Increased expression of TCF3, transcription factor 3, is a defense response against methylmercury toxicity in mouse neuronal C17.2 cells

Toyama Takashi,Wang Yanjiao,Kim Min-Seok,Takahashi Tsutomu,Naganuma Akira,Hwang Gi-Wook 한국독성학회 2021 Toxicological Research Vol.37 No.4

Methylmercury is an environmental pollutant that induces potent neurotoxicity. We previously identified transcription factor 3 (TCF3) as a transcription factor that is activated in the brains of mice treated with methylmercury, and reported that methylmercury sensitivity was increased in cells in which TCF3 expression was suppressed. However, the mechanisms involved in the activation of TCF3 by methylmercury and in the reduction of methylmercury toxicity by TCF3 remained unclear. We found that treatment of mouse neuronal C17.2 cells with methylmercury increased TCF3 protein levels and promoted the binding of TCF3 to DNA consensus sequences. In cells treated with actinomycin D, a transcription inhibitor, an increase in TCF3 protein levels was also observed under methylmercury exposure. However, in the presence of cycloheximide, a translation inhibitor, methylmercury delayed the degradation of TCF3 protein. In addition, treatment with MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, increased TCF3 protein levels, and there was not significant increase in TCF3 protein levels by methylmercury under these conditions. These results suggest that methylmercury may activate TCF3 by increasing its levels through inhibition of TCF3 degradation by the proteasome. It has been previously reported that the induction of apoptosis in neurons is involved in methylmercury-induced neuronal damage in the brain. Although apoptosis was induced in C17.2 cells treated with methylmercury, this induction was largely suppressed by overexpression of TCF3. These results indicate that TCF3, which is increased in the brain upon exposure to methylmercury, may be a novel defense factor against methylmercury-induced neurotoxicity.

Empirical Study on the Acceptance of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Based on the UTAUT2 Model

Toyama Masaki 한국마케팅학회 2022 ASIA MARKETING JOURNAL Vol.24 No.3

To achieve the widespread use of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), a novel transportation platform, it is important to increase consumers' intention to use MaaS. Therefore, this study clarifies the determinants of consumers’ intention to use MaaS based on the UTAUT2 model. The research model is tested using structural equation modeling based on data from a web-based questionnaire survey of Japanese consumers. The results show that performance expectancy, social influence, hedonic motivation, and price value have significant effects on the intention to use MaaS. Moreover, the relationship between the intention to use MaaS and independent variables is moderated by old age. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed based on the findings.

The Stages of Development in Japan-Australia Economic Relations

Toyama, Yoshihiro Australian Studies Institute 1997 Journal of Australian studies Vol.4 No.1

Production of Herbicide-tolerant Zoysiagrass by Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation

Koichi Toyama,배창휴,강정구,임용표,Taiji Adachi,Key-Zung Rui,송필순,이효연 한국분자세포생물학회 2003 Molecules and cells Vol.16 No.1

Herbicide-resistant zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) has been developed by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. A callus-type transformation system was established by optimizing several factors that affect the rate of transformation, including co-cultivation period and concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), CaCl2 and acetosyringone. Maximal GUS expression was observed when a Type 3 callus was cocultivated on 2,4-D-free co-cultivation medium for 9 d. In addition, removal of calcium and addition of 50−100 mg/L acetosyringone during co-cultivation enhanced GUS expression. When this optimized protocol was applied to the transformation of the bialaphos resistance gene (bar), four plants per 700 mg of infected calluses survived on the selective medium. DNA gel-blot analysis showed that two copies of the transgene had been integrated. After application of 2 g/L bialaphos for a week the transgenic plants survived herbicide spraying, while untransformed zoysiagrasses and invading weeds died. The herbicide-tolerant zoysiagrass will permit more efficient weed control in this widely cultivated turf grass.

A Second-Order Sliding Mode Controller for Active Suspension Systems

Shigehiro Toyama,Fujio Ikeda,Yoshio Sorimachi 제어로봇시스템학회 2008 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2008 No.10

