The change of terminus and ice velocity field and grounding line estimation in Langhovde Glacier, Antarctica.

第3回極域科学シンポジウム　横断セッション「海・陸・氷床から探る後期新生代の南極寒冷圏環境変動」11月27日（火） 国立国語研究所 ２階講

Open Multi-Access Network Platform with Dynamic Task Offloading and Intelligent Resource Monitoring

We constructed an open multi-access network platform using open-source hardware and software. The open multi-access network platform is characterized by the flexible utilization of network functions, integral management and control of wired and wireless access networks, zero-touch provisioning, intelligent resource monitoring, and dynamic task offloading. We also propose an application-driven dynamic task offloading that utilizes intelligent resource monitoring to ensure effective task processing in edge and cloud servers. For this purpose, we developed a mobile application and server applications for the open multi-access network platform. To investigate the feasibility and availability of our developed platform, we experimentally and analytically evaluated the effectiveness of application-driven dynamic task offloading and intelligent resource monitoring. The experimental results demonstrated that application-driven dynamic task offloading could reduce real-time task response time and traffic over metro and core networks

Quantitative Virion Maturation Fluorescence Microscopy

HIV-1 infectivity is achieved through virion maturation. Virus particles undergo structural changes via cleavage of the Gag polyprotein mediated by the viral protease, causing the transition from an uninfectious to an infectious status. The majority of proviruses in people living with HIV-1 treated with combination antiretroviral therapy are defective with large internal deletions. Defective proviral DNA frequently preserves intact sequences capable of expressing viral structural proteins to form virus-like particles whose maturation status is an important factor for chronic antigen-mediated immune stimulation and inflammation. Thus, novel methods to study the maturation capability of defective virus particles are needed to characterize their immunogenicity. To build a quantitative tool to study virion maturation in vitro, we developed a novel single virion visualization technique based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). We inserted an optimized intramolecular CFP-YPF FRET donor-acceptor pair bridged with an HIV-1 protease cleavage sequence between the Gag MA-CA domains. This system allowed us to microscopically distinguish mature and immature virions via their FRET signal when the FRET donor and acceptor proteins were separated by the viral protease during maturation. We found that approximately 80% of the FRET labeled virus particles were mature with equivalent infectivity to wild type. The proportion of immature virions was increased by treatment of virus producer cells with a protease inhibitor in a dose-dependent manner, which corresponded to a relative decrease in infectivity. Potential areas of application for this tool are assessing maturation efficiency in different cell type settings of intact or deficient proviral DNA integrated cells. We believe that this FRET-based single-virion imaging platform will facilitate estimating the impact on the immune system of both extracellular intact and defective viruses by quantifying the Gag maturation status

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle with Vision-based Navigation System for Underwater Robot Competition

The underwater robot competition in international conference Techno-Ocean 2021 was held to advance underwater technology, in Dec. 2021. The competition consists of five leagues including AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) league, and Kyushu underwater robotics which is the Underwater Student Project team at our university that joint the AUV league using developed AUV. The wet test of the AUV league includes a Gate Pass mission which requires passing through an underwater green gate, Buoy Touch mission requiring contact with the yellow and red buoys, and Special mission requiring contact with the Pinger which has an unknown location. Our AUV navigates by image processing using underwater camera to achieve the mission. This paper explains the AUV system, the mission strategy and detail of image processing.The 2022 International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics (ICAROB 2022), January 20-23, 2022, on line, Oita, Japa

Anti-NF-κB peptide derived from nuclear acidic protein attenuates ovariectomyinduced osteoporosis in mice

NF-κB is a transcription factor that is activated with aging. It plays a key role in the development of osteoporosis by promoting osteoclast differentiation and inhibiting osteoblast differentiation. In this study, we developed a small anti-NF-κB peptide called 6A-8R from a nuclear acidic protein (also known as macromolecular translocation inhibitor II, Zn2+-binding protein, or parathymosin) that inhibits transcriptional activity of NF-κB without altering its nuclear translocation and binding to DNA. Intraperitoneal injection of 6A-8R attenuated ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in mice by inhibiting osteoclast differentiation, promoting osteoblast differentiation, and inhibiting sclerostin production by osteocytes in vivo with no apparent side effects. Conversely, in vitro, 6A-8R inhibited osteoclast differentiation by inhibiting NF-κB transcriptional activity, promoted osteoblast differentiation by promoting Smad1 phosphorylation, and inhibited sclerostin expression in osteocytes by inhibiting myocyte enhancer factors 2C and 2D. These findings suggest that 6A-8R has the potential to be an antiosteoporotic therapeutic agent with uncoupling properties.Takami K., Okamoto K., Etani Y., et al. Anti-NF-κB peptide derived from nuclear acidic protein attenuates ovariectomyinduced osteoporosis in mice. JCI Insight 8, e171962 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.171962

Interaction of the solid Earth and the Antarctic ice sheet

第6回極域科学シンポジウム分野横断セッション：[IG] 全球環境変動を駆動する南大洋・南極氷床11月17日（火）　国立極地研究所 2階 大会議

Impact of cystatin C-derived glomerular filtration rate in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation

BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) impacts prognosis in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). While estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated from serum creatinine [eGFR (creatinine)] is affected by body muscle mass which reflects frailty, eGFR calculated from serum cystatin C [eGFR (cystatin C)] is independent of body composition, resulting in better renal function assessment.MethodsThis study included 390 consecutive patients with symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS) who underwent TAVI, and measured cystatin C-based eGFR at discharge. Patients were divided into two groups, with or without CKD estimated with eGFR (cystatin C). The primary endpoint of this study was the 3-year all-cause mortality after TAVI.ResultsThe median patient age was 84 years, and 32.8% patients were men. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that eGFR (cystatin C), diabetes mellitus, and liver disease were independently associated with 3-year all-cause mortality. In the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the predictive value of eGFR (cystatin C) was significantly higher than that of eGFR (creatinine). Furthermore, Kaplan–Meier estimates revealed that 3-year all-cause mortality was higher in the CKD (cystatin C) group than that in the non-CKD (cystatin C) group with log-rank p = 0.009. In contrast, there was no significant difference between the CKD (creatinine) and non-CKD (creatinine) groups with log-rank p = 0.94.ConclusionseGFR (cystatin C) was associated with 3-year all-cause mortality in patients who underwent TAVI, and it was superior to eGFR (creatinine) as a prognostic biomarker