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Composite materials are popular because of their high performance capabilities, but new material development is time-consuming. To accelerate this process, researchers studying material informatics, an academic discipline combining computational science and material science, have developed less time-consuming approaches for predicting possible material combinations. However, these processes remain problematic because some materials are not suited for them. The limitations of specific candidates for new composites may cause potential new material pairs to be overlooked. To solve this problem, we developed a new method to predict possible composite material pairs by considering more materials than previous techniques. We predicted possible material pairs by conducting link predictions of material word co-occurrence networks while assuming that co-occurring material word pairs in scientific papers on composites were reported as composite materials. As a result, we succeeded in predicting the co-occurrence of material words with high specificity. Nodes tended to link to many other words, generating new links in the created co-occurrence material word network; notably, the number of material words co-occurring with graphene increased rapidly. This phenomenon confirmed that graphene is an attractive composite component. We expect our method to contribute to the accelerated development of new composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cytometry is a versatile and powerful method applicable to different fields, particularly pharmacology and biomedical studies. Based on the data obtained, cytometric studies are classified into high-throughput (HTP) or high-content screening (HCS) groups. However, assays combining the advantages of both are required to facilitate research. In this study, we developed a high-throughput system to profile cellular populations in terms of time- or dose-dependent responses to apoptotic stimulations because apoptotic inducers are potent anticancer drugs. We previously established assay systems involving protease to monitor live cells for apoptosis using tunable fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based bioprobes. These assays can be used for microscopic analyses or fluorescence-activated cell sorting. In this study, we developed FRET-based bioprobes to detect the activity of the apoptotic markers caspase-3 and caspase-9 via changes in bioprobe fluorescence lifetimes using a flow cytometer for direct estimation of FRET efficiencies. Different patterns of changes in the fluorescence lifetimes of these markers during apoptosis were observed, indicating a relationship between discrete steps in the apoptosis process. The findings demonstrate the feasibility of evaluating collective cellular dynamics during apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pars tuberalis (PT) is part of the anterior pituitary gland surrounding the median eminence as a thin cell layer. The characteristics of PT differ from those of the pars distalis (PD), such as cell composition and gene expression, suggesting that the PT has a unique physiological function compared to the PD. Because the PT highly expresses melatonin receptor type 1, it is considered a mediator of seasonal and/or circadian signals of melatonin. Expression of neuromedin U (NMU) that is known to regulate energy balance has been previously reported in the rat PT; however, the regulatory mechanism of NMU mRNA expression and secretion in the PT are still obscure. In this study, we examined both the diurnal change of NMU mRNA expression in the rat PT and the effects of melatonin on NMU in vivo. In situ hybridization and quantitative PCR analysis of laser microdissected PT samples revealed that NMU mRNA expression in the PT has diurnal variation that is high during the light phase and low during the dark phase. Furthermore, melatonin administration significantly suppressed NMU mRNA expression in the PT in vivo. On the other hand, 48 h fasting did not have an effect on PT-NMU mRNA expression, and the diurnal change of NMU mRNA expression was maintained. We also found the highest expression of neuromedin U receptor type 2 (NMUR2) mRNA in the third ventricle ependymal cell layer, followed by the arcuate nucleus and the spinal cord. These results suggest that NMU mRNA expression in the PT is downregulated by melatonin during the dark phase and shows diurnal change. Considering that NMU mRNA in the PT showed the highest expression level in the brain, PT-NMU may act on NMUR2 in the brain, especially in the third ventricle ependymal cell layer, with a circadian rhythm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract undergoes a temporally coordinated cyclic motor pattern known as the migrating motor complex (MMC) in both dogs and humans during the fasted state. Feeding results in replacement of the MMC by a pattern of noncyclic, intermittent contractile activity termed as postprandial contractions. Although the MMC is known to be stimulated by motilin, recent studies have shown that ghrelin, which is from the same peptide family as motilin, is also involved in the regulation of the MMC. In the present study, we investigated the role of the vagus nerve on gastric motility using conscious suncus—a motilin- and ghrelin-producing small animal. During the fasted state, cyclic MMC comprising phases I, II, and III was observed in both sham-operated and vagotomized suncus; however, the duration and motility index (MI) of phase II was significantly decreased in vagotomized animals. Motilin infusion (50 ng·kg−1·min−1 for 10 min) during phase I had induced phase III–like contractions in both sham-operated and vagotomized animals. Ghrelin infusion (0.1, 0.3, 1, 3, or 10 µg·kg−1·min−1 for 10 min) enhanced the amplitude of phase II MMC in sham-operated animals, but not in vagotomized animals. After feeding, phase I was replaced by postprandial contractions, and motilin infusion (50 ng·kg−1·min−1 for 10 min) did not induce phase III–like contractions in sham-operated suncus. However, in vagotomized suncus, feeding did not evoke postprandial contractions, but exogenous motilin injection strongly induced phase III–like contractions, as noted during the phase I period. Thus, the results indicate that ghrelin stimulates phase II of the MMC via the vagus nerve in suncus. Furthermore, the vagus nerve is essential for initiating postprandial contractions, and inhibition of the phase III–like contractions induced by motilin is highly dependent on the vagus nerve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nav1.8 is a tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channel present in large subsets of peripheral sensory neurons, including both spinal and vagal afferents. In spinal afferents, Nav1.8 plays a key role in signaling different types of pain. Little is known, however, about the exact identity and role of Nav1.8-expressing vagal neurons. Here we generated mice with restricted expression of tdTomato fluorescent protein in all Nav1.8-expressing afferent neurons. As a result, intense fluorescence was visible in the cell bodies, central relays, and sensory endings of these neurons, revealing the full extent of their innervation sites in thoracic and abdominal viscera. For instance, vagal and spinal Nav1.8-expressing endings were seen clearly within the gastrointestinal mucosa and myenteric plexus, respectively. In the gastrointestinal muscle wall, labeled endings included a small subset of vagal tension receptors but not any stretch receptors. We also examined the detailed innervation of key metabolic tissues such as liver and pancreas and evaluated the anatomical relationship of Nav1.8-expressing vagal afferents with select enteroendocrine cells (i.e., ghrelin, glucagon, GLP-1). Specifically, our data revealed the presence of Nav1.8-expressing vagal afferents in several metabolic tissues and varying degrees of proximity between Nav1.8-expressing mucosal afferents and enteroendocrine cells, including apparent neuroendocrine apposition. In summary, this study demonstrates the power and versatility of the Cre-LoxP technology to trace identified visceral afferents, and our data suggest a previously unrecognized role for Nav1.8-expressing vagal neurons in gastrointestinal functions. J. Comp. Neurol. 