In optical and near-infrared background light, excess brightness and fluctuation over the known backgrounds have been reported. To delineate their origin, a fluctuation analysis of the deepest optical images was performed, leading to the detection of a flat fluctuation down to 0.2 arcsec, which is much larger than that expected for galaxies. The sky brightness obtained from the detected fluctuation

Neural stem cells (NSCs) actively proliferate and generate neurons and glial cells (active state) in the embryonic brain, whereas they are mostly dormant (quiescent state) in the adult brain. The expression dynamics of Hes1 are different between active and quiescent NSCs. In active NSCs, Hes1 expression oscillates and periodically represses the expression of proneural genes such as Ascl1, thereby driving

Adiponectin is an adipokine that can exert a regulatory function on bone metabolism. However, there are many contradictions between clinical and pre-clinical studies on adiponectin. APPL1 is an adaptor protein that can interact with adiponectin receptors. In the current study, we found that knockout of the Appl1 gene in male mice was associated with higher bone volume and numbers of trabeculae than

Today, the silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor is becoming the front runner in advanced power electronic devices. This material has been considered to be useful for abrasive powder, refractory bricks as well as ceramic varistors. Big changes have occurred owing to the author’s inspirational idea in 1968 to “make transistors from unusual material”. The current paper starts by describing the history

More than 90% of bladder cancer is composed of transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), being characterized by the development of multiple tumors in the entire urinary tract over time. When cystectomy is conducted, the urinary tract must be reconstructed by various procedures, which can include an orthotopic neobladder using the patient’s own intestine formed into a spherical shape anastomosed to the urethra

The identification of mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene has revolutionized the treatment strategy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The effectiveness of individualized treatment using EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for EGFR-mutated NSCLC has mainly been clarified in clinical trials within Japan, and EGFR-TKI monotherapy has been established as the standard

Although the human body appears superficially symmetrical with regard to the left–right (L-R) axis, most visceral organs are asymmetric in terms of their size, shape, or position. Such morphological asymmetries of visceral organs, which are essential for their proper function, are under the control of a genetic pathway that operates in the developing embryo. In many vertebrates including mammals, the

Slow earthquakes are a recently discovered phenomenon that mainly occur updip and downdip of the seismogenic zones of great earthquakes along the subducting plate interface. The spatiotemporal activity of various slow earthquakes occurring in the Nankai subduction zone is characterized by along-strike heterogeneity and along-dip systematic changes. Various slow earthquakes are horizontally distributed

Advances in cancer research have revolutionized the way cancer is diagnosed and treated. Any cancer is now known to be an amalgamation of many subtypes, each carrying its specific cancer-causing gene or oncogene. It is also evident that a given oncogene is often present across a wide range of cancer subtypes, albeit at different frequencies. These lines of information have brought cancer genomic medicine

Here, we report the groundwater oxygen isotope anomalies caused by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake (MJMA7.3) that occurred in Southwest Japan on April 16, 2016. One hundred and seventeen groundwater samples were collected from a deep well located 3 km to the southeast of the epicenter in Mifune Town, Kumamoto Prefecture; they were drinking water packed in PET bottles and distributed in the area between

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.2183/pjab.77.161.].

Thalidomide, originally developed as a sedative drug, causes multiple defects due to severe teratogenicity, but it has been re-purposed for treating multiple myeloma, and derivatives such as lenalidomide and pomalidomide have been developed for treating blood cancers. Although the molecular mechanisms of thalidomide and its derivatives remained poorly understood until recently, we identified cereblon

In the standard model of elementary particle physics neutrinos are massless, and therefore the actuality of finite neutrino mass indicates a theory beyond the standard model. The Sun produces abundant neutrinos due to nuclear fusion reactions. A pioneering experiment in the early '70s detected neutrinos from the Sun, but found that the observed flux was smaller than expected, which was then called

Cells of multicellular organisms have diverse characteristics despite having the same genetic identity. The distinctive phenotype of each cell is determined by molecular mechanisms such as epigenetic changes that occur throughout the lifetime of an individual. Recently, technologies that enable modification of the fate of somatic cells have been developed, and the number of studies using these technologies

Bone is a critically important part of the skeletal system that is essential for body support and locomotion. The immune system protects against pathogens and is active in host defense. These two seemingly distinct systems in fact interact with each other, share molecules and create a collaborative regulatory system called the "osteoimmune system". The most representative osteoimmune molecule is receptor

1,4-Dioxane is a genotoxic carcinogen, and its mutagenic properties were recently observed in the liver of guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (gpt) delta transgenic rats. However, the mechanisms of its genotoxicity remain unclear. We analyzed DNA adduct formation in rat livers following 1,4-dioxane treatment. After administering 1,4-dioxane in drinking water at doses of 0, 20, 200, and 5,000 ppm, liver

