Scattered X-rays in Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei and their Implications for Geometrical Structure and Evolution

We construct a new sample of 32 obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) selected from the Second XMM-Newton Serendipitous Source Catalogue to investigate their multiwavelength properties in relation to the "scattering fraction", the ratio of the soft X-ray flux to the absorption-corrected direct emission. The sample covers a broad range of the scattering fraction (0.1%-10%). A quarter of the 32 AGNs have a very low scattering fraction (smaller than 0.5%), which suggests that they are buried in a geometrically thick torus with a very small opening angle. We investigate correlations between the scattering fraction and multiwavelength properties. We find that AGNs with a small scattering fraction tend to have low [O III]lambda5007/X-ray luminosity ratios. This result agrees with the expectation that the extent of the narrow-line region is small because of the small opening angle of the torus. There is no significant correlation between scattering fraction and far-infrared luminosity. This implies that a scale height of the torus is not primarily determined by starburst activity. We also compare scattering fraction with black hole mass or Eddington ratio and find a weak anti-correlation between the Eddington ratio and scattering fraction. This implies that more rapidly growing supermassive black holes tend to have thicker tori.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

焼結ルチル二酸化チタン上の骨芽細胞様細胞の増殖およびアルカリホスファターゼ活性

The purpose of this study is creation of biomaterials from titanium dioxide (TiO2). This TiO2 has known for photocatalysis and osteogenesis. For the purpose of applying this function to orthodontic brackets and coating materials for implant, the relationship between surface of sintered and cell proliferation were examined. In addition, crystal structure and the surface property of sintering TiO2 were investigated. TiO2 were sintered at 1300°C for use as samples. We examined surface roughness, x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to make observations of the surface properties and texture. Moreover, mouse osteoblast-like cell line, MC3T3-E1 was cultured on sintered TiO2 in order to evaluate the cell proliferation and ALP. For the samples sintered at 1300°C, the crystalline phase of rutile-type TiO2 was confirmed.5000-fold magnified SEMimages of the surface of the unsintered samples, needle-like TiO2 crystals were pressure welded and showed mutual overlap, with pores occurring among the crystals. Sintering at 1300°C produced numerous small pores. Rutile TiO2 as a starting material was sintered at 1300°C and subjected to a cell culture experiment in which MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the sample, followed by viable cell counting and cell morphology observationon days 7, 14, 21, and 28 of culture. In the test of cell proliferation, sintered at 1300°C samples was found to remarkable cell proliferation even after time had passed. ALP activity of cells on 1300°C TiO2 sample, the values were 110% and 126% on days 14 and 28 of culture, respectively. These changes were calculated using polystyrene dish as the reference condition. Thus, TiO2 sintered at 1300°C showed good compatibility and increase in the ALP activity in MC3T3-E1 cells

Comparison of Arrhythmogenicity and Proinflammatory Activity Induced by Intramyocardial or Epicardial Myoblast Sheet Delivery in a Rat Model of Ischemic Heart Failure

Although cell therapy of the failing heart by intramyocardial injections of myoblasts to results in regenerative benefit, it has also been associated with undesired and prospectively fatal arrhythmias. We hypothesized that intramyocardial injections of myoblasts could enhance inflammatory reactivity and facilitate electrical cardiac abnormalities that can be reduced by epicardial myoblast sheet delivery. In a rat model of ischemic heart failure, myoblast therapy either by intramyocardial injections or epicardial cell sheets was given 2 weeks after occlusion of the coronary artery. Ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) were assessed, using an implanted three-lead electrocardiograph at 1, 7, and 14 days after therapy, and 16-point epicardial electropotential mapping (EEPM) was used to evaluate ventricular arrhythmogenicity under isoproterenol stress. Cardiac functioning was assessed by echocardiography. Both transplantation groups showed therapeutic benefit over sham therapy. However, VPCs were more frequent in the Injection group on day 1 and day 14 after therapy than in animals receiving epicardial or sham therapy (p <0.05 and p <0.01, respectively). EEPM under isoproterenol stress showed macroreentry at the infarct border area, leading to ventricular tachycardias in the Injection group, but not in the myoblast sheet- or sham-treated groups (p = 0.045). Both transplantation types modified the myocardial cytokine expression profile. In animals receiving epicardial myoblast therapy, selective reductions in the expressions of interferon gamma, interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL12 were observed, accompanied by reduced infiltration of inflammatory CD11b- and CD68-positive leukocytes, compared with animals receiving myoblasts as intramyocardial injections. Intramyocardial myoblast delivery was associated with enhanced inflammatory and immunomodulatory reactivity and increased frequency of VPCs. In comparison to intramyocardial injection, the epicardial route may serve as the preferred method of skeletal myoblast transplantation to treat heart failure.Peer reviewe

