A Face-like Structure Detection on Planet and Satellite Surfaces using Image Processing

This paper demonstrates that face-like structures are everywhere, and can be de-tected automatically even with computers. Huge amount of satellite images of the Earth, the Moon, the Mars are explored and many interesting face-like structure are detected. Throughout this fact, we believe that science and technologies can alert people not to easily become an occultist.Comment: 4 page

Acquisition of Periodic Events with Person Attributes

In this paper, we aim to acquire “periodic events” that represent significant actions that are happened by groups of people in particular seasons or timing. Recently, the importance of knowledge acquisition is increasing. Many studies about human action knowledge and temporal commonsense knowledge have been carrying out. We need a dataset to acquire periodic events. However, manually building the dataset with human attribute labels is costly. Therefore, we construct a human attribute classifier of Twitter users and create a large labeled tweets dataset automatically. Periodic events with specific human attributes are collected with our proposed method. Finally, we obtained commonsense event knowledge; e.g., “Students often go to college at 1 P.M.” and “Workers often work overtime on weekdays”.International Conference on Asian Language Processing (IALP 2020), 4-6 December, 2020, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia（新型コロナ感染拡大に伴い、オンライン開催に変更

[3H]9-Methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D, a caffeine-like powerful Ca2+ releaser, binds to caffeine-binding sites distinct from the ryanodine receptors in brain microsomes

Abstract[3H]9-Methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D ([3H]MBED), the most powerful Ca2+ releaser from sarcoplasmic reticulum, specifically bound to the brain microsomes. Caffeine competitively inhibited [3H]MBED binding. [3H]MBED binding was markedly blocked by procaine, whereas that was enhanced by adenosine-5′-(β,γ-methylene)triphosphate. The Bmax value was 170 times more than that of [3H]ryanodine binding. The profile of sucrose-density gradient centrifugation of solubilized microsomes indicated that [3H]MBED binding protein was different from [3H]ryanodine binding protein. These results suggest that there are MBED/caffeine-binding sites in brain that are distinct from the ryanodine receptor and that MBED becomes an essential molecular probe for characterizing caffeine-binding protein in the central nervous system

A new remarkable cimicoid genus and species (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Cimicomorpha) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, with implications for its aberrant male genitalia

A new genus and species of cimicoid true bug, Ecpaglocoris ditomeus Yamada & Yamamoto, gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from mid-Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Albian) amber in the Kachin State of northern Myanmar (Burma). This new fossil genus and species is reminiscent of members of Anthocoridae by the strongly flattened and elongated body, four-segmented labium, distinct costal fracture and presence of fossula spongiosa on fore tibiae, but should not be ascribed to this family. The new taxon cannot be placed in any extant cimicoid families, based upon hemelytral, male genital and other morphological structures. Based on the hemelytral membrane venation and presence of dorsal laterotergites on abdominal segments I to VIII, it can be assumed that this new genus belongs to the extinct family Vetanthocoridae. Ecpaglocoris ditomeus gen. et sp. nov. has aberrant male genitalia characterised by sickle-shaped left and right parameres and grooves running throughout the paramere. This characteristic indicates that traumatic insemination occurred in this genus. The peculiar combination of male genital characteristics seen in Ecpaglocoris gen. nov. prevents its placement in any of the extant cimicoid families

Essential Role of NMDA Receptor Channel ε4 Subunit (GluN2D) in the Effects of Phencyclidine, but Not Methamphetamine

Phencyclidine (PCP), a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, increases locomotor activity in rodents and causes schizophrenia-like symptoms in humans. Although activation of the dopamine (DA) pathway is hypothesized to mediate these effects of PCP, the precise mechanisms by which PCP induces its effects remain to be elucidated. The present study investigated the effect of PCP on extracellular levels of DA (DAex) in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC) using in vivo microdialysis in mice lacking the NMDA receptor channel ε1 or ε4 subunit (GluRε1 [GluN2A] or GluRε4 [GluN2D]) and locomotor activity. PCP significantly increased DAex in wildtype and GluRε1 knockout mice, but not in GluRε4 knockout mice, in the striatum and PFC. Acute and repeated administration of PCP did not increase locomotor activity in GluRε4 knockout mice. The present results suggest that PCP enhances dopaminergic transmission and increases locomotor activity by acting at GluRε4

