発光ダイオード(LED)の照明技術に関する実験研究

Red and yellow-green light emitting diodes(LEDs)had already been developed, but there was intense international competition in the U.S., Europe and other countries to develop one other type-the blue LED. A blue diode was finally developed and commercialized in 1993, by Shuji Nakamura of the Nichia Corporation. LED light is governed by the additive color model which applies, for example, when three colors of light(red, green, and blue)are projected onto a screen using three projectors. The development of the blue type enabled LEDs to produce the three primary colors of red, green, and blue, and new lighting fixtures employing LEDs began to appear in the lighting industry. Some said the blue LED would not be developed in the 20th century, and its invention was an event which amazed people throughout the world. The blue LED made it possible to produce all colors by combining three colors, and some believe that in two or three years production of incandescent and fluorescent lights will cease, and the market will shift entirely to LEDs. In this research, illuminance is measured for three types of conventional lighting fixtures and two types of LED lighting fixtures. Parameters such as total luminous flux and power consumption of each lighting fixture are found from those values, and then brightness, glare, other optical characteristics, and energy conservation performance are measured and analyzed

Developmental changes and organelle biogenesis in the reproductive organs of thermogenic skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius)

Sex-dependent thermogenesis during reproductive organ development in the inflorescence is a characteristic feature of some of the protogynous arum species. One such plant, skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius), can produce massive heat during the female stage but not during the subsequent male stage in which the stamen completes development, the anthers dehisce, and pollen is released. Unlike other thermogenic species, skunk cabbage belongs to the bisexual flower group. Although recent studies have identified the spadix as the thermogenic organ, it remains unclear how individual tissues or intracellular structures are involved in thermogenesis. In this study, reproductive organ development and organelle biogenesis were examined during the transition from the female to the male stage. During the female stage, the stamens exhibit extensive structural changes including changes in organelle structure and density. They accumulate high levels of mitochondrial proteins, including possible thermogenic factors, alternative oxidase, and uncoupling protein. By contrast, the petals and pistils do not undergo extensive changes during the female stage. However, they contain a larger number of mitochondria than during the male stage in which they develop large cytoplasmic vacuoles. Comparison between female and male spadices suggests that mitochondrial number rather than their level of activity correlates with thermogenesis. Their spadices, even in the male, contain a larger amount of mitochondria that had greater oxygen consumption, compared with non-thermogenic plants. Taken together, our data suggest that the extensive maturation process in stamens produces massive heat through increased metabolic activities. The possible mechanisms by which petal and pistil metabolism may affect thermogenesis are also discussed

Fractal analysis of 4D dynamic myocardial stress-CT perfusion imaging differentiates micro- and macrovascular ischemia in a multi-center proof-of-concept study

Fractal analysis of dynamic, four-dimensional computed tomography myocardial perfusion (4D-CTP) imaging might have potential for noninvasive differentiation of microvascular ischemia and macrovascular coronary artery disease (CAD) using fractal dimension (FD) as quantitative parameter for perfusion complexity. This multi-center proof-of-concept study included 30 rigorously characterized patients from the AMPLIFiED trial with nonoverlapping and confirmed microvascular ischemia (n(micro) = 10), macrovascular CAD (n(macro) = 10), or normal myocardial perfusion (n(normal) = 10) with invasive coronary angiography and fractional flow reserve (FFR) measurements as reference standard. Perfusion complexity was comparatively high in normal perfusion (FDnormal = 4.49, interquartile range [IQR]:4.46-4.53), moderately reduced in microvascular ischemia (FDmicro = 4.37, IQR:4.36-4.37), and strongly reduced in macrovascular CAD (FDmacro = 4.26, IQR:4.24-4.27), which allowed to differentiate both ischemia types, p < 0.001. Fractal analysis agreed excellently with perfusion state (kappa = 0.96, AUC = 0.98), whereas myocardial blood flow (MBF) showed moderate agreement (kappa = 0.77, AUC = 0.78). For detecting CAD patients, fractal analysis outperformed MBF estimation with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 85% versus 100% and 25%, p = 0.02. In conclusion, fractal analysis of 4D-CTP allows to differentiate microvascular from macrovascular ischemia and improves detection of hemodynamically significant CAD in comparison to MBF estimation

Piezo1-pannexin-1-P2X3 axis in odontoblasts and neurons mediates sensory transduction in dentinal sensitivity

