Effect of zinc and manganese supplementation to tricalcium phosphate rich diet for tiger puffer (Takifugu rubripes)

Effects of zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) supplementation to a tricalcium phosphate (TCP) rich diet for tiger puffer have been investigated. A TCP supplement to the diet decreased the growth of fish compared to the control diet with a Ca supplementation from Ca-lactate. However, addition of either Zn or Mn to the TCP supplemented diet could not improve the growth of tiger puffer. Addition of both zinc and manganese to the TCP supplemented diet improved the growth of tiger puffer

The appearance of traditional villages and structures in Ryukyu : The Case of Kouri Island

The Kouri Island villages have a long history dating from the times of the Ryukyu kings. Due to their characteristic of being on a remote island even today they have a traditional village appearance. This paper looks at their traditional house appearances and village layouts, and analyzes the special features of the appearances of the villages and the appearances that are traditional for this geography by studying the makeup and structure of each house and the distribution of the kinds of building-lot layouts in the villages. The houses tended to be always one-storied with additional attached subhousing. Many of the houses were protected from strong winds by a walled compound and yphoon blocking trees. The distribution of the walled compounds was uneven and had a strong relationship with the location of sacred spots. This case study shows that the site location of sacred spots and the shape of the housing had a mutually strong effect on each other. When the kinds of building-lot layouts is looked at, the western and eastern parts of the villages have mostly mixed layout types while the central section usually has building lots lined up in a single row. This distribution shows that even inside the village the western side is older. This fact is confirmed by the fact that old roads that twist and criss-cross are also concentrated on the western side. This research made clear the fact that Kouri Island still keeps the appearances of traditional villages. From now on, we strongly hope that the preservation and maintenance of traditional village appearance is done in parallel with the development of tourist attractions

Novel glycosylated mycosporine-like amino acids with radical scavenging activity from the cyanobacterium Nostoc commune

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are UV absorbing pigments, and structurally distinct MAAs have been identified in taxonomically diverse organisms. Two novel MAAs were purified from the cyanobacterium Nostoc commune, and their chemical structures were characterized. An MAA with an absorption maximum at 335 nm was identified as a pentose-bound porphyra-334 derivative with a molecular mass of 478 Da. Another identified MAA had double absorption maxima at 312 and 340 nm and a molecular mass of 1050 Da. Its unique structure consisted of two distinct chromophores of 3-aminocyclohexen-1-one and 1,3-diaminocyclohexen and two pentose and hexose sugars. These MAAs had radical scavenging activity in vitro; the 1050-Da MAA contributed approximately 27% of the total radical scavenging activities in a water extract of N. commune. These results suggest that these glycosylated MAAs have multiple roles as a UV protectant and an antioxidant relevant to anhydrobiosis in N. commune. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Island of the gods : Kouri Island villages and traditional geographical ideas : rediscovering and highlighting

Kouri Island in Nakijin Village, Kunigamigun, Okinawa prefecture, has had for many, many years kept the old folkways and village appearance. It can be said to be an "Island of the gods" carefully keeping Ryukyu traditional ways. In June, 2011, the authors studied the villages and researched the actual villagelayoutsand traditional geographical ideas. The results show that there are a number of partitions formed on the axes of various sacred spots. In addition, we made detailed distribution maps of the charms against evil such as ishigantou (stone plaques with the word ishigantou carved into them) and shiisa (lion-shaped roof ornaments) and shellfish and found that each of them are positioned following fundamental rules. But although these charms are definitely an ancient tradition, they are also increasing because local residents are clearly rediscoveringRyukyu ways due to effects such as the so-called Okinawa boom

