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Medaka (Oryzias latipes) is a small egg-laying freshwater teleost native to East Asia that has become an excellent model system for developmental genetics and evolutionary biology. The draft medaka genome sequence (700 Mb) was reported in June 2007, and its substantial genomic resources have been opened to the public through the University of Tokyo Genome Browser Medaka (UTGB/medaka) database. This database provides basic genomic information, such as predicted genes, expressed sequence tags (ESTs), guanine/cytosine (GC) content, repeats and comparative genomics, as well as unique data resources including (i) 2473 genetic markers and experimentally confirmed PCR primers that amplify these markers, (ii) 142,414 bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and 217,344 fosmid end sequences that amount to 15.0- and 11.1-fold clone coverage of the entire genome, respectively, and were used for draft genome assembly, (iii) 16,519,460 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and 2 859 905 insertions/deletions detected between two medaka inbred strain genomes and (iv) 841 235 5'-end serial analyses of gene-expression (SAGE) tags that identified 344 266 transcription start sites on the genome. UTGB/medaka is available at: http://medaka.utgenome.org/.

Small, compact genomes of ultrasmall unicellular algae provide information on the basic and essential genes that support the lives of photosynthetic eukaryotes, including higher plants. Here we report the 16,520,305-base-pair sequence of the 20 chromosomes of the unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D as the first complete algal genome. We identified 5,331 genes in total, of which at least 86.3% were expressed. Unique characteristics of this genomic structure include: a lack of introns in all but 26 genes; only three copies of ribosomal DNA units that maintain the nucleolus; and two dynamin genes that are involved only in the division of mitochondria and plastids. The conserved mosaic origin of Calvin cycle enzymes in this red alga and in green plants supports the hypothesis of the existence of single primary plastid endosymbiosis. The lack of a myosin gene, in addition to the unexpressed actin gene, suggests a simpler system of cytokinesis. These results indicate that the C. merolae genome provides a model system with a simple gene composition for studying the origin, evolution and fundamental mechanisms of eukaryotic cells.

プロポフォールの制吐作用を検討するために,亜酸化窒素・酸素と硬膜外麻酔併用下で腹腔鏡下胆嚢摘出術を行った150例を対象にして嘔気と嘔吐の発生率を比較した.麻酔の導入にチオペンタール6mg・kg-1を用いた群(T群),プロポフォール3mg・kg-1を用いた群(P1群),プロポフォール2mg・kg-1で導入後,手術終了まで5mg・kg-1・h-1で持続投与した群(P2群)の3群に分け,いずれも酸素・亜酸化窒素・ベクロニウム・硬膜外麻酔で維持した.術後24時間の嘔気発生率はT群で50%,P1群で3296,P2群で40%と3群間に有意差を認めなかつた,嘔吐発生率,制吐薬使用率も差はなく,5mg・kg-1・h-1のプロポフォール持続投与では効果的な制吐作用がないと考えられた.

To compare the in vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetics of succinylcholine (SCh) in humans.A bolus of SCh 1 mg.kg(-1) (n = 7) or 2 mg.kg(-1) (n = 11) was given to 18 patients anesthetized with thiopental. Arterial blood samples for determination of in vivo SCh concentrations were collected every 30 s for 5 min. Another 20-ml blood sample was obtained before induction of anesthesia for determination of in vitro SCh. Concentrations of SCh were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. In vivo and in vitro concentrations of SCh vs time data were analyzed by the one-compartment model.The respective in vivo and in vitro pharmacokinetic parameters (SCh 1 mg.kg(-1) vs SCh 2 mg.kg(-1)) were as follows: Plasma clearance was 4.17 +/- 2.37 and 1.85 +/- 0.28 l.min(-1), P0.05, vs 2.91 +/- 2.01 and 1.27 +/- 0.43 l.min(-1), P0.05. Elimination half-life was 25.4 +/- 10.6 and 47.4 +/- 5.4 s, P0.002 vs 26.3 +/- 10.0 and 75.2 +/- 21.8 s, P0.00005.These results suggest that the rapid disappearance of SCh from the circulation is due to diffusion out of the blood vessels rather than to enzymatic hydrolysis.

砕石位婦人科手術343例を対象とし,硬膜外麻酔併用全身麻酔後の大腿神経麻痺発生率を検討し,11例(3%)に認めた.硬膜外カテーテル造影と臨床症状より,硬膜外麻酔の影響は小さいと思われた.一方,平坦な砕石位により鼠径靱帯が過度に伸展した体位では8例(5%)に発生したが,過伸展しない体位に変更後3例(2%)と有意(p

The first chordates appear in the fossil record at the time of the Cambrian explosion, nearly 550 million years ago. The modern ascidian tadpole represents a plausible approximation to these ancestral chordates. To illuminate the origins of chordate and vertebrates, we generated a draft of the protein-coding portion of the genome of the most studied ascidian, Ciona intestinalis . The Ciona genome contains ∼16,000 protein-coding genes, similar to the number in other invertebrates, but only half that found in vertebrates. Vertebrate gene families are typically found in simplified form in Ciona , suggesting that ascidians contain the basic ancestral complement of genes involved in cell signaling and development. The ascidian genome has also acquired a number of lineage-specific innovations, including a group of genes engaged in cellulose metabolism that are related to those in bacteria and fungi.