Development of the Virtual Earth\u27s Magnetosphere System (VEMS)

We have constructed a new research environment for geo-space science based on 3-D visualization tool and network database; Virtual Earth\u27s Magnetosphere System (VEMS). With an interactive research environment researchers can visually understand structures of the Earth\u27s magnetosphere using VEMS. On the VEMS, computer simulation results and observation data are simultaneously visualized, having a potential to data assimilation for geo-space studies in the future. Since the VEMS deals with time-dependent data, it also helps researchers to study dynamics of the Earth\u27s magnetosphere. We found that immersive data analyses are possible using the VEMS on a virtual reality system

Study of IMF transport into the magnetoshpere using a system of Magnetic Field Tracing in Global MHD simulations

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回極域宙空圏シンポジウム 11月16日（水） 統計数理研究所 セミナー室

A deeply branching thermophilic bacterium with an ancient acetyl-CoA pathway dominates a subsurface ecosystem

<div><p>A nearly complete genome sequence of <em>Candidatus</em> ‘Acetothermum autotrophicum’, a presently uncultivated bacterium in candidate division OP1, was revealed by metagenomic analysis of a subsurface thermophilic microbial mat community. Phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated sequences of proteins common among 367 prokaryotes suggests that <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is one of the earliest diverging bacterial lineages. It possesses a folate-dependent Wood-Ljungdahl (acetyl-CoA) pathway of CO₂ fixation, is predicted to have an acetogenic lifestyle, and possesses the newly discovered archaeal-autotrophic type of bifunctional fructose 1,6-bisphosphate aldolase/phosphatase. A phylogenetic analysis of the core gene cluster of the acethyl-CoA pathway, shared by acetogens, methanogens, some sulfur- and iron-reducers and dechlorinators, supports the hypothesis that the core gene cluster of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ is a particularly ancient bacterial pathway. The habitat, physiology and phylogenetic position of <em>Ca.</em> ‘A. autotrophicum’ support the view that the first bacterial and archaeal lineages were H₂-dependent acetogens and methanogenes living in hydrothermal environments.</p> </div

Assessing the association between all-cause mortality and multiple aspects of individual social capital among the older Japanese

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Few prospective cohort studies have assessed the association between social capital and mortality. The studies were conducted only in Western countries and did not use the same social capital indicators. The present prospective cohort study aimed to examine the relationships between various forms of individual social capital and all-cause mortality in Japan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to subjects in the Aichi Gerontological Evaluation Study (AGES) Project in 2003. Mortality data from 2003 to 2008 were analyzed for 14,668 respondents. Both cognitive and structural components of individual social capital were collected: 8 for cognitive social capital (trust, 3; social support, 3; reciprocity, 2) and 9 for structural social capital (social network). Cox proportional hazard models stratified by sex with multiple imputation were used. Age, body mass index, self-rated health, current illness, smoking history, alcohol consumption, exercise, equivalent income and education were used as covariates.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During 27,571 person-years of follow-up for men and 29,561 person-years of follow-up for women, 790 deaths in men and 424 in women were observed. In the univariate analyses for men, lower social capital was significantly related to higher mortality in one general trust variable, all generalised reciprocity variables and four social network variables. For women, lower social capital was significantly related to higher mortality in all generalised reciprocity and four social network variables. After adjusting for covariates, lower friendship network was significantly associated with higher all-cause mortality among men (meet friends rarely; HR = 1.30, 95%CI = 1.10-1.53) and women (having no friends; HR = 1.81, 95%CI = 1.02-3.23). Among women, lower general trust was significantly related to lower mortality (most people cannot be trusted; HR = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.45-0.96).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Friendship network was a good predictor for all-cause mortality among older Japanese. In contrast, mistrust was associated with lower mortality among women. Studies with social capital indices considering different culture backgrounds are needed.</p

TIRAP, an Adaptor Protein for TLR2/4, Transduces a Signal from RAGE Phosphorylated upon Ligand Binding