It is generally thought that younger people are more susceptible to cancer development after exposure to ionizing radiation in reference to epidemiological studies and animal experiments. However, little is known about the age-dependent alteration in DNA repair ability. In the present study, we examined the expression levels of proteins involved in the repair of DNA double-strand breaks through non-homologous

Memory retrieval is not a passive process. When a memory is retrieved, the retrieved memory is destabilized, similar to short-term memory just after learning, and requires memory reconsolidation to re-stabilize the memory. Recent studies characterizing destabilization and reconsolidation showed that a retrieved memory is not always destabilized and that there are boundary conditions that determine

In order to harness the functionality of metals, nature has evolved over billions of years to utilize metalloproteins as key components in numerous cellular processes. Despite this, transition metals such as ruthenium, palladium, iridium, and gold are largely absent from naturally occurring metalloproteins, likely due to their scarcity as precious metals. To mimic the evolutionary process of nature

During the past decade, substantial progress has been made in the field of the genetics of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). These comprise a group of chronic myeloid neoplasms with abnormal cell morphology and progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where revolutionary sequencing technologies have played a major role. Through extensive sequencing of a large number of MDS genomes, a comprehensive

Black carbon (BC) particles cause adverse health effects and contribute to the heating of the atmosphere by absorbing visible solar radiation. Efforts have been made to reduce BC emissions, especially in urban areas; however, long-term measurements of BC mass concentration (MBC) are very limited in Japan. We report MBC measurements conducted in Tokyo from 2003 to 2017, showing that MBC decreased by

Responding to the radiation-related concerns of parents/guardians with infants/small children is an important public health issue for regional recovery after radioactive contamination. This study summarizes the results of a systematic internal contamination screening of infants/small children, aged 0-6 years, using BABYSCAN and individual counselling sessions with physicians about radiation concerns

This report highlights the usefulness and applicability of various gravimetric methods for studying earthquakes and volcanic activities. A high-resolution gravity anomaly map of Japan reveals areas with very steep horizontal gradients, where potential seismic faults are likely to be buried. Such traditional geoprospecting is coupled with novel cosmic-ray radiography to produce a fine-resolution (<100

The human body is comprised of hundreds of bones, which are constantly regenerated through the interactions of two cell types: osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Given the difficulty of analyzing their intravital dynamics, we have developed a system for intravital imaging of the bone marrow cavity using two-photon microscopy, to visualize the dynamic behaviors of living bone cells without sectioning. Combined

Forward genetics is a powerful approach to understand the molecular basis of animal behaviors. Fruit flies were the first animal to which this genetic approach was applied systematically and have provided major discoveries on behaviors including sexual, learning, circadian, and sleep-like behaviors. The development of different classes of model organism such as nematodes, zebrafish, and mice has enabled

RNA silencing refers to gene silencing pathways mediated by small non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs. Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) constitute the largest class of small non-coding RNAs in animal gonads, which repress transposons to protect the germline genome from the selfish invasion of transposons. Deterioration of the system causes DNA damage, leading to severe defects in gametogenesis and infertility

Autophagy is an intracellular degradation system that is present in most eukaryotes. In the process of autophagy, double membrane vesicles called autophagosomes sequester a wide variety of cellular constituents and deliver them to lytic organelles: lysosomes in mammals and vacuoles in yeast and plants. Although autophagy used to be considered a non-selective process in its target sequestration into

Translation is the process of turning observations in the laboratory, clinic, and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public, ranging from diagnostics and therapeutics to medical procedures and behavioral changes. Translational research is defined as the effort to traverse a particular step of the translation process for a particular target or disease. Translational

A bracket complex is a type of bearing system located on the top of a column and transmits the vertical load of the roof to the column. Bracket complexes are often used in Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines constructed using traditional timber structure. The bracket complex, being a combination of timber blocks and beam like elements, is said to have a positive effect on the seismic performance of

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a well-accepted means for analyzing glycans. Before glycan analysis by MS, several chemical derivatizations are generally carried out. These are classified into three categories; (1) labeling of the reducing end of glycans, (2) permethylation, and (3) sialic acid derivatization. Because sialic acid residues are unstable, they are easily lost during pretreatment and during

Since the new era of infrared astronomy was opened by the Two Micron Sky Survey by Neugebauer et al. in the early 1960s, about a half century has passed. During this time, observations have expanded rapidly and widely, to almost every field of astronomy, to reveal new perspectives on the universe. As a result, infrared astronomy has become one of the major branches of astronomy, along with optical

