The estimation of duration of maternally-derived antibodies against Akabane, Aino, and Chuzan virus in calves by the receiver operating characteristic analysis.

The duration of maternally-derived antibodies against three arboviruses was investigated in calves, using the results of arbovirus serosurveillance performed in Kagoshima Prefecture during 2002-2016. The duration of maternally-derived antibodies against Akabane virus (AKAV), Aino virus (AINOV), and Chuzan virus (CHUV) was estimated to be 178 (sensitivity: 0.769, specificity: 0.730), 156 (sensitivity: 0.806, specificity: 0.791), and 156 days of age (sensitivity: 0.845, specificity: 0.814), by receiver operating characteristic analysis. The duration of maternally-derived antibodies against AKAV, AINOV, and CHUV differed 7-14, 22-28, and 20-31 days in the same calf types between the regions far from each other although it was similar between the adjacent regions. The dairy calves showed 6-29 days longer duration than the beef calves rearing in a similar region.

The Effects of TGF-ß Signaling on Cancer Cells and Cancer Stem Cells in the Bone Microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) plays a key role in bone metastasis formation; we hypothesized the possible involvement of TGF-ß in the induction of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the bone microenvironment (micro-E), which may be responsible for chemo-resistance. METHODS: Mouse mammary tumor cells were implanted under the dorsal skin flap over the calvaria and into a subcutaneous (subQ) lesions in female mice, generating tumors in the bone and subQ micro-Es. After implantation of the tumor cells, mice were treated with a TGF-ß R1 kinase inhibitor (R1-Ki). RESULTS: Treatment with R1-Ki decreased tumor volume and cell proliferation in the bone micro-E, but not in the subQ micro-E. R1-Ki treatment did not affect the induction of necrosis or apoptosis in either bone or subQ micro-E. The number of cells positive for the CSC markers, SOX2, and CD166 in the bone micro-E, were significantly higher than those in the subQ micro-E. R1-Ki treatment significantly decreased the number of CSC marker positive cells in the bone micro-E but not in the subQ micro-E. TGF-ß activation of the MAPK/ERK and AKT pathways was the underlying mechanism of cell proliferation in the bone micro-E. BMP signaling did not play a role in cell proliferation in either micro-E. CONCLUSION: Our results indicated that the bone micro-E is a key niche for CSC generation, and TGF-ß signaling has important roles in generating CSCs and tumor cell proliferation in the bone micro-E. Therefore, it is critically important to evaluate responses to chemotherapeutic agents on both cancer stem cells and proliferating tumor cells in different tumor microenvironments in vivo.

Unconscious improvement in foreign language learning using mismatch negativity neurofeedback: A preliminary study.

When people learn foreign languages, they find it difficult to perceive speech sounds that are nonexistent in their native language, and extensive training is consequently necessary. Our previous studies have shown that by using neurofeedback based on the mismatch negativity event-related brain potential, participants could unconsciously achieve learning in the auditory discrimination of pure tones that could not be consciously discriminated without the neurofeedback. Here, we examined whether mismatch negativity neurofeedback is effective for helping someone to perceive new speech sounds in foreign language learning. We developed a task for training native Japanese speakers to discriminate between 'l' and 'r' sounds in English, as they usually cannot discriminate between these two sounds. Without participants attending to auditory stimuli or being aware of the nature of the experiment, neurofeedback training helped them to achieve significant improvement in unconscious auditory discrimination and recognition of the target words 'light' and 'right'. There was also improvement in the recognition of other words containing 'l' and 'r' (e.g., 'blight' and 'bright'), even though these words had not been presented during training. This method could be used to facilitate foreign language learning and can be extended to other fields of auditory and clinical research and even other senses.

Clathrate formation mechanism of supercritical hydrogen adsorption on copper(II) benzoate pyrazine.

The adsorption isotherms of supercritical hydrogen on [Cu2(bz)4(pyz)]n were measured at 77 K up to 10 MPa. The amount of supercritical hydrogen adsorbed on [Cu2(bz)4(pyz)]n at 77 K was 1.4 wt % at 10 MPa. The adsorption isotherms of supercritical hydrogen on [Cu2(bz)4(pyz)]n showed a stepwise adsorption that suggests clathrate formation between [Cu2(bz)4(pyz)]n and hydrogen molecules.