A Common Variant in SLC8A1 Is Associated with the Duration of the Electrocardiographic QT Interval

Kim, J.,Hong, K.W.,Go, M.,Kim, S.,Tabara, Y.,Kita, Y.,Tanigawa, T.,Cho, Y.,Han, B.G.,Oh, B. University of Chicago Press [etc.] 2012 American journal of human genetics Vol.91 No.1

Prolongation of the electrocardiographic QT interval, a measure of cardiac repolarization, predisposes one to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Since NOS1AP, a regulator of neuronal nitric oxide synthase, was discovered in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) as a novel target that modulates cardiac repolarization, several loci have been linked to the QT interval in studies (QTGEN and QTSCD) of European descendents. However, there has been no GWAS of the QT interval in Asian populations. We conducted a GWAS with regard to the QT interval in Korea Association Resource (KARE [n = 6,805]) cohorts. Replication studies in independent populations of Korean (n = 4,686) and Japanese (n = 2,687) groups validated the association between a SNP, rs13017846, which maps to near SLC8A1 (sodium/calcium exchanger 1 precursor, overall p = 8.0 x 10<SUP>-14</SUP>), and the QT interval. The minor allele frequency (MAF) of rs13017846 varies widely between ethnicities-0.053 in Europeans (HapMap CEU [Utah residents with ancestry from northern and western Europe from the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain collection] samples) versus 0.080 in Africans (HapMap YRI [Yoruba in Ibadan, Nigeria] samples)-whereas a MAF of 0.500 has been reported in Asians (HapMap HCB [Han Chinese in Beijing, China] and JPT [Japanese in Tokyo, Japan] samples). This might explain why this locus has not been identified in Europeans in previous studies.

MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN VITRO IN CHICKS FED A LOW-PROTEIN DIET

Kita, K.,Kuzuya, Y.,Matsunami, S.,Okumura, J. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 1996 Animal Bioscience Vol.9 No.2

Muscle protein synthesis in vitro was measured in chicks fed low-protein(10% CP) and control(20% CP) diets. Right leg muscles (M. gastrocnemius) were mounted on a support made of stainless steel to stretch in constant tension, whereas left leg muscles were unmounted. Both leg muscles were incubated in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium including L-[$4-^3H$] phenylalanine for 60 min to measure in vitro protein synthesis. There was no significant difference in fractional synthesis rate(FSR) of muscle protein between both dietary protein levels, whereas FSR with stretch in constant tension was significantly higher than that without constant tension due to an increase in the absolute synthesis rate(ASR) per unit RNA(the efficiency of RNA to synthesize protein). The ASR of muscle protein in chicks fed the control diet was significantly higher than that in the low-protein diet group.

Three-dimensional structural design based on cellular automata simulation

Kita, E.,Saito, H.,Tamaki, T.,Shimizu, H.,Xie, Y.M. Techno-Press 2006 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.23 No.1

This paper describes the design scheme of the three-dimensional structures based on the concept of the cellular automata simulation. The cellular automata simulation is performed according to the local rule. In this paper, the local rule is derived in the mathematical formulation from the optimization problem. The cell density is taken as the design variable. Two objective functions are defined for reducing the total weight of the structure and obtaining the fully stressed structure. The constraint condition is defined for defining the local rule. The penalty function is defined from the objective functions and the constraint condition. Minimization of the penalty function with respect to the design parameter leads to the local rule. The derived rule is applied to the design of the three-dimensional structure first. The final structure can be obtained successfully. However, the computational cost is expensive. So, in order to reduce the computational cost, the material parameters $c_1$ and $c_2$ and the value of the cell rejection criterion (CRC) are changed. The results show that the computational cost depends on the parameters and the CRC value.

