Description: Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A), originally identified as a potent growth cone collapsing factor in developing sensory neurons, is now recognized as a key player in immune, cardiovascular, bone metabolism and neurological systems. Here we established an anti-Sema3A monoclonal antibody that neutralizes the effects of Sema3A both in vitro and in vivo . The anti-Sema3A neutralization chick IgM antibodies were screened by combining an autonomously diversifying library selection system and an in vitro growth cone collapse assay. We further developed function-blocking chick-mouse chimeric and humanized anti-Sema3A antibodies. We found that our anti-Sema3A antibodies were effective for improving the survival rate in lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis in mice. Our antibody is a potential therapeutic agent that may prevent the onset of or alleviate symptoms of human diseases associated with Sema3A.

Description: The nodulation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum Is-34 is restricted by Rj 4 genotype soybeans ( Glycine max ). To identify the genes responsible for this incompatibility, Tn 5 mutants of B. japonicum Is-34 that were able to overcome this nodulation restriction were obtained. Analysis of the Tn 5 mutants revealed that Tn 5 was inserted into a region containing the MA20_12780 gene. In addition, direct disruption of this gene using marker exchange overcame the nodulation restriction by Rj 4 genotype soybeans. The MA20_12780 gene has a tts box motif in its upstream region, indicating a possibility that this gene encodes a type III secretion system (T3SS) effector protein. Bioinformatic characterization revealed that the MA20_12780 protein contains the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protease domain of the C48 peptidase (ubiquitin-like protease 1 [Ulp1]) family. The results of the present study indicate that a putative T3SS effector encoded by the MA20_12780 gene causes the incompatibility with Rj 4 genotype soybeans, and they suggest the possibility that the nodulation restriction of B. japonicum Is-34 may be due to Rj 4 genotype soybeans recognizing the putative T3SS effector (MA20_12780 protein) as a virulence factor.

Description: Introduction Lower tidal volume ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a strategy to reduce the plateau pressure and driving pressure to limit ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI). Several randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses showed that limiting both the plateau pressure and the tidal volume decreased mortality, but the optimal plateau pressure to demonstrate a benefit is uncertain. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the optimal upper limit of plateau pressure in patients with ARDS to prevent VILI and improve clinical outcomes using meta-analysis with and without meta-regression. Methods and analysis RCTs comparing two mechanical ventilation strategies will be included, with lower plateau pressure and with higher plateau pressure, among patients with ARDS and acute lung injury. Data sources include MEDLINE via the NCBI Entrez system, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), EMBASE and Ichushi, a database of papers in Japanese. Two of three physicians will independently screen trials obtained by search for eligibility, and extract data from included studies onto standardised data recording forms. For each included trial, the risk of bias and the quality of evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendation Assessment Development and Evaluation system. Ethics and dissemination This study does not require ethical approval. The results of this systematic review and meta-analysis with and without meta-regression will be disseminated through conference presentation and publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Trial registration number CRD42016041924

Description: The aim of this study was to assess the factors that account for the geographical variation in soil organic carbon stocks at the 0–30-cm depth (SOC 30 ) of forests in Japan. Boosted regression tree analysis was applied to 2157 points throughout Japan and to four regional geographical subdivisions with 16 environmental variables. The rank of predictor variables was different for Japan as a whole and among the regions. For Japan as a whole, soil group, air temperature, slope inclination, altitude and organic carbon stocks of litter were the most important factors that affected SOC 30 stocks. Overall, SOC 30 stocks decreased with air temperature, which was attributed to the decomposability of organic carbon. In addition, SOC 30 stocks decreased with slope inclination because of instability of the topsoil on slopes, which, in turn, is related to the increase in rock fragment content and decrease in soil bulk density. The distribution of volcanic soil resulted in larger SOC 30 stocks than was expected from climatic conditions. Precipitation was not important because of conflicting effects between the increase in soil organic carbon content with increasing net primary production and the decrease in mineral soil mass by the loss in topsoil. The regional analyses provide insight into the factors that cause variation in SOC 30 stocks, which were obscured by the macroscale analysis of Japan as a whole, thereby illustrating the power of regional geographical analyses. Our results provide an improved basis for soil, forestry and biogeochemical models that require accurate estimates of SOC 30 stocks. Highlights We assessed factors that account for geographic variation in soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. Effect and dependence of factors were estimated by a machine learning approach. SOC stocks were affected by soil type, climate, site-specific location and organic matter input. Volcanic soil distribution, climate, slope steepness and historical overuse of forest affected SOC stocks.

Description: Neurological disorders can cause hypohidrosis and/or anhidrosis by disturbing either the central or the peripheral nervous systems. 1-3 Although a syringotropic variant of cutaneous sarcoidosis causes dysfunction of sweating, systemic sarcoidosis rarely causes hypohidrosis or anhidrosis. 4,5 Here we present a novel case of an acquired anhidrosis in a patient with systemic sarcoidosis. Furthermore, we developed a novel methodology to quantify nerve fibers around eccrine glands using confocal microscopy and found that nerve fibers around eccrine glands in anhidrotic areas are significantly decreased compared to hidrotic areas. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Description: Macrophages in lungs can be classified into two subpopulations, alveolar macrophages (AMs) and interstitial macrophages (IMs), which reside in the alveolar and interstitial spaces, respectively. Accumulating evidence indicates the involvement of IMs in lung metastasis, but the roles of AMs in lung metastasis still remain elusive. An i.v. injection of a mouse hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line, BNL, caused lung metastasis foci with infiltration of AMs and IMs. Comprehensive determination of arachidonic acid metabolite levels revealed increases in leukotrienes and PGs in lungs in this metastasis model. A 5-lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibitor but not a cyclooxygenase inhibitor reduced the numbers of metastatic foci, particularly those of a larger size. A major 5-LOX metabolite, LTB 4 , augmented in vitro cell proliferation of human HCC cell lines as well as BNL cells. Moreover, in this lung metastasis course, AMs exhibited higher expression levels of the 5-LOX and LTB 4 than IMs. Consistently, 5-LOX–expressing AMs increased in the lungs of human HCC patients with lung metastasis, compared with those without lung metastasis. Furthermore, intratracheal clodronate liposome injection selectively depleted AMs but not IMs, together with reduced LTB 4 content and metastatic foci numbers in this lung metastasis process. Finally, IMs in mouse metastatic foci produced CCL2, thereby recruiting blood-borne, CCR2–expressing AMs into lungs. Thus, AMs can be recruited under the guidance of IM-derived CCL2 into metastatic lungs and can eventually contribute to the progression of lung metastasis by providing a potent arachidonic acid–derived tumor growth promoting mediator, LTB 4 .

Description: Correction: Myeloproliferative leukemia protein activation directly induces fibrocyte differentiation to cause myelofibrosis Correction: Myeloproliferative leukemia protein activation directly induces fibrocyte differentiation to cause myelofibrosis, Published online: 19 September 2018; doi:10.1038/s41375-018-0237-3 Correction: Myeloproliferative leukemia protein activation directly induces fibrocyte differentiation to cause myelofibrosis

Description: On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred in Japan, with a nuclear accident subsequently occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The disaster forced many evacuees to change particular aspects of their lifestyles. This study assessed the hypothesis that evacuation may have increased the risk of hypertension among residents in Fukushima. A longitudinal study examined data collected from 31 252 Japanese participants aged 40 to 74 years sourced from general health checkups conducted in 13 communities between 2008 and 2010. Follow-up examinations were conducted from 2011 through 2013. A total of 21 989 participants (follow-up proportion, 70.4%) received follow-up examinations. Mean blood pressure significantly increased in both evacuees and nonevacuees after the disaster, with greater changes in blood pressure among the former. The changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure among the evacuees and nonevacuees were +5.8/3.4 versus +4.6/2.1 mm Hg ( P 〈0.01/ P 〈0.0001) for men and +4.4/2.8 versus +4.1/1.7 mm Hg ( P =0.33/ P 〈0.0001) for women, respectively. Evacuation was associated with an increased risk of hypertension among men, and the age-adjusted hazard ratios of evacuation for incidence of hypertension were 1.24 (95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.39; P 〈0.001) for men and 1.05 (95% confidence interval, 0.94–1.17; P =0.37) for women, respectively. For men, after adjustment for confounding variables, the hazard ratio slightly decreased to 1.20, but the association was essentially unchanged. Blood pressure increased among residents, especially evacuees, in the evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Evacuation may be associated with an increased risk of hypertension among men in the 2 years after the disaster.

Description: Objective On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck off Japan. Although some studies showed that the earthquake increased the risk of pneumonia death, no study reported whether and how much a tsunami increased the risk. We examined the risk for pneumonia death after the earthquake/tsunami. Design This is an ecological study. Setting Data on population and pneumonia deaths obtained from the Vital Statistics 2010 and 2012, National Census 2010 and Basic Resident Register 2010 and 2012 in Japan. Participants About 5.7 million participants residing in Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures during 1 year after the disaster were targeted. All municipalities (n=131) were categorised into inland (n=93), that is, the earthquake-impacted area, and coastal types (n=38), that is, the earthquake-impacted and tsunami-impacted area. Outcome measures The number of pneumonia deaths per week was totalled from 12 March 2010 to 9 March 2012. The number of observed pneumonia deaths (O) and the sum of the sex and age classes in the observed population multiplied by the sex and age classes of expected pneumonia mortality (E) were calculated. Expected pneumonia mortality was the pneumonia mortality during the year before. Standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for pneumonia deaths (O/E), adjusting for sex and age using the indirect method. SMRs were then calculated by coastal and inland municipalities. Results 6603 participants died of pneumonia during 1 year after the earthquake. SMRs increased significantly during the 1st–12th weeks. In the 2nd week, SMRs in coastal and inland municipalities were 2.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 7.64) and 1.48 (95% CI 1.24 to 2.61), respectively. SMRs of coastal municipalities were higher than those of inland municipalities. Conclusions An earthquake increased the risk of pneumonia death and tsunamis additionally increased the risk.