Human Control Law and Brain Activity of Voluntary Motion by Utilizing a Balancing Task with an Inverted Pendulum

Human characteristics concerning voluntary motion control are investigated, because this motion is fundamental for the machine operation and human-computer system. Using a force feedback haptic device and a balancing task of a virtual inverted pendulum, participants were trained in the task, and hand motion/force was measured, and brain activity was monitored. First, through brain analysis by near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and motion analysis of the pendulum, we identified a participant who was the most expert. Next, control characteristics of the most expert were investigated by considering the operational force and delay factor of a human. As a result, it was found that predictive control based on velocity information was used predominantly although a perception feedback control against the pendulum posture worked. And it was shown that an on-off intermittency control, which was a strategy for the skilled balancing, can be described well by a liner model involving two types of time shifts for the position and velocity. In addition, it was confirmed that the cortex activity for observation in an ocular motor control area and visual processing area was strong to enhance above-mentioned control strategies

Cooperative binding of the outer arm-docking complex underlies the regular arrangement of outer arm dynein in the axoneme

Outer arm dynein (OAD) in cilia and flagella is bound to the outer doublet microtubules every 24 nm. Periodic binding of OADs at specific sites is important for efficient cilia/flagella beating; however, the molecular mechanism that specifies OAD arrangement remains elusive. Studies using the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii have shown that the OAD-docking complex (ODA-DC), a heterotrimeric complex present at the OAD base, functions as the OAD docking site on the doublet. We find that the ODA-DC has an ellipsoidal shape approximately 24 nm in length. In mutant axonemes that lack OAD but retain the ODA-DC, ODA-DC molecules are aligned in an end-to-end manner along the outer doublets. When flagella of a mutant lacking ODA-DCs are supplied with ODA-DCs upon gamete fusion, ODA-DC molecules first bind to the mutant axonemes in the proximal region, and the occupied region gradually extends toward the tip, followed by binding of OADs. This and other results indicate that a cooperative association of the ODA-DC underlies its function as the OAD-docking site and is the determinant of the 24-nm periodicity

Characterization of a new rice glutelin gene GluD-1 expressed in the starchy endosperm

A new glutelin gene, designated GluD-1, has been discovered by comparing the seed storage proteins from 48 japonica and indica rice cultivars on SDS-PAGE gels. Evidence that GluD-1 is a member of the glutelin family was provided by Western blots using anti-glutelin antiserum and by mapping the gene to the chromosomal glutelin gene cluster. The limited GluD-1 size polymorphism among the rice varieties is due to amino acid substitutions rather than to post-transcriptional modification. GluD-1 is maximally expressed in the starchy endosperm starting at 5 d after flowering (DAF) and increasing through 30 DAF, a major difference from the other glutelins which are primarily expressed in the subaleurone from 10–16 DAF. Only about 0.2 kb of the GluD-1 promoter was sufficient to confer inner starchy endosperm-specific expression. The 0.2 kb truncated GluD-1 promoter contains a bifactorial endosperm box consisting of a truncated GCN4 motif (TGA(G/C)TCA) and AAAG Prolamin box (P box), and ACGT and AACA motifs as cis-regulatory elements. Gel retardation assays and trans-activation experiments indicated that the truncated GCN4 and P box are specifically recognized by RISBZ1 b-ZIP and RPBF Dof activators in vitro, respectively, and are synergistically transactivated, indicating that combinatorial interactions of these motifs are involved in essential endosperm-specific regulation. Furthermore, deviation from the cognate GCN4 motif alters tissue-specific expression in the inner starchy endosperm to include other endosperm tissues