The effects of the form of the distribution in energy of the electrons produced by ionization on electron-energy distributions and transport coefficients are investigated theoretically at high values of the ratio of the electric field to gas density, E/n. The calculations are carried out for N2 at E/n from 100& 10 " to 3000)& 10 2' Vm2 using previously determined electron-collision cross sections and secondary-electron energy distributions. As the energy of the secondary electrons and the energy lost by the higher-energy, scattered electrons is increased, the relative numbers of electrons at very low energies and at high energies in the calculated steady-state distributions decreases. These changes are accompanied by decreases in the calculated ionization coefficients, drift velocities, and mean energies and by an increase in the characteristic energy. A simplified secondary-electron energy distribution is proposed which gives distribution functions and transport coefficients in satisfactory agreement with the those obtained using the published experimental distributions.

The reason for the decreased fluorescence in diseased tissues appears to be a decrease in collagen fluorescence due to the screening effect of mucosal thickening or replacement of submucosa by cancer cells.

Hepatic fat deposition with hepatocellular damage, a feature of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, is mediated by several putative factors including prostaglandins. In the present study, we examined whether group IVA phospholipase A2 (IVA-PLA2), which catalyzes the first step in prostanoid biosynthesis, is involved in the development of fatty liver, using IVA-PLA2-knockout mice. Male wild-type mice on high-fat diets (20% fat and 1.25% cholesterol) developed hepatocellular vacuolation and liver hypertrophy with an increase in the serum levels of liver damage marker aminotransferases when compared with wild-type mice fed normal diets. These high-fat diet-induced alterations were markedly decreased in IVA-PLA2-knockout mice. Hepatic triacylglycerol content was lower in IVA-PLA2-knockout mice than in wild-type mice under normal dietary conditions. Although high-fat diets increased hepatic triacylglycerol content in both genotypes, the degree was lower in IVA-PLA2-knockout mice than in wild-type mice. Under the high-fat dietary conditions, IVA-PLA2-knockout mice had lower epididymal fat pad weight and smaller adipocytes than wild-type mice. The serum level of prostaglandin E2, which has a fat storage effect, was lower in IVA-PLA2-knockout mice than in wild-type mice, irrespective of the kind of diet. In both genotypes, high-fat diets increased serum leptin levels equally between the two groups, but did not affect the serum levels of adiponectin, resistin, free fatty acid, triacylglycerol, glucose, or insulin. Our findings suggest that a deficiency of IVA-PLA2 alleviates fatty liver damage caused by high-fat diets, probably because of the lower generation of IVA-PLA2 metabolites, such as prostaglandin E2. IVA-PLA2 could be a promising therapeutic target for obesity-related diseases including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

ObjectiveTo identify genes related to normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) in one Japanese family with several members with NPH.MethodsWe performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) on a Japanese family with multiple individuals with NPH and identified a candidate gene. Then we generated knockout mouse using CRISPR/Cas9 to confirm the effect of the candidate gene on the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus.ResultsIn WES, we identified a loss-of-function variant in CFAP43 that segregated with the disease. CFAP43 encoding cilia- and flagella-associated protein is preferentially expressed in the testis. Recent studies have revealed that mutations in this gene cause male infertility owing to morphologic abnormalities of sperm flagella. We knocked out mouse ortholog Cfap43 using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, resulting in Cfap43-deficient mice that exhibited a hydrocephalus phenotype with morphologic abnormality of motile cilia.ConclusionOur results strongly suggest that CFAP43 is responsible for morphologic or movement abnormalities of cilia in the brain that result in NPH.

We have successfully determined the internuclear distance of I2 molecules in an alignment laser field by applying our molecular structure determination methodology to an I 2p X-ray photoelectron diffraction profile observed with femtosecond X-ray free electron laser pulses. Using this methodology, we have found that the internuclear distance of the sample I2 molecules in an alignment Nd:YAG laser field of 6 × 1011 W/cm2 is elongated by from 0.18 to 0.30 Å “in average” relatively to the equilibrium internuclear distance of 2.666 Å. Thus, the present experiment constitutes a critical step towards the goal of femtosecond imaging of chemical reactions and opens a new direction for the study of ultrafast chemical reaction in the gas phase.

Sodium reduction is an important public health goal. Individual and population approaches are necessary for reducing the sodium content of processed foods and meals. The aim of the present study is to affirm the effect of monosodium L-glutamate (MSG), an umami substance, on the saltiness or palatability of low-salt solutions and to explore the preferred salt concentration in soup. Five hundred and eighty-four healthy participants from nineteen regions in Japan tasted 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9% NaCl solutions with or without 0.3% MSG. Evaluations of saltiness and palatability for each solution were conducted using a visual analog scale in a double-blinded randomized manner. Saltiness gradually increased depending on the concentration of NaCl. The saltiness of the 0.3% NaCl solution with MSG was rated significantly higher than that without MSG. The palatability ratings were higher for the solutions with MSG than for those without MSG for all NaCl concentrations. In particular, the palatability rating of the 0.3% NaCl solution with MSG was twice as high as that without MSG and was significantly higher than that of the other five test solutions. Furthermore, these results were observed to be approximately the same, irrespective of sex, age, region, etc. Salt reduction is believed to result in a loss of palatability. However, our results suggest that umami can compensate for the loss of palatability caused by salt reduction and that the addition of an appropriate amount of an umami substance can facilitate salt reduction from 0.9 to 0.3% without sacrificing palatability.

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