Liver has been considered to be a major organ that greatly alters its functions through mechanisms involving endothelin (ET)-1, one of the most potent vasoconstrictors produced by vascular endothelial cells. 1-3 Two classes of ET receptors have been identified: ET A receptor is predominantly expressed on vascular smooth muscle cells and executes vasoconstriction 4,5 ; on the other hand, ET B receptor occurs in endothelial cells, Kupffer cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells, and its stimulation in endothelial cells induces nitric oxide (NO)-mediated vasorelaxation through activation of constitutive NO synthase. 4,[6][7][8] Recent investigation has also shown contribution of eicosanoids to ET-induced biological effects, suggesting that its signaling pathways involve both NO-dependent and -independent mechanisms. 9,10 The ET-1 administration has been shown to aggravate hepatic microvascular changes under varied disease models involving endotoxemia, D-galactosamine-induced liver damage, or anoxia-reoxygenation injury. 11-15 During anoxia-reoxygenation, serum ET-1 levels were elevated, and blockade of its effects by ET antagonists attenuated reperfusion injury, suggesting deteriorating effects of this peptide vasoconstrictor on hepatoportal hemodynamics and bile formation. 2,3 Mechanisms by which ET-1 aggravates the hepatic reperfusion injury have been thought to involve impairment of sinusoidal patency through its vasoconstrictive actions. 14,16 This notion was supported by previous studies showing that transportal administration of ET-1 induces a marked vasoconstriction at portal venules and a reduction of bile flow. [17][18][19] However, biological actions of ET-1 endogenously generated upon the oxygen paradox on biliary function and cell viability have not fully been investigated. Further receptor phenotypes of the ET-1 effects responsible for alterations in reoxygenation-induced hepatobiliary dysfunction are largely unknown.The purpose of this study was to examine effects of anoxia and reoxygenation on endogenous ET-1 release and its pathophysiologic links to maintenance of bile formation and cell viability in isolated perfused rat livers. The current results suggest that ET-1 is released during the early period of reoxygenation and stimulates ET B receptor-mediated signaling to trigger NO-dependent and -independent protective mechanisms against anoxia-reoxygenation injury.Abbreviations: ET, endothelin; L-NAME, N -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester; SNAP, S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; cGMP, cyclic guanosine monophosphate; A/R, anoxia/reoxygenation; B/P, bile salt/phospholipid ratio.From the

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Gibberellin (GA) is a phytohormone that regulates various developmental processes during the plant life cycle. In this study, we identify a new GA agonist, diphegaractin, using a wheat cell-free based drug screening system with grape GA receptor. A GA-dependent interaction assay system using GA receptors and DELLA proteins from Vitis vinifera was constructed using AlphaScreen technology and cell-free produced proteins. From the chemical compound library, diphegaractin was found to enhance the interactions between GA receptors and DELLA proteins from grape in vitro. In grapes, we found that diphegaractin induces elongation of the bunch and increases the sugar concentration of grape berries. Furthermore, diphegaractin shows GA-like activity, including promotion of root elongation in lettuce and Arabidopsis, as well as reducing peel pigmentation and suppressing peel puffing in citrus fruit. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to successfully identify a GA receptor agonist showing GA-like activity in agricultural plants using an in vitro molecular-targeted drug screening system.

Video analysis has become an essential aspect of net sports, such as badminton. Accurately predicting the future trajectory of balls and shuttlecocks can significantly benefit players by enhancing their performance and enabling them to devise effective game strategies. This paper aims to analyze data to provide players with an advantage in the fast-paced rallies of badminton matches. The paper delves into the innovative task of predicting future shuttlecock trajectories in badminton match videos and presents a method that takes into account both the shuttlecock position and the positions and postures of the players. In the experiments, players were extracted from the match video, their postures were analyzed, and a time-series model was trained. The results indicate that the proposed method improved accuracy by 13% compared to methods that solely used shuttlecock position information as input, and by 8.4% compared to methods that employed both shuttlecock and player position information as input.