A filamentous fungus, Pythium ultimum TROW var. ultimum, isolated from moribund moss colonies from Svalbard, northern islands of Norway

A fungus, Pythium ultimum TROW var. ultimum, was isolated from colonies of moribund moss, Sanionia uncinata (HEDW.) LOESKE, in Svalbard. This is the first report of isolation of P. ultimum var. ultimum from the Arctic Zone. This fungus showed possible moss pathogenic activity. The taxonomic, morphological and ecological characteristics are described here. In addition, the mycelial growth of this isolate is compared with that of isolates from the Temperate Zone, and its physiological characteristics are discussed

Very low-density lipoprotein-apoprotein CI is increased in diabetic nephropathy: Comparison with apoprotein CIII

Very low-density lipoprotein-apoprotein CI is increased in diabetic nephropathy: Comparison with apoprotein CIII.BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that apoprotein (apo) CI in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) plays an important role in causing hypertriglyceridemia independent of apo CIII, which is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD). Because the incidence of CHD is increased in diabetic patients and is even higher when diabetic nephropathy is developed, we measured apo CI levels in VLDL from type 2 diabetic patients, with various degree of nephropathy, and compared the results with those for healthy controls or nondiabetic patients with chronic renal failure (CRF).MethodsThis study enrolled healthy control subjects, type 2 diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, overt proteinuria, and CRF on hemodialysis and nondiabetic hemodialyis patients. VLDL (density <1.006) was separated by ultracentrifugation. Then the apo CI, CIII, and B concentrations in VLDL were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsThe apo CI, CIII, and B concentrations in VLDL were respectively 3-, 2-, and 2-fold higher, respectively, in diabetic patients with overt proteinuria than in controls. Hemodialysis patients with diabetic nephropathy had levels of apo CI, CIII, and B in VLDL that were 2.6-, 2.7- and 2-fold higher, respectively, than those in controls. Nondiabetic hemodialysis patients also had a 2.7-fold higher level of VLDL apo CIII, whereas VLDL apo CI and VLDL apo B were not significantly increased. VLDL apo CI was significantly correlated with VLDL apo B independently of VLDL apo CIII level.ConclusionAn increase of VLDL apo CIII is a prominent feature of dyslipidemia in CRF patients, regardless of whether they are diabetic or nondiabetic, whereas an increase of VLDL apo CI is more specific to diabetic nephropathy and is closely associated with an increase of VLDL particle numbers, a new risk factor for CHD

Experimental study of non-inductive current in Heliotron J

It is important to control non-inductive current for generation and steady-state operation of highperformance plasmas in toroidal fusion devices. Helical devices allow dynamic control of non-inductivecurrent through a wide variety of magnetic configurations. The reversal of non-inductive current consisting of bootstrap current and electron cyclotron driven current in electron cyclotron heating plasmas has been observed in a specific configuration at low density in Heliotron J device. By analyzing thenon-inductive current for normal and reversed magnetic fields, we present experimental evidence for the reversal of bootstrap current. Our experiments and calculations suggest that the reversal is caused bya positive radial electric field of about 10 kV/m. Moreover, we show that the typical electron cyclotron current drive efficiency in Heliotron J plasma is about 1.0 × 1017 AW?1m?2, which is comparable to other helical devices. We have found that the value is about 10 times lower than that of tokamak devices. This might be due to an enhanced Ohkawa effect by trapped particles

Space Demonstration of Two-Layer Pop-Up Origami Deployable Membrane Reflectarray Antenna by 3U CubeSat OrigamiSat-2

3U CubeSat OrigamiSat-2 demonstrates a 50-cm × 50-cm two-layer pop-up Origami deployable membrane reflectarray antenna in space. The membrane has small stowage volume and high gain even though it has low flatness because of a large enough antenna area to cover its un-flatness. C-band transmitter is equipped in the CubeSat and offers 20-Mbps amateur satellite communication. In 3U size, a 1-m length deployable gravity gradient mast and magnetic torquer are equipped to stabilize and control its attitude. A camera is attached to the satellite to measure the shape of the membrane antenna. OrigamiSat-2 was selected as the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and is going to be launched in 2024 by Epsilon Launch Vehicle

