Medaka Fish Parkinson’s Disease Model

Hideaki Matsui,Roberto Gavinio,Ryosuke Takahashi2 한국뇌신경과학회 2012 Experimental Neurobiology Vol.21 No.3

The teleost fish has been widely used in creating neurodegenerative models. Here we describe the teleost medaka fish Parkinson’s disease (PD) models we developed using toxin treatment and genetic engineering. 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,4–tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), proteasome inhibitors, lysosome inhibitors and tunicamycin treatment in our model fish replicated some salient features of PD: selective dopamine cell loss and reduced spontaneous movement with the last three toxins producing inclusion bodies ubiquitously in the brain. Despite the ubiquitous distribution of the inclusion bodies, the middle diencephalic dopaminergic neurons were particularly vulnerable to these toxins, supporting the idea that this dopamine cluster is similar to the human substantia nigra. PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) homozygous mutants also showed reduced spontaneous swimming movements. These data indicate that medaka fish can serve as a new model animal of PD. In this review we summarize our previous data and discuss future prospects

Comparison of the Interpretations between Untrained Japanese Returnee Students and Untrained Japanese EFL Learners

( Takahashi Kinuko ),( Sophia University ) 한국통역번역학회 2013 FORUM Vol.11 No.1

L`etude presentee compare les interpretations entre le groupe d`etudiants japonais rapatries sans formation d`interprd`te et le groupe d`apprenants EFL (i.e., anglais comme langue etrangd`re) japonais non-rapatries sans formation d`interprd`te. Selon Takahashi (2012), les rapatries ont frequemment insere des pauses remplies et ont fait des auto-corrections avant et pendant l`interpretation, et ces actes ont cause des interpretations legd`rement incomprehensibles. Cependant, on ne sait pas si le phenomd`ne etait unique au groupe de rapatries ou si le phenomd`ne etait universel a tous les apprenants EFL japonais, en raison de l`absence de formation d`interprd`te. Afin d`explorer la question, des non-rapatries (apprenants EFL) ont ete demandes a servir d`interprd`te du meme discours que dans Takahashi (2012), et les frequences des pauses remplies et auto-corrections ont ete compares. Le resultat indiquait que les frequences des pauses remplies et auto-corrections etaient plus eleves pour le groupe de rapatries que pour le groupe de non-rapatries bien qu`il n`y eut pas de difference significative. En plus, dans les interpretations effectuees par les rapatries, une grande variete de pauses remplies et auto-corrections coexistait tandis que celles-ci n`ont pas ete trouvees dans les interpretations effectuees par les non-rapatries, sauf dans quelques cas.

Image of Purple and Orange by Pleasantness Seekers and Comfortableness Seekers

Shin’ya Takahashi,Takashi Hanari,Riko Miyake 한국색채학회 2017 AIC 2017 Jeju Vol.2017 No.10

Following Takahashi and Hanari (2015) and Takahashi, Hanari, and Miyake (2016), relationship between individual’s color preference and his/her personality concerning pleasantness and comfortableness was examined. A hundred and seventy-nine university students answered the questionnaire that asked his/her degree of preference of twelve colors, tendency of seeking pleasantness and comfortableness, and the image of purple and orange colors. The results showed that pleasantness seeking had a positive correlation with restful image for purple, and comfortableness seeking had a positive correlation with restful image for orange. These correlations suggested mental affinity between pleasantness and purple color, and between comfortableness and orange color. However, in the present study, color preference data did not show the same tendency as previous studies; purple preference had no relationship with pleasantness seeking, and orange preference had no relationship with comfortableness seeking. Though the underlying psychological process that links our good feelings and certain colors has become clearer by the present findings, further research is needed with some procedural improvements.

STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS OF THE RATE OF CHANGE OF JAPANESE RETAIL MARKET POTENTIAL: 1991-2007

Charles A. Ingene,Ikuo Takahashi 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.2

Market potential for a line of retail trade within a geographic market has been defined as the difference between (i) actual sales of the line of trade in the geographic market and (ii) potential sales based on the marketing environment, current retailers’ marketing efforts, and competition from related lines of trade and nearby geographic markets (Ingene and Takahashi 2012). In this current research we examine the rate of change of retail market potential in Japan over a sixteen year span (1991-2007).We theoretically address, and empirically estimate, key factors that affect the rate of change of retail sales per household in four major lines of retail trade: frequently purchased consumables (food and drink), less frequently bought non-durables (apparel, shoes and dry goods), and infrequently acquired durable goods that range from moderately costly (furniture) to truly expensive (autos). Information on these lines is drawn from the Japanese Retail Trade Censuses of 1991 and 2007 at the Industrial Classification (IC) level. We examine Dry Goods, Apparel and Accessory stores (largely clothing, shoe, linen and accessories (IC 56; Share of retail trade in 2007: 8%)); Food and Beverage stores (primarily grocery, liquor, and specialty food stores (IC 57; Share of retail trade: 30%)); Furniture, Household Utensils, and Appliances (IC 59; Share of retail trade: 9%); and Motor Vehicles and Bicycle stores (IC 58; Share of retail trade: 12%). Note that because our measure is sales, autos dominate in the IC 58 category. These four lines of trade collectively comprise about 60% (1991: 62%, 2007: 58%) of all retail sales. We previously explored determinants of the absolute value of retail sales per household in these lines of retail trade (Ingene and Takahashi 2013). However, this research deals with the rate of change of retail sales per household. Thus, we explain differences in change of retail market potential among 528 Japanese cities, in all 47 prefectures, that are home to over 75% of Japan’s people. According to our previous study (Ingene and Takahashi 2013), retail sales are determined by three fundamental factors: the Market Environment (which is beyond the control of retail managers), Intertype Competition (which is influenced, but not controlled, by managers in the line of trade), and the Marketing Mix in each line of trade (which is set by managers). The essence of our argument is that the Market Environment determines a base level of rate of change in sales per household. Intertype Competition takes sales away from the focal lines of trade. Finally, the Marketing Mix in each line of trade augments sales (a) by appealing to customers and (b) by countering the negative impact of Intertype Competition.Turning to our empirical model (Figure 1), we include seven variables in the Market Environment that are measured by their rate of change between 1991 and 2007: per capita income, home size in square meters (a proxy for household wealth), population growth, daytime population relative to residential population, auto ownership per capita (a proxy for mobility), distance to the prefecture’s capital city (a proxy for out-shopping), and newspapers per capita. We expect each of these independent variables to increase our dependent variable: retail sales per household.For the Marketing Mix we measure three variables in terms of their rate of change in the same time period: average square meters of selling space per store (a proxy for assortment), employees per square meter of selling space (a proxy for service), and number of stores per 1000 people (a proxy for locational convenience); each of them should increase retail sales per household in its line of trade, but not in other lines (e.g., the marketing mix for Food stores should only affect food sales per household).For Intertype Competition we use General Merchandise Stores (largely department stores and supercenters (IC55; Share of retail trade in 2007: 12%)) that, in Japan, directly compete with Clothing, Furniture and Food stores. We focus on the same three variables (assortment, service, and access); they are expected to be inversely related to the rate of change in sales per household in the lines with which they compete. There is no intertype competition in our Motor Vehicle regressions. In the first stage of our analysis we use the change of the Market Environment to explain the variation in the rate of change in retail sales per household and four lines of trade (i.e., four regressions). The Market Environment generates adjusted R2’s of 2% (Clothing) to 25% (Autos).In our second-stage analysis our dependent variable is the residuals from the first-stage regressions. Here we include the Marketing Mix and Intertype Competition variables as explanatory; they account for 2% (Autos) to 43% (Clothing) of the variation in the first-stage residuals. Taking the two stages together, we are able to explain26% (Autos) to 54% (Food) of the variation in retail sales per capita across the four lines of trade. We make four contributions with our empirical research. First, we investigate data from two censuses that span a sixteen year period; few previous studies have examined changes in retail structure over time (e.g., Hall, et al. 1961). Second, we demonstrate the time-variant stability of the Marketing Mix variables. Third, we show the importance of intertype competition - although in our data it appears that only the Food and Beverage category experiences significant intertype competition. Fourth, we examine retailing in Japan; the world’s third largest economy has rarely been the focus of retail trade studies.

STRUCTURAL DETERMINANTS OF THE RATE OF CHANGE OF JAPANESE RETAIL MARKET POTENTIAL: 1991 – 2007

Charles A. Ingene,Ikuo Takahashi 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

Market potential for a line of retail trade within a geographic market has been defined as the difference between (i) actual sales of the line of trade in the geographic market and (ii) potential sales based on the marketing environment, current retailers’ marketing efforts, and competition from related lines of trade and nearby geographic markets (Ingene and Takahashi 2012). In this current research we examine the rate of change of retail market potential in Japan over a sixteen year span (1991-2007).We theoretically address, and empirically estimate, key factors that affect the rate of change of retail sales per household in four major lines of retail trade: frequently purchased consumables (food and drink), less frequently bought non-durables (apparel, shoes and dry goods), and infrequently acquired durable goods that range from moderately costly (furniture) to truly expensive (autos). Information on these lines is drawn from the Japanese Retail Trade Censuses of 1991 and 2007 at the Industrial Classification (IC) level. We examine Dry Goods, Apparel and Accessory stores (largely clothing, shoe, linen and accessories (IC 56; Share of retail trade in 2007: 8%)); Food and Beverage stores (primarily grocery, liquor, and specialty food stores (IC 57; Share of retail trade: 30%)); Furniture, Household Utensils, and Appliances (IC 59; Share of retail trade: 9%); and Motor Vehicles and Bicycle stores (IC 58; Share of retail trade: 12%). Note that because our measure is sales, autos dominate in the IC 58 category. These four lines of trade collectively comprise about 60% (1991: 62%, 2007: 58%) of all retail sales. We previously explored determinants of the absolute value of retail sales per household in these lines of retail trade (Ingene and Takahashi 2013). However, this research deals with the rate of change of retail sales per household. Thus, we explain differences in change of retail market potential among 528 Japanese cities, in all 47 prefectures, that are home to over 75% of Japan’s people. According to our previous study (Ingene and Takahashi 2013), retail sales are determined by three fundamental factors: the Market Environment (which is beyond the control of retail managers), Intertype Competition (which is influenced, but not controlled, by managers in the line of trade), and the Marketing Mix in each line of trade (which is set by managers). The essence of our argument is that the Market Environment determines a base level of rate of change in sales per household. Intertype Competition takes sales away from the focal lines of trade. Finally, the Marketing Mix in each line of trade augments sales (a) by appealing to customers and (b) by countering the negative impact of Intertype Competition.Turning to our empirical model (Figure 1), we include seven variables in the Market Environment that are measured by their rate of change between 1991 and 2007: per capita income, home size in square meters (a proxy for household wealth), population growth, daytime population relative to residential population, auto ownership per capita (a proxy for mobility), distance to the prefecture’s capital city (a proxy for out-shopping), and newspapers per capita. We expect each of these independent variables to increase our dependent variable: retail sales per household.For the Marketing Mix we measure three variables in terms of their rate of change in the same time period: average square meters of selling space per store (a proxy for assortment), employees per square meter of selling space (a proxy for service), and number of stores per 1000 people (a proxy for locational convenience); each of them should increase retail sales per household in its line of trade, but not in other lines (e.g., the marketing mix for Food stores should only affect food sales per household).For Intertype Competition we use General Merchandise Stores (largely department stores and supercenters (IC55; Share of retail trade in 2007: 12%)) that, in Japan, directly compete with Clothing, Furniture and Food stores. We focus on the same three variables (assortment, service, and access); they are expected to be inversely related to the rate of change in sales per household in the lines with which they compete. There is no intertype competition in our Motor Vehicle regressions. In the first stage of our analysis we use the change of the Market Environment to explain the variation in the rate of change in retail sales per household and four lines of trade (i.e., four regressions). The Market Environment generates adjusted R2’s of 2% (Clothing) to 25% (Autos).In our second-stage analysis our dependent variable is the residuals from the first-stage regressions. Here we include the Marketing Mix and Intertype Competition variables as explanatory; they account for 2% (Autos) to 43% (Clothing) of the variation in the first-stage residuals. Taking the two stages together, we are able to explain26% (Autos) to 54% (Food) of the variation in retail sales per capita across the four lines of trade. We make four contributions with our empirical research. First, we investigate data from two censuses that span a sixteen year period; few previous studies have examined changes in retail structure over time (e.g., Hall, et al. 1961). Second, we demonstrate the time-variant stability of the Marketing Mix variables. Third, we show the importance of intertype competition – although in our data it appears that only the Food and Beverage category experiences significant intertype competition. Fourth, we examine retailing in Japan; the world’s third largest economy has rarely been the focus of retail trade studies.

10-oxo-12(<i>Z</i>)-octadecenoic acid, a linoleic acid metabolite produced by gut lactic acid bacteria, enhances energy metabolism by activation of TRPV1

Kim, Minji,Furuzono, Tomoya,Yamakuni, Kanae,Li, Yongjia,Kim, Young-Il,Takahashi, Haruya,Ohue-Kitano, Ryuji,Jheng, Huei-Fen,Takahashi, Nobuyuki,Kano, Yuriko,Yu, Rina,Kishino, Shigenobu,Ogawa, Jun,Uchid The Federation of American Societies for Experimen 2017 The FASEB Journal Vol.31 No.11

<P>Gutmicrobiota can regulate the host energymetabolism; however, the underlying mechanisms that could involve gut microbiota-derived compounds remain to be understood. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects ofKetoA [10-oxo-12(Z)-octadecenoic acid]-a linoleic acidmetaboliteproduced by gut lactic acid bacteria-on whole-body energy metabolism and found that dietary intake of KetoA could enhance energy expenditure in mice, thereby protecting mice from diet-induced obesity. By using Ca2+ imaging and whole-cell patch-clamp methods, KetoA was noted to potently activate transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) and enhance noradrenalin turnover in adipose tissues. In addition, KetoA up-regulated genes that are related to brown adipocyte functions, including uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) inwhite adipose tissue (WAT), whichwas later diminished in the presence of a b-adrenoreceptor blocker. By using obese and diabetic model KK-Ay mice, we further show that KetoA intake ameliorated obesity-associatedmetabolic disorders. In the absence of any observedKetoA-induced antiobesity effect or UCP1 up-regulation in TRPV1-deficient mice, we prove that the antiobesity effect of KetoAwas caused by TRPV1 activation-mediated browning inWAT. KetoA produced in the gut could therefore be involved in the regulation of host energy metabolism.-Kim, M., Furuzono, T., Yamakuni, K., Li, Y., Kim, Y.-I., Takahashi, H., Ohue-Kitano, R., Jheng, H.-F., Takahashi, N., Kano, Y., Yu, R., Kishino, S., Ogawa, J., Uchida, K., Yamazaki, J., Tominaga, M., Kawada, T., Goto, T. 10-oxo-12(Z)-octadecenoic acid, a linoleic acid metabolite produced by gut lactic acid bacteria, enhances energy metabolism by activation of TRPV1.</P>

Role of Epac2A/Rap1 Signaling in Interplay Between Incretin and Sulfonylurea in Insulin Secretion

Takahashi, Harumi,Shibasaki, Tadao,Park, Jae-Hyung,Hidaka, Shihomi,Takahashi, Toshimasa,Ono, Aika,Song, Dae-Kyu,Seino, Susumu American Diabetes Association 2015 Diabetes Vol.64 No.4

<P>Incretin-related drugs and sulfonylureas are currently used worldwide for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We recently found that Epac2A, a cAMP binding protein having guanine nucleotide exchange activity toward Rap, is a target of both incretin and sulfonylurea. This suggests the possibility of interplay between incretin and sulfonylurea through Epac2A/Rap1 signaling in insulin secretion. In this study, we examined the combinatorial effects of incretin and various sulfonylureas on insulin secretion and activation of Epac2A/Rap1 signaling. A strong augmentation of insulin secretion by combination of GLP-1 and glibenclamide or glimepiride, which was found in <I>Epac2A</I><SUP>+/+</SUP> mice, was markedly reduced in <I>Epac2A</I><SUP>−/−</SUP> mice. In contrast, the combinatorial effect of GLP-1 and gliclazide was rather mild, and the effect was not altered by Epac2A ablation. Activation of Rap1 was enhanced by the combination of an Epac-selective cAMP analog with glibenclamide or glimepiride but not gliclazide. In diet-induced obese mice, ablation of Epac2A reduced the insulin secretory response to coadministration of the GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide and glimepiride. These findings clarify the critical role of Epac2A/Rap1 signaling in the augmenting effect of incretin and sulfonylurea on insulin secretion and provide the basis for the effects of combination therapies of incretin-related drugs and sulfonylureas.</P>