According to the “hydrodynamic theory,” dentinal pain or sensitivity is caused by dentinal fluid movement following the application of various stimuli to the dentin surface. Recent convergent evidence in Vitro has shown that plasma membrane deformation, mimicking dentinal fluid movement, activates mechanosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP)/Piezo channels in odontoblasts, with the Ca2+ signal eliciting the release of ATP from pannexin-1 (PANX-1). The released ATP activates the P2X3 receptor, which generates and propagates action potentials in the intradental Aδ afferent neurons. Thus, odontoblasts act as sensory receptor cells, and odontoblast-neuron signal communication established by the TRP/Piezo channel-PANX-1-P2X3 receptor complex may describe the mechanism of the sensory transduction sequence for dentinal sensitivity. To determine whether odontoblast-neuron communication and odontoblasts acting as sensory receptors are essential for generating dentinal pain, we evaluated nociceptive scores by analyzing behaviors evoked by dentinal sensitivity in conscious Wistar rats and Cre-mediated transgenic mouse models. In the dentin-exposed group, treatment with a bonding agent on the dentin surface, as well as systemic administration of A-317491 (P2X3 receptor antagonist), mefloquine and 10PANX (non-selective and selective PANX-1 antagonists), GsMTx-4 (selective Piezo1 channel antagonist), and HC-030031 (selective TRPA1 channel antagonist), but not HC-070 (selective TRPC5 channel antagonist), significantly reduced nociceptive scores following cold water (0.1 ml) stimulation of the exposed dentin surface of the incisors compared to the scores of rats without local or systemic treatment. When we applied cold water stimulation to the exposed dentin surface of the lower first molar, nociceptive scores in the rats with systemic administration of A-317491, 10PANX, and GsMTx-4 were significantly reduced compared to those in the rats without systemic treatment. Dentin-exposed mice, with somatic odontoblast-specific depletion, also showed significant reduction in the nociceptive scores compared to those of Cre-mediated transgenic mice, which did not show any type of cell deletion, including odontoblasts. In the odontoblast-eliminated mice, P2X3 receptor-positive A-neurons were morphologically intact. These results indicate that neurotransmission between odontoblasts and neurons mediated by the Piezo1/TRPA1-pannexin-1-P2X3 receptor axis is necessary for the development of dentinal pain. In addition, odontoblasts are necessary for sensory transduction to generate dentinal sensitivity as mechanosensory receptor cells

Plastid signalling under multiple conditions is accompanied by a common defect in RNA editing in plastids

Retrograde signalling from the plastid to the nucleus, also known as plastid signalling, plays a key role in coordinating nuclear gene expression with the functional state of plastids. Inhibitors that cause plastid dysfunction have been suggested to generate specific plastid signals related to their modes of action. However, the molecules involved in plastid signalling remain to be identified. Genetic studies indicate that the plastid-localized pentatricopeptide repeat protein GUN1 mediates signalling under several plastid signalling-related conditions. To elucidate further the nature of plastid signals, investigations were carried out to determine whether different plastid signal-inducing treatments had similar effects on plastids and on nuclear gene expression. It is demonstrated that norflurazon and lincomycin treatments and the plastid protein import2-2 (ppi2-2) mutation, which causes a defect in plastid protein import, all resulted in similar changes at the gene expression level. Furthermore, it was observed that these three treatments resulted in defective RNA editing in plastids. This defect in RNA editing was not a secondary effect of down-regulation of pentatricopeptide repeat protein gene expression in the nucleus. The results indicate that these three treatments, which are known to induce plastid signals, affect RNA editing in plastids, suggesting an unprecedented link between plastid signalling and RNA editing

