Purpose We examined whether there is a relationship between students’ behavioral level in the training facility and their personality. Participants and Methods After 8 weeks of clinical training for ...78 fourth grade students in the Department of Physical Therapy, University A, we examined the relationship between the 5 types of personality determined by the K-T personality test and the behavioral level in the training facility by independent self-evaluation. Results Self-suppressive types showed a significant negative correlation in 24 of the 37 behavioral levels, with the strongest relationship, and the highest-scoring personality being lower than the others. Conclusion The results suggest that for Self-suppressive types, teachers and training instructors need to share information and pay attention to guidance.
The wind force acted on a tree constantly changes in magnitude, direction, and distribution. We developed a method to measure simultaneously the amount of force (F), centroid of the distributed force ...(C), and direction of force (D) on a tree trunk using four strain gauges. F and C were estimated from the difference in the bending moments at two different positions along the long axis of the stem. D was estimated using the difference in the sensor outputs at two different radial positions at the same height. In principle, the two strain gauges should be oriented precisely 90° apart; however, this is unrealistic on an actual tree trunk. To calculate D, we developed a new method to detect the radial position and modulus of elasticity of each strain gauge after attaching it. We conducted three types of experiment. First, we loaded a wood pole with weights arranged in 11 patterns to test the accuracies of F and C for a distributed load. Next, we applied tensile forces to the wood pole and an evergreen conifer sapling from eight directions to test the accuracy of D, F, and C. On average, estimation errors were < 2% for both the distributed load and circumferential tensile load. Our method can estimate F, C, and D precisely, even if the wood is uneven and the strain gauges are not aligned. This is a great advantage for field wind force measurements.
Prior research has identified a variety of task-dependent networks that form through inter-regional phase-locking of oscillatory activity that are neural correlates of specific behaviors. Despite ...ample knowledge of task-specific functional networks, general rules governing global phase relations have not been investigated. To discover such general rules, we focused on phase modularity, measured as the degree to which global phase relations in EEG comprised distinct synchronized clusters interacting with one another at large phase lags. Synchronized clusters were detected with a standard community-detection algorithm, and the degree of phase modularity was quantified by the index q. Notably, we found that the mechanism controlling phase modularity is remarkably simple. A network comprising anterior-posterior long-distance connectivity coherently shifted phase relations from low-angles (|Δθ| < π/4) in low-modularity states (bottom 5% in q) to high-angles (|Δθ| > 3π/4) in high-modularity states (top 5% in q), accounting for fluctuations in phase modularity. This anterior-posterior network may play a fundamental functional role as (1) it controls phase modularity across a broad range of frequencies (3-50 Hz examined) in different behavioral conditions (resting with the eyes closed or watching a silent nature video) and (2) neural interactions (measured as power correlations) in beta-to-gamma bands were consistently elevated in high-modularity states. These results may motivate future investigations into the functional roles of phase modularity as well as the anterior-posterior network that controls it.
Abstract
The identification of thyroid cancers among children after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident propelled concerns regarding long-term radiation effects on thyroid cancer in children ...affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, Japan. Herein we consider the potential association between absorbed dose in the thyroid and the risk of developing thyroid cancer as detected by ultrasonography on 300 473 children and adolescents aged 0–18 years in Fukushima. The absorbed dose mentioned in the present study indicates the sum of that from external exposure and that from internally deposited radionuclides. We grouped participants according to estimated absorbed doses in each of 59 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture, based on The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 2013 report. The 59 municipalities were assigned to quartiles by dose. We limited our analyses to participants aged ≥6 years because only one case of thyroid cancer was observed in participants aged ≤5 years; 164 299 participants were included in the final analysis. Compared with the lowest dose quartile, the age- and sex-adjusted rate ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the low-middle, high-middle and highest quartiles were 2.00 (0.84–4.80), 1.34 (0.50–3.59) and 1.42 (0.55–3.67) for the 6–14-year-old groups and 1.99 (0.70–5.70), 0.54 (0.13–2.31) and 0.51 (0.12–2.15) for the >15-year-old group, respectively. No dose-dependent pattern emerged from the geographical distribution of absorbed doses by municipality, as estimated by UNSCEAR, and the detection of thyroid cancer among participants within 4–6 years after the accident. Ongoing surveillance might further clarify the effects of low-dose radiation exposure on thyroid cancer in Fukushima.
