Increase in Teff Consumption in Northern Ethiopia between the 16th and 18th Centuries and the Birth of Injera

This paper is the revised English version of my article (Ishikawa 2021) written in Japanese.Injera, a round and spongy pancake-like flatbread with a sour taste, is one of the most representative foods of Ethiopia. Injera is a traditional food of Semitic-speaking peoples in northern Ethiopia, but the custom of eating injera was adopted by other ethnic groups in Ethiopia in the 20th century. Although studies on the kingdom of Aksum, likely founded in the first century in northern Ethiopia, revealed that teff was cultivated and the clay tray, resembling the griddle used for the preparation of injera, appeared around the sixth century, no scholars stated that injera was the staple food in the kingdom. Inadequate attention has been paid to the time period wherein injera became the staple food in northern Ethiopia. This study reveals that the custom of consuming teff spread over a period of 250 years from the 1520s; round teff flatbreads became the staple food of northern Ethiopia by the early 1750s. The prototype of the present-day injera might have been born during these times of change, and famines caused by wars and climate change was one of the reasons for teff flatbread becoming the staple food between the 16th and 18th centuries

Histological Observation of Regions around Bone Tunnels after Compression of the Bone Tunnel Wall in Ligament Reconstruction

The objectives of this study were to investigate the time-course of influence of compression of bone tunnel wall in ligament reconstruction on tissue around the bone tunnel and to histologically examine the mechanism of preventing the complication of bone tunnel dilation, using rabbit tibia. A model in which the femoral origin of the extensor digitorum longus tendon was cut and inserted into a bone tunnel made proximal to the tibia was prepared in the bilateral hind legs of 20 Japanese white rabbits. In each animal, a tunnel was made using a drill only in the right leg, while an undersized bone tunnel was made by drilling and then dilated by compression using a dilator to the same tunnel size as that in the right leg. Animals were sacrificed at 0, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks after surgery (4 animals at each time point). Observation of bone tunnels by X-ray radiography showed osteosclerosis in the 2- and 4-week dilation groups. Osteosclerosis appeared as white lines around the bone tunnel on X-ray radiography. This suggests that dilation promotes callus formation in the bone tunnel wall and prevents the complication of bone tunnel enlargement after ligament reconstruction

Transcriptional Regulation of Differentiation and Functions of Effector T Regulatory Cells

Foxp3-expressing regulatory T (Treg) cells can suppress the activity of various types of immune cells and play key roles in the maintenance of self-tolerance and in the regulation of immune responses against pathogens and tumor cells. Treg cells consist of heterogeneous subsets that have distinct phenotypes and functions. Upon antigen stimulation, naive-like thymus-derived Treg cells, which circulate in secondary lymphoid organs, can differentiate into effector Treg (eTreg) cells and migrate to and control immune homeostasis of peripheral tissues. eTreg cells are heterogeneous in terms of their ability to localize to specific tissues and suppress particular types of immune responses. Differentiation and function of diverse eTreg subsets are regulated by a variety of transcription factors that are activated by antigens and cytokines. In this article, we review the current understanding of the transcriptional regulation of differentiation and function of eTreg cells

The Nucleotide Sequence of RNA1 of Lettuce big-vein virus, Genus Varicosavirus, Reveals Its Relation to Nonsegmented Negative-Strand RNA Viruses

AbstractThe complete nucleotide sequence of RNA1 from Lettuce big-vein virus (LBVV), the type member of the genus Varicosavirus, was determined. LBVV RNA1 consists of 6797 nucleotides and contains one large ORF that encodes a large (L) protein of 2040 amino acids with a predicted Mr of 232,092. Northern blot hybridization analysis indicated that the LBVV RNA1 is a negative-sense RNA. Database searches showed that the amino acid sequence of L protein is homologous to those of L polymerases of nonsegmented negative-strand RNA viruses. A cluster dendrogram derived from alignments of the LBVV L protein and the L polymerases indicated that the L protein is most closely related to the L polymerases of plant rhabdoviruses. Transcription termination/polyadenylation signal-like poly(U) tracts that resemble those in rhabdovirus and paramyxovirus RNAs were present upstream and downstream of the coding region. Although LBVV is related to rhabdoviruses, a key distinguishing feature is that the genome of LBVV is segmented. The results reemphasize the need to reconsider the taxonomic position of varicosaviruses

An Amalab-Movie Creation Approach Model: Utilizing Statistical Science To Design Anime Hits

The authors have created an “Amalab-Movie Creation Approach Model, A-MCAM”, by utilizing statistical science to support filmmakers’ design hit movies. This paper first identifies the factors that make an Anime hit movie by making the expertise and knowledge of Anime movie producers explicit. Second, explicit knowledge is then made of factors that have an emotional impact on moviegoers to identify key subjective elements in films. Third, cause and effect links are then forged between these subjective elements and those in hit movies. Finally, this knowledge and the research process are used to create an A-MCAM. The authors then enlist the support of movie producers in verifying this model, which is deemed a successful model for improving the quality of hit filmmaking

