Nihon University

Since the beginning of the Anthropocene epoch, as a result of human activities strongly affecting the global environment, numerous water-related difficulties such as floods, droughts, and conflicts have emerged worldwide. To understand and predict these effects and difficulties, "socio-hydrology" was established as an empirical discipline to elucidate the dynamics of human–water interaction in an integrated manner. About a decade has passed since this new discipline was established. Although the overall picture and framework of socio-hydrology is gradually emerging, the challenges and possibilities of interdisciplinary water research are becoming apparent through collaboration among hydrologists and humanities and social scientists in the field of socio-hydrology. This study reviews developments of socio-hydrology to date and the challenges and possibilities for interdisciplinary water research identified in this field. The findings provide a perspective for the promotion of interdisciplinary water research in Japan, pointing out challenges of interdisciplinary water research including a "lack of common language," "differences in scientific philosophies among disciplines," and "scale issues of time, space, and organization.” To address these issues, we proposed "value systems," "governance," "culture," and "history" as research frames for advancing interdisciplinary water research in Japan and Asia.

Objective To evaluate the impact of intrahepatic portal vein branching (IHPB)-grade assessment using preoperative CT angiography (CTA) on the surgical procedure and prognosis prediction for dogs with an extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (EHPSS). Methods This study involved 146 client-owned dogs with EHPSS. The shunt morphology of EHPSS and IHPB grades was determined using CTA. All dogs underwent surgical attenuation of the shunt with intraoperative portal vein pressure (PVP) measurement, followed by a liver biopsy of the left lateral lobe. The preoperative CTA findings were analyzed according to surgical procedures, intraoperative PVP, hepatic histopathology, and postoperative complications. Results The grade of IHPB did not correlate with baseline PVP while it significantly correlated with PVP during temporary occlusion and the difference in PVP between before and during the temporary occlusion. The grade of IHPB and PVP had significant differences between the dogs with partial ligation compared with those with complete ligation. The portal vein hypoplasia score on histopathology was generally higher in the dogs with low-grade IHPB than in those with high-grade IHPB. The IHPB grade had no significant influence on postoperative complications and prognosis. Conclusions This study demonstrated that although the grade assessment system of IHPB using preoperative CTA was unable to predict the prognosis of dogs with a single EHPSS, it may be useful for determining surgical procedure selection. Clinical Relevance Preoperative CTA is suggested to not only be useful for the diagnosis and classification of EHPSS but also for surgical planning of EHPSS in dogs.

During 2021 through 2023, the golden mussel Limnoperna fortunei and freshwater fishes were sampled from 28 sites in the Tone River system, Japan, and adult trematodes of Dollfustrema were found in the fishes. Molecular and morphological analyses based on 28S rDNA and the ITS1À5.8SÀITS2 region revealed the trematode as 'Dollfustrema hefeiense', previously reported in Mainland China and likely introduced to Japan. Given that its scientific name was considered invalid, we re-described the species as Dollfustrema invadens n. sp. Additionally, the DNA-based survey helped clarify the trematode's life cycle in the river system. A sporocyst and metacercariae were detected in the golden mussel's visceral mass and in the muscles of two small freshwater fish species, respectively. The channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus harboured mature trematodes in its intestine, and adult trematodes were also found in the muscles of fishes infected with meta-cercariae, suggesting direct metacercariae development in fish muscle. Furthermore, another introduced bucephalid trematode, Prosorhynchoides ozakii, previously reported in the river system, was detected in the mussels and fishes. Moreover, co-infection of both bucephalid trematodes was observed in certain fishes.

Aim Serum autoantibodies have been reported to react with tumor‐associated antigens in various cancers. This study evaluated the diagnostic and prognostic significance of six autoantibody panels in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods In this study, 193 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and 78 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum antibodies were detected using originally developed enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays to detect autoantibodies against the following tumor antigens: c‐myc, p62, RalA, p53, Sui1, and NY‐ESO‐1. The positive rates of the six‐autoantibody panel were compared with those of SCC antigen (SCC‐Ag). The prognostic significance of these autoantibodies was also evaluated. Results The overall positive rate was significantly higher in the six‐autoantibody panel than in SCC‐Ag (72% vs. 28%; p < 0.01). The positive rates of the six‐autoantibody panel were 71% in stage 0/I, 73% in stage II, and 71% in stage III. No clinicopathological factors were associated with autoantibodies. Although the difference was not significant, the overall survival of the autoantibody‐positive group was worse than that of the autoantibody‐negative group (p = 0.14). Conclusion The six‐autoantibody panel was useful for detecting esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, particularly in stage 0/I; however, it showed limited prognostic significance.

In the March 16, 2022 off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture earthquake, five different types of quay walls were damaged by the strong motion of the seismic intensity of 6 upper at Soma Port in Fukushima Prefecture, and the damage was different for each type of structure. This paper compares the horizontal displacement of the quay wall and the subsidence behind it for each type of quay wall based on the results of post-earthquake surveys. The results showed that the steel pipe sheet pile quay wall had the smallest displacement and was the most tenacious structural type. On the other hand, re-liquefaction was observed where areas that liquefied in 2021 liquefied again during the 2022 earthquake. Therefore, laboratory tests were conducted on the sand eruptions collected in the wharf to clarify their physical properties.

This study compared an official accessibility map and a crowdsourced accessibility map for a university campus to identify differences between the two types of maps. By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the responses from the official map creator and accessibility problems reported by 35 crowd workers, we provided the following four suggestions: S1, it is desirable to avoid omitting the creation of official maps and to allow both types of maps to coexist; S2, it would be desirable for various stakeholders to participate as crowd workers in reporting accessibility problems; S3, problems along the routes leading to building entrances could be supplemented through crowdsourcing; and S4, dynamically changing accessibility problems could be captured through crowdsourcing. These suggestions based on detailed comparisons contribute to the improvement of both official and crowdsourced accessibility mapping.

Opportunities to remotely communicate have been increasing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Praising behavior is considered an important element of daily life and social activities. However, many people are uncertain about the best way to praise a partner. Such individuals may have difficulty understanding how to behave in order to improve their own praising skills. To solve this problem, we aim to develop a system that automatically evaluates whether a person is praising the other person in a remote dialogue, and reviews the utterances in which the person is praising a partner. As a first step toward achieving this goal, we attempted to detect praising behaviors from speaker's multimodal information in remote dialogues. Specifically, we constructed machine learning models for detecting praising behaviors using a dialogue corpus that contains remote dialogue data and the results of judgments about praising behaviors. As a result, we clarified that the praising behaviors are detectable based on multimodal information in remote dialogues. Furthermore, we clarified that the highest detection performance was achieved with the praiser's linguistic information and the receiver's linguistic information.

The synthesis, structure, and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties of axially chiral boron difluoride complexes are described. A series of optically pure bis (boron difluoride) complexes were prepared in 5 steps from commercially available ( S )‐ or ( R )‐BINOL as starting materials. The complexes were found to exhibit similar yellow photoluminescence in solution, regardless of the type of substituents on the nitrogen atoms. Notably, for the complex with polyethylene glycol chains, homogeneous and transparent films were formed by the drop‐cast method, showing intense CPL with a different sign from that of the solution state. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to understand their photophysical behavior including configuration‐dependent CPL properties.

Previous studies have suggested that chromogranin A (CgA) is a partner molecule of secretogranin III (SgIII). In mouse pituitary corticotroph-derived AtT-20 cells, SgIII plays a role in sorting CgA/hormone aggregates into secretory granules (SGs). Although CgA expression is equivocal, CgB is clearly detectable in the rat pituitary corticotrophs. Therefore, we hypothesized that CgB shares a function with CgA in pituitary corticotrophs. In the binding assays, CgB, similar to CgA, showed binding activity to SgIII under weakly acidic conditions and in the presence of Ca ²⁺ . Considering the differences in animal species, the different abilities of antibodies, and the conditions of tissue fixation and thin sectioning in immunofluorescence histochemistry, we found that CgA was expressed in a small population (approximately 10%), and its expression intensity was weaker than that of CgB (>98%) in rodent pituitary corticotrophs. In addition, similar to CgA, CgB and SgIII were colocalized in adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) granules. The labeling of CgA and CgB was not completely consistent, and CgB colocalized with SgIII in many granules. These results suggest that there are multiple sorting systems for ACTH granules in pituitary corticotrophs and that the SgIII/CgB complex behaves more dominantly than the SgIII/CgA complex, which has somewhat different properties:

