Floral Scent of Osmanthus fragrans Discourages Foraging Behavior of Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapae

Field observations revealed that flowers of Osmanthus fragrans attract few insect species despite their strong scent and vivid coloration (yellowish orange). Floral volatiles of the plant were thus examined for suspected repellency to Pieris rapae, a potential visitor that never visits this flower. The influence of odor components on the foraging behavior of adult butterflies was assessed by two behavioral bioassays: proboscis extension reflex (PER) in response to olfactory stimuli and the frequency of visits to artificial flowers. In the PER bioassays, a binary mixture composed of a test material and 2-phenylethanol (a positive standard compound) was used, and the negative effect of test materials was appraised based on the degree of suppression caused compared with the original PER performance evoked by 2-phenylethanol alone. Isopentane extract of the flower exhibited significant deterrency in the PER test and remarkable repellency in the flower-visiting experiment, thereby suggesting the presence of a repellent(s) in the floral volatiles. Fractionation of the extract by silica gel column chromatography yielded an active fraction (based on PER performance), which, upon GC and GC-MS analyses, was found to consist of -decalactone, -ionone, and linalool oxide (LO) isomers (furanosides and pyranosides) as major components together with small amounts of linalool and -ionone. -Decalactone was strongly deterrent in the PER test, and -ionone and all LO isomers were weakly deterrent, while the other compounds exhibited no deterrency. In the flower-visiting tests, -decalactone showed notable repellency, whereas -ionone had no repellent effect. Among the LO isomers, at least furanosides (cis/trans mixture) and cis-pyranoside were found to be weakly repellent. On the other hand, the butterfly showed strong to weak EAG responses to LO furanosides, cis-LO pyranoside, -decalactone, and -ionone in decreasing order of intensity. The present results clearly indicate that the repellency of a compound is correlated with its deterrent effect on PER but not necessarily with antennal sensitivity.     

Energetic Solid Fuels for Ducted Rockets (III)

Ducted rockets operate with the combustion of fuel-rich gas generated in a primary combustor and the ram-air induced from the atmosphere to a secondary combustor. Thus, the combustion performance depends on the mixing and reaction processes of the fuel-rich gas and the air flow in the secondary combustor. The energetic solid fuels examined in this study consisted of ammonium perchlorate based composite propellants containing boron particles. The combustion efficiency of boron particles in the secondary combustor was determined as a function of air-mixing process and air/fuel ratio. Two types of air-inlet were used to evaluate the combustion of boron particles. Combustion tests conducted by direct connect flow indicate that the combustion efficiency increased significantly when a multi-port consisting of two forward-ports and two rear-ports was used.     

A New Method for Albuminuria Measurement Using a Specific Reaction between Albumin and the Luciferin of the Firefly Squid Watasenia scintillans

This study demonstrates that the luciferin of the firefly squid Watasenia scintillans, which generally reacts with Watasenia luciferase, reacted with human albumin to emit light in proportion to the albumin concentration. The luminescence showed a peak wavelength at 540 nm and was eliminated by heat or protease treatment. We used urine samples collected from patients with diabetes to quantify urinary albumin concentration, which is essential for the early diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy. Consequently, we were able to measure urinary albumin concentrations by precipitating urinary proteins with acetone before the reaction with luciferin. A correlation was found with the result of the immunoturbidimetric method; however, the Watasenia luciferin method tended to produce lower albumin concentrations. This may be because the Watasenia luciferin reacts with only intact albumin. Therefore, the quantification method using Watasenia luciferin is a new principle of urinary albumin measurement that differs from already established methods such as immunoturbidimetry and high-performance liquid chromatography.     

Spatial and Quantitative Analysis of Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Intratumoral CD163-/PD-L1+ TAMs as a Marker of Favorable Clinical Outcomes in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and abnormalities in cancer cells affect cancer progression and response to therapy. TAMs are a major component of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in breast cancer, with their invasion affecting clinical outcomes. Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), a target of immune checkpoint inhibitors, acts as a suppressive signal for the surrounding immune system; however, its expression and effect on TAMs and the clinical outcome in breast cancer are unknown. In this study, we used high-throughput multiple immunohistochemistry to spatially and quantitatively analyze TAMs. We subjected 81 breast cancer specimens to immunostaining for CD68, CD163, PD-1, PD-L1, CD20, and pan-CK. In both stromal and intratumoral areas, the triple-negative subtype had significantly more CD68/CD163, CD68/PD-L1, and CD163/PD-L1 double-positive cells than the estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) subtype. Interestingly, a higher number of CD68+/PD-L1+/CK-/CD163- TAMs in the intratumoral area was correlated with a favorable recurrence rate (p = 0.048). These findings indicated that the specific subpopulation and localization of TAMs in the TME affect clinical outcomes in breast cancer.     

