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In group-living mammals, reproductive success can be attributed to both resident and non-resident males. However, the reproductive success of non-resident males has rarely been investigated at an individual level. As male reproductive success is highly skewed towards specific males, often the most dominant males, the percentage of similar-aged paternal siblings within groups is expected to increase. However, the extent to which each male contributes to the production of cohorts of paternal siblings remains unclear. Here we examined the paternity of 46 offspring born over five consecutive years in a group of Japanese macaquesMacaca fuscataon Shodoshima Island. We quantitatively assessed paternity success for males, including both resident and non-resident males, and the percentages of paternal sibling dyads in the same age cohorts produced by those males. Non-resident males sired neither higher nor lower percentage of offspring compared to resident males, indicating that various males, including non-resident males, usually partake in the within-group breeding of macaque groups. These are possibly because female preference of mating partners can change over time. Subadult males had a lower percentage of paternity success, which may be because females may not prefer the physically immature subadult males. Various males, including non-resident males, contributed to the creation of paternal sibling in the same age cohort. The overall results suggest that not only resident but also non-resident males play an important role in shaping within-group kin structures. Future studies are required to examine how paternal siblings interact with each other.

Chimpanzee societies generally show male philopatry and female dispersal. However, demographic data on wild chimpanzee societies from long-term study sites have revealed that some females give birth in their natal group (i.e., “remaining females”). Here, we report two remaining females in the M group in Mahale, Tanzania, and compare their cases with previous reports to explore the social and ecological factors that lead to females remaining in their natal group. The results revealed that neither the social traits of the remaining females nor the ecological factors they experienced showed a coherent trend. However, we found multiple, non-mutually exclusive potential factors that may influence the decision by females to remain in their natal group: a decrease in indirect feeding competition, support from mothers or allomothers in the care of offspring and in aggressive interactions with other individuals, close relationships with the other remaining females, and a short adolescent infertility period. Additionally, we observed a natal female copulating with her older brother, which was the first observation of brother–sister incest in Mahale. Although DNA analysis revealed that her infant was not a product of inbreeding, the pair copulated frequently in the latter half of her estrus period, suggesting that they did not avoid incest behaviorally to avoid inbreeding. Furthermore, there was no hard evidence that the remaining female avoided mating with her maternal brother, suggesting that incest avoidance may not be a proximate factor responsible for female dispersal., 出自集団で出産するメスは「例外」ではないことを解明 --チンパンジー父系社会でメスが出自集団に居残る要因の検討--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-01-15.

Sleep in Drosophila was defined in the year 2000 by using Drosophila Activity Monitor (DAM) system. But DAM is very small tube space and one fly per tube is very limited to analyze for fly social behavior. To overcome such demerits of DAM system, we developed a novel automated sleep and rhythm analysis system (AutoCircaS) which monitors and records any behaviors like social mating, sleep, and circadian rhythm in flies (Drosophila) and small fishes medaka (Oryzias latipes) in free space using the time-lapse (one frame per 10 sec) imaging. AutoCircaS can detect the caffeine-induced insomnia in flies in light-dark (LD) and constant dark (DD) conditions. Thus, using the AutoCircaS, we discovered that Japanese traditional herbal medicines, KyushinKannouGan-ki (KKG), NouKassei (NK) as well as, and Sansoninto, significantly improved caffeine-induced insomnia in flies. The data suggest that AutoCircaS is useful for sleep analysis of small animals and screening of new sedative-hypnotics from many origins.

