Many haptic guidance systems have been studied over the years; however, most of them have been limited to predefined guidance methods. Calculating guidance according to the operator's motion is ...important for efficient human motor adaptation and learning. In this study, we developed a system that haptically provides guidance trajectory by sequential weighting between the operator's trajectory and the ideal trajectory calculated from a predictive-vision system. We investigated whether motion completion with a predictive-vision system affects human motor accuracy and adaptation in time-constrained goal-directed reaching and ball-hitting tasks through subject experiments. The experiment was conducted with 12 healthy participants, and all participants performed ball-hitting tasks. Half of the participants get forceful guidance from the proposed system in the middle of the experiment. We found that the use of the proposed system improved the operator's motor performance. Furthermore, we observed a trend in which the improvement in motor performance using this system correlated with that after the washout of this system. These results suggest that the predictive-vision system effectively enhances motor accuracy to the target error in dynamic and time-constrained reaching and hitting tasks and may contribute to facilitating motor learning.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Aims
Longer root hair length (RHL) increases root surface area, thereby contributing to increased phosphorous uptake. This study aimed to identify useful germplasms and quantitative trait loci (QTL) ...for RHL improvement in wheat.
Methods
The genetic variation in RHL was examined using hydroponic culture in 117 hexaploid wheat strains. Rhizosheath size and phosphorous uptake ability were also examined using high P-fixing soils with extremely low phosphorous availability (Andisols). QTL analysis was performed using backcross inbred lines from a cross between a Spanish spelt strain and a bread wheat variety.
Results
A wide range in genetic variation was found, especially in spelt wheat and landraces of bread wheat, whereas modern bread wheat varieties tended to show shorter RHL. Interestingly, remarkably longer RHL were observed in Spanish spelt strains than in strains from other countries. RHL exhibited a significant positive correlation with rhizosheath size and phosphorous uptake in soils. A QTL on chromosome 2A (
QRhl.obu-2A
) conferring longer RHL by the allele of a Spanish spelt strain was identified. It was co-located with
TaRSL4-2AS
, a key regulator of root hair elongation.
Conclusions
Spanish spelt wheat strains could be unique germplasms that provide a useful allele for increasing RHL to enhance phosphorous uptake ability.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NMLJ, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
•We evaluated spatial-filtering of EEG sensorimotor rhythm via simultaneous EEG-fMRI.•Sensitivity was judged by the number of statistically significant voxels in the sensorimotor cortex.•Specificity ...was evaluated by the proportion of statistically significant voxels in the sensorimotor and visual cortices.•Common average reference and large-Laplacian filters best reflected sensorimotor activity.
Oscillations in the resting-state scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) represent various intrinsic brain activities. One of the characteristic EEG oscillations is the sensorimotor rhythm (SMR)—with its arch-shaped waveform in alpha- and betabands—that reflect sensorimotor activity. The representation of sensorimotor activity by the SMR depends on the signal-to-noise ratio achieved by EEG spatial filters.
We employed simultaneous recording of EEG and functional magnetic resonance imaging, and 10-min resting-state brain activities were recorded in 19 healthy volunteers. To compare the EEG spatial-filtering methods commonly used for extracting sensorimotor cortical activities, we assessed nine different spatial-filters: a default reference of EEG amplifier system, a common average reference (CAR), small-, middle- and large-Laplacian filters, and four types of bipolar manners (C3-Cz, C3-F3, C3-P3, and C3-T7). We identified the brain region that correlated with the EEG-SMR power obtained after each spatial-filtering method was applied. Subsequently, we calculated the proportion of the significant voxels in the sensorimotor cortex as well as the sensorimotor occupancy in all significant regions to examine the sensitivity and specificity of each spatial-filter.
The CAR and large-Laplacian spatial-filters were superior at improving the signal-to-noise ratios for extracting sensorimotor activity from the EEG-SMR signal.
Our results are consistent with the spatial-filter selection to extract task-dependent activation for better control of EEG-SMR-based interventions. Our approach has the potential to identify the optimal spatial-filter for EEG-SMR.
