Effects of Cellular Telephone Use While Driving Based on Objective and Subjective Mental Workload Assessment

A series of studies were performed to investigate the effects of cellulartelephone use while driving on driver mental workload. In these surveillance studiesobjective and subjective methods were used to find the driver mental workloadbehaviour. In the first study, the results indicated that the hands-free system providedless effect on the driver’s mental workload than the hand-held system. In the secondstudy, experience in using a cellular telephone while driving had no positive effect onreaction time. The operation task and talking task had little effect on the subjectivemental workload of the experienced subjects, but had statistically significant effectson the subjective mental workload of the non-experienced subjects. In the third study,the results of experiment indicated that the telephone tasks increase the mentalworkload of the drivers as were shown in the second study. The results also indicatedthat the complex conversation task produced an increase in driver mental workload ascompared to the simple conversation task and the other tasks independent of agegroup

A single Gly114Arg mutation stabilizes the hexameric subunit assembly and changes the substrate specificity of halo-archaeal nucleoside diphosphate kinase

AbstractNucleoside diphosphate kinase from extremely halophilic archaeon (HsNDK) requires above 2M NaCl concentration for in vitro refolding. Here an attempt was made to isolate mutations that allow HsNDK to refold in low salt media. Such a screening resulted in isolation of an HsNDK mutant, Gly114Arg, which efficiently refolded in the presence of 1M NaCl. This mutant, unlike the wild type enzyme, was expressed in Escherichia coli as an active form. The residue 114 is in close proximity to Glu155 of the neighboring subunit in the three dimensional hexameric structure of the HsNDK. It is thus possible that the attractive electrostatic interactions occur between Arg114 and Glu155 in the mutant HsNDK, stabilizing the hexameric subunit assembly

Theoretical Study on the Hole-Transport Property of Fullerene Hydrides C_<60>H_2 and C_<60>H_4

Hole-transport property of C_H_2 [1] and C_H_4 [2] is discussed from the viewpoint of reorganization energy λ and hole-transfer rate constant k_, comparing with that of C_.All synthesized isomers [3] of C_H_2 and C_H_4 have better hole-transport property than C_. It is also revealed that the hole-transport property is closely related to the delocalization of HOMO.Nagasaki Symposium on Nano-Dynamics 2008 (NSND2008) 平成20年1月29日(火)於長崎大学 Poster Presentatio

Topological self-similarity on the random binary-tree model

Asymptotic analysis on some statistical properties of the random binary-tree model is developed. We quantify a hierarchical structure of branching patterns based on the Horton-Strahler analysis. We introduce a transformation of a binary tree, and derive a recursive equation about branch orders. As an application of the analysis, topological self-similarity and its generalization is proved in an asymptotic sense. Also, some important examples are presented

Observation of nonvolatile magneto-thermal switching in superconductors

Applying a magnetic field to a solid changes its thermal-transport properties. Although such magneto-thermal-transport phenomena are usually small effects, giant magneto-thermal resistance has recently been observed in spintronic materials1,2 and superconductors3,4, opening up new possibilities in thermal management technologies. However, the thermal conductivity conventionally changes only when a magnetic field is applied due to the absence of nonvolatility, which limits potential applications of thermal switching devices5,6. Here, we report the observation of nonvolatile thermal switching that changes the thermal conductivity when a magnetic field is applied and retains the value even when the field is turned off. This unconventional magneto-thermal switching, surprisingly, arises in commercial Sn-Pb solders and is realized by phase-separated superconducting states and resultant nonuniform magnetic flux distributions. This result confirms the versatility of the observed phenomenon and aids the development of active solid-state thermal management devices.Comment: 33 pages, 5 figures & 9 extended data figure

Results of elective laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis following percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) provides a simple criteria and management strategy for acute cholecystitis. The optimal interval between performing percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) and delayed elective laparoscopic cholecystectomey (LC) and the suitable period of PTGBD, is controversial. In this study, we evaluate the operative outcome of elective LC with PTGBD for the management of acute cholecystitis. We analyzed 21 patients who underwent elective LC following PTGBD. The diagnosis and severity grading for acute cholecystitis was based on TG13. All patients showed grade II/III acute cholecystitis by TG13. Median time interval from onset of acute cholecystitis to PTGBD was 1.5 days (range 0-6). In all patients, local inflammation of gallbladder was improved by PTGBD. Median time interval from PTGBD to elective LC was 46 days (range 12-74). Only one patient (5%) showed bile leakage, and median postoperative hospital stay was 5 days (range 4-15). In conclusion, delayed elective LC following emergent PTGBD is a safe and effective treatment strategy for patients withcomplicated acute cholecystitis

Genetic interaction of DISC1 and Neurexin in the development of fruit fly glutamatergic synapses

Originally identified at the breakpoint of a (1;11)(q42.1; q14.3) chromosomal translocation in a Scottish family with a wide range of mental disorders, the DISC1 gene has been a focus of intensive investigations as an entry point to study the molecular mechanisms of diverse mental dysfunctions. Perturbations of the DISC1 functions lead to behavioral changes in animal models, which are relevant to psychiatric conditions in patients. In this work, we have expressed the human DISC1 gene in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and performed a genetic screening for the mutations of psychiatric risk genes that cause modifications of DISC1 synaptic phenotypes at the neuromuscular junction. We found that DISC1 interacts with dnrx1, the Drosophila homolog of the human Neurexin (NRXN1) gene, in the development of glutamatergic synapses. While overexpression of DISC1 suppressed the total bouton area on the target muscles and stimulated active zone density in wild-type background, a partial reduction of the dnrx1 activity negated the DISC1–mediated synaptic alterations. Likewise, overexpression of DISC1 stimulated the expression of a glutamate receptor component, DGLURIIA, in wild-type background but not in the dnrx1 heterozygous background. In addition, DISC1 caused mislocalization of Discs large, the Drosophila PSD-95 homolog, in the dnrx1 heterozygous background. Analyses with a series of domain deletions have revealed the importance of axonal localization of the DISC1 protein for efficient suppression of DNRX1 in synaptic boutons. These results thus suggest an intriguing converging mechanism controlled by the interaction of DISC1 and Neurexin in the developing glutamatergic synapses