An optical system for monitoring torsion in a power transmission shaft in realtime

An optical system has been proposed and verified experimentally for monitoring the torsion of a power transmission shaft in realtime. The system consists of a pair of lasers, mirrors and light receivers as a sensor head, and logic circuit, high-frequency oscillator, and computer as a data processing system. The smallest measurable angle of torsion can be expressed by ω/ƒ, where ω is the rotational frequency of the power transmission shaft and ƒ is the frequency of the oscillator. The experimental error was found to be a few percentage points

Ultrasound inflammation imaging in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion: Evaluation by non-specific targeted contrast microbubbles

Background: Reports on ultrasound inflammation imaging with non-specific targeted microbubbles in the heart have been scarce. We investigated whether inflammation induced by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in rats could be evaluated by ultrasound inflammation imaging with non-specific targeted microbubbles. Methods: Six rats subjected to 30 min of occlusion of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) followed by 4 h of reperfusion (ischemia group) and 4 rats subjected to the sham operation (sham group) were used. Ultrasound inflammation imaging was performed 4 h after reperfusion, and non-circulating signal intensity (SI), which reflects the signal derived from microbubbles phagocytosed by neutrophils in inflamed tissue, was calculated by the SI difference between the initial and subsequent imaging both in the LAD and non-LAD areas. The accumulation of neutrophils was confirmed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) staining. Results: Non-circulating SI in the LAD area was significantly greater for the ischemia group than the sham group [5.19 ± 2.19 (ischemia) vs. 0.31 ± 0.13 (sham) dB, p < 0.01]. Non-circulating SI in the LAD area was significantly higher than that in the non-LAD area when compared in the same rat of the ischemia group [5.19 ± 2.19 (LAD) vs. 0.18 ± 0.64 (non-LAD) dB, p < 0.01]. MPO-positive cells were confirmed in the LAD area of the ischemia group. Conclusion: Inflammation induced by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in rats could be quantitatively assessed by ultrasound inflammation imaging with non-specific targeted microbubbles.This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12574-010-0051-z

Do People Explicitly Make a Frame Choice Based on the Reference Point?

Previous studies have shown that when choosing one of two logically equivalent frames (e.g., “half full” or “half empty”), people tend to choose based on a reference point. For example, when the amount of water in a glass with 500 ml capacity was originally 0 ml (or 500 ml), and then increased (or decreased) to 250 ml, people tend to express the amount of water in the glass as “half full” (or “half empty”). In the present study, we examined whether participants explicitly made a frame choice based on the reference point. We conducted four behavioral experiments relating to frame choice tasks. Specifically, participants were presented with a story-based or prime-based reference point and then made a frame choice. Furthermore, participants provided their reasons for the choice. Our findings on frame choices and their reasons can be summarized as follows. First, when participants were presented with a story-based reference point, some of them reported that they made frame choices based on the reference point. Second, when a reference point was presented as a prime, participants’ frame choices were affected by this reference point. However, almost no participants reported that they made frame choices based on the reference point. These results indicate that the effect of reference points on frame choices is robust and that people do not always explicitly make frame choices based on the reference point

The Effect of a Blue Light Filtering Intraocular Lens on Macular Edema

This study sought to compare the effects of either a blue light-filtering intraocular lens (blue-filtering IOL) or an ultraviolet light-filtering intraocular lens (UV-filtering IOL) on the incidence of angiographic macular edema (ME) 3 and 12 months after implantation. A prospective randomized parallel clinical study was performed at Showa University Hospital. Forty-five cataract patients randomly received either a blue-filtering IOL (n = 21) or a UV-filtering IOL (n = 24), and macular leakage was evaluated by fluorescence angiography. At 3 months, ME was 24% in the blue- and 25% in the UV-filtering IOL group. At 12 months, ME was 5% in the blue- and 21% in the UV-filtering IOL group. The recovery rate in the blue-filtering IOL group was higher than in the UV-filtering IOL group at 12 months after surgery (P = 0.0457). These results suggested that an implanted blue-filtering IOL is more effective for recovery of ME than a UV-filtering IOL

The relationship between attention and avoidance coping in anorexia nervosa: functional magnetic resonance imaging study

[Background] Numerous studies have demonstrated attentional control difficulties and high avoidance coping in patients with anorexia nervosa. Attention is a critical coping resource because it enables individuals to demonstrate self-control and complete goal-directed behaviours. [Aims] We aimed to examine whether attentional control difficulty is related to high avoidance coping, and investigate the neural underpinnings of attentional control difficulties in individuals with anorexia nervosa. [Method] Twenty-three patients with anorexia nervosa and 17 healthy controls completed questionnaires that assessed attention and coping, and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a go/no-go task. [Results] Patients with anorexia nervosa showed weaker attentional control, higher omission error rates and higher avoidance coping compared with healthy controls. Attentional control difficulty was associated with higher avoidance coping in both groups. Functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis showed less deactivation in regions representing internal mental processing, such as the praecuneus, cuneus and left lingual gyrus, during the no-go condition. Moreover, weakened deactivation of the left lingual gyrus was associated with higher commission error rate in the anorexia nervosa group. [Conclusions] Our results suggest that patients with anorexia nervosa may have difficulty in maintaining attention to external ongoing events because of disturbance from internal self-related thought, and support the notion that attentional control difficulties underlie the frequent use of avoidance coping in anorexia nervosa

