Internal structures of a subaerial dacite cryptodome at Usu volcano, Hokkaido, Japan

A partly eroded, subaerial, dacite cryptodome at Showa-Shinzan, Usu volcano, Hokkaido, Japan, displays its internal structures, and provides an excellent opportunity to study contact relationship between cryptodome and overlying sediment. The margin of the cryptodome comprises two facies: inner coherent dacite and outer dacite breccia. The coherent dacite facies is ~5 m in the exposed section, and consists of homogeneous or weakly flow-banded, feldspar-phyric dacite. The dacite breccia facies envelope the coherent dacite facies, and is 4-5 m thick. The breccia is monomictic, non-stratified and consists of angular dacite clasts up to 15 cm across in a cogenetic matrix. The overlying sediment directly covers the dacite breccia facies, and comprises reddish-brown, fluvial deposit. The dacite breccia formed by　fracturing of coherent dacite in response to cooling contraction, and shearing of the fractured dacite due to movement of the growing cryptodome.特集 : 「2003年度実施の地域との共同研究の報告

First Data Release of the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program

The Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) is a three-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing some of the most outstanding questions in astronomy today, including the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The survey has been awarded 300 nights of observing time at the Subaru Telescope and it started in March 2014. This paper presents the first public data release of HSC-SSP. This release includes data taken in the first 1.7 years of observations (61.5 nights) and each of the Wide, Deep, and UltraDeep layers covers about 108, 26, and 4 square degrees down to depths of i~26.4, ~26.5, and ~27.0 mag, respectively (5sigma for point sources). All the layers are observed in five broad bands (grizy), and the Deep and UltraDeep layers are observed in narrow bands as well. We achieve an impressive image quality of 0.6 arcsec in the i-band in the Wide layer. We show that we achieve 1-2 per cent PSF photometry (rms) both internally and externally (against Pan-STARRS1), and ~10 mas and 40 mas internal and external astrometric accuracy, respectively. Both the calibrated images and catalogs are made available to the community through dedicated user interfaces and database servers. In addition to the pipeline products, we also provide value-added products such as photometric redshifts and a collection of public spectroscopic redshifts. Detailed descriptions of all the data can be found online. The data release website is https://hsc-release.mtk.nao.ac.jp/.Comment: 34 pages, 20 figures, 7 tables, moderate revision, accepted for publication in PAS

A new phenotype of mitochondrial disease characterized by familial late-onset predominant axial myopathy and encephalopathy

Axial myopathy is a rare neuromuscular disease that is characterized by paraspinal muscle atrophy and abnormal posture, most notably camptocormia (also known as bent spine). The genetic cause of familial axial myopathy is unknown. Described here are the clinical features and cause of late-onset predominant axial myopathy and encephalopathy. A 73-year-old woman presented with a 10-year history of severe paraspinal muscle atrophy and cerebellar ataxia. Her 84-year-old sister also developed late-onset paraspinal muscle atrophy and generalized seizures with encephalopathy. Computed tomography showed severe atrophy and fatty degeneration of their paraspinal muscles. Their mother and maternal aunt also developed bent spines. The existence of many ragged-red fibers and cytochrome c oxidase-negative fibers in the biceps brachii muscle of the proband indicated a mitochondrial abnormality. No significant abnormalities were observed in the respiratory chain enzyme activities; however, the activities of complexes I and IV were relatively low compared with the activities of other complexes. Sequence analysis of the mitochondrial DNA from the muscle revealed a novel heteroplasmic mutation (m.602C>T) in the mitochondrial tRNAPhe gene. This familial case of late-onset predominant axial myopathy and encephalopathy may represent a new clinical phenotype of a mitochondrial disease

BioHackathon series in 2011 and 2012: penetration of ontology and linked data in life science domains

The application of semantic technologies to the integration of biological data and the interoperability of bioinformatics analysis and visualization tools has been the common theme of a series of annual BioHackathons hosted in Japan for the past five years. Here we provide a review of the activities and outcomes from the BioHackathons held in 2011 in Kyoto and 2012 in Toyama. In order to efficiently implement semantic technologies in the life sciences, participants formed various sub-groups and worked on the following topics: Resource Description Framework (RDF) models for specific domains, text mining of the literature, ontology development, essential metadata for biological databases, platforms to enable efficient Semantic Web technology development and interoperability, and the development of applications for Semantic Web data. In this review, we briefly introduce the themes covered by these sub-groups. The observations made, conclusions drawn, and software development projects that emerged from these activities are discussed

女子大生の咀嚼の実態と心身の各種因子との関係について

咀嚼を含めた食行為が女子大生の心身に与える影響を把握するため、マシュマロとチャーハンにおける咀嚼回数の測定並びに、生活習慣および心理状況調査を実施した。また、咀嚼回数の測定と併せて口腔部のサイズや容量、1口の食物投入量、咀嚼数、咀嚼スピード、スプーンの移動回数を測定し、体重や体脂肪量などの各種身体情報の調査も行った。　咀嚼の状況と身体特性との関係性を相関分析により検討したところ、相関関係は確認できなかった。咀嚼の状況と生活習慣との関連の検討において、メタボリックシンドロームに対するリスクと有意な負の相関関係が見られた項目は、スプーン移動回数、チャーハン摂取量、1分あたりの摂取量であった。　以上のように咀嚼の状況と生活習慣および心理状況調査結果との関係については、関連性が示唆される傾向が見られた

