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In this paper, we have developed a methodology to estimate the spatiotemporal distribution of radiation air dose rates around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). In our exploratory data analysis, we found that (1) the temporal evolution of dose rates is composed of a log-linear decay trend and fluctuations of air dose rates that are spatially correlated among adjacent monitoring posts; and (2) the slope of the log-linear environmental decay trend can be represented as a function of the apparent initial dose rates, coordinate position, land-use type, and soil type. From these observations, we first estimated the log-linear decay trend at each location based on these predictors, using the random forest method. We then developed a modified Kalman filter coupled with a Gaussian process model to estimate the dose-rate time series at a given location and time. We applied this method to the Fukushima evacuation zone (as of March 2017), which included 17 monitoring post locations (with monitoring datasets collected between 2014 and 2018) and generated a time series of dose-rate maps. Our results show that this approach allows us to produce accurate spatial and temporal predictions of radiation dose-rate maps using limited spatiotemporal measurements.

Abstract Plasma membrane H+-ATPase provides the driving force for light-induced stomatal opening. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of its activity remain unclear. Here, we show that the phosphorylation of two Thr residues in the C-terminal autoinhibitory domain is crucial for H+-ATPase activation and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using phosphoproteome analysis, we show that blue light induces the phosphorylation of Thr-881 within the C-terminal region I, in addition to penultimate Thr-948 in AUTOINHIBITED H+-ATPASE 1 (AHA1). Based on site-directed mutagenesis experiments, phosphorylation of both Thr residues is essential for H+ pumping and stomatal opening in response to blue light. Thr-948 phosphorylation is a prerequisite for Thr-881 phosphorylation by blue light. Additionally, red light-driven guard cell photosynthesis induces Thr-881 phosphorylation, possibly contributing to red light-dependent stomatal opening. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into H+-ATPase activation that exploits the ion transport across the plasma membrane and light signalling network in guard cells.

Radiation air dose rates near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) have been steadily decreasing over the past eight years since the release of radioactive elements in March 2011. Currently, the radiation monitoring program is expected to transition to long-term monitoring after most of the remediation activities are completed. The main long-term monitoring objectives are to (1) confirm the continuing reduction of contaminant and hazard levels, (2) provide assurance for the public, (3) accumulate the basic datasets for scientific knowledge and future preparation, and (4) detect changes or anomalies in contaminant mobility (if they occur), or any unexpected processes or events. In this work, we have developed a methodology for optimizing the monitoring locations of radiation air dose-rate monitoring. Our approach consists of three steps in order to determine monitoring locations in a systematic manner: (1) prioritizing the critical locations, such as schools or regulatory requirement locations, (2) diversifying locations that cover the key environmental controls that are known to influence contaminant mobility and distributions, and (3) capturing the heterogeneity of radiation air-dose rates across the domain. For the second step, we use a Gaussian mixture model to identify the representative locations among multiple environmental variables, such as elevation and land-cover types. For the third step, we use a Gaussian process model to capture and estimate the heterogeneity of air-dose rates across the domain. Employing an integrated dose-rate map derived from Bayesian geostatistical methods as a reference map, we distribute the monitoring locations in such a way as to capture the heterogeneity of the reference map. Our results have shown that this approach allows us to select monitoring locations in a systematic manner such that the heterogeneity of air dose rates is captured by the minimal number of monitoring locations.

