Biomechanical and Psychophysical Evaluation of Operating Loads in Vehicular Driving

The present paper proposes an evaluation method of operation loads in vehicular driving, such as the joint-load, the seat pressure, and the perceiving force, based on biomechanical and psychophysical evidences to assist the human-centered design of driving interfaces. The prototype simulator is developed by means of a big experimental data of human motor properties and force-perception properties related with driving operations. The usefulness of the proposed methodology is then demonstrated through a set of simulation experiments in the case of the curve traveling situation.2013 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics, SMC 2013; Manchester; United Kingdom; 13 October 2013 through 16 October 201

Marine Biodiversity in Japanese Waters

To understand marine biodiversity in Japanese waters, we have compiled information on the marine biota in Japanese waters, including the number of described species (species richness), the history of marine biology research in Japan, the state of knowledge, the number of endemic species, the number of identified but undescribed species, the number of known introduced species, and the number of taxonomic experts and identification guides, with consideration of the general ocean environmental background, such as the physical and geological settings. A total of 33,629 species have been reported to occur in Japanese waters. The state of knowledge was extremely variable, with taxa containing many inconspicuous, smaller species tending to be less well known. The total number of identified but undescribed species was at least 121,913. The total number of described species combined with the number of identified but undescribed species reached 155,542. This is the best estimate of the total number of species in Japanese waters and indicates that more than 70% of Japan's marine biodiversity remains un-described. The number of species reported as introduced into Japanese waters was 39. This is the first attempt to estimate species richness for all marine species in Japanese waters. Although its marine biota can be considered relatively well known, at least within the Asian-Pacific region, considering the vast number of different marine environments such as coral reefs, ocean trenches, ice-bound waters, methane seeps, and hydrothermal vents, much work remains to be done. We expect global change to have a tremendous impact on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Japan is in a particularly suitable geographic situation and has a lot of facilities for conducting marine science research. Japan has an important responsibility to contribute to our understanding of life in the oceans

A Review of the Mullets with a Keel on the Back, Liza carinata Complex (Pisces : Mugilidae)

Liza carinata complex, characterized by having a keel on the middorsal line in front of the spinous dorsal fin, is revised. This complex consists of the following three species: L. carinata ([Ehrenberg MS] Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1836) occurs in the Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean; L. klunzingeri (Day, 1888) occurs in the west coast of India, Pakistan and the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf); L. affinis (Gunther, 1861) occurs in China, Taiwan and Japan. A key, synonymies, descriptions and illustrations are provided for all these species. Some geographical variations are also discussed