Evaluating spatial-filters for extracting spontaneous sensorimotor activity from the EEG is a useful procedure for constructing more effective EEG-SMR-based interventions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The introduction of nursing care-support devices using robotic technology is expected to reduce the task burden in long-term care facilities.
To investigate the use of the rise-assisting robot, ...Resyone, in extending and improving the life space of nursing home residents with severe care needs.
We performed a feasibility study in which Resyone was used to facilitate visits to additional sites in and around the nursing home as part of the care package of three residents. Two weeks before and four weeks after implementation of the new arrangements, the 30 caregivers involved were asked to record transfer times and destinations, while also checking the residents' facial expressions.
Before implementation, participants had limited life spaces, but afterwards they regularly visited additional destinations including the garden, home entrance and corridors, which previously they had not visited frequently. The residents' facial expressions became more positive and less negative. This study demonstrates that Resyone can enrich care activities in severely disabled individuals.
These findings suggest that the sustainable use of Resyone would improve the quality of care at care facilities. Moreover, the extension of otherwise limited life space has the potential to improve care receivers' quality of life.
UMIN Clinical Trials Registry No. UMIN000039204 (20/01/2020); retrospectively registered; interventional study; parallel, non-randomized, single blinded. URL of trial registry records: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000044709 .
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CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Regaining the function of an impaired limb is highly desirable in paralyzed individuals. One possible avenue to achieve this goal is to bridge the interrupted pathway between preserved neural ...structures and muscles using a brain-computer interface. Here, we demonstrate that monkeys with subcortical stroke were able to learn to use an artificial cortico-muscular connection (ACMC), which transforms cortical activity into electrical stimulation to the hand muscles, to regain volitional control of a paralysed hand. The ACMC induced an adaptive change of cortical activities throughout an extensive cortical area. In a targeted manner, modulating high-gamma activity became localized around an arbitrarily-selected cortical site controlling stimulation to the muscles. This adaptive change could be reset and localized rapidly to a new cortical site. Thus, the ACMC imparts new function for muscle control to connected cortical sites and triggers cortical adaptation to regain impaired motor function after stroke.
Objective. Spinal stimulation is a promising method for restoring the function of paralyzed limbs following neurological damage to descending pathways. The present study examined the forelimb ...movements and muscle responses evoked by subdural spinal stimulation of the cervical cord in sedated monkeys or during an arm-reaching task. Approach. We chronically implanted a platinum subdural electrode array with eight channels over the dorsal-lateral aspect of the cervical enlargement. The electrodes had a diameter of 1 mm and an inter-electrode center-to-center distance of 3 mm. Subdural spinal micro-stimulation was delivered at sites while the monkeys were sedated or performed arm-reaching movements. Main results. The evoked movements clearly showed the somatotopic map of the output sites; the electrodes located on the rostral cervical cord tended to induce movements of the proximal arm, whereas the caudal electrodes tended to induce movements of the distal joints, such as the wrist and digits. To document the muscle responses evoked by subdural spinal stimulation, stimulus-triggered averages of rectified electromyograms were compiled when the monkeys performed an arm-reaching task or were sedated. Under sedation, evoked facilitative muscle responses were observed in vicinity muscles. In contrast, during the task, stimulation evoked facilitative or suppressive responses in multiple muscles, including those located on proximal and distal joints, while somatotopy became blurred under sedation. Furthermore, stimulation during tasks activated synergistic muscle groups. For example, stimuli strongly facilitated finger extensor muscles, but suppressed the antagonist muscles. Significance. These dynamic changes in muscle representation by subdural cervical spinal stimulation between sedated and awake states help our understanding of the nature of spinal circuits and will facilitate the development of neuroprosthetic technology to regain motor function after neural damage to the descending pathways.
