Leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are known to have a superior diving ability and be highly adapted to pelagic swimming. They have five longitudinal ridges on their carapace. Although it… (More)
We investigated the phylogenetic relationships of species and subspecies of the cosmopolitan genus Pica using 813 bp of the mitochondrial genome (including portions of 16s rDNA, tRNA-Leu, and ND1).… (More)
The ability to distinguish among heterospecific individuals has been reported in only a few animal species. Humans can be viewed as a special type of heterospecifics because individuals differ widely… (More)
Inhibitory effect of incubation on microbial growth has extensively been studied in wild bird populations using culture-based methods and conflicting results exist on whether incubation selectively… (More)
Jumping on water is a unique locomotion mode found in semi-aquatic arthropods, such as water striders. To reproduce this feat in a surface tension-dominant jumping robot, we elucidated the… (More)
The alula is a small structure located at the joint between the hand-wing and arm-wing of birds and is known to be used in slow flight with high angles of attack such as landing. It is assumed to… (More)
Decision making process is an important component of information use by animals and has already been studied in natural situations. Decision making takes time, which is expressed as a cost in… (More)
Although 10-methacryloyloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (10-MDP) is frequently used as an acidic resin monomer in dental adhesives, its effect on dental pulp cells (DPCs) has been rarely reported. The… (More)
Nitric oxide (NO) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) play important roles in the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation. However, it has not been examined whether human periodontal… (More)
Increased interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 levels exist in the gingival tissue of periodontitis patients, but the precise molecular mechanisms that regulate IL-17 and IL-23 production remain unknown.… (More)