Conceptual design of a heavy ion beam probe for the QUEST spherical tokamak

A heavy ion beam probe (HIBP) has been designed for the QUEST spherical tokamak to measure plasma turbulence and the profiles of electric potential profiles. Using a cesium ion beam with an energy of several 10 keV, the observable region covers most of the upper half of the plasma. Although the probe beam is deflected by the poloidal magnetic field produced by plasma current and poloidal coil currents, it can be detected under plasma current up to 150 kA by modifying the trajectories with two electrostatic sweepers. According to the numerical estimation of the intensity of the detected beam, sufficient signal intensity for measuring plasma turbulence can be obtained over almost the measurable area when the electron density is up to 1 × 10¹⁹ m^-3, which is larger than the cut-off density of electron cyclotron heating in QUEST. The performance of the designed HIBP is sufficient to explore the mechanisms of heat and particle transport in magnetically confined plasmas, including the influence of plasma wall interactions, which is a goal of the QUEST project.

Adaptive Capon beamforming for lensless electron cyclotron emission imaging with high spatial resolution

Electron cyclotron emission (ECE) imaging diagnostics incorporating a lensless approach have been developed for measurements involving active spatial selectivity and direction-of-arrival estimation. The Capon method for adaptive-array analysis was proposed to improve the spatial resolution of the two-dimensional ECE imaging technique. Broadband noise source emissions were used to simulate the ECE to verify the practical effectiveness of the Capon method in the ECE imaging. Multiple noise source emission positions were properly estimated with a high spatial resolution using the Capon method.

Efficient electron cyclotron current drive regime for plasma current start-up in fusion reactors

An accessibility enhanced efficient fundamental X-mode electron cyclotron heating (ECH) current start-up regime was identified for a reactorlike toroidal magnetic field range which has more than 100 times higher current drive efficiency compared to more conventional ECH methods for the relevant start-up temperature range. Very high current drive efficiency is possible due to the strong cyclotron interaction only with unidirectional passing electrons constrained by the wave accessibility conditions. This efficient electron cyclotron current drive regime may help facilitate the design of innovative economical solenoid-free tokamak fusion reactor systems.

Characterizing genetic variants for DAG and IP3 signalling pathways in severe cases of coronary spastic angina

Background

We previously reported that the activity of phospholipase C (PLC), a key molecule for intracellular calcium signaling, was enhanced in patients with coronary spastic angina (CSA). Furthermore, we found PLC-δ1 864 G to A mutation in about 10% of the male CSA patients. However, comprehensive understanding of genetic role in the pathogenesis of CSA remains to be elucidated.

Purpose

We tested the hypothesis that variants in the genes responsible for contraction signaling, especially a Ca2+-dependent mechanism, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of CSA.

Methods and results

Exome sequencing was performed to genotype comprehensively CSA cohort, enabling investigation of 258 gene network for diacylglycerol (DAG) and inositol trisphosphate (IP3) signallings, which are responsible for contraction signaling in the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism.

The study population included 30 Japanese patients with severe cases of CSA (18 men and 12 women with a mean age of 62.2±10.1 years). In 23 patients, ST segment elevation was recorded on the electrocardiogram during a spontaneous attack. In other 3 patients, ventricular fibrillation occurred following CSA attacks. The rests were diagnosed by ECG changes and elevated cardiac enzymes following CSA attacks. Genetic information from these CSA patients were compared with those from 914 healthy controls.

Frequencies of 17 common, functional polymorphisms of DAG and IP3 signallings were statistically similar to those of healthy controls. By high-quality (Call Quality ≥20, Read Depth ≥10), and predicted-deleterious (CADD score ≥20) filterings, the number of the candidate genes were narrowed from 234,445 to 17,738, and by selecting genes for DAG and IP3 signallings, further narrowed to 208 genes. Compared with 914 healthy controls, DAG and IP3 signalling genes revealed 26 variants in 15 genes in CSA cases, and by further filtering for rare (914 healthy control frequency <1%), 21 variants in 12 genes were found. They shared variants in G protein subunit alpha q (GNAQ), phospholipase C beta 3 (PLCB3), inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor type 3 (ITPR3), glutamate ionotropic receptor NMDA type subunit 2D (GRIN2D) in ≥5 cases. By filtering for high-quality, predicted-deleterious, and rare, genetic variants related with DAG and IP3 signalling were more found in severe CSA patients compared with healthy controls (CSA 4.33/person vs healthy controls 2.60 /person).

