著者

Shigeto Fujimura Kunio Yoshioka Takashi Saito Mutsuto Sato Makoto Sato Yuuki Sakuma Yasuyuki Muramatsu

出版者

日本作物学会

雑誌

Plant Production Science (ISSN:1343943X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.16, no.2, pp.166-170, 2013 (Released:2013-03-19)

参考文献数

13

被引用文献数

45

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Radionuclides were released into the environment as a consequence of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident that occurred on 11 March 2011. Radiocesium at an abnormal concentration was detected in brown rice produced in paddy fields located in northern part of Fukushima Prefecture. We examined several hypotheses that could potentially explain the excessive radiocesium level in brown rice in some of the paddy fields, including (i) low exchangeable potassium content of the soil, (ii) low sorption sites for cesium (Cs) in the soil, and (iii) radiocesium enrichment of water that is flowing into the paddy fields from surrounding forests. The results of experiments using pots with contaminated soil indicated that the concentration of radiocesium in rice plants was decreased by applying potassium or clay minerals such as zeolite and vermiculite. The obtained results indicated that high concentrations of radiocesium in rice are potentially a result of the low exchangeable potassium and sorption sites for Cs in the soils. Application of potassium fertilizer and clay minerals should provide an effective countermeasure for reducing radiocesium uptake by plants. Radiocesium-enriched water produced by leaching contaminated leaf litter was used to irrigate rice plants in the cultivation experiments. The results indicated that the radiocesium concentrations in rice plants increased when the radiocesium-enriched water was applied to the potted rice plants. This indicated the possibility that the radiocesium levels in brown rice will increase if the nuclide is transported with water into the rice paddy fields from surrounding forests.

著者

Jiro Osaka Haruka Yasuda Yusuke Watanuki Yuya Kato Yohei Nitta Atsushi Sugie Makoto Sato Takashi Suzuki

出版者

The Genetics Society of Japan

雑誌

Genes & Genetic Systems (ISSN:13417568)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.97, no.6, pp.297-309, 2022-12-01 (Released:2023-04-18)

参考文献数

35

被引用文献数

3

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Neural activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is an important physiological phenomenon underlying environmental adaptation, memory and learning. However, its molecular basis, especially in presynaptic neurons, is not well understood. Previous studies have shown that the number of presynaptic active zones in the Drosophila melanogaster photoreceptor R8 is reversibly changed in an activity-dependent manner. During reversible synaptic changes, both synaptic disassembly and assembly processes were observed. Although we have established a paradigm for screening molecules involved in synaptic stability and several genes have been identified, genes involved in stimulus-dependent synaptic assembly are still elusive. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify genes regulating stimulus-dependent synaptic assembly in Drosophila using an automated synapse quantification system. To this end, we performed RNAi screening against 300 memory-defective, synapse-related or transmembrane molecules in photoreceptor R8 neurons. Candidate genes were narrowed down to 27 genes in the first screen using presynaptic protein aggregation as a sign of synaptic disassembly. In the second screen, we directly quantified the decreasing synapse number using a GFP-tagged presynaptic protein marker. We utilized custom-made image analysis software, which automatically locates synapses and counts their number along individual R8 axons, and identified cirl as a candidate gene responsible for synaptic assembly. Finally, we present a new model of stimulus-dependent synaptic assembly through the interaction of cirl and its possible ligand, ten-a. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the automated synapse quantification system to explore activity-dependent synaptic plasticity in Drosophila R8 photoreceptors in order to identify molecules involved in stimulus-dependent synaptic assembly.

著者

Hikaru AONO Satoshi SEKIMOTO Makoto SATO Aiko YAKENO Taku NONOMURA Kozo FUJII

出版者

The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers

雑誌

Mechanical Engineering Journal (ISSN:21879745)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2, no.4, pp.15-00233, 2015 (Released:2015-08-15)

参考文献数

42

被引用文献数

23 32

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Characteristics of flow fields produced by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator in quiescent air are numerically investigated. A time-dependent localized body-force distribution is utilized to mimic the effect of the plasma actuator with modulated bursts. The computed time-averaged and instantaneous flow fields are compared with the experimental results by using high-speed schlieren photography and particle image velocimetry. The computed flow fields are in good agreement with the experimental results when the nondimensional parameter (Dc) is within the appropriate range. With an appropriate choice of Dc, the location and size of the induced flow structures, computed with respect to the maximum flow velocity parallel to the wall, are quantitatively in agreement with the experimental results. Also considered are the effects of the burst frequency (non-dimensionalized by the chord length and the free-stream velocity of assumed separated flow control experiment) on the induced flow. The results show that changes in the burst frequency cause insignificant changes in the magnitude of the time-averaged flow parallel to the wall, but they cause significant fluctuations in the amplitude and power spectral densities of that flow.

著者

Chie Yokouchi Yukari Nishimura Hirohiko Goto Makoto Sato Yuya Hidoh Kenji Takeuchi Yuji Ishii

出版者

The Japanese Society of Toxicology

雑誌

The Journal of Toxicological Sciences (ISSN:03881350)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.46, no.1, pp.31-42, 2021 (Released:2021-01-05)

参考文献数

49

被引用文献数

5

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which has been rapidly increasing in the world in recent years, is roughly classified into nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. This study was based on our previous reports that stated that the combination treatment of N1-methylnicotinamide (MNA) and hydralazine (HYD) improves fatty liver in NAFL model rats. This finding was attributed to the MNA metabolism inhibition by HYD, which is a strong inhibitor of aldehyde oxidase (AO); this results in an increase in hepatic MNA and improved fatty liver. We hypothesized that orally administered nicotinamide (NAM), which is the precursor of MNA and is a form of niacin, would be efficiently metabolized by nicotinamide N-methyltransferase in the presence of exogenous S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) in NAFL rats. To address this issue, NAFL model rats were orally administered with NAM, SAM, and/or HYD. As a result, liver triglyceride (TG) and lipid droplet levels were barely altered by the administration of NAM, SAM, NAM+SAM, or NAM+HYD. By contrast, the triple combination of NAM+SAM+HYD significantly reduced hepatic TG and lipid droplet levels and significantly increased hepatic MNA levels. These findings indicated that the combination of exogenous SAM with AO inhibitors, such as HYD, has beneficial effects for improving fatty liver with NAM.

著者

佐藤 真 高木 友博 Makoto Sato Tomohiro Takagi

雑誌

SIG-SLUD = SIG-SLUD

巻号頁・発行日

vol.B5, no.02, pp.116-121, 2020-11-24