The Context-adaptable Pedestrian Navigation System and its Possible Applications

今日の高度情報化社会の進展により，様々な移動体情報端末が開発され，カーナビゲーションシステムだけでなく歩行者を誘導する歩行者ナビゲーションシステムも普及しつつある．しかしながら，既存の歩行者ナビゲーションシステムは利用者に対する視覚的な効果に着目したものが多く，利用者の状況や目的は考慮されていない．そこで我々は，実空間に見立てた論理空間上にメタデータを持たせ，各地点の特徴と利用者の状況・目的から，利用者ごとに移動経路を提供することに取り組んでいる．本稿では，利用者コンテキストを考慮することにより実現する次世代の歩行者ナビゲーションシステムの提案を行い，ユビキタス社会における歩行者ナビゲーションシステムの利用可能性について検討する．Recently, the remarkable advance of mobile terminal technologies has enabled us to develop full-scaled navigation systems, including car navigation systems, and a navigation service for pedestrians. In most systems, research has been focused on the visibility of maps and/or a visualization effect for users in order to guide pedestrians to their destination smoothly. The authors here present a context-adaptable pedestrian navigation system, which provides users with the preferable route, considering the conditions of each area and the objectives of the users, as a next-generation system. In our approach, we utilize metadata over the logical space built over real space, and provide a scoring method dependent on context in order to find paths to the pedestrian\u27s destination. We examine the usability of this system in many environments by numerical simulations.矢島脩三教授定年退職記

Raising root zone temperature improves plant productivity and metabolites in hydroponic lettuce production

While it is commonly understood that air temperature can greatly affect the process of photosynthesis and the growth of higher plants, the impact of root zone temperature (RZT) on plant growth, metabolism, essential elements, as well as key metabolites like chlorophyll and carotenoids, remains an area that necessitates extensive research. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of raising the RZT on the growth, metabolites, elements, and proteins of red leaf lettuce. Lettuce was hydroponically grown in a plant factory with artificial light at four different air temperatures (17, 22, 27, and 30°C) and two treatments with different RZTs. The RZT was raised 3°C above the air temperature in one group, while it was not in the other group. Increasing the RZT 3°C above the air temperature improved plant growth and metabolites, including carotenoids, ascorbic acids, and chlorophyll, in all four air temperature treatments. Moreover, raising the RZT increased Mg, K, Fe, Cu, Se, Rb, amino acids, and total soluble proteins in the leaf tissue at all four air temperatures. These results showed that raising the RZT by 3°C improved plant productivity and the metabolites of the hydroponic lettuce by enhancing nutrient uptake and activating the metabolism in the roots at all four air temperatures. Overall, this research demonstrates that plant growth and metabolites can be improved simultaneously with an increased RZT relative to air temperature. This study serves as a foundation for future research on optimizing RZT in relation to air temperature. Further recommended studies include investigating the differential effects of multiple RZT variations relative to air temperature for increased optimization, examining the effects of RZT during nighttime versus daytime, and exploring the impact of stem heating. This research has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the ongoing growth and progress of the plant factory industry and fundamental advancements in root zone physiology. Overall, this research demonstrates that plant growth and metabolites can be improved simultaneously with an increased RZT relative to air temperature. This study serves as a foundation for future research on optimizing RZT in relation to air temperature. Further recommended studies include investigating the differential effects of multiple RZT variations relative to air temperature for increased optimization, examining the effects of RZT during nighttime versus daytime, and exploring the impact of stem heating. This research has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the ongoing growth and progress of the plant factory industry and fundamental advancements in root zone physiology

Analysis of digital content for intercultural education in Japan -The current situation and new directions based on comparative cases from Korea, England, the U.S.A, France and Japan-

The purpose of this research is to analyze the current situation of digital content for intercultural education, to suggest new guidelines for intercultural education in Japan by comparing the cases of England, the U.S.A, France, Korea and international NGO. From this analysis and discussion, the authors suggest new guidelines for digital content in Japanese education. They are 1) to coordinate the digital content with the government\u27s curriculum guideline, 2) to motivate individuals to act as global citizens, 3) to work in closer cooperation with NGOs, and 4) to start from Japan\u27s own history, geographic situation and ethnic background. Following these suggested guidelines, we analyze NGO websites in order to create a Japanese web site for intercultural education. In analyzing NGO, the following 4 points are suggested: I) providing sufficient and reliable support for educators, 2) providing photos and video clips of children\u27s daily life, 3) introducing some methods for acting global citizens, 4) adding more information about existing NGOs

