Correction to: 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 -     

Driving forces behind the fluctuating growth of the number of successful nests in an inland population of white-tailed eagles in Hokkaido,Japan

This study aimed to describe the change in the number of successful nests of the white-tailed eagle, Haliaeetus albicilla, for 25 years (1997–2021) along the Teshio River (100 km), Japan, which is a new habitat for this endangered species and identify factors driving the number of nests. The number of nests grew from two to nine. The logistic function fitted in well with the growth, and the capacity of the study area sustaining the successful nests was estimated at 6.5. The precipitation in January and April explained the deviation of the observed values from the model prediction. In particular, heavy rain in April was associated with low numbers. Forty-six nest remains were collected from 17 nest locations. Twelve genera of birds, six genera of mammals, and four genera of fishes were identified. Fish and bird items occupied 93.6% of prey individuals. The fish proportion was similar between high-performance years when the observed number of successful nests was higher than the model prediction and low-performance years with a lower number than the prediction (55.2% and 51.0%). However, it was higher in the nests with two fledglings (63.0%) than those with a single fledgling (41.5%). The nearest neighbor distance (NND) of the successful nests declined with the increase in the number of nests. Based on territory size (the mean NND = 7.8 km), the study area can hold 13 nests. The process and mechanism of the dynamics of the number of nests were discussed, focusing on territoriality and weather effects.     

The structure and evolution of the human salivary proline-rich protein gene family

We present the nucleotide sequences of four members of the six-member human salivary prolinerich protein (PRP) gene family. The four genes are PRB1 and PRB2, which encode basic PRPs, and PRB3 and PRB4, which encode glycosylated PRPs. Each PRB gene is approximately 4.0 kb in length and contains four exons, the third of which is entirely composed of 63-bp tandem repeats and encodes the proline-rich portion of the protein products. Exon 3 contains different numbers of tandem repeats in the different PRB genes. Variation in the numbers of these repeats is also responsible for length variations in different alleles of the PRB genes. We have determined a probable evolutionary history of the human PRP gene family by comparing the nucleotide sequences of the six PRP genes. The present-day six PRP loci probably evolved from a single ancestral gene by four sequential gene duplications, leading to six genes that fall into three subsets, each consisting of two genes. During this evolutionary process, multiple rearrangements and gene conversion occurred mainly in the region from the 3 end of IVS2 and the 3 end of exon 3.     

Piper longum Constituents Induce PANC-1 Human Pancreatic Cancer Cell Death under Nutrition Starvation

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive form of cancer with a poor prognosis, partly due to ‘austerity’, a phenomenon of tolerance to nutrient deprivation and survival in its hypovascular tumor microenvironment. Anti-austerity agents which preferentially diminish the survival of cancer cells under nutrition starvation is regarded as new generation anti-cancer agents. This study investigated the potential of Piper longum constituents as anti-austerity agents. The ethanolic extract of Piper longum was found to have preferential cytotoxicity towards PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells in a nutrient-deprived medium (NDM). Further investigation led to the identification of pipernonaline ( 3 ) as the lead compound with the strongest anti-austerity activity, inducing cell death and inhibiting migration in a normal nutrient medium, as well as strongly inhibiting the Akt/mTOR/autophagy pathway. Therefore, pipernonaline ( 3 ) holds promise as a novel antiausterity agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.     

ALEXANDRIUM SATOANUM SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE) FROM MATOYA BAY,CENTRAL JAPAN1

The gonyaulacoid dinofiagellate Alexandrium satoanum Yuki et Fukuyo sp. nov. is described from Matoya Bay, Pacific coast of central Japan. The species is distinctive in its conical epitheca with almost straight sides and dorsal concavity of the hypotheca. The plate formula is Po, pc, 4′, 6″, 6c, 10s, 5″″, and 2″″, including two accessory plates inside the sulcus. The apical pore plate is triangular and possesses an anterior attachment pore at the right margin. The first apical plate does not make contact with the apical pore plate and lacks a ventral pore. A posterior attachment pore lies at the center of the posterior sulcal plate. In Matoya Bay, vegetative cells occur as solitary cells or sometimes in pairs during late spring and early summer in low concentrations. In connection with this study, the following new combination is proposed: Alexandrium pseudogonyaulax (Biecheler) Horiguchi ex Yuki et Fukuyo comb. nov.     

