SAVER: Surface Autonomous Vehicle for Emergency Rescue

The design, fabrication, and testing of an unmanned surface vehicle for the NASA Micro-G NExT SAVER challenge. This device features a radio direction finding phase array to autonomously navigate to an emergency distress beacon to deliver emergency supplies

イライ ヒョウゲン ノ イブンカ ヒカク ニッチュウ ポライトネス ノ シテン カラ チュウカン ゲンゴ オ サグル

本研究では、中国人非日本語学習者と中国人日本語学習者、日本語母語話者の依頼表現の変化について見ていく。特に学習者の在日年数、日本語能力による依頼ストラテジーの比較対象をする。学習者の中間言語に対する目標言語である日本語の影響を調べるために、中国語話者を三つのグループに分け、依頼相手の感じる負担度の度合いが異なると考えられる4つの場面を設定し、親疎上下関係の異なる相手に対して、どのように表現するかについてストラテジーの検証を行った

The Role of Phe82 and Phe351 in Auxin-Induced Substrate Perception by TIR1 Ubiquitin Ligase: A Novel Insight from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

It is well known that Auxin plays a key role in controlling many aspects of plant growth and development. Crystal structures of Transport inhibitor response 1 (TIR1), a true receptor of auxin, were very recently determined for TIR1 alone and in complexes with auxin and different synthetic analogues and an Auxin/Indole-3-Acetic Acid (Aux/IAA) substrate peptide. However, the dynamic conformational changes of the key residues of TIR1 that take place during the auxin and substrate perception by TIR1 and the detailed mechanism of these changes are still unclear. In the present study, various computational techniques were integrated to uncover the detailed molecular mechanism of the auxin and Aux/IAA perception process; these simulations included molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on complexes and the free enzyme, the molecular mechanics Poisson Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations, normal mode analysis, and hydrogen bond energy (HBE) calculations. The computational simulation results provided a reasonable explanation for the structure-activity relationships of auxin and its synthetic analogues in view of energy. In addition, a more detailed model for auxin and Aux/IAA perception was also proposed, indicating that Phe82 and Phe351 played a pivotal role in Aux/IAA perception. Upon auxin binding, Phe82 underwent conformational changes to accommodate the subsequent binding of Aux/IAA. As a result, auxin enhances the TIR1-Aux/IAA interactions by acting as a “molecular glue”. Besides, Phe351 acts as a “fastener” to further improve the substrate binding. The structural and mechanistic insights obtained from the present study will provide valuable clues for the future design of promising auxin analogues

Cytoskeletal protein kinases: titin and its relations in mechanosensing

Titin, the giant elastic ruler protein of striated muscle sarcomeres, contains a catalytic kinase domain related to a family of intrasterically regulated protein kinases. The most extensively studied member of this branch of the human kinome is the Ca2+–calmodulin (CaM)-regulated myosin light-chain kinases (MLCK). However, not all kinases of the MLCK branch are functional MLCKs, and about half lack a CaM binding site in their C-terminal autoinhibitory tail (AI). A unifying feature is their association with the cytoskeleton, mostly via actin and myosin filaments. Titin kinase, similar to its invertebrate analogue twitchin kinase and likely other “MLCKs”, is not Ca2+–calmodulin-activated. Recently, local protein unfolding of the C-terminal AI has emerged as a common mechanism in the activation of CaM kinases. Single-molecule data suggested that opening of the TK active site could also be achieved by mechanical unfolding of the AI. Mechanical modulation of catalytic activity might thus allow cytoskeletal signalling proteins to act as mechanosensors, creating feedback mechanisms between cytoskeletal tension and tension generation or cellular remodelling. Similar to other MLCK-like kinases like DRAK2 and DAPK1, TK is linked to protein turnover regulation via the autophagy/lysosomal system, suggesting the MLCK-like kinases have common functions beyond contraction regulation

How Do People Cope with Natural Disasters? Evidence from the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake in 1995

This paper investigates the coping strategies employed by victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) earthquake in 1995. Using a unique household data set, we show that households that held a large amount of collateralizable assets before the catastrophe and were free from a binding borrowing constraint were able to maintain their consumption levels by borrowing. In contrast, households subject to a binding borrowing constraint before the disaster were unable to borrow to cope with the losses inflicted by the earthquake. On the other hand, both types of households relied on private transfers, depending on the extent of the damage. Copyright (c)2008 The Ohio State University.

神戸大 日中対照調音動態MRI動画コーパス (KUJC-MRI)

調音（発声）の際の調音器官の動きを医療用MRI（磁気共鳴画像）装置で収録した静止画及びそれを動画化したデータベース．日本語・中国語の比較を目的として，日本語話者・中国語話者双方により，母音，単音，日本語内近似音，日中両言語の近似音などを収録．中国語話者は日本語学習者であり，中国語の発話に加えて日本語の発話も収録している．話者はタスクにより1～6名．This database contains images and movies of articulatory movements by Japanese and Chinese speakers. Japanese and Chinese utterances such as vowel sounds, similar sounds within the Japanese language, similar sounds in the Japanese and Chinese languages, etc. were recorded by a medical MRI system. The Chinese speakers were also learners of Japanese, so they uttered Japanese utterances in addition to Chinese utterances. The number of speakers is 1-6 depending on the task