New Species of Aleocharinae from Japan, I (Staphylinidae ; Coleoptera)

A new genus, a new subgenus, thirteen new species and a new subspecies belonging to the Aleocharinae are described and illustrated from Japan under the names of Atheta (Paradota n. subg.) liberta n. sp., A. (Dimetrota) allocera ontakeana n. subsp., A. (D.) yamamotoi n. sp., A. (D.) nikkoensis n. sp., A. (Anopleta) okamotoi n. sp., A. (Notothecta) watanabei n. sp., A. (N.) incola n. sp., A. (N.) kashimaensis n. sp., A. (N.) effecta n. sp., A. (Badura) ririkoae n. sp., Liogluta libraria n. sp., Pelioptera babai n. sp., Aloconota bulbosa n. sp., Plesiochara fusca n. g. et n. sp. A key is given for the genera and subgenera treated

ALEOCHARINAE (STAPHYLINIDAE, COLEOPTERA) FROM THE INTERTIDAL ZONE OF JAPAN

To begin the taxonomic studies of Aleocharinae of the Japanese coasts with the halobious species, nine intertidal species mainly from the Southwest Japan have been investigated. They are highly specialized species living among or under stones between the high and low tide-marks on the seashore. In some species the eyes are small, the integument less chitinized and poorly pigmented. To begin the taxonomic studies of Aleocharinae of the Japanese coasts with the halobious species, nine intertidal species mainly from the Southwest Japan have been investigated. They are highly specialized species living among or under stones between the high and low tide-marks on the seashore. In some species the eyes are small, the integument less chitinized and poorly pigmented. These may be the features adaptive to the life under the sea-water and appearing quite convergently, though their ecological meaning has not yet been cleared. Then, the nominative characters of the Aleocharinae are hazarded and concealed by such convergent appearances and consequently the taxonomic studies of those forms are made considerably difficult. I wish to express my hearty thanks to Dr. T. TOKIOKA and to the staff of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory for their constant help as well as to Prof. R. Yosu for the critical review of the manuscript. Also I am much indebted to Dr. Ian MOORE of the University of California for the gift of valuable specimens

New Myrmecophilous Coleoptera in Nepal and Japan (Histeridae & Staphylinidae)

The present contribution is a report of a new taxon of the Chlamydopsinae in Japan, consisting of Boreochlamydus ohtanii n. g. et n. sp., and two new taxa of the Aleocharinae from Nepal and Japan, which include Lomechusa throngensis n. sp., and Lomechusa hosodai n. sp. The Chlamydopsinae of Histeridae seem to be new to the coleopterous fauna in the Palaearctic region. A brief concept of the genera Lomechusa and Atemeles is also given

Caries Increment and Salivary Microbiome during University Life: A Prospective Cohort Study

The purpose of this 3-year prospective cohort study was to explore the relationship between an increase in dental caries and oral microbiome among Japanese university students. We analyzed 487 students who volunteered to receive oral examinations and answer baseline (2013) and follow-up (2016) questionnaires. Of these students, salivary samples were randomly collected from 55 students at follow-up and analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Students were divided into two groups: increased group (Delta decayed, missing, and filled teeth (Delta DMFT) score increased during the 3-year period) and non-increased group (Delta DMFT did not increase). Thirteen phyla, 21 classes, 32 orders, 48 families, 72 genera, and 156 species were identified. Microbial diversity in the increased group (n = 14) was similar to that in the non-increased group (n = 41). Relative abundances of the family Prevotellaceae (p = 0.007) and genera Alloprevotella (p = 0.007) and Dialister (p = 0.039) were enriched in the increased group compared with the non-increased group. Some bacterial taxonomic clades were differentially present between the two groups. These results may contribute to the development of new dental caries prevention strategies, including the development of detection kits and enlightenment activities for these bacteria

Improvement of acquisition and analysis methods in multi-electrode array experiments with iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes

