Nanoscale Infrared Imaging Analysis of Carbonaceous Chondrites to Understand Organic-Mineral Interactions During Aqueous Alteration

Organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites is distributed in fine-grained matrix. To understand pre- and postaccretion history of organic matter and its association with surrounding minerals, microscopic techniques are mandatory. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a useful technique, but the spatial resolution of IR is limited to a few micrometers, due to the diffraction limit. In this study, we applied the high spatial resolution IR imaging method to CM2 carbonaceous chondrites Murchison and Bells, which is based on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) with its tip detecting thermal expansion of a sample resulting from absorption of infrared radiation. We confirmed that this technique permits 30 nm spatial resolution organic analysis for the meteorite samples. The IR imaging results are consistent with the previously reported association of organic matter and phyllosilicates, but our results are at much higher spatial resolution. This observation of heterogeneous distributions of the functional groups of organic matter revealed its association with minerals at 30 nm spatial resolution in meteorite samples by IR spectroscopy

A novel behavioral science-based health checkup program and subsequent metabolic risk reductions in a workplace: Checkup championship

The effectiveness of general health checkups and lifestyle counseling has been questioned. This study examined whether a workplace health promotion program implemented during a health checkup was associated with metabolic syndrome-related indicators. Hakuhodo DY group, one of Japan's largest advertising agencies, implemented a behavioral science-based program called "Checkup Championship" (Kenshin-sen in Japanese) in 2019, in which all employees could voluntarily participate. We studied 3697 employees (2818 men and 879 women, mean age: 40.7 years), consisting of 1509 program participants and 2188 non-participants. The characteristics of participants and non-participants were balanced using inverse probability weighting. We used their data from the health checkups in 2018 and 2019 together with other covariates and performed a difference-in-differences analysis using a linear mixed model. After program implementation, greater reductions were observed among participants compared with non-participants in weight (-0.66 kg, 95% confidence interval: -0.84 to -0.47), body mass index (-0.23 kg/m², -0.29 to -0.16), waist circumference (-0.67 cm, -0.91 to -0.43), systolic blood pressure (-1.13 mmHg, -2.10 to -0.16), and diastolic blood pressure (-0.84 mmHg, -1.53 to -0.15). In addition, we observed greater reductions in weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol among participants who were with two or more risk factors for metabolic syndrome than other participants. We found that participation in a health checkup program based on behavioral science was associated with reduced metabolic syndrome-related indicators. There may be room for improvement in the effectiveness of general health checkups

Erosion control effect of red soil such as Kunigami mji soil by the addition of soil conditioner

Kunigami maji soil is a red soil that distributes in the central north of the main island of Okinawa Prefecture, Since this soil is abundant in fine particles and poor in coagulation force, it is extremely vulnerable to water, causing severe soil runoff when it faces rainfall. The muddy water generated by soil runoff inflicts serious effects on downstream territories, farm fields, rivers and oceans. Muddy water is factor to pollute water environment and destroy ecosystem. This research used a soil conditioner to control soil loss, and examined its control effect. As the soil conditioner, E-soiru was used. In an experiment using artificial rainfall, the amount of dispersed soil occupied about 20-30% of the amount of eroded soil, showing that this factor cannot be neglected. By blending E-soiru, the amount of eroded soil decreased by 39-92% at an inclination of 1.7° and by 59-89% at an inclination of 8.0°. The result showed the significant effect of the addition of E-soiru on soil loss control. In particular, when the volume ratio of Kunigami maji soil and E-soiru was at 1:05, the mixture showed the maximum effect

The Dugesia ryukyuensis Database as a Molecular Resource for Studying Switching of the Reproductive System

The planarian Dugesia ryukyuensis reproduces both asexually and sexually, and can switch from one mode of reproduction to the other. We recently developed a method for experimentally switching reproduction of the planarian from the asexual to the sexual mode. We constructed a cDNA library from sexualized D. ryukyuensis and sequenced and analyzed 8,988 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). The ESTs were analyzed and grouped into 3,077 non-redundant sequences, leaving 1,929 singletons that formed the basis of unigene sets. Fifty-six percent of the cDNAs analyzed shared similarity (E-value<1E -20) with sequences deposited in NCBI. Highly redundant sequences encoded granulin and actin, which are expressed in the whole body, and other redundant sequences encoded a Vasa-like protein, which is known to be a component of germ-line cells and is expressed in the ovary, and Y-protein, which is expressed in the testis. The sexualized planarian expressed sequence tag database (http://planaria.bio.keio.ac.jp/planaria/) is an open-access, online resource providing access to sequence, classification, clustering, and annotation data. This database should constitute a powerful tool for analyzing sexualization in planarians

Synergistic enhancement of defense responses by different combination of MAMPs.

<p>(A) Synergistic induction of ROS generation by simultaneous treatment of LPS (0.1 µg/ml) and flg22 (1 ng/ml). (B) Synergistic induction of ROS generation by simultaneous treatment of GN8 (0.08 ng/ml) and flg22 (1 ng/ml). (C) Synergistic induction of defense gene expression by LPS:flg22 or GN8:flg22. (D) Comparison of ROS generation induced by simultaneous treatment with two or three MAMP elicitors. Experimental conditions were the same to Fig. 1.</p