The authors present the results of a drone-based airborne LiDAR survey of the fifth century AD Tsukuriyama mounded tomb group in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, revealing the relationship between tomb building and the surrounding landscape during Japan's period of ancient state formation.

Maternal obesity and malnutrition during gestation and lactation have been recognized to increase the risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in the offspring across their lifespan. However, the gestational period during which malnutrition exerts a decisive effect is unclear. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a critical role in energy metabolism owing to its high efficiency in oxidizing glucose and fatty acids. This study aimed to determine the impact of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption only during pregnancy on BAT and energy metabolism in offspring mice. Dams were fed an HFD or a normal chow diet from embryonic day 2.5. HFD consumption during pregnancy induced glucose intolerance and hypertension in dams. In the offspring of HFD-fed dams, maternal HFD lowered fetal weight without affecting placental weight, whereas HFD consumption after birth exacerbated oxygen consumption and cold-induced thermogenesis at 12 months of age, accompanied by increased lipid droplet size in BAT. These data demonstrate that HFD consumption only during pregnancy exerts a long-lasting effect on BAT. Collectively, these findings indicate the importance of nutrition during pregnancy with respect to the energy metabolism of the offspring, and pregnant women should thus ensure proper nutrition during pregnancy to ensure normal energy metabolism in the offspring.

Diel vertical migration of the cutlassfish Trichiurus japonicus larvae were investigated by consecutive 24-h collections at 3-h intervals at a station in the central Seto Inland Sea, Japan in June and September. Only one larva was collected in June 2017, while 224 and 40 larvae were collected in September 2016 and 2017, respectively. Larvae were present only at depths of ≥ 11 m during the day, whereas they were present at depths of 1, 6, 11 and 16 m during the night. Migration was observed in larvae in which swim bladder formation was completed. A similar pattern, namely nocturnal occurrence at shallow depths only of the developed larvae, was observed in another 24-h survey, suggesting that the swim bladder regulates the upward movement of larvae at night.

Organic thin film devices are of interest for a variety of forthcoming ubiquitous electronics applications. In order to build ubiquitous high-performance devices, it is necessary to fabricate crystalline thin films of various organic materials onto “ubiquitous substrates” that are dictated by applications. However, many organic thin films crystallize only on a limited selection of substrates. Unfortunately, promising organic molecules, which have a large overlap of pi-orbitals between molecules, cannot migrate freely on a substrate because of stronger cohesion between molecules than interaction between the molecule and the substrate. Therefore, enhancement of the molecule-substrate interaction, i.e. ‘molecular wettability’ should promote crystallization. We found that an ultrasmooth monolayer of pentacene (C22H14), which can be grown on many general dielectric substrates, changes the molecular wettability of a substrate for other poorly wettable organic materials. We also demonstrate that a field effect transistor (FET) using a crystalline C60 thin film on a pentacene-buffered substrate can have a mobility of 4.9 cm2/Vs, which is 5-fold higher than that of C60 FETs without the buffer. Molecular wetting-controlled substrates can thus offer a general solution to the fabrication of high-performance crystalline plastic and molecular electronics.

We studied the thermoelectric and electrical properties of InSb thin films prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The thermoelectric properties were evaluated using power factor (Pf =α2/Ï), which is an important criterion, and a value of 10-3 W/mK2 is a standard for practical use. Maximum value of Pf was 2.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 1-μm-thick InSb, 3.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 3-μm-thick InSb, and 5.8×10-3W/mK2 at 600K for 5-μm-thick InSb. On the other hand, the maximum Pf of bulk-InSb was 5.4×10-3W/mK2 at 600K.

By means of insertion of thin pentacene buffer layer, we have succeeded in the fabrication of highly c-axis oriented rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene) thin films and their field effect transistors (FETs). In the case without pentacene buffers, only amorphous rubrene films were obtained and their FETs did not show operation. After optimization of pentacene buffer by using combinatorial thickness-gradient method, we obtained the crystalline rubrene thin films and their FETs showed p-type operation with a mobility of 0.05 cm2/V·s and an on-off ratio of 106.

Oral administration of raffinose, a naturally occurring indigestible oligosaccharide, has reportedly ameliorated atopic dermatitis in human subjects although the mechanism is unknown. The present study investigated the effect of dietary raffinose on allergen-induced airway eosinophilia in ovalbumin-sensitised Brown Norway rats as an atopic disease model. Brown Norway rats were immunised by subcutaneous injection with ovalbumin on day 0 and fed either a control diet or the diet supplemented with raffinose (50 g/kg diet). The rats were exposed to aerosolised ovalbumin on day 20, and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid was obtained on the next day. The number of eosinophils in the fluid was significantly lower in the rats fed the raffinose diet than in those fed the control diet. Dietary raffinose significantly reduced IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA levels in lung tissue and tended to lower ovalbumin-specific Ig E levels. Suppression of eosinophilia by dietary raffinose was still observed in caecectomised and neomycin-administered rats, suggesting little contribution by the colonic bacteria to the effect of raffinose. Intraperitoneal administration of raffinose also suppressed eosinophilia. Significant concentrations of raffinose were detected in portal venous and abdominal arterial plasma after the intragastric administration of raffinose. Overall, the findings suggest that dietary raffinose ameliorates allergic airway eosinophilia at least partly via post-absorptive mechanisms in Brown Norway rats.

A new pedunculate barnacle, Ashinkailepas seepiophila gen. and sp. nov. has been recovered from a hydrothermal cold seep at 1175 metres of depth off Hatsushima Island, Sagami Bay, central Japan. It is the second record of a Neolepadinae, otherwise known from vents, from a seep, but the two are not closely related. Its coarsely ornamented capitular plates, and primary peduncular armament being in whorls of six plates, distinguish it from all previously known neolepadines, not only as a new genus and species, but also as a distinct clade, and therefore a new tribe is proposed to accommodate it. There is a slight bilateral asymmetry in the proportions of the capitular plates as well as a marked bilateral asymmetry in the arrangement of the peduncular scales related to bending over to one side. This apomorphic characteristic distinguishes the new species from all other Scalpellomorpha. While leaning over to one side is suggestive of verrucomorphs, it is not judged a sign of affinity. Ashinkailepas is apparently the most primitive of the vent/seep barnacles, which are considered relics largely of the Mesozoic age.

Proeutectoid ferrite (bcc α) nucleation on the inclusions and precipitates dispersed in austenite (fee γ), denoted as intragranular ferrite transformation, has been used to refine the microstructure in the heat affected zone to improve the toughness of low and medium carbon steels. It is currently considered that Bl(NaCl)-type complex inclusions/precipitates (e.g. oxide, sulfide, carbide, nitride) are promising ones as ferrite nucleation sites. The present study aims to study the ability of various complex inclusions/precipitates in austenite as nucleation sites in proeutectoid ferrite transformations by standard and analytical electron microscopy.

Table 1 shows the chemical composition of Fe-2Mn-0.2C hypoeutectoid steels with various alloying element additions to change the inclusions/precipitate in austenite. Steel A contains a large density of MnS with the sulfur addition of 470ppm. Steels B and C also contain similar dispersion of MnS as Steel A.