第2節 日本・ベトナム出土のベトナム焼締陶器の放射化分析(第6章 ベトナム陶磁器の理化学的分析)(III ベトナム陶磁器の理化学的分析)(ベトナムの日本町 : ホイアンの考古学調査)

Chemical studies on the Vietnamese pottery sherds from Vietnam and Japan were carried out to know their provenance, kilns for making them, through the trace element contents by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The Vietnamese pottery sherds used are 14 samples collected on the surface of four old kiln sites (My Xuyen and Phuoc tich, Hue ; Phuoc Ly, Quang tri ; and My Cuong, QuangBinh) and 7 samples excavated at three archaeological sites (Thanh Ha, Hue ; and Dinh Campho and Thanh Chiem, Hoi An) in the central Vietnam and also 13 samples excavated at four archaeological sites in different places in Japan (Nagasaki, Sakai, Kyoto City and Heiankyo, Kyoto). Contents of 12 trace elements such as Rb, Cs, La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Lu, Th, Hf, Co, Sc and Cr, and two major elements Na and Fe in the Vietnamese pottery sherds were analyzed by instrumental neutron activation analysis. These samples (ca.30～50mg) were irradiated for 24 hours intermittently at Rikkyo University Research Reactor, TRIGA Mark n. The activated samples were measured by gamma-ray spectrometry using a high resolution Ge (Li) detector coupled with a 4096 channel analyzer. As a result of the cluster analysis of the element contents of the pottery sherds, probably 13 samples including four Vietnam and nine from Japan, were identified as those from the kilns of My Xuyen, Phuoc tich and Phuoc Ly. It is interesting there are no samples identified to My Xuyen kiln site, supposed to be the late seventeenth century. It agreed with the fact all of the samples from Japan were estimated earlier than that time. Also five samples from both countries have no adequate sources, so it suggests some of undiscovered kiln sites still remain in the central part of Vietnam

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

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

Technical Studies on the White-glazed Sherds Excavated from the Archaeological Site, A\u27Ali in Bahrain

Some Islamic white-glazed Sherds excavated from an archaeological site of the 9th century, A\u27Ali in Bahrain on the coast of Persian Gulf were technically studied to find their characteristics and provenances. The white glazes of some sherds contain fairly large amounts of tin and lead, while others do not. This fact has been hitherto unknown in detail. The results of chemical analyses and X-ray diffraction of glazes and fabrics (body clays), and trace element contents of fabrics determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis are presented, and their provenances are discussed