An isotope study of hot springs in Nagano Prefecture

Water samples from 28 hotsprings and mineral springs in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, were examined for their stable isotope ratios of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and sulfur. Spring waters of Kashio are highly saline and enriched in heavy isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ(18)O=-2.5～-4.6‰, δD=-54～-57‰). Linear relationships among δD, δ(18)O, and Cl(-) suggest that spring waters are the mixtures of a deep brine and local surface water. Extrapolation of the linear relationships indicates that the deep brine is both isotopically and chemically very similar to the deep brine previously suggested for the springs of Arima, Takarazuka, and Ishibotoke of which δD, δ(18)O, and Cl(-) are estimated as -33‰, +8.0‰, and 44g/l, respectively. A common origin may be warranted among these postulated brines, while their provenance is yet to be worked out. The hot springs in Matsushiro are a Na-Ca-Cl type of high carbonate content. Their hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios (δD=-71～-46‰, δ(18)O=-9.1～-2.0‰) are higher than the local surface water. On the basis of the relationships among δD, δ(18)O, and Cl(-), they are considered to be the mixtures of fossil sea water and certain water of meteoric origin of which Cl(-) is about 4g/l and δ(18)O is higher by about 3‰ than the local surface water. The latter may be meteoric water circulating in the marine sedimentary formations (Green Tuff formations) with soluble sea salts. Isotopic exchange with carbonate minerals in the formations explains its (18)O enrichment. Spring waters from Yashio and Isobe (Gunma Pref.) as well as Yunosawa and Yatate (Akita Pref.) were previously interpreted to be mixtures of fossil sea water and local surface water of low Cl(-) content. Re-examination of their data revealed that the meteoric waters responsible for these springs contain about 3g/l Cl(-), similar to the value obtained for Matsushiro. However, unlike Matsushiro, the meteoric waters in these areas are found to be isotopically similar to the local surface waters. Waters from other hot springs studied here are of simply meteoric origin, thus belonging to the GreenTuff type water previously defined

Structural basis of enzyme activity regulation by the propeptide of l-lysine α-oxidase precursor from Trichoderma viride

Harmuful proteins are usually synthesized as inactive precursors and are activated by proteolytic processing. l-Amino acid oxidase (LAAO) is a flavoenzyme that catalyzes the oxidative deamination of l-amino acid to produce a 2-oxo acid with ammonia and highly toxic hydrogen peroxide and, therefore, is expressed as a precursor. The LAAO precursor shows significant variation in size and the cleavage pattern for activation. However, the molecular mechanism of how the propeptide suppresses the enzyme activity remains unclear except for deaminating/decarboxylating Pseudomonasl-phenylalanine oxidase (PAO), which has a short N-terminal propeptide composed of 14 residues. Here we show the inactivation mechanism of the l-lysine oxidase (LysOX) precursor (prLysOX), which has a long N-terminal propeptide composed of 77 residues, based on the crystal structure at 1.97 Å resolution. The propeptide of prLysOX indirectly changes the active site structure to inhibit the enzyme activity. prLysOX retains weak enzymatic activity with strict specificity for l-lysine and shows raised activity in acidic conditions. The structures of prLysOX crystals that soaked in a solution with various concentrations of l-lysine have revealed that prLysOX can adopt two conformations; one is the inhibitory form, and the other is very similar to mature LysOX. The propeptide region of the latter form is disordered, and l-lysine is bound to the latter form. These results indicate that prLysOX uses a different strategy from PAO to suppress the enzyme activity and suggest that prLysOX can be activated quickly in response to the environmental change without proteolytic processing

Roles of Piwi Proteins in Transcriptional Regulation Mediated by HP1s in Cultured Silkworm Cells

Piwi proteins are part of a superfamily of Argonaute proteins, which are one of the core components of the RNA silencing pathway in many eukaryotes. Piwi proteins are thought to repress the transposon expression both transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally. Recently, Drosophila melanogaster Piwi was recently reported to associate with chromatin and to interact directly with the Heterochromatin Protein 1 (HP1a). However, similar interactions have not been reported in other higher eukaryotes. Here we show that silkworm Piwi proteins interact with HP1s in the nucleus. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, has two Piwi proteins, Ago3 and Siwi, and two typical HP1 proteins, HP1a and HP1b. We found that HP1a plays an important role in the interaction between Ago3/Siwi and HP1b in the ovary-derived BmN4 cell line. We also found that Ago3/Siwi regulates the transcription in an HP1-dependent manner. These results suggest that silkworm Piwi proteins function as a chromatin regulator in collaboration with HP1a and HP1b