Comprehensive survey of p94/calpain 3 substrates by comparative proteomics – Possible regulation of protein synthesis by p94

Calpain represents a family of Ca2+-dependent cytosolic cysteine proteases found in almost all eukaryotes and some bacteria, and is involved in a variety of biological phenomena, including brain function. Several substrates of calpain are aggressively proteolyzed under pathological conditions, e.g., in neurodegenerating processes, fodrin is proteolyzed by calpain. Because very small amounts of substrate are proteolyzed by calpain under normal biological conditions, the molecular identities of calpain substrates are largely unknown. In this study, an extensive survey of the substrates of p94/calpain 3 in COS7 cells was executed using iTRAQ™ labeling and 2-D LC-MALDI analysis. p94 was used because: (i) several p94 splicing variants are expressed in brain tissue even though p94 itself is a skeletal-muscle-specific calpain, and (ii) it exhibits Ca2+-independent activity in COS cells, which makes it useful for evaluating the effects of p94 protease activity on proteins without perturbing the cells. Our approach revealed several novel protein substrates for p94, including the substrates of conventional calpains, components of the protein synthesis system, and enzymes of the glycolytic pathway. The results demonstrate the usefulness and sensitivity of this approach for mining calpain substrates. A combination of this method with other analytical methods would contribute to elucidation of the biological relevance of the calpain family

Characterization of pullulanase (PUL)-deficient mutants of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and the function of PUL on starch biosynthesis in the developing rice endosperm

Rice (Oryza sativa) allelic sugary1 (sug1) mutants defective in isoamylase 1 (ISA1) accumulate varying levels of starch and phytoglycogen in their endosperm, and the activity of a pullulanase-type of a debranching enzyme (PUL) was found to correlate closely with the severity of the sug1 phenotype. Thus, three PUL-deficient mutants were generated to investigate the function of PUL in starch biosynthesis. The reduction of PUL activity had no pleiotropic effects on the other enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis. The short chains (DP ≤13) of amylopectin in PUL mutants were increased compared with that of the wild type, but the extent of the changes was much smaller than that of sug1 mutants. The α-glucan composition [amylose, amylopectin, water-soluble polysaccharide (WSP)] and the structure of the starch components (amylose and amylopectin) of the PUL mutants were essentially the same, although the average chain length of the B2-3 chains of amylopectin in the PUL mutant was ∼3 residues longer than that of the wild type. The double mutants between the PUL-null and mild sug1 mutants still retained starch in the outer layer of endosperm tissue, while the amounts of WSP and short chains (DP ≤7) of amylopectin were higher than those of the sug1 mutant; this indicates that the PUL function partially overlaps with that of ISA1 and its deficiency has a much smaller effect on the synthesis of amylopectin than ISA1 deficiency and the variation of the sug1 phenotype is not significantly dependent on the PUL activities

PCNA ubiquitylation ensures timely completion of unperturbed DNA replication in fission yeast

PCNA ubiquitylation on lysine 164 is required for DNA damage tolerance. In many organisms PCNA is also ubiquitylated in unchallenged S phase but the significance of this has not been established. Using Schizosaccharomyces pombe, we demonstrate that lysine 164 ubiquitylation of PCNA contributes to efficient DNA replication in the absence of DNA damage. Loss of PCNA ubiquitylation manifests most strongly at late replicating regions and increases the frequency of replication gaps. We show that PCNA ubiquitylation increases the proportion of chromatin associated PCNA and the co-immunoprecipitation of Polymerase δ with PCNA during unperturbed replication and propose that ubiquitylation acts to prolong the chromatin association of these replication proteins to allow the efficient completion of Okazaki fragment synthesis by mediating gap filling

対話システムライブコンペティションから何が得られたか

日本電信電話株式会社NTTメディアインテリジェンス研究所京都大学電気通信大学(株)NTTドコモ(株)富士通研究所東北大学 / 理化学研究所国立国語研究所国立国語研究所日本電信電話株式会社NTTコミュニケーション科学基礎研究所NTT Media Intelligence Laboratories, NTT CorporationKyoto UniversityThe University of Electro-CommunicationsNTT DOCOMO INC.Fujitsu Laboratories, LTD.Tohoku University / RIKEN AIPNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNational Institute for Japanese Language and LinguisticsNTT Communication Science Laboratorie

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target