Effects of Green Tea Fractions on Oxygen-Induced Retinal Neovascularization in the Neonatal Rat

This study aimed to investigate the preventive effects of green tea fractions (GTFs) on rat model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to daily cycles of 80% oxygen (20.5 h), ambient air (0.5 h), and progressive return to 80% oxygen (3 h) until postnatal day 12 (P12), then the rats were placed in ambient air until P18. The green tea was fractionated by DM-A50, DM-W, M-B, and M-W. The rats were treated once daily from P6 to P17 by gastric gavage of GTFs (0.05 or 0.01 g/ml) or distilled water (DW) at 50 µl/10 g body weight. On P18, the rats were sacrificed and the retinal samples were collected. The retinal neovascularization (NV) was scored and avascular areas (AVAs) were measured as a % of total retinal area (%AVAs) in ADPase stained retinas. The NV scores in 0.01 g/ml M-W were significantly lower than those in DW. The %AVAs in 0.05 g/ml DM-A50 and in 0.05 g/ml and 0.01 g/ml M-W were significantly lower than those in DW. There were less catechins, and less caffeine in M-W fraction compared with other GTFs, suggesting components of green tea except for catechins and caffeine might suppress the neovascularization in rat model of OIR

Effect of Ethylene Diurea on Oxygen-induced Ischemic Retinopathy in the Neonatal Rat

This study investigated the effect of N-[2- (2-oxo-1-imidazolidinyl) ethyl]-N-phenylurea (ethylene diurea, EDU) on oxygen-induced ischemic retinopathy (OIR) in a neonatal rat model. OIR was induced by maintaining daily cycles of 80% oxygen (20.5h), ambient air (0.5h), and a progressive return to 80% oxygen (3h) for 12 days (postnatal day: P12). The rats were treated intraperitoneally with EDU (30mg/kg body weight) or distilled water (DW) from P6 to P17. At P18, the percentage of avascular areas in the total retinal area (%AVA) was measured, and retinal neovascularization (NV) was scored in ADPase-stained retinas. Retinal superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the retina was also determined by a chemiluminescence method. The mean %AVA in the EDU-treated group (9.3 ± 1.7%, n = 16) was lower than in the DW group (18.2 ± 4.7%, n = 17). EDU did not significantly affect NV, but significantly increased SOD activity (1.36 ± 0.13 units/mg protein, n = 4) compared to DW treatment (1.04 ± 0.01 units/mg protein, n = 4, P = 0.032) at P18. These results suggest that EDU treatment decreased the %AVA, accompanied by an increase in normal retinal vascular growth and/or a decrease in vessel proliferation. The increased SOD activity observed in the present study is likely to involve the EDU-mediated effects

Effects of Subconjunctival Injection of Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Antibody on Oxygen-Induced Ischemic Retinopathy in a Neonatal Rat Model

The present study investigated the effects of subconjunctival injections of an anti-rat vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) antibody on oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) in a neonatal rat model. OIR was induced by daily cycles of 80% oxygen (20.5h), room air (0.5h), and a progressive return to 80% oxygen (3h) for 12 days [until postnatal day (P) 12]. On P12, rats received subconjunctival injections in their right eye of 0.1 or 1.0μg anti-VEGF antibody (or 1.0μg goat IgG as a control). No injections were made into the left eye. On P18, rats were killed and their retinas were removed and flat-mounted before being stained with adenosine diphosphatase. Retinal neovascularization (NV) was scored and the extent of avascular areas, as a percentage of total retinal area (%AVA), was determined using image analysis. Although there was a tendency for lower mean NV scores in eyes injected with 0.1 and 1.0μg anti-VEGF compared with control (4.3±1.1, 2.3±1.0, and 6.7±1.3, respectively; n=10-13), the difference failed to reach statistical significance. Similarly, although there was a tendency for mean %AVA to be lower in the injected eyes for both the 0.1 and 1.0μg anti-VEGF groups compared with control (15±3%, 13±3%, and 25±4%, respectively; n=10-13), the differences were not significant. Similar tendencies were observed in the contralateral eyes. Although further studies using larger numbers of rats are needed to obtain statistically significant results, the results of the present study suggest that the subconjunctival injection of anti-VEGF antibody may prove to be a useful route of administration in conjunction with intravitreal injections, which are the generally used method at present. However, careful attention should be paid to the possibility of systemic side effects