Kyushu University

About: Kyushu University is a education organization based out in Fukuoka, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 68284 authors who have published 135190 publications receiving 3055928 citations. The organization is also known as: Kyūshū Daigaku.

Indirect reciprocity provides only a narrow margin of efficiency for costly punishment.

Abstract: In human societies, altruistic behaviour can evolve when those who fail to co-operate acquire a bad reputation. But how far is it sensible to go on punishing those who don't cooperate, as punishment incurs a cost for both the punisher and the punished? Ohtsuki et al. explore the circumstances under which punishment is favoured using a game theory model in which all individuals observe the interactions between others and assess their reputation according to various social norms. They find that costly punishment can facilitate the evolution of cooperation, but only under a narrow set of parameters. As indirect reciprocity evolves to become more effective, costly punishment is rendered inefficient. In human societies, altruistic behaviour can evolve because those who fail to co-operate are lumbered with a bad reputation. This study explores the circumstances under which punishment is favoured using a game theory model in which all individuals observe the interactions between others and assess their reputation under various social norms. It is shown that punishment is only a successful strategy under a narrow set of parameters, including the relative costs of punishment and cooperation, the reliability of reputations and the spread of gossip. Indirect reciprocity1,2,3,4,5 is a key mechanism for the evolution of human cooperation. Our behaviour towards other people depends not only on what they have done to us but also on what they have done to others. Indirect reciprocity works through reputation5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17. The standard model of indirect reciprocity offers a binary choice: people can either cooperate or defect. Cooperation implies a cost for the donor and a benefit for the recipient. Defection has no cost and yields no benefit. Currently there is considerable interest in studying the effect of costly (or altruistic) punishment on human behaviour18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25. Punishment implies a cost for the punished person. Costly punishment means that the punisher also pays a cost. It has been suggested that costly punishment between individuals can promote cooperation. Here we study the role of costly punishment in an explicit model of indirect reciprocity. We analyse all social norms, which depend on the action of the donor and the reputation of the recipient. We allow errors in assigning reputation and study gossip as a mechanism for establishing coherence. We characterize all strategies that allow the evolutionary stability of cooperation. Some of those strategies use costly punishment; others do not. We find that punishment strategies typically reduce the average payoff of the population. Consequently, there is only a small parameter region where costly punishment leads to an efficient equilibrium. In most cases the population does better by not using costly punishment. The efficient strategy for indirect reciprocity is to withhold help for defectors rather than punishing them.

Regulating DNA Replication in Bacteria

Abstract: The replication origin and the initiator protein DnaA are the main targets for regulation of chromosome replication in bacteria. The origin bears multiple DnaA binding sites, while DnaA contains ATP/ADP-binding and DNA-binding domains. When enough ATP-DnaA has accumulated in the cell, an active initiation complex can be formed at the origin resulting in strand opening and recruitment of the replicative helicase. In Escherichia coli, oriC activity is directly regulated by DNA methylation and specific oriC-binding proteins. DnaA activity is regulated by proteins that stimulate ATP-DnaA hydrolysis, yielding inactive ADP-DnaA in a replication-coupled negative-feedback manner, and by DnaA-binding DNA elements that control the subcellular localization of DnaA or stimulate the ADP-to-ATP exchange of the DnaA-bound nucleotide. Regulation of dnaA gene expression is also important for initiation. The principle of replication-coupled negative regulation of DnaA found in E. coli is conserved in eukaryotes as well as in bacteria. Regulations by oriC-binding proteins and dnaA gene expression are also conserved in bacteria.

Evolutionary history of GS3, a gene conferring grain length in rice

Abstract: Unlike maize and wheat, where artificial selection is associated with an almost uniform increase in seed or grain size, domesticated rice exhibits dramatic phenotypic diversity for grain size and shape. Here we clone and characterize GS3, an evolutionarily important gene controlling grain size in rice. We show that GS3 is highly expressed in young panicles in both short- and long-grained varieties but is not expressed in leaves or panicles after flowering, and we use genetic transformation to demonstrate that the dominant allele for short grain complements the long-grain phenotype. An association study revealed that a C to A mutation in the second exon of GS3 (A allele) was associated with enhanced grain length in Oryza sativa but was absent from other Oryza species. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) was elevated and there was a 95.7% reduction in nucleotide diversity (θπ) across the gene in accessions carrying the A allele, suggesting positive selection for long grain. Haplotype analysis traced the origin of the long-grain allele to a Japonica-like ancestor and demonstrated introgression into the Indica gene pool. This study indicates a critical role for GS3 in defining the seed morphologies of modern subpopulations of O. sativa and enhances the potential for genetic manipulation of grain size in rice.

Dispersion Relation of Electromagnetic Waves in One-Dimensional Plasma Photonic Crystals

Abstract: The dispersion relation of electromagnetic waves in one-dimensional plasma photonic crystals is studied. The plasma photonic crystal is a periodic array composed of alternating thin plasma and dielectric material. The dispersion relation is obtained by solving a Maxwell wave equation using a method analogous to Kronig-Penny’s problem in quantum mechanics, and it is found that the frequency gap and cut-off appear in the dispersion relation. The frequency gap is shown to become larger with the increase of the plasma density as well as plasma width.

First Thermally Responsive Supramolecular Polymer Based on Glycosylated Amino Acid

Abstract: In materials science, a dynamic property sensitive to an environmental change (heat, light, electric current, pH, and other chemical or physical changes) is indispensable for intelligent materials. Such organic materials, however, are very limited even in conventional polymers. This paper clearly demonstrates that, regardless of the low molecular weight, a glycosylated amino acid derivative newly screened by a combinatorial method forms a macroscopic supramolecular hydrogel that reversibly swells or shrinks in response to the external temperature. Using the unique thermal response of the present hydrogel, we carried out the controlled release of DNA and the perfect removal of bisphenol A from the polluted water. Recently, advanced supramolecular polymers, in which monomers are noncovalently connected, are expected to be highly advantageous over traditional polymers because of their tunable and recyclable characteristics. The present result newly confers a dynamic feature on the supramolecular polymers, which is desirable for the sophisticated application in many fields.