Variations of leaf traits of an alpine shrub Sieversia pentapetala along an altitudinal gradient and under a simulated environmental change

We investigated intraspecific variations of leaf traits such as number of leaves, leaf size, leaf mass per shoot, leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf nitrogen concentration (leaf N), in a deciduous alpine dwarf shrub Sieversia pentapetala (L.) Greene (Rosaceae), along an altitudinal gradient in the Tateyama Range, Toyama Prefecture, central Japan. We also observed the change in leaf traits under simulated environmental amelioration using an open-top chamber (OTC). Three study sites were established at different altitudes (1900-2800m a. s. l.) and the OTC was installed at the highest elevation site. Snow-free duration and foliage period decreased with altitude. The number of compound leaves per shoot and individual leaf size (compound leaf area) significantly decreased, resulting in reduction of leaf mass per shoot with altitude. LMA decreased, while leaf N increased significantly with altitude. Under simulated environmental amelioration (increased temperature), number of leaves, individual leaf size, and leaf mass per shoot increased significantly. LMA showed significantly higher values and leaf N lower values in the OTC manipulated shoots compared with controls. In other words, leaf mass and LMA decrease and leaf N increases under harsh conditions. These variations and changes in leaf traits seemed to be adaptive responses to severe growth conditions to maintain positive carbon balance

A flux splitting scheme with high-resolution and robustness for discontinuities

A flux splitting scheme is proposed for the general nonequilibrium flow equations with an aim at removing numerical dissipation of Van-Leer-type flux-vector splittings on a contact discontinuity. The scheme obtained is also recognized as an improved Advection Upwind Splitting Method (AUSM) where a slight numerical overshoot immediately behind the shock is eliminated. The proposed scheme has favorable properties: high-resolution for contact discontinuities; conservation of enthalpy for steady flows; numerical efficiency; applicability to chemically reacting flows. In fact, for a single contact discontinuity, even if it is moving, this scheme gives the numerical flux of the exact solution of the Riemann problem. Various numerical experiments including that of a thermo-chemical nonequilibrium flow were performed, which indicate no oscillation and robustness of the scheme for shock/expansion waves. A cure for carbuncle phenomenon is discussed as well

Methods for Tele-Operation of Mobile Type Maintenance Robot

This paper proposes a concept of a mobile type maintenance robot (MMR in shortly) that is controlled by the tele-operation for assuring the safety and health improvement of work forces. The main components of this system are the industrial robot, an image processing unit, vehicle and computers for tele-operation. Our focus is paid on a method that determine a pathway to move every places where troubles would occur. This method makes it possible that the MMR could arrive any place in the factory with three times of turns at most. Additionally, turning radius of the vehicle is considered for correcting the pathway near the corners to make it possible that it arrives to the place accurately

Temporal convolutional neural networks to generate a head-related impulse response from one direction to another

Virtual sound synthesis is a technology that allows users to perceive spatial sound through headphones or earphones. However, accurate virtual sound requires an individual head-related transfer function (HRTF), which can be difficult to measure due to the need for a specialized environment. In this study, we proposed a method to generate HRTFs from one direction to the other. To this end, we used temporal convolutional neural networks (TCNs) to generate head-related impulse responses (HRIRs). To train the TCNs, publicly available datasets in the horizontal plane were used. Using the trained networks, we successfully generated HRIRs for directions other than the front direction in the dataset. We found that the proposed method successfully generated HRIRs for publicly available datasets. To test the generalization of the method, we measured the HRIRs of a new dataset and tested whether the trained networks could be used for this new dataset. Although the similarity evaluated by spectral distortion was slightly degraded, behavioral experiments with human participants showed that the generated HRIRs were equivalent to the measured ones. These results suggest that the proposed TCNs can be used to generate personalized HRIRs from one direction to another, which could contribute to the personalization of virtual sound

Alpha Phase Synchronization of Parietal Areas Reflects Switch-Specific Activity During Mental Rotation: An EEG Study

Action selection is typically influenced by the history of previously selected actions (the immediate motor history), which is apparent when a selected action is switched from a previously selected one to a new one. This history dependency of the action selection is even observable during a mental hand rotation task. Thus, we hypothesized that the history-dependent interaction of actions might share the same neural mechanisms among different types of action switching tasks. An alternative hypothesis is that the history dependency of the mental hand rotation task might involve a distinctive neural mechanism from the general action selection tasks so that the reported observation with the mental hand rotation task in the previously published literature might lack generality. To refute this possibility, we compared neural activity during action switching in the mental hand rotation with the general action switching task which is triggered by a simple visual stimulus. In the experiment, to focus on temporal changes in whole brain oscillatory activity, we recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signals while 25 healthy subjects performed the two tasks. For analysis, we examined functional connectivity reflected in EEG phase synchronization and analyzed temporal changes in brain activity when subjects switched from a previously selected action to a new action. Using a clustering-based method to identify functional connectivity reflected in time-varying phase synchronization, we identified alpha-power inter-parietal synchronization that appears only during switching of the selected action, regardless of the hand laterality in the presented image. Moreover, the current study revealed that for both tasks the extent of this alpha-power inter-parietal synchronization was altered by the history of the selected actions. These findings suggest that alpha-power inter-parietal synchronization is engaged as a form of switching-specific functional connectivity, and that switching-related activity is independent of the task paradigm

