Background: Previous studies have demonstrated essential roles for alpha-calcium/calmodulindependent protein kinase II (alpha-CaMKII) in learning, memory and long-term potentiation (LTP). However, previous studies have also shown that alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice display a dramatic decrease in anxiety-like and fearful behaviors, and an increase in defensive aggression. These findings indicated that alpha-CaMKII is important not only for learning and memory but also for emotional behaviors. In this study, to understand the roles of alpha-CaMKII in emotional behavior, we generated transgenic mice overexpressing alpha-CaMKII in the forebrain and analyzed their behavioral phenotypes.

A cationic azolato-bridged dinuclear platinum(II) complex, [{cis-Pt(NH)}(μ-OH)(μ-methyl-pyrazolate)] (4M-PzPt), was developed to overcome resistance to cisplatin (CDDP). This study aimed to assess the cytotoxicity of 4M-PzPt against a CDDP-resistant cell line, H4-II-E/CDDP, and compare the intracellular accumulation of CDDP and 4M-PzPt. H4-II-E and H4-II-E/CDDP displayed similar sensitivity to 4M-PzPt; however, the sensitivity of H4-II-E/CDDP to CDDP was approximately 19-fold lower than that of H4-II-E. The difference in the sensitivity to both platinum complexes corresponded with the difference in the amount of intracellular platinum accumulation after exposure to CDDP or 4M-PzPt in both cell lines. In H4-II-E, HepG2, and HuH-7 cells, the intracellular uptake of CDDP and 4M-PzPt occurred via active transport and passive transport. Results of co-exposure with the transport inhibitors ouabain, tetraethylammonium, and cimetidine indicated that the intracellular uptake of CDDP was dependent on Na/K-ATPase and that of 4M-PzPt was dependent on organic cation transporters (OCTs), probably OCT1. This study suggested that 4M-PzPt could inhibit the growth of a CDDP-resistant tumor via an intracellular uptake mechanism different from that of CDDP.

In this study, changes of microbial substrate metabolic patterns by BIOLOG assay were discussed through a sequential wastewater reuse process, which includes activated sludge and treated effluent in wastewater treatment plant and soil aquifer treatment (SAT), especially focussing on the surface sand layer in conjunction with the vadose zone, concerning sand depth. A SAT pilot-scale reactor, in which the height of packed sand was 237 cm (vadose zone: 17 cm and saturated zone 220 cm), was operated and fed continuously by discharged anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2O) treated water. Continuous water quality measurements over a period of 10 months indicated that the treatment performance of the reactor, such as 83.2% dissolved organic carbon removal, appeared to be stable. Core sampling was conducted for the surface sand to a 30 cm depth, and the sample was divided into six 5 cm sections. Microbial activities, as evaluated by fluorescein diacetate, sharply decreased with increasing distance from the surface of the 30 cm core sample, which included significant decreases only 5 cm from the top surface. A similar microbial metabolic pattern containing a high degree of carbohydrates was obtained among the activated sludge, A2O treated water (influent to the SAT reactor) and the 0-5 cm layer of sand. Meanwhile, the 10-30 cm sand core layers showed dramatically different metabolic patterns containing a high degree of carboxylic acid and esters, and it is possible that the metabolic pattern exhibited by the 5-10 cm layer is at a midpoint of the changing pattern. This suggests that the removal of different organic compounds by biodegradation would be expected to occur in the activated sludge and in the SAT sand layers immediately below 5 cm from the top surface. It is possible that changes in the composition of the organic matter and/or transit of the limiting factor for microbial activities from carbon to phosphorus might have contributed to the observed dramatic changes in SAT metabolic patterns.

No abstract