Temperature controls nuclear import of Tam3 transposase in Antirrhinum.

It has been proposed that environmental stimuli can activate transposable elements (TEs), whereas few substantial mechanisms have been shown so far. The class-II element Tam3 from Antirrhinum majus exhibits a unique property of low-temperature-dependent transposition (LTDT). LTDT has proved invaluable in developing the gene isolation technologies that have underpinned much of modern plant developmental biology. Here, we reveal that LTDT involves differential subcellular localization of the Tam3 transposase (TPase) in cells grown at low (15°C) and high (25°C) temperatures. The mechanism is associated with the nuclear import of Tam3 TPase in Antirrhinum cells. At high temperature, the nuclear import of Tam3 TPase is severely restricted in Antirrhinum cells, whereas at low temperature, the nuclear localization of Tam3 TPase is observed in about 20% of the cells. However, in tobacco BY-2 and Allium cepa (onion) cells, Tam3 TPase is transported into most nuclei. In addition to three nuclear localization signals (NLSs), the Tam3 TPase is equipped with a nuclear localization inhibitory domain (NLID), which functions to abolish nuclear import of the TPase at high temperature in Antirrhinum. NLID in Tam3 TPase is considered to interact with Antirrhinum-specific factor(s). The host-specific regulation of the nuclear localization of transposase represents a new repertoire controlling class-II TEs.

[A study on the relationship between the actual situation of nursing activities, in the outpatient section of oral surgery, and medical fees].

In our outpatient oral surgery section, nurses have performed such nursing activities as guidance and consultation for outpatients. The present survey was conducted to clarify the actual situation of nursing activities, and that of claims for medical fees during fiscal year 2000, the year the claim for medical fees was started. At that time, the problems involved were examined to further improve nursing activities for outpatients. The nurses gave guidance on alimentation, oral hygiene, and breast feeding, from the nurse's record which were classified and totalled according to each disease, guidance item, and time required (less than 30 minutes or more than 30 minutes). The total numbers of patients were 172 persons and 357 cases. Major guidance items were alimentary guidance (179 cases), oral hygiene guidance (105 cases), and breast feeding guidance (73 cases). The items claimed for medical fees were two: "Athrocytosis function therapeutics" (9 cases) and "the guidance fee for the treatment of specific dental disease" (32 cases). The problems that discouraged claiming a fee for performed chargeable nursing activities are listed as 1. there are no exclusive guidance rooms, 2. insufficiency in securing staff, 3. the instructions and the requests by dentists have not been made exactly and smoothly. Thus, the problems to be considered hereafter would be 1. review and improvement in the guidance environment to an appropriate level, 2. make regulations for securing necessary staff, 3. construction of a system for exact and smooth instruction and requests, and 4. promotion to enrich the content of guidance and to make the results public.