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Genetic cardiomyopathy is a group of intractable cardiovascular disorders involving heterogeneous genetic contribution. This heterogeneity has hindered the development of life-saving therapies for this serious disease. Genetic mutations in dystrophin and its associated glycoproteins cause cardiomuscular dysfunction. Large animal models incorporating these genetic defects are crucial for developing effective medical treatments, such as tissue regeneration and gene therapy. In the present study, we knocked out the δ-sarcoglycan (δ-SG) gene (SGCD) in domestic pig by using a combination of efficient de novo gene editing and somatic cell nuclear transfer. Loss of δ-SG expression in the SGCD knockout pigs caused a concomitant reduction in the levels of α-, β-, and γ-SG in the cardiac and skeletal sarcolemma, resulting in systolic dysfunction, myocardial tissue degeneration, and sudden death. These animals exhibited symptoms resembling human genetic cardiomyopathy and are thus promising for use in preclinical studies of next-generation therapies., Gene δ-sarcoglycan was knocked out in pigs via gene editing and somatic cell cloning. Loss of expression led to α-, β-, and γ-sarcoglycan depletion in the cardiac and skeletal sarcolemma. Pigs exhibiting systolic dysfunction, myocardial tissue degeneration, and sudden death are promising for studying next-generation therapies for human genetic cardiomyopathy.

Observational learning is a form of social learning whose theory proposes that new behaviors can be acquired through observing and imitating others. We employed Kohonen self-organizing maps to create observational learning agents to model the real-world process of observational learning. Real-world observational learning is a process that occurs through constantly changing nature and imperfect observation. In this study, we use observational learning agents to conduct a multiagent simulation of a cleanup problem comprising the chained tasks of picking up trash and subsequently discarding it. The results indicate that the constructed observational learning agents produce new emergent behaviors under changing, imperfect observation. Furthermore, the agents demonstrated the best performance when observing others to a moderate degree.

Harmful substances like particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides and sulfur compounds emitted from marine diesel engine exhaust have a great impact on the air environment. Among them, especially black carbon in PM has a negative effect on global warming. The exhaust gas from marine diesel engines using fuels containing heavy fuel oil is a high PM concentration and high temperature. Therefore, a commonly used diesel particulate filter is not suitable for collection because it tends to cause clogging and tends to reduce efficiency. Furthermore, in general shipping, it is often at sea for more than one month, so it is difficult to replace the filter, that is, maintenance is difficult. On the other hand, electrostatic precipitator (ESP) has the advantages of simpler structure, lower pressure loss, and higher collection efficiency of high concentration particles. This suggests that the ESP is suitable for collecting harmful substances from marine diesel exhaust gas.At high temperatures, corona discharge is unstable and a flashover tend to generate low applied voltage. Therefore, it is necessary to study the stable corona discharge generation range for stable operation of the ESP. The purpose of this research is to analyze the optimal electrode structure and its corona discharge characteristics under the simulated exhaust gas of a diesel engine in the range of 100 to 400 ° C using a negative DC power supply.

AIM To investigate the influence of replacing sedentary time with physical activity on cognitive function using an isotemporal substitution model in a population of community-dwelling oldest old. METHODS This cross-sectional study included residents of the Arakawa ward, Tokyo, who were part of a prospective cohort from the Arakawa 85+ study. We measured physical activity in 136 participants using a triaxial actigraph. Cognitive function was measured using the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III and participants were divided into a "cognitive decline group" (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III ≤88) and "cognitive maintain group" (Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III ≥89). Physical activity was divided into three categories: sedentary behavior (≤1.5 metabolic equivalents), light physical activity (>1.5 to

In this study, we start by proposing a causal induction model that incorporates symmetry bias. This model is important in two aspects. First, it can reproduce causal induction of human judgment with higher accuracy than conventional models. Second, it allows us to estimate the level of symmetry bias of subjects from experimental data. We further propose an inference method that incorporates the aforementioned causal induction model into Bayesian inference. In this method, the component of Bayesian inference, which updates the degree of confidence for each hypothesis, and the component of inverse Bayesian inference that modifies the model of the hypothesis coexist. Our study demonstrates that inverse Bayesian inference enables us to deal flexibly with unstable situations where the object of inference changes from time to time.nnAuthor summaryWe acquire knowledge through learning and make various inferences based on such knowledge and observational data (evidence). If the evidence is insufficient, then the certainty of the conclusion will decline. Moreover, even if the evidence is sufficient, the conclusion may be wrong if the knowledge is incomplete in the first place. In order to model such inference based on incomplete knowledge, we proposed an inference system that performs learning and inference simultaneously and seamlessly. Prepare two coins A and B with different probabilities of landing heads, and repeat the coin toss using either of them. However, the coin that is being tossed is also replaced repeatedly. The system observes only the result of coin toss each time, and estimates the probability of landing heads of coin tossed at the moment. In this task, it is necessary not only to estimate the probabilities of the landing heads of coin A and B, but also to estimate which coin is being used at the moment. In this paper, we show that the proposed system handles such tasks very efficiently by simultaneously performing inference and learning.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted microwave wireless power transfer (WPT) enables the deployment of radio frequency (RF)-power-driven, battery-less sensor nodes in rural areas such as farm fie...