Study of Gasoline Pre-chamber combustion at Lean Operation

Regulations and other demands to enhance automobile fuel economy are growing increasingly strict to reduce CO2 as a measure to address the issues of global warming. The goal of this study was to enhance the fuel economy in high-load operation of a gasoline engine for hybrid vehicles, which is a useful means of addressing this issue. Technology for achieving lean combustion in high-load operation was studied to realize higher brake thermal efficiency by increasing the ratio of specific heat compared to theoretical air-fuel ratio (stoichiometric) EGR combustion. Issues for applying lean combustion to high-load operation include 1) the increased oxygen molarity results in increased knocking tendency compared to stoichiometric EGR combustion, and 2) increased leanness results in greater combustion variation due to the ignition delay period and the delayed second half of the combustion period. In order to solve these issues at lean operation, several combustion methods are examined on test bench. In this test study, Pre-chamber stratified combustion has an advantage of lean operation performance. Ignitability and high-speed combustion period of pre-chamber combustion was secured by setting the ignition areas inside the pre-chamber to the rich side relative to the total air-fuel ratio (A/F). NOx emissions are an issue for stratified combustion, but NOx emissions can be reduced by setting the pre-chamber A/F to approximately 23 and by making the pre-chamber volume sufficiently small compared to the main combustion chamber volume. Tests were performed using a single-cylinder engine to determine the pre-chamber volume and the diameter and number of jet nozzles. The pre-chamber volume and the diameter and number of jet nozzles were set under the restriction of dP/dθ, which is the index of combustion noise, as the target value or less. This specification realized minimum advance for the best torque (MBT) operation with an A/F of 35 at 2000 rpm, IMEP 810 kPa. The heat release characteristics of prechamber combustion shows that unlike the typical combustion pattern using strong flow, the heat release characteristics have two peaks. The first peak is the flame state wherein the jet flame has spread throughout the entire combustion chamber. This shows that the amount of heat released inside the pre-chamber enabled the flame jets from the jet nozzles to spread within the main combustion chamber. The second peak is the state wherein the unburned gas around the spread jet flames is all burning instantaneously. This combustion state results in rapid and stable combustion during the second half of combustion. This combustion characteristic realized MBT lean combustion in high-load operation. The balance between the compression ratio and the surface volume ratio (S/V) was reviewed to counter the drop in efficiency due to the increased S/V as a result of adding a pre-chamber, and this enabled MBT operation at 2000 rpm, IMEP 870 kPa, A/F 35 with an IMEP variation rate of 1.2 %, a main combustion period of 18 deg, and NOx of 30 ppm. Together with the effects of heat insulation coating inside the pre-chamber, this enhanced the brake thermal efficiency by +2 point compared to stoichiometric EGR combustion

Operational Method for Various Continuous Beams

Article信州大学工学部紀要 24: 1-22 (1968)departmental bulletin pape

Precipitation induced filament pattern of injected fluid controlled by structured cell

Mixing of two fluids can lead to the formation of precipitation. If one of the fluids is injected into a confined space filled with the other, a created precipitate disrupts the flow locally and intricates complex spatiotemporal patterns. Here, we show that such injection patterns can be controlled consistently by injection rate and obstacles. Our experimental results revealed filament patterns for high injection and low reaction rates, and the injection rate can control the number of active filaments. Furthermore, appropriately spaced obstacles in the cells can straighten the motion of the advancing tip of the filament. A mathematical model based on a moving boundary adopting the effect of precipitation reproduced the phase diagram and the straight motion of filaments in structured cells.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure

Motion of individual red blood cells in a concentrated suspension flowing through micro-channels

In this study, we use a confocal micro-PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) system to investigate red blood cell motions flowing in micro-channels. This system enables us to visualize the individual RBCs even in the high Hct blood by exciting the labeled RBCs by the laser. We measure individual trajectories of RBCs in a micro-channel with stenosis or bifurcation under high Hct conditions. Our results clearly demonstrate that the trajectories of RBCs strongly depend on the hematocrit, the RBC property and the position in the micro-channel. This information is important for a better understanding of mass transport in the microcirculation

Developmental Link between Sex and Nutrition; \u3ci\u3edoublesex\u3c/i\u3e Regulates Sex-Specific Mandible Growth via Juvenile Hormone Signaling in Stag Beetles

Sexual dimorphisms in trait expression are widespread among animals and are especially pronounced in ornaments and weapons of sexual selection, which can attain exaggerated sizes. Expression of exaggerated traits is usually male-specific and nutrition sensitive. Consequently, the developmental mechanisms generating sexually dimorphic growth and nutritiondependent phenotypic plasticity are each likely to regulate the expression of extreme structures. Yet we know little about how either of these mechanisms work, much less how they might interact with each other. We investigated the developmental mechanisms of sex-specific mandible growth in the stag beetle Cyclommatus metallifer, focusing on doublesex gene function and its interaction with juvenile hormone (JH) signaling. doublesex genes encode transcription factors that orchestrate male and female specific trait development, and JH acts as a mediator between nutrition and mandible growth. We found that the Cmdsx gene regulates sex differentiation in the stag beetle. Knockdown of Cmdsx by RNA-interference in both males and females produced intersex phenotypes, indicating a role for Cmdsx in sex-specific trait growth. By combining knockdown of Cmdsx with JH treatment, we showed that female-specific splice variants of Cmdsx contribute to the insensitivity of female mandibles to JH: knockdown of Cmdsx reversed this pattern, so that mandibles in knockdown females were stimulated to grow by JH treatment. In contrast, mandibles in knockdown males retained some sensitivity to JH, though mandibles in these individuals did not attain the full sizes of wild type males. We suggest that moderate JH sensitivity of mandibular cells may be the default developmental state for both sexes, with sex-specific Dsx protein decreasing sensitivity in females, and increasing it in males. This study is the first to demonstrate a causal link between the sex determination and JH signaling pathways, which clearly interact to determine the developmental fates and final sizes of nutrition-dependent secondary-sexual characters