The ability of Climacodon septentrionalis to immobilize and kill a mycophagous nematode (Aphelenchoides sp.) in vitro is described for the first time. Two isolates produced droplets (20–45 μm in diameter) that formed at the apices of tall, stalked, and branching secretory cells (700–

,500 μm tall). On 2% modified malt extract agar, nematodes became enveloped in the droplets, which restricted their ability to move and resulted in complete immobilization and death within several hours of contact. The rate of decomposition of the nematodes varied considerably, with most individuals persisting for weeks whereas others were degraded within several days and appeared to be colonized by dense hyphal growth. This study provides the first documentation of a non-agaricoid fungus producing secretory cells that are able to immobilize nematodes.

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We screened the differentiation-inducing activities of 39 mushroom extracts from Akita prefecture, Japan, on the mouse osteoblastic cell line, MCT-. Sixteen phosphate buffered saline (PBS), 8 boiled PBS, 14 ethanol and 12 methanol extracts induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, an indicator of MCT- cell differentiation. The enzyme activities were markedly induced by extracts of Tricholoma auratum, and we isolated the active compound from methanol extracts of this mushroom. Physical data for the isolated active compound were identical to those for (,24R)-ergosta-,-diene-,,6β-triol (). induced ALP activities of MCT- cells and promoted cell proliferation. To investigate the relationships between the chemical structure and differentiation-inducing activity of the compound, ALP-inducing activities of MCT- cells by , ergosterol (2), ergocalciferol (), cholesta-,,6β-triol (4), -dehydrocholesterol () and cholecalciferol (6) were tested. The enzyme activities of MCT- cells were increased .0-fold by 10 μM and 2.4-fold by 10 μM 4. However, 2, , and 6 did not induce MCT- cell ALP activity at 0.—10 μM. These results suggested that the OH groups at C- and/or C-6 of and 4 played an important role in their differentiation-inducing activities on MCT- cells. Furthermore, suppressed induction of MCT- cell apoptosis by serum starvation.

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The possibility of attenuation of microseismic waves due to the presence of an upward folding of the ocean bottom into the liquid is discussed in this paper. The upward folding of the ocean bottom has been idealized by means of an irregularity in the form of a rectangle intruding into the liquid and the evaluation of the displacement component at any point of the solid medium has been carried out in two stages. First, the change in the incident mode of the surface wave due to the presence of the rectangular irregularity has been determined, and second, the subsequent change of the resulting displacement components due to the termination of the liquid layer and the step change in elevation of the solid medium at the continental margin has been discovered. Finally, numerical calculation has been made to determine the attenuation of the microseismic waves of different periods due to the presence of the rectangular irregularity at the ocean bottom.

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Failure problems of saturated soils are classified in the present study into the following four types : Type I : The failure of loose and/or normally consolidated soils under fully drained loading conditions. Type II : The same soils but under perfectly undrained conditions. Type III : The failure of dense and/or overconsolidated soils under fully drained conditions. Type IV : The same soils but under perfectly undrained conditions. The soil-water coupling limiting equilibrium analysis on the basis of the critical state concept is shown possible to draw a distinction between type I, II and IV problems, and the limitations of the analysis procedure happen in solving the type problem in the above. This is demonstrated experimentally, in which seepage failure experiments in laboratory with the use of a saturated silty sand are employed to make distinctions clearly between the four types of failure problems. The definite distinctions both in failure load and failure mode appeared in the four types of experiments are summarized as follows : () the smallest failure load in loose sand in the undrained condition, (2) the largest failure load with the largest failure region in dense sand under undrained loading, () the observation of no global deformation before failure within the soil under the fully drained condition that suggests the development of very localized shear deformation in the sand. Three out of four experiments are described well by the limit analysis computation mentioned above as far as the failure load and the shape and the size of the failure region after boiling failure are concerned, and thus the type III problem is identified to be the problem that should be solved by any other means in near future.

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Six full-length cDNAs encoding pig cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, CYPA, CYP2A19, CYP2, CYP2C33v4, CYP2C49, and CYP2, were isolated and sequenced. The cDNA sequences of pig CYPA, CYP2A19, CYP2, CYP2C49, and CYP2 showed high similarity to human (85.4%), CYP2A13 (88.6%), (.%), CYP2C18 (85.%), and (.%), respectively, and pig CYP2C33v4 cDNA showed high similarity to rat CYP2C23 (79.2%). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays revealed hepatic gene expression of all these pig CYP enzymes: the order of expression was CYP2C33v4 and > CYP2C49 > and CYP2A19 > . In the kidney, the CYP2C33v4 gene was expressed at the same level as in the liver, but the , CYP2A19, and genes were expressed at lower levels than in the liver. Little renal gene expression of CYP2C49 and CYP2 was observed. We revealed for the first time the full-length cDNA sequences encoding pig CYPA and five CYP enzymes belonging to the CYP2 gene family, thus making it possible to examine the gene expression levels of these CYP enzymes in pig tissues by RT-PCR.

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Baeospora occidentalis is described as a new species associated with melting snow in montane coniferous forests of the western USA. The species is springfruiting and is characterized by a long tapering pseudorhiza covered with white basal rhizomorphs which extends deeply into the needle litter or woody debris. It possesses a multiallelic, tetrapolar mating system. Monokaryotic mycelia produce arthroconidia.

