Development of a Training-Assist Robotic System Adapting to Individual Motor Abilities in Virtual Tennis Task

The present paper develops a training-assist robotic system that can adapt a reference hand motion for a virtual tennis task to individual motor abilities. The system first measures maximum hand force and velocity in reaching arm movements prior to the training, and designs a suitable reference trajectory for teaching motion smoothness and timing in the virtual tennis task based on the measured results. A quantitative index for evaluating task performance and motor functions are then defined with consideration of task dynamics. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed training system is validated through a set of preliminary training experiments with health subjects

High-sensitivity quantitative analysis reveals the non-linear relationship between the dose and deposition of diphenylarsinic acid in the rat central nervous system following its subchronic exposure

In the year 2003, the residents of Kamisu, Japan, were exposed to pentavalent organic arsenic diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA[V]) via their normal drinking water. Following the exposure, they developed cerebellar and brainstem symptoms. Although the relatively high dose of DPAA(V) is assumed to have caused their symptoms, the relationship between the exposed dose of DPAA(V) and the level of their deposition in the central nervous system (CNS) remains unclear. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, we examined the deposition of DPAA(V) and its pentavalent metabolites in the CNS tissues of Crl:CD(SD) rats following the administration of DPAA(V) for 28 days. We found that the concentrations of DPAA(V) in the CNS were very high, given a dose of 5.0 mg/kg/day. However, very low concentrations of DPAA(V) were detected at a dose of 0.3 or 1.2 mg/kg/day, suggesting the absence of a linear dose-response relationship between the dose and deposition of DPAA(V). We also found that this non-linear relationship was commonly observed in various non-CNS tissues, including the excretory system. Our study showed for the first time the exact relationship between the dose and tissue deposition of the organic arsenic following its subchronic administration

A concept of hazardous NEO detection and impact warning system

In 2013, the well-known Chelyabinsk meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia. It is estimated that the meteor exploded at altitude near 30 km[2], which damaged thousands of buildings and injured a thousand of residents[3–4]. The estimated size of the meteor is approximately 20 m[2]. Because the meteor approached to Earth from Sun direction, no ground-based observatories could not detect until the impact. Considering such situations, the paper proposes a concept to detect Chelyabinsk-class small Near-Earth Objects. The concept addresses a “last-minute” warning system of NEO impact, in the same manner of “Tsunami” warning. To achieve the mission objective, two locations are assumed for the space telescope installation point i.e., Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1, SEL1 and Artificial Equilibrium Point, AEP. SEL1 is one of the natural equilibrium points, on the other hand, AEP is artificially equilibrated point by Sun and Earth gravity, centrifugal force and low-thrust acceleration. The magnitude of the acceleration to keep AEP is sufficiently small near 1 au radius orbit around the Sun i.e., the order of μm/s2 which can be achieved by solar sail. Through some cases of numerical simulations considering the size of NEOs and detector capability, this paper will show the feasibility of the proposed concept

Long-term accumulation of diphenylarsinic acid in the central nervous system of cynomolgus monkeys

Diphenylarsinic acid (DPAA) is an organic arsenic compound used for the synthesis of chemical weapons. We previously found that the residents of Kamisu city in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan, were exposed to DPAA through contaminated well water in 2003. Although mounting evidence strongly suggests that their neurological symptoms were caused by DPAA, the dynamics of DPAA distribution and metabolism after ingestion by humans remain to be elucidated. To accurately predict the distribution of DPAA in the human body, we administrated DPAA (1.0 mg/kg/day) to cynomolgus monkeys (n = 28) for 28 days. The whole tissues from these monkeys were collected at 5, 29, 170, and 339 days after the last administration. The concentration of DPAA in these tissues was measured by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. We found that DPAA accumulated in the central nervous system tissues for a longer period than in other tissues. This finding would extend our knowledge on the distribution dynamics and metabolism of DPAA in primates, including humans. Furthermore, it may be useful for developing a treatment strategy for patients who are exposed to DPAA

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

Research Activities on Venus Atmosphere Balloon Observation Mission

This presentation was part of the session : Probe Missions to the Giant Planets, Titan and VenusSixth International Planetary Probe WorkshopA feasibility study of the small Venus entry capsule and the scientific observation by the water-vapor balloon are described in this paper. Though Venus is the nearest planet to the Earth, it is still filled with mysteries and surprises. The atmosphere observation under the thick cloud on the venusian surface is of great scientific interests. Because a super-pressure type of the balloon can travel long time a wide area by strong winds on the Venus, it is considered to be of prime candidate for the atmosphere observations. A water-vapor super-pressure balloon is advantageous to obtain buoyancy force in the hot Venus atmosphere. At the entry to the Venus, the liquid-phase water is adhered to a number of the water-absorption films layered inside of the outer sealing film. The heat required for the water vaporization is supplied from the ambient environment during the ascending phase. Recently, IC chips, batteries, and solar arrays that function under the high-temperature environment ranging 180 to 220 ?C have been developed and been in practical use. By use of solar arrays, the electric power is supplied to the onboard instruments without any extra cooling system, which enables long-term observation. Then the target altitude is determined to be from 35 to 37 km considering the operation range of the high-temperature electronics. A small entry capsule with the 20m-long water-vapor balloon accommodated in it is separated from a 150kg small spacecraft and carries out direct entry from the interplanetary transfer orbit at the velocity of 11.5 km/s. The capsule releases the balloon at the appropriate altitude after passing through the aerodynamic heating corridor. Total weight of the capsule is about 30 kg containing balloon and observation instruments with weight of 10kg.Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ; Institute of Space and Astronautical Scienc