Variations of dissolved inorganic carbon in the Southern Ocean

第2回極域科学シンポジウム　共通セッション「海氷圏の生物地球化学」 11月16日（水） 統計数理研究所 3階リフレッシュフロ

A multi-ethnic meta-analysis identifies novel genes, including ACSL5, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a devastating progressive motor neuron disease that affects people of all ethnicities. Approximately 90% of ALS cases are sporadic and thought to have multifactorial pathogenesis. To understand the genetics of sporadic ALS, we conducted a genome-wide association study using 1,173 sporadic ALS cases and 8,925 controls in a Japanese population. A combined meta-analysis of our Japanese cohort with individuals of European ancestry revealed a significant association at the ACSL5 locus (top SNP p = 2.97 × 10−8). We validated the association with ACSL5 in a replication study with a Chinese population and an independent Japanese population (1941 ALS cases, 3821 controls; top SNP p = 1.82 × 10−4). In the combined meta-analysis, the intronic ACSL5 SNP rs3736947 showed the strongest association (p = 7.81 × 10−11). Using a gene-based analysis of the full multi-ethnic dataset, we uncovered additional genes significantly associated with ALS: ERGIC1, RAPGEF5, FNBP1, and ATXN3. These results advance our understanding of the genetic basis of sporadic ALS

Interspinous Ligament Lidocaine and Steroid Injections for the Management of Baastrup's Disease: A Case Series

Study DesignProspective study.PurposeTo examine the long-term effects of interspinous ligament injections of local anesthetics and steroids for the treatment of Baastrup's diseases.Overview of LiteratureBaastrup's disease is associated with axial low back pains. Baastrup's disease has been more recently described as the "kissing spinous processes" disease. Several authors have reported methods for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. However, there has been only one report of patients receiving interspinous ligament injections of agents for the treatment of Baastrup's disease.MethodsSeventeen patients showed severe low back pains between spinous processes at L3-L4 or L4-L5. X-ray imaging, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed kissing spinous processes, consolidation of spinous process, or inflammation of an interspinous ligament. Pain reliefs after lidocaine and dexamethasone administration into interspinous ligament as therapy for low back pains were being examined and followed up.ResultsLow back pain scores significantly improved immediately after injection of the agents into interspinous ligaments. At final follow-up (1.4 year), low back pain scores significantly improved as compared with before the treatment.ConclusionsFindings from the current study indicate that lidocaine and dexamethasone administration into interspinous ligament in patients diagnosed with Baastrup's disease is effective for managing the pain associated with this disease

Introduction for Fisheries and Aquatic Biology

Chapter I. Aquatic Environment. Ken FURUYA and Ichiro YASUDA : chapter_1.pdfChapter II. Biology and Ecology of Aqua-Shere. Toyoji KANEKO, Katsumi TSUKAMOTO, Atsushi TSUDA, Yuzuru SUZUKI and Katsufumi SATOH : chapter_2.pdfChapter III. Aquatic Resource and Production. Ichiro AOKI, Kazuo OGAWA, Taku YAMAKAWA and Tomoyoshi YOSHINAGA : chapter_3.pdfChapter IV. Chemistry of Aquatic Organism and Their Utilization. Hiroki ABE, Shugo WATABE, Yoshihiro OCHIAI, Shigeru OKADA, Naoko YOSHIKAWA, Yoshiharu KINOSHITA, Gen KANEKO and Shigeki MATSUNAGA : chapter_4.pdfChapter V. Relation between Aqua-Shere and Human Life. Hisashi KUROKURA, Hirohide MATSUSHIMA, Shingo KUROHAGI, Haruko YAMASHITA, Akinori HINO, Kazumasa IKUTA, Satoquo SEINO, Masahiko ARIJI, Ken FURUYA, Junichiro OKAMOTO and Nobuyuki YAGI : chapter_5.pdfPart of "Introduction for Fisheries and Aquatic Biology

Progress of long pulse discharges by ECH in LHD

Using ion cyclotron heating and electron cyclotron heating (ECH), or solo ECH, trials of steady state plasma sustainment have been conducted in the superconducting helical/stellarator, large helical device (LHD) (Ida K et al 2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 104018). In recent years, the ECH system has been upgraded by applying newly developed 77 and 154 GHz gyrotrons. A new gas fueling system applied to the steady state operations in the LHD realized precise feedback control of the line average electron density even when the wall condition varied during long pulse discharges. Owing to these improvements in the ECH and the gas fueling systems, a stable 39 min discharge with a line average electron density ne_ave of 1.1  ×  1019 m−3, a central electron temperature Te0 of over 2.5 keV, and a central ion temperature Ti0 of 1.0 keV was successfully performed with ~350 kW EC-waves. The parameters are much improved from the previous 65 min discharge with ne_ave of 0.15  ×  1019 m−3 and Te0 of 1.7 keV, and the 30 min discharge with ne_ave of 0.7  ×  1019 m−3 and Te0 of 1.7 keV