Late Pleistocene variation in lignin and fatty acids from core TKN-2004 in a small mountain basin in central Japan

We generated a record of lignin and fatty acid compositions from the TK-2004 core in Takano Basin, central Japan, during 39-162 ka by TMAH-thermochemolysis-GC/MS. We tested lignin and fatty acid compositions in the sediments of a small lake (1.88 km(2) watershed) as a paleovegetation proxy to understand the responses of terrestrial vegetation in central Japan to global climate change. Variation in terrestrial organic carbon contents estimated by C/N and Sigma 8 was parallel to the total organic content (TOC) variation, suggesting that the inflow of terrestrial organic matter was a major factor determining the TOC. The ratio of mid-chain C-20-C-24 n-fatty acids to short-chain C-14-C-18 n-fatty acids (MFA/SFA ratio) and the ratio of cinnamyl to vanillyl phenols (C/V ratio) of lignin gradually increased from mid-MIS 6 to early MIS 3. The increase in both parameters suggested increase in the contribution of submerged and floating plants as the flats were expanded in the lake margin. The ratio of syringyl to vanillyl phenols (S/V ratio) corresponded to the pollen vegetation index. This correspondence indicated that the S/V ratio reflected the relative abundance of angiosperms to gymnosperms in the Takano Basin. The consistency of the S/V ratio at the site of core TKN-2004 and the other two locations suggests that the S/V ratio in a small basin is a robust proxy for terrestrial vegetation on a regional scale.ArticleGEOCHEMICAL JOURNAL. 48(2):207-217 (2014)journal articl

Autopilot System for Kiteplane

This paper proposes an autopilot system for a small and light unmanned air vehicle called Kiteplane. The Kiteplane has a large delta-shaped main wing that is easily disturbed by the wind, which was minimized by utilizing trim flight with drift. The proposed control system for autonomous trajectory following with a wind disturbance included fuzzy logic controllers, a speed controller, a wind disturbance attenuation block, and low-level feedback controllers. The system was implemented onboard the aircraft. Experiments were performed to test the performance of the proposed system and the Kiteplane nearly succeeded in following the desired trajectory, under the wind disturbance. Although the path was not followed perfectly, the airplane was able to traverse the waypoints by utilizing a failsafe waypoint updating rule

Three-Dimensional Amide Proton Transfer-Weighted Imaging for Differentiating between Glioblastoma, IDH-Wildtype and Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Distinguishing primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) from glioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype is sometimes hard. Because the role of operation on them varies, accurate preoperative diagnosis is crucial. In this study, we evaluated whether a specific kind of chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging, i.e., amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) imaging, was useful to distinguish PCNSL from glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype. A total of 14 PCNSL and 27 glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype cases were evaluated. There was no significant difference in the mean APTw signal values between the two groups. However, the percentile values from the 1st percentile to the 20th percentile APTw signals and the width1–100 APTw signals significantly differed. The highest area under the curve was 0.796, which was obtained from the width1–100 APTw signal values. The sensitivity and specificity values were 64.3% and 88.9%, respectively. APTw imaging was useful to distinguish PCNSL from glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype. To avoid unnecessary aggressive surgical resection, APTw imaging is recommended for cases in which PCNSL is one of the differential diagnoses

Three-Dimensional Amide Proton Transfer-Weighted Imaging for Differentiating between Glioblastoma, IDH-Wildtype and Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Distinguishing primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) from glioblastoma, isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype is sometimes hard. Because the role of operation on them varies, accurate preoperative diagnosis is crucial. In this study, we evaluated whether a specific kind of chemical exchange saturation transfer imaging, i.e., amide proton transfer-weighted (APTw) imaging, was useful to distinguish PCNSL from glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype. A total of 14 PCNSL and 27 glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype cases were evaluated. There was no significant difference in the mean APTw signal values between the two groups. However, the percentile values from the 1st percentile to the 20th percentile APTw signals and the width1–100 APTw signals significantly differed. The highest area under the curve was 0.796, which was obtained from the width1–100 APTw signal values. The sensitivity and specificity values were 64.3% and 88.9%, respectively. APTw imaging was useful to distinguish PCNSL from glioblastoma, IDH-wildtype. To avoid unnecessary aggressive surgical resection, APTw imaging is recommended for cases in which PCNSL is one of the differential diagnoses

Wind Estimation by Unmanned Air Vehicle with Delta Wing

In this paper, an algorithm to estimate wind direction by using a small and light Unmanned Air Vehicle(UAV) called KITEPLANE was proposed. KITEPLANE had a big main wing which is a kite-like delta shape and, therefore, it was easy to be disturbed by wind. However, this disadvantage implies that the KITEPLANE has an ability to sense wind and that it is expected to use the KITEPLANE as a sensor for wind estimation. In order to achieve this feature, dynamics of the KITEPLANE under wind disturbance were derived and a numerical estimation method was proposed. Devices equipped on board were also developed and the proposed method was implemented. Results of an experiment showed the effectiveness of the proposed method

PCR-Based Simple Subgrouping Is Validated for Classification of Gliomas and Defines Negative Prognostic Copy Number Aberrations in IDH Mutant Gliomas.

