Osaka Prefecture University

Juvenile hormones (JHs) play crucial roles in regulating growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction in arthropods. Synthetic JH agonists (JHAs), categorized as insect growth regulators, have been widely employed as insecticides. Natural JHs and synthetic JHAs both exert their physiological effects by binding to the JH receptor methoprene‐tolerant (Met), forming a functional heterodimer complex with steroid receptor coactivators (SRCs). These juvenoids induce male offspring production in various daphnids, including Daphnia magna , highlighting the significance of the Met‐mediated signaling in environmental sex determination. As a representative invertebrate model for assessing aquatic endocrine‐disrupting chemicals, D. magna is incorporated in the test guidelines of the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development. We herein introduced a newly developed yeast‐based reporter gene assay (RGA) for easy and rapid screening of JH‐like ligands for D. magna Met (Dapma‐Met). Dapma‐Met was expressed alongside the SRC of D. magna (Dapma‐SRC) in yeast cells carrying the lacZ reporter plasmid with a JH‐responsive element derived from the Bombyx mori Krüppel homolog 1 gene. The yeast RGA system for Dapma‐Met revealed a dose‐dependent response to various juvenoids. The rank order of the ligand potencies of natural JHs and synthetic JHAs examined in yeast RGA strongly correlated with those previously observed in RGAs for Daphnia Met proteins established in Chinese hamster ovary cells and positively correlated with the male neonate‐inducing activity in vivo. Our novel yeast RGA offers a rapid, easy‐to‐handle, and cost‐effective solution that will be valuable for discriminating Dapma‐Met ligands among chemicals with male offspring‐inducing activity.

Magic blue [MB, (p-BrC6H4)3N•+SbCl6–]-promoted oxidation of the tetracyclodecane derivative mm-1 containing two triphenylamine (TPA) moieties and subsequent reduction using triethylamine results in formation of the uncharged pentacyclic product 4 that possesses a novel, cage-framework-constrained tetraphenylbenzidine (TPB) moiety. This process follows an electron-transfer mechanism involving formation of the intermediate radical cation 4•+ through intramolecular aryl coupling of a di(radical cation) mm-12(•+). The TPB biphenyl type conjugated moiety in 4 is highly planar. Moreover, 4 has a higher energy HOMO and greater electrochemical stability than does the parent TPB. Notably, because it undergoes a fully reversible two-step–two-electron oxidation-reduction reaction, 4 is an ideal electron donor for use in electronic devices. Finally, conversion of 4•+ to the corresponding dication 42+ by SbCl6–-promoted "auto"oxidation is described.

Cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using the Forced Thin-Film Type Reactor (FTFR). The precipitation solution was changed from aqueous sodium hydroxide to ammonia solutions. By adjusting the mixing ratio of trivalent and tetravalent cerium ions in the solutions and varying the cerium ion concentration, the shape of the particles varied from spherical to truncated octahedron and irregular shape to cuboidal to truncated octahedral. It was estimated that the change in particle shape could be attributed to the difference in the concentration of dissolved oxygen and hydroxide ion in each solution.

Boron is an essential micronutrient required for plant cell wall integrity, as it is necessary for crosslinking the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan II. Reproductive organs require a greater amount of boron for development and growth compared with vegetative organs. However, the mechanism by which plants distribute boron to specific organs is not fully understood. Under boron-limited conditions, the borate exporter BOR1 plays a central role in transporting boron from the roots to the shoots in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Here, we found that BOR1 is expressed in the tapetal cells of young anthers in unopened buds, showing polar localization toward the locule where microspores develop. Tapetum-localized BOR1 undergoes endocytosis and is subsequently degraded during anther development. BOR1 degradation occurs independently of the lysine residue at Position 590 of BOR1, which is responsible for high boron–induced ubiquitination and degradation. Loss-of-function bor1 mutants exhibit disrupted pollen structure, causing reduced fertility under boron-sufficient conditions in the wild type. These phenotypes were rescued by supplementing with high boron concentrations. Furthermore, inflorescence stem grafting experiments suggested that BOR1-dependent boron transport in the flower is necessary for pollen development and subsequent fertilization under boron-sufficient conditions. Our findings suggest the borate exporter BOR1, together with the previously described boric acid channel NIP7;1, facilitates boron transport in tapetal cells toward the locule, thereby supporting pollen development in young anthers under boron-limited conditions.

