New Species of Aleocharinae from Japan, I (Staphylinidae ; Coleoptera)

A new genus, a new subgenus, thirteen new species and a new subspecies belonging to the Aleocharinae are described and illustrated from Japan under the names of Atheta (Paradota n. subg.) liberta n. sp., A. (Dimetrota) allocera ontakeana n. subsp., A. (D.) yamamotoi n. sp., A. (D.) nikkoensis n. sp., A. (Anopleta) okamotoi n. sp., A. (Notothecta) watanabei n. sp., A. (N.) incola n. sp., A. (N.) kashimaensis n. sp., A. (N.) effecta n. sp., A. (Badura) ririkoae n. sp., Liogluta libraria n. sp., Pelioptera babai n. sp., Aloconota bulbosa n. sp., Plesiochara fusca n. g. et n. sp. A key is given for the genera and subgenera treated

New Myrmecophilous Coleoptera in Nepal and Japan (Histeridae & Staphylinidae)

The present contribution is a report of a new taxon of the Chlamydopsinae in Japan, consisting of Boreochlamydus ohtanii n. g. et n. sp., and two new taxa of the Aleocharinae from Nepal and Japan, which include Lomechusa throngensis n. sp., and Lomechusa hosodai n. sp. The Chlamydopsinae of Histeridae seem to be new to the coleopterous fauna in the Palaearctic region. A brief concept of the genera Lomechusa and Atemeles is also given

ALEOCHARINAE (STAPHYLINIDAE, COLEOPTERA) FROM THE INTERTIDAL ZONE OF JAPAN

To begin the taxonomic studies of Aleocharinae of the Japanese coasts with the halobious species, nine intertidal species mainly from the Southwest Japan have been investigated. They are highly specialized species living among or under stones between the high and low tide-marks on the seashore. In some species the eyes are small, the integument less chitinized and poorly pigmented. To begin the taxonomic studies of Aleocharinae of the Japanese coasts with the halobious species, nine intertidal species mainly from the Southwest Japan have been investigated. They are highly specialized species living among or under stones between the high and low tide-marks on the seashore. In some species the eyes are small, the integument less chitinized and poorly pigmented. These may be the features adaptive to the life under the sea-water and appearing quite convergently, though their ecological meaning has not yet been cleared. Then, the nominative characters of the Aleocharinae are hazarded and concealed by such convergent appearances and consequently the taxonomic studies of those forms are made considerably difficult. I wish to express my hearty thanks to Dr. T. TOKIOKA and to the staff of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory for their constant help as well as to Prof. R. Yosu for the critical review of the manuscript. Also I am much indebted to Dr. Ian MOORE of the University of California for the gift of valuable specimens

Caries Increment and Salivary Microbiome during University Life: A Prospective Cohort Study

The purpose of this 3-year prospective cohort study was to explore the relationship between an increase in dental caries and oral microbiome among Japanese university students. We analyzed 487 students who volunteered to receive oral examinations and answer baseline (2013) and follow-up (2016) questionnaires. Of these students, salivary samples were randomly collected from 55 students at follow-up and analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Students were divided into two groups: increased group (Delta decayed, missing, and filled teeth (Delta DMFT) score increased during the 3-year period) and non-increased group (Delta DMFT did not increase). Thirteen phyla, 21 classes, 32 orders, 48 families, 72 genera, and 156 species were identified. Microbial diversity in the increased group (n = 14) was similar to that in the non-increased group (n = 41). Relative abundances of the family Prevotellaceae (p = 0.007) and genera Alloprevotella (p = 0.007) and Dialister (p = 0.039) were enriched in the increased group compared with the non-increased group. Some bacterial taxonomic clades were differentially present between the two groups. These results may contribute to the development of new dental caries prevention strategies, including the development of detection kits and enlightenment activities for these bacteria

Improvement of acquisition and analysis methods in multi-electrode array experiments with iPS cell-derived cardiomyocytes

AbstractIntroductionMulti-electrode array (MEA) systems and human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cardiomyocytes are frequently used to characterize the electrophysiological effects of drug candidates for the prediction of QT prolongation and proarrhythmic potential. However, the optimal experimental conditions for obtaining reliable experimental data, such as high-pass filter (HPF) frequency and cell plating density, remain to be determined.MethodsExtracellular field potentials (FPs) were recorded from iPS cell-derived cardiomyocyte sheets by using the MED64 and MEA2100 multi-electrode array systems. Effects of HPF frequency (0.1 or 1Hz) on FP duration (FPD) were assessed in the presence and absence of moxifloxacin, terfenadine, and aspirin. The influence of cell density on FP characteristics recorded through a 0.1-Hz HPF was examined. The relationship between FP and action potential (AP) was elucidated by simultaneous recording of FP and AP using a membrane potential dye.ResultsMany of the FP waveforms recorded through a 1-Hz HPF were markedly deformed and appeared differentiated compared with those recorded through a 0.1-Hz HPF. The concentration–response curves for FPD in the presence of terfenadine reached a steady state at concentrations of 0.1 and 0.3μM when a 0.1-Hz HPF was used. In contrast, FPD decreased at a concentration of 0.3μM with a characteristic bell-shaped concentration–response curve when a 1-Hz HPF was used. The amplitude of the first and second peaks in the FP waveform increased with increasing cell plating density. The second peak of the FP waveform roughly coincided with AP signal at 50% repolarization, and the negative deflection at the second peak of the FP waveform in the presence of E-4031 corresponded to early afterdepolarization and triggered activity.DiscussionFP can be used to assess the QT prolongation and proarrhythmic potential of drug candidates; however, experimental conditions such as HPF frequency are important for obtaining reliable data

Application of quantum computing techniques in particle tracking at LHC

After the next planned upgrades to the LHC, the luminosity it delivers will more than double, substantially increasing the already large demand on computing resources. Therefore an efficient way to reconstruct physical objects is required. Recent studies show that one of the quantum computing techniques, quantum annealing (QA), can be used to perform particle tracking with efficiency higher than 90% in the high pileup region in the high luminosity environment. The algorithm starts by determining the connection between the hits, and classifies the topological objects with their pattern. The current study aims to improve the pre-processing efficiency in the QA-based tracking algorithm by implementing a graph neural network (GNN), which is expected to efficiently generate the topological object needed for the annealing process. Tracking performance with a different setup of the original algorithm is also studied with data collected by the ATLAS experiment