519:3085-3101, 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghrelin, an octanoylated peptide hormone produced in the stomach. rises dramatically in mouse plasma during chronic severe calorie deprivation, an event that is essential to maintain life. The mechanism for this increase is not understood. Here, we study the control of ghrelin secretion in tissue culture cells derived from mice bearing ghrelinomas induced by a tissue-specific SV40 T-antigen transgene. We found thatthe ghrelin-secreting cells express high levels of mRNA encoding β1-adrenergic receptors. Addition of norepinephrine or epinephrine to the culture medium stimulated ghrelin secretion, and this effect was blocked by atenolol, a selective β1-adrenergic antagonist. When WT mice were treated with reserpine to deplete adrenergic neurotransmitters from sympathetic neurons, the fasting-induced increase in plasma ghrelin was blocked. Inhibition was also seen following atenolol administration. We conclude that ghrelin secretion during fasting is induced by adrenergic agents released by sympathetic neurons and acting directly on β1 receptors on the ghrelin- secreting cells of the stomach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ghrelin is a potent orexigenic hormone that likely impacts eating via several mechanisms. Here, we hypothesized that ghrelin can regulate extra homeostatic, hedonic aspects of eating behavior. Methods: In the current study, we assessed the effects of different pharmacological, physiological, and genetic models of increased ghrelin and/or ghrelin-signaling blockade on two classic behavioral tests of reward behavior: conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant conditioning. Results: Using both CPP and operant conditioning, we found that ghrelin enhanced the rewarding value of high-fat diet (HFD) when administered to ad lib-fed mice. Conversely, wild-type mice treated with ghrelin receptor antagonist and ghrelin receptor-null mice both failed to show CPP to HFD normally observed under calorie restriction. Interestingly, neither pharmacologic nor genetic blockade of ghrelin signaling inhibited the body weight homeostasis-related, compensatory hyperphagia associated with chronic calorie restriction. Also, ghrelin''s effects on HFD reward were blocked in orexin-deficient mice and wild-type mice treated with an orexin 1 receptor antagonist. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate an obligatory role for ghrelin in certain rewarding aspects of eating that is separate from eating associated with body weight homeostasis and that requires the presence of intact orexin signaling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ghrelin is 28-amino-acid peptide that was discovered from the rat and human stomach in 1999. Since the discovery of ghrelin, various functions of ghrelin, including growth hormone release, feeding behavior, glucose metabolism, memory, and also antidepressant effects, have been studied. It has also been reported that ghrelin in the gastrointestinal tract has an important physiological effect on gastric acid secretion and gastrointestinal motility. Ghrelin has a unique structure that is modified by Oacylation with n-octanoic acid at third serine residues, and this modification enzyme has recently been identified and named ghrelin O-acyl transferase (GOAT). Ghrelin is considered to be a gut-brain peptide and is abundantly produced from endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal mucosa. In the gastrointestinal tract, ghrelin cells are most abundant in the stomach and are localized in gastric mucosal layers. Ghrelin cells are also widely distributed throughout the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, abundance of ghrelin cells in the gastric mucosa is evolutionally conserved from mammals to lower vertebrates, indicating that gastric ghrelin plays important roles for fundamental physiological functions. Ghrelin cells in the gastrointestinal tract are a major source of circulating plasma ghrelin, and thus understanding the physiology of these cells would reveal the biological significance of ghrelin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghrelin is a peptide hormone with many known functions, including orexigenic, blood glucose-regulatory, and antidepressant actions, among others. Mature ghrelin is unique in that it is the only known naturally occurring peptide to be posttranslationally modified by O-acylation with octanoate. This acylation is required for many of ghrelin's actions, including its effects on promoting increases in food intake and body weight. GOAT (ghrelin O-acyltransferase), one of 16 members of the MBOAT family of membrane-bound O-acyltransferases, has recently been identified as the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the addition of the octanoyl group to ghrelin. Although the initial reports of GOAT have localized its encoding mRNA to tissues known to contain ghrelin, it is as yet unclear whether the octanoylation occurs within ghrelin-producing cells or in neighboring cells. Here, we have performed dual-label histochemical analysis on mouse stomach sections and quantitative PCR on mRNAs from highly enriched pools of mouse gastric ghrelin cells to demonstrate a high degree of GOAT mRNA expression within ghrelin-producing cells of the gastric oxyntic mucosa. We also demonstrate that GOAT is the only member of the MBOAT family whose expression is highly enriched within gastric ghrelin cells and whose whole body distribution mirrors that of ghrelin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ghrelin is a hormone that influences many physiological processes and behaviors, such as food intake, insulin and growth hormone release, and a coordinated response to chronic stress. However, little is known about the molecular pathways governing ghrelin release and ghrelin cell function. To better study ghrelin cell physiology, we have generated several transgenic mouse lines expressing humanized Renilla reniformis green fluorescent protein (hrGFP) under the control of the mouse ghrelin promoter. hrGFP expression was especially abundant in the gastric oxyntic mucosa, in a pattern mirroring that of ghrelin immunoreactivity and ghrelin mRNA. hrGFP expression also was observed in the duodenum, but not in the brain, pancreatic islet, or testis. In addition, we used fluorescent activated cell sorting (FACS) to collect and partially characterize highly enriched populations of gastric ghrelin cells. We suggest that these novel ghrelin-hrGFP transgenic mice will serve as useful tools to better understand ghrelin cell physiology. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The technical possibilities of an engine system (combustion and exhaust aftertreatment) which made good use of the properties of FTD fuel (zero sulfur, zero aroma and a high cetane number) were examined. Cleaner diesel operation with considerably lower exhaust emissions than current levels was achieved by making a small change to the combustion and exhaust aftertreatment system. For the research, a commercial 2L class small diesel engine was used, and this experimental mechanism was described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, we established a radioimmunoassay (RIA) specific for ghrelin from the bullfrog Rana catesbeiana using a novel antibody raised against the C-terminal amino acid sequence of bullfrog ghrelin [13–28]. We also examined the distribution of ghrelin-producing cells in the stomachs of bullfrogs using this antibody and a cRNA probe specific for the bullfrog ghrelin gene. Ghrelin levels in plasma and stomach extracts were approximately 150fmol/ml and 83–135fmol/mg wet tissue, respectively. Reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatographic analysis, combined with bullfrog ghrelin RIA, revealed that ghrelin immunoreactivity in the stomach was composed of non-acylated ghrelin (des-acyl ghrelin) and several acylated forms of ghrelin bearing different fatty acid modifications, which could induce increases in intracellular Ca2+ in cells expressing the rat GH secretagogue receptor. In the stomach, the major storage form was acylated ghrelin. In bullfrog plasma, however, the majority of ghrelin immunoreactivity was des-acyl ghrelin and C-terminal fragments of frog ghrelin. Acylated ghrelin forms comprised only minor peaks. Ghrelin-immunopositive and ghrelin mRNA-expressing cells were observed within the mucosal layer of the stomach. Following starvation, significant increases in plasma ghrelin levels and stomach ghrelin mRNA levels were observed as early as 10 days after starvation. These results indicate that ghrelin is present in the stomach and plasma of the bullfrog, which can be detected with our novel antibody. Interestingly, the primary storage form of ghrelin in the stomach differed from the circulating form dominating in the plasma. Furthermore, increases in ghrelin levels in plasma and mRNA levels in the stomach after starvation suggest the possible involvement of ghrelin in energy homeostasis in the bullfrog. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Our intention is to verify whether or not the tax reform plan can demonstrate benefits of which an impact can be felt in macroeconomic terms. We identify the significant effects of the tax reform plan and the difference in effects between R&D tax credit and IT investment tax credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ghrelin is modified by fatty acid at the third serine residue. In this study, derivation of fatty acid for acylation of ghrelin was investigated using a hatchling chicken model. We first studied ghrelin gene expression and production in the neonatal chick proventriculus and then investigated the effect of exogenous octanoic acid (OA) administration on acylated ghrelin production. In a free-feeding condition on day 2.5 after hatching, the density of ghrelin mRNA-expressing (ghrelin-ex) cells was greater than that of ghrelin-immunopositive (ghrelin-ip) cells, but no difference was found between those densities in adult chickens. Intraperitoneal or oral administration of OA for a few days significantly increased the density of ghrelin-ip cells without any changes in ghrelin-ex cells and elevated only octanoylated ghrelin levels in the proventriculus. The results indicate that fatty acid absorbed from food is directly utilized in acylated ghrelin production in the chicken. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We purified ghrelin peptide and determined the cDNA sequence encoding the precursor protein from the stomach of the red-eared slider turtle, Trachemys scripta elegans. The Trachemys ghrelin is comprised of 25-amino acids and has the sequence GSSFLSPEYQNTQQRKDPKKHTKLN. The third serine residue was modified by n-octanoic (C8:0), decanoic (C10:0) or unsaturated decanoic acid (C10:1). The carboxyl-terminal end of the peptide was not amidated, as seen in the ghrelins of other land vertebrates. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed high levels of gene expression in the stomach and moderate levels in the large intestine and pancreas. Histochemical studies of turtle stomach revealed that ghrelin-immunopositive (ghrelin-ip) cells, which were small and round, were observed in the mucosal layer of the stomach but not in the myenteric plexus, and ghrelin-mRNA-expressing (ghrelin-ex) cells detected by in situ hybridization were scattered in a similar distribution as ghrelin-ip cells. These results indicate that ghrelin is present in reptiles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ghrelin was recently identified as an endogenous ligand for GH secretagogue receptor. In this study, we investigated the effects of ovariectomy on the numbers of ghrelin-immunopositive and -expressing cells, ghrelin mRNA levels, and plasma ghrelin concentrations in 4- and 9-week-old female rats. Three days after ovariectomy, the number of ghrelin cells and plasma ghrelin level significantly increased in both 4- and 9-week-old rats and the ghrelin mRNA level also increased in 4-week-old rats. These responses were reversed by 17β-estradiol replacement. We also found that ghrelin-immunopositive cells express estrogen receptor α. These results suggested that estrogen is involved in the regulation of ghrelin expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) is widely expressed in various regions of the body, such as the brain, pituitary gland, heart and gastrointestinal tract. Recently, ghrelin, an endogenous ligand for GHS-R, was found in the rat stomach, and several studies have suggested that ghrelin acts via the vagal afferent nerve. In this study, we studied the expression of GHS-R mRNA in the rat nodose ganglion by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, the results of which clearly demonstrated the presence of GHS-R mRNA and GHS-R producing cells in the rat nodose ganglion. We also studied the retrograde tracing of nodose ganglion cells to the stomach and found that some GHS-R mRNA-expressing cells contain the retrograde rebelling. Our results provide direct morphological evidence that GHS-R is produced in afferent neurons of the nodose ganglion and suggest that ghrelin signals from the stomach are transmitted to the brain via vagal afferent nerves. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ghrelin was isolated from the rat stomach as an endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) and has been found in the gastrointestinal tract of many vertebrates. Although the sequence and structure of chicken ghrelin has recently been determined, morphological characteristics of ghrelin cells in the chicken gastrointestinal tract are still obscure. In this study, we investigated ghrelin expression and distribution of ghrelin-producing cells in the hatching and adult chicken gastrointestinal tract by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Ghrelin mRNA expression was observed mainly in the proventriculus in the hatching chicken and in the proventriculus, pylorus and duodenum of the adult chicken by RT-PCR. Ghrelin-immunopositive (ghrelin-ip) cells in the proventriculus were located at the mucosal layer but not in the myenteric plexus or smooth muscle layer. The number of ghrelin-ip cells in the adult chicken was greater than that in the hatching chicken. Interestingly, in the adult chicken, the number of ghrelin-ip cells were almost the same as that of ghrelin mRNA-expressing (ghrelin-ex) cells; however, in the hatching chicken, the number of ghrelin-ex cells was greater than that of ghrelin-ip cells.These results clearly demonstrate that ghrelin-producing cells exist in the chicken gastrointestinal tract, especially in the proventriculus, from hatching to adult stages of development, as well as in mammals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ghrelin was recently isolated from the rat stomach as an endogenous ligand for the growth-hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) and is known to exist in the gastrointestinal tract and hypothalamus. In this study, we investigated in detail the distribution and morphologic characteristics of ghrelin-containing cells (ghrelin cells) in the gastrointestinal tract by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Ghrelin cells were found to be localized in the mucous membrane of the stomach, duodenum, ileum, cecum and colon but not in myenteric plexus, and they can be classified into open- and closed-type cells. The greatest number of ghrelin cells was found in the stomach, and it was found that the number of the opened-type cells gradually increased in the direction from stomach to the lower gastrointestinal tract. These results suggest that the two types of ghrelin cells may be distinctly regulated and play different physiological roles in various regions of the gastrointestinal tract. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The tunnel current (I) to tunnel gap width (s) dependences (the I-s characteristics) of copper(II) phthallocyanine (CuPc)-adsorbed surface of gold under atmosphere were investigated. When the bias voltage of +500mV was applied to the sample, the I-s characteristics began to change, and its slope {-d(log I)/ds} corresponding to the barrier height drastically decreased at higher voltage. Barrier heights evaluated at high voltage region were found to be 1 or 2 orders lower than those at low voltage region. The near infrared spectrum of CuPc in solid state was also found to change at >500mV. The semiconductive nature of CuPc is concluded to be the reason of this change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motilin (MLN) is a peptide hormone originally isolated from the mucosa of the porcine intestine. Its orthologs have been identified in various vertebrates. Although MLN regulates gastrointestinal motility in tetrapods from amphibians to mammals, recent studies indicate that MLN is not involved in the regulation of isolated intestinal motility in zebrafish, at least in vitro. To determine the unknown function of MLN in teleosts, we examined the expression of MLN and the MLN receptor (MLNR) at the cellular level in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Quantitative PCR revealed that mln mRNA was limitedly expressed in the gut, whereas mlnr mRNA was not detected in the gut but was expressed in the brain and kidney. By in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, mlnr mRNA was detected in the dopaminergic neurons of the area postrema in the brain and the noradrenaline-producing cells in the interrenal gland of the kidney. Furthermore, we observed efferent projections of mlnr-expressing dopaminergic neurons in the lobus vagi (XL) and nucleus motorius nervi vagi (NXm) of the medulla oblongata by establishing a transgenic medaka expressing the enhanced green fluorescence protein driven by the mlnr promoter. The expression of dopamine receptor mRNAs in the XL and cholinergic neurons in NXm was confirmed by in situ hybridization. These results indicate novel sites of MLN activity other than the gastrointestinal tract. MLN may exert central and peripheral actions through the regulation of catecholamine release in medaka. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Colonic motility is regulated by various factors along the gut‐brain axis; however, detailed mechanisms are unknown. This study aimed to examine the involvement of the autonomic nervous system in colonic motility. Suncus murinus (suncus) is a small laboratory mammal suitable for gastrointestinal motility studies. Methods: Colonic motility and concomitant feeding and defecation behaviors in vagotomized and reserpine‐administered suncus were recorded simultaneously for 24 h. Furthermore, we performed immunohistochemistry on tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and in situ hybridization on corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) in suncus brain. Additionally, we examined c‐Fos expression in the brain using immunohistochemistry in conscious suncus with colorectal distension. Key Results: In vagotomized suncus, clustered giant migrating contractions (GMCs), consisting of strong contractions occurring in a short time, were observed, and the percentage of GMCs without defecation increased. The frequency of GMCs in the reserpine‐administered suncus increased during a light period (ZT0‐4, 4–8) and decreased during a dark period (ZT16‐20, 20–24) compared to a vehicle group. Additionally, the percentage of GMCs without defecation in the reserpine‐administered suncus increased. Suncus TH‐immunopositive neurons were found in the locus coeruleus (LC), as shown in rodents. In contrast, CRH mRNA‐expressing cells were not observed in a region assumed to be the Barrington's nucleus (Bar). Furthermore, colorectal distension in conscious suncus induced c‐Fos expression in LC TH neurons. Conclusions & Inferences: Our results suggest that the vagus and sympathetic nerves are not required for induction of GMCs in vivo. However, they are likely to exert a modulatory role in control of GMC frequency in Suncus murinus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerium oxide (CeO 2) is well known to be reducible by hydrogen (H 2), yet the diffusion and solution properties of hydrogen in ceria at elevated temperatures have remained challenging to evaluate. We therefore fabricated nanometer-thin (∼100 nm) cerium oxide films on Si(111) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and quantitatively investigated the H depth distributions therein by means of resonant 1H(15N,αγ)12C nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) before and after annealing in H 2 gas at 773–973 K. X-ray diffraction (XRD), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) reveal that the as-deposited films exhibit single phase CeO 2 structure and partially reduced stoichiometry (CeO 1.69). H 2 annealing does not largely change the H content of the as-deposited films; in all conditions several atomic percent of hydroxyl (OH) are found to exist in a thin (∼4 nm) surface layer, whereas stably bound hydrogen in the bulk of the films is almost uniformly distributed and of much smaller quantity (∼0.2 at.%) than the oxygen vacancy concentration in the partially reduced ceria. Its low concentration and high thermal stability identify this bulk H species as likely being strongly bound to defects in the polycrystalline films rather than as a hydride species that interacts weakly with O-vacancies. The H diffusion coefficient and activation energy in the ceria films are determined as > 10−18 m2 s−1 at 773–973 K and <1.69 eV, respectively. The observed diffusion activation energy is somewhat larger than theoretical predictions for thermal diffusion of H in stoichiometric bulk CeO 2 , suggesting that defects and oxygen vacancies in the PLD-fabricated ceria thin films possibly have an impact on the H mobility. [Display omitted] • As-deposited films (∼100 nm) are partially reduced stoichiometry (CeO 1.69). • H 2 annealing of CeO 2-x films at 773–973 K results in a partial depletion of OH groups. • H is quite stable as OH in the surface layer up to about 4 nm, but not as hydride in the bulk. • The H species observed in the bulk of the films are rather small abundance (∼0.2 at.%). • Imperfections and vacancies are likely routes for hydrogen diffusion in CeO 2-x thin films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Aerogel developed from CNF anchored with transition metal divalent ions enhanced by CNT. • Efficiently absorb ammonia, trimethylamine, hydrogen sulfide, and methyl mercaptan. • The hybrid aerogel showed steady performance in a wide range of temperatures from 0 °C to 40 °C. • The first aerogel type deodorizer material ever reported in air decontamination. • Aerogel is eco-friendly and economic, suitable for domestic and industrial uses. A novel deodorizer that is capable of selectively eliminating the odorous chemicals, such as ammonia, trimethylamine, hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan, is described. The deodorizer is a nanostructured aerogel by nature, consisting of 2,2-6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), transition metal divalent cations (M2+), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) as the constitutive elements. CNF are firstly mixed with M2+ (M2+, in this paper, typifies Ni2+, Co2+ and Cu2+) to form CNF-M2+ complexes, monodispersed CNT is then mixed to prepare CNT/CNF-M2+ waterborne slurries; CNT/CNF-M2+ hybridized aerogels are finally obtained via freezing-drying of the CNT/CNF-M2+ waterborne slurries. The CNT/CNF-M2+ aerogels are a foam-like structure consisting of CNF and CNT as backbones and M2+ as linkers. The aerogels show higher capabilities (in comparison with activated carbon) for selectively adsorbing ammonia, trimethylamine, hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan. Computing simulations suggest a theoretical conclusion that the odorous chemicals are absorbed in a preferring manner of bimolecular absorptions via the M2+ moieties. The CNT/CNF-M2+ hybridized aerogels are lightweight, eco-friendly, and easy to produce in industrial scales. Our new finding, as is described in this paper, demonstrates potential applications of the TEMPO-oxidized CNF to the field of deodorizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Administration of CCK-8 in phase I induced phase II-like contractions in the small intestine. • Small intestinal contractions induced by CCK-8 were abolished by lorglumide, a CCK1 receptor antagonist. • Gastrin evoked strong contractions in the stomach, but did not induce contractions in the small intestine. In a fasting gastrointestinal tract, a characteristic cyclical rhythmic migrating motor complex (MMC) occur that comprises of three phases: I, II, and III. Among these, phase III contractions propagate from the stomach to the lower intestine in mammals, including humans, dogs, and Suncus murinus (suncus). Apart from the phase III of MMC propagating from the stomach, during the gastric phase II, small intestine-originated strong contractions propagate to the lower small intestine; however, the mechanism of contractions originating in the small intestine has not been clarified. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of cholecystokinin (CCK) in small intestinal motility. Administration of sulfated CCK-8 in phase I induced phase II-like contractions in the small intestine, which lasted for approximately 10–20 min and then returned to the baseline, while no change was observed in the stomach. Contractions of small intestine induced by CCK-8 were abolished by lorglumide, a CCK1 receptor antagonist. Gastrin, a ligand for the CCK2 receptor, evoked strong contractions in the stomach, but did not induce contractions in the small intestine. To examine the effect of endogenous CCK on contractions of small intestinal origin, lorglumide was administered during phase II. However, there was no change in the duodenal motility pattern, and strong contractions of small intestinal origin were not abolished by treatment with lorglumide. These results suggest that exogenous CCK stimulates contractions of small intestine via CCK1 receptors, whereas endogenous CCK is not involved in the strong contractions of small intestinal origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance/low-cost platinum (Pt)-based electrocatalysts have been established by top-coating both sides of a titanium plate with Pt nanoparticles. The average diameter of the Pt nanoparticles used in this study is approximately 100 nm. Three types of Pt top-coated Pt/Ti electrocatalysts, each having different top-coated Pt layer thicknesses, are prepared. Type I is a monolayered Pt top-coated type, in which the thickness of the top-coated Pt layer is approximately 100 nm; Type II is a few-layered type with a top-coated Pt layer thickness of approximately 200 nm, and Type III is a multilayered type with a top-coated Pt layer thickness of approximately 750 nm. The mass loading of Pt is 0.0215 mg cm−2 for Type I, 0.043 mg cm−2 for Type II, and 0.161 mg cm−2 for Type III. The electrocatalytic activities of each type of Pt/Ti electrocatalyst are evaluated through the electrolysis of acidic water and tap water. Type I gives the highest electrocatalytic efficiencies, which are comparable or even better than the electrocatalytic efficiencies of the state-of-the-art commercially available Pt/C electrode and other metal-/carbon-based HER catalysts. For example, in the case of the electrolysis of acidic water at an overpotential of 0.15 V, Type I shows a Tafel slope of 29 mV dec−1 and a current density of 27.5 mA cm−2. Even in the case of the electrolysis of tap water, Type I gives an HER Faradaic efficiency of 92%. A model of water (H2O), hydronium ions (H3O+), and hydroxyl ions (OH−) properly adsorbing on the Pt (111) facet is proposed to explain the electrocatalytic mechanism. New insights into the distinguishing properties of the resultant electrolyzed hydrogen water (EHW), namely, the healthy beneficial effects of EHW, are also described, and a new concept of storing and carrying reductive hydrogen (H*) by free Pt nanoparticles is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventionally, the importance of nodes in a network has been debated from the viewpoint of the amount of information received by the nodes and its neighbors. While node evaluation based on the adjacency relationship mainly uses local proximity information, the community structure that characterizes the network has hardly been considered. In this study, we propose a new node index that contributes to the understanding of the inter-community structure of a network by combining the measures of link distribution and community relevance. The visualization of node rankings and rank correlations with respect to the attack tolerance of networks demonstrated that the proposed index shows the highest performance in comparison with five previously proposed indexes, suggesting a new way to detect latent mediators in heterogeneous networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Effects of motilin on contraction of gastrointestinal (GI) tract were examined. • Two guinea-pig motilins caused contraction of rabbit duodenum by motilin receptor. • Two guinea-pig motilins did not cause any responses in the guinea-pig GI tract. • RT-PCR using various primer sets failed to amplify guinea-pig motilin mRNA. • Motilin system is not functional in regulation of GI motility in the guinea-pig. Abstract Motilin (MLN), a 22-amino-acid peptide hormone, is generally present in the mucosa of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract, mainly the duodenum of mammals, and it regulates GI motility, especially that related to interdigestive migrating contraction. However, MLN and its receptor are absent in mice and rats, and MLN does not cause any mechanical responses in the rat and mouse GI tracts. The guinea-pig is also a rodent, but expression of the MLN gene in the guinea-pig has been reported. In the present study, two guinea-pig MLNs, FIPIFTYSELRRTQEREQNKGL found in the Ensemble Genome Database (gpMLN-1) and FVPIFTYSELRRTQEREQNKRL reported by Xu et al. (2001) (gpMLN-2), were synthesized, and their biological activities were evaluated in the rabbit duodenum and guinea-pig GI tract in vitro. Both gpMLNs showed contractile activity in longitudinal muscle strips of the rabbit duodenum. The EC 50 values of gpMLN-1 and gpMLN-2 were slightly higher than that of human MLN (hMLN), but the maximum contractions were as same as that of hMLN. Treatment with GM109 and hMLN-induced receptor desensitization decreased the contractile activity of both gpMLNs, indicating that the two gpMLN candidates are able to activate the MLN receptor (MLN-R) of the rabbit duodenum. In guinea-pig GI preparations, hMLN and gpMLNs did not show any mechanical responses in circular muscle strips from the gastric antrum or in longitudinal strips of the duodenum, ileum and colon although acetylcholine and 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenylpiperazinium (DMPP) caused definite mechanical responses. The DMPP-induced neural responses in the gastric circular muscle and ileal longitudinal muscles were not modified by gpMLN-1. Even in the gastric and ileal strips with intact mucosa, no mechanical responses were seen with either of the gpMLNs. Furthermore, RT-PCR using various primer sets failed to amplify the gpMLN-2 mRNA. In conclusion, gpMLNs including one that was already reported and the other that was newly found in a database were effective to the rabbit MLN-R, whereas they did not cause any contractions or modification of neural responses in the guinea-pig GI tract, indicating that the MLN system is vestigial and not functional in regulation of GI motility in the guinea-pig as well as in other rodents such as rats and mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We found that increasing ghrelin levels, through subcutaneous injections or calorie restriction, produced anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like responses in the elevated plus maze and forced swim test. Moreover, chronic social defeat stress, a rodent model of depression, persistently increased ghrelin levels, whereas growth hormone secretagogue receptor (Ghsr) null mice showed increased deleterious effects of chronic defeat. Together, these findings demonstrate a previously unknown function for ghrelin in defending against depressive-like symptoms of chronic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a novel yet facile approach to the mass production of photocatalytic Ag 3 PO 4 particles by using graphene oxide (GO) sheets as templates. GO was first stabilized with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), a poly-cationic electrolyte, Ag 3 PO 4 crystals of submicro-size were then synthesized over the GO sheets by using Ag(NH 3 ) 2 + and H 2 PO 4 − as the starting materials via precipitation reactions. After a desirable UV irradiation treatment, Ag 3 PO 4 was partially reduced to Ag 0 and GO to graphene; tetrahedral crystals consisted of Ag, Ag 3 PO 4 and graphene were obtained. The Ag/Ag 3 PO 4 /graphene combinational nanostructures are highly transparent and moreover, showing high visible-light-driven photocatalytic activities. Photodegradation studies with acridine orange (AO) as the targeted chemicals gave better results than TiO 2 (P25), WO 3 , and the sole Ag/Ag 3 PO 4 , demonstrating the high applicability of the Ag/Ag 3 PO 4 /graphene combinational photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientist's choice of research topic affects the impact of their work and future career. While the disparity between nations in scientific information, funding, and facilities has decreased, scientists on the cutting edge of their fields are not evenly distributed across nations. Here, we quantify relative progress in research topics of a nation from the time-series comparison of reference lists from papers, using 71 million published papers from Scopus. We discover a steady leading-following relationship in research topics between Western nations or Asian city-states and others. Furthermore, we find that a nation's share of information-rich scientists in co-authorship networks correlates highly with that nation's progress in research topics. These results indicate that scientists' relationships continue to dominate scientific evolution in the age of open access to information and explain the failure or success of nations' investments in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying promising research as early as possible is vital to determine which research deserves investment. Additionally, developing a technology for automatically predicting future research trends is necessary because of increasing digital publications and research fragmentation. In previous studies, many researchers have performed the prediction of scientific indices using specially designed features for each index. However, this does not capture real research trends. It is necessary to develop a more integrated method to capture actual research trends from various directions. Recent