Chaperonin Contributes to Cold Hardiness of the Onion Maggot Delia antiqua through Repression of Depolymerization of Actin at Low Temperatures

Winter-diapause and cold-acclimated non-diapause pupae of the onion maggot, Delia antiqua (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), show strong cold hardiness. To obtain insights into the mechanisms involved in the enhancement of cold hardiness, we investigated the expression patterns of genes encoding subunits of chaperonin (CCT) and the morphology of actin, a substrate of CCT, at low temperatures. Quantitative real-time PCR analyses showed the mRNA levels of CCT subunits in pupal tissues to be highly correlated with the cold hardiness of the pupae. While actin in the Malpighian tubules of non-cold-hardy pupae showed extensive depolymerization after a cold treatment, actin in the same tissue of cold-hardy pupae was not depolymerized. Damage to cell membranes became apparent after the depolymerization of actin. Moreover, administration of Latrunculin B, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, to the larvae markedly decreased the cold hardiness of the pupae obtained. These findings suggest that CCT contributes to the cold hardiness of D. antiqua through the repression of depolymerization of actin at low temperatures

公共空間における視覚障害者の自立移動支援

早大学位記番号:新9136早稲田大

Importance of juvenile hormone signaling arises with competence of insect larvae to metamorphose

AbstractJuvenile hormone (JH) postpones metamorphosis of insect larvae until they have attained an appropriate stage and size. Then, during the final larval instar, a drop in JH secretion permits a metamorphic molt that transforms larvae to adults either directly (hemimetaboly) or via a pupal stage (holometaboly). In both scenarios, JH precludes metamorphosis by activating the Kr-h1 gene through a JH receptor, Methoprene-tolerant (Met). Removal of Met, Kr-h1, or JH itself triggers deleterious precocious metamorphosis. Although JH is thought to maintain the juvenile status throughout larval life, various methods of depleting JH failed to induce metamorphosis in early-instar larvae. To determine when does JH signaling become important for the prevention of precocious metamorphosis, we chose the hemimetabolous bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus, and the holometabolous silkworm, Bombyx mori. Both species undergo a fixed number of five larval instars. Pyrrhocoris larvae subjected to RNAi-mediated knockdown of Met or Kr-h1 underwent precocious adult development when treated during the fourth (penultimate) instar, but younger larvae proved increasingly resistant to loss of either gene. The earliest instar developing minor signs of precocious metamorphosis was the third. Therefore, the JH-response genes may not be required to maintain the larval program during the first two larval instars. Next, we examined Bombyx mod mutants that cannot synthesize authentic, epoxidized forms of JH. Although mod larvae expressed Kr-h1 mRNA at severely reduced levels since hatching, they only entered metamorphosis by pupating after four, rarely three instars. Based on findings in Pyrrhocoris and Bombyx, we propose that insect postembryonic development is initially independent of JH. Only later, when larvae gain competence to enter metamorphosis, JH signaling becomes necessary to prevent precocious metamorphosis and to optimize growth

Effect of Multiphase Radiation on Coal Combustion in a Pulverized Coal jet Flame

The accurate modeling of coal combustion requires detailed radiative heat transfer models for both gaseous combustion products and solid coal particles. A multiphase Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT) radiation solver is developed in this work to simulate a laboratory-scale pulverized coal flame. The MCRT solver considers radiative interactions between coal particles and three major combustion products (CO2, H2O, and CO). A line-by-line spectral database for the gas phase and a size-dependent nongray correlation for the solid phase are employed to account for the nongray effects. The flame structure is significantly altered by considering nongray radiation and the lift-off height of the flame increases by approximately 35%, compared to the simulation without radiation. Radiation is also found to affect the evolution of coal particles considerably as it takes over as the dominant mode of heat transfer for medium-to-large coal particles downstream of the flame. To investigate the respective effects of spectral models for the gas and solid phases, a Planck-mean-based gray gas model and a size-independent gray particle model are applied in a frozen-field analysis of a steady-state snapshot of the flame. The gray gas approximation considerably underestimates the radiative source terms for both the gas phase and the solid phase. The gray coal approximation also leads to under-prediction of the particle emission and absorption. However, the level of under-prediction is not as significant as that resulting from the employment of the gray gas model. Finally, the effect of the spectral property of ash on radiation is also investigated and found to be insignificant for the present target flame

