Robotic tele-existence

Tele-existence is an advanced type of teleoperation system that enables a human operator at the controls to perform remote manipulation tasks dexterously with the feeling that he or she exists in the remote anthropomorphic robot in the remote environment. The concept of a tele-existence is presented, the principle of the tele-existence display method is explained, some of the prototype systems are described, and its space application is discussed

Kinesthetic Illusion of Being Pulled Sensation Enables Haptic Navigation for Broad Social Applications

Many handheld force-feedback devices have been proposed to provide a rich experience with mobile devices. However, previously reported devices have been unable to generate both constant and translational force. They can only generate transient rotational force since they use a change in angular momentum. Here, we exploit the nonlinearity of human perception to generate both constant and translational force. Specifically, a strong acceleration is generated for a very brief period in the desired direction, while a weaker acceleration is generated over a longer period in the opposite direction. The internal human haptic sensors do not detect the weaker acceleration, so the original position of the mass is \"washed out\". The result is that the user is tricked into perceiving a unidirectional force. This force can be made continuous by repeating the motions. This chapter describes the pseudoattraction force technique, which is a new force feedback technique that enables mobile devices to create a the sensation of two-dimensional force. A prototype was fabricated in which four slider-crank mechanism pairs were arranged in a cross shape and embedded in a force feedback display. Each slider-crank mechanism generates a force vector. By using the sum of the generated vectors, which are linearly independent, the force feedback display can create a force sensation in any arbitrary direction on a two-dimensional plane. We also introduce an interactive application with the force feedback display, an interactive robot, and a vision-based positioning system

Evidence of Quasi-linear Super-Structures in the Cosmic Microwave Background and Galaxy Distribution

Recent measurements of hot and cold spots on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) sky suggest a presence of super-structures on (>100 h^{-1}Mpc) scales. We develop a new formalism to estimate the expected amplitude of temperature fluctuations due to the integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect from prominent quasi-linear structures. Applying the developed tools to the observed ISW signals from voids and clusters in catalogs of galaxies at redshifts z<1, we find that they indeed imply a presence of quasi-linear super-structures with a comoving radius 100~300 h^{-1}Mpc and a density contrast ~O(0.1). We find that the observed ISW signals are at odd with the concordant \Lambda cold dark matter (CDM) model that predicts Gaussian primordial perturbations at equal to or larger than 3 sigma level. We also confirm that the mean temperature around the CMB cold spot in the southern Galactic hemisphere filtered by a compensating top-hat filter deviates from a mean value at ~3 sigma level, implying that a quasi-linear supervoid or an underdensity region surrounded by a massive wall may reside at low redshifts z<0.3 and the actual angular size (16^\circ-17^\circ) may be larger than the apparent size (4^\circ-10^\circ) discussed in literature. Possible solutions are briefly discussed.Comment: 34 pages, 13 figures, a version accepted for publication in ApJ. A plot of non-linear PDF (Figure 7) is added. Error bars are added in figure

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy-related inflammation presenting with steroid-responsive higher brain dysfunction: case report and review of the literature

A 56-year-old man noticed discomfort in his left lower limb, followed by convulsion and numbness in the same area. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed white matter lesions in the right parietal lobe accompanied by leptomeningeal or leptomeningeal and cortical post-contrast enhancement along the parietal sulci. The patient also exhibited higher brain dysfunction corresponding with the lesions on MRI. Histological pathology disclosed β-amyloid in the blood vessels and perivascular inflammation, which highlights the diagnosis of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)-related inflammation. Pulse steroid therapy was so effective that clinical and radiological findings immediately improved

Approach to Utilization of Electronic Whiteboard in Classroom as Japanese Comparative Advantage : Survey on Primary Teacher Training Course Students

本研究の目的は，教室での電子黒板利用に関する日本の学校教育の比較優位性と劣位性を指摘した上で，電子黒板の利用意思向上に有効な要因を明らかにすることである．その為に，先ず現職教員研修の充実と教職学生の学習機会欠如を指摘した上で，次に小学校教員養成課程学生１３０名対象の質問紙調査を通して電子黒板利用意思向上の手掛かりを得た．その上で，同被験者５０名対象の教授実験の結果，電子黒板利用効果の理解が意思向上に有効なことを明らかにした．The purposes of this paper are twofold: （1） to point out the Japanese comparative advantage and disadvantage that resources of using electronic whiteboard in classroom,（2） to investigate the effective factors to improve the pre-service teacher’s intention for using electronic whiteboard. For these purposes, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 130 preservice primary teachers（undergraduate students）. Referring to result of this preliminary survey, we constituted the teaching plan which tries to encourage their intention, and carried out the experimental teaching for the 50 examinee. The results indicated two main points:（a） By diffusion of the electronic whiteboard in classroom, although in-service teachers can gain IT media training on their job, pre-service teachers have little occasion to care for it. （b） Effective factors to improve pre-service teacher’s intention are realization of lesson diversification and understanding of their effects via electronic whiteboard

