Distribution of Recent Benthic Foraminiferal Faunas in the Pacific off Southwest Japan and Around Hachijojima Island

The distribution of benthic foraminifera in the Northwest Pacific Ocean off the coast of southwest Japan is investigated in order to establish a tool for analyzing paleoenvironments of Miocene strata over the Japanese Islands. In this study, four areas of the Pacific are investigated; these are Tanegashima, Kumanonada, Enshunada, and Hachijojima areas, and are located in those oceanic regions which are currently under the influence of Kuroshio Current. The method of Q-mode cluster analysis is applied to the foraminiferal distribution in each area in order to categorize foraminiferal assemblages characteristic of these four areas. The results obtained are as follows : 1) The Tanegashima and Kumanonada areas each have eight types of benthic foraminiferal assemblages, whereas the Enshunada has five. Six types of assemblages also characterize the Hachijojima area. 2) The distribution of these assemblages is basically controlled by the oceanogaaphic condition of water masses overlying each area. 3) The distribution of 13 species, which are familiar elements among the Miocene foraminiferal fauna of the South Fossa Magna region, is delineated

Paleoenvironmental Studies of the Nishiyatsushiro and Shizukawa Groups, South Fossa-Magna Region

The forearc basin-trench system is generally characterized by a paleoenvironmental complex which is reflected in various lines of geological and paleontological evidence. The Fujikawa area in the South Fossa-Magna region belongs to a part of such a complex system along the tectonically active margin of southwest Japan. Analysis of foraminiferal biofacies and lithofacies of the Neogene Nishiyatsushiro and Shizukawa Groups, distributed in the area, reveals complicated patterns of their interaction, which are attributed to the Neogene depositional trends innate to a tectonically complex portion of the Pacific rim. An emphasis is placed on the estimation of depth ranges of fossil benthic foraminiferal species by assessing both the distribution of modern counterparts and sedimentological properties in a similar active continental margin setting. Such data are used to reconstruct depositional environments of the Neogene sequences. A quantitative analysis of benthic foraminiferal species in the Neogene sequences reveals four important paleoenvironmental factors influencing the species composition. These factors include such environmental parameters as water depth, dissolved oxygen, and effects of both bottom water currents and coastal water mass. Furthermore, nine types of paleoenvironments are deduced by integrating results of analyses of principal components and sedimentary properties as well as ecological data on modern benthic foraminifera. Each of the nine types of paleoenvironments is represented by a particular biofacies which is named after dominant species as follows : Type a (Rhabdammina abyssorum biofacies), Type b (Melonis sphaeroides-Nodosaria longiscata biofacies), Type c (Globobulimia auriculata-Melonis sphaeroides biofacies), Type d (Nodosaria longiscata biofacies), Type e (Melonis sphaeroides-Stilostomella lepidula biofacies), Type f (Stilostomella lepidula biofacies), Type g (Globobulimina pupoides-Stilostomella lepidula biofacies), Type h (Globobulimina auriculata biofacies) and Type i (Ammonia ketienziensis-Ammonia takanabensis biofacies). Foraminiferal distributions in the NW Pacific off southwest Japan and around Hachijojima Island show that three ancient biofacies (Types a, h, and i) were also distributed under the comparable environments. The present author developed a dynamic model of sedimentation history which is closely related to the developmental processes of several sedimentary basins in the Fujikawa area. Such sedimentological data as the direction of grain transport and sedimentary structures in fine-grained sedimentary rocks are obtained together with geological and micropaleontological data. Selected biogenous grains in foraminifer-bearing rocks are examined in the laboratory. The distributional pattern of these biogenous grains in the Nishiyatsushiro and Shizukawa Groups resemble that in sediments of the present-day forearc basin. These paleontological and sedimentological data together provide the basis to conclude that the Nishiyatsushiro and Shizukawa Groups were deposited in a forearc basin setting. The Misaka Group, which accumulated contemporaneously with the basal part of the Nishiyatsushiro Group, consists mostly of oceanic materials, and exhibits geological features characteristic of the accretional zone. The sedimentary basin active during the Neogene is here named the Nishiyatsushiro paleo-forearc basin and the accretional prism which is located beneath the forearc basin the Misaka paleo-trench