Oscillatory neural activity is dynamically controlled to coordinate perceptual, attentional and cognitive processes. On the macroscopic scale, this control is reflected in the U-shaped deviations of ...EEG spectral-power dynamics from stochastic dynamics, characterized by disproportionately elevated occurrences of the lowest and highest ranges of power. To understand the mechanisms that generate these low- and high-power states, we fit a simple mathematical model of synchronization of oscillatory activity to human EEG data. The results consistently indicated that the majority (~95%) of synchronization dynamics is controlled by slowly adjusting the probability of synchronization while maintaining maximum entropy within the timescale of a few seconds. This strategy appears to be universal as the results generalized across oscillation frequencies, EEG current sources, and participants (N = 52) whether they rested with their eyes closed, rested with their eyes open in a darkened room, or viewed a silent nature video. Given that precisely coordinated behavior requires tightly controlled oscillatory dynamics, the current results suggest that the large-scale spatial synchronization of oscillatory activity is controlled by the relatively slow, entropy-maximizing adjustments of synchronization probability (demonstrated here) in combination with temporally precise phase adjustments (e.g., phase resetting generated by sensorimotor interactions). Interestingly, we observed a modest but consistent spatial pattern of deviations from the maximum-entropy rule, potentially suggesting that the mid-central-posterior region serves as an "entropy dump" to facilitate the temporally precise control of spectral-power dynamics in the surrounding regions.
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•Chemical composition of PTFE under bending stress observed by HAXPES and TFY-XAS.•Flexural tensile stress induced side-chain C-F cleavage and the conspicuous appearance of main-chain ...C–C on the surface.•Breaking of C-F bonds depends on tensile strain caused by bending.•Side chain scission via the force acting toward the center of the curvature owing to bending, which does not occur under uniaxial tensile stress.
We investigated the chemical composition of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) under bending stress using hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Our measurements revealed the breaking of C–F bonds in the side chains and conspicuous observation of C–C bonds in the main chain only on the surface under bending stress (carbon-rich). Moreover, we found that the breaking of C–F bonds was dependent on the tensile strain caused by bending. Investigating the effects of tensile and compressive stresses induced by bending, the tensile stress was found to significantly contribute to the breaking of C–F bonds. However, the C–F bonds were hardly broken under uniaxial tensile stress. These findings suggest that tensile stress due to bending, rather than uniaxial tensile stress, causes significant C–F bond scission in the PTFE. This result is attributed to the force acting toward the center of curvature owing to bending, which does not occur under uniaxial tensile stress. Our results provide a better understanding of microscopic PTFE surfaces subjected to flexural tensile stress for nanofluidics and medical engineering applications. Additionally, our findings suggest that carbon-rich structures can be easily fabricated, which may lead to the development of processes for fabrication of two-dimensional materials.
Oscillatory neural activities are prevalent in the brain with their phase realignment contributing to the coordination of neural communication. Phase realignments may have especially strong (or weak) ...impact when neural activities are strongly synchronized (or desynchronized) within the interacting populations. We report that the spatiotemporal dynamics of strong regional synchronization measured as maximal EEG spectral power-referred to as activation-and strong regional desynchronization measured as minimal EEG spectral power-referred to as suppression-are characterized by the spatial segregation of small-scale and large-scale networks. Specifically, small-scale spectral-power activations and suppressions involving only 2-7% (1-4 of 60) of EEG scalp sites were prolonged (relative to stochastic dynamics) and consistently co-localized in a frequency specific manner. For example, the small-scale networks for theta, alpha, beta.sub.1, and beta.sub.2 bands (4-30 Hz) consistently included frontal sites when the eyes were closed, whereas the small-scale network for gamma band (31-55 Hz) consistently clustered in medial-central-posterior sites whether the eyes were open or closed. Large-scale activations and suppressions involving over 17-30% (10-18 of 60) of EEG sites were also prolonged and generally clustered in regions complementary to where small-scale activations and suppressions clustered. In contrast, intermediate-scale activations and suppressions (involving 7-17% of EEG sites) tended to follow stochastic dynamics and were less consistently localized. These results suggest that strong synchronizations and desynchronizations tend to occur in small-scale and large-scale networks that are spatially segregated and frequency specific. These synchronization networks may broadly segregate the relatively independent and highly cooperative oscillatory processes while phase realignments fine-tune the network configurations based on behavioral demands.
