Lingula rostrum collected from the Seto Inland Sea (Brachiopoda, Inarticulata, Lingulidae)

日本の代表的な内海である瀬戸内海より得られたドングリシャミセンガイLingula rostrum（Shaw, 1798）の外部形態，および，分子生物学的な比較検討を行った。試料は瀬戸内海の岡山県沖備讃瀬戸より得られたドングリシャミセンガイを用い，倉持ら（2012）によるミドリシャミセンガイLingula anatina（奄美大島産）とウスバシャミセンガイLingula reevii（有明海産）の報告と比較した。ドングリシャミセンガイ（備讃瀬戸産）は，殻の形態，および，生時の肉茎の色彩により，外部形態でミドリシャミセンガイ，ウスバシャミセンガイと区分される。 また，ドングリシャミセンガイ（備讃瀬戸産）の18S rRNA 遺伝子の塩基配列を，ミドリシャミセンガイ（奄美大島産）とウスバシャミセンガイ（有明海産）と比較したところ，ドングリシャミセンガイ（備讃瀬戸産）は，ミドリシャミセンガイ，および，ウスバシャミセンガイの両種とは異なるクレードに属することがわかり，分子系統的にも離れた分類群として扱われるべきであることが示唆された。The brachiopod Lingula rostrum (Shaw, 1798) collected from Japanese waters was compared morphologically and phylogenetically in terms of shell morphology with L. anatina and L. reevii (Kuramochi et al, 2012). 18S rRNA gene sequences were also compared with other Lingula species. The specimens of L. rostrum, L. anatina, and L. reevii were collected from Seto Inland Sea (Off-Okayama, Bisanseto), Amami-Ohshima Island, and Ariake Sea, respectively, and used for comparison. The shell of L. rostrum was distinguished from L. anatina and L. reevii by allometric morphology and fresh tissue coloration. Based on the 18S rRNA gene sequences of L. rostrum along with those from L. anatina, L. reevii, and other species registered in a DNA database, a phylogenetic tree was constructed. The brachiopod L. rostrum was placed in a separate clade from other Lingula species, which suggests that L. rostrum should be regarded as non-closely related species

伝統的事業ｼｽﾃﾑの競争優位と課題 -堺･関･燕の刃物産業の比較より-

本研究は､伝統産業の1つである刃物産業に焦点をあて､その事業ｼｽﾃﾑの競争優位を分析することにより､さらになる成長を実現するためには何が必要かを明らかにしようとした研究である｡そのため､堺･関･燕の主として包丁を製造する企業や個人事業主にｲﾝﾀﾋﾞｭｰ調査を行った｡調査の結果､①堺は問屋を中心とした分業体制により発展してきたが､調整役である問屋の求心力が弱くなり､その体制が崩れてきたこと､②洋包丁の産地である関や燕は､合理性や柔軟性といった特徴が規模の経済と速度の経済､範囲の経済を発揮し､競争優位につながっていること､④各産地間では積極的にOEM生産が行われ､刃物産業全体の衰退を防いでいる可能性があること､⑤伝統産業は技術とﾌﾞﾗﾝﾄﾞが強みであるが､それが制約となり､成長機会を逃す可能性があり､企業の長期的成長を考えた場合､伝統と革新のﾊﾞﾗﾝｽが課題となることが明らかとなった｡This study investigates the competitive advantage of the business system of the kitchen knife industry, which is one of the most popular traditional industries, for their further growth. We had an interview with managers and owners of the companies producing kitchen knives in Sakai, Seki and Tsubame in Japan. The results of this research are below. (1)Companies in Sakai have produced Japanese style kitchen knives by using the system of specialization of manufacturers, which is coordinated by wholesalers. But this system has been disintegrating with a decrease of coordination power of wholesalers. (2)Companies in Seki and Tsubame, which have produced western style kitchen knives, have the rationality and the flexibility to achieve economies of scale, speed and scope, leading to their competitive advantage. (3)They use OEM(original equipment manufacturing)trade among their industrial clusters to avoid the decline of the knife and cutlery industry in Japan. (4)Although they have core skills and strong brands, they have missed an opportunity for growth because of their own strength. Thus, it is suggested that keeping the balance of tradition and innovation is the key to achieving long-term growth

The Effects of Host-Feeding on Synovigenic Egg Development in An Endoparasitic Wasp, Itoplectis naranyae

