Practical Study for Conservation of Giant Salamander Andrias japonicus in Toyosaka, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan <Article>

オオサンショウウオAndrias japonicus は,日本の固有種であり国の特別天然記念物である。環境省のレッドリストでは絶滅危惧Ⅱ類(VU)に指定され,全国的に生息状況の悪化が危惧されている。東広島市豊栄町椋梨川においても,河川の人工化等によりその数が減少し,保護活動の担い手の高齢化に伴い,本種の生息状況に関する情報が極めて乏しい状況であった。そこで,本河川での本種の分布・生態を明らかにする野外調査を実施した。その結果,2011 年からの約2年間の調査で成体21個体と幼生10個体を確認し,本河川が本種の生息地であるだけでなく貴重な繁殖地であることを確認した。しかし,幼生を除けば全長60 - 86cm の大型個体しか確認されず,弱齢個体の個体群への新規加入が正常に起こっていない危険性も示唆された。本稿では,本河川における本種の現状が危機的であることを具体的に報告し,本種の保全にむけた持続的な活動の構築を目指した普及活動の成果と課題についても報告する。The giant salamander Andrias japonicas, which is endemic to Japan, is ranked as vulnerable. It is designated as a national special natural monument. Information on the giant salamander in Higashi-Hiroshima city is extremely scarce. To determine the current habitat of A. japonicas, we surveyed the Mukunashi River including areas where the giant salamander had lived in the past. Our surveys did find 21 adults and 10 larvae of A. japonicas within a two year period (from 2011 to 2013). However, we did not discover any young individuals of total length of 50 mm - 600 mm. This suggests that larval recruitment is not successful. This paper specifically reports that a critical situation exists for the giant salamander in the Mukunashi River in Higashi-Hiroshima City. And the publicity work aiming at conservation and its result are also reported

Isospin character of low-lying states in 56Fe.

Low-lying states in {sup 56}Fe, up to an excitation energy of about 4 MeV, have been investigated by means of inelastic proton and deuteron scattering experiments at {ital E}{sub {ital p}}=65 and 400 MeV and at {ital E}{sub {ital d}}=56 MeV, respectively. Measured cross sections and analyzing powers have been compared with coupled-channels calculations using collective form factors; calculations in both the Schr{umlt o}dinger and Dirac formalisms have been carried out for the proton data. For each probe, the matrix elements have been deduced for transitions from the ground state and from the 2{sub 1}{sup +} state to six quadrupole (2{sup +}) states to one octupole (3{sub 1}{sup {minus}}) and two hexadecapole (4{sub 1}{sup +} and 4{sub 2}{sup +}) states. The obtained matrix elements and the previous values from {gamma} decay or electron inelastic scattering have been used to evaluate the isospin character of the transitions. To discuss the quadrupole mixed-symmetry states in {sup 56}Fe, the deduced neutron ({ital M}{sub {ital n}}) and proton ({ital M}{sub {ital p}}) components of the matrix elements, or equivalently the isoscalar ({ital M}{sub {ital s}}) and isovector ({ital M}{sub {ital v}}) parts, have been compared with theoretical calculations based on the neutron-proton interacting bosonmore » model and on the shell model evaluated in a full {ital f}-{ital p} configuration space. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}« les

Glomerular angiotensinogen protein is enhanced in pediatric IgA nephropathy

Enhanced intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is implicated in the development and progression of renal injury. To investigate whether angiotensinogen (AGT) expression is involved in glomerular RAS activity and glomerular injury, we examined glomerular AGT expression and its correlation with expression of other RAS components, and levels of glomerular injury in samples from patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) (23) and minor glomerular abnormalities (MGA) (8). Immunohistochemistry showed that AGT protein was highly expressed by glomerular endothelial cells (GEC) and mesangial cells in nephritic glomeruli of IgAN compared with glomeruli of MGA. Levels of glomerular AGT protein were well correlated with levels of glomerular angiotensin II (ang II), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), α-smooth-muscle actin, glomerular cell number, and glomerulosclerosis score but not with those of glomerular angiotensin-converting enzyme and ang II type 1 receptor. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analyses using cultured human GEC indicated that ang II upregulated AGT messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner. These data suggest that activated glomerular AGT expression is likely involved in elevated local ang II production and, thereby, may contribute to increased TGF-β production and development of glomerular injury in IgAN. Augmentation of GEC-AGT production with ang II stimulation might drive further glomerular injury in a positive-feedback loop

Serum Mac-2 Binding Protein Levels Associate with Metabolic Parameters and Predict Liver Fibrosis Progression in Subjects with Fatty Liver Disease: A 7-Year Longitudinal Study

Background: Mac-2 binding protein (M2BP) is a highly glycosylated secreted glycoprotein that is involved in immune defense and regulation. Our cross-sectional studies indicated that serum M2BP was a useful liver fibrosis biomarker for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In this study, we conducted a 7-year longitudinal study to investigate the significance of serum M2BP levels (baseline and at 7-year follow-up) and their relationships with other metabolic parameters of fatty liver disease. Methods: We enrolled 715 study subjects (521 male and 194 female) during health examinations. Study subjects received blood sampling tests and abdominal ultrasound tests at baseline and follow-up. Results: Univariate analyses demonstrated that serum M2BP levels were significantly correlated with various parameters related to metabolic risk (body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol) and metabolic syndrome diseases (obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, fatty liver (FL)). Multiple logistic regression analyses demonstrated that BMI and FL were independent determinants for serum M2BP levels. Baseline serum M2BP levels were significant independent determinants for changes in platelet count, Fibrosis-4 (FIB4) index, and NAFLD fibrosis score. Higher serum M2BP levels (&gt;1.80 &mu;g/mL) strongly correlated with changes in the FIB4-index. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that changes in serum M2BP levels reflect changes in specific metabolic disease-related parameters, and baseline serum M2BP levels could predict changes in liver fibrosis

Development of High Resolution Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Neutron Dosimetry Technique with93Nb(n,n')93mNb Reaction

We have proposed an advanced technique to measure the 93mNb yield precisely by Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry, instead of conventional characteristic X-ray spectroscopy. 93mNb-selective resonance ionization is achievable by distinguishing the hyperfine splitting of the atomic energy levels between 93Nb and 93mNb at high resolution. In advance of 93mNb detection, we could successfully demonstrate high resolution resonant ionization spectroscopy of stable 93Nb using an all solid-state, narrowband and tunable Ti:Sapphire laser system operated at 1 kHz repetition rate.peerReviewe

Development of High Resolution Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Neutron Dosimetry Technique with93Nb(n,n')93mNb Reaction

We have proposed an advanced technique to measure the 93mNb yield precisely by Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometry, instead of conventional characteristic X-ray spectroscopy. 93mNb-selective resonance ionization is achievable by distinguishing the hyperfine splitting of the atomic energy levels between 93Nb and 93mNb at high resolution. In advance of 93mNb detection, we could successfully demonstrate high resolution resonant ionization spectroscopy of stable 93Nb using an all solid-state, narrow-band and tunable Ti:Sapphire laser system operated at 1 kHz repetition rate