保育者養成における事例を活用した当事者理解の効果と課題 アンケート調査と事例検討内容の分析

本稿では、２年生の保育者養課程の施設実習指導の授業において、事例検討を行い、その疑似体験としての効果と当事者理解に着目し検討を行った。事例検討では２つのショート事例を用いて行い、検討内容は、利用児・者の行動の仮説、仮説に対する説明、職員の対応の３項目とし、この事例検討の際に得られた仮説の内容を分類し、分類した内容を構造的に分析した。さらにそれぞれの事例検討に対し、その難易度や効果についてアンケート調査を行った。その結果、事例検討を用いて当事者を理解し、その対応方法を検討することの効果があったとする回答が多く、事例検討で得られた仮説についても当事者の行動の背景や援助者の援助内容を批判的に振り返ることができると考えられるものであった。しかし、さらに疑似体験としての効果を得るためには、事例内容や検討方法を学生に経験させたい内容に合わせたものにする必要があること、共感的理解を進めるためには事例検討のみではなく、ロール・プレイにより、より当事者に近づく経験をすることが有効なのではないかと考えられるため、それらの効果について検討していくという課題が残った

Current Performance and On-Going Improvements of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope

An overview of the current status of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope constructed and operated at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is presented. The basic design concept and the verified performance of the telescope system are described. Also given are the status of the instrument package offered to the astronomical community, the status of operation, and some of the future plans. The status of the telescope reported in a number of SPIE papers as of the summer of 2002 are incorporated with some updates included as of 2004 February. However, readers are encouraged to check the most updated status of the telescope through the home page, http://subarutelescope.org/index.html, and/or the direct contact with the observatory staff.Comment: 18 pages (17 pages in published version), 29 figures (GIF format), This is the version before the galley proo

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

A circulating subset of iNKT cells mediates antitumor and antiviral immunity

新規の循環型iNKT細胞を発見 --抗腫瘍・抗ウイルス感染効果の高い免疫細胞療法の開発への貢献に期待--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-10-24.Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are a group of innate-like T lymphocytes that recognize lipid antigens. They are supposed to be tissue resident and important for systemic and local immune regulation. To investigate the heterogeneity of iNKT cells, we recharacterized iNKT cells in the thymus and peripheral tissues. iNKT cells in the thymus were divided into three subpopulations by the expression of the natural killer cell receptor CD244 and the chemokine receptor CXCR6 and designated as C0 (CD244⁻CXCR6⁻), C1 (CD244⁻CXCR6⁺), or C2 (CD244⁺CXCR6⁺) iNKT cells. The development and maturation of C2 iNKT cells from C0 iNKT cells strictly depended on IL-15 produced by thymic epithelial cells. C2 iNKT cells expressed high levels of IFN-γ and granzymes and exhibited more NK cell–like features, whereas C1 iNKT cells showed more T cell–like characteristics. C2 iNKT cells were influenced by the microbiome and aging and suppressed the expression of the autoimmune regulator AIRE in the thymus. In peripheral tissues, C2 iNKT cells were circulating that were distinct from conventional tissue-resident C1 iNKT cells. Functionally, C2 iNKT cells protected mice from the tumor metastasis of melanoma cells by enhancing antitumor immunity and promoted antiviral immune responses against influenza virus infection. Furthermore, we identified human CD244⁺CXCR6⁺ iNKT cells with high cytotoxic properties as a counterpart of mouse C2 iNKT cells. Thus, this study reveals a circulating subset of iNKT cells with NK cell–like properties distinct from conventional tissue-resident iNKT cells

