African initiative and inspiration in the East African Revival, 1930-1950

This dissertation examines the early history of the East African Revival in the 1930s and 1940s with careful attention to the way in which Christian beliefs and practices were appropriated and shaped by African revivalists in colonial Uganda and Ruanda-Urundi. With the sympathetic support of the evangelical-minded missionaries of the Ruanda Mission, the African revivalists (widely known as Balokole, Luganda for “saved ones”) played an indispensable role in the expansion of the revitalization movement beyond geographic, social, and cultural boundaries. In addition, the African revivalists made significant contributions to the creation of a distinctive African Christian spirituality that precipitated moral and spiritual transformation of numerous individuals. This study shows how the Balokole Revival gained adherents and spread into nearby regions through the involvement of African evangelists, teachers, and hospital workers. The “Bible Team” of itinerant evangelists who served voluntarily in remote villages was key to the rapid expansion of the movement. To sustain the effects of their conversion experiences, the African revivalists employed creative practices such as public testimony and fellowship meetings. In schools, Balokole teachers spread new moral values by living out the virtues of the revivalist piety; in hospitals, converted workers led daily prayer meetings and engaged in personal evangelism. All these efforts built up a strong indigenous Christian community based on common experience, belief, and liturgy. This dissertation contributes to the existing scholarship of the Revival by tracing its social and theological roots in the Ruanda Mission, and by foregrounding the pivotal role of the African revivalists in the shaping of the unique spiritual character of the movement. Particular attention is given to the causes, nature, and effects of religious conversion in the colonial context. An important feature of this study is its integration of social scientific studies about religious conversion with insider perspectives in the form of interviews and personal narratives. As active agents in the multiethnic and multicultural movement, the African revivalists articulated through their words and changed lives what it meant to be “saved.

Microscopic and nanoscopic protein imaging by SIMS and helium ion microscopy

Single protein imaging and understanding their interactions are of paramount importance to understand the life phenomena. Recently reported multiplex protein SIMS imaging methodology using metal-oxide nanoparticle conjugated antibodies can be extended to a single protein imaging methodology using He ion microscopy (HIM). It is proposed here that single protein can be imaged in the microscale and the nanoscale by the complementary use of SIMS and HIM. © 2020 Author(s).1

Interhemispheric asymmetry of c-Fos expression in glomeruli and the olfactory tubercle following repeated odor stimulation

Odor adaptation allows the olfactory system to regulate sensitivity to different stimulus intensities, which is essential for preventing saturation of the cell-transducing machinery and maintaining high sensitivity to persistent and repetitive odor stimuli. Although many studies have investigated the structure and mechanisms of the mammalian olfactory system that responds to chemical sensation, few studies have considered differences in neuronal activation that depend on the manner in which the olfactory system is exposed to odorants, or examined activity patterns of olfactory-related regions in the brain under different odor exposure conditions. To address these questions, we designed three different odor exposure conditions that mimicked diverse odor environments and analyzed c-Fos-expressing cells (c-Fos+ cells) in the odor columns of the olfactory bulb (OB). We then measured differences in the proportions of c-Fos-expressing cell types depending on the odor exposure condition. Surprisingly, under the specific odor condition in which the olfactory system was repeatedly exposed to the odorant for 1 min at 5-min intervals, one of the lateral odor columns and the ipsilateral hemisphere of the olfactory tubercle had more c-Fos+ cells than the other three odor columns and the contralateral hemisphere of the olfactory tubercle. However, this interhemispheric asymmetry of c-Fos expression was not observed in the anterior piriform cortex. To confirm whether the anterior olfactory nucleus pars externa (AONpE), which connects the left and right OB, contributes to this asymmetry, AONpE-lesioned mice were analyzed under the specific odor exposure condition. Asymmetric c-Fos expression was not observed in the OB or the olfactory tubercle. These data indicate that the c-Fos expression patterns of the olfactory-related regions in the brain are influenced by the odor exposure condition and that asymmetric c-Fos expression in these regions was observed under a specific odor exposure condition due to synaptic linkage via the AONpE. © 2020 The Authors. Published by FEBS Press and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.1

The impact of trans-boundary transport of carbonaceous aerosols on the regional air quality in the United States

University of HoustonHarvard UniversityEwha Womans UniversityPromoting Environmental Pesearch in Pan-Japan Sea Area : Young Researchers\u27 Network, Schedule: March 8-10,2006,Kanazawa Excel Hotel Tokyu, Japan, Organized by: Kanazawa University 21st-Century COE Program, Environmental Monitoring and Prediction of Long- & Short- Term Dynamics of Pan-Japan Sea Area ; IICRC(Ishikawa International Cooperation Research Centre), Sponsors : Japan Sea Research ; UNU-IAS(United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies)+Ishikawa Prefecture Government ; City of Kanazaw

