Forest cover classification using Landsat Thematic Mapper data for areal expansion of line LAI estimate generated through airborne laser profiler

A simple cover classification of Canadian boreal forest was conducted using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery to expand a line estimate of leaf area index (LAI) into a two-dimensional regional one. The line estimate had been made through a 600km long continuous vegetation profile obtained by airborne laser altimetry. The present study area of 170×30km straddles the central portion of the laser profiling transect, from Wandering River north to Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. A total of eight land cover types were identified first in the field, and then some 83 training points and another 74 reference points were chosen and recorded for a supervised classification and its accuracy assessment respectively. By applying a supervised procedure to Landsat TM data in two different seasons, these eight cover types, consisting of six vegetated covers, i. e. closed and open conifer forests, conifer woodland, closed and open broad-leaved forests and marsh thicket, and two nonvegetated covers, i. e. bare ground and water surface, were classified. The classification was basically successful with an overall accuracy of 76%. Finally, using an overlay of this land cover map and the airborne laser profiling flight track, the mean LAI for each type of vegetation cover was obtained, and subsequently fed back to the land cover map to form a false-color map showing the two-dimensional distribution of LAI over the entire study area

Growth of Adsorbed Additive Layer for Further Friction Reduction

Special Issue:6th European Conference on Tribology (ECOTRIB 2017)Boundary lubrication is one of the most interesting topics in the field of tribology, and a lot of studies have been conducted from the past for understanding the behaviour of boundary lubrication films. General boundary lubrication films are formed by the adsorption of additives mixed into lubricant, and then the tribological performances are drastically improved in many cases. However, there is still room for discussion on the “actual” behaviour of adsorbed additive layer in the tribological condition, that is, under high pressure and/or with external forces. This paper showed the “growing” behaviour of an adsorbed additive layer onto metal surface due to high pressure by means of neutron reflectometry in conjunction with the result obtained through cross‐sectional imaging by frequency‐modulation atomic force microscopy. In addition, the nanotribological study using atomic force microscopy with a colloidal probe showed that the coefficient of friction in the pre‐scratched area was lower than that in the non‐scratched area and that the reduction ratio for lubricant with additive was higher than that for lubricant without additive. This result indicates that growth of the adsorbed additive layer contributed more greatly to a reduction in the coefficient of friction

Energy Metabolism in Japanese Patients with Crohn’s Disease

We investigated energy expenditure in hospitalized patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), and determined optimal energy requirements for nutritional therapy. Sixteen patients (5 women and 11 men, mean age 36 year old, mean BMI 18.7 kg/m2) and 8 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Measured resting energy expenditure (mREE) levels were determined by indirect calorimetry. The mREEs in CD patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (24.4 ± 2.4 kcal/kg/day vs 21.3 ± 1.7 kcal/kg/day). However, mREEs in CD patients were significantly lower than predicted REEs (pREEs) calculated by the Harris-Benedict equation (26.4 ± 2.5 kcal/kg/day). Furthermore, mREE/pREE values were lower in undernourished patients than in well-nourished patients. CD patients had hyper-metabolic statuses evaluated by mREE/body weight, but increased energy expenditure did not contribute to weight loss in these patients. In conclusion, nutritional therapy with 25–30 kcal/ideal body weight/day (calculated by mREE × active factor) may be optimal for active CD patients, while higher energy intake values pose the risk of overfeeding

HSP90α plays an important role in piRNA biogenesis and retrotransposon repression in mouse

HSP90, found in all kingdoms of life, is a major chaperone protein regulating many client proteins. We demonstrated that HSP90α, one of two paralogs duplicated in vertebrates, plays an important role in the biogenesis of fetal PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNA), which act against the transposon activities, in mouse male germ cells. The knockout mutation of Hsp90α resulted in a large reduction in the expression of primary and secondary piRNAs and mislocalization of MIWI2, a PIWI homolog. Whereas the mutation in Fkbp6 encoding a co-chaperone reduced piRNAs of 28–32 nucleotides in length, the Hsp90α mutation reduced piRNAs of 24–32 nucleotides, suggesting the presence of both FKBP6-dependent and -independent actions of HSP90α. Although DNA methylation and mRNA levels of L1 retrotransposon were largely unchanged in the Hsp90α mutant testes, the L1-encoded protein was increased, suggesting the presence of post-transcriptional regulation. This study revealed the specialized function of the HSP90α isofom in the piRNA biogenesis and repression of retrotransposons during the development of male germ cells in mammals

Serum Concentrations of Trace Elements in Patients with Crohn’s Disease Receiving Enteral Nutrition

We investigated the trace element status in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients receiving enteral nutrition, and evaluated the effects of trace element-rich supplementation. Thirty-one patients with CD were enrolled in this study. All patients were placed on an enteral nutrition regimen with Elental® (Ajinomoto pharmaceutical. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Serum selenium, zinc and copper concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Serum selenoprotein P levels were determined by an ELISA system. Average serum levels of albumin, selenium, zinc and copper were 4.1 ± 0.4 g/dl, 11.2 ± 2.8 µg/dl, 71.0 ± 14.8 µg/dl, and 112.0 ± 25.6 µg/dl, respectively. In 9 patients of 31 CD patients, serum albumin levels were lower than the lower limit of the normal range. Serum selenium, zinc and copper levels were lower than lower limits in 12 patients, 9 patients and 1 patient, respectively. Serum selenium levels significantly correlated with both serum selenoprotein P levels and glutathione peroxidase activity. Supplementation of selenium (100 µg/day) and zinc (10 mg/day) for 2 months significantly improved the trace element status in CD patients. In conclusion, serum selenium and zinc levels are lower in many CD patients on long-term enteral nutrition. In these patients, supplementation of selenium and zinc was effective in improving the trace element status

Energy Expenditure in Japanese Patients with Severe or Moderate Ulcerative Colitis

We investigated the energy expenditure in hospitalized patients with severe or moderate ulcerative colitis (UC), and compared them to healthy controls. Thirteen patients (5 women and 8 men; mean age 31.8 years; mean BMI 19.0 kg/m2) and 10 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. The resting energy expenditure (mREE) levels were determined by indirect calorimetry. The mREEs of the UC patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (26.4 ± 3.6 vs 21.8 ± 1.7 kcal/kg/day), although the mREEs of the UC patients were almost the same as the predicted REEs (pREEs) calculated by the Harris-Benedict equation (26.4 ± 2.4 kcal/kg/day vs 26.5 ± 2.6 kcal/kg/day). The mREE/pREE ratio, which reflects stress, was 1.0 ± 0.15. In the UC patients, a significant correlation was observed between the mREEs and the clinical activity index. In conclusion, UC patients showed a hyper-metabolic status as evaluated by their mREE/body weight. Energy expenditure was significantly correlated with disease activity. From our observations, we recommend that nutritional management with more than 30–35 kcal/ideal body weight/day (calculated by the mREE × activity factor) may be optimal for active severe or moderate ulcerative colitis