Pexophagy plays a pivotal role in the selective removal of ROS-generating peroxisomes, which protects plants from oxidative damage during photosynthesis under high-intensity light.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to develop imaging agents to detect early stage infections in implantable cardiac devices.BackgroundBacteria ingest maltodextrins through the specific maltodextrin transporter. We developed probes conjugated with either a fluorescent dye (maltohexaose fluorescent dye probe [MDP]) or a F-18 (F18 fluoromaltohexaose) and determined their usefulness in a model of infections associated with implanted cardiac devices.MethodsStainless steel mock-ups of medical devices were implanted subcutaneously in rats. On post-operative day 4, animals were injected with either Staphylococcus aureus around the mock-ups to induce a relatively mild infection or oil of turpentine to induce noninfectious inflammation. Animals with a sterile implant were used as control subjects. On post-operative day 6, either the MDP or F18 fluoromaltohexaose was injected intravenously, and the animals were scanned with the appropriate imaging device. Additional positron emission tomography imaging studies were performed with F18-fluorodeoxyglucose as a comparison of the specificity of our probes (n = 5 to 9 per group).ResultsThe accumulation of the MDP in the infected rats was significantly increased at 1 h after injection when compared with the control and noninfectious inflammation groups (intensity ratio 1.54 ± 0.07 vs. 1.26 ± 0.04 and 1.20 ± 0.05, respectively; p < 0.05) and persisted for more than 24 h. In positron emission tomography imaging, both F18 fluoromaltohexaose and F18 fluorodeoxyglucose significantly accumulated in the infected area 30 min after the injection (maximum standard uptake value ratio 4.43 ± 0.30 and 4.87 ± 0.28, respectively). In control rats, there was no accumulation of imaging probes near the device. In the noninfectious inflammation rats, no significant accumulation was observed with F18 fluoromaltohexaose, but F18 fluorodeoxyglucose accumulated in the mock-up area (maximum standard uptake value 2.53 ± 0.39 vs. 4.74 ± 0.46, respectively; p < 0.05).ConclusionsOur results indicate that maltohexaose-based imaging probes are potentially useful for the specific and sensitive diagnosis of infections associated with implantable cardiac devices.

Abstract Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a lethal disease, but no beneficial therapeutic agents have been established to date. Previously, we found that AAA formation is suppressed in microRNA (miR)-33-deficient mice compared with wild-type mice. Mice have only one miR-33, but humans have two miR-33 s, miR-33a and miR-33b. The data so far strongly support that inhibiting miR-33a or miR-33b will be a new strategy to treat AAA. We produced two specific anti-microRNA oligonucleotides (AMOs) that may inhibit miR-33a and miR-33b, respectively. In vitro studies showed that the AMO against miR-33b was more effective; therefore, we examined the in vivo effects of this AMO in a calcium chloride (CaCl2)-induced AAA model in humanized miR-33b knock-in mice. In this model, AAA was clearly improved by application of anti-miR-33b. To further elucidate the mechanism, we evaluated AAA 1 week after CaCl2 administration to examine the effect of anti-miR-33b. Histological examination revealed that the number of MMP-9-positive macrophages and the level of MCP-1 in the aorta of mice treated with anti-miR-33b was significantly reduced, and the serum lipid profile was improved compared with mice treated with control oligonucleotides. These results support that inhibition of miR-33b is effective in the treatment for AAA.

Intranasal corticosteroids are effective medications against allergic rhinitis (AR). However, mucociliary clearance promptly eliminates these drugs from the nasal cavity and delays their onset of action. Therefore, a faster, longer-lasting therapeutic effect on the nasal mucosa is required to enhance the efficacy of AR management. Our previous study showed that polyarginine, a cell-penetrating peptide, can deliver cargo to nasal cells; moreover, polyarginine-mediated cell-nonspecific protein transduction into the nasal epithelium exhibited high transfection efficiency with minimal cytotoxicity. In this study, poly-arginine-fused forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) protein, the “master transcriptional regulator” of regulatory T cells (Tregs), was administered into the bilateral nasal cavities of the ovalbumin (OVA)-immunoglobulin E mouse model of AR. The effects of these proteins on AR following OVA administration were investigated using histopathological, nasal symptom, flow cytometry, and cytokine dot blot analyses. Polyarginine-mediated FOXP3 protein transduction induced Treg-like cell generation in the nasal epithelium and allergen tolerance. Overall, this study proposes FOXP3 activation-mediated Treg induction as a novel and potential therapeutic strategy for AR, providing a potential alternative to conventional intranasal drug application for nasal drug delivery.

