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ω3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids are currently obtained mainly from fisheries; thus, sustainable alternative sources such as oleaginous microorganisms are required. Here, we describe the isolation, characterization, and application of 3 novel ω3 desaturases with ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid–producing activity at ordinary temperatures (28 °C). First, we selected Pythium sulcatum and Plectospira myriandra after screening for oomycetes with high eicosapentaenoic acid/arachidonic acid ratios and isolated the genes psulω3 and pmd17 , respectively, which encode ω3 desaturases. Subsequent characterization showed that PSULω3 exhibited ω3 desaturase activity on both C18 and C20 ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids while PMD17 exhibited ω3 desaturase activity exclusively on C20 ω6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Expression of psulω3 and pmd17 in the arachidonic acid–producer Mortierella alpina resulted in transformants that produced eicosapentaenoic acid/total fatty acid values of 38% and 40%, respectively, at ordinary temperatures. These ω3 desaturases should facilitate the construction of sustainable ω3 polyunsaturated fatty acid sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghrelin is an endogenous orexigenic hormone mainly produced by stomach cells and is reported to influence appetite, gastrointestinal motility and growth hormone secretion. We observed that enzymatic digest of wheat gluten stimulated ghrelin secretion from mouse ghrelinoma 3‐1, a ghrelin‐releasing cell line. Further on, we characterized the ghrelin‐releasing peptides present in the digest by comprehensive peptide analysis using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and structure–activity relationship. Among the candidate peptides, we found that SQQQQPVLPQQPSF, LSVTSPQQVSY and YPTSL stimulated ghrelin release. We then named them wheat‐ghretropin A, B and C, respectively. In addition, we observed that wheat‐ghretropin A increased plasma ghrelin concentration and food intake in mice after oral administration. Thus, we demonstrated that wheat‐ghretropin stimulates ghrelin release both in vitro and in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a wheat‐derived exogenous bioactive peptide that stimulates ghrelin secretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this review, we make a survey of the structure studies for the chalcogen elements and several chalcogenides in liquid, amorphous and nanosized state by using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). The chalcogen elements have hierarchic structures; the chain structure constructed with the strong covalent bond as a primary structure, and the weaker interaction between chains as a secondary one. Existence of these two kinds of interactions induces exotic behaviors in the liquid, amorphous and nanosized state of the chalcogen and chalcogenides. XAFS is a powerful structure analysis technique for multi-element systems and the disordered materials, so it is suitable for the study of such as liquid, amorphous and nanosized mixtures. In section 2, the structures for the liquid state are discussed, which show the interesting semiconductor-metal transition depending on their temperatures and components. In section 3, the structure for the amorphous states are discussed. Especially, some of chalcogens and chalcogenides present the photostructural change, which is important industrial application. In section 4, the structures of nanosized state, nanoparticles and isolated chain confined into the narrow channel, are discussed. The studies of the nanoparticle and the isolated chain reveal the alternative role between the intrachain covalent bonds and the interchain interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grazing‐incidence small‐angle X‐ray scattering (GISAXS) patterns have multiple superimposed contributions from the shape of the nanoscale structure, the coupling between the particles, the partial pair correlation, and the layer geometry. Therefore, it is not easy to identify the model manually from the huge amounts of combinations. The convolutional neural network (CNN), which is one of the artificial neural networks, can find regularities to classify patterns from large amounts of combinations. CNN was applied to classify GISAXS patterns, focusing on the shape of the nanoparticles. The network found regularities from the GISAXS patterns and showed a success rate of about 90% for the classification. This method can efficiently classify a large amount of experimental GISAXS patterns according to a set of model shapes and their combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tl LII and In K X‐ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements were performed on a TlInSe2 thermoelectric material in the temperature range of 25–300 K including the incommensurate–commensurate phase transition temperature of about 135 K. Most of the bond lengths obtained from the present XAFS measurements are in good agreement with existing X‐ray diffraction data at room temperature, while only the Tl‐Tl correlation shows inconsistent values indicating the commensurate properties of the Tl chains expected from the thermodynamic properties. The present XAFS data clearly support positional fluctuations of the Tl atoms found in three‐dimensional atomic images reconstructed from X‐ray fluorescence holography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of crystal GeCu2Te3 was investigated by X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurement. We found that the Ge-Te interatomic distances obtained from XAFS are larger than those obtained from X-ray diffraction, and the Cu-Te distances are smaller. The averaged Ge-Te and Cu-Te distances obtained from XAFS are almost equal to the corresponding interatomic distances in amorphous GeCu2Te3. Therefore both crystal and amorphous GeCu2Te3 seem to be built up of the same local configurations of GeTe4 and CuTe4 tetrahedrons. This would be the reason why the phase change in GeCu2Te3 occurs very fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local structure around the Tl atoms in TlInSe [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testosterone plays an important role in male sexual characteristics and maturation, and decreased testosterone levels increase the risk of several diseases. Recently, onion extract rich in cysteine sulfoxides, which are amino acids unique to onions, has been reported to alleviate age-related symptoms resulting from decreased testosterone levels in males. However, the mechanism underlying the suppression of low testosterone levels by cysteine sulfoxides has not been elucidated. In this study, we found that onion extract containing cysteine sulfoxides enhanced progesterone, a precursor of testosterone, in mouse testis-derived I-10 tumor cells. Furthermore, cysteine sulfoxides activated protein kinase A (PKA) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein, which are key factors in steroidogenesis. These results suggest that cysteine sulfoxides enhance steroid hormone production via activation of the PKA signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a preliminary investigation of the effects of visible light irradiation on plant extracts, and we observed a strong suppressive effect on interleukin (IL) 2 expression with the inhibition of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) phosphorylation in Jurkat cells by visible light irradiation to ethanol extract from green soybeans (LIEGS). This effect was produced only by extracts from green soybeans (Glycine max) and not other-color soybeans. LIEGS suppressed the lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-α expression levels in human monocyte THP-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. LIEGS was applied for 8 weeks to NC/Nga mice. LIEGS suppressed the development of atopic dermatitis (AD)-like skin lesions and reduced the dermatitis scores of the mice. The light irradiation changed the various types of small-molecule compounds in extracts. Visible light irradiation to daidzein with chlorophyll b induced a novel oxidative product of daidzein. This product suppressed IL-2 expression in Jurkat cells.

