Comparison of the usability of an automatic sleep staging program via portable 1-channel electroencephalograph and manual sleep staging with traditional polysomnography

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Automatic algorithms are a proposed alternative to manual assessment of polysomnography data for analyzing sleep structure; however, none are acceptably accurate for...     

Rapid and sensitive multiplex single-tube nested PCR for the identification of five human Plasmodium species

Malaria is caused by five species of Plasmodium in humans. Microscopy is currently used for pathogen detection, requiring considerable training and technical expertise as the parasites are often difficult to differentiate morphologically. Rapid diagnostic tests are as reliable as microscopy and offer faster diagnoses but possess lower detection limits and are incapable of distinguishing among the parasitic species. To improve global health efforts towards malaria control, a rapid, sensitive, species-specific, and economically viable diagnostic method is needed. In this study, we designed a malaria diagnostic method involving a multiplex single-tube nested PCR targeting Plasmodium mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase III and single-stranded tag hybridization chromatographic printed-array strip. The detection sensitivity was found to be at least 40 times higher than that of agarose gel electrophoresis with ethidium bromide. This system also enables the identification of both single- and mixed-species malaria infections. The assay was validated with 152 Kenyan samples; using nested PCR as the standard, the assay's sensitivity and specificity were 88.7% and 100.0%, respectively. The turnaround time required, from PCR preparation to signal detection, is 90 min. Our method should improve the diagnostic speed, treatment efficacy, and control of malaria, in addition to facilitating surveillance within global malaria eradication programs.     

Area-ratio Fraunhofer line depth (aFLD) method approach to estimate solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence in low spectral resolution spectra in a cool-temperate deciduous broadleaf forest

Journal of Plant Research - Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) emissions were estimated by the "area-ratio Fraunhofer line depth (aFLD) method", a new retrieval methodology in...     

Gene cloning of the pink-colored protein from Pleurotus salmoneostramineus (PsPCP) and its species-specific chromoprotein are effective for colorization of the fruit body

Pleurotus salmoneostramineus is a pink mushroom. This pink color is a protein and forms a complex with 3H-indol-3-one. The gene encoding the pink-colored protein from P. salmoneostramineus (PsPCP) was cloned, and its sequence was elucidated as a 681-bp. The ORF encodes 226 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence of the protein did not show any significant homology in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases. Recombinant PsPCP was expressed as the soluble form in E. coli. The reaction mixture of purified recombinant PsPCP and 3H-indol-3-one showed a pink color as the native pigment. A real-time PCR analysis revealed the strong expression of PsPCP in the primordium formation stage of the life cycle of the fungus; however, its expression decreased with the maturation of the fruit body. A comparison of PsPCP gene expression profiles between two strains revealed high levels in the dark-colored strain.     

Derivation of Intermediate Pluripotent Stem Cells Amenable to Primordial Germ Cell Specification

1. Download : Download high-res image (113KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

An Amber Suppressor of Escherichia coli Strain KO1

The suppression characteristics of Escherichia coli strain KO1 have been investigated. The growth patterns of nonsense mutants of RNA (GA and f2) and DNA (λ and T4) phages suggested that KO1 carried an amber, but not ochre or opal suppressors. The comparison of KO1 with previously identified amber suppressors indicated that KO1 differed from su1, su3 and su6 in its suppression pattern. KO1 and su2 shared some properties in common, for instance, their ability to suppress GA amber mutants with one exception (amN20) and the restriction of suppression capacity by the str^r mutation. However, the suppression efficiency of KO1 (48%) was about three times that of su2 (18%). A possibility that KO1 contained a new amber suppressor is discussed.     

Glucose metabolism during embryogenesis of the hard tick Boophilus microplus

Glucose metabolism plays an essential role in the physiology and development of almost all living organisms. In the present study we investigated glucose metabolism during the embryogenesis of the hard tick Boophilus microplus. An increase in glucose and glycogen content during the embryonic development of B. microplus was detected and shown to be due to the high enzyme activity of both gluconeogenesis and glycolytic pathways. Glucose 6-phosphate (G-6P), formed by hexokinase, is driven mainly to pentose-phosphate pathway, producing fundamental substrates for cellular biosynthesis. We detected an increase in glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase activities after embryo cellularization. Accumulation of key metabolites such as glycogen and glucose was monitored and revealed that glycogen content decreases from day 1 up to day 6, as the early events of embryogenesis take place, and increases after the formation of embryo cellular blastoderm on day 6. Glucose and guanine (a sub-product of amino acids degradation in arachnids) accumulate almost concomitantly. The activity of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase was increased after embryo cellularization. Taken together these data indicate that glycogen and glucose, formed during B. microplus embryogenesis after blastoderm formation, are produced by intense gluconeogenesis.