A Practical Genome Scan for Population-Specific Strong Selective Sweeps That Have Reached Fixation

Phenotypic divergences between modern human populations have developed as a result of genetic adaptation to local environments over the past 100,000 years. To identify genes involved in population-specific phenotypes, it is necessary to detect signatures of recent positive selection in the human genome. Although detection of elongated linkage disequilibrium (LD) has been a powerful tool in the field of evolutionary genetics, current LD-based approaches are not applicable to already fixed loci. Here, we report a method of scanning for population-specific strong selective sweeps that have reached fixation. In this method, genome-wide SNP data is used to analyze differences in the haplotype frequency, nucleotide diversity, and LD between populations, using the ratio of haplotype homozygosity between populations. To estimate the detection power of the statistics used in this study, we performed computer simulations and found that these tests are relatively robust against the density of typed SNPs and demographic parameters if the advantageous allele has reached fixation. Therefore, we could determine the threshold for maintaining high detection power, regardless of SNP density and demographic history. When this method was applied to the HapMap data, it was able to identify the candidates of population-specific strong selective sweeps more efficiently than the outlier approach that depends on the empirical distribution. This study, confirming strong positive selection on genes previously reported to be associated with specific phenotypes, also identifies other candidates that are likely to contribute to phenotypic differences between human populations

Global Boiling by Nuclear Heated Ocean: Unstoppable Atomic Generations

Hiroyuki Itsuki has said that Fukushima was a ‘second war defeat’. Japan, which suffered the atomic bombing of ‘Hiroshima’ and ‘Nagasaki’ in the Second World War, wasonce again visited by a nuclear incident at Fukushima. After the world war, the state wasdefeated but the natural environment was preserved. Conversely, at Fukushima, thenatural environment was lost and people were robbed of their livelihood, with the statealone remaining intact. Historically, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have taken only retrospective action in the event of nuclear-related accidents, disasters, or mishaps, while current law is insufficient and ineffectual in the face of the nuclear issue. Meanwhile, the management of the electric-power companies in charge of nuclear operations, such as the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in the case of the Fukushima nuclear accident, has also been lax both in its preventive measures against accidents and disasters and in its risk awareness. Even after the accident, its response can only be called inadequate.This article reviews, firstly, outlines the ‘unstoppable’ nature of nuclear generation as exemplified by the lifecycle of nuclear reactor technology, the decommissioning of reactors, and the nuclear-waste disposal problem; secondly, traces the roles in the JCO nuclear-fuel criticality accident of failed management in the form of the power companies, and government in the form of the ‘nuclear-electricity regulatory authorities’ and ‘fuzzy policy’; finally,highlights ‘ocean-temperature’ rise in the northern hemisphere, specifically the NorthPacific, Arctic and North Atlantic, perhaps as a result of the thermal effluent from 435nuclear reactors in the northern hemisphere which is an insidious product of today’snuclear industry

Ambipolar suppression of superconductivity by ionic gating in optimally-doped BaFe2(As,P)2 ultrathin films

Superconductivity (SC) in the Ba-122 family of iron-based compounds can be controlled by aliovalent or isovalent substitutions, applied external pressure, and strain, the combined effects of which are sometimes studied within the same sample. Most often, the result is limited to a shift of the SC dome to different doping values. In a few cases, the maximum SC transition at optimal doping can also be enhanced. In this work, we study the combination of charge doping together with isovalent P substitution and strain by performing ionic gating experiments on BaFe$_2$(As$_{0.8}$P$_{0.2}$)$_2$ ultrathin films. We show that the polarization of the ionic gate induces modulations to the normal-state transport properties that can be mainly ascribed to surface charge doping. We demonstrate that ionic gating can only shift the system away from the optimal conditions, as the SC transition temperature is suppressed by both electron and hole doping. We also observe a broadening of the resistive transition, which suggests that the SC order parameter is modulated nonhomogeneously across the film thickness, in contrast with earlier reports on charge-doped standard BCS superconductors and cuprates.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Acute Exacerbation of Pulmonary Fibrosis in Syndrome of Combined Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema Following Lung Surgery : A Report of Two Cases

We herein report two cases of an acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis in the syndrome of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) following lung surgery, and also review the relevant literature. One is a 76-year-old man, who had been diagnosed with CPFE and lung cancer and undergone lobectomy. He was admitted to our hospital because of aggravation of dyspnea 50 days after lung surgery. The other is a 69-yearold man who had been diagnosed with pulmonary bulla, pulmonary emphysema and idiopathic interstitial pneumonia at 53 years old and was complicated by lung cancer. He underwent right lower lobectomy and presented with slight fever and desaturation 18 days after lung surgery. In both cases, chest computed tomography showed diffuse bilateral ground-glass opacities superimposed on preceding reticular opacities in the lower lung field. They were diagnosed as acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis in CPFE.A strict followup is required, because the prevalence of lung cancer may be higher, and acute exacerbation may occur following lung surgery in CPFE patients. HRCT plays an important role in evaluating the occurrence of lung cancer at an early stage and for determining whether there is an acute exacerbation of pulmonary fibrosis in CPFE patients.Article信州医学雑誌 60(3): 149-156(2012)journal articl

