The changing structure of farm household economy in Malay rice-growing villages

This study focuses on the structure of household expenditure in discovering the real condition of household economy in rice-growing villages. We identified actual expenses and detailed consumption items for basic subsistence at the household level in two villages. The expenditure function in the two villages indicates that the head of the household, on-farm income and off-farm income are major determinants influencing the expenditure patterns and items bought by the household. In Kg. HC off-farm income and remittances determine household expenditure rather than on-farm income. The results indicate a contrast in expenditure behaviour at the household level between the two villages, where off-farm income in Kg. HC was strongly related to household expenditure while in the case of Kg. PTBB the relationship was influenced by on-farm income

Nuclear Accumulation of HSP70 in Mouse Skeletal Muscles in Response to Heat Stress, Aging, and Unloading With or Without Reloading

The purpose of this study was to investigate the nuclear accumulation of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), a molecular chaperonin in mouse skeletal muscle in response to aging, heat stress, and hindlimb unloading with or without reloading. Profiles of HSP70-specific nuclear transporter Hikeshi in skeletal muscles were also evaluated. Heat stress-associated nuclear accumulation of HSP70 was observed in slow soleus (SOL) and fast plantaris (PLA) muscles of young (10-week-old) mice. Mean nuclear expression level of HSP70 in slow medial gastrocnemius (MGAS) and PLA muscles of aged (100-week-old) mice increased ~4.8 and ~1.7 times, compared to that of young (10-week-old) mice. Reloading following 2-week hindlimb unloading caused accumulation of HSP70 in myonuclei in MGAS and PLA of young mice ( p < 0.05). However, reloading-associated nuclear accumulation of HSP70 was not observed in both types of muscles of aged mice. On the other hand, 2-week hindlimb unloading had no impact on the nuclear accumulation of HSP70 in both muscles of young and aged mice. Nuclear expression level of Hikeshi in both MGAS and PLA in mice was suppressed by aging. No significant changes in the nuclear Hikeshi in both muscles were induced by unloading with or without reloading. Results of this study indicate that the nuclear accumulation of HSP70 might show a protective response against cellular stresses in skeletal muscle and that the protective response may be suppressed by aging. Protective response to aging might depend on muscle fiber types

マレーシア ノ イナサクノウカ ニ オケル ショトクカクサ

1980年代後半,マレーシア経済は急激な発展を遂げた。諸外国が直接投資を行うことにより西海岸の工業団地に多国籍企業が進出したためである。製造業部門のGDPシェアは1980年の6.8%から増加し2005年には31.4%に達した。工業地帯は西海岸に集中しているため,現在,東海岸と西海岸には深刻な経済格差が存在している。本研究では州レベルで議論されてきた経済格差を世帯レベルで解明し,東西両海岸に位置している稲作農村の現状および経済格差を把握するための分析を行った。本研究の主な成果は3点挙げられる。(1)世帯レベルでの所得分布を検討した結果,西海岸のPTBB村の世帯所得は相対的に高く分布しており,東海岸に位置するHC村の農家は低所得層に分布していることが明らかになった。農業所得の貢献は限られており,農外所得が大きく貢献していることが明らかになった。(2)ジニ係数や対数標準偏差を用いて両村の所得格差について検討した結果,HC村内では個々の就業者所得および農家所得において大きな格差があることが分かった。(3)世帯所得の決定には,世帯内の就業者数,世帯主の年齢・性別・職業,および居住地が大きく影響することを明らかにした。Malaysia has achieved dramatic economic growth since the late 1980s, largely due to multinational companies investing foreign capital in industrial zones on the west coast. GDP share of the manufacturing sector increased from 16.8% in 1980 to 31.4% in 2005. As industrialization has been concentrated on the west coast, this has caused economic inequality between the states of the west and east coasts of the Malaysian peninsula. It is therefore necessary to study the reality of income disparity and indicate the nature of inequality among farm households. This paper aims to clarify the main factors which influenced inequality in two rice farming villages from both coastal areas. A series of questionnaire surveys were conducted in 2006 and 2008 in Penang state and Kelantan state. A total of 42 and 39 farm households respectively were studied. There are important determinants including age, gender, number of workers, occupation and location in the two villages. Especially age of household head and location determine farm household income, resulting in considerable income inequality between the rice farming villages

