Tsukuba 32-m VLBI Station

The Tsukuba 32-m VLBI station is operated by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. This report summarizes activities of the Tsukuba 32-m VLBI station in 2012. More than 200 sessions were observed with the Tsukuba 32-m and other GSI antennas in accordance with the IVS Master Schedule of 2012. We have started installing the observing facilities that will be fully compliant with VLBI2010 for the first time in Japan

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Germacranolides and Their Diversity of Eupatorium heterophyllum Collected in P. R. China

Eight new hydroperoxides and a new enone of germacrane-type sesquiterpenoids were isolated from the aerial parts of eight different samples of Eupatorium heterophyllum DC. (Asteraceae) collected in P.R. China. The structures were determined based on spectroscopic analyses. Seven of the eight samples produced hiyodorilactone A as a major constituent, while one afforded neither hiyodorilactone nor hydroperoxide. The results indicated the presence of diversity within this species

EUV and VUV Spectra of NeIII-NeX Line Emissions Observed in the Impurity Gas-Puffing Experiments of the Large Helical Device

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) wavelength spectra including line emissions released from neon (Ne) ions ranging from low to high charge states observed simultaneously in a single discharge are summarized for contribution to compile a fundamental spectral dataset for the Ne-seeded divertor heat load reduction experiments in Large Helical Device (LHD). NeIX and NeX lines were observed in the EUV wavelength range of 10∼50 Å and NeIII-NeVIII lines were observed in the VUV wavelength range of 400∼1000 Å. The temporal evolutions of the line intensities exhibited different behaviors between the edge emissions of NeIII-NeVIII with the ionization potential, Ei, of 63∼239 eV and the core emission of NeX with Ei of 1362 eV. NeIX with Ei of 1196 eV exhibited a marginal behavior between the edge emission and the core emission

The Role Of Salivary Glands In Phosphate Homeostasis

Hyperphosphatemia is recognized as a contributor to vascular calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients and is independently associated with cardiac mortality. Dietary inorganic phosphorus (Pi) restriction, and the Pi binders are important therapy for dialysis patients with hyperphosphatemia. Recent study reported that salivary secretion of Pi to be an important determinant of hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD and in those with ESRD under chronic dialysis. In the present study, we investigated the role of type IIb sodium-dependent Pi transporter (Npt2b) on salivary Pi excretion in mice. The expression of Npt2b protein was detected at the apical side of duct cells in the salivary glands, suggesting that ductal cells appears to be able to reabsorb Pi, thereby modifying the Pi concentration in the final saliva. In wild-type mice (Wt mice) fed a high Pi diet, the levels of plasma and salivary Pi are significantly higher than those in mice fed a low Pi diet. In Npt2b+/- mice, the salivary Pi concentrations were significantly increased compared with those in Npt2b+/+ mice. Npt2b+/- mice with adenine-induced renal failure had low plasma and salivary Pi levels, and plasma creatinine and BUN levels compared with Npt2b+/+ mice treated with adenine. In conclusion, Npt2b is involved in Pi secretion by salivary glands