Ability to control directional lip-closing force in skeletal class III patients.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the maximum lip-closing force (LCF) and malocclusion has long been studied. Recently, a method to measure the ability to control directional LCF from eight directions (upper, lower, right, left and the four directions in between) during lip pursing was established. OBJECTIVE: It is considered important to evaluate the ability to control directional LCF. The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of skeletal class III patients to control directional LCF. METHODS: Fifteen skeletal class III patients (mandibular prognathism group) and 15 people with normal occlusion (normal occlusion group) were recruited. The maximum LCF and the accuracy rate (the ratio of the matched time in which the participant was able to keep the LCF in the target range over a total time of 6 s) were measured. RESULTS: The maximum LCF was not significantly different between the mandibular prognathism group and the normal occlusion group. The accuracy rate in the mandibular prognathism group was significantly lower in all six directions than that in the individual normal occlusion group. CONCLUSION: As the accuracy rate in all six directions was significantly lower in the mandibular prognathism group than that in the normal occlusion group, occlusion and craniofacial morphology might influence lip function.

Improved performance Air bio-battery based on efficient oxygen supply with a gas/liquid highly-porous diaphragm cell.

Performance of a glucose-driven bio-battery was improved by enhancing electrode characteristics and oxygen supply efficiency to a cathode. The bio-battery generates electric power from glucose through three enzymatic reactions using glucose dehydrogenase, diaphorase and bilirubin oxidase. A flexible and thin Pt electrode was employed instead of a glassy carbon (GC) electrode on which enzymes, a coenzyme, and mediators were immobilized by layer-by-layer method. The maximum current and power densities of the constructed bio-battery were 257 ±â€¯22 µA/cm2 and 86 ±â€¯3 µW/cm2, respectively, in 5 mM glucose solution. In addition, a newly designed compact gas/liquid diaphragm cell, which allowed to reduce the internal resistance by shortening the anode-cathode distance and enhance oxygen supply to a cathode using a highly-porous cotton mesh diaphragm, was implemented to the bio-battery to develop a high-performance Air bio-battery. As a result, improved Air bio-battery showed the maximum current and power densities of 451 ±â€¯27 µA/cm2 and 162 ±â€¯7 µW/cm2, which was 3.6-fold improvement from the previous GC electrode-based bio-battery. In addition, continuous operation for 210 min revealed high stability of power generation as it decreased by 3.3% at the end of operation. Additional supply of oxygen to a cathode exhibited proportional increase of the power density to the oxygen concentration, which demonstrates a promising potential of Air bio-battery for a high-performance and continuous powering device.

Competition for Mitogens Regulates Spermatogenic Stem Cell Homeostasis in an Open Niche.

In many tissues, homeostasis is maintained by physical contact between stem cells and an anatomically defined niche. However, how stem cell homeostasis is achieved in environments where cells are motile and dispersed among their progeny remains unknown. Using murine spermatogenesis as a model, we find that spermatogenic stem cell density is tightly regulated by the supply of fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) from lymphatic endothelial cells. We propose that stem cell homeostasis is achieved through competition for a limited supply of FGFs. We show that the quantitative dependence of stem cell density on FGF dosage, the biased localization of stem cells toward FGF sources, and stem cell dynamics during regeneration following injury can all be predicted and explained within the framework of a minimal theoretical model based on "mitogen competition." We propose that this model provides a generic and robust mechanism to support stem cell homeostasis in open, or facultative, niche environments.

The inhibitory effect of kakkonto, Japanese traditional (kampo) medicine, on brain penetration of oseltamivir carboxylate in mice with reduced blood-brain barrier function.

Oseltamivir phosphate (OP) is used to treat influenza virus infections. However, its use may result in central nervous system (CNS) adverse effects. In Japan, OP is used with Kampo formulations to improve clinical effectiveness. We evaluated the potential for using Kampo formulations to reduce CNS adverse effects by quantifying the CNS distribution of oseltamivir and its active metabolite oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) when administered with maoto and kakkonto. We administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by intraperitoneal injection to C57BL/6 mice to reduce blood-brain barrier function. Saline, maoto, and kakkonto were administered orally at the same time as LPS. OP was orally administered 4 hours after the last LPS injection and the migration of oseltamivir and OC was examined. Additionally, we examined the brain distribution of OC following intravenous administration. Changes in OC concentrations in the brain suggest that, in comparison to LPS-treated control mice, both Kampo formulations increased plasma levels of OC, thereby enhancing its therapeutic effect. Additionally, our findings suggest kakkonto may not only improve the therapeutic effect of oseltamivir but also reduce the risk of CNS-based adverse effects. Considering these findings, it should be noted that administration of kakkonto during periods of inflammation has led to increased OAT3 expression.

Taxilin; a novel syntaxin-binding protein that is involved in Ca2+-dependent exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells.

BACKGROUND: The syntaxin family is a central coordinator and participates in multiple protein-protein interactions in the soluble N-ethyl maleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor machinery, which is involved in intracellular vesicle traffic. However, the molecular mechanism by which the syntaxin family regulates intracellular vesicle transport is not well known. RESULTS: We have identified and purified a novel binding partner of syntaxin-3 from rat lung, and isolated and sequenced the cDNA of its human homologue from a human brain cDNA library. The cDNA had an open reading frame encoding a protein of 546 amino acids with a calculated Mr of 61,890. We tentatively referred to this protein as taxilin. A structural analysis of taxilin revealed the existence of an extraordinarily long coiled-coil domain in its C-terminal half. Syntaxin-1a and -4, as well as syntaxin-3 interacted with taxilin, but syntaxin-7 or -8 did not. Northern blot analysis showed that taxilin was ubiquitously expressed. Over-expression of full-length taxilin inhibited Ca2+-dependent exocytosis in PC12 cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that taxilin is a novel binding partner of several syntaxin family members and suggest that taxilin is involved in Ca2+-dependent exocytosis in neuroendocrine cells.