スチームコンベクションオーブン調理と真空調理による水溶性ビタミンの調理損失の比較：かぼちゃおよび大根の煮物について

The purpose of this study is to compare and study water-soluble vitamin losses before and after cooking pumpkin and Japanese radish (daikon) with a steam convection oven (SC cooking) and a vacuum-packed pouch (V-P P cooking). Pumpkin was cut into 2.5 cm cubes and daikon into 2.0 cm cubes. For SC cooking, pumpkin was heated for 15 minutes and daikon for 60 minutes with liquid seasoning. For V-P P cooking, pumpkin and daikon were vacuum-packed with liquid seasoning and heated under the same conditions as SC cooking. For pumpkin, percentages of niacin, folic acid and pantothenic acid in uncooked samples, as well as those cooked by SC cooking and V-P P cooking were compared. For daikon, percentages of vitamins B1, B2, B6 and C, niacin, folic acid and pantothenic acid in uncooked samples, as well as those cooked by SC cooking and V-P P cooking were compared. Setting the percentages of vitamins remained in uncooked samples as 100 %, those in SC and V-P P cooked samples of pumpkin were calculated as follows: niacin 93.1 %, 85.4 %; folic acid 84.0 %, 74.4 %; and pantothenic acid 97.9 %, 89.1 %, respectively. Percentages of vitamins in SCand V-P P cooked samples of daikon were as follows: vitamin B1 97.4 %, 94.0 %; vitamin B2 not detected, not detected; vitamin B6 66.6 %, 65.2 %; vitamin C 43.3 %, 52.2 %; niacin 80.0 %, 66.7 %; folic acid 37.7 %, 37.7 %; and pantothenic acid 72.0 %, 65.4 %, respectively.These results indicated that vitamin losses measured in this study were attributable to the cooking process, suggesting that the degree of vitamin losses due to the cooking process varied according to the characteristics of vitamins and cooking methods.論

Mosquito Biodiversity Patterns Around Urban Environments in South-Central Okinawa Island, Japan

Okinawa is the largest, most urbanized, and densely populated island in the Ryukyus Archipelago, where mosquito species diversity has been thoroughly studied. However, the south-central Okinawa mosquito fauna has been relatively poorly studied. Here, we present results from a mosquito faunal survey in urban environments of Nishihara city, south-central Okinawa. Mosquitoes were sampled biweekly, from April 2007 to March 2008, at 3 different environments: a forest preserve, an animal farm, and a water reservoir. We employed 4 mosquito collection methods: 1) oviposition traps; 2) light traps; 3) sweep nets; and 4) larval surveys of tree holes, leaf axils, and artificial water containers. We collected a total of 568 adults and 10,270 larvae belonging to 6 genera and 13 species, including 6 species of medical importance: Aedes albopictus, Armigeres subalbatus, Anopheles Hyrcanus group, Culex bitaeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. Mosquito species composition was similar to data from previous studies in Okinawa Island. The flattening of the species accumulation curve suggests that our diversity sampling was exhaustive with light and oviposition traps, as well as the coincidence between the species richness we found in the field and estimates from the Chao2 index, a theoretical estimator of species richness based on species abundance. This study highlights the importance of combining several sampling techniques to properly characterize regional mosquito fauna and to monitor changes in the presence of mosquito species

ホイク エンジ ノ シンタイ カツドウ リョウ ト セイカツ シュウカン ニ カンスル ケンキュウ マツウラ ミチオ キョウジュ タイニン キネンゴウ

In this study, we aimed to clarify the preschoolers\u27 physical activities in nursery schools, and examined which factors of life circumstances would affect the preschooler\u27s health and lifestyle by survey of their life habits. The subjects were 93 older (6 years old) male and female preschoolers of K nursery school in Tokyo and Y nursery school in a mountainous area of Yamaguchi Prefecture, and their guardians. The preschoolers\u27 heart rates were measured by heart rate monitors and the number of steps and the distance walked during their time in the nursery schools were measured by pedometers, in the summer and fall. The guardians answered questionnaires concerning the life habits of the preschoolers. The preschoolers of Y nursery school showed higher levels of heart rates and steps than the preschoolers of K nursery school in both seasons. For the average heart rate, Y nursery school had significantly higher values (p<0.001) than K nursery school in both seasons. These phenomena are considered to be due to the differences between the schools in their educational content and in the area of the premises. The average wake-up time of Y nursery school children was significantly earlier (p<0.001) than K nursery school, and the average bedtime of K nursery school children was significantly later (p<0.01) than Y nursery school. The average sleeping period of Y nursery school children was significantly longer (p<0.001) than K nursery school. These results suggest that the preschool located in the city area is characterized by habits such as a short sleeping period and a late wake-up time and bedtime, and the preschool located in the mountain area is characterized by a longer sleeping period and an early wake-up time and bedtime. However, the location of playing spaces did not show significant difference by area, probably because of the similarity of social backgrounds, including TV games, rather than environmental factors.Considering the health of preschoolers, emphasis on physical activities by playing outside and ensuring sufficient sleep are important factors