Ideas of Formation and the Spatial Structure of the Nakaoshi Settlemant

Ryukyu, centered around the mainland of Okinawa, developed its own culture and folk customs while actively interacting with different regions across the ocean. The maritime trade with neighboring countries introduced not only goods, but foreign culture, folklore, and philosophies to Ryukyu, one of which was feng shui, which is associated with the forming of settlements. The spatial structure of traditional settlements in Ryukyu, however, reflects a combination of feng shui, brought from a foreign land, and the "kusati" philosophy, native to Ryukyu. This paper examines the interior spatial structure of the Nakaoshi settlement, located in Nago city, in the northern part of Okinawa Island, and reveals the characteristics of the ideas of formation and the spatial structure of the settlement. This study discusses the settlement format, the street format, the distribution of sacred spots, the main families and the branch families, the distribution of ishiganto (a stone slab used to ward off evil spirits), the land division, and the number of housing lots per division, and examines how each of these components is related to the formation ideas and spatial structure of the settlement. First, the Nakaoshi settlement takes a format called haizan ryusui, enclosed by mountains on the back and adjoined by water in the front. The street format in the settlement is somewhat "messy" with many curved and intentionally unaligned streets. The haizan ryusui format and the unorganized street format are a result of people\u27s deep concern with qi, indicating that the Nakaoshi settlement is influenced by feng shui. Sanctuaries called uganju are concentrated toward the back of the center area, around which are niya, houses of the main families. Houses of the branch families are mostly located to the front of niya, and houses of each family tend to spread east to west. Also, the higher the religious ranking of those adopted into the main family is (e.g. shinto priests, female bishops), the closer to uganju their niya is located. The supremacy of uganju was the central idea in house distribution. The spatial structure seen here is a product of the kusati-inspired formation of living and religious spaces. The sixty ishiganto are densely, but extensively laid out in the Nakaoshi settlement. The distribution is wide and even throughout the settlement. If this distribution of ishiganto is part of the succession of people\u27s traditional view of geography, it is obvious that this view has been shared by the entire settlement, not just a particular group of people.Finally, the settlement has a mixture of vertical, horizontal, and square land formats. Older houses are located mostly in the area where vertical and horizontal formats are combined, which indicates that land division and houses built in each division are closely linked. The number of housing lots per division increases as one goes from the uganju area, where one housing lot per division is common, to the periphery of the settlement, where each division has two or three housing lots. This is because houses built farther away from uganju and niya belong to lower-ranked families according to the kusati philosophy, and these lower-ranked families are further divided into each division for housing space. In short, this hierarchical allotment of housing spaces also reflects the kusati philosophy. After examining the ideas of formation and spatial structure of the settlement, this paper concludes that the formation of the Nakaoshi settlement is based on both feng shui and kusati. Also, the analysis of land division, the number of housing lots per division, and distribution of houses suggests a close connection between the division format and kusati. The influence of feng shui, kusati, and the traditional view of geography, which are to be found throughout the settlement, contributes to the current spatial structure of the settlement

Settelments and Ishigantou（talismanic Stone） in Tatsugou Town of Amami Oshima

Ishigantou are talismanic stone tablets believed to ward off evil spirits and set at T-intersections and other similar areas. Ishigantou are a representation of the traditional geographical thought, transmitted from China to Ryukyu. In Ryukyu, notably in Okinawa Prefecture, ishigantou stone tablets have been installed throughout cities and villages, serving as very familiar landscape elements. The author conducted field surveys in Tatsugou Town, located on the northern Amami Oshima Island （which was once was a part of Ryukyu）, in Kagoshima Prefecture, to investigate the places and periods in which these talismanic stone tablets were placed, as well as their shapes and inscriptions. Research results indicate that ishigantou were introduced from China to the Kingdom of Ryukyu and then spread to various parts of Japan, and that ishigantou in the Amami region also have unique characteristics. Diverse types of ishigantou exist, varying widely according to the period and region. As exemplified by ishigantou, which are a representation of traditional geographical thought, cultural phenomena must be understood as being of a multidirectional and intricate nature. It can also be recognized that the original characteristics of culture may be changed through the process of cultural interaction, thus assuming new aspects

Current state of therapeutic development for rare cancers in Japan, and proposals for improvement

This article discusses current obstacles to the rapid development of safe and effective treatments for rare cancers, and considers measures required to overcome these challenges. In order to develop novel clinical options for rare cancers, which tend to remain left out of novel therapeutic development because of their paucity, efficient recruitment of eligible patients, who tend to be widely dispersed across the country and treated at different centers, is necessary. For this purpose, it is important to establish rare cancer registries that are linked with clinical studies, to organize a central pathological diagnosis system and biobanks for rare cancers, and to consolidate patients with rare cancers to facilities that can conduct clinical studies meeting international standards. Establishing an all‐Japan cooperative network is essential. Clinical studies of rare cancers have considerable limitations in study design and sample size as a result of paucity of eligible patients and, as a result, the level of confirmation of the efficacy and safety shown by the studies is relatively low. Therefore, measures to alleviate these weaknesses inherent to external conditions need to be explored. It is also important to reform the current research environment in order to develop world‐leading treatment for rare cancers, including promotion of basic research, collaboration between industry and academia, and improvement of the infrastructure for clinical studies. Collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders is required to promote the clinical development of treatment for rare cancers under a nationwide consensus