Conclusions

These findings indicate genetic heterogeneity in CSA susceptibility and a likely polygenic basis, giving a cumulative effect on DAG and IP3 signalling pathways in a subset of individual CSA patients. Study of larger cohorts is warranted to define genetic risk factors for CSA.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

P856Incidence and Outcomes of irregular protrusion after stent implantation in patients with acute myocardial infarction: An in in vivo optical coherence tomography study

Background

Irregular protrusion, a protrusion of material with an irregular surface into the lumen of the vessel after stent implantation, can only be identified by optical coherence tomography (OCT). A previous study demonstrated that irregular protrusion after stent implantation was an independent predictor of 1-year major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in CAD patients. However, the true incidence and prognostic significance of irregular protrusion after stenting in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) have not previously examined.

Aims

The aims of this study were the following: 1) to evaluate the incidence of irregular protrusion detected by OCT in STEMI patients after stenting; and 2) to compare the long-term outcomes between patients with and without irregular protrusion.

Methods and results

A total of 210 STEMI patients who had post-procedure OCT imaging after coronary stenting within 12 hours after symptom onset were studied. We divided them into two groups: those with irregular protrusion (n=159) and those without (n=51) after stenting. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the 2 groups except that peak CK-MB levels were higher in patients with irregular protrusion than those without (289 (137–563) vs. 260 (63–349) U/L, p<0.05). During mean follow-up period of 298 days, the overall incidence of MACE defined as cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization was 15.3%. Kaplan-Meier curve showed that the incidence of MACE did not differ between patients with and without irregular protrusion (14.7% vs. 17.7%, p=0.53 by Log-rank).

Conclusions

Irregular protrusion after stent implantation was detected in three-fourth of STEMI patients. Although patients with irregular protrusion had a greater myocardial damage, it did not influence clinical outcomes.

Acknowledgement/Funding

Donation course from Abbott Japan

P1624Blockade of protease activated receptor-1 signaling attenuates cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in renin-overexpressing hypertensive mice

Introduction

Recent evidences have demonstrated that coagulation pathway is involved in cardiovascular remodeling induced by renin-angiotensin system (RAS), which finally leads to heart failure. Protease activated receptor-1 (PAR-1) is widely expressed in the vasculature and the heart, and plays important roles in pro-inflammatory process in the cardiovascular system. Recently, we demonstrated that the activity of factor Xa (FXa), which functions not only as a coagulation factor but as an agonist for PAR-1, was enhanced in renin-overexpressing hypertensive mice (Ren-Tg).

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether inhibition of PAR-1 signaling has protective effects on the progression of heart failure induced by chronic RAS activation in Ren-Tg.

Methods and results

We treated 12–16 weeks-old male wild type mice (WT) and Ren-Tg with continuous subcutaneous infusion of PAR-1 antagonist SCH79797 (25mg/kg/day) or vehicle for 4 weeks. After treatment period, left ventricular (LV) wall thickness calculated as interventricular septum plus posterior wall thickness measured by echocardiography was greater in Ren-Tg than in WT (0.25±0.003 versus 0.18±0.002 mm), and SCH79797 attenuated the increase to 0.22±0.01 mm in Ren-Tg (both p<0.05, respectively). The ratio of heart weight to body weight was greater in Ren-Tg than in WT (6.1±0.4 versus 4.6±0.7 mg/g), and SCH79797 attenuated the increase to 5.2±0.1 mg/g (both p<0.05). The area of cardiac fibrosis evaluated by Masson-trichrome staining was greater in Ren-Tg than in WT (2.6±0.2 versus 1.4±0.3%), and SCH79797 attenuated it to 1.6±0.3% in Ren-Tg (both p<0.05). Cardiac mRNA expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α, transforming growth factor-β1, and β-myosin heavy chain were all greater in Ren-Tg than in WT, and SCH79797 attenuated the increases in Ren-Tg (all p<0.05).

