明治の西洋動物学の黎明―木下熊雄

The Meiji era (1868-1912)is the period of the dawn of zoology in Japan that laid the foundations for the current state of the science. The difference between Western Zoology and Asian natural history is ascribed to cultural differences in their purpose and perspectives. Western zoology aspires to an understanding of the “Systematics of Nature”. In contrast,Japanese,Chinese and Asian natural history have their roots deep in herbalism and aspire to understanding “Nature from a human perspective” (Isono 1999a).This manuscript focus on Dr. Kumao Kinoshita (1881-1947) who did research work on Cold-Water Octocoral(CWOC during the Meiji period and his name remains in honor because of his scientific achievement. His papers are still referred as the basic of the scientific literature in the CWOC field. He is one of those who lived through both the Asian natural history and the early Western-systematic zoology period in Japan. He studied octocoral (Coelenterete: Anthozoa: Octocorallia), which including CWOC, at the Zoological Laboratory of the Imperial Univeritiy of Tokyo (University of Tokyo)and disserted his Ph.D.Thesis in 1912. He also undertook very fruitful expeditions to the Uji Islands (1907, 1908) and the Koshikijima Islands (1910) of Kagoshima prefecture and the Kashiwajima Islands of Kochi prefecture (1909)(Matsumoto umpublishd data, Anonymous 1907, Kinoshita 1909b). His family was very famous as one of the great landed gentry of Higo- Kumamoto-han (Kumamoto prefecture)from the time of Daimyo “Kiyomasa Kato”,the military chieftain and feudal lord of Kumamoto castle (1588-1611) (Inudou 2000; Kinoshita 1983; Kinoshita 2009; Matsumoto 2003; “Kinoshita family and Tamana”). Kumao’s father, Sukeyuki Kinoshita, was also a leading figure of the landed gentry during the Yedo era. He become the president of the Kumamoto prefectural assembly and a member of the House of Representatives of the first Imperial Diet (Kinoshita 1983; Kinoshita 2009, “Kinoshita family and Tamana”). Kumao’s uncle was the famous Ison Kinoshita (1805-1867) who was a private teacher of a feudal lord and the heir apparent Higo-Kumamoto-han during the Yedo era. He was president of the official school of Kumamoto-han, the so called “Kinoshita school”where about 900students studied. One of his students, Kowashi Inouye (1843-1895), later held the portfolio of Education in the Meiji government and Torao Yoneda become the grand chamberlain of the Emperor Meiji (Inudou 2000). Kowashi Inouye married the daughter of Ison Kinoshita, who was a cousin of Kumao. The first president of the Imperial University of Kyoto, Hirotugu Kinoshita, was a cousin of Kumao and Hirotugu’s wife was Kumao’s sister. Their son, Michio Kinoshita, Kumao’s nephew, was vice-grand chamberlain of the Emperor Showa, Hirohito (Kinoshita 2009). Michio married Kumao’s other niece (Fuwa 2008). Ritsuko Harada (Kinoshita), lady-in-waiting of the Empress Showa, was Kumao’s distant relation (Kinoshita 2009). Kinoshita’s family was the foundation-stone of the state in the transitional period from the Yedo era to the Meiji era in every sort of area. They fulfilled the role of bridgebuilder between Western civilization and Yedo- Asian-culture, as with the joining of western zoology and Asian natural history which Dr.Kumao Kinoshita did. Unfortunately,most Japanese scientists have lost the philosophy of the Yedo Asian-culture in recent years. This manuscript concludes that the time has come for scientists to transvalue and learn about the Yedo-Asian natural history that aspired to understanding “Nature from a human perspective”

