Return-to-Work Screening by Linear Discriminant Analysis of Heart Rate Variability Indices in Depressed Subjects.

Using a linear discriminant analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) indices, the present study sought to verify the usefulness of autonomic measurement in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients by assessing the feasibility of their return to work after sick leave. When reinstatement was scheduled, patients' HRV was measured using a wearable electrocardiogram device. The outcome of the reinstatement was evaluated at one month after returning to work.

Mixed alkali-ion transport and storage in atomic-disordered honeycomb layered NaKNiTeO.

Honeycomb layered oxides constitute an emerging class of materials that show interesting physicochemical and electrochemical properties. However, the development of these materials is still limited. Here, we report the combined use of alkali atoms (Na and K) to produce a mixed-alkali honeycomb layered oxide material, namely, NaKNiTeO.

Integrated respiratory chemoreflex-mediated regulation of cerebral blood flow in hypoxia: Implications for oxygen delivery and acute mountain sickness.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? To what extent do hypoxia-induced changes in the peripheral and central respiratory chemoreflex modulate anterior and posterior cerebral oxygen delivery, with corresponding implications for susceptibility to acute mountain sickness? What is the main finding and its importance? We provide evidence for site-specific regulation of cerebral blood flow in hypoxia that preserves oxygen delivery in the posterior but not the anterior cerebral circulation, with minimal contribution from the central respiratory chemoreflex. External carotid artery vasodilatation might prove to be an alternative haemodynamic risk factor that predisposes to acute mountain sickness.

Abstract: The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which hypoxia-induced changes in the peripheral and central respiratory chemoreflex modulate anterior and posterior cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen delivery (CDO ), with corresponding implications for the pathophysiology of the neurological syndrome, acute mountain sickness (AMS).

Using Mobile Phone Data to Estimate the Relationship between Population Flow and Influenza Infection Pathways.

This study aimed to analyze population flow using global positioning system (GPS) location data and evaluate influenza infection pathways by determining the relationship between population flow and the number of drugs sold at pharmacies. Neural collective graphical models (NCGMs; Iwata and Shimizu 2019) were applied for 25 cell areas, each measuring 10 × 10 km, in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Hyogo prefectures to estimate population flow. An NCGM uses a neural network to incorporate the spatiotemporal dependency issue and reduce the estimated parameters.

Bio-assembling and Bioprinting for Engineering Microvessels from the Bottom Up.

Blood vessels are essential in transporting nutrients, oxygen, metabolic wastes, and maintaining the homeostasis of the whole human body. Mass of engineered microvessels is required to deliver nutrients to the cells included in the constructed large three-dimensional (3D) functional tissues by diffusion. It is a formidable challenge to regenerate microvessels and build a microvascular network, mimicking the cellular viabilities and activities in the engineered organs with traditional or existing manufacturing techniques.

Multilinear Common Component Analysis via Kronecker Product Representation.

We consider the problem of extracting a common structure from multiple tensor data sets. For this purpose, we propose multilinear common component analysis (MCCA) based on Kronecker products of mode-wise covariance matrices. MCCA constructs a common basis represented by linear combinations of the original variables that lose little information of the multiple tensor data sets.

Subunit-dependent and subunit-independent rules of AMPA receptor trafficking during chemical long-term depression in hippocampal neurons.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of excitatory neurotransmission are believed to be the neuronal basis of learning and memory. Both processes are primarily mediated by neuronal activity-induced transport of postsynaptic AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). While AMPAR subunits and their specific phosphorylation sites mediate differential AMPAR trafficking, LTP and LTD could also occur in a subunit-independent manner.

An application of a Si/CdTe Compton camera for the polarization measurement of hard x rays from highly charged heavy ions.

Methods to measure the polarization of x rays from highly charged heavy ions with a significantly higher accuracy than that of the existing technology are needed to explore relativistic and quantum electrodynamics effects, including the Breit interaction. We developed an Electron Beam Ion Trap Compton Camera (EBIT-CC), a new Compton polarimeter with pixelated multi-layer silicon, and cadmium telluride counters. The EBIT-CC detects the three-dimensional position of Compton scattering and photoelectric absorption, and thus, the degree of polarization of incoming x rays can be evaluated.

