Application of rubber artificial muscle manipulator as a rehabilitation robot

The application of robot to rehabilitation has become a matter of great concern. This study deals with an exercise for restoration of function being one of important rehabilitation tasks. An exercise of single joint has already been achieved with some automatically controlled machines. Now, the multijoint exercise becomes desirable, which requires the exercise robot with multi ple degrees of freedom to generate more realistic motion pattern. This kind of robot has to be absolutely safe for humans. A pneumatic calculator may be so effective for such a robot because of the flexibility from air compressibility that a rubber artificial muscle manipulator pneumatically driven is applied to construct the exercise robot with two degrees of freedom. Also an impedance control strategy is employed to realize various exercise motion modes. Further, an identification method of the recovery condition is proposed to execute the effective rehabilitation. Some experiments show the availability of proposed rehabilitation robot system </p

Major contribution of sulfide‐derived sulfur to the benthic food web in a large freshwater lake

In freshwater systems, contributions of chemosynthetic products by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in sediments as nutritional resources in benthic food webs remain unclear, even though chemosynthetic products might be an important nutritional resource for benthic food webs in deep-sea hydrothermal vents and shallow marine systems. To study geochemical aspects of this trophic pathway, we sampled sediment cores and benthic animals at two sites (90 and 50 m water depths) in the largest freshwater (mesotrophic) lake in Japan: Lake Biwa. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes of the sediments and animals were measured to elucidate the sulfur nutritional resources for the benthic food web precisely by calculating the contributions of the incorporation of sulfide-derived sulfur to the biomass and of the biogeochemical sulfur cycle supporting the sulfur nutritional resource. The recovered sediment cores showed increases in ³⁴S-depleted sulfide at 5 cm sediment depth and showed low sulfide concentration with high δ³⁴S in deeper layers, suggesting an association of microbial activities with sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation in the sediments. The sulfur-oxidizing bacteria may contribute to benthic animal biomass. Calculations based on the biomass, sulfur content, and contribution to sulfide-derived sulfur of each animal comprising the benthic food web revealed that 58%–67% of the total biomass sulfur in the benthic food web of Lake Biwa is occupied by sulfide-derived sulfur. Such a large contribution implies that the chemosynthetic products of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are important nutritional resources supporting benthic food webs in the lake ecosystems, at least in terms of sulfur. The results present a new trophic pathway for sulfur that has been overlooked in lake ecosystems with low-sulfate concentrations

Evolution of fluoride shuttle battery reactions and three-dimensional morphology changes of BiF3 microparticles in an ethylene carbonate-based liquid electrolyte

Fluoride shuttle batteries (FSBs) use defluorination of metal fluorides and fluorination of metals, and they are considered as candidates of next-generation batteries with high energy densities. During FSB reactions of orthorhombic and cubic BiF₃ (o-BiF₃ and c-BiF₃, respectively) in an ethylene carbonate-based liquid electrolyte, in situ Raman mapping and in situ laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) for three-dimensional analysis were conducted almost simultaneously. As the potential of o-BiF₃vs. Pb (E[WE]) was decreased to 0.4 V, desorption of F− started at the protrusions of o-BiF₃ particles. After defluorination, E[WE] was increased to 0.6 V, and c-BiF₃ appeared at protrusions of the surfaces of Bi. However, at the surfaces where o-BiF₃ partially remained, o-BiF₃ grew rather than c-BiF₃. The apparent volumes of particles increased during defluorination and fluorination. The results are important for determining reaction mechanisms, and the results indicate the possibility of the use of ethylene carbonate-based liquid electrolytes

Reaction Sites in Thermo- and Photo-induced CO Oxidation on Stepped Pt(113) and the Collimation of Product Desorption(CO oxidation on Pt(113))

The reaction sites in the thermal and photolytic CO oxidation on Pt(s)2(111)x(001) were examined through analysis of the angular and velocity distributions of desorbing product CO_2. In the former, the CO_2 desorption is sharply collimated but fairly shifted from the site normal, although the reaction proceeds on hollow sites of (100) and (111) patches. On the other hand, CO_2 produced in the photo-reaction is desorbed sharply along the (100) and (111) plane normal. This difference in the collimation is explained by reducing surface smoothing effect due to high velocity of desorbing CO_2

Sulphur-isotopic composition of the deep-sea mussel Bathymodiolus marisindicus from currently active hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean

Sulphur-isotopic composition of soft tissues from bathymodiolus marisindicus collected from hydrothermal vents in the indian ocean was reported. the [delta]34s values of the soft tissues (+3[similar]+5‰ vs cañyon diablo troilite) were nearly identical to those from the associated hydrothermal fluid and chimney sulphides (+5 to +8‰), but were significantly different from that of the common seawater sulphate (+21‰), which suggested that the endosymbiotic bacteria used sulphide in the fluid as an energy source. transmission electron microscopic observation of the endosymbionts also suggested that the symbiont is a thioautotroph. bathymodiolus species, which depend on either sulphide or methane oxidation, or both, have a worldwide distribution. bathymodiolus marisindicus from the indian ocean has a close relationship with congeners in the pacific ocean as evidenced by form of symbiosis. biogeography and migration of the genus bathymodiolus based on the relevant data are briefly discussed.</p

Off-center rattling and thermoelectric properties of type-II clathrate (K, Ba)(24)(Ga, Sn, square)(136) single crystals

We report the synthesis and temperature-dependent structural, transport, and thermal properties of type-II clathrate K8+xBa16-xGa40-ySn96-z square(y+z) (1.2 <= x <= 2.8, 2.0 <= y <= 3.3, 0.8 <= z <= 6.6, square = framework vacancy). Single-crystal x-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the guest K+ and Ba2+ ions are preferentially incorporated into the hexakaidecahedral cages and dodecahedral cages, respectively. The guest site in the former splits into four sites 0.67 angstrom away from the center to the 32e site of the cage. The splitting is consistent with the presence of four minima in the electrostatic potential in the hexakaidecahedron. The thermopower is negative and relatively large, -50 similar to -120 mu V/K at 300 K, indicating that the dominant charge carriers are electrons. The thermal conductivity displays a glasslike behavior with a plateau at around 20 K. The analysis of the specific heat indicates that the motion of the K+ ion in the hexakaidecahedron can be described by the soft-potential model, including the tunneling term. The characteristic energy of 21 K for the soft mode is as low as that of the off-center rattling of the Ba2+ ion in type-I clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30. The present result on the type-II clathrate verifies the idea that the low-energy off-center rattling in oversized cages of intermetallic clathrates couples to the acoustic phonons to lead to the glasslike thermal conductivity

Extracellular and Mixotrophic Symbiosis in the Whale-Fall Mussel Adipicola pacifica: A Trend in Evolution from Extra- to Intracellular Symbiosis

http://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/darwin/cruise/natsushima/nt05-12/

Interplay between thermoelectric and structural properties of type-I clathrate K8Ga8Sn38 single crystals

We report structural, transport, and thermal properties of type-I clathrate K8Ga8Sn38 single crystals grown by the self-flux method. Single-crystal x-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the guest K+ ion locates on the center in the tetrakaidecahedron composed of Ga and Sn atoms. The thermopower is largely negative,-200μ V/K at room temperature, irrespective of the flux used during growth Ga or Sn . The thermal conductivity κ(T) exhibits a large peak at 14 K. These observations in K8Ga8Sn38 are ontrasting with the splitting of the guest site and the glasslike behavior in κ(T) reported for type-I Ba8Ga16Sn30 although the free space for the guest is almost the same in both compounds. The electrostatic potential for the tetrakaidecahedron was calculated using the occupation probabilities of Ga ions in the three sites on the cage. It is found that the off-centered state is stabilized for the Ba2+ ions in Ba8Ga16Sn30 by the partial occupation of Ga anion in the 16i site while the on-center state for K8Ga8Sn38 is stabilized by the strongly preferred occupation of Ga anions in the 6c site. We conclude that the charge distribution on the cage is crucial for the splitting of the guest site into off-center positions in the tetrakaidecahedron of the type-I clathrate

Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) exploit food sources across anaerobic decomposition- and primary photosynthetic production-based food chains

Dietary information from aquatic organisms is instrumental in predicting biological interactions and understanding ecosystem functionality. In freshwater habitats, generalist fish species can access a diverse array of food sources from multiple food chains. These may include primary photosynthetic production and detritus derived from both oxic and anoxic decomposition. However, the exploitation of anoxic decomposition products by fish remains insufficiently explored. This study examines feeding habits of striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) at both adult and juvenile stages within a tropical reservoir, using stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope ratios (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, and δ³⁴S, respectively) and fatty acid (FA) analyses. The adult catfish exhibited higher δ¹⁵N values compared to primary consumers that feed on primary photosynthetic producers, which suggests ingestion of food sources originating from primary photosynthetic production-based food chains. On the other hand, juvenile catfish demonstrated lower δ¹⁵N values than primary consumers, correlating with low δ³⁴S value and large proportions of bacterial FA but contained small proportions of polyunsaturated FA. This implies that juveniles utilize food sources from both anoxic decomposition and primary photosynthetic production-based food chains. Our results indicate that food chains based on anoxic decomposition can indeed contribute to the dietary sources of tropical fish species