Mos, a protein kinase, is specifically expressed and functions during meiotic maturation (or G2/M progression) of vertebrate oocytes. When expressed ectopically, however, it can also readily induce oncogenic transformation (or uncontrolled G1/S transitions) in somatic cells. In both of these cell types, Mos activates mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK), which seems largely to mediate its different functions in both oocyte maturation and cellular transformation. In oocyte maturation, the Mos‐MAPK pathway probably serves to activate and stabilize M‐phase promoting factor (MPF) (possibly by (...) inhibiting some negative regulator(s) of this factor), while in cellular transformation, it seems to stabilize and activate the nuclear oncoprotein c‐Fos as well as to induce transcription of its gene. Thus, the different functions of Mos in oocytes and somatic cells may arise chiefly from its different MAPK‐mediated targets in the respective cell types. This review discusses the cellular basis that may enable Mos to act differently in oocytes and somatic cells. (shrink)

In April of 2006, the prominent cultural anthropologist Noriyuki Ueda sat down with the Dalai Lama for a two day conversation. This book is based on that long and lively conversation in Dharamsala.

The ascidian embryo has long provided a model system for ‘mosaic’ development. This article reviews recent advances in the study of ascidian developmental biology. These include: (a) the re‐analysis of cell lineages in ascidian embryos with the ascertainment of developmental fates of every blastomere of a 110‐cell embryo; (b) the development of several tissue‐specific monoclonal antibodies; (c) the investigation and description of cell cycle requirements for differentiation; it has been found that neither cytokinesis nor nuclear division is required for differentiation, (...) but that several rounds of DNA replication are essential for the expression of certain tissue‐specific genes; and (d) the demonstration by new descriptive and experimental studies of the presence of cytoplasmic factors or determinants responsible for specification of embryonic cell features; myoplasm which is thought to contain muscle determinants has been isolated, and immunological attempts to elucidate the molecular nature of the factors have begun. (shrink)

Simple and accessible wisdom from His Holiness the Dalai Lama on how we stay in the moment in the midst of the demands and stresses of everyday life. Be Here includes discussions of the Buddhist concepts of attachment, emptiness, compassion, love, and resentment and how our sense of the past and the future affect our ability to be in the present. Many Buddhist practices and meditations focus on "being in the present moment." But what does that really mean? What does (...) it mean to be here now? Attachment. Emptiness. Compassion. You will hear the Dalai Lama present these three words again and again in this book of wisdom designed to move us toward the goal of "being here." He speaks of attachment - to things, to people, to memory, to feelings of anger and resentment, to future goals. Being attached means we are not here now; we are living through wherever our attachment takes us. Does emptiness mean we let go of everything? Even the present thoughts in our minds? How does understanding emptiness help us to be here now? The Dalai Lama is clear: if we are not educated about past history and if we have no sense of the future, then how can be possibly have a "present"? When we are here, we can practice compassion in the present moment and focus on social justice now. When we are here, we are no longer attached to our past, no longer stressed about the future, no longer tethered to suffering. Being here means we find happiness, peace, and the fullness of life. (shrink)

Mutations in growth factor receptor signaling pathways are common in cancer cells, including the highly lethal brain tumor glioblastoma (GBM) where they drive tumor growth through mechanisms including altering the uptake and utilization of nutrients. However, the impact of changes in micro‐environmental nutrient levels on oncogenic signaling, tumor growth, and drug resistance is not well understood. We recently tested the hypothesis that external nutrients promote GBM growth and treatment resistance by maintaining the activity of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 2 (...) (mTORC2), a critical intermediate of growth factor receptor signaling, suggesting that altered cellular metabolism is not only a consequence of oncogenic signaling, but also potentially an important determinant of its activity. Here, we describe the studies that corroborate the hypothesis and propose others that derive from them. Notably, this line of reasoning raises the possibility that systemic metabolism may contribute to responsiveness to targeted cancer therapies. (shrink)

Aphasia is a language disorder that occurs after a stroke and impairs listening, speaking, reading, writing, and calculation skills. Patients with post-stroke aphasia in Japan are increasing due to population aging and the advancement of medical treatment. Opportunities for adequate speech therapy in chronic stroke are limited due to time constraints. Recent studies have reported that intensive speech therapy for a short period of time or continuous speech therapy using high-tech equipment, including speech applications (apps, can improve aphasia even in (...) the chronic stage. However, its underlying mechanism for improving language function and its effect on other cognitive functions remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated whether intensive speech therapy using a newly developed speech support app could improve aphasia and other cognitive functions in patients with chronic stroke. Furthermore, we examined whether it can alter the brain network related to language and other cortical areas. Thus, we conducted a prospective, single-comparison study to examine the effects of a new speech support app on language and cognitive functions and used resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) regions of interest (ROI) to ROI analysis to determine changes in the related brain network. Two patients with chronic stroke participated in this study. They used the independent speech therapy system to perform eight sets of 20 randomly presented words/time (taking approximately 20 min), for 8 consecutive weeks. Their language, higher cognitive functions including attention function, and rs-fMRI, were evaluated before and after the rehabilitation intervention using the speech support app. Both patients had improved pronunciation, daily conversational situations, and attention. The rs-fMRI analysis showed increased functional connectivity of brain regions associated with language and attention related areas. Our results show that intensive speech therapy using this speech support app can improve language and attention functions even in the chronic stage of stroke, and may be a useful tool for patients with aphasia. In the future, we will conduct longitudinal studies with larger numbers of patients, which we hope will continue the trends seen in the current study, and provide even stronger evidence for the usefulness of this new speech support app. (shrink)