Optical-Based Foot Plantar Pressure Measurement System for Potential Application in Human Postural Control Measurement and Person Identification.

Plantar pressure, the pressure exerted between the sole and the supporting surface, has great potentialities in various research fields, including footwear design, biometrics, gait analysis and the assessment of patients with diabetes. This research designs an optical-based foot plantar pressure measurement system aimed for human postural control and person identification. The proposed system consists of digital cameras installed underneath an acrylic plate covered by glossy white paper and mounted with LED strips along the side of the plate.

Task-Related c-Fos Expression in the Posterior Parietal Cortex During the "Rubber Tail Task" Is Diminished in Ca-Dependent Activator Protein for Secretion 2 ()-Knockout Mice.

Rubber hand illusion (RHI), a kind of body ownership illusion, is sometimes atypical in individuals with autism spectrum disorder; however, the brain regions associated with the illusion are still unclear. We previously reported that mice responded as if their own tails were being touched when rubber tails were grasped following synchronous stroking to rubber tails and their tails (a "rubber tail illusion", RTI), which is a task based on the human RHI; furthermore, we reported that the RTI response was diminished in knockout (-KO) mice that exhibit autistic-like phenotypes. Importance of the posterior parietal cortex in the formation of illusory perception has previously been reported in human imaging studies.

Automated Cell Mechanical Characterization by On-Chip Sequential Squeezing: From Static to Dynamic.

The mechanical properties of cells are harmless biomarkers for cell identification and disease diagnosis. Although many systems have been developed to evaluate the static mechanical properties of cells for biomedical research, their robustness, effectiveness, and cost do not meet clinical requirements or the experiments with a large number of cell samples. In this paper, we propose an approach for on-chip cell mechanical characterization by analyzing the dynamic behavior of cells as they pass through multiple constrictions.

Secondary-Atom-Doping Enables Robust Fe-N-C Single-Atom Catalysts with Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with nitrogen-coordinated nonprecious metal sites have exhibited inimitable advantages in electrocatalysis. However, a large room for improving their activity and durability remains. Herein, we construct atomically dispersed Fe sites in N-doped carbon supports by secondary-atom-doped strategy.

Surface-Modified Graphene Oxide/Lead Sulfide Hybrid Film-Forming Ink for High-Efficiency Bulk Nano-Heterojunction Colloidal Quantum Dot Solar Cells.

Solution-processed colloidal quantum dot solar cells (CQDSCs) is a promising candidate for new generation solar cells. To obtain stable and high performance lead sulfide (PbS)-based CQDSCs, high carrier mobility and low non-radiative recombination center density in the PbS CQDs active layer are required. In order to effectively improve the carrier mobility in PbS CQDs layer of CQDSCs, butylamine (BTA)-modified graphene oxide (BTA@GO) is first utilized in PbS-PbX (X = I, Br) CQDs ink to deposit the active layer of CQDSCs through one-step spin-coating method.

Survey on Main Drive Methods Used in Humanoid Robotic Upper Limbs.

Humanoid robotic upper limbs including the robotic hand and robotic arm are widely studied as the important parts of a humanoid robot. A robotic upper limb with light weight and high output can perform more tasks. The drive system is one of the main factors affecting the weight and output of the robotic upper limb, and therefore, the main purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the effects of the different drive methods on the overall structure.

The role of sodium in stabilizing tin-lead (Sn-Pb) alloyed perovskite quantum dots.

Narrow-bandgap CsSn Pb I perovskite quantum dots (QDs) show great promise for optoelectronic applications owing to their reduced use of toxic Pb, improved phase stability, and tunable band gaps in the visible and near-infrared range. The use of small ions has been proven beneficial in enhancing the stability and photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of perovskite QDs. The introduction of sodium (Na) has succeeded in boosting the PLQY of CsSnPbI QDs.

Molecular ruler of the attachment organelle in Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Length control is a fundamental requirement for molecular architecture. Even small wall-less bacteria have specially developed macro-molecular structures to support their survival. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a human pathogen, forms a polar extension called an attachment organelle, which mediates cell division, cytadherence, and cell movement at host cell surface.

Passivating Quantum Dot Carrier Transport Layer with Metal Salts.

Quantum dots (QDs) have a wide range of applications in the field of optoelectronics. They have been playing multiple roles within the configuration of a device, by serving as the building blocks for both the active layer and the carrier transport layer. While the performance of various optoelectronic devices has been steadily improving via developments in passivating the QD active layer, the possible improvement via passivation of the QD-based carrier transport layer has been largely overlooked.

Modulating the ground state, stability and charge transport in OFETs of biradicaloid hexahydro-diindenopyrene derivatives and a proposed method to estimate the biradical character.

Biradicaloid compounds with an open-shell ground state have been the subject of intense research in the past decade. Although diindenoacenes are one of the most developed families, only a few examples have been reported as active layers in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) with a charge mobility of around 10 cm V s due to a steric disadvantage of the mesityl group to kinetically stabilize compounds. Herein, we disclose our efforts to improve the charge transport of the diindenoacene family based on hexahydro-diindenopyrene (HDIP) derivatives with different annelation modes for which the most reactive position has been functionalized with (triisopropylsilyl)ethynyl (TIPS) groups.

Absorption Spectra for Firefly Bioluminescence Substrate Analog: TokeOni in Various pH Solutions.

AkaLumine hydrochloride, named TokeOni, is one of the firefly luciferin analogs, and its reaction with firefly luciferase produces near-infrared (NIR) bioluminescence. Prior to studying the bioluminescence mechanism, basic knowledge about the chemical structures, electronic states, and absorption properties of TokeOni at various pH values of solution has to be acquired. In this paper, the absorption spectra for TokeOni and AkaLumine at pH 2-10 were measured.

High Accuracy Heartbeat Detection from CW-Doppler Radar Using Singular Value Decomposition and Matched Filter.

Heart rate measurement using a continuous wave Doppler radar sensor (CW-DRS) has been applied to cases where non-contact detection is required, such as the monitoring of vital signs in home healthcare. However, as a CW-DRS measures the speed of movement of the chest surface, which comprises cardiac and respiratory signals by body motion, extracting cardiac information from the superimposed signal is difficult. Therefore, it is challenging to extract cardiac information from superimposed signals.

Development of a Novel Web Camera-Based Contact-Free Major Depressive Disorder Screening System Using Autonomic Nervous Responses Induced by a Mental Task and Its Clinical Application.

Background: To increase the consultation rate of potential major depressive disorder (MDD) patients, we developed a contact-type fingertip photoplethysmography-based MDD screening system. With the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, we developed an alternative to contact-type fingertip photoplethysmography: a novel web camera-based contact-free MDD screening system (WCF-MSS) for non-contact measurement of autonomic transient responses induced by a mental task.

Methods: The WCF-MSS measures time-series interbeat intervals (IBI) by monitoring color tone changes in the facial region of interest induced by arterial pulsation using a web camera (1920 × 1080 pixels, 30 frames/s).

Cartilage structure increases swimming efficiency of underwater robots.

Underwater robots are useful for exploring valuable resources and marine life. Traditional underwater robots use screw propellers, which may be harmful to marine life. In contrast, robots that incorporate the swimming principles, morphologies, and softness of aquatic animals are expected to be more adaptable to the surrounding environment.

Unified Approach to the Motion Design for a Snake Robot Negotiating Complicated Pipe Structures.

A unified method for designing the motion of a snake robot negotiating complicated pipe structures is presented. Such robots moving inside pipes must deal with various "obstacles," such as junctions, bends, diameter changes, shears, and blockages. To surmount these obstacles, we propose a method that enables the robot to adapt to multiple pipe structures in a unified way.

Asymmetric shape of distal phalanx of human finger improves precision grasping.

In morphology field, the functions of an asymmetric-shaped distal phalanx in human finger have only been inferred. In this study, we used an engineering approach to empirically examine the effects of the shape of distal phalanx on the ability of precision grasping. Hence, we developed artificial fingertips consisting of four parts, namely bones, nails, skin, and subcutaneous tissue, that substitute the actual human fingertips.