1,022 research outputs found
Locally embedded presages of global network bursts
Spontaneous, synchronous bursting of neural population is a widely observed
phenomenon in nervous networks, which is considered important for functions and
dysfunctions of the brain. However, how the global synchrony across a large
number of neurons emerges from an initially non-bursting network state is not
fully understood. In this study, we develop a new state-space reconstruction
method combined with high-resolution recordings of cultured neurons. This
method extracts deterministic signatures of upcoming global bursts in "local"
dynamics of individual neurons during non-bursting periods. We find that local
information within a single-cell time series can compare with or even
outperform the global mean field activity for predicting future global bursts.
Moreover, the inter-cell variability in the burst predictability is found to
reflect the network structure realized in the non-bursting periods. These
findings demonstrate the deterministic mechanisms underlying the locally
concentrated early-warnings of the global state transition in self-organized
networks
Prospect for Future MeV Gamma-ray Active Galactic Nuclei Population Studies
While the X-ray, GeV gamma-ray, and TeV gamma-ray skies have been extensively
studied, the MeV gamma-ray sky is not well investigated after the Imaging
Compton Telescope (COMPTEL) scanned the sky about two decades ago. In this
paper, we investigate prospects for active galactic nuclei population studies
with future MeV gamma-ray missions using recent spectral models and luminosity
functions of Seyfert and flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). Both of them are
plausible candidates as the origins of the cosmic MeV gamma-ray background. If
the cosmic MeV gamma-ray background radiation is dominated by non-thermal
emission from Seyferts, the sensitivity of 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1 is required to
detect several hundred Seyferts in the entire sky. If FSRQs make up the cosmic
MeV gamma-ray background, the sensitivity of ~4 x 10^-12 erg cm^-2 s^-1 is
required to detect several hundred FSRQs following the recent FSRQ X-ray
luminosity function. However, based on the latest FSRQ gamma-ray luminosity
function, with which FSRQs can explain up to ~30% of the MeV background, we can
expect several hundred FSRQs even with the sensitivity of 10^-11 erg cm^-2 s^-1
which is almost the same as the sensitivity goal of the next generation MeV
telescopes.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in PAS
Therapeutic Approaches to Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Exercise Intervention and Related Mechanisms
Exercise training ameliorates nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) as well as obesity and metabolic syndrome. Although it is difficult to eliminate the effects of body weight reduction and increased energy expenditure—some pleiotropic effects of exercise training—a number of studies involving either aerobic exercise training or resistance training programs showed ameliorations in NAFLD that are independent of the improvements in obesity and insulin resistance. In vivo studies have identified effects of exercise training on the liver, which may help to explain the “direct” or “independent” effect of exercise training on NAFLD. Exercise training increases peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) expression, improves mitochondrial function and leads to reduced hepatic steatosis, inflammation, fibrosis, and tumor genesis. Crosstalk between the liver and adipose tissue, skeletal muscle and the microbiome is also a possible mechanism for the effect of exercise training on NAFLD. Although numerous studies have reported benefits of exercise training on NAFLD, the optimal duration and intensity of exercise for the prevention or treatment of NAFLD have not been established. Maintaining adherence of patients with NAFLD to exercise training regimes is another issue to be resolved. The use of comprehensive analytical approaches to identify biomarkers such as hepatokines that specifically reflect the effect of exercise training on liver functions might help to monitor the effect of exercise on NAFLD, and thereby improve adherence of these patients to exercise training. Exercise training is a robust approach for alleviating the pathogenesis of NAFLD, although further clinical and experimental studies are required
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
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