A Human Reaching Movement Model for Myoelectric Prosthesis Control

This paper proposes a reaching movement model for the generation of desired trajectories within a myoelectric prosthesis training system. First, an experiment was performed to observe reaching movements with a non-impaired subject and a myoelectric prosthesis user. Reaching movements made by the prosthesis user were then adopted to construct a model based on a logistic function. The proposed model can be used to generate three trajectory types with a bell-shaped speed profile with the adjustment of only a few parameters.This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists B Number 26730111

A virtual myoelectric prosthesis training system capable of providing instructions on hand operations

This article proposes a virtual hand and a virtual training system for controlling the MyoBock—the most commonly used myoelectric prosthetic hand worldwide. As the virtual hand is controlled using the method also adopted for the MyoBock hand, the proposed system provides upper-limb amputees with operation sensibilities similar to those experienced in MyoBock control. It can also display an additional virtual hand for the provision of instructions on hand operation, such as the recommended posture for object grasping and the trajectory desirable to reach a target. In virtual hand control experiments conducted with an amputee to evaluate the proposed virtual hand’s operability, the subject successfully performed stable opening and closing with high discrimination rates (89.3±6.65%), thanks to the virtual hand’s incorporation of the MyoBock’s operational characteristics. A training experiment using the proposed system was also conducted with eight healthy participants over a period of 5 days. The participants were asked to perform the box and block test using the MyoBock hand in a real environment on the first and final days. The results showed that the number of blocks transported in 1 min significantly increased and that the participants using the instruction virtual hand changed the orientation of the hand approaching blocks from vertical to lateral. The outcomes of the experiment indicate that the proposed system can be used to improve MyoBock hand control operation both quantitatively and qualitatively.This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists B Number 26730111 and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research C Number 26462242

DLPFC and KYN in MDD treatment response

Aim: To establish treatment response biomarkers that reflect the pathophysiology of depression, it is important to use an integrated set of features. This study aimed to determine the relationship between regional brain activity at rest and blood metabolites related to treatment response to escitalopram to identify the characteristics of depression that respond to treatment. Methods: Blood metabolite levels and resting-state brain activity were measured in patients with moderate to severe depression (n = 65) before and after 6–8 weeks of treatment with escitalopram, and these were compared between Responders and Nonresponders to treatment. We then examined the relationship between blood metabolites and brain activity related to treatment responsiveness in patients and healthy controls (n = 36). Results: Thirty-two patients (49.2%) showed a clinical response (>50% reduction in the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression score) and were classified as Responders, and the remaining 33 patients were classified as Nonresponders. The pretreatment fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) value of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and plasma kynurenine levels were lower in Responders, and the rate of increase of both after treatment was correlated with an improvement in symptoms. Moreover, the fALFF value of the left DLPFC was significantly correlated with plasma kynurenine levels in pretreatment patients with depression and healthy controls. Conclusion: Decreased resting-state regional activity of the left DLPFC and decreased plasma kynurenine levels may predict treatment response to escitalopram, suggesting that it may be involved in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder in response to escitalopram treatment

吉田初三郎鳥瞰図にみる地方の都市計画 : 宮崎県延岡市が描かれた鳥瞰図をめぐって

Yoshida Hatsusaburo was a designer of bird\u27s-eye view pictures and he produced whole country. There are picture which he drew in Miyazaki prefecture. Three pictures which Nobeoka city, Miyazaki was drawn on as the subject in that exist, and, after "Nobeoka Meisho Zue (Pictorial Nobeoka)" of 1922, "Nobeoka" of the "Tetsudo Ryoko^ Annai (A guide book for rail travel )" inside in 1923 and World War II, "Nobeoka-shi cho^kanzu (A bird\u27s-eye view picture of Nobeoka City)" in 1952 which this. From these documents, as well as the figure of cities throughout Japan by the point of view of Mr. Hatsusaburo, it suggests the idea of regional cities in this period for "town planning

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray study of haem-binding protein from the bloodsucking insect Rhodnius prolixus

Rhodnius haem-binding protein (RHBP) from the bloodsucking insect Rhodnius prolixus, a 15 kDa protein, has been crystallized using polyethylene glycol as a precipitant. X-ray diffraction data have been collected at a synchrotron source. The crystals belong to the space group P4(1(3))2(1)2, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 64.98, c = 210.68 Angstrom, and diffract beyond 2.6 Angstrom resolution.57686086

Pancreatic RECK inactivation promotes cancer formation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and metastasis

膵癌悪性化の分子機構解明 --RECK発現の低下が膵癌の浸潤・転移を引き起こす--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-09-19.RECK is downregulated in various human cancers; however, how RECK inactivation affects carcinogenesis remains unclear. We addressed this issue in a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) mouse model and found that pancreatic Reck deletion dramatically augmented the spontaneous development of PDAC with a mesenchymal phenotype, which was accompanied by increased liver metastases and decreased survival. Lineage tracing revealed that pancreatic Reck deletion induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in PDAC cells, giving rise to inflammatory cancer-associated fibroblast–like cells in mice. Splenic transplantation of Reck-null PDAC cells resulted in numerous liver metastases with a mesenchymal phenotype, whereas reexpression of RECK markedly reduced metastases and changed the PDAC tumor phenotype into an epithelial one. Consistently, low RECK expression correlated with low E-cadherin expression, poor differentiation, metastasis, and poor prognosis in human PDAC. RECK reexpression in the PDAC cells was found to downregulate MMP2 and MMP3, with a concomitant increase in E-cadherin and decrease in EMT-promoting transcription factors. An MMP inhibitor recapitulated the effects of RECK on the expression of E-cadherin and EMT-promoting transcription factors and invasive activity. These results establish the authenticity of RECK as a pancreatic tumor suppressor, provide insights into its underlying mechanisms, and support the idea that RECK could be an important therapeutic effector against human PDAC

A phase II study of amrubicin and carboplatin for previously untreated patients with extensive-disease small cell lung cancer

Background: Amrubicin is active in the treatment of extensive-disease small cell lung cancer (ED-SCLC), and carboplatin is an analogue of cisplatin with less non-hematological toxicity. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and toxicity of amrubicin and carboplatin combination chemotherapy for previously untreated patients with ED-SCLC. Patients and methods: Eligibility criteria were chemotherapy-naive ED-SCLC patients, performance status 0-1, age ?75, and adequate hematological, hepatic and renal function. Based on the phase I study, the patients received amrubicin 35 mg/m2 i.v. infusion on days 1, 2, and 3, and carboplatin AUC 5 i.v. infusion on day 1. Four cycles of chemotherapy were repeated every 3 weeks. Results: Thirty-five patients were enrolled, and 34 patients were eligible and assessable for response, toxicity, and survival. Patients\u27 characteristics were as follows: male/female = 26/8; performance status 0/1 = 4/30; median age (range) = 64 (41-75); stage IV = 34. Evaluation of responses was 6 complete response, 21 partial response, and 7 stable disease (response rate 79.4 %, 95 % CI 63.6-88.5 %). Grade 3 and 4 leukopenia, neutropenia, and thrombocytopenia occurred in 59, 82, and 26 %, respectively. There were no treatment-related deaths or pneumonitis. Three patients experienced hypotension as an amrubicin infusion reaction. The median progression-free survival time was 6.5 months. The median overall survival time and 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were 15.6 months, and 63, 28, and 7 %, respectively. Conclusions: Amrubicin and carboplatin were effective and tolerable as chemotherapy for previously untreated patients with ED-SCLC. Further investigation of amrubicin and carboplatin is warranted