RFe2O4 is expected to deliver high-performance ferroelectricity that can reduce the fatigue associated with polarization reversal and the electric field (coercive field) required for polarization switching because its ferroelectricity originates from charge ordering. However, there have been very few reports on the fabrication of thin films of the material because of the severe growth condition of an extremely reduced oxygen atmosphere, even though the material is an oxide. To provide cutting-edge insights into elucidating the essential fundamental properties of thin films of RFe2O4, we developed a reproductive fabrication method to control both the phase formation and composition of YbFe2O4 epitaxial thin films. We investigated principles guiding the fabrication of the YbFe2O4 epitaxial thin films with a customized pulsed laser deposition (PLD) system. The optimal laser fluence for crystal growth was controlled by tuning the laser energy and focusing lens position, assisted by an in situ monitoring technique of the plasma plume ablated from the ceramic target with optical emission spectroscopy. A multiple-target PLD system using six varieties of ceramic targets with different crystal phases and compositions was introduced to control the Fe/Yb composition ratio of YbFe2O4 epitaxial thin films. Combining these techniques paves the way for overcoming the stoichiometric issues in this series of crystal structures toward novel device applications.

Root system traits are important for crop production. This study characterized the soybean root system by analyzing position markers and digital images. Soybean genotypes were grown in a growth pouch, and their root systems were photographed every few days using a digital camera. Image analysis was performed to segment the roots and measure root length. Three genotypes widely used to provide reference genomes or as major breeding materials were used for Experiment 1. The root dry weight of ‘Williams 82’ at 13 days after transplant (DAT) did not differ significantly with that of ‘Enrei’. However, the root length of ‘Williams 82’ at 8–11 DAT was significantly smaller, whereas that at 13 DAT was comparable with that of ‘Enrei’. Determining the differences by sampling date and root segment revealed that ‘Williams 82’ developed its root system evenly from the middle and bottom segments at 8 DAT, whereas those of ‘Enrei’ and ‘Peking’ developed unevenly from only the bottom segment. Because the genotypes for Experiment 1 had different seed sizes and extent of root elongation, the genotypes with similar seed sizes were used for Experiment 2. Compared with ‘U 1042-1’, ‘COL/PAK/1989/IBPGR/2326(1)’ showed more elongation in the middle root segment at 8–11 DAT. Image analysis enabled a more in-depth investigation of root system development over time and by root segment.

We perform analytical and quantitative analyses of the motion of a non-integrable pendulum with two degrees of freedom, in which an integrable nonlinear pendulum and a harmonic oscillator are weakly coupled through a non-integrable perturbative interaction, based on the eigenvalue problem of the Liouvillian, which is the generator of time evolution in classical mechanics. The eigenfunctions belonging to the zero eigenvalue of the Liouvillian correspond to the invariants of the motion. The zero eigenvalue of the integrable unperturbed Liouvillian is infinitely degenerate at the resonance point. By applying a perturbation, level repulsion occurs between the eigenstates of the unperturbed system, and some of the degeneracy is lifted, resulting in a non-zero eigenvalue. In order to evaluate the frequency gap caused by the level repulsion, we introduce an auxiliary operator called the collision operator, which is well known in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics. We show that the dependence of the magnitude of a frequency gap on the coupling constant can be quantitatively evaluated by simply finding the condition for the existence of the collision operator, without directly solving the eigenvalue problem.