AbstractIntroductionMulti-electrode array (MEA) systems and human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cardiomyocytes are frequently used to characterize the electrophysiological effects of drug candidates for the prediction of QT prolongation and proarrhythmic potential. However, the optimal experimental conditions for obtaining reliable experimental data, such as high-pass filter (HPF) frequency and cell plating density, remain to be determined.MethodsExtracellular field potentials (FPs) were recorded from iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte sheets by using the MED64 and MEA2100 multi-electrode array systems. Effects of HPF frequency (0.1 or 1Hz) on FP duration (FPD) were assessed in the presence and absence of moxifloxacin, terfenadine, and aspirin. The influence of cell density on FP characteristics recorded through a 0.1-Hz HPF was examined. The relationship between FP and action potential (AP) was elucidated by simultaneous recording of FP and AP using a membrane potential dye.ResultsMany of the FP waveforms recorded through a 1-Hz HPF were markedly deformed and appeared differentiated compared with those recorded through a 0.1-Hz HPF. The concentration–response curves for FPD in the presence of terfenadine reached a steady state at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.3μM when a 0.1-Hz HPF was used. In contrast, FPD decreased at a concentration of 0.3μM with a characteristic bell-shaped concentration–response curve when a 1-Hz HPF was used. The amplitude of the first and second peaks in the FP waveform increased with increasing cell plating density. The second peak of the FP waveform roughly coincided with AP signal at 50% repolarization, and the negative deflection at the second peak of the FP waveform in the presence of E-4031 corresponded to early afterdepolarization and triggered activity.DiscussionFP can be used to assess the QT prolongation and proarrhythmic potential of drug candidates; however, experimental conditions such as HPF frequency are important for obtaining reliable data

Magnetized Fast Isochoric Laser Heating for Efficient Creation of Ultra-High-Energy-Density States

The quest for the inertial confinement fusion (ICF) ignition is a grand challenge, as exemplified by extraordinary large laser facilities. Fast isochoric heating of a pre-compressed plasma core with a high-intensity short-pulse laser is an attractive and alternative approach to create ultra-high-energy-density states like those found in ICF ignition sparks. This avoids the ignition quench caused by the hot spark mixing with the surrounding cold fuel, which is the crucial problem of the currently pursued ignition scheme. High-intensity lasers efficiently produce relativistic electron beams (REB). A part of the REB kinetic energy is deposited in the core, and then the heated region becomes the hot spark to trigger the ignition. However, only a small portion of the REB collides with the core because of its large divergence. Here we have demonstrated enhanced laser-to-core energy coupling with the magnetized fast isochoric heating. The method employs a kilo-tesla-level magnetic field that is applied to the transport region from the REB generation point to the core which results in guiding the REB along the magnetic field lines to the core. 7.7 $\pm$ 1.3 % of the maximum coupling was achieved even with a relatively small radial area density core ($\rho R$ $\sim$ 0.1 g/cm$^2$). The guided REB transport was clearly visualized in a pre-compressed core by using Cu-$K_\alpha$ imaging technique. A simplified model coupled with the comprehensive diagnostics yields 6.2\% of the coupling that agrees fairly with the measured coupling. This model also reveals that an ignition-scale areal density core ($\rho R$ $\sim$ 0.4 g/cm$^2$) leads to much higher laser-to-core coupling ($>$ 15%), this is much higher than that achieved by the current scheme

Suplatast tosilate alleviates nasal symptoms through the suppression of nuclear factor of activated T-cells-mediated IL-9 gene expression in toluene-2,4-diisocyanate-sensitized rats

Histamine H1 receptor (H1R) gene is upregulated in patients with pollinosis; its expression level is highly correlated with the nasal symptom severity. Antihistamines are widely used as allergy treatments because they inhibit histamine signaling by blocking H1R or suppressing H1R signaling as inverse agonists. However, long-term treatment with antihistamines does not completely resolve toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI)-induced nasal symptoms, although it can decrease H1R gene expression to the basal level, suggesting additional signaling is responsible for the pathogenesis of the allergic symptoms. Here, we show that treatment with suplatast tosilate in combination with antihistamines markedly alleviates nasal symptoms in TDI-sensitized rats. Suplatast suppressed TDI-induced upregulation of IL-9 gene expression. Suplatast also suppressed ionomycin/phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate-induced upregulation of IL-2 gene expression in Jurkat cells, in which calcineurin (CN)/nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling is known to be involved. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that suplatast inhibited binding of NFAT to DNA. Furthermore, suplatast suppressed ionomycin-induced IL-9 mRNA upregulation in RBL-2H3 cells, in which CN/NFAT signaling is also involved. These data suggest that suplatast suppressed NFAT-mediated IL-9 gene expression in TDI-sensitized rats and this might be the underlying mechanism of the therapeutic effects of combined therapy of suplatast with antihistamine