明治の西洋動物学の黎明 Ⅱ―木下熊雄とそのグローバル性の背景

Dr.Kumao Kinoshita was a researcher on Cold-Water Octocoral(CWOC) during the Meiji period (1868-1912). He studied octocoral (Coelenterate: Anthozoa:Octocorallia)at the Zoological Laboratory of the Imperial University of Tokyo (University of Tokyo). He wrote several English,German and Japanese scientific papers and reports but never had any foreign visit in his life. However, he always had the global view from inside of Japan. This manuscript focus on the background of the international and global of Dr. Kumao Kinoshita (1881-1947)from same marine biologist’s standpoint as Dr. Kinoshita, not from the bibliography writer’s or local history researcher’s standpoint. For the general information of Dr. Kinoshita’s life, please refer Matsumoto 2011. First, the global background of locality Ikura, Kumamoto prefecture where Dr.Kinoshita has born,spent and ended his life. Ikura was the international trade port over several centuries. The city has been international and the people from China and maybe from other foreign countries lived in this city. His families and his neighbor often used vessels and Japanese boats for transporting and traveling because the city was located in front of Ariake sea. Second, the period of the last days of the Shogunate (Bakumatsu)-Meiji require a preparation for the national defense from foreign countries. Because of the colonial policy on Asia by western countries, several foreign countries prowled around Japan those days. Family Kinoshita had a roots of sword maker for the federal load Kiyomasa Kato of Higo-Kumamoto han. And therefore they had a role to make firearm during the period for the defense purpose and carefully watch out the world trends with teaching coast guards of Higo-Kumamoto han. Third, important background of Dr. Kumao Kinoshita was the people of family and interfamilial relationship. His father Sukeyuki Kinoshita and his grandfather Hatsutaro Kinoshita were leading figure of the landed gentry of Tamana, Higo-Kumamoto han (Kumamoto prefecture). Family Kinoshita always had global view and perspectives for the current state and for the education as landed gentry. They have contributed to make school and system to teach the fundamental knowledge and view for the dynamic world. The Bakumatsu-Meiji was the period that Japanese learned the way of Western culture and science. Most of scientist blindly obey everything the western literature said. However Dr. Kinoshita alerted that not to obey barbarian’s word without thinking the meaning of data set by yourself for the science. These three background in this manuscript compose Dr. Kumao Kinoshita’s globalism and perspectively for the worlds

「 うたかたの恋」皇太子ルドルフのサンゴ オーストリア＝ ハプスブルク帝国と海洋

Habsburg Empire is the Empire of Austria which continue since 16th centuries until early 20th centuries. In the end of 19th century, Austria promoted large ocean explorations such as world cruises,Red sea expedition and Arctic expedition cruise. To store the outcomes of these expeditions, there were constructed museums in Wien, Austria during 1872-1891.It was found that the some Japanese Octocoral specimens deposited in the Natural History Museu Wien (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) in 2012 by author. Two of them are labeled with the name of“Kronprinz Rudolf”,who is the crown prince of Habsburg and the son of Kaiser Franz Josef I of Austria (1830-1916)and Kaiserin Elisabeth (1837-1898). These two specimens were recorded at the catalogue of the museum (NHMW)in 1875.The first purpose of the manuscript is to review the relations between Austria and Japan with a view of Marine politics to Asia and Natural History Study by Austria. The second is to find that how the Japanese octocoral specimen has come to the hand of Kronprinz Rudolf and NHMW Collection.According to the reviewed history between Japan and Austria and the detailed data of the specimens, there are many possibilities that could collect Kronprinz Rudolf’s Japanese octocoral specimens. Among all, the most possible expedition is suggested to be the Japan Expedition conducted by Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1873

Induction of insulin-like growth factor 2 expression in a mesenchymal cell line co-cultured with an ameloblast cell line