deep learning technology integrates different individual models and makes it easier to construct more general-purpose models. The purpose of this paper is to show the possibility of integrating multiple prediction models for scientific indices by network-based representation learning. This paper will conduct predictive analysis of multiple future scientific impacts by embedding a heterogeneous network and showing that a network embedding method is a promising tool for capturing and expressing scientific trends. Experimental results show that the multiple heterogeneous network embedding improved 1.6 points than a single citation network embedding. Experimental results show better results than baseline for the number of indices, including the author h-index, the journal impact factor (JIF), and the Nature Index after three years from publication. These results suggest that distributed representations of a heterogeneous network for scientific papers are the basis for the automatic prediction of scientific trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D), porous monoliths with high electrical and thermal conductivities were produced by using unmodified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the starting compounds through a template-free thermally induced phase separation approach. Multi-walled CNTs in the PAN/CNT monoliths were fully dispersed and as a result, interconnected CNT networks with high uniformity were established. The average value of the porosity, surface area, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and mechanical strength were found to be 90%, 210 m 2 /g, 2.7 S/cm, 0.148 W/(m.K) and 1.1 MPa, respectively, for a 3D porous PAN/CNT monolith sample with a 33 wt% CNT loading. This new class of the CNT-based monolith opens up new possibilities for various practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene oxide (GO) is incorporated into a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) monolith for the purpose of adjusting the PVA morphology and porous structure. The result is an enhanced thermal stability and water uptake ability due to the strong hydrogen bonding interactions between PVA and GO. A homogeneous dispersion of GO nanosheets in the PVA matrix is observed and contributes to the forming of such interface interactions and to the enhancement of the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area at suitable GO concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ghrelin and its mimetics have been shown to reduce cisplatin-induced emesis in preclinical studies using ferrets and shrews. This study investigated the effectiveness of ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin (DAG) in antagonizing cisplatin-induced emesis and physiological changes indicative of nausea in Suncus murinus. Animals implanted with radiotelemetry devices were administered ghrelin (0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 μg/day), DAG (0.2, 1.0, and 5.0 μg/day), or saline (14 μL/day) intracerebroventricularly 4 days before and 3 days after treatment with cisplatin (30 mg/kg). At the end, the anti-apoptotic potentials of ghrelin and DAG were assessed by measuring Bax expression and cytochrome C activity. Neurotransmitter changes in the brain were evaluated using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis. Ghrelin and DAG reduced cisplatin-induced emesis in the delayed (24–72 h) but not the acute phase (0–24 h) of emesis. Ghrelin also partially reversed the inhibitory effects of cisplatin on food intake without affecting gastrointestinal myoelectrical activity or causing hypothermia; however, ghrelin or DAG did not prevent these effects. Ghrelin and DAG could attenuate the cisplatin-induced upregulation of Bax and cytochrome C in the ileum. Cisplatin dysregulated neurotransmitter levels in the frontal cortex, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, and brainstem, and this was partially restored by low doses of ghrelin and DAG. Our findings suggest that ghrelin and DAG exhibit protective effects against cisplatin-induced delayed emesis. The underlying antiemetic mechanism may involve GHSR and/or unspecified pathways that modulate the neurotransmitters involved in emesis control in the brain and an action to attenuate apoptosis in the gastrointestinal tract. • Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin demonstrate effectiveness in reducing cisplatin-induced delayed emesis in Suncus murinus. • Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin had no effects on gastric myoelectric activity and body temperature in cisplatin-treated Suncus murinus. • Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin attenuated cisplatin-induced upregulation of apoptotic markers in the gastrointestinal tract of Suncus murinus. • Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin mitigate cisplatin-induced dysregulation of neurotransmitter levels in various brain regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a peptide hormone encoded by the pre-proglucagon gene that serves multiple physiological functions, including incretin action. While GLP-1 is primarily synthesized in the L cells of the lower intestine, recent findings indicate its presence in the stomachs of both rats and humans. However, the role of gastric GLP-1 in other species remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to identify GLP-1-producing cells and examine the localization of GLP-1 production in the mouse stomach. We found that pre-proglucagon mRNA was higher in the corpus than that in the antrum of the stomach. In addition, GLP-1 immunoreactive cells were found in the gastric mucosa, and their cell number was higher in the corpus than that in the antrum. Double immunofluorescence showed that some GLP-1 immunoreactive cells displayed somatostatin immunoreactivity, whereas did not co-localize with ghrelin and gastrin. Moreover, transmembrane G protein-coupled Receptor 5 (TGR5) agonist decreased pre-proglucagon mRNA expression in SG-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, and in vivo experiments showed a decrease in its mRNA levels in the gastric corpus but not in the antrum. This study marks the first report of GLP-1 production in the mouse stomach. Our findings suggest that gastric pre-proglucagon mRNA expression is regulated by a distinct mechanism compared to the L cells of the lower intestine. • Glucagon like peptide-1 (GLP-1) was produced in mice stomach and co-localized with somatostatin. • TGR5 agonist decreased gastric preproglucagon mRNA in vitro and in vivo. • Our findings indicate that gastric GLP-1 locally acts on the gastric function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of colonic motility in the house musk suncus (Suncus murinus) as an established animal model of gut motility. Methods: To measure gut motility in free‐moving conscious suncus, strain gauge force transducers were implanted on the serosa of the colon and gastric body. Key Results: We recorded diurnal changes in colonic motility and observed the relationship between feeding and colonic motility. Giant migrating contractions (GMCs) of the colon were invariably detected during defecation and tended to increase during the dark period, thereby indicating that colonic motility has a circadian rhythm. Given that GMCs in the suncus were observed immediately after feeding during the dark period, we assume the occurrence of a gastrocolic reflex in suncus, similar to that observed in humans and dogs. We also examined the factors that regulate suncus GMCs. Intravenous administration of 5‐HT (100 µg/kg), substance P (10 and 100 µg/kg), calcitonin gene‐related peptide (10 µg/kg), and α2 adrenergic receptor antagonist yohimbine (0.5, 1, and 3 mg/kg) induced GMC‐like contractions, as did intragastric and intracolonic administration of the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 agonist, capsaicin (1 mg/kg). Conclusions & Inferences: These results indicate that the fundamental mechanisms of colonic motility in suncus are similar to those in humans and dogs, and we thus propose that suncus could serve as a novel small animal model for studying colonic motility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secretoglobin (SCGB) 3A2 was originally identified as a downstream target for the homeodomain transcription factor NKX2-1 in the lung. NKX2-1 plays a role in the genesis and expression of genes in the thyroid, lung and ventral forebrain; Nkx2- 1-null mice have no thyroid and pituitary and severely hypoplastic lungs and hypothalamus. To demonstrate whether SCGB3A2 plays any role in pituitary hormone production, NKX2-1 and SCGB3A2 expression in the mouse pituitary gland was examined