In view of increasing reports of infections due to virulent Providencia species including cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) gene-positive strains, it is important to identify the reservoirs and transmission routes of such pathogenic strains. Raccoons considered to be a source of zoonotic pathogens were monitored for the presence of Providencia species in Japan and analyzed for cdt genes. Of 384 wild raccoon rectal swabs analyzed, 60% were positive for Providencia species, of which 20% carried cdt-genes. Among seven Providencia species isolated (P. alcalifaciens, P. rustigianii, P. rettgeri, P. stuartii, P. heimbachae, P. vermicola, and P. huaxiensis), cdt genes were distributed in P. alcalifcaiens (63%), P. rustigianii (16%), and novel in P. rettgeri (21%). Complete cdt gene clusters were identified in P. alcalifaciens and P. rustigianii strains, whereas P. rettgeri had intact cdtB but truncated cdtA and cdtC genes. Phylogenetic analyses showed divergent pulsotypes among the cdt gene-positive Providencia strains. Cytotoxicity assay revealed that P. alcalifaciens and P. rustigianii produced CDT more toxic to eukaryotic cells compared to human clinical strains, which were neutralized by anti-PaCdtB serum. As expected, the P. rettgeri strains with truncated cdt genes had no biological activity. Molecular analysis revealed that all the cdt genes were located on plasmids as determined by S1-nuclease pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (S1-PFGE) and Southern hybridization assay. Intriguingly, the cdtB gene in P. rustigianii strains was detected on dual plasmids. Notably, all the cdt gene-positive Providencia strains were found to carry plasmid-mediated T3SS-related genes. These results suggest that wild raccoons are possible reservoir of virulent Providencia strains in Japan. IMPORTANCE Providencia species considered normal flora are occasionally associated with gastroenteritis in healthy humans. Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT), a bacterial virulence factor found in various Gram-negative bacteria and associated with gastroenteritis and extra-intestinal infection has also been reported in at least two Providencia species (P. alcalifaciens and P. rustigianii). Determination of the transmission routes of such virulent Providencia is crucial for the implementation of evidence-based control programs. In this study, we identified raccoons as the probable reservoir of the cdt gene-positive Providencia strains in Japan. Interestingly, CDTs produced by raccoon-derived Providencia strains exerted more toxic effects on the eukaryotic cells compared to the clinical Providencia strains. In addition, the identification of a novel cdt gene cluster in another species P. rettgeri isolated from raccoons suggests that Providencia may be categorized as an emerging zoonotic pathogen.

Conductive pastes have been used to bond semiconductors and create electrical circuits, but in recent years their use has expanded to include flexible substrates used in portable and wearable electronic devices that require high stretchability. Conductive pastes using metals, carbons, etc. have problems such as the need to add large amounts of filler and the insufficient mechanical strength and poor heat resistance of the binder polymer material. Recently, epoxy monolith as a new material has been developed to achieve high strength and elongation by introducing a porous structure into cured epoxy resin. In this study, we demonstrate that carbon black (CB), which is added as a conductive nanofiller during the manufacturing process of epoxy monoliths, segregates within the framework of the epoxy monolith and forms conductive paths with a three‐dimensional continuous structure. We investigated the structure and mechanical properties of the CB‐containing epoxy monolith sheets and subsequently characterized their electrical and thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we clarified the change in electrical resistance when tensile stress was applied to the monolith sheet.

Anthropogenic impacts such as urbanization and water pollution pose significant threats to freshwater ecosystems, leading to habitat degradation and biodiversity loss. Understanding species-habitat relationships is crucial for the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems. In this study, we applied Multiobjective Fuzzy Genetics-based Machine Learning (MoFGBML) to develop interpretable species distribution models for assessing the habitat suitability of five freshwater fish species. Since the number of attributes in the training data can significantly affects both the interpretability and classification accuracy of the fuzzy models, we implemented a multicollinearity-based attribute selection process using the variance inflation factor (VIF) and correlation matrix to identify and remove redundant attributes of the data. Our results demonstrate that the proposed attribute selection clearly reduces the model complexity at the small risk of the model accuracy. This provides a more transparent understanding of habitat suitability for target fish species.