1992년도 춘계 학술강연 및 발표대회 개요 - 강연 · 제련 ( 발표 5 ) : 용융 Fe - Nb - N 합금중의 평형 Nb 질화물의 구조 및 평형에 관한 열역학적 검토

정우광,Y . Kita,T . Tanaka,Z . Morita 대한금속재료학회 ( 구 대한금속학회 ) 1992 대한금속재료학회 학술대회 개요집 Vol.1992 No.1

Dietary Sesame Meal Increases Plasma HDL-cholesterol Concentration in Goats

Hirano, Y.,Kashima, T.,Inagaki, N.,Uesaka, K.,Yokota, H.,Kita, K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2002 Animal Bioscience Vol.15 No.11

Influence of dietary sesame meal on plasma glucose, non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol and urea concentrations in goats was examined. Goats were fed a control diet (50% timothy hay and 50% concentrates) (CD) or a sesame meal diet (50% timothy hay, 25% concentrates and 25% sesame meal) (SMD) during 12 days. Blood samples were taken after overnight fasting and afternoon every day. Body weight was not changed by feeding either CD or SMD. The concentrations of plasma triglyceride and urea were higher (p<0.05) in goats fed SMD than those fed CD. Plasma NEFA concentration was higher in plasma samples after overnight fasting. Plasma glucose concentration in plasma samples collected afternoon was higher than those after overnight fasting. Plasma total cholesterol concentration was significantly increased by feeding SMD but not by feeding CD, which was due to the remarkable increase of plasma HDL-cholesterol concentration. In conclusion, dietary sesame meal brought about an increase in plasma total cholesterol concentration accompanied with an increment in plasma HDL-cholesterol consentration in goats.

Increase in Plasma HDL-Cholesterol Concentration in Goats Fed Sesame Meal Is Related to Ether Extract Fraction Included in the Meal

Hirano, Y.,Yokota, H.,Kita, K. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2003 Animal Bioscience Vol.16 No.4

Previously, we reported that a diet including sesame meal (SM) increased plasma total and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol concentrations in goats. In the present study, the components in the sesame meal that can increase plasma total and HDL-cholesterol concentrations have been examined. In experiment 1, we gave goats defatted sesame meal diet (DSM) to investigate the influence of ether extract fraction remained in sesame meal. Corn gluten meal diet (CGM) was also fed to goats as a high-protein diet to examine the influence of high dietary protein level caused by usage of sesame meal. Plasma total and HDL-cholesterol concentrations of goats fed DSM and CGM did not change during experimental periods though they were elevated by feeding SM. In experiment 2, the influence of sesame oil and corn oil added in diets on plasma total and HDL-cholesterol concentrations in goats was investigated. Plasma total and HDL-cholesterol concentrations were increased by feeding both corn oil diet and sesame oil diet. In conclusion, the increase in plasma HDL-cholesterol concentration by feeding sesame meal was resulted by the effect of ether extract fraction including sesame oil or some lipid-soluble components remained in sesame meal.

Electronic behavior of visible light sensitive ZrO2/Cr2O3/carbon clusters composite materials

H. Miyazaki,H. Matsui,Y. Kita,S. Karuppuchamy,S. Ito,M. Yoshihara 한국물리학회 2009 Current Applied Physics Vol.9 No.1

Nano-sized ZrO2/Cr2O3/carbon clusters composite materials were successfully obtained by the microwave-irradiated calcinations of a Zr(acac)4/Cr(acac)3/epoxy resin complex. The compositions of the resulting composite materials were determined using ICP, elemental analysis and surface characterization by XRD, SEM and TEM. The UV–Vis spectra of the composites were also obtained. ESR spectral examinations of the composites indicate that an electron transfer takes place in the process Cr2O3 → carbon clusters → ZrO2. The composite materials have been found to show visible light-responsive catalytic activities. Nano-sized ZrO2/Cr2O3/carbon clusters composite materials were successfully obtained by the microwave-irradiated calcinations of a Zr(acac)4/Cr(acac)3/epoxy resin complex. The compositions of the resulting composite materials were determined using ICP, elemental analysis and surface characterization by XRD, SEM and TEM. The UV–Vis spectra of the composites were also obtained. ESR spectral examinations of the composites indicate that an electron transfer takes place in the process Cr2O3 → carbon clusters → ZrO2. The composite materials have been found to show visible light-responsive catalytic activities.