Conclusions

Inhibition of PAR-1 signaling attenuates cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in Ren-Tg via inhibition of inflammatory cytokines production. These results support the involvement of PAR signaling in the development of heart failure induced by RAS, and may provide novel therapeutic insights for the treatment of hypertensive heart failure.

Transcriptome Analysis and Identification of a Transcriptional Regulatory Network in the Response to H2O2

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a common signal molecule initiating transcriptional responses to all the known biotic and abiotic stresses of land plants. However, the degree of involvement of H2O2 in these stress responses has not yet been well studied. Here we identify time-dependent transcriptome profiles stimulated by H2O2 application in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seedlings. Promoter prediction based on transcriptome data suggests strong crosstalk among high light, heat, and wounding stress responses in terms of environmental stresses and between the abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) responses in terms of phytohormone signaling. Quantitative analysis revealed that ABA accumulation is induced by H2O2 but SA is not, suggesting that the implied crosstalk with ABA is achieved through ABA accumulation while the crosstalk with SA is different. We identified potential direct regulatory pairs between regulator transcription factor (TF) proteins and their regulated TF genes based on the time-course transcriptome analysis for the H2O2 response, in vivo regulation of the regulated TF by the regulator TF identified by expression analysis of mutants and overexpressors, and in vitro binding of the regulator TF protein to the target TF promoter. These analyses enabled the establishment of part of the transcriptional regulatory network for the H2O2 response composed of 15 regulatory pairs of TFs, including five pairs previously reported. This regulatory network is suggested to be involved in a wide range of biotic and abiotic stress responses in Arabidopsis.

Measurement of thickness of film deposited on the plasma-facing wall in the QUEST tokamak by colorimetry

After several experimental campaigns in the Kyushu University Experiment with Steady-state Spherical Tokamak (QUEST), the originally stainless steel plasma-facing wall (PFW) becomes completely covered with a deposited film composed of mixture materials, such as iron, chromium, carbon, and tungsten. In this work, an innovative colorimetry-based method was developed to measure the thickness of the deposited film on the actual QUEST wall. Because the optical constants of the deposited film on the PFW were position-dependent and the extinction coefficient k₁ was about 1.0-2.0, which made the probing light not penetrate through some thick deposited films, the colorimetry method developed can only provide a rough value range of thickness of the metal-containing film deposited on the actual PFW in QUEST. However, the use of colorimetry is of great benefit to large-area inspections and to radioactive materials in future fusion devices that will be strictly prohibited from being taken out of the limited area.

Computed Tomography and Histologic Appearance of Pancreatic Metastases from Distant Sources

The computed tomographic and histologic appearances in 34 cases of autopsy-confirmed metastatic tumors of the pancreas including secondary malignant lymphoma are discussed. In 18 (53.8%) the pancreas appeared abnormal on computed tomography, the lesions being classified into three types: In 8 cases there was diffuse enlargement of the pancreas; in 9 cases a localized mass; and one patient had multiple low attenuated nodules within the organ. Histologic investigation revealed that metastatic carcinoma involved the pancreatic lobules. The degree of infiltration in the interlobular connective tissue was related to the invasiveness of the tumors. In the majority of cases with diffuse infiltration the pancreatic lobules were destroyed and varying degrees of proliferation of malignant cells into the interlobular septa were documented. In patients with localized infiltration there was extensive invasion of the carcinoma within the pancreatic lobule. Dilatation of the pancreatic duct and/or organ-related symptoms were occasionally seen in these cases.

