Core promoters are predicted by their distinct physicochemical properties in the genome of Plasmodium falciparum

A method is presented to computationally identify core promoters in the Plasmodium falciparum genome using only DNA physicochemical properties

Teacher education for raising the understanding capability about acts of violence in schools.―Development of the educational contents for in-service teachers and prospective teachers.―

ここ数年児童生徒の暴力行為の増加が続き喫緊の課題となっている。暴力行為を予防し適切な指導・援助をするためには言語的な攻撃等も含めた攻撃行動自体を対象にし、その行為に及ぶ児童生徒を十分に理解することが基本となる。このような考えのもと、教員養成段階にある学生と現職教員の、児童生徒の攻撃行動に対する理解の実態を事例を用いて調査した。その結果、攻撃行動の理解の基盤となる四つの理論的視座―精神力動的、行動主義的、認知主義的、神経生理学的―のいずれからの理解にも課題のあることが明らかになった。また、児童生徒の攻撃行動を理解するための学習機会は、教員養成段階にある学生にも現職教員にも必ずしも多くないことが想定された。そこで、両者の理解力を養成・高度化するために、四つの理論的視座にコミュニケーションの視座を加えた教育・研修内容を開発し提案した

3-D Kinematics of Water Masers in the W51A Region

We report proper motion measurements of water masers in the massive-star forming region W51A and the analyses of the 3-D kinematics of the masers in three maser clusters of W51A (W51 North, Main, and South). In W~51 North, we found a clear expanding flow that has an expansion velocity of ~70 km/s and indicates deceleration. The originating point of the flow coincides within 0.1 as with a silicon-monoxide maser source near the HII region W~51d. In W51 Main, no systematic motion was found in the whole velocity range (158 km/s =< V(lsr) =< -58 km/s) although a stream motion was reported previously in a limited range of the Doppler velocity (54 km/s =< V(lsr) =< 68 kms). Multiple driving sources of outflows are thought to explain the kinematics of W51 Main. In W51 South, an expansion motion like a bipolar flow was marginally visible. Analyses based on diagonalization of the variance-covariance matrix of maser velocity vectors demonstrate that the maser kinematics in W51 North and Main are significantly tri-axially asymmetric. We estimated a distance to W51 North to be 6.1 +/- 1.3 kpc on the basis of the model fitting method adopting a radially expanding flow.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 8 tables, appear in the NRO report No. 564 (ftp://ftp.nro.nao.ac.jp/nroreport/PASJ-W51.pdf) and will appear in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, Vol. 54, No. 5 (10/25 issue

Thermal Infrared and Optical Photometry of Asteroidal Comet C/2002 CE10_{10}

C/2002 CE$_{10}$ is an object in a retrograde elliptical orbit with Tisserand parameter $-0.853$ indicating a likely origin in the Oort Cloud. It appears to be a rather inactive comet since no coma and only a very weak tail was detected during the past perihelion passage. We present multi-color optical photometry, lightcurve and thermal mid-IR observations of the asteroidal comet. \textcolor{blue}{ With the photometric analysis in $BVRI$, the surface color is found to be redder than asteroids, corresponding to cometary nuclei and TNOs/Centaurs. The time-resolved differential photometry supports a rotation period of 8.19$\pm$0.05 h. The effective diameter and the geometric albedo are 17.9$\pm$0.9 km and 0.03$\pm$0.01, respectively, indicating a very dark reflectance of the surface. The dark and redder surface color of C/2002 CE$_{10}$ may be attribute to devolatilized material by surface aging suffered from the irradiation by cosmic rays or from impact by dust particles in the Oort Cloud. Alternatively, C/2002 CE$_{10}$ was formed of very dark refractory material originally like a rocky planetesimal. In both cases, this object lacks ices (on the surface at least). The dynamical and known physical characteristics of C/2002 CE$_{10}$ are best compatible with those of the Damocloids population in the Solar System, that appear to be exhaust cometary nucleus in Halley-type orbits. The study of physical properties of rocky Oort cloud objects may give us a key for the formation of the Oort cloud and the solar system.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures accepted to Icaru

Relationship between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea and impaired glucose metabolism in patients with obstructive sleep apnea

SummaryBackgroundThe relationship between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and impaired glucose metabolism (IGM) has not yet been fully elucidated in patients with OSA. Accordingly, we sought to clarify this relationship in Japanese patients with OSA.MethodsThe study population consisted of 129 Japanese patients with OSA (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] ≥5). A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed in all patients who had not been diagnosed as diabetes mellitus (DM). IGM was defined as either diabetes mellitus (DM) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT).ResultsIGM was observed in 78 (60.5%) patients: DM in 39 (30.2%) and IGT in 39 (30.2%). The frequency of IGM was significantly different among patients with AHI ≥30, those with 15 ≤ AHI <30, and those with AHI <15 (72.1%; 53.7%; 35.0%; respectively, p=0.001). Univariate logistic regression analyses showed male sex, the BMI, the AHI, and the lowest SpO2 to be significantly associated with IGM. A stepwise multivariate logistic regression analysis showed a male sex and the AHI to be independently associated with IGM.ConclusionIGM was observed in 60.5% of Japanese patients with OSA (AHI ≥5), and the prevalence of IGM increased according to the severity of OSA. Furthermore, the AHI was independently associated with IGM, thus suggesting that OSA may contribute to the development of IGM

A clear separation of foraging areas between two neighboring colonies of Adelie Penguins observed in a year of extensive sea ice cover

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions : [OB] Polar Biology, Wed. 4 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor) , National Institute of Polar Researc

Simultaneous velocity measurement of water and bubble flows in breaking waves

Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Hydroscience and Engineering, Philadelphia, PA, September 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1860/732Breaking waves produce numbers of vortices through a jet splashing process and also entrain many air bubbles, forming complicated air-water two-phase turbulent flow field in a surf zone. In this research, a simultaneous velocity measurement technique of water and bubble flows in breaking waves is developed for characterizing water-bubble interactions within vortices in a surf zone. The bubbles and neutral buoyant tracers are separately recorded by two different digital video cameras on the basis of an optical filtering technique. It is found that bubble motion does not follow water flow in a vortex, and mean bubble velocity is always higher than water velocity in breaking waves. Bubble-induced turbulent energy is estimated to be less than 10 % of total turbulent energy