We have carried out research and development on an earphone-type respiratory rate measuring device, earable POCER. The name earable POCER is a combination of "earable", which is a word coined from ..."wearable" and "ear", and "POCER", which is an acronym for "point-of-care ear sensor for respiratory rate measurement". The earable POCER calculates respiratory frequency, based on the measurement values over one minute, through the simple attachment of an ear sensor to one ear of the measured subject and displays these on a tablet terminal. The earable POCER irradiates infrared light using a light-emitting diode (LED) loaded on an ear sensor to the epidermis within the ear canal and, by receiving that reflected light with a phototransistor, it measures movement of the ear canal based on respiration. In an evaluation experiment, eight healthy subjects first breathed through the nose 12 times per minute, then 16 times per minute, and finally 20 times per minute, in accordance with the flashing of a timing instruction LED. The results of these evaluation tests showed that the accuracy of the respiratory frequency was 100% for nose breathing 12 times per minute, 93.8% at 16 times, and 93.8% at 20 times.
Abstract
Hyperpigmentation that manifests through melasma and solar lentigo (age spots), although mostly harmless for health, bothers many people. Controlling the rate-limiting activity of tyrosinase ...is most effective for suppressing excessive melanin formation and accordingly recent research has focused on the maturation of tyrosinase. Salacia, a medicinal plant, has been used to treat diabetes in India and Sri Lanka. Salacia extract reportedly contains components that inhibit the activity of α-glucosidase. Salacinol, the active ingredient in Salacia extract, has unique thiosugar sulphonium sulphate inner salt structure. Here, we observed that the salacinol component of Salacia extract possesses anti-melanogenic activity in comparison to various existing whitening agents. Although the anti-melanogenic mechanism of salacinol is presumably medicated by inhibition of tyrosinase activity, which is often found in existing whitening agents, salacinol did not inhibit tyrosinase activity in vitro. Analysis of the intracellular state of tyrosinase showed a decrease in the mature tyrosinase form due to inhibition of N-linked oligosaccharide processing. Salacinol inhibited the processing glucosidase I/II, which are involved in the initial stage of N-linked glycosylation. Owing to high activity, low cytotoxicity and high hydrophilicity, salacinol is a promising candidate compound in whitening agents aimed for external application on skin.
In this study, an earphone-type interface named "earable TEMPO" was developed for hands-free operation, wherein the user can control the device by simply pushing the tongue against the roof of the ...mouth for about one second. This interface can be used to start and stop the music from a portable audio player. The earable TEMPO uses an earphone-type sensor equipped with a light emitting diode (LED) and a phototransistor to optically measure shape variations that occur in the external auditory meatus when the tongue is pressed against the roof of the mouth. To evaluate the operation of the earable TEMPO, experiments were performed on five subjects (men and women aged 22-58) while resting, chewing gum (representing mastication), and walking. The average accuracy was 100% while resting and chewing and 99% while walking. The precision was 100% under all conditions. The average recall value of the five subjects was 92%, 90%, and 48% while resting, masticating, and walking, respectively. All subjects were reliably able to perform the action of pressing the tongue against the roof of the mouth. The measured shape variations in the ear canal were highly reproducible, indicating that this method is suitable for various applications such as controlling a portable audio player.
We have developed an interface (mouthwitch) for a head-mounted type camera with which pictures can be taken with a head-mounted camera, hands-free, simply by "opening your mouth continuously for ...approximately one second and then closing it again". This mouthwitch uses a sensor equipped with an LED and photo transistor on the temple to optically measure the changes in the form of the temple that occur when the mouth is opened and closed. Eight test subjects (males and females aged between 21 and 44 years old) performed evaluation tests using this mouthwitch when resting, speaking, chewing, walking, and running. The results showed that all test subjects were able to open and close the mouth, and the measurement results pertaining to the temple shape changes that occurred at this time were highly reproducible. Additionally, the average value for
obtained for the eight test subjects through the verification tests was 100% when resting, chewing, or walking, and 99.8% when speaking or running. Similarly, the average values for
were 100% for all items, and the average values for
were 100% when resting or chewing, 98.8% when speaking, 97.5% when walking, and 87.5% when running.
The nylon thread actuator, a type of super coiled polymer actuator, proposed by Haines et al. in 2014 has many useful advantages, including its relatively high power, lightweight, and low cost. ...Although the fabrication process seems simple, to fabricate such actuators, we must do so by hand because the finished products are not currently for sale. Thus, we are developing fully automated manufacturing equipment for overtwisted-type actuators using Ag-coated sewing machine nylon threads. In this study, we depict the details of a prototype machine and the basic specifications of conductive nylon thread actuators through experiments. This machine has three stepper motors. We found the maximum recommended drive speed of each spindle: the twist spindle with the drive is approximately 32.8 rad/s (313 rpm), the feeder speed is 37 mm/min, and the winding speed is 61 mm/min. This condition provides steady overtwisted patterns with simply open-loop control, and the measured tension is approximately 20-30 cN during twisting, whereas it is approximately 40-50 cN during annealing. These processes run continuously for a single long thread; thus, the overall throughput is equal to the winding speed, which is determined by both the desired annealing tension and time.
