Effect of Slope Aspect on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Colonization of Centipedegrass in a Hill Pasture

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form a symbiotic association with more than 80% of terrestrial plants and benefit their hosts principally by increasing uptake of nutrients. This is particularly important for phosphorus uptakes as fungal extraradical mycelium can access relatively immobile phosphate ions through an ability to grow beyond the phosphate depletion zone that rapidly develops around the root (Gosling et al. 2006). This symbiotic association is known to promote growth and improve drought and disease resistance of the host plants (Gosling et al. 2006). Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides (Munro) Hack.) is a warm-season perennial that is native to central and southern China and is widely distributed in south-east Asia, southern USA, South America, West Indies, and parts of Africa and tropical north and east Australia (Islam and Hirata 2005). Centipedgegrass (CG) has been considered to be of potential value for use in low-input grassland systems in central to southern parts of Japan. An experiment conducted in a hill pasture in the mid-altitude region of Kyushu has shown that CG is well adapted to all slope aspects (north, east, south and west) despite the aspect differences in environmental conditions (Hirata et al. 2007). In this study, we monitored AM colonization of CG growing on the 4 slopes of the pasture to examine aspect differences in the grass–AMF association

Software Defined Media: Virtualization of Audio-Visual Services

Internet-native audio-visual services are witnessing rapid development. Among these services, object-based audio-visual services are gaining importance. In 2014, we established the Software Defined Media (SDM) consortium to target new research areas and markets involving object-based digital media and Internet-by-design audio-visual environments. In this paper, we introduce the SDM architecture that virtualizes networked audio-visual services along with the development of smart buildings and smart cities using Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart building facilities. Moreover, we design the SDM architecture as a layered architecture to promote the development of innovative applications on the basis of rapid advancements in software-defined networking (SDN). Then, we implement a prototype system based on the architecture, present the system at an exhibition, and provide it as an SDM API to application developers at hackathons. Various types of applications are developed using the API at these events. An evaluation of SDM API access shows that the prototype SDM platform effectively provides 3D audio reproducibility and interactiveness for SDM applications.Comment: IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC2017), Paris, France, 21-25 May 201

Living alone is associated with depression among the elderly in a rural community in Japanp syg_402 179..185

Abstract Aim: This study aimed to investigate factors associated with depression in a sample of elderly Japanese individuals in a rural community and to examine differences among factors associated with individuals living alone or living with others. Methods: Using a population-based sample from rural Japan, we assessed a total of 1552 participants aged 65 years or older by mailing a survey and evaluating responses based on the Geriatric Depression Scale. Factors associated with depression were also examined. Results: We received 964 valid responses. Depressed subjects comprised 20.5% of the sample. Living alone was significantly related to depression. In individuals living alone, depression was associated with loss of appetite, suicidal ideation, financial strain, and worries in life. However, multiple linear regression analyses revealed that the influence of living alone was negated by having a good social support system. Conclusion: These findings confirm that living alone is an important factor in depression among the elderly in a rural part of Japan. Results also confirm what others have found in Western cultures: high levels of social support, awareness of receiving social support, and willingness to receive assistance may reduce the risk of depression

Semi-Supervised Learning for Blog Classification.

Abstract Blog classification (e.g., identifying bloggers' gender or age) is one of the most interesting current problems in blog analysis. Although this problem is usually solved by applying supervised learning techniques, the large labeled dataset required for training is not always available. In contrast, unlabeled blogs can easily be collected from the web. Therefore, a semi-supervised learning method for blog classification, effectively using unlabeled data, is proposed. In this method, entries from the same blog are assumed to have the same characteristics. With this assumption, the proposed method captures the characteristics of each blog, such as writing style and topic, and uses these characteristics to improve the classification accuracy

