Functional characterization of olfactory receptors in three Dacini fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) that respond to 1-nonanol analogs as components in the rectal glands

Dacini fruit flies (Tephritidae: Diptera), including destructive pest species, are strongly affected in their reproductive behaviors by semiochemicals. Notably, male lures have been developed for pest management e.g., aromatic compounds for the Oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis and the melon fruit fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae; terpenic α-ionone analogs for the solanaceous fruit fly, B. latifrons. Other than those specific male attractants, 1-nonanol analogs have been noticed as major aliphatic components in the male rectal gland, which is considered as a secretory organ of male sex pheromones. Although multiple semiochemicals associated with the life cycle of Dacini fruit flies have been identified, their behavioral role(s) and chemosensory mechanisms by which the perception occurs have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we conducted RNA sequencing analysis of the chemosensory organs of B. latifrons and Z. cucurbitae to identify the genes coding for chemosensory receptors. Because the skeletons of male attractants are different among Dacini fruit fly species, we analyzed phylogenetic relationships of candidate olfactory receptors (ORs) among the three species. We found that the OR phylogeny reflects the taxonomic relationships of the three species. We further characterized functional properties of OR74a in the three Dacini species to the 1-nonanol analogs related to components in the rectal glands. The three OR74a homologs responded to 1-nonanol, but their sensitivities differed from each other. The OR74a homologs identified from B. dorsalis and Z. cucurbitae responded significantly to 6-oxo-1-nonanol, but not to 1, 3-nonanediol and nonyl acetate, indicating similar binding properties of the homologous ORs

Strange filamentary structures ("fireballs") around a merger galaxy in the Coma cluster of galaxies

We found an unusual complex of narrow blue filaments, bright blue knots, and H-alpha emitting filaments and clouds, which morphologically resembled a complex of ``fireballs,'' extending up to 80 kpc south from an E+A galaxy RB199 in the Coma cluster. The galaxy has a highly disturbed morphology indicative of a galaxy--galaxy merger remnant. The narrow blue filaments extend in straight shapes toward the south from the galaxy, and several bright blue knots are located at the southern ends of the filaments. The Rc band absolute magnitudes, half light radii and estimated masses of the bright knots are -12 - -13 mag, 200 - 300 pc and 10^6-7 Msolar, respectively. Long, narrow H-alpha emitting filaments are connected at the south edge of the knots. The average color of the fireballs is B - Rc = 0.5, which is bluer than RB199 (B - R = 0.99), suggesting that most of the stars in the fireballs were formed within several times 10^8 yr. The narrow blue filaments exhibit almost no H-alpha emission. Strong H-alpha and UV emission appear in the bright knots. These characteristics indicate that star formation recently ceased in the blue filaments and now continues in the bright knots. The gas stripped by some mechanism from the disk of RB199 may be traveling in the intergalactic space, forming stars left along its trajectory. The most plausible fireball formation mechanism is ram pressure stripping by high-speed collision between the galaxy and the hot intra-cluster medium. The fireballs may be a snapshot of diffuse intra-cluster population formation, or halo star population formation in a cluster galaxy.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Ap

The Galaxy Luminosity Functions down to M_R=-10 in the Coma Cluster

We derived the luminosity function (LF) of dwarf galaxies in the Coma Cluster down to M_R=-10 at three fields located at the center, intermediate, and outskirt. The LF (-19<M_R<-10) shows no significant differences among the three fields. It shows a clear dip at M_R\sim-13, and is composed of two distinct components of different slopes; the bright component with -19<M_R<-13 has a flatter slope than the faint component with -13<M_R<-10 which has a steep slope. The bright component (-19<M_R<-13) consists of mostly red extended galaxies including few blue galaxies whose colors are typical of late-type galaxies. On the other hand, the faint component (-13<M_R<-10) consists of largely PSF-like compact galaxies. We found that both these compact galaxies and some extended galaxies are present in the center while only compact galaxies are seen in the outskirt. In the faint component, the fraction of blue galaxies is larger in the outskirt than in the center. We suggest that the dwarf galaxies in the Coma Cluster, which make up the two components in the LF, are heterogeneous with some different origins.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Software Pipeline

In this paper, we describe the optical imaging data processing pipeline developed for the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) instrument. The HSC Pipeline builds on the prototype pipeline being developed by the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope's Data Management system, adding customizations for HSC, large-scale processing capabilities, and novel algorithms that have since been reincorporated into the LSST codebase. While designed primarily to reduce HSC Subaru Strategic Program (SSP) data, it is also the recommended pipeline for reducing general-observer HSC data. The HSC pipeline includes high level processing steps that generate coadded images and science-ready catalogs as well as low-level detrending and image characterizations.Comment: 39 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa

Dynamics at the serine loop underlie differential affinity of cryptochromes for CLOCK:BMAL1 to control circadian timing.