During sexual reproduction in the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila, meiosis occurs in the germline micronucleus, resulting in the formation of four haploid micronuclei. Of these, only one is selected to evade autophagy, and subsequently migrates to the membrane junction with the partner cell for reciprocal pronuclear exchange. We previously demonstrated that the transmembrane protein Semi1 is essential for this nuclear migration. Semi1 is specifically expressed in mating cells and localizes to the periphery of the selected nucleus. Loss of Semi1 disrupts nuclear attachment to the junction, leading to infertility. However, the mechanism by which Semi1 positions the nucleus at the junction remains unclear. Here, we report that the Semi1-interacting protein, Semi2, is also necessary for proper nuclear positioning. Deletion of Semi2 results in the same nuclear mislocalization phenotype and infertility observed in Semi1 mutant cells. Semi2 colocalizes with Semi1, but in the absence of Semi1, Semi2 fails to exhibit perinuclear localization. The selected nucleus anchors to microtubules prior to migration, a process dependent on both Semi1 and Semi2. We propose a model in which Semi1 recruits Semi2 to the selected nucleus, facilitating the interaction between the nucleus and microtubules required for proper nuclear positioning at the membrane junction.

Despite numerous studies on the rise and fall of terrestrial megafauna in the late Quaternary, knowledge about marine megafauna from this period remains limited. In this study, we performed radiocarbon dating and partial mitochondrial DNA sequencing from the skeletal remains of three species of small odontocetes (Pacific white-sided dolphins, Dall’s porpoises and harbour porpoises) excavated from prehistoric archaeological sites around the Japanese shore dating back to 8500–1000 years ago (ya). Pacific white-sided dolphins that habituated the eastern coast of Hokkaido around 2000 ya belonged to different maternal groups than those from over 5000 ya and today. Furthermore, the species composition excavated from eastern Hokkaido sites varies between 5000 and 2000 ya. These findings suggest two significant population turnovers of small odontocetes on the east coast of Hokkaido, a transitional zone between the coastal area of East Asia and the offshore North Pacific. Notably, the first turnover, occurring between 5000 and 2000 ya, represents the oldest evidence of local population turnovers of marine megafauna during the late Quaternary.

Oak wilt causes severe dieback of Quercus serrata , a dominant tree species in the lowlands across Japan. This study evaluated the effects of oak wilt on the wood‐inhabiting fungal community and the decay rate of deadwood using a field monitoring experiment. We analysed the fungal metabarcoding community from 1200 wood samples obtained from 120 experimental logs from three forest sites at five different time points during the initial 1.5 years of the experiment. Death due to wilt significantly influenced the fungal community composition and reduced fungal diversity, likely due to the dominance of a limited number of species. The operational taxonomic unit richness, occurrence frequency, and DNA copy number of white rot fungi were also enhanced on the logs killed by wilt, depending on the sites. Structural equation modelling suggested that the wilt‐initiated changes in the fungal community reduced the decay rate of oak logs. Temperature and wood moisture also affected the fungal community and log decomposition. These results suggest that, in addition to the direct effect of climate, oak wilt indirectly affects log decomposition by structuring the fungal community. Continuous monitoring is essential to evaluate the longer‐term effects of oak wilt on the fungal decomposition of wood.