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Does the demonstration of recollection with the slave boy in the Meno really constitute the proof of recollection thesis? Socrates seems there to be asking leading questions I take it that Plato intended to make it uncertain whether the boy is really recollecting his second denial of knowledge 'ou manthano' (85A4-) can mean 'I am not learning', suggesting that he is not recollecting We can never know the truth about his learning, because the demonstration is a Gorgian type of epideixis (-2), which produces only persuasion However, it is one thing to know whether the boy is recollecting, and quite another to know whether learning is recollection The demonstration is meant to make Meno recollect the latter truth (6-A) Throughout the demonstration Socrates addresses questions to Meno, thereby making him consider whether the boy is really recollecting (6-, 12-, A-4, C10-D) Socrates' remark after the demonstration is that Meno knows that the boy will regain knowledge (85C9-D), which means that Meno has been successfully made to recollect that recollection thesis is correct According to Cebes' explanation in the Phaedo (73A-2), recollection is helped by the use of proper questions and diagrams, and according to the Republic (510D-511A, 529D-530A), mathematicians should not seek truth in diagrams or models made by such masters as Daedalus, but make use of them simply as images The boy's learning is a beautiful image of true learning created by Socrates, an offspring of Daedalus We should not seek truth concerning learning in this image, but make use of it to find truth about true learning Socrates' proper questions with the help of this image made Meno recollect that learning is recollection However, inquirers are rather misled by perceptual images when the object of inquiry has no lustre in its earthly image(Phaedrus 250), as is the case with virtues, knowledge, education and learning In order to establish that learning is recollection, it is then necessary to have recourse to another kind of proof, in which one relies on rational thinking Plato embarks on this task in the Phaedo Recollection itself can be taken to be an image or metaphor (eikon) of learning, presented by Socrates, just as the torpedo is an image of Socrates, presented by Meno (80A-C) But they are different in that while the latter is intended to stop inquiry, recollection is a metaphor that stimulates inquiry and helps to develop new ideas expressible in literal paraphrases ('the illustrative thesis' in Pender, Images of Persons Unseen, Sankt Augustin 2000) In the Phaedo Plato continues his quest for the truth about learning, with the help of recollection as the image of learning, and thereby develops such new ideas as the existence of Forms and the immortality of the soul His further inquiry about knowledge, the object of learning, in the Theaetetus is taken to be its further continuation

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Fracture healing is a complex dynamic process that involves the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Several microRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to participate in fracture healing. In this study, we investigated the role of miR-324-

p in osteoblast differentiation. MCT- cell differentiation was induced by icariin, and miR-324-p expression levels during cell differentiation were measured using qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation and differentiation were assessed to evaluate the function of miR-324-p. Luciferase activity was used for target gene verification. During MCT- differentiation, miR-324-p levels gradually increased over time. Further experiments showed that miR-324-p overexpression significantly promoted cell viability, whereas miR-324-p downregulation showed the opposite effect. For cells with miR-324-p mimic, the levels of bone sialoprotein, Runx2, osteocalcin, and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly elevated. SMAD is the target gene of miR-324-p, and its level is gradually downregulated during MCT- cell differentiation. MiR-324-p may promote MCT- cell differentiation by targeting SMAD.

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The Tsukuba Challenge is a competition, in which autonomous mobile robots run on a route set on a public road under a real environment. Their task includes not only simple running but also finding multiple specific persons at the same time. This study proposes a method that would realize person searching. While many person-searching algorithms use a laser sensor and a camera in combination, our method only uses an omnidirectional camera. The search target is detected using a convolutional neural network (CNN) that performs a classification of the search target. Training a CNN requires a great amount of data for which pseudo images created by composition are used. Our method is implemented in an autonomous mobile robot, and its performance has been verified in the Tsukuba Challenge 2017.

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We observed that (,2S,,,)-,,11,15-Cembratetraen-17,2-olide (LS-), marine cembrenolide diterpene, inhibited growth and induced apoptosis in colon cancer cells via a reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent mechanism. Treatment of HT-29 cells with LS- resulted in ROS generation, which was accompanied by disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, cytosolic release of cytochrome c, sub-G peak accumulation, activation of Bid, caspase-, -8, and -9, and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) along with the suppressive expression of cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2). All these effects were significantly blocked on pretreatment with the ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine (NAC), indicating the involvement of increased ROS in the proapoptotic activity of LS-. Moreover, we showed that LS- induced the phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and dephosphorylation of p38, extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), Akt, Src and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT), which were effectively attenuated by NAC. In addition, the expressions of antioxidant catalase and glutathione peroxidase were abrogated by treatment using LS- with or without NAC. These findings reveal the novel anticancer efficacy of LS- mediated by the induction of apoptosis via ROS generation in human colon cancer cells.

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Static characteristics of two different structured InAlGaAs/InAlAs superlattice avalanche photodiodes (SLAPDs) cooled by liquid nitrogen were evaluated at a wavelength of . μm. The dark current of the SLAPD having a thick superlattice layer of 0.504 μm was ×10^-13 A. This was successively reduced by four orders of magnitude compared to that of the thin layer SLAPD of 0.231 μm at a breakdown voltage of around 20 V. The thickened layer was effective in suppressing tunneling dark current. An output current of .×10^-12 A at a bias voltage of 15 V was measured for an optical input with a wavelength of . μm and a signal power of ×10^-12 W. This showed a sharp distinction from the dark current.

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