Using Japanese sources for academic research : information-seeking behaviours of graduate students

Traditionally, library and information studies have found that people strategize their information seeking depending on their plans and situations. When it comes to locating Japanese information sources in English-speaking countries, previous studies found that barriers by geography, language, and culture influenced their strategies. However, less studied is how Japanese information sources are sought by graduate students, who have unique information-seeking behaviors compared to undergraduate students and faculty members. To fill the research gap, I investigated the intersections of Japanese-language sources, information-seeking strategies, and graduate students. I conducted semi-structured virtual interviews with eight graduate students at the University of British Columbia (UBC), five in the Department of Asian Studies and three in the Faculty of Education. The interviews were transcribed and coded using a directed content analysis approach. Participants’ self-report indicated that they strategize information seeking by interacting with information systems (e.g., a discovery tool), resources (e.g., library stacks) and people (e.g., peers and librarians) and shift different strategies. The selection of strategies and shifting were affected by their plans (e.g., search habits, information literacy, research stages) and situations (e.g., geography, culture, language, academics’ roles). Also, most participants used resources and strategies available within UBC community, such as UBC library collections and services and asking for help from supervisors, librarians, and peers. Participants also reported that time and budgetary constraints limited opportunities for travelling to Japanese library institutions. Disciplinary differences were also found. Education students, who did not have Japanese-speaking supervisors, did not rely on people at UBC, whereas Asian Studies students frequently mentioned help from their supervisors. These findings suggest that information professionals continue advocating for collection development, international interlibrary loans, digitization and open access. Partnership with faculty members would also help outreach the available library services for graduate students. Also, faculty and departments could provide travel grants for students to visit library institutions overseas, as participants’ time and budgetary constraints forced them to give up accessing physical copies that are only available at Japanese institutions. Future research is expected to explore graduate students in other disciplines and other languages, and employ different research method (e.g., research diaries).Arts, Faculty ofiSchool (Library, Archival and Information Studies)Graduat

In vitro evaluation of the effect of galectins on Schistosoma mansoni motility

Abstract Objective Galectins are sugar-binding proteins that participate in many biological processes, such as immunity, by regulating host immune cells and their direct interaction with pathogens. They are involved in mediating infection by Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic trematode that causes schistosomiasis. However, their direct effects on schistosomes have not been investigated. Results We found that galectin-2 recognizes S. mansoni glycoconjugates and investigated whether galectin-1, 2, and 3 can directly affect S. mansoni in vitro. Adult S. mansoni were treated with recombinant galectin-1, 2, and 3 proteins or praziquantel, a positive control. Treatment with galectin-1, 2, and 3 had no significant effect on S. mansoni motility, and no other differences were observed under a stereoscopic microscope. Hence, galectin-1, 2, and 3 may have a little direct effect on S. mansoni. However, they might play a role in the infection in vivo via the modulation of the host immune response or secretory molecules from S. mansoni. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the direct effect of galectins on S. mansoni and helps in understanding the roles of galectins in S. mansoni infection in vivo

Additional file 1 of In vitro evaluation of the effect of galectins on Schistosoma mansoni motility

Supplementary Material

Redox regulation of ascorbate and glutathione by a chloroplastic dehydroascorbate reductase is required for high-light stress tolerance in <i>Arabidopsis</i>

<p>Chloroplasts are a significant site for reactive oxygen species production under illumination and, thus, possess a well-organized antioxidant system involving ascorbate. Ascorbate recycling occurs in different manners in this system, including a dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR) reaction. We herein investigated the physiological significance of DHAR3 in photo-oxidative stress tolerance in <i>Arabidopsis</i>. GFP-fused DHAR3 protein was targeted to chloroplasts in <i>Arabidopsis</i> leaves. A DHAR3 knockout mutant exhibited sensitivity to high light (HL). Under HL, the ascorbate redox states were similar in mutant and wild-type plants, while total ascorbate content was significantly lower in the mutant, suggesting that DHAR3 contributes, at least to some extent, to ascorbate recycling. Activation of monodehydroascorbate reductase occurred in <i>dhar3</i> mutant, which might compensate for the lack of DHAR3. Interestingly, glutathione oxidation was consistently inhibited in <i>dhar3</i> mutant. These findings indicate that DHAR3 regulates both ascorbate and glutathione redox states to acclimate to HL.</p> <p>The redox regulation of ascorbate and glutathione by a chloroplastic dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR3) is essential for photo-oxidative stress tolerance in <i>Arabidopsis</i>.</p

<i>Arabidopsis</i> dehydroascorbate reductase 1 and 2 modulate redox states of ascorbate-glutathione cycle in the cytosol in response to photooxidative stress

<p>Ascorbate and glutathione are indispensable cellular redox buffers and allow plants to acclimate stressful conditions. <i>Arabidopsis</i> contains three functional dehydroascorbate reductases (DHAR1-3), which catalyzes the conversion of dehydroascorbate into its reduced form using glutathione as a reductant. We herein attempted to elucidate the physiological role in DHAR1 and DHAR2 in stress responses. The total DHAR activities in DHAR knockout <i>Arabidopsis</i> plants, <i>dhar1</i> and <i>dhar2</i>, were 22 and 92%, respectively, that in wild-type leaves. Under high light (HL), the levels of total ascorbate and dehydroascorbate were only reduced and increased, respectively, in <i>dhar1</i>. The oxidation of glutathione under HL was significantly inhibited in both <i>dhar1</i> and <i>dhar2</i>, while glutathione contents were only enhanced in <i>dhar1</i>. The <i>dhar1</i> showed stronger visible symptoms than the <i>dhar2</i> under photooxidative stress conditions. Our results demonstrated a pivotal role of DHAR1 in the modulation of cellular redox states under photooxidative stress.</p

Production and use of two marine zooplanktons, Tigriopus japonicus and Diaphanosoma celebensis, as live food for red sea bream Pagrus major larvae

We evaluated the effectiveness of two representative marine zooplankton, the harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus and the euryhaline cladoceran Diaphanosoma celebensis, as live food for red sea bream Pagrus major larvae. Chicken-dropping extract (CDE) was applied to both zooplankton cultures to improve population growth. Population growth of both zooplankton was significantly enhanced by CDE supplementation (at 1 or 2 ml/l). The highest amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and higher DHA/eicosapentaenoic acid ratio were detected in T. japonicus, whereas D. celebensis showed similar values to that of Artemia. Effectiveness of both animals as live food was tested by rearing red sea bream larvae on them for 28 days and comparing the results with those for Artemia. There were no significant differences in total length (8.6 ± 1.1?8.7 ± 0.7 mm) or wet weight (8.2 ± 0.3?9.4 ± 0.1 mg) among fish larvae feeding on the three different zooplankton. Survival rate was significantly higher with T. japonicus (39.4 ± 3.1 %) than with D. celebensis (20.8 ± 3.8 %) and Artemia (16.7 ± 9.8 %). Viability was significantly higher in fish fed with T. japonicus (60.0 ± 27.8 %) and D. celebensis (60.0 ± 32.2 %) than in those fed with Artemia (44.4 ± 12.3 %). Fish fed with T. japonicus contained higher n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids than those fed with D. celebensis and Artemia. It is concluded that T. japonicus and D. celebensis have high potential as live food in marine fish larviculture