Direct retinal projections to GRP neurons in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the rat

The retinal projections to gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP)-expressing neurons in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) were investigated by double immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. Optic nerve terminals labeled by cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) which was transported from the retinal ganglion cells were intermingled with GRP-immunoreactive cell bodies and processes in the ventrolateral portion of the SCN. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that CTb-immunoreactive retinal terminals made synaptic contacts with GRP-immunoreactive dendritic processes. These results demonstrated that photic information is directly input from the optic nerve to GRP neurons in the SCN and these GRP neurons may be involved in circadian entrainment by light.     

Evaluation of a mirror-polishing technique for fluorocarbon polymer surfaces for reduction of contamination from containers used in ultratrace analysis

A mirror-polishing technique for fluorocarbon polymer surfaces using high-precision diamond cutting tools was developed. The goal of this technique was the reduction of ultratrace elemental analysis contamination levels of containers fabricated from such mirror-polished materials. Remarkably smooth inner surfaces with degrees of flatness of 0.1 μm peak-to-valley (PTV) for containers fabricated from mirror-polished PTFE materials were obtained, in contrast to degrees of surface flatness of more than 30 μm PTV for commercially available PTFE containers. (Here, PTV denotes the difference between the highest peak and deepest valley in a scanned area of 10 × 10 μm.) Extractable impurity levels for mirror-polished PTFE container surfaces were reduced by more than 1 order of magnitude relative to those of unpolished PTFE containers. The surface conditions of the PTFE containers were observed by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. The microphotographs so obtained suggest that the degree of surface smoothness of the containers is proportional to their ultratrace metallic contamination levels.     

Steady-state operation analysis of an ideal heat integrated distillation column

A systematic approach for the steady-state operation analysis of chemical processes is pro-posed.The method affords the possibility of taking operation resilience into consideration during thestage of process design.It may serve the designer as an efficient means for the initial screening ofalternative design schemes.An ideal heat integrated distillation column(HIDiC),without any reboileror condenser attached,is studied throughout this work.It has been found that among the various va-riables concerned with the ideal HIDiC,feed thermal condition appears to be the only factor exertingsignificant influences on the interaction between the top and the bottom control loops.Maximuminteraction is expected when the feed thermal condition approaches 0.5.Total number of stages andheat transfer rate are essential to the system ability of disturbance rejection.Therefore,more stagesand higher heat transfer rate ought to be preferred.But,too many stages and higher heat transfer ratemay increase the load of the compres     

DCOB: Action space for reinforcement learning of high DoF robots

Reinforcement learning (RL) for robot control is an important technology for future robots since it enables us to design a robot’s behavior using the reward function. However, RL for high degree-of-freedom robot control is still an open issue. This paper proposes a discrete action space DCOB which is generated from the basis functions (BFs) given to approximate a value function. The remarkable feature is that, by reducing the number of BFs to enable the robot to learn quickly the value function, the size of DCOB is also reduced, which improves the learning speed. In addition, a method WF-DCOB is proposed to enhance the performance, where wire-fitting is utilized to search for continuous actions around each discrete action of DCOB. We apply the proposed methods to motion learning tasks of a simulated humanoid robot and a real spider robot. The experimental results demonstrate outstanding performance.     

Cyclic loading tests on a non-compression brace considering performance-based seismic design

This paper proposes a brace whose strength, plastic deformation capacity remaining after yield and energy absorption capacity under seismic loading can be easily evaluated for performance-based seismic design. The proposed brace consists of a slender rod with tensile-connected ends incorporating a beveled washer and wedge. There is no buckling in the brace. The wedge slides between a washer and stand so as to prevent brace looseness due to axial plastic deformation under repeated loading.To verify the brace’s mechanism and performance, repeated horizontal loading tests were performed on a one-story bay frame with a tensile-connected brace having a wedge device.Results and conclusions obtained from the loading tests are summarized as follows.(1) Perfect elasto-plastic hysteresis was observed until the wedge’s sliding displacement reached its maximum. (2) Story shear stiffness, strength and energy absorption capacity were easily evaluated. (3) Plastic deformation capacity remaining after an earthquake can be evaluated by checking the wedge’s total sliding displacement. (4) Performance-based design can be easily achieved with this brace.     