Dynamical programming based turbulence velocimetry for fast visible imaging of tokamak plasma

An orthogonal dynamic programming (ODP) based particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique is developed to measure the time resolved flow field of the fluctuating structures at the plasma edge and scrape off layer (SOL) of tokamaks. This non-intrusive technique can provide two dimensional velocity fields at high spatial and temporal resolution from a fast framing image sequence and hence can provide better insights into plasma flow as compared to conventional probe measurements. Applicability of the technique is tested with simulated image pairs. Finally, it is applied to tangential fast visible images of QUEST plasma to estimate the SOL flow in inboard poloidal null-natural divertor configuration. This technique is also applied to investigate the intricate features of the core of the run-away dominated phase following the injection of a large amount of neutrals in the target Ohmic plasma. Development of the ODP-PIV code and its applicability on actual plasma images is reported.

Thermal imaging of plasma with a phased array antenna in QUEST

A thermal imaging system to measure plasma Electron Bernstein Emission (EBE) emanating from the mode conversion region in overdense plasma is discussed. Unlike conventional ECE/EBE imaging, this diagnostics does not employ any active mechanical scanning mirrors or focusing optics to scan for the emission cones in plasma. Instead, a standard 3 × 3 waveguide array antenna is used as a passive receiver to collect emission from plasma and imaging reconstruction is done by accurate measurements of phase and intensity of these signals by heterodyne detection technique. A broadband noise source simulating the EBE, is installed near the expected mode conversion region and its position is successfully reconstructed using phase array technique which is done in post processing.

Adaptive array technique for differential-phase reflectometry in QUEST

A Phased Array Antenna (PAA) was considered as launching and receiving antennae in reflectometry to attain good directivity in its applied microwave range. A well-focused beam was obtained in a launching antenna application, and differential-phase evolution was properly measured by using a metal reflector plate in the proof-of-principle experiment at low power test facilities. Differential-phase evolution was also evaluated by using the PAA in the Q-shu University Experiment with Steady State Spherical Tokamak (QUEST). A beam-forming technique was applied in receiving phased-array antenna measurements. In the QUEST device that should be considered as a large oversized cavity, standing wave effect was significantly observed with perturbed phase evolution. A new approach using derivative of measured field on propagating wavenumber was proposed to eliminate the standing wave effect.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided celiac ganglia neurolysis vs. celiac plexus neurolysis: a randomized multicenter trial

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS

No prospective comparison of endoscopic ultrasonography-guided direct celiac ganglia neurolysis (EUS - CGN) vs. EUS-guided celiac plexus neurolysis (EUS - CPN) has been reported. The aim of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of EUS - CGN and EUS - CPN in providing pain relief from upper abdominal cancer pain in a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with upper abdominal cancer pain were randomly assigned to treatment using either EUS - CGN or EUS - CPN. Evaluation was performed at Day 7 postoperatively using a pain scale of 0 to 10. Patients for whom pain decreased to ≤ 3 were considered to have a positive response, and those experiencing a decrease in pain to ≤ 1 were considered to be completely responsive. Comparison between the two groups was performed using intention-to-treat analysis. The primary endpoint was the difference in treatment response rates between EUS - CGN and EUS - CPN at postoperative Day 7. Secondary endpoints included differences in complete response rates, pain scores, duration of pain relief, and incidence of adverse effects.

RESULTS

A total of 34 patients were assigned to each group. Visualization of ganglia was possible in 30 cases (88 %) in the EUS - CGN group. The positive response rate was significantly higher in the EUS - CGN group (73.5 %) than in the EUS - CPN group (45.5 %; P = 0.026). The complete response rate was also significantly higher in the EUS - CGN group (50.0 %) than in the EUS - CPN group (18.2 %; P = 0.010). There was no difference in adverse events or duration of pain relief between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

EUS - CGN is significantly superior to conventional EUS - CPN in cancer pain relief.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm (ID: UMIN-000002536).

