Carotenoids in Marine Invertebrates Living along the Kuroshio Current Coast

Carotenoids of the corals Acropora japonica, A. secale, and A. hyacinthus, the tridacnid clam Tridacna squamosa, the crown-of-thorns starfish Acanthaster planci, and the small sea snail Drupella fragum were investigated. The corals and the tridacnid clam are filter feeders and are associated with symbiotic zooxanthellae. Peridinin and pyrrhoxanthin, which originated from symbiotic zooxanthellae, were found to be major carotenoids in corals and the tridacnid clam. The crown-of-thorns starfish and the sea snail D. fragum are carnivorous and mainly feed on corals. Peridinin-3-acyl esters were major carotenoids in the sea snail D. fragum. On the other hand, ketocarotenoids such as 7,8-didehydroastaxanthin and astaxanthin were major carotenoids in the crown-of-thorns starfish. Carotenoids found in these marine animals closely reflected not only their metabolism but also their food chains

Impressions of Personal Color Match or Mismatch : Case study of a makeup-oriented Instagrammer

第19回　日本感性工学会春季大会 会期：2024年3月7日(木)〜3月8日(金) 2PA ポスターセッション(2)conference pape

金沢大学養護教諭特別科自由研究 : 健康診断における事後措置について : 心臓健診後の保健指導・保健管理についての一考察

学生実習報

Effects of daily aspirin on cancer incidence and mortality in the elderly Japanese

BackgroundLong‐term follow‐up of studies to investigate preventive effects of aspirin on arterial thrombosis indicate that aspirin reduces the incidence and mortality of some cancers in Western populations.ObjectivesTo explore the effects of aspirin on cancer incidence and mortality in the elderly Japanese.Patients/MethodsPatients aged 60 to 85 years, presenting with hypertension, dyslipidemia, or diabetes mellitus (n = 14 601, 7297 in the aspirin group and 7304 in the no‐aspirin group) participated the Japanese Primary Prevention Project (JPPP), a multicenter, open‐label, randomized, parallel‐group trial. A subanalysis of JPPP was performed to analyze the incidence of newly diagnosed cancer and death related to cancer.ResultsThe cumulative incidence of newly diagnosed cancer was 5.60% (4.65‐6.64%) in the aspirin group and 4.14% (3.67‐4.66%) in the no‐aspirin group. The hazard ratio for newly diagnosed cancer was 1.24 (1.06‐1.46), and the cancer incidence was significantly higher in the aspirin group. The cumulative cancer mortality was 1.96% (1.65‐2.31%) in the aspirin group and 1.87% (1.56‐2.22%) in the no‐aspirin group, with no statistically significant difference. The Fine and Gray model suggested that the difference in the incidence of newly diagnosed cancer between the two groups decreased year by year.ConclusionsLow‐dose aspirin use did not reduce the cancer incidence or cancer mortality during a 5‐year‐average study period in the elderly Japanese. The cancer incidence in the aspirin group might decrease, however, to less than that in the no‐aspirin group after the study period. Aspirin use might have led to earlier cancer diagnosis in our study

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July

Whole genome identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine candidates by comprehensive data mining and bioinformatic analyses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Mycobacterium tuberculosis</it>, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), infects ~8 million annually culminating in ~2 million deaths. Moreover, about one third of the population is latently infected, 10% of which develop disease during lifetime. Current approved prophylactic TB vaccines (BCG and derivatives thereof) are of variable efficiency in adult protection against pulmonary TB (0%–80%), and directed essentially against early phase infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A genome-scale dataset was constructed by analyzing published data of: (1) global gene expression studies under conditions which simulate intra-macrophage stress, dormancy, persistence and/or reactivation; (2) cellular and humoral immunity, and vaccine potential. This information was compiled along with revised annotation/bioinformatic characterization of selected gene products and <it>in silico </it>mapping of T-cell epitopes. Protocols for scoring, ranking and prioritization of the antigens were developed and applied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cross-matching of literature and <it>in silico</it>-derived data, in conjunction with the prioritization scheme and biological rationale, allowed for selection of 189 putative vaccine candidates from the entire genome. Within the 189 set, the relative distribution of antigens in 3 functional categories differs significantly from their distribution in the whole genome, with reduction in the Conserved hypothetical category (due to improved annotation) and enrichment in Lipid and in Virulence categories. Other prominent representatives in the 189 set are the PE/PPE proteins; iron sequestration, nitroreductases and proteases, all within the Intermediary metabolism and respiration category; ESX secretion systems, resuscitation promoting factors and lipoproteins, all within the Cell wall category. Application of a ranking scheme based on qualitative and quantitative scores, resulted in a list of 45 best-scoring antigens, of which: 74% belong to the dormancy/reactivation/resuscitation classes; 30% belong to the Cell wall category; 13% are classical vaccine candidates; 9% are categorized Conserved hypotheticals, all potentially very potent T-cell antigens.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The comprehensive literature and <it>in silico</it>-based analyses allowed for the selection of a repertoire of 189 vaccine candidates, out of the whole-genome 3989 ORF products. This repertoire, which was ranked to generate a list of 45 top-hits antigens, is a platform for selection of genes covering all stages of <it>M. tuberculosis </it>infection, to be incorporated in rBCG or subunit-based vaccines.</p

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month