Collective motion of cells crawling on a substrate: roles of cell shape and contact inhibition

Contact inhibition plays a crucial role in the motility of cells, the process of wound healing, and the formation of tumors. By mimicking the mechanical motion of calls crawling on a substrate using a pseudopod, we constructed a minimal model for migrating cells which gives rise to contact inhibition of locomotion (CIL) naturally. The model cell consists of two disks, one in the front (a pseudopod) and the other one in the back (cell body), connected by a finitely extensible spring. Despite the simplicity of the model, the cells' collective behavior is highly nontrivial, depending on the shape of cells and whether CIL is enabled or not. Cells with a small front circle (i.e. a narrow pseudopod) form immobile colonies. In contrast, cells with a large front circle (i.e. such as a lamellipodium) exhibit coherent migration without any explicit alignment mechanism being present in the model. This suggests that crawling cells often exhibit broad fronts because it helps them avoid clustering. Upon increasing the density, the cells develop density waves which propagate against the direction of cell migration and finally arrest at higher densities

Reproductive Biology and Adaptability of the Invasive Alien Freshwater Amphipod Crangonyx floridanus (Crustacea: Amphipoda, Crangonyctidae)

We studied the reproductive biology and adaptability of the alien freshwater crangonyctid amphipod Crangonyx floridanus, currently inhabiting a large portion of Japan, both in the field and under controlled laboratory conditions. In the Chikuma River population of this alien amphipod, egg-bearing individuals were found throughout the year. In terms of egg maturation cycle, egg development (during embryogenesis), and egg count per ovipositional cycle, these amphipods display a very efficient reproductive system. This study also established their adaptability to a wide range of water temperatures (primarily 4-20 degrees C, however in some cases, these individuals are able to survive at up to 30 degrees C). C. floridanus's strong capacity to adapt to broad and variable environmental conditions is certainly contributing to its high rate of population increase, and rapid dispersion throughout Japan.ArticleZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE. 27(6):522-527 (2010)journal articl

Innovative Damage Control Systems Using Replaceable Energy Dissipating Steel Fuses for Cold-formed Steel Structures

This paper describes the development of innovative seismic technologies for cold-formed steel structures; a rocking steel shear wall system with replaceable energy dissipating steel fuses for low rise housing units. In this system, the fuses are placed at the base of a folded-steel sheet wall connecting an anchor bolt and the steel sheet wall. It is designed so that most of the earthquake energy can be dissipated by plastic deformation of the fuse elements, while the shear wall remains intact and resists vertical and horizontal forces caused by large earthquakes. As expected in seismic events, the fuses at the base move cyclically into plastic regions when the wall behaves in a rocking manner. As a result, the wall system is expected to show a stable energy absorption behavior. To maximize its energy absorption capability in this research, the shape of the fuse is optimized, such that a butterfly shape is employed to have a greater yielding region. To verify the seismic performance of the proposed system, static shear wall tests and earthquake response analyses were respectively conducted. It was confirmed, with both results, that the developed fuses have high energy absorbing capacity and the rocking shear wall systems using them also have high seismic performance in comparison with conventional shear wall systems. The proposed system contributes to increased sustainability of the building systems through which damaged fuses are replaced after strong earthquakes

Low-Dimensional Projection of Reactive Islands in Chemical Reaction Dynamics Using a Supervised Dimensionality Reduction Method

Transition state theory is a standard framework for predicting the rate of a chemical reaction. Although the transition state theory has been successfully applied to numerous chemical reaction analyses, many experimental and theoretical studies have reported chemical reactions with a reactivity which cannot be explained by the transition state theory due to dynamic effects. Dynamical systems theory provides a theoretical framework for elucidating dynamical mechanisms of such chemical reactions. In particular, reactive islands are essential phase space structures revealing dynamical reaction patterns. However, the numerical computation of reactive islands in a reaction system of many degrees of freedom involves an intrinsic challenge -- the curse of dimensionality. In this paper, we propose a dimensionality reduction algorithm for computing reactive islands in a reaction system of many degrees of freedom. Using the supervised principal component analysis, the proposed algorithm projects reactive islands into a low-dimensional phase space with preserving the dynamical information on reactivity as much as possible. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is examined by numerical experiments for H\'enon-Heiles systems extended to many degrees of freedom. The numerical results indicate that our proposed algorithm is effective in terms of the quality of reactivity prediction and the clearness of the boundaries of projected reactive islands. The proposed algorithm is a promising elemental technology for practical applications of dynamical systems analysis to real chemical systems

Suppressive influence of surgical stress on the graft-versus-host reaction in mice.

The influence of surgical stress on the local graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR) in F1 mice was studied. Skin incision 1 day prior to injection of parental spleen cells produced impairment of popliteal lymph node enlargement; however, this effect was not observed when GVHR was induced 3 and 5 days after operation. Strong GVHR suppressive activity of spleen cells was observed three hours after leg amputation before a decrease in thymus weight became evident. The GVHR suppressive activity declined by six hours later, but a second peak of 60% inhibition was observed after 24 h. This suppressive activity completely disappeared by treatment with anti-Thy 1.2 and complement. This shows that the GVHR is suppressed by surgical stress, and that this suppression is due to suppressor T lymphocytes.</p

Rapid expansion of the distributional range and the population genetic structure of the freshwater amphipod Crangonyx floridanus in Japan

The freshwater amphipod Crangonyx floridanus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) is considered to have been recently introduced from North America to Japan, and the recorded sites at which it has been collected now cover nearly all of Japan except for the northern part. In this study, we surveyed further areas outside of its known distribution range, and examined the population genetic structure and the phylogenetic relationships between Japanese and North American populations of this species based on nuclear (18S rRNA) and mitochondrial (COI) DNA sequences. We found that this amphipod has already reached Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, which suggests that it has undergone rapid expansion in a pattern of concentric circles from the central part of Japan. Genetic analysis showed that the Japanese population is genetically homogeneous, in contrast to the genetic diversification of this species seen in North American Crangonyx populations. The process of introducing, establishing, and expanding this amphipod in Japan may be explained as follows. A limited number of individuals from a North American native population were probably inadvertently introduced and established somewhere within the Kanto region. The local population size then increased and its distribution range expanded rapidly across Japan.ArticleLIMNOLOGY. 12(1):75-82 (2011)journal articl

Probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment based on the Gutenberg–Richter law in eastern Shikoku, Nankai subduction zone, Japan

Earthquake and tsunami predictions comprise huge uncertainties, thus necessitating probabilistic assessments for the design of defense facilities and urban planning. In recent years, computer development has advanced probabilistic tsunami hazard assessments (PTHAs), where hazard curves show the exceedance probability of the maximum tsunami height. However, owing to the lack of historical and geological tsunami records, this method is generally insufficient for validating the estimated hazard curves. The eastern coast of Shikoku in the Nankai subduction zone, Japan, is suitable for validation because tsunami records from historical Nankai Trough earthquakes are available. This study evaluated PTHAs by comparing the tsunami hazard curves and exceedance frequencies of historical Nankai Trough tsunamis. We considered 3480 earthquake scenarios representing the rupture patterns of past Nankai earthquakes and calculated all tsunamis. The probability of earthquake occurrence was based on the Gutenberg–Richter law. We considered uncertainty in tsunami calculations with astronomical tide variations. The estimated tsunami hazard curves are consistent with the exceedance frequencies obtained from historical tsunamis. In addition, sensitivity tests indicate the significance of the earthquake slip heterogeneity and tsunami defense facilities in PTHAs. We also extended the PTHAs to tsunami inundation maps in high resolution and proposed an effective new method for reducing the tsunami computation load