Dexamethasone inhibits invasiveness of a human pancreatic cancer cell line

Recent studies have shown that dexamethasone inhibits gelatinases. We investigated the effect of dexamethasone on the invasiveness of a human pancreatic cancer cell line. Tumor cells were treated with dexamethasone at various concentrations for 24 h. Cells were examined in an invasion assay. The expression and activity of MMP-9 in culture media were quantitated by Western blotting and gelatin zymogram. The invasiveness of cancer cells and expression of MMP-9 were decreased by dexamethasone in a dose-dependent manner. Dexamethasone may be a useful therapeutic agent in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Fast visible imaging and edge turbulence analysis in QUEST

A fast visible imaging system is installed on the spherical tokamak QUEST to study edge turbulence. The camera uses a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor detector with a maximum resolution of 1024 × 1024 at 7000 frames∕s (fps) and can achieve 775 kfps at a resolution of 128 × 24. In this paper, we present the salient features of the system and its application to study edge turbulence in 8.2 GHz ECRH driven slab plasma, without plasma current. Vertical magnetic field (B(z)) topology is varied with three sets of poloidal field (PF) coils and the variation in the edge turbulence is investigated as a function of the B(z) strength and curvature. Fluctuation amplitude was highest for the shallow PF well. Cross-correlation coefficient shows distinct coherent mode along z direction at the steep density gradient region and it grows with the PF mirror ratio.

A randomized phase II study of gemcitabine (GEM) plus S-1 combination chemotherapy versus GEM monotherapy in patients (pts) with advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC)

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Background: Our previous phase II study demonstrated that GEM/S-1 combination chemotherapy was tolerable and showed good efficacy in pts with advanced BTC (Sasaki et al, Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 2010). This randomized phase II study compared the response rate of GEM/S-1 combination chemotherapy and GEM monotherapy in pts with advanced BTC.

Methods: Pts with advanced BTC who had at least one measurable lesion were randomized into two groups. GEM/S-1: GEM 1,000 mg/m2 (day 1, 15) and S-1 80 mg/m2 (day 1-14) repeated every 4 weeks. GEM: GEM 1,000 mg/m2 (day 1, 8, 15) repeated every 4 weeks. Treatment was continued until disease progression. The primary endpoint was objective response according to RECIST version 1.0.

Results: From November 2008 to March 2010, 62 pts were enrolled from 13 institutions. Patient characteristics were: median age 72 (range 47-86); Male/Female 36/26; Performance status 0/1/2 (37/22/3). The primary tumor site was; 30 pts in gallbladders, 16 pts in intrahepatic bile ducts, and 16 pts in extrahepatic bile ducts. Seven pts had previous surgical resection. Response rates of GEM/S-1 and GEM were 16.7% and 9.4%, respectively. The median time-to-progressions of GEM/S-1 and GEM were 5.6 months and 4.1 months, respectively.

Conclusions: GEM/S-1 combination chemotherapy is more active than GEM monotherapy in pts with advanced BTC. Updated time-to-progression and overall survival data will be presented at the meeting.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Toward genome-wide metabolotyping and elucidation of metabolic system: metabolic profiling of large-scale bioresources

An improvement in plant production is increasingly important for a sustainable human society. For this purpose, understanding the mechanism of plant production, that is, the plant metabolic system, is an immediate necessity. After the sequencing of the Arabidopsis genome, it has become possible to obtain a bird's eye view of its metabolism by means of omics such as transcriptomics and proteomics. Availability of thousands of transcriptome data points in the public domain has resulted in great advances in the methodology of functional genomics. Metabolome data can be a "gold mine" of biological findings. However, as the total throughput of metabolomics is far lower than that of transcriptomics due to technical difficulties, there is currently no publicly available large-scale metabolome dataset that is comparable in size to the transcriptome dataset. Recently, we established a novel methodology, termed widely targeted metabolomics, which can generate thousands of metabolome data points in a high-throughput manner. We previously conducted a targeted metabolite analysis of large-scale Arabidopsis bioresources, namely transposon-tagged mutants and accessions, to make a smaller dataset of metabolite accumulation. In this paper, we release approximately 3,000 metabolic profiles obtained by targeted analysis for 36 metabolites and discuss the possible regulation of amino acid accumulation.