by immunohistochemical analysis and RT-PCR. NKX2-1 was localized in the posterior pituitary lobe, whereas SCGB3A2 was observed in both anterior and posterior lobes as shown by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. Expression of CCAAT-enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs), which regulate mouse Scgb3a2 transcription, was also examined by RT-PCR. C/EBPβ, γ, δ and ζ were expressed in the adult mouse pituitary gland. SCGB3A2 was expressed in the anterior and posterior lobes from postnatal days 1 and 5, respectively and the areas where SCGB3A2 expression was found coincided with the area where FSH-secreting cells were found. Double-staining for SCGB3A2 and pituitary hormones revealed that SCGB3A2 was mainly localized in gonadotrophs in 49 % of FSH-secreting cells and 47 % of LH-secreting cells. In addition, SCGB3A2 dramatically inhibited LH and FSH mRNA expression in rat pituitary primary cell cultures. These results suggest that SCGB3A2 regulates FSH/LH production in the anterior pituitary lobe and that transcription factors other than NKX2-1 may regulate SCGB3A2 expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we have reported that motilin can induce contractions in a dose-dependent manner in isolated Suncus murinus (house musk shrew) stomach. We have also shown that after pretreatment with a low dose of motilin (10−10 M), ghrelin also induces gastric contractions at levels of 10−10 M to 10−7 M. However, the neural mechanism of ghrelin action in the stomach has not been fully revealed. In the present study, we studied the mechanism of ghrelin-induced contraction in vitro using a pharmacological method. The responses to ghrelin in the stomach were almost completely abolished by hexamethonium and were significantly suppressed by the administration of phentolamine, prazosin, ondansetron, and naloxone. Additionally, N-nitro-l-arginine methylester significantly potentiated the contractions. Importantly, the mucosa is essential for ghrelin-induced, but not motilin-induced, gastric contractions. To evaluate the involvement of intrinsic primary afferent neurons (IPANs), which are multiaxonal neurons that pass signals from the mucosa to the myenteric plexus, we examined the effect of the IPAN-related pathway on ghrelin-induced contractions and found that pretreatment with adenosine and tachykinergic receptor 3 antagonists (SR142801) significantly eliminated the contractions and GR113808 (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 4 antagonist) almost completely eliminated it. The results indicate that ghrelin stimulates and modulates suncus gastric contractions through cholinergic, adrenergic, serotonergic, opioidergic neurons and nitric oxide synthases in the myenteric plexus. The mucosa is also important for ghrelin-induced gastric contractions, and IPANs may be the important interneurons that pass the signal from the mucosa to the myenteric plexus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-producing cells of the pars tuberalis (PT) display distinct characteristics that differ from those of the pars distalis (PD). The mRNA expression of TSHb and aGSU in PT has a circadian rhythm and is inhibited by melatonin via melatonin receptor type 1; however, the detailed regulatory mechanism for TSHb expression in the PT remains unclear. To identify the factors that affect PT, a microarray analysis was performed on lasercaptured PT tissue to screen for genes coding for receptors that are abundantly expressed in the PT. In the PT, we found high expression of the KA2, which is an ionotropic glutamic acid receptor (iGluR). In addition, the amino acid transporter A2 (ATA2), also known as the glutamine transporter, and glutaminase (GLS), as well as GLS2, were highly expressed in the PT compared to the PD. We examined the effects of glutamine and glutamic acid on TSHb expression and aGSU expression in PT slice cultures. L-Glutamine and L-glutamic acid significantly stimulated TSHb expression in PT slices after 2- and 4-h treatments, and the effect of L-glutamic acid was stronger than that of L-glutamine. In contrast, treatment with glutamine and glutamic acid did not affect aGSU expression in the PT or the expression of TSHb or aGSU in the PD. These results strongly suggest that glutamine is taken up by PT cells through ATA2 and that glutamic acid locally converted from glutamine by Gls induces TSHb expression via the KA2 in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner in the PT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hormones leptin and ghrelin act in apposition to one another in the regulation of body weight homeostasis. Interestingly, both leptin receptor expression and ghrelin receptor expression have been observed within many of the same nuclei of the central nervous system (CNS), suggesting that these hormones may act on a common population of neurons to produce changes in food intake and energy expenditure. In the present study we explored the extent of this putative direct leptin and ghrelin interaction in the CNS and addressed the question of whether a loss of ghrelin signaling would affect sensitivity to leptin. Using histological mapping of leptin receptor and ghrelin receptor expression, we found that cells containing both leptin receptors and ghrelin receptors are mainly located in the medial part of the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. In contrast, coexpression was much less extensive elsewhere in the brain. To assess the functional consequences of this observed receptor distribution, we explored the effect of ghrelin receptor deletion on leptin sensitivity. In particular, the responses of ad libitum-fed, diet-induced obese and fasted mice to the anorectic actions of leptin were examined. Surprisingly, we found that deletion of the ghrelin receptor did not affect the sensitivity to exogenously administrated leptin. Thus, we conclude that ghrelin and leptin act largely on distinct neuronal populations and that ghrelin receptor deficiency does not affect sensitivity to the anorexigenic and body weight-lowering actions of leptin. J. Comp. Neurol. 520:281-294, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we build models to predict the existence of citations among papers by formulating link prediction for 5 large-scale datasets of citation networks. The supervised machine-learning model is applied with 11 features. As a result, our learner performs very well, with the F1 values of between 0.74 and 0.82. Three features in particular, link-based Jaccard coefficient difference in betweenness centrality, and cosine similarity of term frequency-inverse document frequency vectors, largely affect the predictions of citations. The results also indicate that different models are required for different types of research areas-research fields with a single issue or research fields with multiple issues. In the case of research fields with multiple issues, there are barriers among research fields because our results indicate that papers tend to be cited in each research field locally. Therefore, one must consider the typology of targeted research areas when building models for link prediction in citation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper seeks to propose a method of discovering uncommercialized research fronts by comparing scientific papers and patents. A comparative study was performed to measure the semantic similarity between academic papers and patents in order to discover research fronts that do not correspond to any patents.Design/methodology/approach – The authors compared structures of citation networks of scientific publications with those of patents by citation analysis and measured the similarity between sets of academic papers and sets of patents by natural language processing. After the documents (papers/patents) in each layer were categorized by a citation-based method, the authors compared three semantic similarity measurements between a set of academic papers and a set of patents: Jaccard coefficient, cosine similarity of term frequency-inverse document frequency (tfidf) vector, and cosine similarity of log-tfidf vector. A case study was performed in solar cells.Findings – As a result, the cosine similarity of tfidf was found to be the best way of discovering corresponding relationships.Social implications – This proposed approach makes it possible to obtain candidates of unexplored research fronts, where academic researches exist but patents do not. This methodology can be immediately applied to support the decision making of R&D investment by both R&D managers in companies and policy makers in government.Originality/value – This paper enables comparison of