This paper presents a second-order sliding mode controller for active suspension systems. The proposed controller, which occurs a limit cycle as the second-order sliding mode, is designed by the integral sliding mode control theory with the twisting algorithm. With the block diagram algebra, the proposed control system can be converted into a nonlinear feedback system consisting of a linear transfer function and a nonlinear element. For the nonlinear system, the describing function method can approximately lead the existence condition for an ideal limit cycle at desired frequency with desired amplitude. Satisfying the existence condition, the proposed controller could almost occur the desired limit cycle in the vicinity of the switching surface, instead of the perfect sliding mode for the conventional sliding mode control theory. As a result, deterioration of the control efforts due to the chattering in high frequency range, such as the ride comfort or the road holding performance, could be suppressed, since the control input could be smooth. An indicator of the robustness against the perturbation of the plant was led from a view of the existence condition in the Nyquist’s plot. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Poster Session : PS 0149 ; Neurology : The Impact of Non-Motor Symptoms on Qol in Japanese Patients with Parkinson`s Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study

( Mayumi Toyama ),( Yasuyuki Okuma ),( Mitsutoshi Yamamoto ),( Kenichi Kashihara ),( Kazuto Yoshda ),( Hidemoto Saiki ),( Tetsuya Maeda ),( Yoshio Tsuboi ),( Takeo Nakayama ) 대한내과학회 2014 대한내과학회 추계학술대회 Vol.2014 No.1

Background: Parkinson`s disease (PD) is increasingly recognized as multidimensional disorder. In addition to classic motor symptoms, patients have a variety of non-motor symptoms (NMS) that substantially affect quality of life (QoL). However, the prevalence of NMS and the relative impact of non-motor symptoms on QoL in PD have not been well documented in Japanese PD patients. In this study, we have the following objectives: 1) To determine the prevalence of NMS in Japanese PD patients. 2) To study the impact of NMS on the QoL in Japanese PD patients. Methods: This was a multi-center cross-sectional epidemiologic study. We recruited outpatients from seven Neurology departments at general hospitals across Japan between October 2010 and September 2011. A total of 824 Japanese PD patients was included in this study. NMS of patients was evaluated by Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS). Parkinson`s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39) was used to evaluate the QoL of PD patients. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the direct impact of NMSs on QoL using PDQ-39, after adjusting for age, sex, disease duration, and the Unifi ed Parkinson`s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) Part I, Part II, Part III and Part IV. Results: The mean of total NMSS score was 37.4±35.4. The highly prevalent NMSS domains were sleep/fatigue (87.6%) and urinary (86.1%). The highly prevalent NMSS items were nocturia (72.0%) and constipation (71.6%). In multivariate analyses after adjustment for age, sex, disease duration, UPDRS Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV, total score of NMSS has statistical signifi cance with PDQ-39 (p=0.00, ß=0.16, Adj-R squared=0.65). Conclusions: NMS were highly prevalent in Japanese PD patients. NMS have a direct negative impact on QoL in Japanese PD patients.

Development on the Autonomous Mowing Robot for Orchard

( Keisuke Toyama ),( Kenta Hatiya ),( Shoji Koide ),( Takahiro Orikasa ),( Hiroshi Shono ),( Jun-ichi Takeda ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

In autonomous vehicle of agricultural machinery, it is popular to use GNSS to estimate the current position, but it is often difficult to use GNSS in the orchard field due to multipath etc. Particularly, in weeding work, it is needed to mow near the trunk of trees, and position identification methods other than GNSS are necessary. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to develop autonomous mowing robot which autonomously runs by identifying the tree position of tree by laser scanner. A riding rotary mower was used as a test machine. A laser scanner, a DC motor for steering, and a PC for control are installed on the vehicle. The target steering angle for vehicle control was calculated from the tree position obtained from the laser scanner by calculating the target trajectory and using the forward fixed point model. Also in order to mow the weeds between the tree rows, it is necessary to travel several times, so we used the route created from the known tree row width and vehicle mowing width. The pseudo-trees were used in the field test. As a tested result, RMS value was about 25 mm in case of strait running control, which was sufficient accuracy in actual work.

The Real Story of The Problems at Japan Airlines

Kazuhiko Toyama 동아시아재단 2010 Global Asia Vol.5 No.2

Object Recognition Using Hierarchical Structure

Takumi Toyama,Koichi Kise 한국멀티미디어학회 2009 한국멀티미디어학회 국제학술대회 Vol.2009 No.-

Object recognition is one of the most challenging problems in the field of computer vision. Although recent approaches have shown promising results, such approaches are specialized in each recognition task. Therefore they cannot be extended many other recognition tasks. To integrate many types of recognition, we propose a novel recognition method which uses hierarchical structure. Our experimental results show the proposed method has advantages on processing time and accuracy compared to a conventional method for generic object recognition.

TAXATION OF PATENT AND KNOW-HOW LICENSING

Kozo Toyama 한국법학원 1976 한국법학원보 Vol.- No.54