The herb Ruta chalepensis L. exhibits medical effects, such as anti-inflammatory, central nervous system depressant, and antipyretic activities. However, a genetic transformation method has not yet been developed for this species. In this paper, a simple and efficient tissue culture and genetic transformation system for R. chalepensis is reported. An amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) gene, which is considered

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the major causes of chronic and progressive cognitive decline, with the pathological hallmarks of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Amyloid β peptide (Aβ) is the main component of senile plaques, and the pathological load of Aβ in the brain has been shown to be a marker of the severity of AD. To prevent the accumulation of plaques, novel and safer plant-based

Electrons in solids constitute quantum many-body systems showing a variety of phenomena. It often happens that the eigen states of the Hamiltonian are classified into subgroups separated by energy gaps. Band structures in solids and spin polarization in Mott insulators are two representative examples. The subspace spanned by these wavefunctions belonging to each of this subgroup can be regarded as

Vacuolar-type ATPase (V-ATPase), initially identified in yeast and plant vacuoles, pumps protons into the lumen of organelles coupled with ATP hydrolysis. The mammalian counterpart is found ubiquitously in endomembrane organelles and the plasma membrane of specialized cells such as osteoclasts. V-ATPase is also present in unique organelles such as insulin secretory granules, neural synaptic vesicles

l-Glutamate is one of the most abundant amino acids in the body and is a constituent of proteins and a substrate in metabolism. It is well known that glutamate serves as a primary excitatory neurotransmitter and a critical neuromodulator in the brain. Recent studies have shown that in addition to its pivotal role in neural functions, glutamate plays many important roles in a variety of cellular functions

Since the projection of global warming emerged in 1980s with the potential of laying enormous impacts on agriculture and food security of the world, we have conducted experimental and modeling studies for clarifying its effects on rice production in Asia and for developing adaptive rice production technologies. On the basis of measurement of rice responses to climate and carbon dioxide concentration

Iron plays many important roles in the brain, including involvement in myelination, neurotransmission and electron transfer in the respiratory chain. Transferrin (Tf), an iron transporter, is mainly biosynthesized in the liver, but can also be biosynthesized in the brain; i.e., by oligodendrocytes and the choroid plexus, a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) producing tissue. The CSF contains two Tf isoforms

The adult human brain consists of approximately a hundred billion neurons, which are connected via synapses. The pattern and strength of the synaptic connections are constantly changing (synaptic plasticity), and these changes are considered to underlie learning, memory, and personality. Many psychiatric disorders have been related to disturbances in synaptogenesis and subsequent plasticity. In this

A comprehensive geochemical study of the Chelyabinsk meteorite reveals further details regarding its history of impact-related fragmentation and melting, and later aqueous alteration, during its transit toward Earth. We support an ∼30 Ma age obtained by Ar-Ar method (Beard et al., 2014) for the impact-related melting, based on Rb-Sr isotope analyses of a melt domain. An irregularly shaped olivine with

The effect of giant tsunamis such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004 and the Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami in 2011 has been devastating. In this study, a numerical simulation of the tsunami has been developed to estimate the physical characteristics of tsunamis and their effect on human society. Several laws and equations have been introduced for the simulation of tsunami propagation in the

Biological homochirality, such as that of l-amino acids, has been a puzzle with regards to the chemical origin of life. Asymmetric autocatalysis is a reaction in which a chiral product acts as an asymmetric catalyst to produce more of itself in the same absolute configuration. 5-Pyrimidyl alkanol was found to act as an asymmetric autocatalyst in the enantioselective addition of diisopropylzinc to

Since globotetraosylceramide was defined as a major glycosphingolipid in human erythrocytes, various glycolipids have been found in normal cells and diseased organs. However, the implications of their polymorphic structures in the function of individual cells and tissues have not been clarified. Genetic manipulation of glycosphingolipids in cultured cells and experimental animals has enabled us to

The voltage sensor domain (VSD) has long been studied as a unique domain intrinsic to voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs). Within VGICs, the VSD is tightly coupled to the pore-gate domain (PGD) in diverse ways suitable for its specific function in each physiological context, including action potential generation, muscle contraction and relaxation, hormone and neurotransmitter secretion, and cardiac

GTP is an essential source of energy that supports a large array of cellular mechanochemical structures ranging from protein synthesis machinery to cytoskeletal apparatus for maintaining the cell cycle. However, GTP regulation during the cell cycle has been difficult to investigate because of heterogenous levels of GTP in asynchronous cell cycles and genetic redundancy of the GTP-generating enzymes