A torque management model (TMM) focused on the close matching of driving requirements and operating conditions for electric tractors was developed. The TMM used the accelerator pedal output signal to establish the torque demand to adapt for two conditions – field traction and road driving. Further, the TMM uses the limitations of a time-based torque ramp, maximum motor torque at the current speed, and battery state of charge. To verify the performance of the TMM, a tractor control unit (TCU) to support the TMM was designed, and a test bench comprising both driving and loading devices was built. The bench provided the TMM/TCU with the necessary operating states needed as inputs to determine the torque demand. Experiments were performed under five specific manoeuvring cases. The test results showed that the TMM was capable of accurately converting pedal manipulations into torque demands both in the field traction and road driving conditions. The torque changes during testing were properly smoothed by limiting the rising and falling time of the target torque, which was favourable for eliminating impacts due to torque fluctuations. Overloading operations that would occur in case of excessive torque request were avoided by the torque capacity limitation both in the field traction and road acceleration tests. When the bus voltage was deliberately adjusted below the alarm threshold, the TMM could scale down the torque demand in real time according to the deviation between the actual voltage and the threshold, and therefore, it always kept the voltage above the safe level.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with motor symptoms linked to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. α-Synuclein is an aggregation-prone neural protein that plays a role in the pathogenesis of PD. In our previous paper, we found that saffron; the stigma of Crocus sativus Linne (Iridaceae), and its constituents (crocin and crocetin) suppressed aggregation of α-synuclein and promoted the dissociation of α-synuclein fibrils in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effect of dietary saffron and its constituent, crocetin, in vivo on a fly PD model overexpressing several mutant α-synuclein in a tissue-specific manner. Saffron and crocetin significantly suppressed the decrease of climbing ability in the Drosophila overexpressing A30P (A30P fly PD model) or G51D (G51D fly PD model) mutated α-synuclein in neurons. Saffron and crocetin extended the life span in the G51D fly PD model. Saffron suppressed the rough-eyed phenotype and the dispersion of the size histogram of the ocular long axis in the eye of A30P fly PD model. Saffron had a cytoprotective effect on a human neuronal cell line with α-synuclein fibrils. These data showed that saffron and its constituent crocetin have protective effects on the progression of PD disease in animals in vivo and suggest that saffron and crocetin can be used to treat PD.

ObjectivesOriental bezoar, a gallstone formed in the gall sac of Bos taurus Linné var. domesticus Gmelin (Bovidae), has been used as a crude drug in oriental medicine for stroke, convulsion, epilepsy, swelling and pain in the throat, and high fever. Despite reports on the antioxidative effect of oriental bezoar-containing drugs, in vitro-cultured calculus bovis (a substitute for oriental bezoar), and its components (namely, bilirubin and biliverdin), the intracellular mechanism of the antioxidative action of oriental bezoar remains unclear. Therefore, we studied the effect of oriental bezoar on the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)-antioxidant response element (ARE) pathway, which transcriptionally regulates genes encoding antioxidant and detoxifying enzymes, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione-S-transferase alpha 1 (GSTA1), and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), to elucidate its antioxidative effect.MethodsARE promoter activity and mRNA expression (HO-1, GSTA1, and NQO1) in HepG2 cells supplemented with test drugs were examined in vitro by luciferase reporter assay and real-time PCR, respectively.ResultsOriental bezoar induced ARE promoter activity and increased the mRNA expression level of HO-1, GSTA1, and NQO1. Its components, namely, bilirubin and biliverdin, also increased the ARE promoter activity.ConclusionThese results suggest that oriental bezoar can induce antioxidative and detoxification effects via the Nrf2-ARE pathway.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with motor symptoms linked to the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. α-Synuclein is an aggregation-prone neural protein that plays a role in the pathogenesis of PD. In our previous paper, we found that saffron; the stigma of Crocus sativus Linné (Iridaceae), and its constituents (crocin and crocetin) suppressed aggregation of α-synuclein and promoted the dissociation of α-synuclein fibrils in vitro. In this study, we investigated the effect of dietary saffron and its constituent, crocetin, in vivo on a fly PD model overexpressing several mutant α-synuclein in a tissue-specific manner. Saffron and crocetin significantly suppressed the decrease of climbing ability in the Drosophila overexpressing A30P (A30P fly PD model) or G51D (G51D fly PD model) mutated α-synuclein in neurons. Saffron and crocetin extended the life span in the G51D fly PD model. Saffron suppressed the rough-eyed phenotype and the dispersion of the size histogram of the ocular long axis in A30P fly PD model in eye. Saffron had a cytoprotective effect on a human neuronal cell line with α-synuclein fibrils. These data showed that saffron and its constituent crocetin have protective effects on the progression of PD disease in animals in vivo and suggest that saffron and crocetin can be used to treat PD.