N-Myc-activated microRNAs Inhibit Protein Synthesis of RUNX1 and RUNX3 in Neuroblastoma Cell Lines

　RUNX1 and RUNX3 are master transcription factors in sensory neuron lineage specifications. Protein levels of such developmental regulators are tightly controlled during carcinogenesis, in order to block differentiation and drive proliferation. Here we report that neuroblastoma specific microRNAs inhibit protein syntheses of RUNX1 and RUNX3 through 3’UTR sequences. Computational prediction identified two putative binding sequences for N-Myc-activated microRNAs both in RUNX1 and RUNX3 3’UTRs. Streptavidin RNA aptamer-tagged 3’UTR sequences pulled down miR-17, miR-18a, miR-19a, miR-20a or miR-130a from neuroblastoma cell lysate. 3’UTR target protection from N-Myc-activated microRNAs increased protein synthesis of RUNX1 or RUNX3 and induced differentiation in neuroblastoma cell lines. Together, protein levels of RUNX1 and RUNX3 are post-transcriptionally regulated by N-Myc-activated microRNAs, highlighting the mutual negative feedback between N-Myc oncogene and RUNX3 tumor suppressor in neuroblastoma

アリアケカイ ニ オケル 1960ネンダイ イコウ ノ テイシツ ヘンカ

観測資料,音響特性,柱状試料に基づいて,有明海における泥質堆積物の分布の経年変化を明らかにし,さらに粒度組成の変化が生物多様性に与える影響について検討した.底質の細粒化は,沿岸水と外海系水との潮目に堆積した泥質粒子が残差流によって拡散した結果と推定される.熊本沖では,アサリの漁獲量の急増と,貝殻片,砂,礫からなる粗粒粒子が混じる堆積物の分布の拡大が密接に関係していた.一方,海域環境を解析した結果によれば,1970-80年代に低塩分の沿岸水が強く影響していた.塩分の低下と底質の粗粒化が同時に発生したことが,アサリが急増した原因と判断される.このことは,逆に温暖化で外海系水が砂泥干潟にまで影響するようになれば,個体数の減少を引き起こす可能性を示している

アリアケカイ ニ オケル 1960ネンダイ イコウ ノ テイシツ ヘンカ

観測資料,音響特性,柱状試料に基づいて,有明海における泥質堆積物の分布の経年変化を明らかにし, さらに粒度組成の変化が生物多様性に与える影響について検討した.底質の細粒化は,沿岸水と外海系水 との潮目に堆積した泥質粒子が残差流によって拡散した結果と推定される.熊本沖では,アサリの漁獲量 の急増と,貝殻片,砂,礫からなる粗粒粒子が混じる堆積物の分布の拡大が密接に関係していた.一方, 海域環境を解析した結果によれば,1970-80年代に低塩分の沿岸水が強く影響していた.塩分の低下と底 質の粗粒化が同時に発生したことが,アサリが急増した原因と判断される.このことは,逆に温暖化で外 海系水が砂泥干潟にまで影響するようになれば,個体数の減少を引き起こす可能性を示している

Expedition 306 summary

The overall aim of the North Atlantic paleoceanography study of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 306 is to place late Neogene–Quaternary climate proxies in the North Atlantic into a chronology based on a combination of geomagnetic paleointensity, stable isotope, and detrital layer stratigraphies, and in so doing generate integrated North Atlantic millennial-scale stratigraphies for the last few million years. To reach this aim, complete sedimentary sections were drilled by multiple advanced piston coring directly south of the central Atlantic “ice-rafted debris belt” and on the southern Gardar Drift. In addition to the North Atlantic paleoceanography study, a borehole observatory was successfully installed in a new ~180 m deep hole close to Ocean Drilling Program Site 642, consisting of a circulation obviation retrofit kit to seal the borehole from the overlying ocean, a thermistor string, and a data logger to document and monitor bottom water temperature variations through time

