The e-mail magazine "Qdai-mail Tsushin" delivers campus news
every month.

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Friday, September 25, 2020

◆Notes on infectious disease control related to the novel
coronavirus (COVID-19) are posted on the University website.
https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/crisismanagement/riskmanagement/coronavirus

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**Research Close-Up


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*Getting a grip on the microplastics threat brewing in the ocean
  with Prof. Atsuhiko Isobe
  ~~~~~~~~~~
“Ecosystems are now dealing with this material that had never before 
existed in nature but is light weight, easily transported, and long 
lasting,” says Atsuhiko Isobe, a professor of Kyushu University’s 
Research Institute for Applied Mechanics at the forefront of 
microplastics research. “These properties that make plastics such useful 
materials also make them troublesome pollutants.”

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/research/close-up/atsuhiko-isobe


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*Engaging society with art as a means for recovery
  with Prof. Mikako Tomotari
  ~~~~~~~~~~
“Through art, we have opportunities to create unique solutions for 
addressing and resolving societal problems arising from cultural 
disruption, social alienation, and anxiety resulting from disasters,
” says Tomotari.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/research/close-up/mikako-tomotari


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*Preventing oral diseases by balancing the mouth’s bacteria
  with Prof. Yoshihisa Yamashita
  ~~~~~~~~~~
“Oral bacteria are a fact of life, with many of the approximately 700 kinds
present even playing beneficial roles, so we do not expect eradication of a
specific one to be the answer [to preventing oral diseases],” says Yoshihisa
Yamashita, professor and chairperson of Kyushu University’s Section of
Preventive and Public Health Dentistry. “Instead, we need to keep the
bacteria in a healthy balance.”

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/research/close-up/yoshihisa-yamashita


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*Keeping space safe and useful for the future
  with Prof. Toshiya Hanada
  ~~~~~~~~~~
“Left alone, future collisions will cause the amount of space debris to
continue growing even without new rocket launches, making operations
in space more dangerous every year,” says Toshiya Hanada, a professor
of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics of Kyushu University’s
Faculty of Engineering. “To keep space safe for the future, we must
act now.”

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/research/close-up/toshiya-hanada


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*Revealing secrets of Earth and beyond held in magnetic fields
  with Assoc. Prof. Futoshi Takahashi
  ~~~~~~~~~~
“Though it may easily be taken for granted since we cannot see or feel it,
Earth’s magnetic field is closely tied to our current lifestyle,” says Futoshi
Takahashi, associate professor of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Science.
“Furthermore, it is not constant, so predicting changes is important for
supporting our daily lives.”

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/research/close-up/futoshi-takahashi


==================================
**Research

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*Three new species of mud dragons found in submarine cave in Okinawa, Japan
   ~~~~~~~~~~
The three new species were collected on an expedition to the submarine
cave Daidokutsu on the east coast of Iejima Island by Hiroshi Yamasaki,
assistant professor of Kyushu University’s Faculty of Arts and Science,
in collaboration with Shinta Fujimoto of Tohoku University and Hayato
Tanaka of Tokyo Sea Life Park in April 2015.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/155


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*Coastal beetles may be spanning oceans just by floating themselves across
   ~~~~~~~~~~
For flightless insects, the ocean would seem like a strong barrier to migration.
Yet despite the odds, some such insects have been found to be widely distributed
across oceans. Research from Kyushu University now suggests that the key
might be an insect’s ability to make the long trip just by floating.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/157


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*Stay or leave? A tale of two virus strategies revealed by math
   ~~~~~~~~~~
As small and relatively simple as they may be, even viruses have
strategies. Now, researchers in Japan report that they can evaluate two
of these strategies through a combination of biology and math, providing
a new tool for insight into viruses that could be used to develop better
treatments.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/156


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*Novel genetic tools reveal the full picture of immune cells in the
central nervous system
   ~~~~~~~~~~
In order to develop a new microglia gene targeting model for
distinguishing between macrophages in the central nervous system,
researchers from Kyushu University and University of Freiburg
(Germany) applied massively parallel single-cell analyses to
compare signatures from microglia and other macrophages
associated with the central nervous system in healthy and diseased
conditions, and identified a gene-called hexosaminidase subunit
beta (Hexb)-that is specific to microglia.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/158


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*Unexpected shift in air pollution explained for regions downwind of China
   ~~~~~~~~~~
While reduced pollution emissions are a victory for the environment overall,
new research from Kyushu University indicates that they can also have
unexpected consequences for areas downwind. Using new modeling and
observations, researchers have now shown that a change in the balance
of emissions has actually led to an increase in nitrogen-containing pollutants
called nitrates travelling long distances despite a reduction at the source.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/159


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*Mars subsurface explored using microtremors
   ~~~~~~~~~~
Using the seismometer installed on Mars by the InSight lander,
researchers at Kyushu University have revealed how weak vibrations
called microtremors are generated on the red planet and could
potentially be used for detailed subsurface and resource exploration in
the future just by installing a network of sensors.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/160


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*Incidence of myopic maculopathy much higher among Japanese compared
with other Asian people
   ~~~~~~~~~~
As a part of the cohort study following the health of residents in the
town of Hisayama, Japan, researchers led by Koh-Hei Sonoda, professor of
Kyushu University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, performed initial and
follow-up eye examinations in 2012 and 2017.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/162


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*Better evaluating bankability of large-scale offshore wind farms
   ~~~~~~~~~~
Developed by Takanori Uchida, associate professor of Kyushu University’s
Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), a new model that includes
downstream changes in wind caused by wind turbines will aid in the
pre-construction evaluation of wind farms to more accurately assess
the bankability of large-scale wind energy projects.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/164


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*Continuous and stable lasing achieved from low-cost perovskites at
room temperature
   ~~~~~~~~~~
An international team of researchers led by Kyushu University and
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
has demonstrated stable, continuous lasing at room temperature for over
an hour from a class of low-cost materials called perovskites by finally
overcoming a phenomenon that has so far prevented such long operation.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/163


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*Next-generation test for detecting bacterial endotoxin
   ~~~~~~~~~~
Proteins developed at Kyushu University may soon make tests for
identifying the presence of particular endotoxins on bacteria easier to
manufacture by ending the dependence on substances from horseshoe crabs.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/161


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*Potential targets found for diagnosing the onset of breast cancer
   ~~~~~~~~~~
In a recent study, the Research and Development Center for Five-Sense
Devices at Kyushu University reported that a series of medium-chain
unsaturated fatty acids are present at high levels in breast cancer cell
cultures, giving new potential targets for detecting the onset of breast
cancer based on blood or urine samples.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/165


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*An innovative technology to simultaneously detect multiple epigenetic
information in single specimens
   ~~~~~~~~~~
Researchers from Kyushu University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and
the Institute for Quantitative Biosciences at the University of Tokyo
are now hoping to accelerate the broad adoption of low-input epigenome
analysis methods through the publishing of a detailed step-by-step protocol
using the Chromatin Integration Labeling (ChIL) method, one of the most
sensitive technologies.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/166


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*Nose’s response to odors more than just a simple sum of parts
   ~~~~~~~~~~
Take a sniff of a freshly poured glass of wine, and the prevailing scientific
thinking would suggest that the harmony of fragrances you perceive starts
with sensory receptors in your nose simply adding up the individual odors
they encounter. However, new research from Kyushu University shows
that a much more complex process is occurring, with some responses
being enhanced and others inhibited depending on the odors present.

https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/167
 
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