Japanese table grapes are quite expensive because their production is highly labor-intensive. In particular, grape berry pruning is a labor-intensive task performed to produce grapes with desirable characteristics. Because it is considered difficult to master, it is desirable to assist new entrants by using information technology to show the recommended berries to cut. In this research, we aim to build a system that identifies which grape berries should be removed during the pruning process. To realize this, the 3D positions of individual grape berries need to be estimated. Our environmental restriction is that bunches hang from trellises at a height of about 1.6 meters in the grape orchards outside. It is hard to use depth sensors in such circumstances, and using an omnidirectional camera with a wide field of view is desired for the convenience of shooting videos. Obtaining 3D information of grape berries from videos is challenging because they have textureless surfaces, highly symmetric shapes, and crowded arrangements. For these reasons, it is hard to use conventional 3D reconstruction methods, which rely on matching local unique features. To satisfy the practical constraints of this task, we extend a deep learning-based unsupervised monocular depth estimation method to an omnidirectional camera and propose using it. Our experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for estimating the 3D positions of grape berries in the wild.

Multimodal sensing using soft body dynamics plays a crucial role in controlling soft robotic motions. An intriguing application of such soft robot control is to mimic whiskers and digitize soft body motion through whisker dynamics. The challenge herein is to simultaneously monitor the directions, speed, force, and slip information of the whisker motion. The existing whisker-like sensors cannot detect slip information effectively. To address this challenge, this study develops a multitasking electronic brush (e-brush) composed of bundle of whiskers powered by reservoir computing (RC). Four pressure sensors are integrated into the brush to monitor its motion, speed, force, slip, and target surface. These sensors can provide long-term, low-pressure detection as low as 50 pascals, allowing for the precise monitoring of brush movements. A RC algorithm is developed to extract multiple brush motion parameters, including the slip. As a proof of concept for multitasking e-brush, the motion trajectory of handwriting is successfully detected.

It is challenging to isolate Escherichia albertii from clinical specimens. Therefore, a medium that can selectively grow E. albertii and differentiate it from E. coli is earnestly desired. Here, we describe the evaluation of a recently developed selective differential medium, called cefixime-tellurite-phosphate-xylose-rhamnose-MacConkey (CT-PS-XR-MacConkey) medium, which enables the specific growth of E. albertii and differentiation of E. albertii (colorless) from E. coli (red) based on colony color and thus, facilitating the efficient isolation of E. albertii from diarrheal stool. When three E. albertii negative diarrheal stools were inoculated onto CT-PS-XR-MacConkey and xylose-rhamnose-melibiose (XRM) containing MacConkey agars, no colorless colonies were observed on both the media. However, when E. albertii was spiked into these three diarrheal stools, the ratio of colorless colonies to red colonies was higher on CT-PS-XR-MacConkey agar compared to XRM-MacConkey agar in all three samples. Notably, out of 105 Eacdt-gene PCR negative diarrheal stools 56 yielded colorless colonies on MacConkey agar while out of these 56 diarrheal stools, nine yielded colorless colonies on XRM-MacConkey but no colorless colonies were observed on CT-PS-XR-MacConkey agar. Furthermore, evaluation of these two media with five E. albertii positive-stool specimens revealed that the number of red colonies were constantly less, whereas that of colorless colonies were constantly more on CT-PS-XR-MacConkey agar, thus aiding in efficient isolation. Altogether, these results suggest that the CT-PS-XR-MacConkey agar could be a useful selective differential medium for isolation of E. albertii from diarrheal stool specimens.