Genetic subgrouping of gliomas has been emphasized recently, particularly after the finding of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) mutations. In a previous study, we investigated whole-chromosome copy number aberrations (CNAs) of gliomas and have described genetic subgrouping based on CNAs and IDH1 mutations. Subsequently, we classified gliomas using simple polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods to improve the availability of genetic subgrouping. We selected IDH1/2 and TP53 as markers and analyzed 237 adult supratentorial gliomas using Sanger sequencing. Using these markers, we classified gliomas into three subgroups that were strongly associated with patient prognoses. These included IDH mutant gliomas without TP53 mutations, IDH mutant gliomas with TP53 mutations, and IDH wild-type gliomas. IDH mutant gliomas without TP53 mutations, which mostly corresponded to gliomas carrying 1p19q co-deletions, showed lower recurrence rates than the other 2 groups. In the other high-recurrence groups, the median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with IDH mutant gliomas with TP53 mutations were significantly longer than those of patients with IDH wild-type gliomas. Notably, most IDH mutant gliomas with TP53 mutations had at least one of the CNAs +7q, +8q, -9p, and -11p. Moreover, IDH mutant gliomas with at least one of these CNAs had a significantly worse prognosis than did other IDH mutant gliomas. PCR-based mutation analyses of IDH and TP53 were sufficient for simple genetic diagnosis of glioma that were strongly associated with prognosis of patients and enabled us to detect negative CNAs in IDH mutant gliomas

The Effects of Enteral Nutrition on the Intestinal Environment in Patients in a Persistent Vegetative State

Enteral nutrition (EN) is a rational approach to providing nutritional intake via the intestines in patients who are unable to tolerate parenteral nutrition. We conducted a preliminary study to investigate the effects of EN on the intestinal environment in 10 patients in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) (n = 5 each in the EN and EN with probiotics; Clostridium butyricum MIYAIRI 588) groups compared with 10 healthy controls. The results of 16S amplicon sequencing of the intestinal microbiota showed that EN led to dysbiosis with a decrease in α-diversity and an obvious change in β-diversity. A particularly significant decrease was seen in useful intestinal bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and butyrate-producing bacteria. Analysis of intestinal metabolites also supported these results, showing significant decreases in butyric and pyruvic acid after EN. Although C. butyricumMIYAIRI 588 improved some intestinal metabolites that were decreased after EN, it did not improve the dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota. These findings indicate that EN causes dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota and an imbalance in some intestinal metabolites in patients in a PVS. Moreover, although C. butyricumMIYAIRI 588 improved the imbalance of some intestinal metabolites after EN, it did not prevent dysbiosis of the intestinal microbiota

Kaplan–Meier curves of progression-free survival (PFS) according to subgroups.

<p>A comparison of PFS and overall survival (OS) according to (A and B, respectively) pathological (n = 171) and (C and D, respectively) genetic classification (n = 158). Kaplan–Meier curves comparing PFS (E) and OS (F) associated with <i>IDH</i> mutant gliomas harboring CNAs +7q, +8q, −9p, and/or −11p with the PFS and OS of other <i>IDH</i> mutant gliomas (n = 73). Only patients who underwent an initial surgical intervention were included in these analyses. Abbreviations: mut; mutation, wt; wild-type.</p

Background of patients who underwent initial surgical intervention.

<p>A comparison of patient backgrounds according to histological classification (A) and genetic classification (B). In this table, oligoastrocytomas were classified as oligodendroglial tumor.</p><p>Background of patients who underwent initial surgical intervention.</p

A list of <i>IDH</i> mutant glioma patients with (A) and without (B) +7q, +8q, −9p, and/or −11p according to comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis as well as their prognosis and <i>TP53</i> mutation status.

<p>The genetic type indicates detected the CNAs which are regarded as a favorable CNA (–1p/19q) or unfavorable CNAs (+7q, +8q, −9p, and/or −11p). A repeated number denoted by an asterisk indicates ta single patient who underwent multiple surgeries. Abbreviations: NA, not available.</p><p>A list of <i>IDH</i> mutant glioma patients with (A) and without (B) +7q, +8q, −9p, and/or −11p according to comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis as well as their prognosis and <i>TP53</i> mutation status.</p