A positron emission tomography (PET) tracer composed of (18)F-labeled maltohexaose (MH(18)F) can image bacteria in vivo with a sensitivity and specificity that are orders of magnitude higher than those of fluorodeoxyglucose ((18)FDG). MH(18)F can detect early-stage infections composed of as few as 10(5) E. coli colony-forming units (CFUs), and can identify drug resistance in bacteria in vivo. MH(18)F has the potential to improve the diagnosis of bacterial infections given its unique combination of high specificity and sensitivity for bacteria.

Abstract This study aimed to verify the usefulness of the new layout at Center K after its transition from a facility for children with motional disabilities to a medical‐type facility for children with disabilities. We performed field research at the center before and after the transition in 2015 and 2016 respectively. We investigated the following four aspects: (i) Children's attributes in both types of facility, (ii) Children's usage rate of locations by day (weekday vs weekend), season, and unit, (iii) Nurses’ and nursing teachers’ nursing actions and usage rate of locations, and (iv) Behavioral changes in children who were transferred from the old to the new facility.

Infectious endocarditis is a life-threatening disease, and diagnostics are urgently needed to accurately diagnose this disease especially in the case of prosthetic valve endocarditis. We show here that maltohexaose conjugated to indocyanine green (MH-ICG) can detect Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) infection in a rat model of infective endocarditis. The affinity of MH-ICG to S. aureus was determined and had a Km and Vmax of 5.4 μM and 3.0 X 10-6 μmol/minutes/108 CFU, respectively. MH-ICG had no detectable toxicity to mammalian cells at concentrations as high as 100 μM. The in vivo efficiency of MH-ICG in rats was evaluated using a right heart endocarditis model, and the accumulation of MH-ICG in the bacterial vegetations was 2.5 ± 0.2 times higher than that in the control left ventricular wall. The biological half-life of MH-ICG in healthy rats was 14.0 ± 1.3 minutes, and approximately 50% of injected MH-ICG was excreted into the feces after 24 hours. These data demonstrate that MH-ICG was internalized by bacteria with high specificity and that MH-ICG specifically accumulated in bacterial vegetations in a rat model of endocarditis. These results demonstrate the potential efficacy of this agent in the detection of infective endocarditis.

Plasma membrane H+-ATPase provides the driving force for light-induced stomatal opening. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of its activity remain unclear. Here, we show that the phosphorylation of two Thr residues in the C-terminal autoinhibitory domain is crucial for H+-ATPase activation and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis thaliana. Using phosphoproteome analysis, we show that blue light induces the phosphorylation of Thr-881 within the C-terminal region I, in addition to penultimate Thr-948 in AUTOINHIBITED H+-ATPASE 1 (AHA1). Based on site-directed mutagenesis experiments, phosphorylation of both Thr residues is essential for H+ pumping and stomatal opening in response to blue light. Thr-948 phosphorylation is a prerequisite for Thr-881 phosphorylation by blue light. Additionally, red light-driven guard cell photosynthesis induces Thr-881 phosphorylation, possibly contributing to red light-dependent stomatal opening. Our findings provide mechanistic insights into H+-ATPase activation that exploits the ion transport across the plasma membrane and light signalling network in guard cells. Light-induced stomatal opening is crucial for photosynthesis. Here the authors show that blue light triggers phosphorylation of two Thr residues in the C-terminal autoinhibitory domain of plasma membrane H+-ATPase, thereby promoting stomatal opening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stomata open in response to low CO2 conditions in the light to maximise photosynthesis. Here, Hiyama et al. identify two kinases that promote stomatal opening by inhibiting S-type anion channels downstream of phototropin and HT1 thereby acting as a convergence point for blue light and CO2 signaling.