Butsuri
Online ISSN : 2423-8872
Print ISSN : 0029-0181
ISSN-L : 0029-0181
Volume 75, Issue 4
Displaying 1-24 of 24 articles from this issue
Preface
Contents
Interdisciplinary
  • Suguru Nishinami, Kentaro Shiraki
    Article type: Interdisciplinary
    2020 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 192-200
    Published: April 05, 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: September 14, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Prion is a misfolded protein that has a unique propagation system by the change of the tertiary structure. The concept of prion is conserved among various species, such as bacteria, yeast, anaspidea, sheep, and human. A kind of prions, such as mammalian PrP, causes a serious disease by widespread neuronal dysfunction. However, it remains unclear why the hallmark concept of prions has been preserved across diverse species form prokaryotes to eukaryotes. Here we summarize the researches of prion proteins about the function of the cellular prion or the dysfunction triggering neurotoxicity. We also highlight key findings that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins plays a crucial role for the existence of prion proteins in living organisms. The LLPS of protein is expected as a new research target for polymer science, solution thermodynamics, biophysics, spectroscopy, and drug discovery.

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Reviews
Researches
  • Hidenori Fukaya, Tetsuya Onogi, Satoshi Yamaguchi
    Article type: Researches
    2020 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 210-214
    Published: April 05, 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: September 14, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    The Atiyah–Patodi–Singer index theorem is related to the bulk-edge correspondence of symmetry protected topological insulators. The mathematical set-up for this theorem is, however, unnatural since it imposes on the fermion fields a non-local boundary condition known as the “APS boundary condition” by hand, which is unlikely to be realized in the condensed matter systems. In 2017, we showed that the same integer as the APS index can be given by the eta-invariant of the domain-wall fermion Dirac operator. Recently, we invited three mathematicians, Mikio Furuta, Shinichiroh Matsuo, and Mayuko Yama­shita to our group and proved that this correspondence is not a coincidence but generally true.

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  • Nobuhiko J. Suematsu, Kota Ikeda, Hiraku Nishimori
    Article type: Researches
    2020 Volume 75 Issue 4 Pages 215-220
    Published: April 05, 2020
    Released on J-STAGE: September 14, 2020
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

    Variety of non-living self-propelled particles have been reported, for example, metal particles moving in hydrogen peroxide solution, oil droplets swimming in surfactant aqueous solution, and solid particles sliding on water. The self-propelled particles change the environmental condition around them and spontaneously break spacial symmetry by themselves resulting in stably generating driving force. In addition, the self-propelled particles interact each other, and thus, induce transition of collective behaviors depending on number density. Recently, mode change of self-propelled motion sliding on water, that is camphor disk, was observed with increase in the number density. The circular camphor disks showed continuous motion with low number density. With overcoming threshold value, the disks motion change to oscillatory motion, where the disks alternate rest and rapid motion. The mode-bifurcation was explained using mathematical model, where the essential factor was the coupling of slow dynamics of mean camphor concentration field and fast process of disk motion.

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