アタラシイ ニホンゴ ノウリョク シケン ノ タメノ ゴイ ヒョウ サクセイ ニ ムケテ

日本語能力試験の実施機関である国際交流基金と日本国際教育支援協会は「日本語能力試験の改善に関する検討会」を2005年に発足させたが、2009年からの新試験開始を目指して各分科会は日々調査研究を重ねている。本稿は、分科会の一つである出題基準分科会漢字表・語彙表部会が行っている語彙表作成作業の2007年9月現在の中間報告である。 部会の活動は、この2年間で4つの段階を経た。作成方針と選別方針を決定し、データベースに関する調査および整備をする第一段階、語彙の選別をする第二段階、語彙の再選別及び記述方法の検討をする第三段階、語彙の再選別と初出級の検討をする第四段階である。実際にどのようなデータベースを使い、どのような検討を重ね、どのような選別作業をしたのか。本稿ではそれぞれの段階ごとに具体的な例を挙げながら報告をする。また、それとともに今後考えていかなければならない課題についても言及する。The Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services inaugurated an "Examination Committee on Improving Japanese Language Proficiency Test" in 2005, and have been conducting research on the New Test to be incorporated in 2009. There are various revisions to be made. This is an interim report as of September 2007, on the working of vocabulary list which has been made by the kanji and vocabulary list subdivision of the Test Content Specifications division. The activities of the subdivision have been divided into four stages during these two years. The first stage is for decisions on the policy for composition and selection, and research on the database. The second stage is for the selection of vocabulary. The third stage is for discussion on the re-selection and description of vocabulary. The forth stage is for re-selection of vocabulary and for each level to be decided

Feasibility of Exploiting Celution^<TM> System in Autologous Cell Therapy in Dokkyo Medical University Hospital:Safety and Reproducibility

In 2012, we established the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Dokkyo Medical University Hospital, and are now preparing the necessary equipment and preclinical evidence for cell therapy. Liposuction is a commonly used procedure in plastic surgery and the lipoaspirate is discarded as a medical waste. However, the lipoaspirate is known to contain abundant mesenchymal stem cells, and thus, it is currently one of the most feasible options of regenerative medicine. Several ongoing clinical trials of cell therapy (in Japan and overseas as well) are based on the Celution^ system, an automated cell-processing machine utilizing lipoaspirate. The merit of using such a machine is that collected cells are so abundant that it is not necessary to expand the cell number in a Cell Processing Center. Moreover, there are fewer risks of bacterial infection because the system is isolated from the ambient dust and operated automatically. Our group is now planning respective cell therapies for breast reconstruction after mastectomy, urinary incontinence and ischemic cardiovascular diseases, and all these protocols will be based on the Celution^ system. Here, we report the initial test run of Celution^ to confirm its safety and reproducibility

North Atlantic Paleoceanography: The Last Five Million Years

In the North Atlantic, cold, relatively salty water sinks in the icy Labrador and Greenland seas, forming North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This circulates through the global ocean, driving ocean overturning and global heat transport and, thus, impacting global climate. As one of the most climatically sensitive regions on Earth, the North Atlantic has experienced abrupt changes to its ocean-atmosphere-cryosphere system, triggered by fluctuations in meltwater delivery to source areas of NADW formation. For about the past 100 thousand years, these abrupt jumps in climate state have manifested as ‘Dansgaard/Oeschger’ (D/O) oscillations (millennial-scale warm-cold oscillations) and ‘Heinrich’ events in ice and marine sediment cores, respectively [e.g., Dansgaard et al.,1993; Bond and Lotti, 1995]. These Heinrich events are characterized as huge input of ice-rafted debris (IRD) and meltwater pulses, documenting episodes of sudden instability and collapse of the current Greenland ice sheets and the Laurentide ice sheet, the latter of which covered northern North America several times during the Pleistocene Epoch