Influence of Drying and Post-drying Conditions on the Head Rice Yield of Aromatic Rice

The effects of various drying temperatures, low final moisture, and post-drying duration, on fissure formation and head rice yield (HRY) reduction in aromatic short-grain rice, were investigated. The results of post-drying duration showed that most fissured kernels were produced within 12-h after drying process ceased and then became to stable within 24 h for all treatments. The whole kernel percentage of Kaori aromatic rice was reduced significantly (P < 0.01) when rice was dried at 50oC and 60oC for both standard and low final moisture content (FMC). For a given post-drying duration and conditions, low FMC treatments exhibited more HRY reduction than did standard FMC. It is well known that moisture gradient has much influence in producing fissure in kernels. In addition, increased difference between immediate storage temperature and drying air temperature augmented the increase in the percentage of fissured kernels (P < 0.01)

Effects of Ca substitution on the local structure and oxide–ion behavior of layered perovskite lanthanum nickelate

La2NiO4+δ-based materials with a layered perovskite structure have attracted significant attention as air–electrode materials for use in solid oxide fuel cells. In particular, Ca-substituted materials, La2-xCaxNiO4+δ, have been investigated, as the partial substitution of La with Ca can improve oxide–ion conduction in crystals. However, the local structures around the conducting oxide ion and Ca dopant are not been well understood because their distributions cannot be characterized by a general structure analysis only using Bragg peaks. Therefore, we examine the atomic structure of La1.75Ca0.25NiO4+δ by a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and a reverse Monte Carlo modeling using the Faber–Ziman structure factor, real-space function, and the Bragg profile simultaneously. The results indicate that conducting oxide ions are introduced into rocksalt layers in the crystal and are present around La but not Ca. Furthermore, it is found that ionic diffusion is accompanied by a change in the rocksalt layer volume, which can be suppressed by the partial substitution with Ca. This can be regarded as a major reason why Ca substitution improves oxide–ion diffusion in the La2NiO4+δ layered perovskite

Nonylphenol-degrading Microbe

東京水産大学生物資源化学講座東京水産大学生物資源化学講座東京水産大学生物資源化学講

Notable underlying mechanism for pancreatic β-cell dysfunction and atherosclerosis: Pleiotropic roles of incretin and insulin signaling

Under healthy conditions, pancreatic β-cells produce and secrete the insulin hormone in response to blood glucose levels. Under diabetic conditions, however, β-cells are compelled to continuously secrete larger amounts of insulin to reduce blood glucose levels, and thereby, the β-cell function is debilitated in the long run. In the diabetic state, expression levels of insulin gene transcription factors and incretin receptors are downregulated, which we think is closely associated with β-cell failure. These data also suggest that it would be better to use incretin-based drugs at an early stage of diabetes when incretin receptor expression is preserved. Indeed, it was shown that incretin-based drugs exerted more protective effects on β-cells at an early stage. Furthermore, it was shown recently that endothelial cell dysfunction was also associated with pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. After ablation of insulin signaling in endothelial cells, the β-cell function and mass were substantially reduced, which was also accompanied by reduced expression of insulin gene transcription factors and incretin receptors in β-cells. On the other hand, it has been drawing much attention that incretin plays a protective role against the development of atherosclerosis. Many basic and clinical data have underscored the importance of incretin in arteries. Furthermore, it was shown recently that incretin receptor expression was downregulated in arteries under diabetic conditions, which likely diminishes the protective effects of incretin against atherosclerosis. Furthermore, a series of large-scale clinical trials (SPAED-A, SPIKE, LEADER, SUSTAIN-6, REWIND, PIONEER trials) have shown that various incretin-related drugs have beneficial effects against atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events. These data strengthen the hypothesis that incretin plays an important role in the arteries of humans, as well as rodents.Kaneto, H.; Obata, A.; Kimura, T.; Shimoda, M.; Sanada, J.; Fushimi, Y.; Katakami, N.; Matsuoka, T.; Kaku, K. Notable Underlying Mechanism for Pancreatic β-Cell Dysfunction and Atherosclerosis: Pleiotropic Roles of Incretin and Insulin Signaling. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21, 9444

Low immunogenicity of LNP allows repeated administrations of CRISPR-Cas9 mRNA into skeletal muscle in mice

筋ジストロフィーのゲノム編集治療を目指したLNP-mRNA輸送システムの開発. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-12-08.Nanotechnology for genome editing in multiple muscles simultaneously. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-12-08.Genome editing therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) holds great promise, however, one major obstacle is delivery of the CRISPR-Cas9/sgRNA system to skeletal muscle tissues. In general, AAV vectors are used for in vivo delivery, but AAV injections cannot be repeated because of neutralization antibodies. Here we report a chemically defined lipid nanoparticle (LNP) system which is able to deliver Cas9 mRNA and sgRNA into skeletal muscle by repeated intramuscular injections. Although the expressions of Cas9 protein and sgRNA were transient, our LNP system could induce stable genomic exon skipping and restore dystrophin protein in a DMD mouse model that harbors a humanized exon sequence. Furthermore, administration of our LNP via limb perfusion method enables to target multiple muscle groups. The repeated administration and low immunogenicity of our LNP system are promising features for a delivery vehicle of CRISPR-Cas9 to treat skeletal muscle disorders

The Japan Monkey Centre Primates Brain Imaging Repository for comparative neuroscience: an archive of digital records including records for endangered species

Advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computational analysis technology have enabled comparisons among various primate brains in a three-dimensional electronic format. Results from comparative studies provide information about common features across primates and species-specific features of neuroanatomy. Investigation of various species of non-human primates is important for understanding such features, but the majority of comparative MRI studies have been based on experimental primates, such as common marmoset, macaques, and chimpanzee. A major obstacle has been the lack of a database that includes non-experimental primates’ brain MRIs. To facilitate scientific discoveries in the field of comparative neuroanatomy and brain evolution, we launched a collaborative project to develop an open-resource repository of non-human primate brain images obtained using ex vivo MRI. As an initial open resource, here we release a collection of structural MRI and diffusion tensor images obtained from 12 species: pygmy marmoset, owl monkey, white-fronted capuchin, crab-eating macaque, Japanese macaque, bonnet macaque, toque macaque, Sykes’ monkey, red-tailed monkey, Schmidt’s guenon, de Brazza’s guenon, and lar gibbon. Sixteen postmortem brain samples from the 12 species, stored in the Japan Monkey Centre (JMC), were scanned using a 9.4-T MRI scanner and made available through the JMC collaborative research program (http://www.j-monkey.jp/BIR/index_e.html). The expected significant contributions of the JMC Primates Brain Imaging Repository include (1) resources for comparative neuroscience research, (2) preservation of various primate brains, including those of endangered species, in a permanent digital form, (3) resources with higher resolution for identifying neuroanatomical features, compared to previous MRI atlases, (4) resources for optimizing methods of scanning large fixed brains, and (5) references for veterinary neuroradiology. User-initiated research projects beyond these contributions are also anticipated