Efficacy of radial styloid targeting screws in volar plate fixation of intra-articular distal radial fractures: a biomechanical study in a cadaver fracture model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The locking screws target the radial styloid, theoretically provide greater stability against radial styloid fragment. However, it is unknown whether the radial styloid locking screws increased the stability of the volar plating system fixation along the entire distal radius or not. In this study, we evaluated the stability of the volar plating system fixation with or without the radial styloid screws using a biomechanical study in a cadaver fracture model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Six matched pairs of fresh-frozen human cadaver wrists complete from the proximal forearm to the metacarpal bones were prepared to simulate standardized 3-part intra-articular and severe comminuted fractures. Specimens were fixed using the volar plating system with or without 2 radial styloid screws. Each specimen was loaded at a constant rate of 20 mm/min to failure. Load data was recorded and, ultimate strength and change in gap between distal and proximal fragments were measured. Data for ultimate strength and screw failure after failure loading were compared between the 2 groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The average ultimate strength at failure of the volar plate fixation with radial styloid screws (913.5 ± 157.1 N) was significantly higher than that without them (682.2 ± 118.6 N). After failure loading, the average change in gap between the ulnar and proximal fragment was greater than that between the radial and proximal fragment. The number of bent or broken screws in ulnar fragment was higher than that in radial fragment. The number of specimens with bent or broken screws in cases with radial styloid screws was fewer than that in the fixation without radial styloid screws group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ulnar fragment is more intensively stressed than the radial fragment under axial loading of distal radius at full wrist extension. The radial styloid screws were effective in stable volar plate fixation of distal radial fractures.</p

Effects of dietary inulin, statin, and their co-treatment on hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis and changes in drug-metabolizing enzymes in rats fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rats fed a high-fat and high-sucrose (HF) diet develop hepatic steatosis and hyperlipidemia. There are several reports that a change in nutritional status affects hepatic levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes. Synthetic inulin is a dietary component that completely evades glucide digestion. Supplementing a HF diet with inulin ameliorates hypertriglycemia and hepatic steatosis, but not hypercholesterolemia. This study aimed at distinguishing the effects of synthetic inulin and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin), which inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined effects of co-treatment with synthetic inulin (5%) and fluvastatin (0, 4, and 8 mg/kg, <it>per os</it>) on body weight, epidydimal white adipose tissue weight, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, and hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) mRNA and protein profiles in rats fed a standard diet or a HF diet for 3 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with the synthetic inulin (5%) or fluvastatin at 4 mg/kg (lethal dose in rats fed the HF diet, 8 mg/kg) ameliorated the elevation in hepatic triacylglycerol and total cholesterol levels in rats fed the HF diet. Whereas co-treatment with the inulin (5%) and fluvastatin (4 mg/kg) had a tendency to more strongly suppress the elevation in serum levels of very low density lipoprotein triacylglycerol than either treatment alone, no additive or synergistic effect was found in decrease in hepatic lipid levels. Hepatic levels of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1 mRNA and protein and methoxyresorufin <it>O</it>-demethylase and ethoxyresorufin <it>O</it>-deethylase activities were reduced in rats fed the HF diet. The synthetic inulin alleviated the reduction in hepatic levels of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1 mRNA and protein more strongly than fluvastatin, and no synergistic effects were observed on co-treatment. Furthermore, hepatic levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor mRNA were decreased in rats fed the HF diet and recovered to near normal values with the intake of dietary inulin, which correlated with change in CYP1A1/2.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dietary inulin alone was effective to prevent the development of hepatic steatosis, ameliorate nutritional effects, and alleviate the hepatic change in the expression of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1, while co-treatment with statin did not have additive or synergistic effects and statin may cause adverse effects in rats fed the HF diet.</p

Aldo–Keto Reductase 1B10 and Its Role in Proliferation Capacity of Drug-Resistant Cancers

The human aldo–keto reductase AKR1B10, originally identified as an aldose reductase-like protein and human small intestine aldose reductase, is a cytosolic NADPH-dependent reductase that metabolizes a variety of endogenous compounds, such as aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and dicarbonyl compounds, and some drug ketones. The enzyme is highly expressed in solid tumors of several tissues including lung and liver, and as such has received considerable interest as a relevant biomarker for the development of those tumors. In addition, AKR1B10 has been recently reported to be significantly up-regulated in some cancer cell lines (medulloblastoma D341 and colon cancer HT29) acquiring resistance toward chemotherapeutic agents (cyclophosphamide and mitomycin c), suggesting the validity of the enzyme as a chemoresistance marker. Although the detailed information on the AKR1B10-mediated mechanisms leading to the drug resistance process is not well understood so far, the enzyme has been proposed to be involved in functional regulations of cell proliferation and metabolism of drugs and endogenous lipids during the development of chemoresistance. This article reviews the current literature focusing mainly on expression profile and roles of AKR1B10 in the drug resistance of cancer cells. Recent developments of AKR1B10 inhibitors and their usefulness in restoring sensitivity to anticancer drugs are also reviewed