Mammalian circadian rhythms are generated by a transcription-based feedback loop in which CLOCK:BMAL1 drives transcription of its repressors (PER1/2, CRY1/2), which ultimately interact with CLOCK:BMAL1 to close the feedback loop with ~24 hr periodicity. Here we pinpoint a key difference between CRY1 and CRY2 that underlies their differential strengths as transcriptional repressors. Both cryptochromes bind the BMAL1 transactivation domain similarly to sequester it from coactivators and repress CLOCK:BMAL1 activity. However, we find that CRY1 is recruited with much higher affinity to the PAS domain core of CLOCK:BMAL1, allowing it to serve as a stronger repressor that lengthens circadian period. We discovered a dynamic serine-rich loop adjacent to the secondary pocket in the photolyase homology region (PHR) domain that regulates differential binding of cryptochromes to the PAS domain core of CLOCK:BMAL1. Notably, binding of the co-repressor PER2 remodels the serine loop of CRY2, making it more CRY1-like and enhancing its affinity for CLOCK:BMAL1

Runx2 is essential for the transdifferentiation of chondrocytes into osteoblasts

Chondrocytes proliferate and mature into hypertrophic chondrocytes. Vascular invasion into the cartilage occurs in the terminal hypertrophic chondrocyte layer, and terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes die by apoptosis or transdifferentiate into osteoblasts. Runx2 is essential for osteoblast differentiation and chondrocyte maturation. Runx2-deficient mice are composed of cartilaginous skeletons and lack the vascular invasion into the cartilage. However, the requirement of Runx2 in the vascular invasion into the cartilage, mechanism of chondrocyte transdifferentiation to osteoblasts, and its significance in bone development remain to be elucidated. To investigate these points, we generated Runx2fl/flCre mice, in which Runx2 was deleted in hypertrophic chondrocytes using Col10a1 Cre. Vascular invasion into the cartilage was similarly observed in Runx2fl/fl and Runx2fl/flCre mice. Vegfa expression was reduced in the terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes in Runx2fl/flCre mice, but Vegfa was strongly expressed in osteoblasts in the bone collar, suggesting that Vegfa expression in bone collar osteoblasts is sufficient for vascular invasion into the cartilage. The apoptosis of terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes was increased and their transdifferentiation was interrupted in Runx2fl/flCre mice, leading to lack of primary spongiosa and osteoblasts in the region at E16.5. The osteoblasts appeared in this region at E17.5 in the absence of transdifferentiation, and the number of osteoblasts and the formation of primary spongiosa, but not secondary spongiosa, reached to levels similar those in Runx2fl/fl mice at birth. The bone structure and volume and all bone histomophometric parameters were similar between Runx2fl/fl and Runx2fl/flCre mice after 6 weeks of age. These findings indicate that Runx2 expression in terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes is not required for vascular invasion into the cartilage, but is for their survival and transdifferentiation into osteoblasts, and that the transdifferentiation is necessary for trabecular bone formation in embryonic and neonatal stages, but not for acquiring normal bone structure and volume in young and adult mice

Differential regulation of mammalian Period genes and circadian rhythmicity by cryptochromes 1 and 2

Cryptochromes regulate the circadian clock in animals and plants. Humans and mice have two cryptochrome (Cry) genes. A previous study showed that mice lacking the Cry2 gene had reduced sensitivity to acute light induction of the circadian gene mPer1 in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and had an intrinsic period 1 hr longer than normal. In this study, Cry1−/− and Cry1−/−Cry2−/− mice were generated and their circadian clocks were analyzed at behavioral and molecular levels. Behaviorally, the Cry1−/− mice had a circadian period 1 hr shorter than wild type and the Cry1−/−Cry2−/− mice were arrhythmic in constant darkness (DD). Biochemically, acute light induction of mPer1 mRNA in the SCN was blunted in Cry1−/− and abolished in Cry1−/−Cry2−/− mice. In contrast, the acute light induction of mPer2 in the SCN was intact in Cry1−/− and Cry1−/−Cry2−/− animals. Importantly, in double mutants, mPer1 expression was constitutively elevated and no rhythmicity was detected in either 12-hr light/12-hr dark or DD, whereas mPer2 expression appeared rhythmic in 12-hr light/12-hr dark, but nonrhythmic in DD with intermediate levels. These results demonstrate that Cry1 and Cry2 are required for the normal expression of circadian behavioral rhythms, as well as circadian rhythms of mPer1 and mPer2 in the SCN. The differential regulation of mPer1 and mPer2 by light in Cry double mutants reveals a surprising complexity in the role of cryptochromes in mammals

Research Activities in the Department of Medical Engineering

The Department of Medical Engineering is dedicated to the research and educational activities to fulfill its mission as educating medical professionals in medical engineering under the diploma policy and curriculum policy, that is, "research and education aiming for fostering professionals competent in comprehensive resolving capacity based upon a wide field of knowledge and vision in clinical engineering, which can be attained by wearing the basic knowledge of medical science and engineering." For this reason, the Faculty of the Department of Medical Engineering is composed of the two areas; PhDs in engineering-based clinical medicine, and mainly MDs in medical sciences and clinical medicine. To summarize the research activities at the Department of Medical Engineering, the authors will describe the overview of research activities being performed in the Department of Medical Engineering Fields, by dividing into 1) Research in Biomedical Engineering Fields, and 2) Research in Medical Science and Clinical Engineering Fields

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS