Archaeological application of airborne LiDAR to examine social changes in the Ceibal region of the Maya lowlands.

Although the application of LiDAR has made significant contributions to archaeology, LiDAR only provides a synchronic view of the current topography. An important challenge for researchers is to extract diachronic information over typically extensive LiDAR-surveyed areas in an efficient manner. By applying an architectural chronology obtained from intensive excavations at the site center and by complementing it with surface collection and test excavations in peripheral zones, we analyze LiDAR data over an area of 470 km2 to trace social changes through time in the Ceibal region, Guatemala, of the Maya lowlands.

Objective image analysis of the meibomian gland area.

Aims: To evaluate objectively the meibomian gland area using newly developed software for non-invasive meibography.

Methods: Eighty eyelids of 42 patients without meibomian gland loss (meiboscore=0), 105 eyelids of 57 patients with loss of less than one-third total meibomian gland area (meiboscore=1), 13 eyelids of 11 patients with between one-third and two-thirds loss of meibomian gland area (meiboscore=2) and 20 eyelids of 14 patients with two-thirds loss of meibomian gland area (meiboscore=3) were studied. Lid borders were automatically determined.

Topical diquafosol for patients with obstructive meibomian gland dysfunction.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of topical diquafosol in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) using tear film parameters and quantitatively analyse the meibomian gland morphology.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects were 19 eyes of 10 patients diagnosed with obstructive MGD. All subjects were given 3% diquafosol ophthalmic solution with instructions to use one drop four times a day.

Phylogeny of galactolipid synthase homologs together with their enzymatic analyses revealed a possible origin and divergence time for photosynthetic membrane biogenesis.

The photosynthetic membranes of cyanobacteria and chloroplasts of higher plants have remarkably similar lipid compositions. In particular, thylakoid membranes of both cyanobacteria and chloroplasts are composed of galactolipids, of which monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) is the most abundant, although MGDG biosynthetic pathways are different in these organisms. Comprehensive phylogenetic analysis revealed that MGDG synthase (MGD) homologs of filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs Chloroflexi have a close relationship with MGDs of Viridiplantae (green algae and land plants).

A monogalactosyldiacylglycerol synthase found in the green sulfur bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum reveals important roles for galactolipids in photosynthesis.

Monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), which is conserved in almost all photosynthetic organisms, is the most abundant natural polar lipid on Earth. In plants, MGDG is highly accumulated in the chloroplast membranes and is an important bulk constituent of thylakoid membranes. However, precise functions of MGDG in photosynthesis have not been well understood.

Synthesis of a novel class of glycocluster with a cyclic α-(1→6)-octaglucoside as a scaffold and their binding abilities to concanavalin A.

The synthesis of small glycoclusters with high affinity toward lectins is one of the important subjects in glycotechnology. Although cyclic α-(1→6)-d-octaglucoside (CI8) is an attractive scaffold on which to put glycosyl pendants, the compound has only secondary hydroxyl groups, which are relatively unreactive for substitution reactions. The oxidation of the vicinal diols of CI8 and reductive amination of the resultant dialdehydes with 2-aminoethyl mannoside gave mannose-CI8 conjugates with a variety of average mannose incorporation numbers (2-7).

Insights into the DNA stabilizing contributions of a bicyclic cytosine analogue: crystal structures of DNA duplexes containing 7,8-dihydropyrido [2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one.

The incorporation of the bicyclic cytosine analogue 7,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one (X) into DNA duplexes results in a significant enhancement of their stability (3-4 K per modification). To establish the effects of X on the local hydrogen-bonding and base stacking interactions and the overall DNA conformation, and to obtain insights into the correlation between the structure and stability of X-containing DNA duplexes, the crystal structures of [d(CGCGAATT-X-GCG)](2) and [d(CGCGAAT-X-CGCG)](2) have been determined at 1.9-2.

Crystal structures of DNA duplexes stabilized by bicyclic-C residues.

Chemical modification of nucleic acids is being studied extensively as an approach for the development of nucleic acid-based therapies. We found that a nucleotide carrying 7,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-one (bicyclic-C or X), which is a cytosine derivative with a propene attached at the N4 and C5 atoms, increases the stability of DNA duplexes. To establish the conformational effects of X on DNA and to obtain insight into the correlation between the structure and stability of X-containing DNA duplexes, the crystal structures of [d(CGCGAATT-X-GCG)](2) and [d(CGCGAAT-X-CGCG)](2) have been determined at 2.

[The effects of an exercise program for the female elderly in the community].

In Mizumaki-cho, Fukuoka, a "School of muscle-building for the elderly" was held by the self-help group "MIZUMAKI Iki-iki senior club" once a week from Sep. 2002 to Mar. 2004.