Many adult parasitoids feed on host insects, a behavior known as host-feeding. Feeding on hosts is essential to maximizing female fecundity, but its contribution to reproduction varies from species to species. The relationship between fecundity and host-feeding was examined in the solitary endoparasitoid wasp Itoplectis naranyae Ashmead, (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) to assess the significance of host-feeding in female reproduction. Adult female wasps did not respond to hosts when they were 0–1 days old, but subsequently increased their oviposition and host-feeding activities with increasing female age. While newly emerging females had no mature eggs in their ovary, the number of mature eggs increased rapidly thereafter, a process termed synovigeny. Female wasps were capable of maturing eggs without host-feeding, and this suggested that they produced a certain portion of eggs from nutritional reserves that had been stored during the larval stage. Behavioral observations revealed that I. naranyae was a destructive host-feeder as the host was damaged during feeding. Female fecundity was greater in females that had previously fed on hosts than those did not, indicating that host-feeding was involved in egg production. There was a time-delayed relation between host-feeding events and additional egg production; at least 3 days were required to mature eggs from nutrients gained via feeding on hosts. The significance of host-feeding in I. naranyae reproduction is discussed in the context of its life history traits

Integration-Free iPS Cells Engineered Using Human Artificial Chromosome Vectors

Human artificial chromosomes (HACs) have unique characteristics as gene-delivery vectors, including episomal transmission and transfer of multiple, large transgenes. Here, we demonstrate the advantages of HAC vectors for reprogramming mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. Two HAC vectors (iHAC1 and iHAC2) were constructed. Both carried four reprogramming factors, and iHAC2 also encoded a p53-knockdown cassette. iHAC1 partially reprogrammed MEFs, and iHAC2 efficiently reprogrammed MEFs. Global gene expression patterns showed that the iHACs, unlike other vectors, generated relatively uniform iPS cells. Under non-selecting conditions, we established iHAC-free iPS cells by isolating cells that spontaneously lost iHAC2. Analyses of pluripotent markers, teratomas and chimeras confirmed that these iHAC-free iPS cells were pluripotent. Moreover, iHAC-free iPS cells with a re-introduced HAC encoding Herpes Simplex virus thymidine kinase were eliminated by ganciclovir treatment, indicating that the HAC safeguard system functioned in iPS cells. Thus, the HAC vector could generate uniform, integration-free iPS cells with a built-in safeguard system

Organized and Sustainable Education Program for Drug Abuse Prevention by Yogo-teachers

　学校における喫煙・飲酒・薬物乱用防止教育の充実には，問題行動が顕在化する中学校期だけでなく小学校期 における指導の推進が重要であり，系統的な指導計画を立て，指導者や時間の確保，教材作成などに組織的に取 組み，継続可能なプログラム開発を行う必要がある。そこで，地区内12 校の養護教諭が協働して，発達段階に応 じた系統的・組織的かつ継続可能な地区共通の指導計画を開発し，各校の教育課程・年間計画に位置付けた実践 研究を行った。その結果，指導計画の実施状況は，小学校11 校中，学級活動10 校，ミニ保健指導10 校，長期 休業前指導6 校，広報活動9 校となり，特別支援学校1 校では広報活動のみを行うことができた。小学校におけ る喫煙・飲酒・薬物乱用防止教育の推進には，学校保健活動の中核的役割を担う養護教諭が専門性を活かし協働 して，系統的な指導計画を各校の教育課程に位置付け組織的で継続可能なプログラムとする取組が有効であった

SHISA6 Confers Resistance to Differentiation-Promoting Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Mouse Spermatogenic Stem Cells

In the seminiferous tubules of mouse testes, a population of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor family receptor alpha 1 (GFRα1)-positive spermatogonia harbors the stem cell functionality and supports continual spermatogenesis, likely independent of asymmetric division or definitive niche control. Here, we show that activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes spermatogonial differentiation and reduces the GFRα1+ cell pool. We further discovered that SHISA6 is a cell-autonomous Wnt inhibitor that is expressed in a restricted subset of GFRα1+ cells and confers resistance to the Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Shisa6+ cells appear to show stem cell-related characteristics, conjectured from the morphology and long-term fates of T (Brachyury)+ cells that are found largely overlapped with Shisa6+ cells. This study proposes a generic mechanism of stem cell regulation in a facultative (or open) niche environment, with which different levels of a cell-autonomous inhibitor (SHISA6, in this case) generates heterogeneous resistance to widely distributed differentiation-promoting extracellular signaling, such as WNTs