Various growth factors have been implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation during tooth development. It has been unclear if insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) participate in the epithelium–mesenchyme interactions of tooth development. We previously produced three-dimensional sandwich co-culture systems (SW) containing a collagen membrane that induce the differentiation of epithelial cells. In the present study, we used the SW system to analyze the expression of IGFs and IGFRs. We demonstrate that IGF2 expression in mesenchymal cells was increased by SW. IGF1R transduces a signal; however, IGF2R does not transduce a signal. Recombinant IGF2 induces IGF1R and IGF2R expression in epithelial cells. IGF1R expression is increased by SW; however, IGF2R expression did not increase by SW. Thus, IGF2 signaling works effectively in SW. These results suggest that IGF signaling acts through the collagen membrane on the interaction between the epithelium and mesenchyme. In SW, other cytokines may be suppressed to induce IGF2R induction. Our results suggest that IGF2 may play a role in tooth differentiation

Mechanism of Cancer Cell Death Induced by Depletion of an Essential Replication Regulator

Background: Depletion of replication factors often causes cell death in cancer cells. Depletion of Cdc7, a kinase essential for initiation of DNA replication, induces cancer cell death regardless of its p53 status, but the precise pathways of cell death induction have not been characterized. Methodology/Principal Findings: We have used the recently-developed cell cycle indicator, Fucci, to precisely characterize the cell death process induced by Cdc7 depletion. We have also generated and utilized similar fluorescent cell cycle indicators using fusion with other cell cycle regulators to analyze modes of cell death in live cells in both p53-positive and-negative backgrounds. We show that distinct cell-cycle responses are induced in p53-positive and-negative cells by Cdc7 depletion. p53-negative cells predominantly arrest temporally in G2-phase, accumulating CyclinB1 and other mitotic regulators. Prolonged arrest at G2-phase and abrupt entry into aberrant M-phase in the presence of accumulated CyclinB1 are followed by cell death at the post-mitotic state. Abrogation of cytoplasmic CyclinB1 accumulation partially decreases cell death. The ATR-MK2 pathway is responsible for sequestration of CyclinB1 with 14-3-3s protein. In contrast, p53-positive cancer cells do not accumulate CyclinB1, but appear to die mostly through entry into aberrant S-phase after Cdc7 depletion. The combination of Cdc7 inhibition with known anti-cancer agents significantly stimulates cell death effects in cancer cells in a genotype-dependent manner, providing a strategic basis for future combination therapies

Melithaeidae of Japan (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) re-examined with descriptions of 11 new species

Japanese melithaeid type material is re-examined and re-described. The sclerites of the different species are depicted using Scanning Electron Microscopy. All Japanese species of the family Melithaeidae treated here belong to the genus Melithaea and are endemic to Japanese waters. Old museum material and newly collected specimens from Japanese waters are identified after comparison with this type material. Acabaria modesta var. abyssicola is regarded a separate species, here named Melithaea abyssicola (Kükenthal, 1909). In addition, 11 new species are described: M. boninensis sp. n., M. doederleini sp. n., M. isonoi sp. n., M. keramaensis sp. n., M. oyeni sp. n., M. ryukyukensis sp. n., M. sagamiensis sp. n., M. satsumaensis sp. n., M. suensoni sp. n., M. tanseii sp. n., and M. tokaraensis sp. n.. Pleurocorallium confusum Moroff, 1902, Pleurocoralloides formosum Moroff, 1902, Melitodes flabellifera Kükenthal, 1908, and Melitodes densa Kükenthal, 1908 are synonymized with Melithaea japonica (Verrill, 1865). We have designated a neotype for Melithaea mutsu Minobe, 1929. A key to the Japanese melithaeids is presented

The genus Bebryce (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Plexauridae) at Japan, with descriptions of three new species

Three new deep-water species of Bebryce from Japan are described and depicted using Scanning Electron Microscopy: B. otsuchiensis sp. n., B. rotunda sp. n., and B. satsumaensis sp. n. Bebryce studeri Whitelegge, 1897, was reported from Japanese waters for the first time, bringing the total of Japanese Bebryce species to six. Five of these six species seem to be endemic to Japanese waters and all occur in deep water up to 213 m. A key to the Bebryce species is presented