Elevated expression of human bHLH factor ATOH7 accelerates cell cycle progression of progenitors and enhances production of avian retinal ganglion cells.

The production of vertebrate retinal projection neurons, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), is regulated by cell-intrinsic determinants and cell-to-cell signaling events. The basic-helix-loop-helix (bHLH) protein Atoh7 is a key neurogenic transcription factor required for RGC development. Here, we investigate whether manipulating human ATOH7 expression among uncommitted progenitors can promote RGC fate specification and thus be used as a strategy to enhance RGC genesis. Using the chicken retina as a model, we show that cell autonomous expression of ATOH7 is sufficient to induce precocious RGC formation and expansion of the neurogenic territory. ATOH7 overexpression among neurogenic progenitors significantly enhances RGC production at the expense of reducing the progenitor pool. Furthermore, forced expression of ATOH7 leads to a minor increase of cone photoreceptors. We provide evidence that elevating ATOH7 levels accelerates cell cycle progression from S to M phase and promotes cell cycle exit. We also show that ATOH7-induced ectopic RGCs often exhibit aberrant axonal projection patterns and are correlated with increased cell death during the period of retinotectal connections. These results demonstrate the high potency of human ATOH7 in promoting early retinogenesis and specifying the RGC differentiation program, thus providing insight for manipulating RGC production from stem cell-derived retinal organoids

Evaluating administrative efficiency change in the post-merger period: A study on Ibaraki prefecture (1979–2004)

This paper analyzes the change in municipal administrative efficiency in thepost-merger period by using the data of 92 municipalities in Ibaraki prefecturefor the period 1979–2004. For this purpose, we employ a nonparametric programmingmethod to compute Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)/Malmquistindices (MI). These indices are decomposed into two component measures,namely, catch-up and frontier shift indices. We find that the administrativeefficiency in Ibaraki prefecture in the post-merger period is monotonically regressed;however, the efficiency scores of merging municipalities are found tobe higher than those of nonmerging ones. The contribution of scale changein the post-merger period is notable in Tsukuba city, which was formed byconsolidating small-sized municipalities

Quantitative Evaluation of Nation Stability

This paper presents a Data Envelopment Analysis/Malmquist Index (DEA/MI) analysisfor measuring changes in nation stability, which is defined as the state of a country’s socialand economic system as measured by multiple evaluation indicators. Applying theDEA to the panel data for 97 countries during 1981–2004, we evaluate nation stabilityquantitatively, and observe its transitions. This analysis includes a unified country (Germany)and split countries (former Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia). Usingthe novel DEA/Cumulative MI application proposed in this study, we demonstrate shiftsin stability before/after the unification or split. Our analysis shows that the stability gapbetween the most stable countries and other countries expanded after the end of the coldwar, until 2004. The stability of split countries fell typically by 50% or more, so they wereextremely unstable before the split. The use of the lower-bound DEA together with the ordinaryDEA enables a country’s stability to be evaluated in terms of both its negative andpositive aspects

A Case of Hypocalcaemia Due to Vitamin D Deficiency in ‘Hikikomori’ Syndrome

Objective: To describe hypocalcaemia due to vitamin D deficiency in ‘hikikomori’ syndrome. Materials and methods: A 37-year-old man with ‘hikikomori’ syndrome for a year was admitted with hypocalcaemia (serum ionic calcium 1.17 mmol/l). Serum 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 determined by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was depressed at 12.1 pg/ml (29.0 pmol/l) and plasma intact PTH elevated at 324 ng/l. Administration of 1 μg/day 1α(OH)-vitamin D3 and 1 g/day calcium lactate for 1 week normalized calcium and PTH, and raised 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 to low normal levels. Conclusion: This is the first report of hypocalcaemia due to vitamin D deficiency in a patient with ‘hikikomori’ syndrome

地方公務員労働者における労働条件決定システムの法的研究・上 :小樽市職員の労働条件決定システムの法的構成

論

地方公務員労働者における労働条件決定システムの法的研究・下-小樽市職員の事例の実証的法的考察をとおして

論

Analysis of the phenomenon of speculative trading in one of its basic manifestations: postage stamp bubbles

We document and analyze the empirical facts concerning one of the clearest evidence of speculation in financial trading as observed in the postage collection stamp market. We unravel some of the mechanisms of speculative behavior which emphasize the role of fancy and collective behavior. In our conclusion, we propose a classification of speculative markets based on two parameters, namely the amplitude of the price peak and a second parameter that measures its ``sharpness''. This study is offered to anchor modeling efforts to realistic market constraints and observations.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures and 2 tables, in press in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Damage to Water Supply System and Surface Rupture Due to Fault Movement during the 1999 Ji-Ji Earthquake in Taiwan

On September 21, 1999, a large earthquake of magnitude 7.3 (CWB) occurred in Taiwan resulting in a death toll of over 2,000 people. It was also reported that more than 12,000 buildings and houses were damaged and about the half of those totally collapsed. The present paper concerns with the damage to water supply system and surface rupture during the 1999 Ji-Ji earthquake in Taiwan. An outline of the water supply system and damage to it is presented. The relationships between the damage to water supply pipelines, pipe material, pipe diameter, etc. were investigated. Lifeline system such as electricity, water supply and gas also suffered severe damage. Survey of the surface rupture and damage evaluation of buildings was also conducted

Differences in the gas and dust distribution in the transitional disk of a sun-like young star, PDS 70

We present ALMA 0.87 mm continuum, HCO+ J=4--3 emission line, and CO J=3--2 emission line data of the disk of material around the young, Sun-like star PDS 70. These data reveal the existence of a possible two component transitional disk system with a radial dust gap of 0."2 +/- 0."05, an azimuthal gap in the HCO+ J=4--3 moment zero map, as well as two bridge-like features in the gas data. Interestingly these features in the gas disk have no analogue in the dust disk making them of particular interest. We modeled the dust disk using the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code HOCHUNK3D (Whitney et al. 2013) using a two disk components. We find that there is a radial gap that extends from 15-60 au in all grain sizes which differs from previous work

A Detailed Study on the Liquefaction-Induced Settlement of Timber Houses During the 2000 Tottoriken-Seibu Earthquake

More than 100 timber houses settled and tilted due to liquefaction at a housing development during the 2000 Tottoriken-seibu earthquake in Japan. Among the damaged houses, 47 houses tilted more than 15/1000. Heavily tilted houses were necessary to restore to become horizontal after the earthquake, though several houses, that tilted slightly, were not necessary to restore. The authors studied the boundary of the angle of the restored and non-restored houses. According to the study by the authors, the critical angle of tilting to restore houses was about 10/1000. The authors studied soil conditions also, and found that groundwater level was shallower than about 1.7 m in the damaged zone. This implies that small structures such as timber houses have no damage due to liquefaction if the groundwater level or the bottom of surface non-liquefiable layer is deeper that about 1.7 m