Algivore or phototroph?: Plakobranchus ocellatus (Gastropoda) continuously acquires kleptoplasts and nutrition from multiple algal species in nature

The sea slug Plakobranchus ocellatus (Sacoglossa, Gastropoda) retains photosynthetically active chloroplasts from ingested algae (functional kleptoplasts) in the epithelial cells of its digestive gland for up to 10 months. While its feeding behavior has not been observed in natural habitats, two hypotheses have been proposed: 1) adult P. ocellatus uses kleptoplasts to obtain photosynthates and nutritionally behaves as a photoautotroph without replenishing the kleptoplasts; or 2) it behaves as a mixotroph (photoautotroph and herbivorous consumer) and replenishes kleptoplasts continually or periodically. To address the question of which hypothesis is more likely, we examined the source algae for kleptoplasts and temporal changes in kleptoplast composition and nutritional contribution. By characterizing the temporal diversity of P. ocellatus kleptoplasts using rbcL sequences, we found that P. ocellatus harvests kleptoplasts from at least 8 different siphonous green algal species, that kleptoplasts from more than one species are present in each individual sea slug, and that the kleptoplast composition differs temporally. These results suggest that wild P. ocellatus often feed on multiple species of siphonous algae from which they continually obtain fresh chloroplasts. By estimating the trophic position of wild and starved P. ocellatus using the stable nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids, we showed that despite the abundance of kleptoplasts, their photosynthates do not contribute greatly to the nutrition of wild P. ocellatus, but that kleptoplast photosynthates form a significant source of nutrition for starved sea slugs. The herbivorous nature of wild P. ocellatus is consistent with insights from molecular analyses indicating that kleptoplasts are frequently replenished from ingested algae, leading to the conclusion that natural populations of P. ocellatus do not rely on photosynthesis but mainly on the digestion of ingested algae

Observation of micropores in hard-carbon using Xe-129 NMR porosimetry

The existence of micropores and the change of surface structure in pitch-based hard-carbon in xenon atmosphere were demonstrated using Xe-129 NMR. For high-pressure (4.0 MPa) Xe-129 NMR measurements, the hard-carbon samples in Xe gas showed three peaks at 27, 34 and 210 ppm. The last was attributed to the xenon in micropores (<1 nm) in hard-carbon particles. The NMR spectrum of a sample evacuated at 773 K and exposed to 0.1 MPa Xe gas at 773 K for 24 h showed two peaks at 29 and 128 ppm, which were attributed, respectively, to the xenon atoms adsorbed in the large pores (probably mesopores) and micropores of hard-carbon. With increasing annealing time in Xe gas at 773 K, both peaks shifted and merged into one peak at 50 ppm. The diffusion of adsorbed xenon atoms is very slow, probably because the transfer of molecules or atoms among micropores in hard-carbon does not occur readily. Many micropores are isolated from the outer surface. For that reason, xenon atoms are thought to be adsorbed only by micropores near the surface, which are easily accessible from the surrounding space.</p

Transgenic up-regulation of alpha-CaMKII in forebrain leads to increased anxiety-like behaviors and aggression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have demonstrated essential roles for alpha-calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alpha-CaMKII) in learning, memory and long-term potentiation (LTP). However, previous studies have also shown that alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice display a dramatic decrease in anxiety-like and fearful behaviors, and an increase in defensive aggression. These findings indicated that alpha-CaMKII is important not only for learning and memory but also for emotional behaviors. In this study, to understand the roles of alpha-CaMKII in emotional behavior, we generated transgenic mice overexpressing alpha-CaMKII in the forebrain and analyzed their behavioral phenotypes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We generated transgenic mice overexpressing alpha-CaMKII in the forebrain under the control of the alpha-CaMKII promoter. In contrast to alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice, alpha-CaMKII overexpressing mice display an increase in anxiety-like behaviors in open field, elevated zero maze, light-dark transition and social interaction tests, and a decrease in locomotor activity in their home cages and novel environments; these phenotypes were the opposite to those observed in alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice. In addition, similarly with alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice, alpha-CaMKII overexpressing mice display an increase in aggression. However, in contrast to the increase in defensive aggression observed in alpha-CaMKII (+/-) heterozygous knockout mice, alpha-CaMKII overexpressing mice display an increase in offensive aggression.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Up-regulation of alpha-CaMKII expression in the forebrain leads to an increase in anxiety-like behaviors and offensive aggression. From the comparisons with previous findings, we suggest that the expression levels of alpha-CaMKII are associated with the state of emotion; the expression level of alpha-CaMKII positively correlates with the anxiety state and strongly affects aggressive behavior.</p