Study on Al-Si alloy-based nanocomposites with dispersed detonation nanodiamonds

Al-Si alloy-based nanocomposites with dispersed detonation nanodiamonds are fabricated by a powder metallurgy method. Rapid-solidified Al-Si alloy powder and detonation nanodiamond of 1% by volume are mechanically mixed at 500 rpm for 4 h; the nanoadditives used above are as-synthesized and purified detonation nanodiamonds. The obtained Al-Si nanocomposite mixtures are consolidated at 773 K by vacuum-hot pressing. The microstructural observations indicate that the fabricated Al-Si nanocomposites have fine grain structures with dispersed eutectic Si particles and detonation nanodiamonds in the grains; structural changes in the dispersed nanodiamonds are not observed. The mechanical and friction properties of the fabricated Al-Si nanocomposites with dispersed detonation nanodiamonds are investigated by carrying out indentation and friction measurements. It is observed that the dispersion of detonation nanodiamonds in the Al-Si alloy matrix improves its mechanical and friction properties. In particular, the dispersion of the purified detonation nanodiamond enhances the elastic modulus of the nanocomposite to a greater extent than that of the as-synthesized detonation nanodiamond with graphitic shell structure; in contrast, the use of the as-synthesized detonation nanodiamond reduces friction to a greater extent than the use of the purified detonation nanodiamond.

Comparisons among isolates of Sweet potato feathery mottle virus using complete genomic RNA sequences

We determined the complete or partial nucleotide sequences of eight Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV) isolates and compared them with 12 other partial SPFMV sequences. The genome organization of the isolate Bungo (strain group C) was very different from those of isolates in the russet crack, ordinary (O), and east Africa groups. 10-O appeared to be a recombinant of isolates S and O, with a recombination site within the P1 gene. This study will help to provide a better understanding of the taxonomy and biology of SPFMV and how these features relate to virulence.

PosMed-plus: an intelligent search engine that inferentially integrates cross-species information resources for molecular breeding of plants

Molecular breeding of crops is an efficient way to upgrade plant functions useful to mankind. A key step is forward genetics or positional cloning to identify the genes that confer useful functions. In order to accelerate the whole research process, we have developed an integrated database system powered by an intelligent data-retrieval engine termed PosMed-plus (Positional Medline for plant upgrading science), allowing us to prioritize highly promising candidate genes in a given chromosomal interval(s) of Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, Oryza sativa. By inferentially integrating cross-species information resources including genomes, transcriptomes, proteomes, localizomes, phenomes and literature, the system compares a user's query, such as phenotypic or functional keywords, with the literature associated with the relevant genes located within the interval. By utilizing orthologous and paralogous correspondences, PosMed-plus efficiently integrates cross-species information to facilitate the ranking of rice candidate genes based on evidence from other model species such as Arabidopsis. PosMed-plus is a plant science version of the PosMed system widely used by mammalian researchers, and provides both a powerful integrative search function and a rich integrative display of the integrated databases. PosMed-plus is the first cross-species integrated database that inferentially prioritizes candidate genes for forward genetics approaches in plant science, and will be expanded for wider use in plant upgrading in many species.

Involvement of regulatory elements on corticotropin-releasing factor gene promoter in hypothalamic 4B cells

INTRODUCTION

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) plays a central role in controlling the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during stressful periods. CRF is synthesized and secreted in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in response to stress, and stimulates ACTH in the pituitary corticotrophs. ACTH stimulates the release of glucocorticoids from the adrenal glands, and glucocorticoids sequentially inhibit hypothalamic PVN production of CRF and pituitary production of ACTH. The effects of glucocorticoids on CRF gene regulation, however, are possibly tissue-specific since glucocorticoids stimulate CRF gene expression in the placenta and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, while they inhibit it in the hypothalamus.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In a hypothalamic cell line, 4B, we found that forskolin-stimulated CRF gene transcription was mediated by a functional cAMP-response element (CRE), which included -220 to -233 bp on the CRF 5'-promoter region. Protein kinase A, protein kinase C, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways contributed to forskolin-induced transcriptional activity of CRF in hypothalamic 4B cells. Glucocorticoid-dependent repression of cAMP-stimulated transcriptional activity of CRF was localized to promoter sequences between -278 and -233 bp, which included a glucocorticoid regulatory element and a serum response element.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, these findings indicate that the regulatory elements, including CRE, negative glucocorticoid regulatory element, and a serum response element on the promoter, contribute to the regulation of CRF gene transcription in hypothalamic 4B cells.