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of a broad range of inflammatory, degenerative and hyperproliferative diseases. It binds to diverse ligands and activates multiple intracellular signaling pathways. Despite these pivotal functions, molecular events just downstream of ligand-activated RAGE have been surprisingly unknown. Here we show that the cytoplasmic domain of RAGE is phosphorylated at Ser391 by PKCζ upon binding of ligands. TIRAP and MyD88, which are known to be adaptor proteins for Toll-like receptor-2 and -4 (TLR2/4), bound to the phosphorylated RAGE and transduced a signal to downstream molecules. Blocking of the function of TIRAP and MyD88 largely abrogated intracellular signaling from ligand-activated RAGE. Our findings indicate that functional interaction between RAGE and TLRs coordinately regulates inflammation, immune response and other cellular functions

Intercomparison of ionospheric observations obtained by 10C-type ionosonde and by FMCW-type ionosondes at Syowa station, Antarctica - initial results -

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回極域宙空圏シンポジウム 11月15日（火） 国立極地研究所 2階大会議室前フロ

Mg-chelatase H subunit affects ABA signaling in stomatal guard cells, but is not an ABA receptor in Arabidopsis thaliana

Mg-chelatase H subunit (CHLH) is a multifunctional protein involved in chlorophyll synthesis, plastid-to-nucleus retrograde signaling, and ABA perception. However, whether CHLH acts as an actual ABA receptor remains controversial. Here we present evidence that CHLH affects ABA signaling in stomatal guard cells but is not itself an ABA receptor. We screened ethyl methanesulfonate-treated Arabidopsis thaliana plants with a focus on stomatal aperture-dependent water loss in detached leaves and isolated a rapid transpiration in detached leaves 1 (rtl1) mutant that we identified as a novel missense mutant of CHLH. The rtl1 and CHLH RNAi plants showed phenotypes in which stomatal movements were insensitive to ABA, while the rtl1 phenotype showed normal sensitivity to ABA with respect to seed germination and root growth. ABA-binding analyses using 3H-labeled ABA revealed that recombinant CHLH did not bind ABA, but recombinant pyrabactin resistance 1, a reliable ABA receptor used as a control, showed specific binding. Moreover, we found that the rtl1 mutant showed ABA-induced stomatal closure when a high concentration of extracellular Ca2+ was present and that a knockout mutant of Mg-chelatase I subunit (chli1) showed the same ABA-insensitive phenotype as rtl1. These results suggest that the Mg-chelatase complex as a whole affects the ABA-signaling pathway for stomatal movements

Gene Organization in Rice Revealed by Full-Length cDNA Mapping and Gene Expression Analysis through Microarray

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a model organism for the functional genomics of monocotyledonous plants since the genome size is considerably smaller than those of other monocotyledonous plants. Although highly accurate genome sequences of indica and japonica rice are available, additional resources such as full-length complementary DNA (FL-cDNA) sequences are also indispensable for comprehensive analyses of gene structure and function. We cross-referenced 28.5K individual loci in the rice genome defined by mapping of 578K FL-cDNA clones with the 56K loci predicted in the TIGR genome assembly. Based on the annotation status and the presence of corresponding cDNA clones, genes were classified into 23K annotated expressed (AE) genes, 33K annotated non-expressed (ANE) genes, and 5.5K non-annotated expressed (NAE) genes. We developed a 60mer oligo-array for analysis of gene expression from each locus. Analysis of gene structures and expression levels revealed that the general features of gene structure and expression of NAE and ANE genes were considerably different from those of AE genes. The results also suggested that the cloning efficiency of rice FL-cDNA is associated with the transcription activity of the corresponding genetic locus, although other factors may also have an effect. Comparison of the coverage of FL-cDNA among gene families suggested that FL-cDNA from genes encoding rice- or eukaryote-specific domains, and those involved in regulatory functions were difficult to produce in bacterial cells. Collectively, these results indicate that rice genes can be divided into distinct groups based on transcription activity and gene structure, and that the coverage bias of FL-cDNA clones exists due to the incompatibility of certain eukaryotic genes in bacteria