Redescriptions ofGerres baconensis (Evermann & Seale, 1907),G. equulus Temminck & Schlegel, 1844 andG. oyena (Forsskål, 1775), included in the “G. oyena complex”, with notes on other related species (Perciformes: Gerreidae)

The gerreid species,Gerres baconensis (Evermann &; Seale),G. equulus Temminck &; Schlegel andG. oyena (Forsskål), were re-assessed as valid following examination of their holotypes and other specimens, and included in the “G. oyena complex”.Gerres haconensis is currently known only from Bacon, Luzon Island, Philippines and the Ogasawara (=Bonin) Islands, Japan, andG. equulus only from southern Japan (except Ryukyu Islands) and southern Korea.Gerres oyena is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific (in Japan, only from the Ryukyu Islands).Gerres baconensis differs from bothG. equulus andG. oyena in having higher counts of both the pored lateral line scales (39–42 vs 35–41 in the latter two species) and the lower gill raker series (8 or 9 vs. usually 7). A U-shaped premaxillary groove, formed on the dorsum of the forehead by the long ascending processes of the premaxillae, is scaleless inG. equulus andG. oyena, whereas it is fully scaled just behind the level of the posterior nostrils inG. baconensis over ca. 160 mm in standard length (SL) (partially scaled in specimens of ca. 100 mm SL).Gerres equulus differs fromG. oyena in having the posterior margin of the maxilla not extending beyond a vertical through the anterior margin of the inner dermal eye opening, shorter second dorsal and anal fin spines (means 18.5% and 8.5% of SL, respectively vs. 21.2% and 10.3% of SL), lower body depth at first anal fin spine base (27.0% vs. 29.6% of SL) and dorsomedial U-shaped groove scaleles throughout life (vs. tiny squamation anteriorly in specimens over ca. 130 mm SL). OtherGerres species of uncertain status and/or related species are discussed.     

Design and synthesis of an androgen receptor pure antagonist (CH5137291) for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer

A series of 5,5-dimethylthiohydantoin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for androgen receptor pure antagonistic activities for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Since CH4933468, which we reported previously, had a problem with agonist metabolites, novel thiohydantoin derivatives were identified by applying two strategies. One was the replacement of the alkylsulfonamide moiety by a phenylsulfonamide to avoid the production of agonist metabolites. The other was the replacement of the phenyl ring with a pyridine ring to improve in vivo potency and reduce hERG affinity. Pharmacological assays indicated that CH5137291 (17b) was a potent AR pure antagonist which did not produce the agonist metabolite. Moreover, CH5137291 completely inhibited in vivo tumor growth of LNCaP-BC2, a castration-resistant prostate cancer model.     

Sialic acid is an essential moiety of mucin as a hydroxyl radical scavenger

In this work, we examined the antioxidant role of mucin, a typical sialic acid containing high-molecular weight glycoprotein. The function of mucin as a hydroxyl radical (.OH) scavenger was characterized using bovine submaxillary gland mucin (BSM). Non-treated BSM effectively protected DNA from the attack of .OH; however, desialylated BSM lost this potential. Moreover, we estimated the scavenging effects of BSM against .OH generated by UV irradiation of hydrogen peroxide using ESR analysis. Our results indicate that BSM has .OH scavenging ability the and sialic acid in mucin is an essential moiety to scavenge .OH.     

Noncovalent Immobilization of Streptavidin on In Vitro- and In Vivo-Biotinylated Bacterial Magnetic Particles

Biotinylated magnetic nanoparticles were constructed by displaying biotin acceptor peptide (BAP) or biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP) on the surface of bacterial magnetic particles (BacMPs) synthesized by Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1. BAP-displaying BacMPs (BAP-BacMPs) were extracted from bacterial cells and incubated with biotin and Escherichia coli biotin ligase. Then the in vitro biotinylation of BAP-BacMPs was confirmed using alkaline phosphatase-labeled antibiotin antibody. In contrast, BacMPs displaying the intact 149 residues of AMB-1 BCCP (BCCP-BacMPs) and displaying the COOH-terminal 78 residues of BCCP (BCCP78-BacMPs) were biotinylated in AMB-1 cells. The in vivo biotinylation of BCCP-BacMPs and BCCP78-BacMPs was thought to be performed by endogenous AMB-1 biotin ligase. Streptavidin was introduced onto biotinylated BacMPs by simple mixing. In an analysis using tetramethyl rhodamine isocyanate-labeled streptavidin, approximately 15 streptavidin molecules were shown to be immobilized on a single BCCP-BacMP. Furthermore, gold nanoparticle-BacMP composites were constructed via the biotin-streptavidin interaction. The conjugation system developed in this work provides a simple, low-cost method for producing biotin- or streptavidin-labeled magnetic nanoparticles. Various functional materials can be site selectively immobilized on these specially designed BacMPs. By combining the site-selective biotinylation technology and the protein display technology, more innovative and attractive magnetic nanomaterials can be constructed.     

Effect of contingent auditory stimuli on concurrent schedule performance: an alternative punisher to electric shock

This study explored whether load auditory stimuli could be used as functional punishing stimuli in place of electric shock. Three experiments examined the effect of a loud auditory stimulus on rats’ responding maintained by a concurrent reinforcement schedule. In Experiment 1, overall response rate decreased when a concurrent 1.5 s tone presentation schedule was superimposed on the concurrent variable interval (VI) 180-s, VI 180-s reinforcement schedule. On the contrary, response rate increased when a click presentation schedule was added. In Experiment 2, the extent of the response suppression with a 1.5 s tone presentation varied as a function of the frequency of the reinforcement schedule maintaining responses; the leaner the schedule employed, the greater the response suppression. In Experiment 3, response suppression was observed to be inversely related to the duration of the tone; response facilitation was observed when a 3.0-s tone was used. In Experiments 1 and 2, a preference shift towards the alternative with richer reinforcement was observed when the tone schedule was added. In contrast, the preference shifted towards the leaner alternative when the click or longer duration stimulus was used. These results imply that both the type and duration of a loud auditory stimulus, as well as the reinforcement schedule maintaining responses, have a critical role in determining the effect of the stimuli on responding. They also suggest that a loud auditory stimulus can be used as a positive punisher in a choice situation for rats, when the duration of the tone is brief, and the reinforcement schedule maintaining responses is lean.