2023-06-01

Industrial electricity consumption efficiency and energy policy in Japan

This study analyzes the potential for energy savings by identifying inefficiencies in electricity use and their determinants in the Japanese industrial sector. Specifically, we used stochastic frontier analysis to estimate inefficiencies in electricity consumption based on data obtained from electric power companies. We identified significant determinants of electricity consumption efficiency and that changes in national energy policy following the Great East Japan Earthquake changed electricity consumption behavior. The contribution of this study is that its findings can be used to improve the cost-effectiveness of policies aimed at improving energy efficiency.
2023-05-19

Comparative analyses define differences between BHD-associated renal tumour and sporadic chromophobe renal cell carcinoma

Background Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome, caused by germline alteration of folliculin (FLCN) gene, develops hybrid oncocytic/chromophobe tumour (HOCT) and chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC), whereas sporadic ChRCC does not harbor FLCN alteration. To date, molecular characteristics of these similar histological types of tumours have been incompletely elucidated.
2023-05-17

Dynamics of AMPA receptors regulate epileptogenesis in patients with epilepsy

The excitatory glutamate α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptors (AMPARs) contribute to epileptogenesis. Thirty patients with epilepsy and 31 healthy controls are scanned using positron emission tomography with our recently developed radiotracer for AMPARs, [11C]K-2, which measures the density of cell-surface AMPARs.
2023-05-10

A leaf-emanated signal orchestrates grain size and number in response to maternal resources

In plants, variations in seed size and number are outcomes of different reproductive strategies. Both traits are often environmentally influenced, suggesting that a mechanism exists to coordinate these phenotypes in response to available maternal resources.