Wireless Sensor Node for Surface Seawater Density Measurements

An electronic meter to measure surface seawater density is presented. It is based on the measurement of the difference in displacements of a surface level probe and a weighted float, which according to Archimedes’ law depends on the density of the water. The displacements are simultaneously measured using a high-accuracy magnetostrictive sensor, to which a custom electronic board provides a wireless connection and power supply so that it can become part of a wireless sensor network. The electronics are designed so that different kinds of wireless networks can be used, by simply changing the wireless module and the relevant firmware of the microcontroller. Lastly, laboratory and at-sea tests are presented and discussed in order to highlight the functionality and the performance of a prototype of the wireless density meter node in a Bluetooth radio network. The experimental results show a good agreement of the values of the calculated density compared to reference hydrometer readings

PAX2 promoted prostate cancer cell invasion through transcriptional regulation of HGF in an in vitro model

AbstractElucidating the mechanism of prostate cancer cell invasion may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic strategies for its treatment. Paired box 2 (PAX2) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) proteins are promoters of prostate cancer cell invasion. We found that PAX2 protein activated the HGF gene promoter through histone H3 acetylation and upregulated HGF gene expression. Deletion analysis revealed that the region from −637 to −314 of the HGF gene was indispensable for HGF promoter activation by PAX2. This region contains consensus PAX2 binding sequences and mutations of the sequences attenuated HGF promoter activation. Using an in vitro invasion model, we found that PAX2 and HGF promoted prostate cancer cell invasion in the same pathway. Knockdown of HGF expression attenuated the cells' invasive capacity. Moreover, in tissue samples of human prostate cancers, HGF and PAX2 expression levels were positively correlated. These results suggested that upregulation of HGF gene expression by PAX2 enhanced the invasive properties of prostate cancer cells. The PAX2/HGF pathway in prostate cancer cells may be a novel therapeutic target in prostate cancer patients

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おせち料理に対する意識および実態は,家庭によって差があるが,母親による影響が大きいことがわかった。要約すると次のようになる。 1)おせち料理を用意する家庭は全体の97.6%あった。そのうち全て手作りで整えている家庭は5.7%,市販品だけで済ませている家庭は2.1%であった。 2)各家庭毎の料理の品数は8～11品の家庭が多い。 3)多くの家庭で取り入れられている料理は,黒豆・田作り・数の子・かまぼこ・卵焼き・野菜のうま煮・昆布巻き・きんとんなど,伝統的なものであった。 4)祝い肴を80%以上の家庭に取り入れられており,祝い肴を三種そろえて用意している家庭は65.2%あった。 5)おせち料理のうち手作り料理は55.3%,市販品が44.7%で,各家庭の平均品数は手作り料理5.5品,市販品4.6品であり,手作り料理の方がわずかに多かった。 6)重箱を用いている家庭は62.8%あったが,年度別にみると次第に減少の傾向にある。詰め方は形式にこだわらず,各家庭まちまちであった。 7)正月に対する意識は,「家族全員で祝いたい」,「おせち料理は欠かせないと思う」,「正月用の特別の食器を使いたい」の順に高かった。 8)おせち料理の整え方について,手作りしたいと思っているものは,母親・学生とも約60%あった。両者の間に有意差は認められなかったが,「手作りしたい」という意識は母親の方が高く,「特別にしなくてよい」という意識は学生の方がわずかに高い傾向にあった。 9)母親の手作り意識別に,実際の手作り度をみると手作りの志向の高い家庭は,手作り度が高く,手作り料理の品数も多かった。 10)伝承は実家の母親から受けたものが多く,婚家より実家のおせち料理の方が,圧倒的に多く伝承されていくようである。 11)伝承を受けたものは,「おせち料理は欠かせない」という意識が高く,伝承がなければおせち料理に対する意識も次第に薄れていくものと思われる。 12)「献立を考える」・「買い物をする」・「料理をする」「盛り付け・重詰めをする」について,学生の手伝いの程度を調べた結果,「買い物」は「よく手伝った」といえるものが他の項目よりは多いが,全体的に手伝いの程度は低いといえる。 13)よく手伝いをしているものほど,「おせち料理は欠かせない」という意識が高い。 行事食はその国の文化の一つである。食生活が多様化し,わが国の伝統の料理が日常の食卓から遠のいて行きがちな現在,おせち料理を作り,新春を祝うことを通して,日本の文化を伝承していくことが大切である。時代に即したおせち料理に変化させながらも,伝統の味を受け継いでいきたい