The Hyper Suprime-Cam SSP survey: Overview and survey design

Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) is a wide-field imaging camera on the prime focus of the 8.2-m Subaru telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. A team of scientists from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University is using HSC to carry out a 300-night multi-band imaging survey of the high-latitude sky. The survey includes three layers: the Wide layer will cover 1400 deg2 in five broad bands (grizy), with a 5 σ point-source depth of r ≈ 26. The Deep layer covers a total of 26 deg2 in four fields, going roughly a magnitude fainter, while the UltraDeep layer goes almost a magnitude fainter still in two pointings of HSC (a total of 3.5 deg2). Here we describe the instrument, the science goals of the survey, and the survey strategy and data processing. This paper serves as an introduction to a special issue of the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan, which includes a large number of technical and scientific papers describing results from the early phases of this survey

Structure and function of V1b vasopressin receptor

The V1b vasopressin receptor (V1bR) is a receptor for a neurohypophysial hormone [arginine8] vasopressin (AVP). V1bR is a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) belonging to the Family A GPCR superfamily. The structures of seven α-helical transmembrane domains of this family members can be predicted based on the crystal structure of bovine rhodopsin (bRho) and human β2 adrenergic receptor (β2AR) obtained by X-ray crystallography. This study aimed to identify amino acid residues which participate in ligand binding of the V1bR by site-directed mutagenesis with the aid of molecular models of vasopressin receptors based on the crystal structure of bRho. The V1bR is a potential drug target in treating stress-related conditions such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders. Since it is the latest subtype identified among the mammalian neurohypophysial hormone receptors, it remains as the least studied subtype. A closely related subtype V1a receptor (V1aR) has been studied in far more detail for its potential of being a drug target in treating cardiac conditions and epilepsy. Hence, effective means of studying the V1bR can be accomplished by exploring the information already available on the V1aR and thereby defining the differences and similarities existing between the two. Detailed subtype comparisons are also fundamental for designing subtype selective drugs for effective therapy with fewer side-effects. This project was designed also to elucidate amino acid residues which determine selectivity of ligands for the V1bR over the V1aR

Receptor for activated C Kinase 1 protein binds to and activates the human estrogen receptor α

The classical concept of estrogen receptor (ER) activation is that steroid passes the cell membrane, binds to its specific protein receptor in the cell's cytoplasm and the steroid-receptor complex travels to the nucleus where it activates responsive genes. This basic idea has been challenged by results of experiments demonstrating insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) activation of the ER in the complete absence of estrogen suggesting at least one other mechanism of ER activation not involving steroid. One explanation is that activation of the cell surface IGF-1 receptor leads to synthesis of an intracellular protein(s) able to bind to and stimulate the ER. Based on results using the two-hybrid system, coimmunoprecipitation and transfection-luciferase assays, we herein show that one of these proteins could well be receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK-1). Using the human ER type α (ER-α) as bait, a cloned complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) library from IGF-1 treated human breast cancer MCF-7 cells was screened for ER-α - protein interactions. Many positive clones were obtained which contained the RACK-1 cDNA sequence. Coimmunoprecipitation of in-vitro translation products of the ER-α and RACK-1 confirmed the interaction between the two proteins. Transfection studies using the estrogen response element spliced to a luciferase reporter gene revealed that constitutive RACK-1 expression was able to powerfully stimulate ER-α activity under estrogen-free conditions. This effect could be enhanced by 17β-estradiol (E2) and blocked by tamoxifen, an E2 antagonist. These results show that RACK-1 is able to activate the ER-α in the absence of E2, although together with the latter, enhanced effects occur. Since RACK-1 gene expression is stimulated by IGF-1, it is distinctly possible that RACK-1 is the mediator of the stimulatory effects of IGF-1 on ER-α

Magnetite Nanoparticles Induce Genotoxicity in the Lungs of Mice via Inflammatory Response

Nanomaterials are useful for their characteristic properties and are commonly used in various fields. Nanosized-magnetite (MGT) is widely utilized in medicinal and industrial fields, whereas their toxicological properties are not well documented. A safety assessment is thus urgently required for MGT, and genotoxicity is one of the most serious concerns. In the present study, we examined genotoxic effects of MGT using mice and revealed that DNA damage analyzed by a comet assay in the lungs of imprinting control region (ICR) mice intratracheally instilled with a single dose of 0.05 or 0.2 mg/animal of MGT was approximately two- to three-fold higher than that of vehicle-control animals. Furthermore, in gpt delta transgenic mice, gpt mutant frequency (MF) in the lungs of the group exposed to four consecutive doses of 0.2 mg MGT was significantly higher than in the control group. Mutation spectrum analysis showed that base substitutions were predominantly induced by MGT, among which G:C to A:T transition and G:C to T:A transversion were the most significant. To clarify the mechanism of mutation caused by MGT, we analyzed the formation of DNA adducts in the lungs of mice exposed to MGT. DNA was extracted from lungs of mice 3, 24, 72 and 168 h after intratracheal instillation of 0.2 mg/body of MGT, and digested enzymatically. 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG) and lipid peroxide-related DNA adducts were quantified by stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Compared with vehicle control, these DNA adduct levels were significantly increased in the MGT-treated mice. In addition to oxidative stress- and inflammation related-DNA adduct formations, inflammatory cell infiltration and focal granulomatous formations were also observed in the lungs of MGT-treated mice. Based on these findings, it is suggested that inflammatory responses are probably involved in the genotoxicity induced by MGT in the lungs of mice