Feasibility Study of a Novel Technique for Measurement of Liquid Thermal Conductivity with a Micro-beam Sensor

A new method was proposed to measure the thermal conductivity of liquids with infinitesimal samples, which are much smaller than those required in conventional methods. The method utilizes a micro-beam-type MEMS sensor fabricated across a trench on a silicon substrate. Numerical analysis of heat conduction within and around a uniformly heated sensor showed that the temperature of a 10 μm long sensor reached a steady state within approximately 0.1ms, after the start of heating. It was also revealed that the average temperature of the sensor at the steady state was higher in liquids with lower thermal conductivity. These results demonstrate a new idea of measuring the thermal conductivity of liquids within an extremely short time at a steady state before the onset of natural convection.     

α-Synuclein and DJ-1 as Potential Biological Fluid Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common form of movement disorder and affects approximately 4% of the population aged over 80 years old. Currently, PD cannot be prevented or cured, and no single diagnostic biomarkers are available. Notably, recent studies suggest that two familial PD-linked molecules, α-synuclein and DJ-1, are present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and that their levels may be altered during the progression of PD. In this regard, sensitive and accurate methods for evaluation of α-synuclein and DJ-1 levels in the CSF and blood have been developed, and the results suggest that the levels of both molecules are significantly decreased in the CSF in patients with PD compared with age-matched controls. Furthermore, specific detection and quantification of neurotoxic oligometric forms of α-synuclein in the blood using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays might be expected as potential peripheral biomarkers for PD, although further validation is required. Currently, neither α-synuclein nor DJ-1 is satisfactory as a single biomarker for PD, but combinatory evaluation of these biological fluid molecules with other biomarkers and imaging techniques may provide reliable information for diagnosis of PD.     

Amperometric screen-printed algal biosensor with flow injection analysis system for detection of environmental toxic compounds

A screen-printed algal biosensor was fabricated for evaluation of toxicity of chemicals. An algal ink was prepared by mixing unicellular microalga Chlorella vulgaris cells, carbon nanotubes and sodium alginate solution. The algal ink was immobilized directly on a screen-printed carbon electrode surface using screen-printing technique. Photosynthetically generated oxygen of the immobilized algae was monitored amperometically. Responses of the algal biosensor to four toxic compounds, 6-chloro-N-ethyl-N-isopropyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (atrazine) and 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-diethylurea (DCMU) were evaluated as inhibition ratios of the reduction current. The concentrations that gave 50% inhibition of the oxygen reduction current (IC^′50) for atrazine and DCMU were 12 and 1 μmol dm⁻³, respectively. In comparison with the conventional algal biosensors, in which the algal cells were entrapped in an alginate gel and immobilized on the surface of a transparent indium tin oxide electrode, the present sensor is much smaller and less expensive, with the shorter assay time.     

Towards a Treatment for Neuroinflammation in Epilepsy: Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist,Anakinra, as a Potential Treatment in Intractable Epilepsy

Febrile Infection-Related Epilepsy Syndrome (FIRES) is a unique catastrophic epilepsy syndrome, and the development of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is inevitable. Recently, anakinra, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), has been increasingly used to treat DRE due to its potent anticonvulsant activity. We here summarized its effects in 38 patients (32 patients with FIRES and six with DRE). Of the 22 patients with FIRES, 16 (73%) had at least short-term seizure control 1 week after starting anakinra, while the remaining six suspected anakinra-refractory cases were male and had poor prognoses. Due to the small sample size, an explanation for anakinra refractoriness was not evident. In all DRE patients, seizures disappeared or improved, and cognitive function improved in five of the six patients following treatment. Patients showed no serious side effects, although drug reactions with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms, cytopenia, and infections were observed. Thus, anakinra has led to a marked improvement in some cases, and functional deficiency of IL-1RA was indicated, supporting a direct mechanism for its therapeutic effect. This review first discusses the effectiveness of anakinra for intractable epileptic syndromes. Anakinra could become a new tool for intractable epilepsy treatment. However, it does not currently have a solid evidence base.     

Modeling and Analysis of Internal Heat Integrated Distillation Columns

A generalized steady-state model is being developed for an internal heat integrated distillation column (IHIDiC). A procedure incorporating the Newton-Rapheon method is devised for solving the model equations. Separation of an ethanol-water binary mixture is simulated and analyzed with the model, Two pinch points are found within the process, making the separation ex-tremely difllcult and expensive. Two sharp fronts in the temp-erature and the composition profiles are being observed. With the introduction of heat integration, satisfactory separation may be obtained in a limited number of stages with lower reflux ratios. Increasing the pressure difference between the rectifylng and the strlpping sectlons, however, would bring about a reduced relative volatility between the two components involved, creating adverse separation performances. It is obvious that optimigation of the IHIDiC is of prime importance.