Abstract
Ca
2+
influx upon G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) stimulation is observed as a cytosolic Ca
2+
concentration oscillation crucial to initiating downstream responses including cell ...proliferation, differentiation, and cell–cell communication. Although Jaw1 is known to interact with inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (ITPRs), Ca
2+
channels on the endoplasmic reticulum, the function of Jaw1 in the Ca
2+
dynamics with physiological stimulation remains unclear. In this study, using inducible Jaw1-expressing HEK293 cells, we showed that Jaw1 increases Ca
2+
influx by GPCR stimulation via changing the Ca
2+
influx oscillation pattern. Furthermore, we showed that Jaw1 increases the Ca
2+
release activity of all ITPR subtypes in a subtly different manner. It is well known that the Ca
2+
influx oscillation pattern varies from cell type to cell type, therefore these findings provide an insight into the relationship between the heterogeneous Ca
2+
dynamics and the specific ITPR and Jaw1 expression patterns.
The MicroLED probe enables optogenetic control of neural activity in spatially separated brain regions. Understanding its heat generation characteristics is important. In this study, we investigated ...the temperature rise (ΔT) characteristics in the brain tissue using a MicroLED probe. The ΔT strongly depended on the surrounding environment of the probe, including the differences between the air and the brain, and the area touching the brain tissue. Through animal experiments, we suggest an in situ temperature monitoring method using temperature dependence on electrical characteristics of the MicroLED. Finally, optical stimulation by MicroLEDs proved effective in controlling optogenetic neural activity in animal models.
Jaw1 (also known as IRAG2), a tail-anchored protein with 39 carboxyl (C)-terminal amino acids, is oriented to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum and outer nuclear membrane. We previously reported ...that Jaw1, as a member of the KASH protein family, plays a role in maintaining nuclear shape via its C-terminal region. Furthermore, we recently reported that Jaw1 functions as an augmentative effector of Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum by interacting with the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs). Intriguingly, the C-terminal region is partially cleaved, meaning that Jaw1 exists in the cell in at least two forms - uncleaved and cleaved. However, the mechanism of the cleavage event and its physiological significance remain to be determined. In this study, we demonstrate that the C-terminal region of Jaw1 is cleaved after its insertion by the signal peptidase complex (SPC). Particularly, our results indicate that the SPC with the catalytic subunit SEC11A, but not SEC11C, specifically cleaves Jaw1. Furthermore, using a mutant with a defect in the cleavage event, we demonstrate that the cleavage event enhances the augmentative effect of Jaw1 on the Ca2+ release ability of IP3Rs.
Jaw1/LRMP is a type II integral membrane protein that is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and outer nuclear membrane. We previously reported that a function of Jaw1 is to maintain the ...nuclear shape as a KASH protein via its carboxyl terminal region, a component of linker of nucleoskeleton and cytoskeleton complex in the oligomeric state. Although the oligomerization of some KASH proteins via the cytosolic regions serves to stabilize protein-protein interactions, the issue of how the oligomerization of Jaw1 is regulated is not completely understood. Therefore, we focused on three distinct regions on the cytosolic face of Jaw1: the N-terminal region, the coiled-coil domain and the stem region, in terms of oligomerization. A co-immunoprecipitation assay showed that its coiled-coil domain is a candidate for the oligomerization site. Furthermore, our data indicated that the N-terminal region prevents the aberrant oligomerization of Jaw1 as an intrinsically disordered region (IDR). Importantly, the ectopic expression of an N-terminal region deleted mutant caused the formation of organized smooth ER (OSER), structures such as nuclear karmellae and whorls, in B16F10 cells. Furthermore, this OSER interfered with the localization of the oligomer and interactors such as the type III inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP
R3) and SUN2. In summary, the N-terminal region of Jaw1 inhibits the formation of OSER as an IDR to maintain the homeostatic localization of interactors on the ER membrane.
Lectins are proteins with the ability to recognize and bind to specific glycan structures. These molecules play important roles in many biological systems and are actively being studied because of ...their ability to detect glycan biomarkers for many diseases. Hemagglutinin (HA) proteins from Clostridium botulinum type C neurotoxin complex; HA1, HA2, and HA3 are lectins that aid in the internalization of the toxin complex by binding to glycoproteins on the cell surface. HA1 mutants have been previously reported, namely HA1 W176A/D271F and HA1 N278A/Q279A which are specific to galactose (Gal)/N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) and N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) sugars, respectively. In this study, we utilized HA1 mutants and expressed them in complex with HA2 WT and HA3 WT to produce glycan detecting tools with high binding affinity. Particularly, two types were made: Gg and Rn. Gg is an Alexa 488 conjugated lectin complex specific to Gal and GalNAc, while Rn is an Alexa 594 conjugated lectin complex specific to Neu5Ac. The specificities of these lectins were identified using a glycan microarray followed by competitive sugar inhibition experiments on cells. In addition, we confirmed that Gg and Rn staining is clearly different depending on cell type, and the staining pattern of these lectins reflects the glycans present on the cell surface as shown in enzyme treatment experiments. The availability of Gg and Rn provide us with new promising tools to study Gal, GalNAc, and Neu5Ac terminal epitopes which can aid in understanding the functional role of glycans in physiological and pathological events.
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