Wheat varieties with a winter growth habit require long exposures to low temperatures (vernalization) to accelerate flowering. Natural variation in four vernalization genes regulating this ...requirement has favored wheat adaptation to different environments. The first three genes (VRN1-VRN3) have been cloned and characterized before. Here we show that the fourth gene, VRN-D4, originated by the insertion of a ∼290-kb region from chromosome arm 5AL into the proximal region of chromosome arm 5DS. The inserted 5AL region includes a copy of VRN-A1 that carries distinctive mutations in its coding and regulatory regions. Three lines of evidence confirmed that this gene is VRN-D4: it cosegregated with VRN-D4 in a high-density mapping population; it was expressed earlier than other VRN1 genes in the absence of vernalization; and induced mutations in this gene resulted in delayed flowering. VRN-D4 was found in most accessions of the ancient subspecies Triticum aestivum ssp. sphaerococcum from South Asia. This subspecies showed a significant reduction of genetic diversity and increased genetic differentiation in the centromeric region of chromosome 5D, suggesting that VRN-D4 likely contributed to local adaptation and was favored by positive selection. Three adjacent SNPs in a regulatory region of the VRN-D4 first intron disrupt the binding of GLYCINE-RICH RNA-BINDING PROTEIN 2 (TaGRP2), a known repressor of VRN1 expression. The same SNPs were identified in VRN-A1 alleles previously associated with reduced vernalization requirement. These alleles can be used to modulate vernalization requirements and to develop wheat varieties better adapted to different or changing environments.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Motivation facilitates recovery after neuronal damage, but its mechanism is elusive. It is generally thought that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) regulates motivation-driven effort but is not involved in ...the direct control of movement. Using causality analysis, we identified the flow of activity from the NAc to the sensorimotor cortex (SMC) during the recovery of dexterous finger movements after spinal cord injury at the cervical level in macaque monkeys. Furthermore, reversible pharmacological inactivation of the NAc during the early recovery period diminished high-frequency oscillatory activity in the SMC, which was accompanied by a transient deficit of amelioration in finger dexterity obtained by rehabilitation. These results demonstrate that during recovery after spinal damage, the NAc up-regulates the high-frequency activity of the SMC and is directly involved in the control of finger movements.
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BFBNIB, NMLJ, NUK, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Hydrogen peroxide is produced from hydrogen gas and air in industry by using the anthraquinone process. The mechanism for the production of hydrogen peroxide in this process is studied by using DFT ...calculations and reaction rate measurements. A hydrogen atom of anthrahydroquinone (AHQ) is directly ed by triplet dioxygen to produce a hydroperoxide radical (HOO·) and a 10‐hydroxy‐9‐anthroxyl radical (AQH·), followed by subsequent hydrogen atom ion that leads to the formation of hydrogen peroxide and anthraquinone (AQ). Hydrogen atom ion was found to be the rate‐determining step in this process. Tetrahydroanthrahydroquinone (THAHQ) is also used in this process in a similar way to AHQ, but a higher activation energy is required for the rate‐determining step when THAHQ is used, which would lead to a 25‐fold rate deacceleration compared with AHQ at 27 °C. The reactivities of AHQ and THAHQ are not significantly influenced by effects of side alkyl chain that is used in the industrial process for increasing the solubility of AHQ and AQ in working solution. The relative reaction rate of AHQ and THAHQ is measured under laboratory conditions. The computational results are consistent with an observed lower rate of the oxidation process of THAHQ.
Reaction mechanisms for the autoxidation step of the anthraquinone process have been studied. The proposed mechanism is that the hydrogen atom of anthrahydroquinone is ed by dioxygen to produce a hydroperoxide radical, followed by subsequent hydrogen atom ion, leading to the formation of hydrogen peroxide and anthraquinone.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The long-term use of transfer support robots in nursing facilities is an important option for improving the efficiency of care work. The "Resyone" transfer support robot is a combination of an ...electric care bed and a wheelchair, and the wheelchair half of the bed can be detached at the touch of a button. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the long-term use of Resyone would improve the performance of transfer assists, such as reducing the need for multiple caregivers. One Resyone was installed in a nursing facility in Japan and 17 caregivers used it for more than 11 months. The time and number of caregivers required for each transfer assist were surveyed for three 1-week periods: 1 week before (Phase 1) and at 3 weeks (Phase 2) and 11 months (Phase 3) after the introduction of Resyone. In Phase 1, approximately 60% of all transfer assists were performed by two caregivers, but in Phase 2, this was reduced to approximately 20%, and finally, in Phase 3, all transfer assists were performed by a single caregiver. These results suggested that the long-term use of Resyone was associated with improved work efficiency in transfer assistance in a nursing facility.
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BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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