Aphasic mild cognitive impairment in prodromal dementia with Lewy bodies

IntroductionThis study aimed to determine the characteristics of aphasic mild cognitive impairment (aphasic MCI), which is characterized by a progressive and relatively prominent language impairment compared with other cognitive impairments, in the prodromal phase of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).MethodsOf the 26 consecutive patients with aphasic MCI who had been prospectively recruited at our hospital, 8 patients were diagnosed with prodromal DLB and underwent language, neurological, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging (N-isopropyl-p-[123I] iodoamphetamine single-photon emission computed tomography; IMP-SPECT) testing. Three of these patients also underwent cholinesterase inhibitor therapy with donepezil.ResultsIn our aphasic MCI cohort, the clinical diagnosis of probable prodromal DLB accounted for more than 30% of cases; therefore, the presence of language impairment in prodromal DLB was not very uncommon. Five patients were diagnosed with progressive anomic aphasia and three with logopenic progressive aphasia. Anomic aphasia was characterized by apparent anomia but relatively preserved repetition and comprehension ability and logopenic progressive aphasia by anomia, phonemic paraphasia, and impaired repetition. IMP-SPECT revealed hypoperfusion of the temporal and parietal lobes in the left hemisphere in all but one patient. All patients who underwent cholinesterase inhibitor therapy with donepezil showed improvement in general cognitive function, including language function.DiscussionThe clinical and imaging features of aphasic MCI in prodromal DLB are similar to those observed in Alzheimer's disease. Progressive fluent aphasia, such as progressive anomic aphasia and logopenic progressive aphasia, is one of the clinical presentations in prodromal state of DLB. Our findings provide further insight into the clinical spectrum of prodromal DLB and may contribute to the development of medication for progressive aphasia caused by cholinergic insufficiency

A case of biventricular pacing with a spike on T-wave caused by the algorithm maintaining biventricular pacing rate

AbstractCardiac-resynchronization therapy (CRT) improves the cardiac function of patients with left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. Maintenance of the biventricular pacing rate is very important in managing the hemodynamics in patients implanted with CRT devices. A low biventricular pacing rate, for example, in cases with atrial fibrillation or rapid intrinsic atrioventricular (AV) conduction, decreases the benefits of CRT. The LUMAX HF-T 540 device series (BIOTRONIK, Berlin, Germany) has a LV-triggered pace algorithm, which allows biventicular pacing rates to be maintained even during rapid intrinsic rhythms caused by shortened AV conduction and/or premature ventricular contraction (PVC) occurring in the right ventricle. We encountered a case of CRT device implantation with a defibrillator wherein this triggered pace algorithm caused a spike on T-wave due to T-wave oversensing. By remote monitoring, we were also able to determine that the T-wave oversensing was due to a PVC. The LUMAX 540 series allows for changes in the sensing threshold and filter settings of the device, which facilitated the elimination of T-wave oversensing in this case

Case Report: De Clerambault's Syndrome in Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Background: Erotomania, also known as de Clerambault's syndrome, is characterized by the delusion that a person has fallen in love with the patient. It occasionally appears secondary to psychiatric disorders and organic brain diseases. However, there have been no reports on cases secondary to dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).Case Presentation: The patient was an 83-year-old woman who lived alone. Mild cognitive impairment appeared at the age of 82 years. Soon after, she had the delusional conviction that her family doctor was in love with her. Her symptoms, such as gradually progressive cognitive impairment, cognitive fluctuations, and parkinsonism, indicated DLB. She was treated with a small dose of antipsychotic agents.Conclusions: This case report suggests the possibility of de Clerambault's syndrome during the early stages of DLB. Further investigations are required to clarify the mechanism and treatment of de Clerambault's syndrome in patients with DLB

Detection Sensitivity of Retinitis Pigmentosa Progression Using Static Perimetry and Optical Coherence Tomography

Purpose: To compare the detection sensitivities of the progression of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) by automated perimetry to obtain the mean deviation (MD) and total point score and by optical coherence tomography (OCT) to determine the residual ellipsoid zone (EZ) length and thickness of retinal layers. Methods: Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients with RP who underwent annual automated perimetry (Humphrey Field Analyzer 10-2) and OCT examinations during the same period more than four times were included. Disease progression was evaluated using linear regression analysis with the least-squares method. The disease progression speed and interinspection fluctuations for the different examinations were compared using standardized values. The progression detection ability factor, defined as the average of the least squares divided by the square of annual change, was used to compare the sensitivities of the examinations for detecting the progression of RP. Results: EZ length showed a high correlation with MD (R = 0.87; P = 1.12E-07) at baseline. Disease progression was detected more frequently using EZ length (12/22 eyes) than using MD (3/22 eyes; P = 0.004) or central retinal thickness (1/11 eyes; P = 0.012). Linear regression using standardized values showed that the EZ length had the fastest annual change, with the smallest least absolute values. EZ length was more sensitive for detecting RP progression than MD, total point score, visual acuity, or central retinal thickness. Conclusions: EZ measurement was sensitive for detecting RP progression, and the results of this study indicate that EZ length is appropriate for end points in clinical trials. Translational Relevance: The study provides a basis for conducting future clinical trials