The local structure of an amorphous tellurium (a-Te) film was investigated by extended X-ray absorption fine-structure analysis. The covalent bond length shortens and the Debye-Waller factor of the intra-chain decreases in a-Te compared with trigonal Te (t-Te). The value of the intra-chain coordination number is close to two, which is the value for t-Te, and the inter-chain interaction weakens. These results suggest that the primary chain structure remains intact, but the secondary structure is disrupted. The decrease in the inter-chain interaction strengthens the intra-chain interaction.

Purpose: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile disorder of unknown etiology. Brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) help in detecting regional cerebral blood flow abnormalities and brain damage. The usefulness of SPECT and MRI in patients with KD was evaluated., Materials and Methods: All 22 patients with KD underwent brain SPECT using Tc-99m-hexamethyl propylene amine oxime from 6 days to 3 years after onset, and 8 patients underwent brain MRI. Of the 22 patients, 4 had neurologic symptoms. Case 1 showed prolonged apnea; case 2, prolonged disturbance of consciousness; and cases 3 and 4 generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Initial brain SPECT showed localized hypoperfusion in 4 and 13 patients with and without neurologic symptoms, respectively., Results: All patients with neurologic symptoms underwent follow-up SPECT; localized hypoperfusion was detected between 1- and 6-month follow-up in 3 of these patients. Six patients without neurologic symptoms underwent follow-up SPECT. Localized hypoperfusion was detected at approximately 1- to 11-month follow-up in 4 of these patients. Diffusion-weighted imaging revealed abnormal high-intensity areas in the corpus callosum in case 1. Case 2 showed a bilateral chronic subdural hematoma with decreased size and ischemic changes, and case 3 showed bilateral hippocampal atrophy and left hippocampal sclerosis., Conclusions: Because the occurrence of localized hypoperfusion is possibly not restricted to only the acute phase in KD, brain SPECT and MRI should also be performed in KD patients with neurologic symptoms.

Extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements were performed on trigonal tellurium (t-Te) and tellurium nanoparticles in very thin films. Twofold coordinated chains, much like those in t-Te, exist even in the nanoparticles, but covalent bonds or intrachain interactions are stronger than those of t-Te as shown by a shorter bond length and higher Einstein temperature. The interchain coordination number of the nanoparticles is about half that of t-Te, suggesting reduction of interchain interactions.