Finite Element Analysis Using Stabilized Acoustic Velocity Model

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

Disruption of Metal Homeostasis and the Pathogenesis of Prion Diseases

Prion diseases are progressive neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with the conformational conversion of normal cellular prion protein (PrPC) into abnormal pathogenic prion protein (PrPSc). PrPC is a metal‐binding protein that is located in the synapse and possesses the ability to bind to various metals, including Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe. Moreover, increasing evidence suggests that PrPC plays essential roles in the maintenance of metal homeostasis in the synapse. Trace elements have a crucial influence on the conformational change of PrPC. Given that other disease‐related proteins such as β‐amyloid protein and its precursor protein (APP) in Alzheimer\u27s disease also exist in the synapse and possess a metal‐binding ability, an interaction between PrP and metals and between PrP and APP, may occur in the synapse; the resulting metal homeostasis may lead to the pathogenesis of prion diseases. Here, we review our studies and other new findings that inform the current understanding of the link between trace elements and physiological functions of PrPC and the neurotoxicity of PrPSc

Identity Avoidance and Rendaku

One important observation that is made in the past phonological research is that constraints on output structures can both block and trigger phonological processes (i.e., conspiracy: Kisseberth 1970). This paper reports an experiment which shows that an Identity Avoidance constraint (a.k.a. the OCP) both blocks and triggers one phonological process in the same language, namely rendaku in Japanese. Our wug- experiment shows that rendaku is more likely to apply when the two CV moras across a morpheme boundary are identical; i.e. an Identity Avoidance constraint triggers rendaku. The experiment also shows that rendaku is less likely to apply when it would result in two adjacent identical CV moras across a morpheme boundary; i.e. the Identity Avoidance constraint blocks rendaku. These blocking and triggering effects of the general Identity Avoidance constraint on rendaku are a new discovery in Japanese phonology, despite the fact that rendaku has been studied extensively in the previous literature, suggesting the importance of experimentation in phonological research. Moreover, our case study offers experimental confirmation of the OCP conspiracy in natural languages

Analysis of Hydraulic and Geomorphic Conditions Causing Railway Embankment Breach due to Inundation Flow

Embankments on a floodplain, usually treated as solid walls in inundation simulations can cause considerable damage during severe flood events. The damage to road or railway embankment system not only changes the propagation of inundation flow but also destroys the transportation infrastructure. In this study, the failure of the embankment system of the Kishin Railway Line during the flood event in August, 2009 is analyzed. The factors in causing embankment failure are analyzed from the geographic and hydraulic view points. A framework to estimate the risk of the embankment failure, which is based on the analysis of the structures of the geography and inundation flow, is proposed in this work

New 3-D flow interpolation method on moving ADCP data

A simple but accurate interpolation procedure for obtaining the three-dimensional distribution of three-component velocity data, from moving acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) observation data, is proposed. For understanding actual flow structure within a river with complex bathymetry, the three-dimensional mean velocity field provides a basic picture of the flow. For obtaining the three-dimensional distribution of three-component velocity data, in this work, anisotropic gridding was introduced in order to remove the random component of measured velocity data caused by the turbulence of the flow and measurement error. A continuity correction based on the pressure equation was used to reduce both random and systematic errors. The accuracy of the developed method was evaluated using three-dimensional flow simulation data from a detached-eddy simulation (DES). By using the procedure developed, the complex flow structure surrounding the spur dikes section in the Uji River was successfully visualized and explored. The proposed method shows superiorities in both accuracy and consistency for the interpolated velocity field, as compared to the kriging and inverse-distance weighted (IDW) methods

The Effects of Phrase-Length Order and Scrambling in the Processing of Visually Presented Japanese Sentences

The present study investigated the effects of phrase length and scrambling in the processing of Japanese sentences. Reading times of short phrases, long phrases, verbs, and whole sentences, measured by the method of self-paced reading, did not differ in terms of phrase-length order and scrambling. In addition, four types of sentences constructed on the basis of phrase-length order and scrambling did not affect duration times of correctness decision-making for sentences. However, error rates differed between canonical and scrambled sentences regardless of phrase-length order. This result implies that scrambled sentences were harder to judge as correct sentences than canonical sentences. Thus, scrambling affects the appropriate integration of information, whereas phrase-length order is simply an indication of preference and not of cognitive processing. To explain the present result, the authors propose the “configurational structure without movement," which predicts no difference in speed between the processing of canonical and scrambled sentences, apart from error rates

Study on variation of neutral temperature in the polar MLT region using a sodium LIDAR at Tromsø

第2回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回極域宙空圏シンポジウム 11月14日（月） 国立極地研究所 2階大会議

Priority Information Used for the Processing of Japanese Sentences: Thematic Roles, Case Particles or Grammatical Functions?

The present study investigated scrambling effects on the processing of Japanese sentences and priority information used among thematic roles, case particles and grammatical functions. Reaction times for correct sentence decisions were significantly prolonged for scrambled active sentences with transitive verbs in the first experiment and with ditransitive verbs in the second experiment. Errors were made with scrambled sentences more than canonical sentences in both experiments, which suggested that scrambling effects were apparent in active sentences. Passive sentences in the third experiment indicated that canonical order defined based on case particles, not thematic roles, was more quickly and accurately identified than scrambled order. Potential sentences in the fourth experiment and causative sentences in the fifth experiment indicated that the processing of scrambled sentences based on grammatical functions, but not on case particles, required longer reaction times and resulted in higher error rates than canonical sentences. Consequently, scrambling effects in the present study indicated that neither thematic roles nor case particles can provide fully-satisfactory information for canonical phrase order, and that only grammatical functions offer satisfactory information in all types of sentences

Testing Rosen\u27s Rule and Strong Lyman\u27s Law

慶應義塾大学岡山県立大学Keio UniversityOkayama Prefectural University本研究では,実験によりローゼンの法則と強いライマンの法則についてその心理的実在を検証した。ローゼンの法則に従えば,複合語前部要素が2モーラよりも3モーラの方が連濁が起こりやすくなる。また,強いライマンの法則に従えば,複合語前部要素に濁音が含まれている場合,連濁が起こりにくくなる。しかしながら,無意味語を用いた実験の結果,両法則の影響は確認されなかった。統計的に有意でない結果から負の証明は不可能であるものの,他の実験結果と比較しても,両法則の影響は本質的なものではなく,現在の日本語話者の知識においては機能していないと思われる。The current experiment investigates the psychological reality of Rosen\u27s Rule and Strong Lyman\u27s Law. Rosen\u27s Rule predicts, in part, that rendaku is more likely to occur when N1 has three moras than when it has two moras. Strong Lyman\u27s Law predicts that rendaku is less likely when N1 contains a voiced obstruent. Our wug-test shows neither of these predictions to be borne out. Although the null results must be interpreted with caution, by comparing the current results with those from previous experimental studies on rendaku, we conclude that the effects of these two factors are not substantial, and that they are not synchronically active in the minds of Japanese speakers, at least not for the Japanese community as a whole