Phylogeography of Japanese population of Phelotrupes auratus (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences

A partial sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene (745 bp) was determined for 57 specimens of a geotrupid beetle (Phelotrupes auratus) from throughout the Japanese archipelago. Of the 57 beetles examined, 42 haplotypes were identified. Phylogenetic trees inferred using maximum parsimony, neighbor joining, and Bayesian inference methods were highly congruent. Reconstructed phylogenetic relationships indicated that P. auratus from the Japanese archipelago was separated into two distinct lineages: Group A, which consisted of 35 haplotypes from Honshu, Shikoku, and Hokkaido Islands, and Group B, which consisted of seven haplotypes from Kyushu and Yakushima Islands. In addition, two sublineages were also recognized within Group A: Subgroup A-1, which consisted of 11 haplotypes from eastern Honshu and Hokkaido, and Subgroup A-2, which consisted of 10 haplotypes from western Honshu and Shikoku. Average genetic distances within Group A were positively correlated to geographic distance between sampling localities. Phylogenetic relationships among haplotypes did not correspond to subspecies classification.     

Effects of an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iCBT) Program in Manga Format on Improving Subthreshold Depressive Symptoms among Healthy Workers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective

The purpose of this study was to develop a new Internet-based computerized cognitive behavior therapy (iCBT) program in Manga format, the Japanese cartoon, for workers and to examine the effects of the iCBT program on improving subthreshold depression using a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design among workers employed in private companies in Japan.

Method

All workers in a company (n = 290) and all workers in three departments (n = 1,500) at the headquarters of another large company were recruited by an invitation e-mail. Participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were randomly allocated to intervention or control groups (N = 381 for each group). A six-week, six-lesson iCBT program using Manga (Japanese comic) story was developed. The program included several CBT skills: self-monitoring, cognitive restructuring, assertiveness, problem solving, and relaxation. The intervention group studied the iCBT program at a frequency of one lesson per week. Depression (Beck Depression Inventory II; BDI-II) was assessed as a primary outcome at baseline, and three- and six-month follow-ups for both intervention and control groups were performed.

Results

The iCBT program showed a significant intervention effect on BDI-II (t = −1.99, p<0.05) with small effect sizes (Cohen''s d: −0.16, 95% Confidence Interval: −0.32 to 0.00, at six-month follow-up).

Conclusions

The present study first demonstrated that a computerized cognitive behavior therapy delivered via the Internet was effective in improving depression in the general working population. It seems critical to improve program involvement of participants in order to enhance the effect size of an iCBT program.

Trial Registration

UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000006210 https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr.cgi?function=brows&action=brows&recptno=R000007341&type=summary&language=E     

High Free-Energy Barrier of 1D Diffusion Along DNA by Architectural DNA-Binding Proteins

Architectural DNA-binding proteins function to regulate diverse DNA reactions and have the defining property of significantly changing DNA conformation. Although the 1D movement along DNA by other types of DNA-binding proteins has been visualized, the mobility of architectural DNA-binding proteins on DNA remains unknown. Here, we applied single-molecule fluorescence imaging on arrays of extended DNA molecules to probe the binding dynamics of three structurally distinct architectural DNA-binding proteins: Nhp6A, HU, and Fis. Each of these proteins was observed to move along DNA, and the salt concentration independence of the 1D diffusion implies sliding with continuous contact to DNA. Nhp6A and HU exhibit a single sliding mode, whereas Fis exhibits two sliding modes. Based on comparison of the diffusion coefficients and sizes of many DNA binding proteins, the architectural proteins are categorized into a new group distinguished by an unusually high free-energy barrier for 1D diffusion. The higher free-energy barrier for 1D diffusion by architectural proteins can be attributed to the large DNA conformational changes that accompany binding and impede rotation-coupled movement along the DNA grooves.     

Improved Resection and Outcome of Colon-Cancer Liver Metastasis with Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Using In Situ GFP Labeling with a Telomerase-Dependent Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Mouse Model

Fluorescence-guided surgery (FGS) of cancer is an area of intense development. In the present report, we demonstrate that the telomerase-dependent green fluorescent protein (GFP)-containing adenovirus OBP-401 could label colon-cancer liver metastasis in situ in an orthotopic mouse model enabling successful FGS. OBP-401-GFP-labeled liver metastasis resulted in complete resection with FGS, in contrast, conventional bright-light surgery (BLS) did not result in complete resection of the metastasis. OBP-401-FGS reduced the recurrence rate and prolonged over-all survival compared with BLS. In conclusion, adenovirus OBP-401 is a powerful tool to label liver metastasis in situ with GFP which enables its complete resection, not possible with conventional BLS.     

cDNA cloning and sequence of rat ribonuclease inhibitor, and tissue distribution of the mRNA.