Since the processes of dissolution and membrane permeation are affected by the water content in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, the water dynamics in the GI tract is expected to have a significant ...impact on the absorption of orally administered drugs. Here, we aimed to develop a physiologically based fluid kinetic (PBFK) model using GI water kinetic parameters obtained from
in situ
closed-loop studies in rats in order to quantitatively predict GI water dynamics. By incorporating the experimentally measured site-specific parameters of GI water absorption and secretion into a GI compartment model, we developed a bottom-up PBFK model that successfully simulates the reported GI fluid dynamics in rats and humans observed using positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, respectively. The simulations indicate that the water volume in both the stomach and duodenum is transiently increased by water ingestion, while that in the intestine below the jejunum is unchanged and remains in a steady state in both rats and humans. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis of the effect of ingested water volume on the volume-time profiles of water in the GI tract indicated that the impact of ingested water is limited to the proximal part of the GI tract. Simulations indicated that changes in water kinetic parameters may alter the impact of the ingested water on GI fluid dynamics, especially in the proximal part. Incorporating this PBFK model into a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) absorption model has the potential to predict oral drug absorption in a variety of GI water environments.
Graphical Abstract
Spatiotemporal dynamics of EEG/MEG (electro-/magneto-encephalogram) have typically been investigated by applying time-frequency decomposition and examining amplitude-amplitude, phase-phase, or ...phase-amplitude associations between combinations of frequency bands and scalp sites, primarily to identify neural correlates of behaviors and traits. Instead, we directly extracted global EEG spatiotemporal dynamics as trajectories of k-dimensional state vectors (k = the number of estimated current sources) to investigate potential global rules governing neural dynamics. We chose timescale-dependent measures of trajectory instability (approximately the 2nd temporal derivative) and speed (approximately the 1st temporal derivative) as state variables, that succinctly characterized trajectory forms. We compared trajectories across posterior, central, anterior, and lateral scalp regions as the current sources under those regions may serve distinct functions. We recorded EEG while participants rested with their eyes closed (likely engaged in spontaneous thoughts) to investigate intrinsic neural dynamics. Some potential global rules emerged. Time-averaged trajectory instability from all five regions tightly converged (with their variability minimized) at the level of generating nearly unconstrained but slightly conservative turns (~100° on average) on the timescale of ~25 ms, suggesting that spectral-amplitude profiles are globally adjusted to maintain this convergence. Further, within-frequency and cross-frequency phase relations appear to be independently coordinated to reduce average trajectory speed and increase the variability in trajectory speed and instability in a relatively timescale-invariant manner, and to make trajectories less oscillatory. Future research may investigate the functional relevance of these intrinsic global-dynamics rules by examining how they adjust to various sensory environments and task demands or remain invariant. The current results also provide macroscopic constraints for quantitative modeling of neural dynamics as the timescale dependencies of trajectory instability and speed are relatable to oscillatory dynamics.
Objective B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) should be secreted from cardiomyocytes in response to increased myocardial wall stress in a molar ...ratio of 1.00; however, the calculated molar blood levels of NT-proBNP are often greater than those of BNP in routine clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that the molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP provides useful clinical information in stable outpatients with cardiovascular risk factors. Methods We measured both the BNP and NT-proBNP levels simultaneously in 551 consecutive, stable outpatients with at least one cardiovascular risk factor and then calculated the molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP. All patients were prospectively followed-up for the occurrence of heart failure (HF)-related events. Results Of those patients, 38 patients had an HF-related event. A multivariate Cox hazards analysis showed that the log (molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP) was an independent predictor of future HF-related events (p=0.039). A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significantly higher probability of HF-related events in patients with a higher molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP (≥1.70) (p<0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) for the molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP to predict HF-related events was 0.75 (p<0.001). The AUC of the ROC curve analysis with the molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP for the prediction of HF-related events was not significantly greater than that of BNP or NT-proBNP. Conclusion The molar ratio of NT-proBNP/BNP may be a significant prognostic factor for HF-related events.
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