Glutamate Snsor Using L-Glutamate Oxidase and Its Application for Sensing GOT/GPT Activity

L-Glutamate measurement and GOT/GPT assay was successful by H2O2 measurement using the L-glutamate oxidase with 4-aminoantipyrine / phenol method. But, in examination of oxigen electrode, immobilized L-glutamate oxidase at the cellulose to L-glutamate and GOT-GPT sensor, Lpglutamate measurement was used for the amperometric determination with non-fixed enzyme. On examination of electron mediator, response for L-glutamate was observed with each of the compounds ferricyane, ferrocene-COOH, ferrocene-MeOH, and benzoquinone. L-Glutamate was measured by carbon printed tip electrode the L-glutamate oxidase and ferricyane based on the principle of chronoamperometry. A linear calibration graph was obtained between 1mM and 30mM. These results suggest that L-glutamate oxidase is able to utilize to L-glutamate sensor, and that there is a strong possibility to put this sensor to sensing for GOT/GPT activity

Stable isotope study of the hotsprings and volcanoes of Hokkaido, Japan

Stable isotope ratios of hydrogen, oxygen, carbon and sulfur of precipitation, thermal and mineral waters, and volcanic gases were measured. The isotopic data combined with chemical and geological information were discussed in terms of origin and evolution of the hotsprings and volcanic gases. The hotsprings along the Uchiura Bay, Oshima Peninsula are mostly near-neutral NaCl-type thermal water and may be divided into three groups : (1) thermal waters isotopically similar to the precipitation of this area, (2) those similar in D/H to the local meteoric waters but enriched by 2 to 3‰ in (18)O compared to the latter, and (3) those enriched significantly in both D and (18)O relative to the local meteoric waters. The first and second types of thermal water probably form from local meteoric water which percolates through "Green Tuff" formations and acquires dissolved chemicals from them. However, high salt concentration and the oxygen isotope shift (thesecond type) may imply that the NaCl-type water of volcanic origin might be involved. On the other hand, the waters of the third group can be explained by mixing of modern sea water into the second type thermal water (in case of Yachigashira) or by incorporation of fossil sea water of Tertiary origin into modern meteoric water (Nigorigawa). Except for Esan, Noboribetsu and Atosanupuri volcanic systems, waters from all the hotsprings and volcanic fumaroles associated with Quaternary volcanic rocks are meteoric in origin. Thermal waters at Esan, Noboribetsu and Atosanupuri have δD = -30～-50 and δ(18)O = -1～+ 3‰ and are enriched in D and (18)O relative to local meteoric water of the respective area. The origin of these waters and the mechanism (s) controlling the isotope ratios could not be made clear by the present study. Interesting is the finding that at Esan, Noboribetsu and Atosanupuri, thermal waters are enriched in D and (18)O relative to near-by fumarolic gases. The enrichment factor is 18 to 26‰ for hydrogen and 4 to 6‰ for oxygen, implying that more than one stages of liquidvapor separation are taking place in underground hydrothermal systems

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey

シンコウガンセイコウソL-リジンアルファ-オキシダーゼニカンスルケンキュウ

京都大学0048新制・論文博士農学博士乙第3961号論農博第808号新制||農||281(附属図書館)学位論文||S54||N1096(農学部図書室)6356UT51-54-P372(主査)教授 山本 龍男, 教授 山田 秀明, 教授 駒野 徹学位規則第5条第2項該当Kyoto UniversityDA

Observation of higher stiffness in nanopolycrystal diamond than monocrystal diamond

Tanigaki K., Ogi H., Sumiya H., et al. "Observation of higher stiffness in nanopolycrystal diamond than monocrystal diamond", Nature Communications, 4, 2343 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3343