Oxygen removal efficiency from microalgal culture by gas-permeating photobioreactor

創価大

An Open-Label Feasibility Trial of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment-Resistant Major Depressive Episodes

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been reported to be a new treatment option for treatment-resistant depression. In Japan, there has been limited research into its feasibility, efficacy, and tolerability. We have launched a trial of rTMS for treating medication-resistant major depressive disorder and bipolar depression. We are investigating low-frequency rTMS to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and traditional high-frequency rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, in 20 patients. The primary outcome of the study is the treatment completion rate. This study will provide new data on the usefulness of rTMS for treatment-resistant depression in Japan

保育内容「人間関係」の指導法の意識に関する一考察 ―保育者の経験年数に着目した質問紙調査の結果から―

The study we conducted a questionnaire survey to examine consciousness of pedagogyof “human relationships” by chidcare teachers years of experience. The target of thequestionnaire is kindergarten teachers and nursery teachers (N=70). Experienced childcareteachers evaluated the learning of the college of early childhood education and showed thatthey are taking childcare taking “acceptance and sympathy” into consideration. The novicechildcare teachers were dissatisfied with the learning of the college of early childhoodeducation and showed confidence and response in the leadership skill of pedagogy of “humanrelationships”. It was suggested that it is important for novice childcare teachers to reflectionon their childcare

A Study of responsive teaching of Communication Ability of Young Children - A Text Analysis of Open-Ended Survey Questions of Parents and Nursery School Teachers -

本稿は、認定こども園の1 ~ 5 歳児の園児の保護者63名と、保育者24名を対象に、保護者と保育者の自由記述を基にしたテキストマイニングによる分析を行い、保護者と保育者の幼児のコミュニケーション能力に関する意識の比較を通して、幼児のコミュニケーション能力に関する指導法についての知見を得ることを目的として行った。その結果、保護者と保育者が共通して幼児のコミュニケーション能力が育っている場面としてとらえていたのは、「友達」と「遊ぶ」場面や、「伝える」場面であった。保護者も言葉の重要性を感じていたが、保育者は、「自分」の「気持ち」を「言葉」で伝える場面を大切にしていた。また、「言葉」で「伝える」ことがうまくいかず「泣く」「姿」のような葛藤する場面、「子ども」「同士」の「貸し借り」をする「姿」、相互交渉する場面も保育者は幼児のコミュニケーション能力が育っている場面ととらえていたことが明らかになった。保育者は保護者に対して、「言葉」で伝える際に、上手くいかない際にもその葛藤を支え、子どもの思いを代弁しながら支持していくかかわりが求められることが示唆された。departmental bulletin pape

メタン発酵消化液を用いた微細藻類培養とバイオガス精製同時プロセス

Anaerobic digestion is an energy-generating, ecologically friendly waste/wastewater treatment process. However, treatment of anaerobic digestion effluent (ADE) and purification of carbon dioxide in the biogas, commonly called biogas upgrading, are two issues that prevent propagation of this process. Since ADE contains high concentrations of nutrients, it can be utilized for microalgal cultivation if the chemical composition is optimized for the purpose. Microalgal cultivation is at the same time a promising platform to capture and utilize carbon dioxide in biogas. Therefore, simultaneous ADE utilization and biogas upgrading can be possible by coupling microalgal culture. Previous studies using the simultaneous process adopted open pond systems with algal-bacterial consortium. Although these processes were effective in treatment of both ADE and biogas, the volumetric productivity and economic value of the microalgal biomass are low in such systems. Thus, this study aimed to establish a simultaneous algal pure culture and biogas upgrading using centrifuged supernatant of anaerobic digestion effluent from an activated sludge treatment facility. To achieve this goal, the ADE concentration, pH, dissolved inorganic carbon, and metal composition were adjusted by batch optimization tests with Chlorella sorokiniana. The optimized ADE media was then scaled up to 4-L photobioreactor (PBR) coupled with a 1.8-L gas/liquid exchange column for simultaneous processing. Since the current study adopted algal pure culture in a closed PBR, gas/liquid transfer was expected to be different from previous studies, and thus, three liquid circulation flow rates (1, 2 and 4 L d-1) were tested, which resulted in liquid to gas ratio (L/G) of 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5. As a result, the ADE media was optimized to 10% ADE content, pH 8.0, 0.1 mol L-1 bicarbonate addition, and Mg + Mn addition. While the raw ADE did not allow the growth of Chlorella sorokiniana, the maximum algal specific growth rate using the optimized media reached more than 2 d-1, which equals a doubling time of less than 9 hours. The optimized media was then used for the simultaneous microalgae cultivation and biogas upgrading process. The average productivity in the PBR was 206 ±138 mg L-1 d-1. The carbon dioxide recovery rates for L/G 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 were 90, 94, and 99%, respectively. On the other hand, O2 contents in the upgraded gas were 8.5, 8, and 14%, respectively. The content of carbon dioxide and O2 were in a reverse relationship over various L/G ratios. The current study demonstrated the effectiveness of carbon capture from the biogas, but also suggested further challenge in prevention of oxygen intrusion from algal pure culture. Comparisons with other studies suggest that optimization in gas/PBR volume may enhance the quality of biogas upgrading

Structural basis for channel conduction in the pump-like channelrhodopsin ChRmine

新規光駆動型イオンチャネルの構造解明と高性能分子ツールの創出 --神経科学に光を当てる--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-02-03.ChRmine, a recently discovered pump-like cation-conducting channelrhodopsin, exhibits puzzling properties (large photocurrents, red-shifted spectrum, and extreme light sensitivity) that have created new opportunities in optogenetics. ChRmine and its homologs function as ion channels but, by primary sequence, more closely resemble ion pump rhodopsins; mechanisms for passive channel conduction in this family have remained mysterious. Here, we present the 2.0 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of ChRmine, revealing architectural features atypical for channelrhodopsins: trimeric assembly, a short transmembrane-helix 3, a twisting extracellular-loop 1, large vestibules within the monomer, and an opening at the trimer interface. We applied this structure to design three proteins (rsChRmine and hsChRmine, conferring further red-shifted and high-speed properties, respectively, and frChRmine, combining faster and more red-shifted performance) suitable for fundamental neuroscience opportunities. These results illuminate the conduction and gating of pump-like channelrhodopsins and point the way toward further structure-guided creation of channelrhodopsins for applications across biology

Evaluation Tendency of Experienced Child Care Providers on the Appropriateness of Manner of Speaking by Current Child Care Providers and Students to 3-Year-Old Children —Focusing on Reflection, Evaluation, Interpretation, and Meaning Making—

The purpose of this study was to clarify the evaluation tendency of experienced caregivers on the appropriateness of manner of speaking by current caregivers and students, who were interacting with 3 -year-old children with "desirable attitude" and "attitude needs consideration". We analyzed evaluations by a former public kindergarten director who had worked for 36 years and a child care provider who had worked at a private kindergarten for 15 years and had no experience in a supervisory position. In both evaluations, a similar trend was found for the "attitude needs consideration". However, there was a discrepancy between the two in terms of the “desirable attitude”. This result suggests that reflection, evaluation criteria, interpretation, and meaning making based on childcare experience are more important in capturing "manner of speaking" for "attitude needs consideration”.departmental bulletin pape

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection