Backrest Shape Affects Head-Neck Alignment and Seated Pressure.

Unstable back support against gravity results in a forward head posture and contributes to buttocks pressure ulcers. However, the association between these health problems and a wheelchair backrest is unclear. Our newly developed wheelchair (N-WC) supports the back of the pelvis and thorax from obliquely underneath.

Metabolic alterations in organic acids and gamma-aminobutyric acid in developing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits.

Salt stress improves the quality of tomato fruits. To clarify the mechanism(s) underlying this phenomenon, we investigated metabolic alterations in tomato fruits exposed to 160 mM salt, focusing on metabolism of organic acids related to the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Quantitative analyses revealed that most amino acids increased in response to salt stress throughout fruit development, and the effect of the stress was greater in the pericarp than in the columella, whereas organic acids did not show a remarkable tendency to salt stress.

Evaluating the relationships between the postural adaptation of patients with profound cerebral palsy and the configuration of the Seating Buggy's seating support surface.

We are currently investigating the physiological polymorphism of wheelchair users with profound cerebral palsy and the properties of the Seating Buggy (developed by S. Nishimura, 1998) to clarify important and general elements of wheelchairs for widespread use. Cerebral palsy is a diagnostic term used to describe a group of motor syndromes resulting from disorders in early brain development.

Expressed sequence tags from the laboratory-grown miniature tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivar Micro-Tom and mining for single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions in tomato cultivars.

Laboratory-grown miniature tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivar Micro-Tom has attracted attention as a host for functional genomics research. In this study, we generated 35,824 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from leaves and fruits of Micro-Tom. The ESTs comprised 10,287 unigenes (5007 contigs and 5280 singletons), including 1858 novel tomato unigenes.