Introduction of Biomass Accounting as an Evaluation Tool of Biomass Utilization Systems: a Case Study on Domestic Animal Waste Treatment-Oriented Biomass Activities

Symposium Pape

Introduction of Biomass Accounting as an Evaluation Tool of Biomass Utilization Systems: a Case Study of Domestic Animal Waste Treatment-Oriented Biomass Town (Advanced Studies on Sustainable Animal Production: Interrelationships among Human, Animal and Environment, 8th International Symposium of Integrated Field Science)

Oral Sessio

Intracellular Group A Streptococcus Induces Golgi Fragmentation To Impair Host Defenses through Streptolysin O and NAD-Glycohydrolase

人食いバクテリアの新たな免疫回避機構を発見. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-02-15.Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) is a major human pathogen that causes streptococcal pharyngitis, skin and soft tissue infections, and life-threatening conditions such as streptococcal toxic-shock syndrome. During infection, GAS not only invades diverse host cells but also injects effector proteins such as NAD-glycohydrolase (Nga) into the host cells through a streptolysin O (SLO)-dependent mechanism without invading the cells; Nga and SLO are two major virulence factors that are associated with increased bacterial virulence. Here, we have shown that the invading GAS induces fragmentation of the Golgi complex and inhibits anterograde transport in the infected host cells through the secreted toxins SLO and Nga. GAS infection-induced Golgi fragmentation required both bacterial invasion and SLO-mediated Nga translocation into the host cytosol. The cellular Golgi network is critical for the sorting of surface molecules and is thus essential for the integrity of the epithelial barrier and for the immune response of macrophages to pathogens. In epithelial cells, inhibition of anterograde trafficking by invading GAS and Nga resulted in the redistribution of E-cadherin to the cytosol and an increase in bacterial translocation across the epithelial barrier. Moreover, in macrophages, interleukin-8 secretion in response to GAS infection was found to be suppressed by intracellular GAS and Nga. Our findings reveal a previously undescribed bacterial invasion-dependent function of Nga as well as a previously unrecognized GAS-host interaction that is associated with GAS pathogenesis

High Contrast and High Angular Imaging at Subaru Telescope

Adaptive Optics projects at Subaru Telescope span a wide field of capabilities ranging from ground-layer adaptive optics (GLAO) providing partial correction over a 20 arcmin FOV to extreme adaptive optics (ExAO) for exoplanet imaging. We describe in this paper current and upcoming narrow field-of-view capabilities provided by the Subaru Extreme Adaptive Optics Adaptive Optics (SCExAO) system and its instrument modules, as well as the upcoming 3000-actuator upgrade of the Nasmyth AO system.Comment: 11 pages, to appear in SPIE Proceedings of Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 202

Three-Dimensional Circular Surface Curvature of a Spherule-Based Electrode for Selective Signaling and Dynamic Mobility of Norepinephrine in Living Cells

A highly sensitive protocol for signaling norepinephrine (NEP) in human fluids and neuronal cell line models should be established for clinical investigation of some neuronal diseases. A metal-free electrode catalyst was designed based on a sulfur-doped carbon spheroidal surface (S-CSN) and employed as a transducing element for selective signaling of NEP in biological samples. The designed electrode of S-CSN features a spherical construct and curvature surface to form a spheroidal nanolayer with an average layer size of <2 nm. S-CSN shows surface topography of a circular surface curvature with a rugged surface texture, ridge ends, and free open spaces between interlayers. The rich-space diversity surfaces offer highly active surface with facile molecular/electron diffusion, multi-diffusive centers, and high target loading along with in-/out-of-plane circular spheres of the S-CSN surface. The active doping of S atoms onto the carbon-based electrode creates an active transducing element with many active sites, strong binding to targeted molecules, facile diffusion of charges/molecules, long-term durability, and dense reactive exposure sites for signaling NEP at ultratrace levels. S-CSN could be a sensitive and selective nanosensor for signaling NEP and establishing a sensing protocol with high stability and reproducibility. The sensory protocol based on S-CSN exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity with a low detection limit of 0.001 μM and a wide linear range of 0.01–0.8 μM. The in vitro sensory protocol for NEP secreted from living cells (neuronal cell line model) under stimulated agents possesses high sensitivity, low cytotoxicity, and high biocompatibility. These results confirm the successful establishment of NEP sensor in human blood samples and neuronal cells for clinical investigation

Direct Observation of the Extended Molecular Atmosphere of o Cet by Differential Spectral Imaging with an Adaptive Optics System

We present new measurements of the diameter of o Cet (Mira) as a function of wavelength in the 2.2 micron atmospheric window using the adaptive optics system and the infrared camera and spectrograph mounted on the Subaru Telescope. We found that the angular size of the star at the wavelengths of CO and H2O absorption lines were up to twice as large as the continuum photosphere. This size difference is attributable to the optically thick CO and H2O molecular layers surrounding the photosphere. This measurement is the first direct differential spectroscopic imaging of stellar extension that resolves individual molecular lines with high spectral-resolution observations. This observation technique is extremely sensitive to differences in spatial profiles at different wavelengths; we show that a difference in diameter much smaller than the point spread function can be measured.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PAS