What social skills are necessary for people with high social anxiety to interact with others positively?

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in social skills between "people with high social anxiety and high social passivity" and "people with high social anxiety and low social passivity" to clarify what social skills were necessary for the former. In addition, social skill was grasped from two aspects; one was used in a specific situation, and the other was used in general communication scenes. The results of this investigation using a sample of 174 undergraduate and graduate students showed the following: 1) In terms of social skills used in general communication scenes, "people with high social anxiety and high social passivity" were higher in emotional control skill scores than "people with high social anxiety and low social passivity", but the former had some difficulty in expressing their emotions. 2) In terms of social skills used in a specific situation, "people with high social anxiety and high social passivity" tended to set a goal of maintaining relationships in initial encounters.井上弥先生・樋口聡先生退職記念特集

Enhancement of Secondary Cell Wall Formation in Poplar Xylem Using a Self-Reinforced System of Secondary Cell Wall-Related Transcription Factors

The secondary cell wall (SCW) in the xylem is one of the largest sink organs of carbon in woody plants, and is considered a promising sustainable bioresource for biofuels and biomaterials. To enhance SCW formation in poplar (Populus sp.) xylem, we developed a self-reinforced system of SCW-related transcription factors from Arabidopsis thaliana, involving VASCULAR-RELATED NAC-DOMAIN7 (VND7), SECONDARY WALL-ASSOCIATED NAC-DOMAIN PROTEIN 1/NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING-PROMOTING FACTOR3 (SND1/NST3), and MYB46. In this system, these transcription factors were fused with the transactivation domain VP16 and expressed under the control of the Populus trichocarpa CesA18 (PtCesA18) gene promoter, creating the chimeric genes PtCesA18pro::AtVND7:VP16, PtCesA18pro::AtSND1:VP16, and PtCesA18pro::AtMYB46:VP16. The PtCesA18 promoter is active in tissues generating SCWs, and can be regulated by AtVND7, AtSND1, and AtMYB46; thus, the expression levels of PtCesA18pro::AtVND7:VP16, PtCesA18pro::AtSND1:VP16, and PtCesA18pro::AtMYB46:VP16 are expected to be boosted in SCW-generating tissues. In the transgenic hybrid aspens (Populus tremula x tremuloides T89) expressing PtCesA18pro::AtSND1:VP16 or PtCesA18pro::AtMYB46:VP16 grown in sterile half-strength Murashige and Skoog growth medium, SCW thickening was significantly enhanced in the secondary xylem cells, while the PtCesA18pro::AtVND7:VP16 plants showed stunted xylem formation, possibly because of the enhanced programmed cell death (PCD) in the xylem regions. After acclimation, the transgenic plants were transferred from the sterile growth medium to pots of soil in the greenhouse, where only the PtCesA18pro::AtMYB46:VP16 aspens survived. A nuclear magnetic resonance footprinting cell wall analysis and enzymatic saccharification analysis demonstrated that PtCesA18pro::AtMYB46:VP16 influences cell wall properties such as the ratio of syringyl (S) and guaiacyl (G) units of lignin, the abundance of the lignin beta-aryl ether and resinol bonds, and hemicellulose acetylation levels. Together, these data indicate that we have created a self-reinforced system using SCW-related transcription factors to enhance SCW accumulation

TRIM24 mediates ligand-dependent activation of androgen receptor and is repressed by a bromodomain-containing protein, BRD7, in prostate cancer cells

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that belongs to the family of nuclear receptors, and its activity is regulated by numerous AR coregulators. AR plays an important role in prostate development and cancer. In this study, we found that TRIM24/transcriptional intermediary factor 1α (TIF1α), which is known as a ligand-dependent nuclear receptor co-regulator, interacts with AR and enhances transcriptional activity of AR by dihydrotestosterone in prostate cancer cells. We showed that TRIM24 functionally interacts with TIP60, which acts as a coactivator of AR and synergizes with TIP60 in the transactivation of AR. We also showed that TRIM24 binds to bromodomain containing 7 (BRD7), which can negatively regulate cell proliferation and growth. A luciferase assay indicated that BRD7 represses the AR transactivation activity upregulated by TRIM24. These findings indicate that TRIM24 regulates AR-mediated transcription in collaboration with TIP60 and BRD7

Formation of Natural Silicate Hydrates by the Interaction of Alkaline Seepage and Sediments Derived from Serpentinized Ultramafic Rocks at Narra, Palawan, the Philippines