Airway wall dimensions during carbachol-induced bronchoconstriction in rabbits

Sasaki, F., Y. Saitoh, L. Verburgt, and M. Okazawa.Airway wall dimensions during carbachol-inducedbronchoconstriction in rabbits. J. Appl.Physiol. 81(4): 1578-1583, 1996.Airway wall areais an important determinant of airway narrowing. We hypothesized thatin cross-sectioned peripheral airways, the wall area internal to theouter smooth muscle border (inner wall area) would decrease and theairway wall area external to the outer smooth the muscle layer(adventitial area) would increase during bronchoconstriction because ofthe relocation of blood and/or fluid between these compartments. To test this hypothesis, we used anesthetized open-chest rabbits and measured airway wall dimensions and smooth muscle shortening of membranous airways after carbachol-inducedbronchoconstriction using morphometric techniques. Acute (3-min) andsustained (40-min) bronchoconstriction was induced by aerosolnebulization of carbachol and compared with saline treatment. Afterphysiological measurements, the heart base was snared, and the lung andheart were excised en bloc and frozen by using liquid nitrogen while atranspulmonary pressure of 2 cmH₂Owas maintained. The lung was processed for light-microscopicexamination by using a freeze substitution technique. Results show thatadventitial area was significantly decreased aftersustained but not acute bronchoconstriction. The mechanism of thischange, which contradicts our hypothesis, is unclear. However, thedecrease of adventitial area could increase rather than decrease theeffect of lung parenchymal tethering and attenuate airwaynarrowing.

     

Direct and indirect association of the small GTPase ran with nuclear pore proteins and soluble transport factors: studies in Xenopus laevis egg extracts.

Ran is a small GTPase that is required for protein import, mRNA export, and the maintenance of nuclear structures. To gain a better understanding of Ran's role in the nucleus, we have sought to use Xenopus egg extracts for the purification and characterization of proteins from egg extracts bound with a high affinity to a glutathione-S-transferase-Ran fusion protein (GST-Ran). We found that GST-Ran associates specifically with at least 10 extract proteins. We determined the identifies of six Ran-interacting proteins (Rips), and found that they include RanBP2/Nup358, Nup153, Importin beta, hsc70, RCC1, and RanBP1. On the basis of peptide sequence, a seventh Rip (p88) seems to be similar but not identical to Fug1/RanGAP1, the mammalian Ran-GTPase-activating protein. Gel filtration analysis of endogenous extract proteins suggests that Importin beta acts as a primary GTP-Ran effector. Both Ran and Importin beta are coimmunoprecipitated by anti-p340RanBP2 antibodies in the presence of nonhydrolyzable GTP analogues, suggesting that Ran-Importin beta complexes interact with p340RanBP2. Two other Rips, p18 and p88, are coprecipitated with p340RanBP2 in a nucleotide-independent manner. Analysis of the Ran-GTPase pathway in Xenopus extracts allows the examination of interactions between Ran-associated proteins under conditions that resemble in vivo conditions more closely than in assays with purified components, and it thereby allows additional insights into the molecular mechanism of nuclear transport.     

Sex-related spatial kin structure in a spring population of grey-sided voles Clethrionomys rufocanus as revealed by mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA analyses

Polymerase chain reaction-directed mitochondria (mt) and microsatellite DNA analyses were performed to examine the kin structure in a spring population of grey-sided voles Clethrionomys rufocanus in Hokkaido, Japan. The spatial distribution of 81 voles in a trapping grid (about 1 ha) was estimated by using the catch-mark-release method. DNA samples were extracted from the toes clipped for individual identification. Maternal lineages of voles were unequivocally determined by the mtDNA haplotypes, as identified by nucleotide sequencing of the control region. Relatedness between individuals was estimated based on the genotype and allele frequencies at several microsatellite loci. Although the distribution of voles was uniform within the grid, neighbouring females were frequently from the same maternal lineage. Relatedness values between females correlated negatively with geographical distances. Combination of the two molecular markers revealed four clusters of closely related, matrilineal females in the population, whereas no such cluster was apparent in males. The present study first demonstrated a sex-related spatial kin structure in a natural population of the grey-sided vole.