Enabling Secured Traceability of Fishery Products Using 2D Code and Digital Encryption

Technologies that enable traceability for fishery products are increasing their demands. Recently proposed technologies are mainly based on disposal RF(IC) tags which are able to record information directly onto them. However, the current systems based on RF tags have problems of expensive price of tags, and weakness of reading information if applied onto surface of products containing much water, which prevents to construct practically feasible systems using the RF tags. To provide a traceability system that uses much inexpensive media and that assures as high security as the RF tags, we propose a system based on a combination of printed 2D codes and internet connection, with security control similar to on-line electronic transactions. The proposed system identifies a fishery product by giving it a unique serial ID, which is issued by a database server, and printed in 2D code onto a paper or a plastic plate, which is directly put on the product. All the trace information sent from client (producer, transporters, and retailer) via internet is associated to the ID and stored to the server. Since 2D code is able to be read by such as mobile phones with built-in camera, a consumer is able to get history of the product with a single scanning operation. For the weakness of printed codes against duplication by copying, we propose a method to identify its validity by digital encryption, along with identification by weight information. The system is assured its usability by a series of experiments conducted for the distribution of cultured flounder in Hakodate, Japan.Keywords: Mobile Phone, Fisheries Economics, Falsification, Brand Fish, 2D Code, Fish Processing, Marketing, And Consumption, TraceabilityKeywords: Mobile Phone, Fisheries Economics, Falsification, Brand Fish, 2D Code, Fish Processing, Marketing, And Consumption, Traceabilit

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY OF SIZE-SELECTED NEUTRAL AND CATIONIC AMMONIA CLUSTERS COMBINED WITH VACUUM-ULTRAVIOLET-PHOTOIONIZATION MASS SPECTROSCOPY

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, JapanWe newly developed two new schemes of mass-selective IR spectroscopic techniques based on the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) one-photon ionization detection. In both scheme, the ion intensity of the mass-selected species is used as a measure of the population of the corresponding cluster species. The IR excitation of the species may cause the vibrational predissociation leading to the population reduction, which appears as a dip spectrum of the photoionization signal. The first one is called VUV-ionization-detected IR predissociation spectroscopy (VUV-ID-IRPDS), which can be applied for neutral clusters. The method was applied to the IR spectra of ammonia dimmer and trimer. The second one is called IR predissociation spectroscopy for VUV pumped ion (IRPDS-VUV-PI). It was applied to the IR spectra of ammonia cluster cations (NH$_3$)$_n$$^{+}$(n=2-4). The structures of ammonia dimmer and tetramer cations were determined on the basis of their IR spectra and DFT calculation results

The correlation between dietary habits and the knowledge of nutrition among elementary school children

本研究は, 小学生における食習慣と栄養知識との関連を明確にすることを目的とした. 2004年に二つの小学校で, 3年生から6年生の男児458名と女児443名, 合計901名を対象にアンケート調査を行った. 分析方法では, 累積ロジスティック回帰分析を行い, オッズ比と95%信頼区間を求めた. その結果, 好ましい食習慣がある児童は, 規則正しくない食習慣がある児童より栄養知識得点が高くなる傾向がみられた. さらに, 朝食を毎日摂取する児童は, 欠食する児童と比べ, 栄養知識得点が高くなることがオッズ比で示された. 今回の調査を通して, 朝食の摂取と栄養知識得点との関連をオッズ比で量的に明確にすることができた. 食習慣は児童の生活において大切な位置を占めている. 栄養知識の教育を通して, 食習慣を改善することが可能であることが示唆された