Quantitative Detection of µ Opioid Receptor: Western Blot Analyses Using µ Opioid Receptor Knockout Mice

Increasing evidence suggests that µ opioid receptor (MOP) expression is altered during the development of and withdrawal from substance dependence. Although anti-MOP antibodies have been hypothesized to be useful for estimating MOP expression levels, inconsistent MOP molecular weights (MWs) have been reported in studies using anti-MOP antibodies. In the present study, we generated a new anti-MOP antibody (N38) against the 1-38 amino acid sequence of the mouse MOP N-terminus and conducted Western blot analysis with wildtype and MOP knockout brain lysates to determine the MWs of intrinsic MOP. The N38 antibody detected migrating bands with relative MWs of 60-67 kDa in the plasma membrane fraction isolated from wildtype brain, but not from the MOP knockout brain. These migrating bands exhibited semi-linear density in the range of 3-30 µg membrane proteins/lane. The N38 antibody may be useful for quantitatively detecting MOP

Albumin-conjugated PEG liposome enhances tumor distribution of liposomal doxorubicin in rats

To evaluate the effect of coupling of recombinant human serum albumin (rHSA) onto the surface of poly(ethylene glycol)-modified liposorne (PEG liposome) on the in vivo disposition characteristics of liposomal doxorubicin (DXR), the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of DXR were evaluated after intravenous administration of rHSA-modified PEG (rHSA/PEG) liposomal DXR into tumor-bearing rats. rHSA/PEG liposome prepared using a hetero-bifunctional cross-linker, N- succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio) propionate (SPDP), efficiently encapsulated DXR (over 95%). rHSA/PEG liposomal DXR showed longer blood-circulating property than PEG liposornal DXR and the hepatic and splenic clearances of rHSA/PEG liposornal DXR were significantly smaller than those of PEG liposomal DXR. It was also demonstrated that the disposition of DXR to the heart, one of the organs for DXR-related side-effects, was significantly smaller than free DXR. Furthermore, the tumor accumulation of rHSA/PEG liposomal DXR was significantly larger than that of PEG liposomal DXR. The &#34;therapeutic index&#34;, a criterion for therapeutic outcome, for rHSA/PEG fiposornal DXR was significantly higher than PEG liposomal DXR. These results clearly indicate that rHSA-conjugation onto the surface of PEG liposome would be a useful approach to increase the effectiveness and safety of PEG liposomal DXR.</p

Non-radioactive hybridization probes prepared using M13 phage vector and the universal sequencing primer.

Non-radioactive hybridization probes were prepared using the M13 phage vector and the universal sequencing primer. The probe sequence to be used was first cloned into the M13 vector, and the minus strand of the template DNA was then synthesized with the Klenow fragment of E. coli DNA polymerase I in the presence of the biotinylated nucleotide, biotin-11-dUTP, as a label. Resultant DNA was heavily biotinylated, and made up of the entire minus strand of the template DNA. The long tag sequence derived from the M13 vector may increase the sensitivity of the detection. The biotinylated hybrids were visualized with the streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate and chromogenic substrates. As shown by Southern hybridization, the probe prepared in this way could be used to detect less than 1 pg of target sequence and a single copy gene sequence in human genomic DNA within several hours of signal development.</p

Short communication: epidemiological evidence that simian T-lymphotropic virus type 1 in Macaca fuscata has an alternative transmission route to maternal infection.

Serological inspection of Simian T-lymphotropic Virus Type 1 was conducted for a wild colony of Macaca fuscata, which was captured in the middle Honshu, Japan. The increase of positive rate after the juvenile stage with the positive rate reaching 100% (or 35/35) in youngster and adult stages, was observed. This finding suggests that, in contrast with human T-lymphotropic Virus Type 1, horizontal transmission play an important role in increasing prevalence of STLV-1 with age among M. fuscata