We have been studying the (Σπ)0 mass distribution based on data from an old Hydrogen Bubble Chamber collected by Thomas et al. concerning the p(π-, K0)Σπ reaction at pπ = 1.69 GeV/c. In this analysis we investigated the formation of the Λ(1405) state, using the Generalized Optical Theorem and T-matrix operator. We applied a combined transition operator, Tmix, which contains T21 (=TπΣ-KN) and T22 (=

Coronary artery spasm (CAS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease, including angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and sudden death, occurring most often from midnight to early morning. CAS is prevalent among East Asians and is associated with an aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)-deficient genotype (ALDH2*2) and alcohol flushing, which is prevalent among East Asians

Glycosylation is an important posttranslational modification in mammals. The glycans of glycoproteins are classified into two groups, namely, N-glycans and O-glycans, according to their glycan-peptide linkage regions. Recently, O-mannosyl glycan, an O-glycan, has been shown to be important in muscle and brain development. A clear relationship between O-mannosyl glycans and the pathomechanisms of some

2-Azahypoxanthine (AHX, 1) and imidazole-4-carboxamide (ICA, 2) were isolated from a fairy-ring-forming fungus Lepista sordida. AHX was converted into a metabolite 2-aza-8-oxo-hypoxanthine (AOH, 3) in plants. It was found out that these three compounds, named as fairy chemicals (FCs), endogenously exist in plants and are biosynthesized via a new purine metabolic pathway. FCs provided tolerance to the

Modern sky surveys using large ground-based telescopes have discovered a variety of celestial objects. Prominent structures such as galaxies and galaxy clusters are found virtually everywhere, and their collective distribution forms the large-scale structure of the Universe. It is thought that all of the rich content in the present-day Universe developed through gravitational amplification of primeval

In the end of the 20th century, due to various advantages of organocatalysis including environmental friendliness, operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, easy recovery etc., had led to its recognition as a powerful strategy for the establishment of practical organic synthetic methods. Over the two decades since then, tremendous effort has been devoted to the design of novel high-performance

Intermediate filaments (IFs), in coordination with microfilaments and microtubules, form the structural framework of the cytoskeleton and nucleus, thereby providing mechanical support against cellular stresses and anchoring intracellular organelles in place. The assembly and disassembly of IFs are mainly regulated by the phosphorylation of IF proteins. These phosphorylation states can be tracked using

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem, affecting over 10% of the world's population and more than half of the population aged over 70 years, imposing major costs on healthcare systems. Although the primary causes of CKD include various diseases such as diabetes, glomerulonephritis, and acute kidney injury (AKI), the progression of CKD is mediated by a common pathological pathway

Ghrelin, a growth hormone-releasing peptide first discovered in rat stomach in 1999, is a ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. It participates in the regulation of diverse processes, including energy balance and body weight maintenance, and appears to be beneficial for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In animal models of chronic heart failure, ghrelin improves cardiac function

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is one of the most important international achievements in life sciences, to which Japanese scientists made remarkable contributions. In the early 1980s, Akiyoshi Wada pioneered the first project for the automation of DNA sequencing technology. Ken-ichi Matsubara exhibited exceptional leadership to launch the comprehensive human genome program in Japan. Hideki Kambara

The neuronal growth cone is a highly motile, specialized structure for extending neuronal processes. This structure is essential for nerve growth, axon pathfinding, and accurate synaptogenesis. Growth cones are important not only during development but also for plasticity-dependent synaptogenesis and neuronal circuit rearrangement following neural injury in the mature brain. However, the molecular

A 1-ampere-class high-intensity deuteron linac (ImPACT2017 model) is proposed for mitigating long-lived fission products (LLFPs) by nuclear transmutation. This accelerator consists of single-cell rf cavities with magnetic focusing elements to accelerate deuterons beyond 1 A up to 200 MeV/u.

Phytoplasmas, a large group of plant-pathogenic, phloem-inhabiting bacteria were discovered by Japanese scientists in 1967. They are transmitted from plant to plant by phloem-feeding insect hosts and cause a variety of symptoms and considerable damage in more than 1,000 plant species. In the first quarter century following the discovery of phytoplasmas, their tiny cell size and the difficulty in culturing

Reversible dynamics is well-known to obey variational principles based on the action being the time integral of a Lagrangian with time-reversal symmetry. The purpose of the present paper is to find dissipative Lagrangians giving variational principles in dissipative dynamics with broken time-reversal symmetry. Conceptually the present theory insists on new Least Dissipation & Work Principles (LDWP)

Animals make use of changes in photoperiod to adapt their physiology to the forthcoming breeding season. Comparative studies have contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms of seasonal reproduction in vertebrates. Birds are excellent models for studying these phenomena because of their rapid and dramatic responses to changes in photoperiod. Deep brain photoreceptors in birds perceive and transmit