Bipolar localization of putative photoreceptor protein for phototaxis in thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus

Funding Information: This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for scientific research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan (no. 11640653 to K.M.).We identified an open reading frame from a database of the entire genome of Synechococcus elongatus, the product of which was very similar to pixJ1, which was proposed as photoreceptor gene for phototaxis in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 [Yoshihara et al. (2000) Plant Cell Physiol. 41: 1299]. The mRNA of S. elongatus pixJ (SepixJ) was expressed in vivo as a part of the product of an operon. SePixJ was detected exclusively in the membrane fraction after cell fractionation. Immunogold labeling of SePixJ in ultra-thin sections indicated that it existed only in both ends of the rod-shaped cell; probably bound with the cytoplasmic membrane.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Bedsore Prevention in High-risk Patients : Evaluation of a 13-year Initiative

application/pdfBy adopting a historical research approach, we analyzed a 13-year effort at bedsore prevention, undertaken at a ward where no case requiring treatment has been reported for the last four years, although many of the patients were at high risk. Our analysis aimed at gaining an understanding of the development process of their nursing capabilities, and at identifying the indispensable prerequisites of the successful practice implemented at their ward. The analyzed items included the patient population, the methods used to support patient daily life (i.e., nurse observation and support techniques), the nursing devices employed, and nursing administration. The analysis revealed the following four points as essential factors for bedsore prevention:(1) bedsores can be prevented if depressurization is appropriate for the patient s individual condition; (2) location of that body position which achieves certain depressurization, it is necessary to observe sensitively, by both perceiving the situation as it is and making a conscious effort to grasp the perceived situation; (3) patient comfort is essential for the maintenance of successful depressurization; and, (4) nursing administration is necessary which ensures the administration of constant homogeneous care, throughout the team.ハイリスク患者が多いにもかかわらず、ここ４年間治療を要する褥瘡を発生させていない病棟を対象とし、褥瘡予防を可能にした看護力が整ってきた経緯から何が褥瘡予防の必須要件だったかを明らかにすることを目的に、過去13年間の褥瘡予防の取り組みを歴史研究の手法を用いて分析した。分析項目は、患者層、日常生活援助方法（観察と援助技術）、看護用具、看護管理である。 その結果、褥瘡予防の重要要素は以下の４点であると導かれた。①患者の個別状況に合わせた除圧すなわち体圧再分散ができれば褥瘡は予防できる。②確実に除圧できる体位を探るためには「ありのままに観ること」と「意識的に事実を把握すること」の両方が備わった細やかな観察が必要。③確実な除圧の継続には患者にとっての安楽が必須条件。④チーム全体で同質のケアが継続的に提供できるような看護管理が必要。journal articl

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Current status of space gravitational wave antenna DECIGO and B-DECIGO

Deci-hertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space mission with a frequency band of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. DECIGO aims at the detection of primordial gravitational waves, which could be produced during the inflationary period right after the birth of the universe. There are many other scientific objectives of DECIGO, including the direct measurement of the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, and reliable and accurate predictions of the timing and locations of neutron star/black hole binary coalescences. DECIGO consists of four clusters of observatories placed in the heliocentric orbit. Each cluster consists of three spacecraft, which form three Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometers with an arm length of 1,000 km. Three clusters of DECIGO will be placed far from each other, and the fourth cluster will be placed in the same position as one of the three clusters to obtain the correlation signals for the detection of the primordial gravitational waves. We plan to launch B-DECIGO, which is a scientific pathfinder of DECIGO, before DECIGO in the 2030s to demonstrate the technologies required for DECIGO, as well as to obtain fruitful scientific results to further expand the multi-messenger astronomy.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Current status of space gravitational wave antenna DECIGO and B-DECIGO

The Deci-hertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (DECIGO) is a future Japanese space mission with a frequency band of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. DECIGO aims at the detection of primordial gravitational waves, which could have been produced during the inflationary period right after the birth of the Universe. There are many other scientific objectives of DECIGO, including the direct measurement of the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, and reliable and accurate predictions of the timing and locations of neutron star/black hole binary coalescences. DECIGO consists of four clusters of observatories placed in heliocentric orbit. Each cluster consists of three spacecraft, which form three Fabry–Pérot Michelson interferometers with an arm length of 1000 km. Three DECIGO clusters will be placed far from each other, and the fourth will be placed in the same position as one of the other three to obtain correlation signals for the detection of primordial gravitational waves. We plan to launch B-DECIGO, which is a scientific pathfinder for DECIGO, before DECIGO in the 2030s to demonstrate the technologies required for DECIGO, as well as to obtain fruitful scientific results to further expand multi-messenger astronomy

A Normalization of Japanese cedar Pollen Specific IgE Antibody Titers Obtained from Fluorescence Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay Using a Computer Program

Fluorescence enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (fluorescence-ELISA) is a more useful method than the ordinary ELISA to measure Japanese cedar pollen specific IgE antibody in sera from patients. However, the obtained data from it are often affected with some measuring conditions. In this paper, a new developed computer aided modified exponential function (y=a+be^) analysis was applied to normalize the specific IgE antibody of patients which obtained from the fluorescence-ELISA under various experimental conditions. The function well normalized the decrease of the data due to various dilution of β-D-galactosidase conjugated anti-human IgE antibodies. The mean values of the measured relative fluorescence unit (RFU) values from the sera of the 20 patients were 405+287 under the standard test condition (β-D-galactosidase cojugated anti-human IgE anbodies was used with 40 times dilution). When 50 times and 60 times dilutions of β-D-galactosidase conjugated anti-human IgE were used, the mean RFU values from patients were 335+241 and 310+280, respectively. However,the normalized mean values using computer program were 388+264, and 395+280, respectively