We report fourteen and twenty-eight protocluster candidates at z = 5.7 and 6.6 over 14 and 19 deg2 areas, respectively, selected from 2,230 Lyα emitters (LAEs) photometrically identified with Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) deep images. Six out of the 42 protocluster candidates include at least 1 spectroscopically confirmed LAEs at redshifts up to z = 6.574. By the comparisons with the cosmological Lyα radiative transfer (RT) model reproducing LAEs with the reionization effects, we find that more than a half of these protocluster candidates might be progenitors of the present-day clusters with a mass of ≳ 1014M⊙. We also investigate the correlation between LAE overdensity and Lya rest-frame equivalent width (EW), because the cosmological Lyα RT model suggests that a slope of EW-overdensity relation is steepened towards the epoch of cosmic reionization (EoR), due to the existence of the ionized bubbles around galaxy overdensities easing the escape of Lyα emission from the partly neutral intergalactic medium. The available HSC data suggest that the slope of the EW-overdensity correlation does not evolve from the post-reionization epoch z = 5.7 to the EoR z = 6.6 beyond the moderately large statistical errors.

Background: A large hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 has been identified as the most common genetic cause in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder that has been strongly linked to synuclein-mediated neurodegeneration. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the C9orf72 expansions in the pathogenesis of RBD. Methods: We amplified the C9orf72 repeat expansion in 344 patients with RBD by a repeat-primed polymerase chain reaction assay. Results: We identified two RBD patients carrying the C9orf72 repeat expansion. Most interestingly, these patients have the same C9orf72 associated-risk haplotype identified in 9p21-linked amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia families. Conclusions: Our study enlarges the phenotypic spectrum associated with the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansions and suggests that, although rare, this expansion may play a role in the pathogenesis of RBD.

Exchange of solubilizers adsorbed on single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is probed by analysis of the peak shifts of the absorption bands of CNTs in the near-infrared region. Equilibrium constants and thermodynamic parameters of the exchange of sodium cholate for DNA (15-mers of oligo-DNAs, cytosine) on CNTs of different chirality are determined.

Infinite-layer-structure epitaxial thin films of SrFeO2 and LaNiO2 respectively were prepared by low-temperature reduction with CaH2 from brownmillerite SrFeO2.5 and perovskite LaNiO3 epitaxial thin films grown on single-crystal substrates. The reduction process, removing oxygen ions from the perovskite-structure framework and causing rearrangements of oxygen ions, topotactically transforms the initial compounds to the c-axis oriented infinite-layer-structure epitaxial thin films. Consequently, the oxidation state of transition-metal ions in the film changed in wide ranges.

Termites are dominant invertebrates in tropical soils (Wood & Sands 1978) and are important mediators of decomposition in terrestrial ecosystems (Abe & Matsumoto 1979, Lawton et al. 1996, Lee & Wood 1971, Matsumoto & Abe 1979, Wood & Sands 1978, Yamada et al. 2005). Furthermore, these processes, such as carbon mineralization and nitrogen fixation, are dependent on the species assemblage structure of the termite community (Lawton et al. 1996, Yamada et al. 2005, 2006). Feeding habits of termites reflect their metabolic processes. The three major isopteran groups – wood-feeders, fungus-growers (fungus-growing wood/litter feeders), soil-feeders – appear to play very different roles in the decomposition process (Tayasu et al. 1997, Wood 1976, Wood & Sands 1978, Yamada et al. 2005). Consequently, the relative abundance of each feeding group provides useful information on the function of the termite assemblage in an ecosystem.

A ceria-based in-situ conditioning process was successfully developed. A new single layered metal bonded conditioner was developed to solve problems encountered in implementing ceria based in-situ conditioning process. The planarity was significantly improved compared with that of conventional Ni-plated in-situ conditioning.

The safety and impact on the environment of transgenic crops are important issues, and studies have shown that pollen from transgenic Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn (Zea mays L.) may kill nontarget insects. To develop an algorithm for assessing the environmental effect of transgenic crops, we arranged a field experiment in Tsukuba, Japan. Pollen dispersal and deposition were measured inside and outside a cornfield throughout the flowering period. Weather conditions such as wind speed and direction were measured at the same time. Pollen dispersal peaked 1 week after the start of flowering and continued for 12 days thereafter. The variation in daily pollen dispersal was similar at all observation points. Both pollen dispersal and deposition decreased exponentially with distance from the cornfield on all days. We estimated potential pollen deposition with a quasi-mechanistic model that incorporates the effects of wind direction, wind speed, and flowering intensity. The daily potential deposition was summed over the flowering period, and then the relationship between distance from the cornfield and the integrated potential deposition was estimated. It was possible to show the effective area of the environmental risk zone posed by genetically modified pollen by combining the distance/deposition relationship with the dose/response relationship derived from a laboratory assay. The algorithm described here can be applied to various wind-pollinated plants to estimate both potential and integrated pollen deposition.

Titania gels in liquid media crystallized from amorphous to anatase at temperatures as low as 120 °C, while the onset of crystallization in air was 370 °C. The crystallization rate in water was much faster than in methanol and n-hexane, and the crystallite size of anatase prepared in water was larger than of those prepared in organic solvents. The crystallized powders were capable of efficient hydrogen evolution following band gap irradiation in the presence of a sacrificial hole acceptor such as methanol. The photocatalytic activity of powder crystallized in methanol was superior to those prepared in water and air.