A half-tracked tractor equipped with an oscillating crawler system has better stability on uneven ground than wheel type tractors, which respond directly to a concavo-convex surface. However, the crawler tension fluctuates according to the variation in the perimeter of the crawler unit, since the hitch point of the oscillating frame is set separately from the drive axis of the drive sprocket. It is suggested that this fluctuation of the crawler tension would influence the driving performance. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the crawler tension and the driving performance of the oscillating crawler unit using kinematics simulation. The ultimate objective is to achieve traveling control with fluctuation in the crawler tension. This paper introduces a rubber crawler model that is able to simulate the fluctuation in the crawler tension. In the driving simulation, the effect of the elastic parameters of the crawler and support spring on the driving performance of the oscillating crawler unit was examined. It was observed that the driving performance of the oscillating crawler unit is affected by the parameters of the rubber crawler and the support spring of the idle roller.

Whole crop rice (WCR) is expected to establish a cultivation method using manure produced from animal wastes. Meanwhile, application methods of fertilizer and manure in the WCR cultivation are affe...

The reproductive success of male primates is not always associated with dominance status. For example, even though male orangutans exhibit intra-sexual dimorphism and clear dominance relationships exist among males, previous studies have reported that both morphs are able to sire offspring. The present study aimed to compare the reproductive success of two male morphs, and to determine whether unflanged males sired offspring in a free-ranging population of Bornean orangutans, using 12 microsatellite loci to determine the paternity of eight infants. A single flanged male sired most of the offspring from parous females, and an unflanged male sired a firstborn. This is consistent with our observation that the dominant flanged male showed little interest in nulliparous females, whereas the unflanged males frequently mated with them. This suggests that the dominant flanged male monopolizes the fertilization of parous females and that unflanged males take advantage of any mating opportunities that arise in the absence of the flanged male, even though the conception probability of nulliparous females is relatively low.

Bread has been a staple of the human diet since antiquity. Many Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains have been used in raising the dough during bread-making. However, the genetic relationships and characteristics of these strains are not well understood. In this study, we analyzed several S. cerevisiae strains using microsatellite polymorphism. First, we extracted DNA from cooked bread (baked, steamed, and fried) and analyzed S. cerevisiae polymorphisms using six microsatellite loci, which is half of the subset reported previously. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report that demonstrates the possibility of analyzing S. cerevisiae microsatellite polymorphisms using cooked bread as a source of yeast DNA.

Measuring the area of combine-harvested field sections corresponding to a truckload of grain received at a grain elevator (LHA: load harvest area) allows the estimation of brown rice yield. The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of LHA measured based on combine movement traces when the traces were recorded by a GPS or a GPS + Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) receiver. For the measurements using a GPS receiver, the mean and standard deviation of relative errors of LHA were 4.7% and 8.1%. The center of the relative error distribution shifted toward positive because positioning errors of a GPS receiver shifted outer edges of harvested sections outward and resulted in measuring larger harvested area than a true value. For the measurements using a GPS + QZSS receiver, the mean and standard deviation of relative errors of LHA were 0.5% and 4.8%. The center of the relative error distribution was around 0% for its better positioning accuracy. The relative errors of LHA tended to be large when an LHA was measured from a field section where only the outer-part of a field is harvested or several small harvested sections. These cases of LHA measurements increased the sum of the perimeter of harvested sections and resulted in deteriorating the measurement accuracy. This result indicated that measurement accuracy of LHA can be further improved by correcting error, which can be estimated based on positioning errors and the perimeter of harvested sections.

Bocaparvoviruses have been studied extensively owing to their ability to cause respiratory illness or gastroenteritis in humans. Some bocaparvoviruses have been detected in non-human primates (gorillas and chimpanzees), but the diversity and evolution of these viruses are not fully understood. In this study, we collected 107 fecal samples from wild western lowland gorillas in Moukalaba-Doudou National Park in Gabon to investigate the presence of bocaparvoviruses. Using a combination of pan-bocaparvovirus PCR and individual identification by microsatellite genotyping, we found that two samples from two apparently healthy infant gorillas were positive for bocaparvovirus. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the two gorilla bocaparvovirus strains are nearly identical and are closely related to viruses in the species Primate bocaparvovirus 2 (with 86.0% nucleotide identity to a human bocavirus 2 isolate). To our knowledge, this is the first report showing the presence of a non-human primate bocaparovirus within Primate bocaparvovirus 2. Our findings provide novel insights into the diversity and evolution of bocaparvoviruses and highlight the importance of surveying these viruses for the safe management of gorilla-based ecotourism.

Half-tracked tractors equipped with front wheels and a rear oscillating crawler unit are popular. However, the track tension fluctuates caused by the variation in the unit's perimeter because the hitch point of the oscillating frame is set separately from the drive axis of the drive sprocket. It is considered that this fluctuation in the track tension could influence driving performance. Moreover, driving performance factors might be optimized by actively controlling the track tension. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a measurement method for track tension fluctuation, which focuses on the inner structure of the rubber track. The rubber track contains a structure of capacitors constructed with a steel cord as a capacitor plate and the rubber between the steel cords as the electric material. When the tension force acts upon the rubber track, changing the distance between the steel cords, the capacitance would be changed. This capacitance variation was measured in the oscillating frequency by a CR oscillating circuit that utilized the characteristic of a capacitor. A fundamental experiment with a test piece cut out of a rubber track was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed tension measurement, which uses steel cords arranged inner the rubber track. As a results, it was theoretically confirmed that the oscillating frequency was reduced by increasing the tension load, and a stable value with a high correlation between the tension load and the oscillating frequency. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the possibility for stable measurement of crawler tension.

Mutations in RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) such as TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) and fused in sarcoma (FUS) are associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Recent evidence suggests that RNA dysregulation mediated by aberrant RBPs may play a critical role in neurodegeneration, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, we performed whole transcriptome profiling of various brain tissues of a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of ALS/FTD overexpressing the exogenous nuclear localization signal deletion mutant of human FUS (ΔNLS-FUS) to investigate changes associated with the early stages of ALS/FTD. Although there were not many differences in expression profiles between wild-type and Tg mice, we found that Sema3g was significantly upregulated in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of Tg mice. Interestingly, analysis of alternative splicing events identified widespread exons that were differentially regulated in Tg mice in a tissue-specific manner. Our study thus identified aberrant splicing regulation mediated by mutant FUS during the early stages of ALS/FTD. Targeting this aberrant splicing regulation represents a potential therapeutic strategy for ALS/FTD.

Extraction of DNA from non-invasive samples (feces) has been used increasingly in genetic research on wildlife. For effective and reliable genetic analyses, knowledge about which samples should be selected in the field is essential. For this reason, we examined the process of DNA degradation in feces of deer. We collected fresh fecal pellets from three wild deer living in a warm temperate forest. We then assessed the effects of time (3, 5, and 10 days) under three environmental conditions (on the forest floor, on exposed ground, and inside the laboratory) on the rates of correct genotyping (CG), amplification failure (NA), genotyping error among positive amplification (ER), false alleles (FA), and allelic dropout (AD) of 15 microsatellite loci. The rate of CG significantly decreased, and those of NA and FA increased with increasing lapse of time. Rates of CG tended to be highest and those of NA, ER, FA, and AD to be lowest in feces kept inside, followed by those on the forest floor. Suitability of samples for DNA extraction was lowest in fecal pellets left on exposed ground, and we suspect that rain may hasten DNA degradation. NA rate could serve as a reliable indicator of the quality of fecal pellets because it was significantly positively correlated with ER rate. For efficient genetic analyses using deer feces in warm temperate zones, we recommend collecting fecal pellets within 3 days of defecation, during periods without rainfall and from under the cover of trees.

Statistics show that lateral overturns are the most frequent fatal accidents involving tractors. There is thus much research interest in improving tractor lateral stability. Previous research has discovered the effects of various factors on tractor dynamic responses. While these factors have been analysed separately, their relative significance with respect to other factors remain uncertain. Furthermore, the practical limits of what operators can do have not been considered. The present study assumed a possible case that a tractor operator has several spare tyres of different types and service condition. Additionally, the ballast weight, track width, and implement position can usually be controlled before operation. A scale model tractor was thus developed allowing changes to these factors. The model tractor was designated to pass over typical farming road surfaces. Moreover, the tractor lateral stability was evaluated in terms of the roll angle, lateral-load transfer ratio, and Phase I overturn index. Employing the Taguchi method, we arranged experiments and assessed the applicability of the three kinds of indexes regarding tractor Phase I overturn. Results revealed that the roll angle did not well reflect the initiations of overturns. Compared with the lateral-load transfer ratio, the Phase I overturn index had more convincing factorial effects on tractor stability. Further investigation of the suggested tractor configuration supported this conclusion by comparing predicted and experimental results. In practical cases, this approach may provide a reference for engineers to help operators improve driving safety with limited spare parts.