Quantitative Analysis of Calcium Phosphate Nanocluster Growth Using Time-of-Flight Medium-Energy-Ion-Scattering Spectroscopy

One of the remaining challenges in material chemistry is to unveil the quantitative compositional/structural information and thermodynamic nature of inorganic materials especially in the initial nucleation and growth step. In this report, we adopted newly developed time-of-flight medium-energy-ion-scattering (TOF-MEIS) spectroscopy to address this challenge and explored heterogeneously grown nanometer-sized calcium phosphate as a model system. With TOF-MEIS, we discovered the existence of calcium-rich nanoclusters (Ca/P ∼ 3) in the presence of the non-collagenous-protein-mimicking passivating ligands. Over the reaction, these clusters progressively changed their compositional ratio toward that of a bulk phase (Ca/P ∼ 1.67) with a concurrent increase in their size to ∼2 nm. First-principles studies suggested that the calcium-rich nanoclusters can be stabilized through specific interactions between the ligands and clusters, emphasizing the important role of template on guiding the chemical and thermodynamic nature of inorganic materials at the nanoscale. © 2018 American Chemical Society.1

Mass spectrometry imaging of small molecules from live cells and tissues using nanomaterials

We review recently developed methods for analyzing live cells and tissues in ambient conditions without the use of harsh chemical fixation or physical freezing and drying. The first method is based on laser ablation in atmospheric pressure assisted by atmospheric pressure plasma and nanomaterials such as nanoparticles and graphene to enhance laser ablation. The second method is based on secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging of live cells in solution capped with single-layer graphene to preserve intact and hydrated biological samples even under ultrahigh vacuum for secondary ion mass spectrometry bio-imaging in solution with subcellular spatial resolution. Mass spectrometry imaging of small molecules from live cells and tissues can provide an innovative molecular imaging methodology for several biomedical and material research applications.FALS

Ambient Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Small Molecules from Cells and Tissues

New methods to analyze cells and tissues in ambient condition without any harsh chemical fixation or physical freezing and drying are summarized in this report. The first approach, an atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry imaging method, is based on laser ablation in atmospheric pressure assisted by atmospheric plasma and nanomaterials such as nanoparticles and graphene to enhance laser ablation. The second one is based on secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) imaging of live cells in solution capped with single-layer graphene to preserve intact and hydrated biological samples even under ultrahigh vacuum for SIMS bio-imaging in solution. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.FALS

Investigation of liquid interface structure with ion beam analysis

The presence of electric double layer (EDL) at liquid interface has been recognized for last 100 years but the atomic scale structure of EDL has not been revealed, even though optical or electrical techniques could monitor the change of EDL. We designed an ultra high vacuum compatible liquid cell with a single layer graphene window so that MEIS analysis can be applied to the graphene liquid interface. We clearly observed the EDL structure formed between CuO and KI solution showing I accumulation and K depletion at the EDL with the width of ∼1 nm. Complementary TOF-SIMS analysis results will be also reported. Studies on systematic dependence of EDL structure on the bias voltage and electrolyte concentration are in progress. Preliminary results on EDL structure profiling with TOF-MEIS and further prospective on bioliquid interface, protein adsorption, and artificial cell membrane structure will be reported for discussions and comment

Preparation of cellular samples using graphene cover and air-plasma treatment for time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging

We report on sample preparation methods based on plasma treatment for an improvement of multiple molecular ion images of cellular membranes in the ToF-SIMS method. The air-plasma treatment of fixed cellular samples efficiently removed the organic residues of any solutions used during sample preparation and improved the quality of ToF-SIMS images due to the resulting clean surface. We also studied cell preparation methods that combine single-layer graphene covering with air-plasma treatment to achieve a synergistic effect that eliminates background spectra by organic impurities while minimizing morphological cell deformation in a vacuum environmental analysis. When the cellular sample on the glass substrate is completely covered with the single-layer graphene, the cells trapped between the graphene and the substrate can effectively reduce morphological deformation by slow-dehydration. After slow-dehydration of cells is completed inside the graphene-cover, the covered graphene layer can be peeled off by air-plasma treatment, and the unwanted organic residues on the surface of cells and substrate can also be removed by plasma cleaning, thereby much improving ion imaging of cells with the ToF-SIMS method. It is confirmed that the cell samples in which the graphene-cover was removed by air-plasma treatment maintained their morphology well in comparison with the rapid air-dried cells in atomic force microscopy (AFM) and ToF-SIMS images. © 2019 The Royal Society of Chemistry.1