Titania-Based Coral-Structured Solar Absorber Coating with Improved Scalability and Durability at High Temperature.

Solar energy harvesting and storage are essential in the future mix of renewable energy technologies. Hierarchical coral-structured coatings have been shown to yield high solar absorptance in concentrating solar thermal (CST) systems. However, interfacial delamination and scalability challenges owing to material complexity pose significant hurdles for the widespread industrial adoption of these hierarchical CST coatings.

Scalable nano-architecture for stable near-blackbody solar absorption at high temperatures.

Light trapping enhancement by nanostructures is ubiquitous in engineering applications, for example, in improving highly-efficient concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies. However, most nano-engineered coatings and metasurfaces are not scalable to large surfaces ( > 100 m) and are unstable at elevated temperatures ( > 850 C), hindering their wide-spread adoption in CST. Here, we propose a scalable layer nano-architecture that can significantly enhance the solar absorption of an arbitrary material.

Rare variant discovery by deep whole-genome sequencing of 1,070 Japanese individuals.

The Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization reports the whole-genome sequences of 1,070 healthy Japanese individuals and construction of a Japanese population reference panel (1KJPN). Here we identify through this high-coverage sequencing (32.4 × on average), 21.

An efficient quantitation method of next-generation sequencing libraries by using MiSeq sequencer.

Library quantitation is a critical step to obtain high data output in Illumina HiSeq sequencers. Here, we introduce a library quantitation method that uses the Illumina MiSeq sequencer designated as quantitative MiSeq (qMiSeq). In this procedure, 96 dual-index libraries, including control samples, are denatured, pooled in equal volume, and sequenced by MiSeq.

Validation of multiple single nucleotide variation calls by additional exome analysis with a semiconductor sequencer to supplement data of whole-genome sequencing of a human population.

Background: Validation of single nucleotide variations in whole-genome sequencing is critical for studying disease-related variations in large populations. A combination of different types of next-generation sequencers for analyzing individual genomes may be an efficient means of validating multiple single nucleotide variations calls simultaneously.

Results: Here, we analyzed 12 independent Japanese genomes using two next-generation sequencing platforms: the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform for whole-genome sequencing (average depth 32.

Abundant sequence divergence in the native Japanese cattle Mishima-Ushi (Bos taurus) detected using whole-genome sequencing.

The native Japanese cattle Mishima-Ushi, a designated national natural treasure, are bred on a remote island, which has resulted in the conservation of their genealogy. We examined the genetic characteristics of 8 Mishima-Ushi individuals by using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), insertions, and deletions obtained by whole-genome sequencing. Mapping analysis with various criteria showed that predicted heterozygous SNPs were more prevalent than predicted homozygous SNPs in the exonic region, especially non-synonymous SNPs.

Primary analysis of DNA polymorphisms in the TRIM region (MHC subregion) of the Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica.

Based on sequences of two cosmid clones from Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica, Coja), we confirmed that the syntenic cluster, GNB2L1∼BTN1∼BTN2, is located in the quail TRIM subregion of the quail major histocompatibility complex (MHC Coja) region. These cosmids also included four CjBG loci and one CjLEC locus; therefore, the quail TRIM subregion was thought to be adjacent to the BG/LEC subregion. We then identified three polymorphic markers - CjHEP21, CjTRIM39.

Whole-genome resequencing shows numerous genes with nonsynonymous SNPs in the Japanese native cattle Kuchinoshima-Ushi.

Background: Because the Japanese native cattle Kuchinoshima-Ushi have been isolated in a small island and their lineage has been intensely protected, it has been assumed to date that numerous and valuable genomic variations are conserved in this cattle breed.

Results: In this study, we evaluated genetic features of this breed, including single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) information, by whole-genome sequencing using a Genome Analyzer II. A total of 64.

Simultaneous alignment and micropatterning of carbon nanotubes using modulated magnetic field.

We report simultaneous alignment and micropatterning of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using a high magnetic field. It is important to prepare well-dispersed CNTs for alignment and patterning because CNT aggregation obstructs alignment. In magnetic field, highly anisotropic CNTs rotate in the direction stabilized in energy.

Risk of accidental invasion and expansion of allochthonous mice in Tokyo metropolitan coastal areas in Japan.

House mouse (Mus musculus) is one of the perilous animal vectors for imported zoonosis such as a lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) infectious disease, and probably unknown emerging and/or re-emerging infectious diseases as well. It is necessary to prevent such diseases by regular surveys for behavioral trends of these allochthonous mice. However, such a trial has never been attempted in Japan.

Origin and evolution of processed pseudogenes that stabilize functional Makorin1 mRNAs in mice, primates and other mammals.

We investigate the origin and evolution of a mouse processed pseudogene, Makorin1-p1, whose transcripts stabilize functional Makorin1 mRNAs. It is shown that Makorin1-p1 originated almost immediately before the musculus and cervicolor species groups diverged from each other some 4 million years ago and that the Makorin1-p1 orthologs in various Mus species are transcribed. However, Mus caroli in the cervicolor species group expresses not only Makorin1-p1, but also another older Makorin1-derived processed pseudogene, demonstrating the rapid generation and turnover in subgenus Mus.

Anti-obesity actions of mastication driven by histamine neurons in rats.

Implications of mastication in energy intake and expenditure regulated by histamine (HA) neurons were investigated in rats. Depletion of neuronal HA from the mesencephalic trigeminal sensory nucleus (Me5) reduced eating speed, but that from a satiety center of the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) increased both meal size and its duration leaving eating speed unaffected. Turnover of neuronal HA in the Me5 was elevated at the early phase of feeding and that in the VMH was at the later phase.

Phylogenetic development of a regulatory gene for the core 2 GlcNAc transferase in Mus musculus.

In our previous study, we identified a mouse gene, Gsl5, that controls the expression of a glycolipid, GL-Y [Galbeta1-4(Fucalpha1-3)GlcNAcbeta1-6(Galbeta1-3)GalNAcbeta1-3Galalpha1-4Galbeta1-4Glcbeta1-Cer], and the core 2 structure of O-linked glycans of glycoproteins, GlcNAcbeta1-6(Galbeta1-3)GalNAcalpha-Ser/Thr, in a kidney tubular cell-specific manner through the regulation of UDP-GlcNAc beta-1,6-GlcNAc transferase (GNT). Regulation by the Gsl5 gene occurs at the level of GNT mRNA and the recessive allele of Gsl5 is rare and carried by DBA/2 and its related strains. Here, we report a sequence comparison of the 5' flanking region of the GNT gene among 5 laboratory strains and 10 wild-derived strains, demonstrating that the DBA/2 allele sequence is similar to the sequence carried by Asian Mus m.

Hypothalamic histamine neurons activate lipolysis in rat adipose tissue.

The contribution of hypothalamic histamine neurons to the central regulation of peripheral lipid metabolism was investigated in rats using in vivo microdialysis system. A bolus infusion of L-histamine at doses of 10--10(3) nmol/rat into the third cerebral ventricle (i3vt) dose-dependently increased glycerol concentration in the perfusate from the epididymal adipose tissue. I3vt infusion of 10(2) nmol/rat thioperamide, an autoinhibitory H(3) receptor antagonist that activates histamine neurons to increase synthesis and release of neuronal histamine, convincingly mimicked histamine action in the augmented lipolysis.