyme digestion was superior to sonication for identification of heterozygous genotypes, whereas sonication was superior for detection of various SSR flanking regions with both species-specific and common characteristics. Therefore, choosing the most suitable DNA fragmentation method depends on the type of analysis that is planned.

Development the Care Evaluation Scale Version 2.0: a modified version of a measure for bereaved family members to evaluate the structure and process of palliative care for cancer patient.

BACKGROUND: The Care Evaluation Scale (CES1.0) was designed to allow bereaved family members to evaluate the structure and process of care, but has been associated with a high frequency of misresponses. The objective of this study was to develop a modified version of CES1.0 (CES2.0) that would eliminate misresponses while maintaining good reliability and validity. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey by mail in October 2013. The participants were bereaved family members of patients who died from cancer in seven institutions in Japan. All family members were asked to complete CES2.0, the short form CES1.0, items on overall care satisfaction, the Family Satisfaction with Advanced Cancer Care (FAMCARE) Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and the Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ). To examine test-retest reliability, all participants were asked to complete a second CES2.0. RESULTS: Of 596 questionnaires sent, 461 (77%) were returned and 393 (66%) were analyzed. In the short form CES1.0, 17.1% of the responses were identified as misresponses. No misresponses were found in CES2.0. We identified 10 CES2.0 subscales similar to those in CES1.0 using exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha was 0.96, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83. Correlations were found between CES2.0 and overall satisfaction (r = 0.83) and FAMCARE (r = 0.58). In addition, total CES2.0 scores were negatively correlated with the PHQ-9 (r = -0.22) and BGQ (r = -0.10). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CES2.0 eliminated misresponses associated with CES1.0 while maintaining good reliability and validity and greatly improving test-retest reliability.

Draft Genome Sequence of Leuconostoc mesenteroides 213M0, Isolated from Traditional Fermented Mare Milk Airag in Bulgan Aimag, Mongolia.

Leuconostoc mesenteroides213M0 was isolated from traditional fermented mare milk airag in Bulgan Aimag, Mongolia. This strain produces a listericidal bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this organism.

Draft Genome Sequence of Leuconostoc mesenteroides 406 Isolated from the Traditional Fermented Mare Milk Airag in Tuv Aimag, Mongolia.

Leuconostoc mesenteroides406 was isolated from the traditional fermented mare milk airag in Tuv Aimag, Mongolia. This strain produces an antilisterial bacteriocin. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of this organism.

Production of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance by Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum 213M0 isolated from Mongolian fermented mare milk, airag.

Strain 213M0 was selected with productivity of a bacteriocin-like inhibitory substance (BLIS) among 235 strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Mongolian fermented milk 'airag'. Strain 213M0 was species-identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. dextranicum by morphological observation, carbohydrate fermentation profiling and sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Incubation temperature proper to produce the BLIS was 25°C rather than 30 and 37°C, and the production actively proceeded during the exponential growth phase of the producer cells. Antibacterial effect of BLIS 213M0 was limited to all nine strains of Listeria sp. bacteria and seven strains of LAB cocci among 53 tested strains, which corresponds to a typical feature of the class IIa pediocin-like bacteriocins. BLIS 213M0 was not inactivated in every broad pH range solution (pH 2.0-11.0), and was stable against storage at 25°C for 1 week and heating at 121°C for 15 min under pH 4.5. Peptide frame of BLIS 213M0 was confirmed by inactivation with some peptidases, and then its molecular weight was estimated to be 2.6-3.0 kDa using an in situ activity assay following sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The estimated size was different from the other Leuconostoc bacteriocins already reported. These results suggest that BLIS 213M0 would be a novel listericidal bacteriocin.

Leptin controls ketone body utilization in hypothalamic neuron.

Leptin is an appetite-controlling peptide secreted from adipose tissue. Previously, we showed that the gene expression of acetoacetyl-CoA synthetase (AACS), the ketone body-utilizing enzyme for lipid synthesis, was suppressed by leptin deficiency-induced obesity in white adipose tissue. In this study, to clarify the effects of leptin on ketone body utilization in the central nervous system, we examined the effects of leptin signaling on AACS expression. In situ hybridization analysis of ob/ob and db/db mice revealed that AACS mRNA level was reduced by leptin deficiency in the arcuate nucleus (Arc) and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (VMH) in hypothalamus but not in other brain regions. Moreover, AACS mRNA level was increased by leptin treatment both in primary cultured neural cells and in N41 neural-like cells. In N41 cells, AACS level was decreased by AMPK inducer but increased by AMPK inhibitor. These results suggest that the up-regulation of AACS expression by leptin is due to the suppression of AMPK activity via neural leptin signaling and that the deficiency of this regulation may be responsible for neurological disorders in central appetite control.

The distribution of mRNA expression and protein after hydrodynamic injection of transgene in mice.

The hydrodynamic method by rapid intravenous injection of a large volume of plasmid DNA is known to be an efficient and liver-specific method of in vivo gene delivery and achieves high levels of foreign gene expression, particularly in hepatocytes. Low transgene activities have also been observed in other organs such as the spleen and lung; however, the expression profiles of mRNA and protein are still unknown. Therefore, we investigated the localization of luciferase mRNA by in situ hybridization and luciferase activity in mice after transfection of pCMV-luc encoding the luciferase gene under the control of cytomegalo virus (CMV) promoter. We found that hydrodynamic injection effectively induced mRNA expression of the transgene only in the liver although transgene activities were observed in other organs. The transgene activity observed in other organs may be due to leakage from hepatocyte gene expression by transient increase in the permeability of the hepatocyte cellular membrane caused by increased pressure by hydrodynamic injection.