Current status of space gravitational wave antenna DECIGO and B-DECIGO

Deci-hertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space mission with a frequency band of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. DECIGO aims at the detection of primordial gravitational waves, which could be produced during the inflationary period right after the birth of the universe. There are many other scientific objectives of DECIGO, including the direct measurement of the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, and reliable and accurate predictions of the timing and locations of neutron star/black hole binary coalescences. DECIGO consists of four clusters of observatories placed in the heliocentric orbit. Each cluster consists of three spacecraft, which form three Fabry-Perot Michelson interferometers with an arm length of 1,000 km. Three clusters of DECIGO will be placed far from each other, and the fourth cluster will be placed in the same position as one of the three clusters to obtain the correlation signals for the detection of the primordial gravitational waves. We plan to launch B-DECIGO, which is a scientific pathfinder of DECIGO, before DECIGO in the 2030s to demonstrate the technologies required for DECIGO, as well as to obtain fruitful scientific results to further expand the multi-messenger astronomy.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Current status of space gravitational wave antenna DECIGO and B-DECIGO

The Deci-hertz Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (DECIGO) is a future Japanese space mission with a frequency band of 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz. DECIGO aims at the detection of primordial gravitational waves, which could have been produced during the inflationary period right after the birth of the Universe. There are many other scientific objectives of DECIGO, including the direct measurement of the acceleration of the expansion of the Universe, and reliable and accurate predictions of the timing and locations of neutron star/black hole binary coalescences. DECIGO consists of four clusters of observatories placed in heliocentric orbit. Each cluster consists of three spacecraft, which form three Fabry–Pérot Michelson interferometers with an arm length of 1000 km. Three DECIGO clusters will be placed far from each other, and the fourth will be placed in the same position as one of the other three to obtain correlation signals for the detection of primordial gravitational waves. We plan to launch B-DECIGO, which is a scientific pathfinder for DECIGO, before DECIGO in the 2030s to demonstrate the technologies required for DECIGO, as well as to obtain fruitful scientific results to further expand multi-messenger astronomy

Rapid production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from a variety of animals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although a variety of animals have been used to produce polyclonal antibodies against antigens, the production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from animals remains challenging.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We propose a simple and rapid strategy to produce monoclonal antibodies from a variety of animals. By staining lymph node cells with an antibody against immunoglobulin and a fluorescent dye specific for the endoplasmic reticulum, plasma/plasmablast cells were identified without using a series of antibodies against lineage markers. By using a fluorescently labeled antigen as a tag for a complementary cell surface immunoglobulin, antigen-specific plasma/plasmablast cells were sorted from the rest of the cell population by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. Amplification of cognate pairs of immunoglobulin heavy and light chain genes followed by DNA transfection into 293FT cells resulted in the highly efficient production of antigen-specific monoclonal antibodies from a variety of immunized animals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our technology eliminates the need for both cell propagation and screening processes, offering a significant advantage over hybridoma and display strategies.</p

Nutritional status of patients with phenylketonuria in Japan

Accumulating evidence suggests that hyperphenylalaninemia in phenylketonuria (PKU) can cause neuropsychological and psychosocial problems in diet-off adult patients, and that such symptoms improve after resumption of phenylalanine-restricted diet, indicating the need for lifetime low-phenylalanine diet. While limiting protein intake, dietary therapy should provide adequate daily intake of energy, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and microelements. We evaluated nutrient balance in 14 patients with classical PKU aged 4–38 years. Approximately 80–85% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of protein in Japanese was supplied through phenylalanine-free (Phe-free) milk and Phe-free amino acid substitutes. Nutritional evaluation showed that the calorie and protein intakes were equivalent to the RDA. Phenylalanine intake was 9.8 ± 2.2 mg/kg of body weight/day, which maintained normal blood phenylalanine concentration by the 80% Phe-free protein rule. The protein, fat, and carbohydrate ratio was 9.5:23.9:66.6% with relative carbohydrate excess. Phe-free milk and amino acid substitutes provided 33.7% of carbohydrate, 82.1% of protein, and 66.7% of fat intake in all. Selenium and biotin intakes were 25.0% and 18.1% of the RDA and adequate intake (AI) for Japanese, respectively; both were not included in Phe-free milk. PKU patients showed low serum selenium, low urinary biotin, and high urinary 3-hydroxyisovaleric acid in this study. The intakes of magnesium, zinc, and iodine were low (71.5%, 79.5%, and 71.0% of the RDA, respectively) and that of phosphorus was 79.7% of the AI, although they were supplemented in Phe-free milk. PKU patients depend on Phe-free milk and substitutes for daily requirement of microelements and vitamins as well as protein and fat. Development of low-protein food makes it possible to achieve the aimed phenylalanine blood level, but this lowers the intake of microelements and vitamins from natural foods. The dietary habits vary continuously with age and environment in PKU patients. We recommend the addition of selenium and biotin to Phe-free milk in Japan and the need to review the composition of microelements and vitamins in A-1 and MP-11 preparations