Photodynamic hyperthermal chemotherapy with indocyanine green: a novel cancer therapy for 16 cases of malignant soft tissue sarcoma

Sixteen cases of malignant soft tissue sarcoma (STS; 10 canines and six felines) were treated with a novel triple therapy that combined photodynamic therapy, hyperthermia using indocyanine green with a broadband light source, and local chemotherapy after surgical tumor resection. This triple therapy was called photodynamic hyperthermal chemotherapy (PHCT). In all cases, the surgical margin was insufficient. In one feline case, PHCT was performed without surgical resection. PHCT was performed over an interval of 1 to 2 weeks and was repeated three to 21 times. No severe side effects, including severe skin burns, necrosis, or skin suture rupture, were observed in any of the animals. No disease recurrence was observed in seven out of 10 (70.0%) dogs and three out of six (50.0%) cats over the follow-up periods ranging from 238 to 1901 days. These results suggest that PHCT decreases the risk of STS recurrence. PHCT should therefore be considered an adjuvant therapy for treating companion animals with STS in veterinary medicine.     

Reconstitution of contractile FtsZ rings in liposomes

FtsZ is a tubulin homolog and the major cytoskeletal protein in bacterial cell division. It assembles into the Z ring, which contains FtsZ and a dozen other division proteins, and constricts to divide the cell. We have constructed a membrane-targeted FtsZ (FtsZ-mts) by splicing an amphipathic helix to its C terminus. When mixed with lipid vesicles, FtsZ-mts was incorporated into the interior of some tubular vesicles. There it formed multiple Z rings that could move laterally in both directions along the length of the liposome and coalesce into brighter Z rings. Brighter Z rings produced visible constrictions in the liposome, suggesting that FtsZ itself can assemble the Z ring and generate a force. No other proteins were needed for assembly and force generation.     

Schema-dependent gene activation and memory encoding in neocortex

When new learning occurs against the background of established prior knowledge, relevant new information can be assimilated into a schema and thereby expand the knowledge base. An animal model of this important component of memory consolidation reveals that systems memory consolidation can be very fast. In experiments with rats, we found that the hippocampal-dependent learning of new paired associates is associated with a striking up-regulation of immediate early genes in the prelimbic region of the medial prefrontal cortex, and that pharmacological interventions targeted at that area can prevent both new learning and the recall of remotely and even recently consolidated information. These findings challenge the concept of distinct fast (hippocampal) and slow (cortical) learning systems, and shed new light on the neural mechanisms of memory assimilation into schemas.     

Formation of a one-dimensional array of oxygen in a microporous metal-organic solid

We report the direct observation of dioxygen molecules physisorbed in the nanochannels of a microporous copper coordination polymer by the MEM (maximum entropy method)/Rietveld method, using in situ high-resolution synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction measurements. The obtained MEM electron density revealed that van der Waals dimers of physisorbed O2 locate in the middle of nanochannels and form a one-dimensional ladder structure aligned to the host channel structure. The observed O-O stretching Raman band and magnetic susceptibilities are characteristic of the confined O2 molecules in one-dimensional nanochannels of CPL-1 (coordination polymer 1 with pillared layer structure).     

Complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of ayu Plecoglossus altivelis

SUMMARY: We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial genome for ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis . Two large DNA fragments covering the entire genome were amplified using a long polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, and the products subsequently used as templates for PCR with 57 fish-versatile and five species-specific primers that amplify contiguous, overlapping segments of the entire genome. Direct sequencing of the PCR products demonstrated that the genome (16 537 bp) contained the same 37 mitochondrial genes (two ribosomal RNA, 22 transfer RNA, and 13 protein-coding genes) as those found in other vertebrates, with the gene order identical to that in typical vertebrates. A major non-coding region between the tRNA^Pro and tRNA^Phe genes (857 bp) was considered to be the control region (D-loop), as it has several conservative blocks that are characteristic to this region.