Effective therapies have yet to be established for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) even though it is the most aggressive cancer. In the present study, PDAC was analyzed using novel rat mAbs against membrane proteins in conjunction with flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Human epidermal growth receptor (HER)1–4, mesenchymal to epithelial transition factor (MET), sphingosine‐1‐phospahate receptor 1 (S1PR1), l‐type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), system x⁻c transporter (xCT), alanine‐serine‐cysteine transporter (ASCT2), cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1) and variant CD44 (CD44v) were expressed at high frequencies in both in vitro and in vivo PDAC. Internalization of membrane proteins by mAbs and growth inhibition by toxin‐linked mAbs were demonstrated in many PDAC cell lines, and mAbs against S1PR1, ASCT2, HER3 and CD44v inhibited the growth of xenografted MIA PaCa‐2 PDAC cells. Furthermore, CD44v‐high PDAC showed high mRNA expression of HER1–3, MET and CD44v, and was correlated with poor prognosis. Taken together, our results suggest that CD44v, S1PR1, HER3, MET and the above‐mentioned cancer‐associated amino acid transporters might be promising targets for the diagnosis and treatment of PDAC.

Periodontitis is a globally prevalent chronic inflammatory disease caused by dysbiosis of the oral microbiome. However, it remains unclear whether the bacterial communities of periodontitis and its precursor, gingivitis, transition to a state resembling healthy sites with no history of periodontitis following periodontal treatment or persist in a state prone to recurrence. Therefore, in this study, we performed metatranscriptomic analysis on subgingival plaque samples from the anterior teeth in healthy, gingivitis, and periodontitis sites before and after non-surgical treatment in 28 patients. To minimize inter-individual variability, all samples were collected from the same oral cavity in each patient. We revealed a new bacteriological characteristic of periodontitis, where periodontal pathogens emerge within the bacterial network alongside excessive and skewed interactions among bacterial taxa, such as those in the Streptococcus and Actinomyces genera. Furthermore, these imbalances were found improvable through non-surgical treatment. By comparing groups in which periodontitis resolved and those in which it did not, specific bacterial taxa, such as Neisseria elongata and Rothia aeria, were suggested to play a role in the periodontitis healing process, while the increase in functional genes encoding glycine dehydrogenase β-subunit and cleaved adhesin domain was implicated in inhibiting the healing process. However, even in clinically resolved gingivitis or periodontitis, the bacterial networks did not fully revert to the state observed in healthy sites. This was due to the persistence of periodontal pathogens, absent in the networks of healthy sites. As a result, continuous maintenance and monitoring are considered important to achieve sustained periodontal health.

Let $H^d$, $0<d<n$, be the dyadic Hausdorff content of the n-dimensional Euclidean space ${{\mathbb {R}}}^n$. It is shown that $H^d$ counts a Cantor set of the unit cube $[0, 1)^n$ as $\approx 1$, which implies the unboundedness of the sparse operator ${{\mathcal {A}}}_{{{\mathcal {S}}}}$ on the Choquet space ${\mathcal L}^p(H^d)$, $p>0$. In this paper, the sparse operator ${\mathcal A}_{{{\mathcal {S}}}}$ is proved to map ${{\mathcal {L}}}^p(H^d)$, $1\le p<\infty$, into an associate space of the Orlicz-Morrey space ${{{\mathcal {M}}}^{p'}_{\Phi _0}(H^d)}'$, $\Phi _0(t)=t\log (e+t)$. Further, another characterization of those associate spaces is given by means of the tiling ${{\mathcal {T}}}$ of ${{\mathbb {R}}}^n$.

Flywheels have several advantages such as long life, high reliability, and high environmental resistance. This paper describes the application of flywheel to uninterruptible power supplies that rotate a motor‐generator at commercial frequencies of 3000 min⁻¹. Conventional systems that use flywheel generators require high‐capacity semiconductor power converters for energy conversion. Moreover, a specially designed generator is required because the generator operates at variable speed. To overcome these weaknesses, this paper proposes a flywheel generator using a planetary gear, which is a mechanical shaft coupling mechanism. The use of a planetary gear enables the flywheel and generator to rotate at different speed. As a result, even if the flywheel speed drops during a power outage, the generator speed can be kept constant. This paper reports on the design guidelines and experimental verifications for a 1‐kW system