LARGE-SCALE [O_III] AND [C_II] DISTRIBUTIONS OF THE LARGE MAGELLANIC CLOUD WITH FIS-FTS

Takahashi, A.,Yasuda, A.,Kaneda, H.,Kawada, M.,Kiriyama, Y.,Mouri, A.,Mori, T.,Okada, Y.,Takahashi, H. The Korean Astronomical Society 2012 天文學論叢 Vol.27 No.4

We present the results of far-infrared spectroscopic observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with FIS-FTS. We covered a large area across the LMC, including 30 Doradus (30 Dor) and N44 star-forming regions, by 191 pointings in total. As a result, we detect the [OIII] and [CII] line emission as well as far-infrared dust continuum emission throughout the LMC. We find that the [OIII] emission is widely distributed around 30 Dor. The observed size of the distribution is too large to be explained by massive stars in 30 Dor, which are assumed to be enshrouded by clouds with the constant gas density estimated from the [OIII] line intensities. Therefore the surrounding structure is likely to be highly clumpy. We also find a global correlation between the [OIII] and the far-infrared continuum emission, suggesting that the gas and dust are well mixed in the highly-ionized region where the dust survives in clumpy dense clouds shielded from energetic photons. Furthermore we find that the ratios of [CII]/CO are as high as 110,000 in 30 Dor, and 45,000 even on average, while they are typically 6,000 for star-forming regions in our Galaxy. The unusually high [CII]/CO is also consistent with the picture of clumpy small dense clouds.

IS-16 : Preliminary Estimate of Mercury Distribution of Disaster Wastes Generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake

( Hiroaki Takahashi ),( Fumitake Takahashi ),( Yong Chil Seo ) 한국폐기물자원순환학회(구 한국폐기물학회) 2013 한국폐기물자원순환학회 추계학술발표논문집 Vol.2013 No.-

1. Background The great earthquake with the magnitude of 9.0, called as Great East Japan Earthquake, attacked East Japan area on 11th Mar. 2011 and caused following tsunami. The earthquake and tsunami generated massive disaster wastes which are still preventing from disaster recovery. Therefore, disaster wastes management is important to recover local society, economy, and environment. This study focuses on mercury, which is toxic heavy metal and can cause Minamata deceases, contained in huge amount of disaster wastes. Because some daily life products and medical products like fluorescent light, blood pressure manometer, and mercury-type thermometer contain mercury, the management, treatment, and disposal of disaster wastes might have significant impact on mercury emission to the environment. In this context, the purpose of this study is to estimate potential mercury distribution of disaster wastes preliminarily. 2. Method At first, the authors estimated the total amount of disaster wastes by two methods. The first estimate was according to emission factors reported based on some past earthquake disaster records. The other was according to summarized operational data of some disaster waste treatment facilities. It should be noted that these estimates should need great verification because they were based on many assumptions. Although disaster wastes have some categories like combustible, wood, and metals, their summation would be reported here. Mercury distribution of disaster wastes was calculated based on mercury content of each waste category. It also should be noted that mercury content would have non-negligible uncertainty. 3. Results and discussion Estimated total amount of disaster wastes are summarized in Table 1. There are large differences between two cases for sea sediment. This needs further study for the verification. Potential mercury distribution of disaster wastes is shown in Fig. 1. Medical wastes and fluorescent lumps are major mercury sources. Around 39% of mercury contained in disaster wastes might incorporated into cement kilns, which recycled disaster wastes as cement production resources. Although recycle of disaster wastes is preferable from the viewpoint of disaster recovery, it might have non-negligible impact on mercury emission to the atmosphere. 4. Conclusion The total amount of disaster wastes, generated by Great East Japan Earthquake and following tsunami, and potential mercury distribution of disaster wastes were estimated preliminarily. This suggests that medical wastes and fluorescent lumps might be large mercury sources. However, these estimates should have large uncertainty and needs further verification.

Synthesis of Multiplierless FIR Filter by Efficient Sharing of Horizontal and Vertical Common Subexpression Elimination

Yasuhiro TAKAHASHI,Kazukiyo TAKAHASHI,Michio YOKOYAMA 대한전자공학회 2004 ITC-CSCC :International Technical Conference on Ci Vol.2004 No.7