Association between Insomnia Symptoms and Hemoglobin A1c Level in Japanese Men

Background: The evidence for an association between insomnia symptoms and blood hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level has been limited and inconclusive. The aim of this study was to assess whether each symptom of initial, middle, and terminal insomnia influences HbA 1c level in Japanese men. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 1,022 male workers aged 22–69 years with no history of diabetes at a Japanese company’s annual health check-up in April 2010. High HbA1c was defined as a blood level of HbA1c $6.0%. Three types of insomnia symptoms (i.e., difficulty in initiating sleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, and early morning awakening) from the previous month were assessed by 3 responses (i.e., lasting more than 2 weeks, sometimes, and seldom or never [reference group]). Results: The overall prevalence of high HbA1c was 5.2%. High HbA1c was positively and linearly associated with both difficulty in maintaining sleep (P for trend =.002) and early morning awakening (P for trend =.007). More specifically, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, high HbA1c was significantly associated with difficulty in maintaining sleep lasting more than 2 weeks (adjusted odds ratio, 6.79 [95 % confidence interval, 1.86–24.85]) or sometimes (2.33 [1.19–4.55]). High HbA1c was also significantly associated with early morning awakening lasting more than 2 weeks (3.96 [1.24–12.59]). Conclusion: Insomnia symptoms, particularly difficulty in maintaining sleep and early morning awakening, were found t

森林内歩行時の運動強度とエネルギー消費量 : 心拍数-酸素摂取量関係式からの推定法を用いて

本研究はあらかじめ測定されたトレッドミル歩行時のHR-VO_2関係式を用いて, 森林内歩行時のHRからVO_2を推定し, 体力科学的見地からみた森林内歩行時の運動強度やエネルギー消費量を明らかにすることを目的とした。被検者は健康な成人男子3名であり, 測定は愛知県藤岡町にある昭和の森内の遊歩道で行なった。歩行スピードは被検者の任意とし, 歩行中のHRを測定してVO_2を推定したところ以下の結果を得た。1 全被検者においてHRとVO_2の間には有意な直線関係が得られたことから, HRによるVO_2の推定法の有効性が確認された。2 平均HRの平均はファミリーコースで109b・min^, 全体コースでは111b・min^であり, それぞれVO_2maxの約39%, 約41%に相当した。3 森林内歩行時の平均RMRの平均はファミリーコースで3.9, 全体コースで4.1であったことから, 佐々木らの報告と労作量指数の2点から考慮すると適度なエアロビクス (有酸素運動) であることが確認された。4 Gross カロリーと Net カロリーの総カロリーの平均は, ファミリーコースで245.03kcal, 194.32kcalであり, 全体コースでは505.73kcal, 401.37kcalであった。体重当りのGross カロリーと Net カロリーの平均においては, ファミリーコースの3.41kcal・kg^, 2.71kcal・kg^よりも全体コースの7.05kcal・kg^, 5.60kcal・kg^の方が高い値を示したが, 体重当り1分間当りの Gross カロリーと Net カロリーの平均は, ファミリーコース0.11kcal・kg^・min^, 0.09kcal・kg^・min^, 全体コース0.11kcal・kg^・min^, 0.09kcal・kg^・min^であったことから, 体重当り1分間当りのエネルギー消費量はファミリーコース, 全体コースの両コースとも同じであると結論された。Three healthy young men (averaged 22yrs. old) volunteered to participate as the subjects in order to clarify exercise intensity and energy expenditure during forest walking. The distances were 2.1 km on the short course and 4.3 km on the long course. Means for walking speed were 67 m・min^ on the short course and 68 m・min^ on the long course. The regression equation between heart rate and oxygen uptake (r = 0.992-0.994, p, 0.11kcal・kg^・min^ on the short couse and 7.05kcal・kg^, 0.11kcal・kg^・min^ on the long course. Means for net calories were 194.32kcal, 2.71kcal・kg^, 0.09Kcal・kg^・min^ on the short course and 401.37kcal, 5.60kcal・kg^, 0.09kcal・kg^・min^ on the long course. The relative values per minute of gross and net calories on the short course and the long course were similar each other. Mean of heart rate on the short course was 109b・min^ and its estimated intensity was about 39% of VO_2max. Mean on the long course was 111b・min^ and estimated % VO_2max was about 41%. And mean relative metabolic rate was 3.9 on the short course and 4.1 on the long course. From these findings, forest walking was ascertained to be a moderate aerobic exercise