A cDNA clone encoding ribonuclease inhibitor was isolated from a rat lung cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed a high degree of conservation of a repeated structure. The mRNA was detected in all seven tissues of rat examined, the amount being highest in the lung and lowest in the heart.     

Termite soldier differentiation in incipient colonies is related to parental proctodeal trophallactic behavior

Termite soldiers represent a peculiar caste among social insects in terms of their specific defensive roles. Numbers of soldiers are relatively low in a mature colony, and it is impossible to identify the individuals that will differentiate into soldiers. If it were possible to specify these individuals prior to soldier differentiation, it would facilitate a better understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of soldier differentiation under natural condition. Here we analyzed soldier differentiation in incipient colonies of Zootermopsis nevadensis, in which only a single soldier develops via a presoldier stage, and is stable during early colony ontogeny. We observed that the oldest third instar differentiated into a presoldier within about eight days from its appearance. Caste differentiation, however, was not strictly determined on an individual basis. The oldest third instars never differentiated into presoldiers if primary reproductives were removed soon after their appearance. Behavioral observations of primary reproductives and their offspring prior to presoldier differentiation, showed that primary reproductives transferred proctodeal materials to the oldest third instar significantly more frequently than to other larva. A high juvenile hormone (JH) titer is required for the soldier differentiation, and we suggest that the JH itself or some nutrients/factors increasing larval JH titer may be transferred to the oldest third instar via a parental proctodeal fluid.     

Probing dynamics and conformational change of the GroEL-GroES complex by 13C NMR spectroscopy

Bacterial chaperonin GroEL with a molecular mass of 800 kDa was studied by (13)C NMR spectroscopy. Carbonyl carbons of GroEL were labeled with (13)C in an amino acid specific manner in order to reduce the number of signals to be observed in the spectrum. Combination of selective labeling and site-directed mutagenesis enabled us to establish the sequence specific assignment of the (13)C resonances from GroEL. ADP-binding induced a chemical shift change of Tyr478 in the equatorial domain and His401 in the intermediate domain, but little of Tyr203 in the apical domain. Upon complex formation with co-chaperonin GroES in the presence of ADP, Tyr478 exhibits two peaks that would originate from the cis and trans rings of the asymmetric GroEL-GroES complex. Comparison between the line width of the GroEL resonances and those from GroES in complex with GroEL revealed broadening disproportionate to the size of GroEL, implying the existence of conformational fluctuations which may be pertinent to the chaperone activity. Based on these results, we concluded that (13)C NMR observation in combination with selective labeling and site-directed mutagenesis can be utilized for probing the conformational change and dynamics of the extremely large molecules that are inaccessible with current NMR methods.     

Characterization of the transmembrane channel-like (TMC) gene family: functional clues from hearing loss and epidermodysplasia verruciformis

Mutations of TMC1 cause deafness in humans and mice. TMC1 and a related gene, TMC2, are the founding members of a novel gene family. Here we describe six additional TMC paralogs (TMC3 to TMC8) in humans and mice, as well as homologs in other species. cDNAs spanning the full length of the predicted open reading frames of the mammalian genes were cloned and sequenced. All are strongly predicted to encode proteins with 6 to 10 transmembrane domains and a novel conserved 120-amino-acid sequence that we termed the TMC domain. TMC1, TMC2, and TMC3 comprise a distinct subfamily expressed at low levels, whereas TMC4 to TMC8 are expressed at higher levels in multiple tissues. TMC6 and TMC8 are identical to the EVER1 and EVER2 genes implicated in epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a recessive disorder comprising susceptibility to cutaneous human papilloma virus infections and associated nonmelanoma skin cancers, providing additional genetic and tissue systems in which to study the TMC gene family.     

APAF-1-ALT,a novel alternative splicing form of APAF-1, potentially causes impeded ability of undergoing DNA damage-induced apoptosis in the LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line

We have found a novel alternative splicing product of the apoptotic protease activating factor 1 (APAF-1), termed APAF-1-ALT, in the LNCaP human prostate cancer cell line. APAF-1-ALT harbors the caspase recruitment domain and an incomplete CED-4 like/ATPase domain, but lacks the WD-40 repeat units. The LNCaP cell expressed the full-length APAF-1 weakly and APAF-1-ALT rather abundantly, especially after mycoplasma infection. LNCaP underwent a retarded DNA damage-induced apoptosis, which was independent of caspase 9 activity. APAF-1-ALT functioned less effectively in inducing apoptosis than did APAF-1-XL, the full-length APAF-1, in transient transfection. Moreover, APAF-1-ALT interfered with APAF-1-XL's ability to induce apoptosis in transient double transfection experiment. These results indicate that APAF-1-ALT is a molecule that is deficient and impeded for mediating apoptosis and that it may contribute to the resistance to DNA damage-induced treatment observed in LNCaP.