Real-Time Imaging and Quantification of Amyloid-β Peptide Aggregates by Novel Quantum-Dot Nanoprobes

Background: Protein aggregation plays a major role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease. However, direct real-time imaging of protein aggregation, including oligomerization and fibrillization, has never been achieved. Here we demonstrate the preparation of fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystal (quantum dot; QD)-labeled amyloid-b peptide (QDAb) and its advanced applications. Methodology/Principal Findings: The QDAb construct retained Ab oligomer-forming ability, and the sizes of these oligomers could be estimated from the relative fluorescence intensities of the imaged spots. Both QDAb coaggregation with intact Ab42 and insertion into fibrils were detected by fluorescence microscopy. The coaggregation process was observed by real-time 3D imaging using slit-scanning confocal microscopy, which showed a typical sigmoid curve with 1.5 h in the lag-time and 12 h until saturation. Inhibition of coaggregation using an anti-Ab antibody can be observed as 3D images on a microscopic scale. Microglia ingested monomeric QDAb more significantly than oligomeric QDAb, and the ingested QDAb was mainly accumulated in the lysosome. Conclusions/Significance: These data demonstrate that QDAb is a novel nanoprobe for studying Ab oligomerization an

EGUIDE project and treatment guidelines

Background Clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder have been published. However, these have not had sufficient penetration in clinical settings. We developed the Effectiveness of Guidelines for Dissemination and Education in Psychiatric Treatment (EGUIDE) project as a dissemination and education programme for psychiatrists. Aims The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the EGUIDE project on the subjective clinical behaviour of psychiatrists in accordance with clinical practice guidelines before and 1 and 2 years after participation in the programmes. Method A total of 607 psychiatrists participated in this study during October 2016 and March 2019. They attended both 1-day educational programmes based on the clinical practice guidelines for schizophrenia and major depressive disorder, and answered web questionnaires about their clinical behaviours before and 1 and 2 years after attending the programmes. We evaluated the changes in clinical behaviours in accordance with the clinical practice guidelines between before and 2 years after the programme. Results All of the scores for clinical behaviours in accordance with clinical practice guidelines were significantly improved after 1 and 2 years compared with before attending the programmes. There were no significant changes in any of the scores between 1 and 2 years after attending. Conclusions All clinical behaviours in accordance with clinical practice guidelines improved after attending the EGUIDE programme, and were maintained for at least 2 years. The EGUIDE project could contribute to improved guideline-based clinical behaviour among psychiatrists

Reactive sintering of molybdenum alumino-silicide and its oxidation resistance

An intermetallic compound, molybdenum alumino-silicide, MoAlxSi2−x, is produced from a mixture of molybdenum, aluminum and silicon powders by using a pseudo-hot-isostatic-pressing (PHIP) process and a reactive sintering method. The mechanical properties at room temperature and oxidation behavior at 773 K and 1500 K are investigated. The increase in the PHIP pressure leads to a remarkable increase in density and hardness of the alumino-silicide. The increase in aluminum content of the alumino-silicide leads to a slight increase in density, but it does not affect the hardness. The increase in aluminum content of the alumino-silicide dramatically improves its oxidation resistance

Agricultural Education from a Pedagogical Perspective: Incorporating Preliminary Instruction for Teaching Practice

要旨 　筆者は、他県を含め24年間の農業科教諭に加え、京都府教育庁５年、京都府立高校管理職11年の経験により得た高校教育を取り巻く知見、とりわけ農業教育に関わる専門性等を活かし、大学において将来の農業科教員の養成に携わりたいと希望していたところである。ここでは「農業科教育法」の実践に向けて、指導内容と密接に関連のある事項について、自身の学校現場での取組と講義予定内容の概要、教育実習のあり方等を教育実践記録として記している。 　すなわち、教職経験から昨今の学校教育を取り巻く環境、農業高校の現状、今後の農業教育の展望、そしてこれからの農業高校の果たすべき役割について自身の考えを記している。 　また、京都府における農業高校の変遷と現状、京都府の農業専門学科・系列設置校と京都府農林水産部との代表的な連携状況を説明している。 　そして、教育実習については、長年、教育実習生を受け入れた経験を踏まえ、学校の立場から教育実習生への指導や受入の工夫、大学における教育実習に関する指導のあり方についても記している。Abstract 　The author had hoped to be involved in the training of future agriculture teachers at universities, making use of his knowledge of high school education, particularly his expertise in agricultural education gained through his 24 years of experience as an agriculture teacher in other prefectures, 5 years at the Kyoto Prefectural Office of Education, and 11 years as an administrator at a Kyoto prefectural high school. In this section, the author presents a record of his own efforts at school sites, an outline of the scheduled lecture content, and educational practice on matters closely related to the content of instruction, in order to put the “Agricultural Science Education Methods” into practice. 　Stated differently, he describes his thoughts on the recent environment of school education, the current state of agricultural high schools, the prospects for agricultural education, and the role that agricultural high schools should play in the future, based on his teaching experience. 　In addition, he describes the transition and current state of agricultural high schools in Kyoto Prefecture, as well as the status of typical cooperation between Kyoto Prefecture’s agricultural specialty departments and affiliated schools and the Kyoto Prefectural Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. 　Furthermore, regarding educational training, based on the experience of accepting educational interns over the years, the report also describes how to provide guidance to and accept educational interns from the standpoint of schools, as well as how guidance regarding educational training at universities should be provided.departmental bulletin pape

Accuracy Improvement of Pinching Force Augmentation by Exoskeleton

Abstract-This paper proposes a support structure for a wearer to precisely control a pinching force with the support of an exoskeleton, which augments human pinching force based on a surface electromyography. A human hand should make a direct contact with the environment for the best use of human intelligence because a tactile sensory feedback from the hand is very important information for a human to handle it accurately and dexterously. However the direct contact may bring excessive force on the human finger when the exoskeleton thrusts the finger into the environment with strong force. This paper proposes the best support structure, type D, by investigating accuracy of a human pinching force with four different types of exoskeletons. They allow the finger to directly contact the environment but force transfer paths from the exoskeleton to the environment are different in each other. Through pilot experiments, the exoskeleton that supports more precise force control and safer manipulation is proposed