Psychological studies highlights the importance of combining new knowledge with one's prior experience. Hence personalization for a learner plays a key role for vocabulary acquisition. However, this faces two challenges: probing a learner's experiences in their lives and crafting tailored material for every different individual. With the prevalence of visual social media, such as Instagram, people share their photos from favorite moments, providing rich contexts, and emerging generative AI would create learning material in an effortless fashion. We prototyped an online vocabulary exploration system, which displays a learner's selected photos from their Instagram along with a generated sentence using image recognition and a language model, GPT-3. The system lets a learner to find new words that are strongly tied to their daily life with the approximated context. We carried out our within-subject design evaluation of the system with 23 participants with three conditions: contexts grounded with learner's Instagram photos, contexts grounded from general images, and text-only modality. From learners' recall tasks accuracy, we found that having a context grounded with a learner's social image allowed them to find difficult words to quickly learn than having context generated by someone's image, or text only modality-although this finding is statistically insignificant. The Zipf frequency comparisons revealed that generally having image-based context allowed learners to extract difficult vocabulary than having text-only context. We also discuss quantitative and qualitative results regarding participants' acceptance of the personalization system using their personal photos from social media. Generally, they reported positive impressions for our system such as high engagement. While our system prioritizes user privacy with opt-in data control and secure design, we explore additional ethical considerations. This paves the way for a future where personalized language learning, grounded in real-world experiences and generative AI, benefits learners. INDEX TERMS Context-aware language learning, HCI, large language models, generative AI.

Parasitic plants pose a substantial threat to agriculture as they attack economically important crops. The stem parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris invades the host’s stem with a specialized organ referred to as the haustorium, which absorbs nutrients and water from the host. Initiation of the parasitic process in C. campestris requires mechanical stimuli to its stem. However, the mechanisms by which C. campestris perceives mechanical stimuli are largely unknown. Previous studies have shown that mechanosensitive ion channels (MSCs) are involved in the perception of mechanical stimuli. To examine if MSCs are involved in prehaustorium development upon tactile stimuli, we treated C. campestris plants with an MSC inhibitor, GsMTx-4, which resulted in a reduced density of prehaustoria. To identify the specific MSC gene involved in prehaustorium development, we analyzed the known functions and expression patterns of Arabidopsis MSC genes and selected MID-1 COMPLEMENTING ACTIVITY 1 (MCA1) as a primary candidate. The MSC activity of CcMCA1 was confirmed by its ability to complement the phenotype of a yeast mid1 mutant. To evaluate the effect of CcMCA1 silencing on prehaustorium development, we performed host-induced gene silencing using Nicotiana tabacum plants that express an artificial microRNA (amiRNA) targeting CcMCA1. In the CcMCA1-silenced C. campestris, the number of prehaustoria per centimeter of stem length decreased, and the interval length between prehaustoria increased. Additionally, the expression levels of known genes involved in prehaustorium development, such as CcLBD25, decreased significantly in the CcMCA1-silenced plants. The results suggest that CcMCA1 is involved in prehaustorium development in C. campestris.

Composites of DNA and gold nanoparticles are expected to be stimuli-responsive and photo-functional materials that can synergistically utilize both the stimuli-responsiveness derived from DNA and the optical properties derived from gold nanoparticles. However, conventional methods require the bottom-up synthesis of artificial DNA modified with functional groups such as thiols that can form chemical bonds with gold nanoparticles, which limits the flexible design of the resulting composite. Therefore, we conceived the idea of introducing a “linker” that can interact with both gold nanoparticles and the bases naturally exist in DNA. The introduction of such a linker allows naturally occurring DNA, which is abundant in nature and has long strand lengths, to utilize as the multi-functional material platform. In this work, we designed and synthesized a linker complex with disulfide group and platinum(II) ion to interact with gold nanoparticles and the bases of DNA, respectively. Furthermore, the interaction between gold nanoparticles and naturally occurring DNA via the platinum linker complex was confirmed using UV–visible absorption spectroscopy.