Our Stolen Sustainability Unsafe Eden Contaminated by Environmental Hormones

When we speak of sustainable development in the context of modern society, what does it actually mean? Here we would like to address the issue of environmental contamination and explore the conditions required to move toward human coexistence and symbiosis with the natural environment. Studying the effect of ‘environmental hormones’ and endocrine disruptors on the ecosystem, Theo Colborn confirmed the risk of ‘brain contamination’ through the food chain and ‘bio-accumulation’. The contamination of the ecosphere by environmental hormones - an issue which no modern human can avoid - is a ‘negative legacy’ contrasting with the economic wealth brought by modern rationality. In this article, we consider the role of the environmental ethics which societies and individuals will be required to practice in the near future and examines the role of ‘environmental management’ as a preventive policy carrying the morality of the modern organization

Socio-biological Hazard and Systemic Breakdown: From the AIDS Pandemic to Viral Outbreaks

Iatrogenic HIV infection refers here to cases of infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) caused by administration of blood products. Following the discovery of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1981, numerous warnings were issued by experts regarding the use of blood products. In spite of this, no switch to cryoprecipitate or other effective measures were taken, and the authorization of safe heated products was also delayed, as a result of which 40% of Japanese hemophiliacs, or some 2,000 people, fell victim. Additionally, since insufficient risk data was provided, the infection spread to partners, families, and other associates of hemophiliacs through secondary and tertiary infection. In connection, questions were asked as to the degree of responsibility of those institutions which had been involved in the outbreak and spread of the infection. The cause of the outbreak has been said to lie in the web of collusive relationships linking industry, government, and academia, and three groups in particular: the pharmaceutical manufacturers who undertook the manufacture and sale of the blood products, the former Ministry of Health and Welfare, which held approval and licensing authority over these pharmaceutical products, and the AIDS Research Group commissioned by the former Ministry of Health and Welfare. Underpinning the collusion between these three groups must have been an unwritten law recognized among them as inviolable. This points up the pressing need to reform the poor practice and customs latent in Japan’s pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and by extension the ethos and culture of Japan’s industry and organizations. This article aims additionally to analyze the iatrogenic AIDS problem from a global perspective through international comparisons of the number of people infected with HIV and also to look from a ‘sociobiological’ perspective at the possibility of viral outbreaks in the near future and the conditions that have precipitated this hazard

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Activity as a Marker of Quality in Cryopreserved Cord Blood

We investigated the effects of cryopreservation on CD34+ cells and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) -positive cells (ALDH (+) cells) in the umbilical cord blood (UCB) of unrelated donors. Ten units of UCB were collected at the Kanagawa Cord Blood Bank from September 2009 to November 2010. These UCB units were frozen for 2 weeks or 1 year, and then assayed for quality by flow cytometry analysis and colony-forming assay. We found that both ALDH (+) cells and the numbers of total colony-forming units and colony-forming units of granulocyte/macrophage from the isolated CD34+ cells were significantly decreased after all cryopreservation. The numbers of ALDH (+) /CD34+ cells, ALDH (+) /CD34+CD38- cells, and total colony-forming units from the cryopreserved UCB units continued to decrease over time with cryopreservation. In contrast, levels of traditional primitive surface markers were not significantly decreased in CD34+ cells and CD34+CD38- cells after cryopreservation, although this result depended on the duration of cryopreservation. These findings suggested that ALDH (+) cells could be a new marker for assessing cryopreserved UCB quality prior to hematopoietic cell transplantation

Segmental mobility with spondylolisthesis

Purpose : To evaluate segmental mobility with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis (DLS), upright lateral flexion-extension radiographs (FE) are widely used. However, some authors have described that a combination of lateral radiographs in the standing position and supine sagittal image (SS) reveal more segmental mobility than FE. The purpose of this study was to investigate the optimal method for evaluating segmental mobility with DLS. Methods : We included 92 consecutive Japanese patients diagnosed with DLS. Sagittal translation (ST) determined by FE and SS were compared. Pathological instability was defined as ST more than 8% of the upper vertebra. Patients were divided into those diagnosed with pathological instability in FE (PI-FE) and those diagnosed with SS (PI-SS), and lumbar lordosis (LL) in the standing position in each group were compared. Results : ST in FE was significantly greater than in SS. Of 92 patients, 31 had pathological instability in FE or SS ; 17 patients had PI-FE, and 10 patients had PI-SS. LL in the standing position in PI-FE was significantly smaller than in PI-SS. Conclusions : ST in FE was greater than that in SS, contrary to previous studies’ reports on Caucasians. Since Japanese individuals have smaller LL than Caucasians, FE tends to reveal more segmental mobility than SS

A replication study confirmed the EDAR gene to be a major contributor to population differentiation regarding head hair thickness in Asia

Hair morphology is a highly divergent phenotype among human populations. We recently reported that a nonsynonymous SNP in the ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR 1540T/C) is associated with head hair fiber thickness in an ethnic group in Thailand (Thai-Mai) and an Indonesian population. However, these Southeast Asian populations are genetically and geographically close, and thus the genetic contribution of EDAR to hair morphological variation in the other Asian populations has remained unclear. In this study, we examined the association of 1540T/C with hair morphology in a Japanese population (Northeast Asian). As observed in our previous study, 1540T/C showed a significant association with hair cross-sectional area (P = 2.7 × 10−6) in Japanese. When all populations (Thai-Mai, Indonesian, and Japanese) were combined, the association of 1540T/C was stronger (P = 3.8 × 10−10) than those of age, sex, and population. These results indicate that EDAR is the genetic determinant of hair thickness as well as a strong contributor to hair fiber thickness variation among Asian populations