Genome Structure of the Legume, Lotus japonicus

The legume Lotus japonicus has been widely used as a model system to investigate the genetic background of legume-specific phenomena such as symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Here, we report structural features of the L. japonicus genome. The 315.1-Mb sequences determined in this and previous studies correspond to 67% of the genome (472 Mb), and are likely to cover 91.3% of the gene space. Linkage mapping anchored 130-Mb sequences onto the six linkage groups. A total of 10 951 complete and 19 848 partial structures of protein-encoding genes were assigned to the genome. Comparative analysis of these genes revealed the expansion of several functional domains and gene families that are characteristic of L. japonicus. Synteny analysis detected traces of whole-genome duplication and the presence of synteny blocks with other plant genomes to various degrees. This study provides the first opportunity to look into the complex and unique genetic system of legumes

Virtual input devices based on motion capture and collision detection

The paper proposes virtual input devices based on collision detection for easy construction of interactive 3D graphics applications which use a motion capture system as a real time input device. Each virtual input device is composed from several collision sensor objects and an actuator object. These objects are software components represented as a visible object which users can manipulate on a computer screen. Each virtual input device has a certain metaphor associated with its role that is determined by location and composition structure of its components. Therefore, it is possible to define various virtual input devices easily only by combining several sensor objects and an actuator object through direct manipulations on a computer screen. The paper presents a realization mechanism and actual examples of virtual input device

ICRF Heating in CHS

ICRF heating experiments with five poloidal half-turn antennas have been carried out in Compact Helical System (CHS). These antennas designed for the inward shifted magnetic configuration (R_ax=92.1cm) were installed in the high field side of helical field. A high power RF pulse is applied to a deuterium plasma with hydrogen minority initiated by ECH or NBI. The plasma performance was mainly affected by the oxygen radiation which was reduced by more than 2 times by boronization. The plasma stored energy reached 2.2 kJ with 590 kW of RF power from 5 antennas and was sustained to the end of the RF pulse(60msec). Two-component ion energy spectrum was observed by NPA. The combined heating with NBI was also successful and achieved the increase in the stored energy of 0.8 kJ with 450 kW of RF power from 5 antennas

The carbonyl scavengers aminoguanidine and tenilsetam protect against the neurotoxic effects of methylglyoxal

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been identified in age-related intracellular protein deposits of Alzheimer’s disease (amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) and Parkinson disease (Lewy bodies), suggesting that these protein deposits have been exposed to AGE precursors such as the reactive dicarbonyl compound methylglyoxal. In ageing tissue and under diabetic pseudohypoxia, intracellular methylglyoxal levels rise through an impairment of triosephosphate utilization. Furthermore, methylglyoxal detoxification is impaired when reduced glutathione levels are low, conditions, which have all been described in Alzheimer’s disease. However, there is less known about the toxicity of methylglyoxal, particularly about therapeutic strategies to scavenge such dicarbonyl compounds and attenuate their toxicity. In our study, extracellularly applied methylglyoxal was shown to be toxic to human neuroblastoma cells in a dose-dependent manner above concentrations of 150 µM with a LD50 of approximately 1.25 mM. Pre-incubation of methylglyoxal with a variety of carbonyl scavengers such as aminoguanidine or tenilsetam and the thiol antioxidant lipoic acid significantly reduced its toxicity. In summary, carbonyl scavengers might offer a promising therapeutic strategy to reduce the neurotoxicity of reactive carbonyl compounds, providing a potential benefit for patients with age-related neurodegenerative diseases