No-scanning 3D measurement method using ultrafast dimensional conversion with a chirped optical frequency comb

A simultaneously high-precision, wide-range, and ultrafast time-resolution one-shot 3D shape measurement method is presented. Simultaneous times of flight from multiple positions to a target encoded in a chirped optical frequency comb can be obtained from spectral interferometry. We experimentally demonstrate a one-shot imaging profile measurement of a known step height of 480 µm with µm-level accuracy. We further demonstrate the extension of the dynamic range by measuring in one shot a large step height of 3 m while maintaining high accuracy using the accurate pulse-to-pulse separation of the optical frequency comb. The proposed method with its large dynamic range and measurement versatility can be applied to a broad range of applications, including microscopic structures, objects with large size or aspect ratio, and ultrafast time-resolved imaging. This study provides a powerful and versatile tool for 3D measurement, where various ranges of measurement performances can be tailored to demand

Representations of Japan and Japanese people in Australian literature

This thesis is a broadly chronological study of representations of Japan and the Japanese in Australian novels, stories and memoirs from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. Adopting Edward Said s Orientalist notion of the `Other , it attempts to elaborate patterns in which Australian authors describe and evaluate the Japanese. As well as examining these patterns of representation, this thesis outlines the course of their development and change over the years, how they relate to the context in which they occur, and how they contribute to the formation of wider Australian views on Japan and the Japanese. The thesis considers the role of certain Australian authors in formulating images and ideas of the Japanese Other . These authors, ranging from fiction writers to journalists, scholars and war memoirists, act as observers, interpreters, translators, and sometimes traitors in their cross-cultural interactions. The thesis includes work from within and outside mainstream writings, thus expanding the contexts of Australian literary history. The major periods of Australian literature discussed in this thesis include: the 1880s to World War II; the Pacific War; the post-war period; and the multicultural period (1980s to 2000). While a comprehensive examination of available literature reveals the powerful and continuing influence of the Pacific War, images of the stranger , the enemy and later the ally or partner are shown to vary according to authors, situations and wider international relations. This thesis also examines gender issues, which are often brought into sharp relief in cross-cultural representations. While typical East-West power-relationships are reflected in gender relations, more complex approaches are also taken by some authors. This thesis argues that, while certain patterns recur, such as versions of the Cho-Cho-San or Madame Butterfly story, Japan-related works have given some Australian authors, especially women, opportunities to reveal more liberated viewpoints than seemed possible in their own cultural context. As the first extensive study of Japan in Australian literary consciousness, this thesis brings to the surface many neglected texts. It shows a pattern of changing interests and interactions between two nations whose economic interactions have usually been explored more deeply than their literary and cultural relations

High-resolution 3D imaging method using chirped optical frequency combs based on convolution analysis of the spectral interference fringe

We applied an imaging optical system and convolution analysis to a one-shot 3D imaging method with a chirped optical frequency comb to greatly improve the transverse spatial resolution and depth accuracy. We obtained the high contrast spectral interference of a diffusive surface using the designed lens system and developed a simple and robust analysis technique using convolution of an obtained the interference fringe. The developed method was demonstrated to realize submicron-level uncertainty for the depth measurement. When applied to the surface structure of a coin, it demonstrated a transverse spatial resolution of 8.98 lp/mm and depth resolution of 0.35 µm

Neurosecretory Protein GL Induces Fat Accumulation in Chicks.

We recently found a previously unidentified cDNA in chicken hypothalamus which encodes the precursor for neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL). A previous study showed that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) infusion of NPGL caused body mass gain in chicks. However, it was not clear which part(s) of the body gained mass. In the present study, we investigated which tissues increased in mass after chronic i.c.v. infusion of NPGL in chicks. We found that NPGL increased the masses of the liver, abdominal fat, and subcutaneous fat, while NPGL did not affect the masses of muscles, including pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and biceps femoris. Oil Red O staining revealed that fat deposition had occurred in the liver. In addition, the size of the lipid droplets in the abdominal fat increased. Furthermore, we found an upregulation of lipogenesis and downregulation of lipolysis in the abdominal fat, but not in the liver. These results indicate that NPGL is involved in fat storage in chicks

Auxin signaling is essential for organogenesis but not for cell survival in the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha

ゼニゴケを用いて植物ホルモンの役割を証明 --オーキシン信号伝達なくして器官形成なし--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-02-07.Auxin plays pleiotropic roles in plant development via gene regulation upon its perception by the receptors TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESPONSE 1/AUXIN SIGNALING F-BOX (TIR1/AFBs). This auxin-regulated transcriptional control mechanism originated in the common ancestor of land plants. Although the complete loss of TIR1/AFBs causes embryonic lethality in Arabidopsis thaliana, it is unclear whether the requirement for TIR1-mediated auxin perception in cell viability can be generalized. The model liverwort Marchantia polymorpha has a minimal auxin signaling system with only a single TIR1/AFB, MpTIR1. Here we show by genetic, biochemical, and transcriptomic analyses that MpTIR1 functions as an evolutionarily conserved auxin receptor. Null mutants and conditionally knocked-out mutants of MpTIR1 were viable but incapable of forming any organs and grew as cell masses. Principal component analysis performed using transcriptomes at various developmental stages indicated that MpTIR1 is involved in the developmental transition from spores to organized thalli, during which apical notches containing stem cells are established. In Mptir1 cells, stem cell- and differentiation-related genes were up- and downregulated, respectively. Our findings suggest that, in M. polymorpha, auxin signaling is dispensable for cell division but is essential for three-dimensional patterning of the plant body by establishing pluripotent stem cells for organogenesis, a derived trait of land plants

Localization and function of neurosecretory protein GM, a novel small secretory protein, in the chicken hypothalamus.

Recently, we discovered a novel cDNA encoding the precursor of a small secretory protein, neurosecretory protein GL (NPGL), in the hypothalamic infundibulum of chickens. NPGL plays an important role in the regulation of growth and feeding. A database search indicated that the NPGL gene has a paralogous gene: neurosecretory protein GM (NPGM), also in chickens. We identified cDNA encoding the NPGM precursor in chickens. Morphological analysis showed that NPGM-containing cells are specifically localized in the medial mammillary nucleus (MM) and infundibular nucleus (IN) in the hypothalamus. In addition, we found that NPGM and NPGL are co-localized, especially in the MM. The expression levels of NPGM mRNA gradually decreased during post-hatch development, in contrast to those of NPGL mRNA. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between NPGM and other known factors. NPGM was found to be produced in histaminergic neurons in the MM. NPGM and histidine decarboxylase, a histamine-producing enzyme, displayed similar expression patterns during post-hatch development. Acute intracerebroventricular injection of NPGM decreased food intake, similar to the effect of histamine. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the localization and function of NPGM in the brain of vertebrates. These results will further advance the understanding mechanisms underlying energy homeostasis

Crystal structure of a novel JmjC-domain-containing protein, TYW5, involved in tRNA modification

Wybutosine (yW) is a hypermodified nucleoside found in position 37 of tRNAPhe, and is essential for correct phenylalanine codon translation. yW derivatives widely exist in eukaryotes and archaea, and their chemical structures have many species-specific variations. Among them, its hydroxylated derivative, hydroxywybutosine (OHyW), is found in eukaryotes including human, but the modification mechanism remains unknown. Recently, we identified a novel Jumonji C (JmjC)-domain-containing protein, TYW5 (tRNA yW-synthesizing enzyme 5), which forms the OHyW nucleoside by carbon hydroxylation, using Fe(II) ion and 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) as cofactors. In this work, we present the crystal structures of human TYW5 (hTYW5) in the free and complex forms with 2-OG and Ni(II) ion at 2.5 and 2.8 Å resolutions, respectively. The structure revealed that the catalytic domain consists of a β-jellyroll fold, a hallmark of the JmjC domains and other Fe(II)/2-OG oxygenases. hTYW5 forms a homodimer through C-terminal helix bundle formation, thereby presenting a large, positively charged patch involved in tRNA binding. A comparison with the structures of other JmjC-domain-containing proteins suggested a mechanism for substrate nucleotide recognition. Functional analyses of structure-based mutants revealed the essential Arg residues participating in tRNA recognition by TYW5. These findings extend the repertoire of the tRNA modification enzyme into the Fe(II)/2-OG oxygenase superfamily

Systemic Supplementation of Collagen VI by Neonatal Transplantation of iPSC-Derived MSCs Improves Histological Phenotype and Function of Col6-Deficient Model Mice

6型コラーゲン欠損筋ジストロフィーに対する細胞治療法の開発. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-11-29.Collagen VI is distributed in the interstitium and is secreted mainly by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in skeletal muscle. Mutations in COL6A1-3 genes cause a spectrum of COL6-related myopathies. In this study, we performed a systemic transplantation study of human-induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived MSCs (iMSCs) into neonatal immunodeficient COL6-related myopathy model (Col6a1[KO]/NSG) mice to validate the therapeutic potential. Engraftment of the donor cells and the resulting rescued collagen VI were observed at the quadriceps and diaphragm after intraperitoneal iMSC transplantation. Transplanted mice showed improvement in pathophysiological characteristics compared with untreated Col6a1[KO]/NSG mice. In detail, higher muscle regeneration in the transplanted mice resulted in increased muscle weight and enlarged myofibers. Eight-week-old mice showed increased muscle force and performed better in the grip and rotarod tests. Overall, these findings support the concept that systemic iMSC transplantation can be a therapeutic option for COL6-related myopathies