scientific outcomes and patents in more detail by citation analysis and natural language processing than previous studies which just count the direct linkage from patents to papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The popular media and personal anecdotes are rich with examples of stress-induced eating of calorically dense "comfort foods." Such behavioral reactions likely contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity in humans experiencing chronic stress or atypical depression. However, the molecular substrates and neurocircuits controlling the complex behaviors responsible for stress-based eating remain mostly unknown, and few animal models have been described for probing the mechanisms orchestrating this response. Here, we describe a system in which food-reward behavior, assessed using a conditioned place preference (CPP) task, is monitored in mice after exposure to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), a model of prolonged psychosocial stress, featuring aspects of major depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. Under this regime, CSDS increased both CPP for and intake of high-fat diet, and stress-induced food-reward behavior was dependent on signaling by the peptide hormone ghrelin. Also, signaling specifically in catecholaminergic neurons mediated not only ghrelin's orexigenic, antidepressant-like, and food-reward behavioral effects, but also was sufficient to mediate stress-induced food-reward behavior. Thus, this mouse model has allowed us to ascribe a role for ghrelin-engaged catecholaminergic neurons in stress-induced eating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As academic disciplines are segmented and specialized, it becomes more difficult to capture relevant research areas precisely by common retrieval strategies using either keywords or journal categories. This paper proposes a method of measuring the relatedness among sets of academic papers in order to detect unrelated communities which are not related to target topic. A citation network, extracted by given keywords, is divided into communities based on the density of links. We measured and compared four measures of relatedness between two communities in a citation network for three large-scale citation datasets. We used both link and semantic similarities. The topological distance from the center in a citation network is a more efficient measure for removing the unrelated communities than the other three measures: the ratio of the number of intercluster links over the all links, the ratio of the number of common terms over all terms, cosine similarity of tf-idf vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The correlation between diesel injector hydraulic nozzle flow rate and HC emissions under light load conditions was investigated using two injection nozzles with different hole diameters. Experimental results showed that (1) a reduced hydraulic nozzle flow rate (by reducing the nozzle hole diameter) is accompanied by stronger spray tip penetration when the fuel injection quantity is limited to the level of pilot injection, (2) the strong penetration accelerates fuel spray diffusion, creating an over-lean area in the fuel-air mixture, which causes an increase in HC emissions under light load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Green fluorescent protein (UV5) was re-engineered to remove native cysteine residues, and a new cysteine was introduced near the C-terminus, ∼20Å from the native fluorophore, for site-specific attachment of chemical fluorophores. The resultant efficient intramolecular FRET quenched GFP emission and gave a new emission band from the conjugated fluorophore. Caspase-3 cleavage of constructs with a caspase-3 sequence near the C-terminus in the sequence between the native fluorophore and the new cysteine, located C-terminal to the caspase site, destroyed the FRET, the emitted color reverting to that of unmodified GFP. This process was demonstrated in vitro with caspase-3 and lysates from cells undergoing apoptosis. Real-time emission changes for the Alexa Fluor 532 conjugate of this GFP, studied quantitatively in vivo for single HeLa cells using the ratios of fluorescence at the red and green maxima by confocal microscopy, showed that caspase-3 action in the cytosol preceded that in the nucleus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we propose a finger-jointing model to describe the possible ultrastructures of cellulose microfibrils based on new observations obtained through heating of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidized cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) in saturated water vapor. We heated the micrometers-long TEMPO-CNFs in saturated water vapor (≥ 120 °C, ≥ 0.2 MPa) and observed a surprising fact that the long TEMPO-CNFs unzipped into short (100 s of nanometers long) fibers. We characterized the heated TEMPO-CNFs using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and observed the XRD patterns were in consistent with Iβ. We observed also jointed ultrastructures on the heated TEMPO-CNFs via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Thus we concluded that cellulose microfibrils are not seamlessly long structures, but serial jointed structures of shorter blocks. Polysaccharide chains of the short blocks organized in Iβ. The jointed region can be either Iα or amorphous, depending on positions and distances among the chains jointed in proximity. Under heating, Iα was not converted into Iβ but was simply destroyed. The jointed structure implies a "working and resting rhythm" in the biosynthesis of cellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the intensive study of the viral spread of fake news in political echo chambers (ECs) on social networking services (SNSs), little is known regarding the underlying structure of the daily information spread in these ECs. Moreover, the effect of SNSs on opinion polarisation is still unclear in terms of pluralistic information access or selective exposure to opinions in an SNS. In this study, we confirmed the steady, highly independent nature of left- and right-leaning ECs, both of which are composed of approximately 250,000 users, from a year-long reply/retweet network of 42 million Japanese Twitter users. We found that both communities have similarly efficient information spreading networks with densely connected and core-periphery structures. Core nodes resonate in the early stages of information cascades, and unilaterally transmit information to peripheral nodes. Each EC has resonant core users who amplify and steadily spread information to a quarter of a million users. In addition, we confirmed the existence of extremely aggressive users of ECs who co-reply/retweet each other. The connection between these users and top influencers suggests that the extreme opinions of the former group affect the entire community through the top influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under severe calorie restriction (CR), the ghrelin‐growth hormone axis in mice is involved in the maintenance of plasma glucose levels. Ghrelin, a stomach‐derived acylated peptide, is up‐regulated by the sympathetic nerve in the negative energy status. Central corticotrophin‐releasing factor receptor (CRF‐R) signalling stimulates the sympathetic tone. The present study aimed to examine the effect of central CRF‐R signalling on the maintenance of plasma glucose concentrations in severe calorie‐restricted mice with the involvement of ghrelin. Intracerebroventricular injections of urocorin‐1 and urocorin‐2, which are natural ligands for CRF‐R1 and CRF‐R2, elevated plasma ghrelin concentrations and ghrelin elevation with an i.c.v. injection of urocorin‐1 was cancelled by atenolol (β1 adrenergic receptor antagonist) administration. We then established a mice model of 60% CR and found that the administration of [d‐Lys3]‐GHRP‐6 (a ghrelin receptor antagonist) in mice under 60% CR reduced the plasma glucose concentration more compared to the vehicle mice. Similarly, the atenolol injection in mice under 60% CR significantly reduced the plasma glucose concentration, which was rescued by the co‐administration of ghrelin. An i.c.v. injection of the alpha helical CRH, a non‐selective corticotrophin‐releasing factor receptor antagonist, in mice under 60% CR significantly reduced the plasma glucose concentration, although the co‐administration of α‐helical CRH with ghrelin maintained plasma glucose levels. These results suggest that central CRF‐R signalling is involved in the maintenance of plasma glucose levels in mice under severe CR via the sympathetic‐ghrelin pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]