In radioactive waste disposal facilities, low-permeability engineered barrier materials are important for inhibiting radionuclide migration. However, dissolution-precipitation reactions under alkaline conditions change the permeability of engineered barriers. To understand long-term dissolution-precipitation reactions under alkaline conditions in chemically complex systems, trenches and drill holes were excavated at Narra in Palawan, where alkaline fluids (pH > 11) have been naturally produced, seeping into clastic sediments derived from serpentinized ultramafic rocks and gabbro of Palawan ophiolite. Interaction between the alkaline seepage and clastic sediments, which have been deposited since 15,000 radiocarbon years before present (C-14 yr BP), led to dissolution of minerals and the precipitation of Si-bearing phases which were divided into two main categories: Fe-Mg-Si infillings and Ca-Si infillings. The former category was composed of iron-magnesium-silicate-hydrate (F-M-S-H) and a nontronite-like mineral and was widely recognized in the clastic sediments. The nontronite-like mineral likely formed by interaction between silicates and alkaline seepage mixed with infiltrated seawater, whereas F-M-S-H formed by the reaction of silicates with alkaline seepage in the absence of seawater infiltration. Ca-Si infillings included 14 angstrom tobermorite and were precipitated from alkaline seepage combined with the Ca and Si supplied by the dissolution of calcite and silicates in the clastic sediments

Natural glass alteration under a hyperalkaline condition for about 4000 years

Silicate glasses are durable materials in our daily life, but corrosion rate accelerates under alkaline aqueous environment. Such situation has raised concerns, for example, in nuclear waste disposal where vitrified wastes encounter to alkaline leachate from surrounding concrete materials. Here we report volcanic glass example surviving with a hyperalkaline groundwater (pH > 11) and high flow rate for about 4000 years. The tiny glass fragments were extracted from the volcanic ash layer sandwiched between ultramafic sediments using microanalytical techniques. Sharp elemental distributions at the glass surface, where amorphous-like smectite precursors and crystalline smectites coexist, suggest the corrosion by an interface-coupled dissolution-precipitation mechanism rather than inter-diffusion. The corrosion rate was maintained at, the minimum, 2.5 orders of magnitude less than the rate observed for fresh glass, even in the presence of Fe and Mg that might have consumed Si through the silicate precipitation

Formation of magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H) at pH 10 and 50°C in open-flow systems

Magnesium silicate hydrate (M-S-H) is a poorly crystalline Mg-silicate phase formed under alkaline conditions at low temperatures (T < 100 °C). Its formation has been studied in closed systems but not in open-flow systems, which better represent natural surface/subsurface environments. Here, MgO powder was used in reactions at pH ∼10 and 50 °C in flow-through experiments to study the formation of M-S-H as a function of aqueous Si concentration (1.5, 0.15, and 0 mM). Consumption of aqueous Si during precipitation of M-S-H resulted in an increase in the dissolution rate of the primary material (Mg hydroxide). Steady-state Si concentrations were used to calculate the dissolution rate of Mg hydroxide and the precipitation rate of M-S-H. Analyses of retrieved solids by electron microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy confirmed the formation of M-S-H, although X-ray diffraction patterns provided no clear evidence of the presence of M-S-H because of the small amount precipitated and its nano-crystallinity. The chemical composition (Mg/Si ratio) of the M-S-H varied with the aqueous Si concentration of the injected solution. Mg/Si ratios of 1.00 ± 0.09 and 1.59 ± 0.15 were obtained with Si concentrations of 1.5 and 0.15 mM, respectively. Results indicate that the formation of M-S-H is feasible under Earth surface conditions, with dissolved silica coexisting with Mg-bearing minerals at alkaline pH.This work has been financially supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research A (No. 19H00878) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to T.S. and T.O, and SPRING (No. JPMJSP2119) from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to Y.N. IDAEA-CSIC is a Centre of Excellence Severo Ochoa (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Project CEX2018-000794-S funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033). The TEM and STEM studies were conducted in the Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University and supported by the Nanotechnology Platform of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan. We thank Jordi Bellés (IDAEA-CSIC) for experimental assistance, Maite Romero (Scientific and Technical Services of the University of Barcelona) for ICP–OES analyses, Ryo Ota (High Voltage Electron Microscope Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University) for STEM–EDS analyses, Naoya Nakagawa (The Frontier Chemistry Center, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University) for NMR analyses, Kosuke Nakamura (Thin-Section Lab., Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University) for preparation of polished sections, and Tatsuya Fujimura (Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University) for SEM observations. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments that helped us to improve the quality of the manuscript.Peer reviewe

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents in <i>Artemisia</i> Endophytic Fungi and Their Abundance in <i>Artemisia vulgaris</i> Tissue

Coronavirus disease 2019 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Therapeutic agents for the disease are being developed. Endophytes are diverse and produce various secondary metabolites and bioactive substances. We isolated 13 endophytes from the leaves and stems of Artemisia vulgaris. Antiviral testing using the culture extracts of these endophytic fungi revealed that five isolates effectively inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2. These extracts were used to study the inhibitory effect of SARS-CoV-2 on 3C-like protease, and two isolates proved useful. Both isolates were from the genus Colletotrichum; therefore, the percentage of Artemisia endophytic fungi in the plant tissue was observed to be an important factor in plant site selection. Thus, we conducted a macroanalysis using next-generation sequencing to analyze the percentage of endophytes in the stems (whole, skin, and inner), leaves, roots, and cultivating soil, as well as to determine the location of each genus. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to report that Colletotrichum spp. are abundant in stems and that stem-based methods are the most efficient for isolating endophytes targeting Colletotrichum spp