ラマ ゾク カチク ヒモウ ノ ケイタイ ニ ツイテ

本研究は,日本国内におけるラマ属の被毛生産の可能性を検討するうえで基礎的な知見と考えられるラマ属家畜の被毛形態について検討した。ラマの被毛は,日本とペルー国で飼育される動物から採取した。アルパカの被毛は日本で飼育される動物から採取した。グアナコとビクーナの被毛はラ・モリナ農業大学の共同研究者から提供されたものを用いた。メンヨウ(サフォーク種)の被毛は,我々の研究室で飼育されている個体から採取した。伸張率,クリンプ数,太さ,キューティクルの面積と形について肉眼あるいは電子顕微鏡による観察を通じて測定された。ラマ属の被毛の伸張率(1.3-2.1)はメンヨウのもの(3.2)よりも低い値を示したが,逆にラマ属の被毛のクリンプ数(5.4-8.9)はメンヨウのそれ(2.4)よりも多かった。このことは,ラマ属の被毛の柔軟性がメンヨウよりも劣っていることを示唆している。太さに関する結果は,ラマの粗毛が他の動物の普通の毛の2～3倍太いことを示した。また,ビクーナの被毛の太さは他の動物の普通の毛の1/2倍であった。電子顕微鏡での観察結果から,キューティクルの形は2種類に分類され,1つはラマ,アルパカ,グアナコ,メンヨウのように幅の広いタイプであり,もう1つはビクーナのような長さの長いタイプであった。ビクーナの被毛はキューティクルの面積(47.4-70.0μm^2)が最も小さく,他の日本国内飼育動物のそれはそれぞれ近似した値を示した。The present study was conducted to study the shape of hair from genus Llama. The hair of llama was collected from animals fed in Japan and Peru. The hair of alpaca was collected from animals fed in Japan. The hair of guanaco and vicuna were supplied from the co-research member in University of National Agriculture La Molina. The hair of sheep (suffork) was collected from animals fed in our laboratory. Expansibility, number of crimps, thickness, and dimensions and form of cuticle were determined by optical and electron microscopic observation. The expansibility of hair from genus Llama was lower than that from sheep, conversely, the number of crimps in hair from genus Llama was higher than that from sheep. This suggested that the flexibility of hair from genus Llama is lower than that from sheep. The results of thickness showed that the crude hair from llama was 2-3 times higher than the other animals\u27 usual hair. And the thickness of hair from vicuna was half the size of the other animals\u27 usual hair. In the results of electron microscopic observation, the form of cuticle was classified into two groups, one of which showed the wide width type (llama, alpaca, guanaco and sheep) and vicuna showed the long length type. The hair of vicuna showed the lowest value of cuticle dimensions and the other animals\u27 hair showed the nearly the same values without it being fed in Peru

ラマゾク カチク ノ ケツエキ タンパクシツ オヨビ コウソ ノ タガタ

ペルーおよび日本国内で採取したラマ47頭,アルパカ27頭および両者の交雑種1頭とそのアルパカへの戻し交雑種1頭の計76頭の血液を用いて,19座位の血液タンパク質・酵素型を電気泳動学的に解析し,以下に示す成績を得た。1)血漿タンパク質 : Albumin, Haptoglobin,血漿酵素 : Alanine aminotransferase, Aspartate aminotransferase, γ-Glutamyltranspeptidase,赤血球タンパク質 : Haemoglobin,ならびに赤血球酵素 : Acid phosphatase, Catarase, Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, Phosphoglucomutase, Phosphohexose isomeraseの計11座位では多型は認められなかった。2)血漿タンパク質4座位 : Post-albumin(Po),Gc-protein(Gc),Transferrin(Tf)およびγ-globurin field protein(γG),血漿酵素3座位 : Amylase(Amy),Creatine kinase(CK)およびLeucine aminopeptidase(LAP),ならびに赤血球酵素1座位 : EsteraseD(EsD)の計8座位に多型が認められた。これら8座位のうちTfでは6型,PoおよびGcでは4型,γ-G, AmyおよびEsDでは3型,LAPおよびCKでは2型が認められた。ラマおよびアルパカにおけるこれら8座位の総合的な父権否定率は,0.931および0.867であった。3)ラマとアルパカとの間で血液タンパク質・酵素型を比較したところ,Gc, AmyおよびEsDにおいて種間差が認められた。すなわち,GcおよびAmyでは両種で共通な易動度を示すバンド以外に各々種特有の易動度を示すバンドが存在し,またEsDでは両種間でバンドの易動度が異なっていた。4)ラマとアルパカの交雑種,ならびにアルパカへの戻し交雑種の血液タンパク質・酵素型はラマあるいはアルパカと共通であった。5)CKおよびEsDを除く,17座位の遺伝子頻度に基づいて算出したラマとアルパカとの間の遺伝的距離は0.035であった。以上の成績から,血液タンパク質・酵素型の解析はラマおよびアルパカの集団の遺伝子構成を推定する上で有力な指標となることが明確となった。一方,ラマとアルパカが遺伝的に極めて近縁な関係にあることを裏付けるものと判断された。Blood samples of llamas and alpacas were classified by using electrophoretic procedures in the polymorphism at 19 loci. Electrophoretic variation was found for 8 loci, namely plasma proteins : post albumin (Po), Gc protein (Gc) and transferrin (Tf) and γ-globurin zone protein (γG), for plasma enzymes : amylase (Amy), creatine kinase (CK) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and for red cell enzyme : esteraseD (EsD). Synthetic probabilityes of paternity exclusion about the 8 loci for llamas and alpacas were 0.931 and 0.867, respectively. No variants were found for plasma proteins : albumin and haptoglobin, for plasma enzymes : alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase and γ-glutamyltranspeptidase, for red cell haemoglobin, and for red cell enzymes : acid phosphatase, catarase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphoglucomutase and phosphohexose isomerase. Nei\u27s genetic distance between llamas and alpacas on the 17 loci (except CK and EsD) was 0.035. Preliminary estimate of the genetic distance measure may suggest that llamas and alpacas are more likely related as subspecies than as separate species