日本の寒地，北海道のうるち米における精米蛋白質含有率とアミロース含有率の年次間地域間差異とその発生要因（日文）（网络首发、推荐阅读）

北海道米の精米蛋白質含有率とアミロース含有率（各々蛋白，アミロース）はともに低いほど良食味であるが，1991~2006年（15栽培地域）間で、蛋白は7.2%~8.6%（7.2%~8.2%）、アミロースで18.3%~22.2%（19.8%~21.2%）と差異が大きく、また年次間差異は地域間の各1.4、2.8倍と大きかった。これは、水稲の栽培期間や生育ステージ別の平均気温および収量などの生育特性で、年次間差異が地域間に比べ1.6~4.4倍と大きいためであった。蛋白は、年次間で出穂が早く、障害危険期（出穂前24日以降30日間）が高温で不稔歩合が低く、千粒重が重く玄米収量が多いほど低かった。また、登熟気温（出穂後40日間の日平均積算値）と843 ℃で最低となる二次回帰の関係があった。なお、分げつ期（6月）の風速が大きく水稲生育初期の土壌窒素可吸態化速度が小さい初期生育不良の湿田土壌?地域では、これらの関係は不明瞭で、逆に千粒重は重いほど高蛋白であった。一方、地域間では、これら生育特性との関係が明確ではなく、泥炭土比率が低く、分げつ期の風速が小さいほど蛋白が低かった。アミロースは年次間と地域間ともに、出穂が早く登熟気温が高いほど低かった。また、地域間で海からの距離が短く緯度（北緯）が低く、登熟期の日較差気温が低いほど低アミロースであった。     

Catalytic performance of a high-cell-density Ni honeycomb catalyst for methane steam reforming

The catalysis of methane steam reforming (MSR) by pure Ni honeycombs with high cell density of 2300 cells per square inch (cpsi) was investigated to develop efficient and inexpensive catalysts for hydrogen production. The Ni honeycomb catalyst was assembled using 30-μm-thick Ni foils, and showed much higher activity than that of a Ni honeycomb catalyst with cell density of 700 cpsi at a steam-to-carbon ratio of 1.36 and a gas hourly space velocity of 6400 h^?1 in a temperature range of 873–1173 K. Notably, the activity increased approximately proportional to the increasing geometric specific surface area of the honeycombs. The turnover rate of the Ni honeycomb catalyst was higher than that of supported Ni catalysts. The changes in chemical state of the Ni catalyst during hydrogen reduction and MSR reaction were analyzed by in situ X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, which revealed that deactivation was mainly due to oxidation of the surface Ni atoms. These results demonstrated that the high-cell-density Ni honeycomb catalyst exhibits good performance for MSR reaction, and easy regeneration of the deactivated Ni honeycomb catalyst is possible only via hydrogen reduction.     

日本の寒地，北海道におけるうるち米良食味育種（日文）（网络首发、推荐阅读）

北海道には、従来「コシヒカリ」のような全国銘柄の良食味品種はなく、産米の食味評価が低かった。そこで、北海道立（現、道総研）農業試験場の水稲育種では、1980年から28年間の良食味品種早期開発プロジェクトを行った。そこでは、早期開発のために世代促進栽培や葯培養により育種年限を短縮した。また、良食味や耐冷性の内外有用遺伝子を活用し、良食味と早熟性や耐冷性を同時に有する品種開発のため、育種規模を拡大した。効率よい良食味系統選抜のため、初期世代から精米蛋白質含有率および特にアミロース含有率により、中期世代で少量炊飯により選抜を実施した。食味の遺伝的改良では、最初に北海道品種の良食味遺伝子を集積し「ゆきひかり」を、次に北海道品種を通して「コシヒカリ」の良食味遺伝子を、さらに直接交配母本とし東北品種「あきたこまち」の良食味遺伝子を導入し、各々「きらら397」と「ほしのゆめ」を育成した。アミロース含有率はそれまでの多肥多収品種の22%から2%低下した。さらに、米国品種「国宝ローズ」の良食味遺伝子を導入した「ななつぼし」を育成し、アミロ－ス含有率が1%低下した。その後、培養変異低アミロース系統「北海287号」を母本とし、アミロース含有率が15%~16%で「粘り」と「柔らかさ」に優れ、「コシヒカリ」に並ぶ食味を有する「ゆめぴりか」を育成した。     

日本寒冷地带北海道注重粳稻米粒外观品质的育种研究历程（网络首发、推荐阅读）

长期以来，北海道为了使米粒的外观品质不逊色于日本东北以南地区的水平，主要通过米粒外观品质的目测选拔，来减少乳白粒、腹白粒等未熟粒比率，进而提高整粒比率和糙米、大米等的白度。其结果是，在1903年以后培育出的新老品种中，随着培育年度的更新，大体上整粒越来越多，未熟粒、受害粒和着色粒逐渐减少。特别是1961年培育的“尤卡尔”，整粒比率比同时代和以前的品种显著提高，从系谱来看其优良特性被后来培育的很多优质优良食味大米品种所继承。1984年以后培育的主要品种与东北以南的品牌米品种相比，整粒比率稍低，未熟粒比例略高。关于糙米和大米的白度，1971年之前培育的品种由于腹白粒等多，白度提高，和培育年份没有一定的关系。1971年以后越是新品种，越是大米蛋白质含量低，糙米和大米的白度就越高。目前北海道的主要品种与东北以南的品牌米品种相比，糙米白度稍差，但大米白度、糙米透明度和大米透明度没有明显差异。并且，只是整粒时的糙米白度也没有差异。综上所述，现在北海道主要品种的米粒外观品质，除了与东北以南的品牌米品种相比未熟粒稍多、整粒略少之外，已没有明显的区别。