Expression of alcohol acyltransferase is a potential determinant of fruit volatile ester variations in Capsicum.

KEY MESSAGE: The transcript level of alcohol acyltransferase 1 (AAT1) may be the main factor influencing the variations in volatile esters that characterizing the fruity/exotic aroma of pepper fruit. Volatile esters are key components for characterizing the fruity/exotic aroma of pepper (Capsicum spp.) fruit. In general, the volatile ester content in the fruit is the consequence of a delicate balance between their synthesis by alcohol acyltransferases (AATs) and degradation by carboxylesterases (CXEs). However, the precise role of these families of enzymes with regard to volatile ester content remains unexplored in Capsicum. In this study, we found that the volatile ester content was relatively low in C. annuum and much higher in C. chinense, particularly in pungent varieties. Additionally, fruits collected from multiple non-pungent C. chinense varieties, which harbor loss-of-function mutations in capsaicinoid biosynthetic genes, acyltransferase (Pun1), putative aminotransferase (pAMT), or putative ketoacyl-ACP reductase (CaKR1) were analyzed. The volatile ester contents of non-pungent C. chinense varieties (pamt/pamt) were equivalent to those of pungent varieties, but their levels were significantly lower in non-pungent NMCA30036 (pun12/pun12) and C. chinense (Cakr1/Cakr1) varieties. Multiple AAT-like sequences were identified from the pepper genome sequences, whereas only one CXE-like sequence was identified. Among these, AAT1, AAT2, and CXE1 were isolated from fruits of C. chinense and C. annuum. Gene expression analysis revealed that the AAT1 transcript level is a potential determinant of fruit volatile ester variations in Capsicum. Furthermore, enzymatic assays demonstrated that AAT1 is responsible for the biosynthesis of volatile esters in pepper fruit. Identification of a key gene for aroma biosynthesis in pepper fruit will provide a theoretical basis for the development of molecular tools for flavor improvement.

[Points of revision of the guideline JSLM 2012].

The revised version of the guideline JSLM 2012 was published in December 2012 by the Japanese Society of Laboratory Medicine. This version included new sections, such as blood gas analysis, sleep apnea syndrome, interstitial lung disease, liver and pancreas cancer, chronic kidney disease, acute kidney disease, gout and hyperuricemia, bone metabolism abnormality, malignant lymphoma, and rheumatoid arthritis. The guideline committee was composed of specialists in each field of internal medicine, who were responsible for selecting and requesting the authors and also in promoting and proofreading the manuscripts. In special program I at the 60th annual meeting, each specialist gave lectures concerning the points of the revision in their fields. The questionnaire surveys were performed using FAX or the Internet. Analysis of eighty-seven (2.5%) responses from 3,500 individuals/facilities, which were sent the guideline, revealed that this guideline was graded as excellent by 38 readers, fair by 42, and average by in 6. Significant opinions on the guideline were obtained from the readers, and they will be the bases for the next revision. The main subjects of this guideline were confirmed to be the residents and general physicians, by whom it is hoped the routine laboratory tests will be properly utilized. Therefore, based on the section of 'approach of the laboratory test results', which is a representative characteristic of this guideline, the sections of 'symptoms' will be fulfilled for the next version. This guideline needs to be periodically revised with advances in medicine.

Perceptual and not physical eye contact elicits pupillary dilation.

Eye contact is important to share communication during social interactions. However, how accurately humans can perceive the gaze direction of others toward themselves and whether pupils dilate when humans consciously or unconsciously perceive own eyes are looked by others remain unclear. In this study, we examined the relationship between the explicit perception of looking into each other's eyes and the implicit physiological response of pupillary dilation by using an original face-to-face method. We found that humans do not correctly detect the gaze direction of others. Furthermore, one's pupils dilated when one gazed at others' eyes. Awareness of others' gaze on one's eyes, rather than the actual focusing of other's gaze on one's eyes, enhanced pupillary dilation. Therefore, physiological responses are caused not when people actually look into each other's gaze, but when the consciousness of other's gaze is activated, which suggests that eye contact often involves one-way communication.

Bilateral long-range interaction between right and left visual hemifield.

Long-range interaction has been reported to be limited in space within a few degrees. Here, we present a new type of interaction by means of a bilateral configuration using two Gabor signals (GSs). Two horizontally oriented GSs, the first defined as a cue and the second as a probe, appeared in the right and left peripheral visual fields in mirror symmetrical regions. The detection threshold of the GS probe was found to decrease significantly up to cue-probe separations of 10 degrees tested. Since the interaction was sensitive to symmetrical locus, as well as specific to the direction of the horizontal axis, the results suggest novel long-range interaction extending toward the periphery with a mirror-symmetrical configuration. This may be acquired by neuronal communication, which directly connects bilateral receptive fields in the right and left visual cortices.

Mirror symmetrical transfer of perceptual learning by prism adaptation.

Recent study of [Sugita, Y. (1996) Global plasticity in adult visual cortex following reversal of visual input. Nature, 380, 523-526.] demonstrated that prism adaptation to reversed retinal input generates the transfer of neuronal activities in monkey V1 to the opposite visual cortex. This raises the question if perceptual learning on one side of the visual field can transfer to the other side. We tested this in using the Gabor lateral masking paradigm. Before adaptation, long-range interaction was induced vertically on one side (i.e., the right) of the visual field with training (perceptual learning). Prism adaptation was achieved by wearing right-left reversing goggles. During adaptation period, perceptual learning transferred to a mirror symmetrical region across the vertical meridian. Results in the post adaptation period revealed that both learning and transfer persisted for over three months. These results provide direct evidence of transferred perceptual plasticity across the visual field, the underlying mechanism of which is supported by the mirror symmetrical connection between the right and left cortices.