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In the past decade, ALMA observations of protoplanetary disks revealed various substructures including gaps and rings. Their origin of substructures may be probed through statistical studies of their physical properties. We present the analyses of archival ALMA Band 6 continuum data of 43 disks (39 Class II and four Herbig Ae) in the Taurus–Auriga region. We employ a novel 2D super-resolution imaging technique based on sparse modeling to obtain images with high fidelity and spatial resolution. As a result, we have obtained images with spatial resolutions comparable to a few au (⁠|${0_{.}^{\prime\prime}02}$| – |${0_{.}^{\prime\prime}1}$|⁠), which is two to three times better than conventional CLEAN methods. All dust disks are spatially resolved, with the radii ranging from 8 to 238 au with a median radius of 45 au. Half of the disks harbor clear gap structures, the radial locations of which show a bimodal distribution with peaks at ≲20 au and ≳30 au. We also see structures indicating weak gaps at all the radii in the disk. We find that the widths of these gaps increase with their depths, which is consistent with the model of planet–disk interactions. The inferred planet mass–orbital radius distribution indicates that the planet distribution is analogous to our solar system. However, planets with Neptune mass or lower may exist in all the radii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Endometriotic cells display invasive characteristics, despite their benign histological appearance. Recently, the epithelial–mesenchymal transition, in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal and migratory properties, has attracted attention as a mechanism of tumor invasion. We aimed to investigate the association between endometriosis and polymorphisms of the E-cadherin gene, a central player in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition, in Japanese women. METHODS Twelve single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the E-cadherin gene were identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction using a TaqMan assay in 511 women with endometriosis (the majority in Stages III and IV) and 498 healthy controls. RESULTS Allele frequency analysis indicated that there was a marginally higher frequency of the rs4783689 C allele in women with endometriosis compared with controls (corrected P = 0.007; odds ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.64). No significant associations with endometriosis were found for the other 11 SNPs. CONCLUSIONS Although this study was limited by sample size, the E-cadherin gene polymorphism rs4783689 was marginally associated with endometriosis in the Japanese population, suggesting that E-cadherin might be involved in genetic susceptibility to endometriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large phenotypic variations in the cadmium (Cd) concentration of rice grains and shoots have been observed. However, the genetic control of Cd accumulation remains poorly understood. Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) determining the grain Cd concentration of rice grown in a Cd-polluted paddy field were identified. Using a mapping population consisting of 85 backcross inbred lines derived from a cross between the low-Cd-accumulating cultivar Sasanishiki (japonica) and high-Cd-accumulating cultivar Habataki (indica), two QTLs for increasing grain Cd concentration were found on chromosomes 2 and 7. A major-effect QTL, qGCd7 (QTL for grain Cd on chromosome 7), was detected on the short arm of chromosome 7. It accounted for 35.5% of all phenotypic variance in backcross inbred lines. qGCd7 was not genetically related to any QTLs for concentrations of essential trace metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) or those for agronomic traits such as heading date, suggesting that this QTL is specific to Cd. Furthermore, the existence of qGCd7 was confirmed using chromosome segment substitution lines (CSSLs) and an F2 population from a cross between the target CSSL and Sasanishiki grown in a Cd-polluted paddy soil. To our knowledge, qGCd7 is a novel QTL with major effects for increasing grain Cd concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]