Chelant-enhanced washing of CCA-contaminated soil: Coupled with selective dissolution or soil stabilization

Beiyuan, Jingzi,Lau, Abbe Y.T.,Tsang, Daniel C.W.,Zhang, Weihua,Kao, Chih-Ming,Baek, Kitae,Ok, Yong Sik,Li, Xiang-Dong Elsevier 2018 Science of the Total Environment Vol.612 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Remediation of CCA-contaminated soil (Cr, Cu, and As) by biodegradable chelant-enhanced washing (EDDS, <I>S,S</I>-ethylene-diamine-disuccinic-acid) needs further enhancement. This study investigated the effectiveness of coupling with pre-treatment by selective dissolution and post-treatment by soil amendments, respectively. Three groups of reagents (reductants, alkaline solvents, and organic ligands) were adopted in the pre-treatment to dissolve the oxide minerals before EDDS extraction. In the post-treatment, soil amendments (coal fly ash (CFA), acid mine drainage sludge (AMDS), green waste compost (GWC)), and their mixtures) were used for a 2-month stabilization after 2-h EDDS washing. Multi-endpoint evaluation was performed by assessing the chemical state, leachability, mobility, bioaccessibility, and plant-availability of residual metal(loid)s as well as the cytotoxicity, enzyme activities, and available nutrients of the treated soils. Pre-treatment by dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate significantly enhanced extraction efficiency, but also increased the leachability of As and Cr and bioaccessibility of Cr in the treated soils. While sodium hydroxide removed the majority of As without increasing its leachability and bioaccessibility, it increased the cytotoxicity and inhibited the acid phosphatase activity. Post-treatment with AMDS and CFA effectively controlled the mobility and leachability of residual As and Cr after EDDS washing. However, destabilized Cu was only marginally immobilized by GWC due to strong Cu-EDDS complexation. The bioaccessibility and phytoavailability of Cu was primarily reduced by EDDS washing, while those of As and Cr could be attenuated by AMDS and CFA. This study indicates that coupling chemical extraction with subsequent soil amendment plays complementary roles in mitigating effects of residual metal(loid)s and improving environmental quality.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Selective dissolution improved the removal efficiency of Cr, Cu, and As. </LI> <LI> Leachability and bioaccessibility of residual metal(loid)s were increased. </LI> <LI> NaOH washing boosted cytotoxicity and inhibited acid phosphatase activity. </LI> <LI> Mobility and leachability of residual metal(loid)s were curbed by CFA and AMDS. </LI> <LI> In contrast, bioaccessibility and plant-availability were reduced only by EDDS. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Dietary Fatty Acid Supplementation during Transitional Period Increases Milk Production in Dairy Cows

Nagao, K.,Takahara, Y.,Asai, H.,Hayashi, N.,Kitayama, T.,Yoshimura, Y.,Yokota, H.,Kita, Kazumi Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2005 Animal Bioscience Vol.18 No.8

The effect of dietary fatty acid supplementation on milk production, milk composition and plasma constituents in dairy cows was examined. Dietary fatty acids including mainly palmitic acid and stearic acid were given to cows from 2 weeks before and 8 weeks after parturition. Weekly gain of daily milk production was increased gradually during early lactation period and reached a plateau at 4 weeks after parturition. Weekly gain of daily milk production in lactating cows received dietary fatty acids was significantly higher than that of cows given a control diet alone. Although milk lactose concentration was slightly decreased by dietary fatty acid supplementation, milk fat and protein were not significantly influenced by dietary fatty acid supplementation. Dietary fatty acids did not affect plasma concentrations of triglyceride, non-esterified fatty acids, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and glucose during postpartum. It is suggested that dietary fatty acid supplementation has the potency to enhance energy balance and improve milk yield without any adverse effects on milk composition.

Gut sensing of dietary K⁺ intake increases renal K⁺ excretion

Oh, K.-S.,Oh, Y.T.,Kim, S.-W.,Kita, T.,Kang, I.,Youn, J.H. AMERICAN PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY 2011 American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integr Vol.301 No.2