Transient ionization of the mesosphere during auroral breakup: Arase satellite and ground-based conjugate observations at Syowa Station

オーロラが爆発するとヴァン・アレン帯の電子が上空65 kmにまで侵入することを解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2019-02-12.Transient mesospheric echo in the VHF range was detected at an altitude of 65–70 km during the auroral breakup that occurred from 2220 to 2226 UT on June 30, 2017. During this event, the footprint of the Arase satellite was located within the field of view of the all-sky imagers at Syowa Station in the Antarctic. Auroral observations at Syowa Station revealed the dominant precipitation of relatively soft electrons during the auroral breakup. A corresponding spike in cosmic noise absorption was also observed at Syowa Station, while the Arase satellite observed a flux enhancement of > 100 keV electrons and a broadband noise without detecting chorus waves or electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. A general-purpose Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code was used to quantitatively evaluate the ionization in the middle atmosphere. Results of this study indicate that the precipitation of energetic electrons of > 100 keV, rather than X-rays from the auroral electrons, played a dominant role in the transient and deep (65–70 km) mesospheric ionization during the observed auroral breakup

Vaspin Is an Adipokine Ameliorating ER Stress in Obesity as a Ligand for Cell-Surface GRP78/MTJ-1 Complex

It is unknown whether adipokines derived from adipose tissues modulate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress induced in obesity. Here, we show that visceral adipose tissue-derived serine protease inhibitor (vaspin) binds to cell-surface 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78), which is recruited from ER to plasma membrane under ER stress. Vaspin transgenic mice were protected from diet-induced obesity, glucose intolerance, and hepatic steatosis, while vaspin-deficient mice developed glucose intolerance associated with upregulation of ER stress markers. With tandem affinity tag purification using HepG2 cells, we identified GRP78 as an interacting molecule. The complex formation of vaspin, GRP78, and murine tumor cell DnaJ-like protein 1 (MTJ-1) (DnaJ homolog, subfamily C, member 1) on plasma membrane was confirmed by cell-surface labeling with biotin and immunoprecipitation in liver tissues and H-4-II-E-C3 cells. The addition of recombinant human vaspin in the cultured H-4-II-E-C3 cells also increased the phosphorylation of Akt and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a dose-dependent manner, and anti-GRP78 antibodies completely abrogated the vaspin-induced upregulation of pAkt and pAMPK Vaspin is a novel ligand for cell-surface GRP78/MTJ-1 complex, and its subsequent signals exert beneficial effects on ER stress-induced metabolic dysfunctions. Diabetes 61:2823-2832, 201

The Paternal Mental Health, Difficulties for Fathers with Children in Early Infancy, and Their Educational Support Needs

Purpose: The purpose is to identify what difficulties fathers have with the roles of fatherhood during pregnancy and early infancy, and to make apparent what their educational support needs are. Methods: This study follows a qualitative descriptive design. The subjects were new first-time fathers of Japanese nationality. Subjects participated in semi-structured interviews administered according to interview guidelines. Results: There were 15 subjects in total. The average age of the subjects’ children was 5.5 months. Fathers’ difficulties with their new roles were abstracted in to five main categories: \u3c Difficulties during early engagement with child \u3e, \u3c Difficulties related to child crying \u3e, \u3c Difficulties arising after getting through the early engagement stage \u3e, \u3c Difficulties related to support of partner \u3e, and \u3c Mental burdens associated with childrearing \u3e. Additionally, the types of support fathers requested to help maintain their mental health after the birth of their infants were abstracted into three main categories: \u3c Support with childcare knowledge/acquiring skills \u3e, \u3c Support in building a positive marital relationship \u3e, and \u3c Support in maintaining own mental health \u3e. Conclusions: 1) The stress experienced by fathers from the birth of their child through early infancy, originating in two elements of fatherhood (engagement with the child and spousal support), placed a great mental burden upon them in a multi-layered structure; 2) The support that needs fathers expressed to maintain their mental health pre- and postpartum is based on the difficulties they experienced with paternal roles; 3) There is a disparity between the needs of fathers expressed through the results of this study and current paternal support practices in Japan. The supplementation and revision of existing paternal support practices is an issue that merits further consideration. Furthermore, the existing group interview method suffers from low attendance, and attending has become increasingly difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic spreading throughout Japan. It is necessary to consider alternative methods of educational support moving forward

産後2週間・1か月健診時の支援の検討～エジンバラ産後うつ病質問票得点と関連要因より～

【目的】里帰り分娩の多い地域中核病院における産後うつ病のリスク要因と産後健診時の母親の言動や支援の実態を調査し、母親が産後に求める支援について検討する。 【研究方法】A病院産科病棟で分娩し、産後2週並びに1か月健診を受診した研究対象者の電子カルテより調査した。妊娠分娩産褥経過、産後のサポート状況、エジンバラ産後うつ病自己質問票（EPDS）、対象者の言動と助産師の支援を調査内容とした。 【結果】産後うつ病リスク要因は、2週間健診時では、初産婦、精神疾患既往、基礎疾患を有する、混合栄養、であった。1か月健診時は、2週間健診時点における混合栄養、主なサポート役が夫、であった。 　対象者の言動は両健診時ともに【授乳に関する悩み】【ワンオペ育児の負担感】等であった。支援は【直接授乳方法の指導】が多かった。 【結論】里帰り分娩の場合、退院後のサポート状況に応じた具体的なサポート提供を検討する。親役割移行を促す支援として、育児生活の現実をイメージ形成し準備性を高め、産後は、家族関係状態に着目した役割形成の具体的支援が必要である。departmental bulletin pape

Continuous-Flow Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of Racemic Alcohols by Lipase-Oxovanadium Cocatalysis

Higashio K, Katsuragi S, Kundu D, et al. Continuous-Flow Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of Racemic Alcohols by Lipase-Oxovanadium Cocatalysis. European journal of organic chemistry. 2020;2020(13):1961-1967.A continuous-flow dynamic kinetic resolution of racemic secondary alcohols was carried out using a single column reactor packed with a mixture of immobilized lipase and an immobilized oxovanadium species, VMPS4. As a result, optically pure esters were produced in 88-92 % yields. Problems encountered in this study were overcome by using fillers that efficiently maintained the initial distribution of the catalysts in the reactor and by using a packing method in which the mixing ratio of the two catalysts was varied in a stepwise fashion. The flow process led to an increased turnover number of each catalyst compared to those of batch reactions

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Time variations of nitric oxide in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Antarctica associated with magnetic storms

The 15th Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions [OS] Space and upper atmospheric sciences, Wed. 4 Dec. / 3F Conference room, The Institute of Statistical Mathematicsconference outpu