To satisfy a user facing a communication robot having various behavior options, it is necessary to output the behavior that is most suitable for the user faster. Such problems are formulated as a multi-armed bandit problem. The multi-armed bandit problem refers to the problem of maximizing gain in a situation with multiple arms where, by pulling a lever, a reward can be obtained from the arms with a certain probability, and the challenge is to select the arm that results in the maximum reward. Considering the behavior options of the communication robot as the arms, and the user satisfaction as the reward, under a condition with even more arms, it is desirable to select the arm that produces the maximum reward faster. This study proposes a new algorithm using a self-organizing map to solve the multi-armed bandit problem. Moreover, multiple numerical experiments have been conducted for the stochastic bandit problem, and it has been demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of selecting the arm with higher reward in a situation with even more arms faster, compared with the existing representative algorithms such as UCB1, UCB1-tuned, and Thompson sampling.

The Ninth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OG] Polar Geosciences, Wed. 5 Dec. / Entrance Hall (1st floor), National Institute of Polar Research

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Purpose The treatment of end stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is sometimes complicated because some cases of HCM are not suitable for LVAD. Scarce data exist on outcomes of continuous-flow (CF) LVAD support in these challenging patient cohorts. We evaluated the clinical outcomes of LVAD therapy for patients with HCM. Methods Between 2005 and 2018, 191 consecutive patients underwent CF-LVAD implantation at Osaka University Hospital. Of these, we retrospectively compared the clinical outcomes between HCM (n=29) and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, n=106) patients with CF-LVAD support. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Median follow-up time was 815 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 373-1172). Results There were no significant differences between the two groups about patient's baseline characteristics. HCM group had significant smaller left ventricle (LV) than DCM group. [LV end-diastolic diameter: 67 (IQR: 55-71) vs 72 (IQR: 62-82), p Conclusion The long-term outcome of LVAD therapy for patients with HCM is still challenging. In particular, careful attention is required for right heart function.

Aim The aim of this study was to examine sociopsychological characteristics of the oldest old in Japan. We conducted a baseline survey of a community-based cohort of persons aged 95 or older. Methods Participants were aged 95+ years and resided in Arakawa Ward in Tokyo on 1 January 2016. We mailed a questionnaire to these individuals to assess their physical, mental, and social status. Subsequently, if respondents agreed, we conducted in-home interviews and examined their physical and cognitive function. Also, we mailed non-respondents a simplified version of full questionnaire. Additionally, we examined the basic registered data of the study population and the status of their Long-term Care Insurance. Data at baseline and 1-year follow-up were compared. Results With regard to Long-term Care Insurance, 423 residents aged 95+ years (78.0%) were on long-term care level, 35 (6.5%) were on support level, and 84 (15.5%) did not require support. At the 1-year follow-up, 275 (50.7%) had the same care level, 107 (19.7%) required a greater level of care, and 131 had died (annual death rate: 24.2%). Compared to the simplified questionnaire group (n = 128) and the full questionnaire-only group (n = 14), a higher proportion of respondents who had completed the full questionnaire and had in-home interviews (n = 26) were men, lived only with a spouse, had higher activities of daily living, and reported more positive feelings and well-being. Conclusions In the late nonagenarian population, the annual death rate was high, and care needs increased rapidly. However, some persons maintained the same care level or even showed improvement and successful ageing.

Cutting technology is one of the important methods to fabricate small-sized precision components in the semiconductor, electro-mechanics, and automobile industries. This paper focuses on high efficiency machining of small hole drilling for PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide). In this paper, drilling experiments were designed to investigate the influence of the depth of cut on the burr formation. The experimental results obtained are as follows, (1) The thrust force and radial force increase with the increase in feed per revolution and depth-of-cut. (2) On the prevention of burr formation, the step feed is better than the non-step feed. Also, the burr formation decreases with the increase in the feed per revolution. (3) The hole straightness increases with the increase in depth-of-cut.

Background: On 11 March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake followed by a powerful tsunami hit the Pacific Coast of Northeast Japan and damaged Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing a radiation hazard in Fukushima Prefecture. The objective of this report is to describe some results of a questionnaire-based pregnancy and birth survey conducted by the Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey. Materials and Methods: Questionnaires were sent to women who received maternal and child health handbooks from municipal officers in Fukushima Prefecture between 1 August 2010 and 31 July 2011, with the aim of reaching those who were pregnant at the time of the disaster. Mailing began 18 January 2012. Data were analyzed separately for six geographic areas in Fukushima Prefecture. Results: The total number of women meeting survey criteria was 15,972. The number of responses received to date is 9,298 (58.2%). Data from 8602 respondents were analyzed after excluding 634 invalid responses and 5 induced and 57 spontaneous abortions (less than 22 gestational weeks). The incidences of stillbirth (over 22 completed gestational weeks), preterm birth, low birth weight and congenital anomalies were 0.25%, 4.4%, 8.7% and 2.72%, respectively. These incidences are similar to recent averages elsewhere in Japan. Conclusion: Considering the pregnancy and birth survey data in aggregate, our disaster seemed to provoke no significant adverse outcomes over the whole of Fukushima prefecture. But post-disaster prenatal care and support intended for patients' safety and security should be coupled with ongoing surveillance and rigorous data analysis.

In this paper, we present a navigation algorithm for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for battery-less agricultural sensor systems. In order to efficiently power sensor nodes from UAVs using wireless power transfer, an appropriate UAV navigation algorithm is necessary. UAVs can locate a certain sensor roughly, but they cannot find the exact location. In our proposed method, a UAV draws circles using each point as a center and each distance as a radius. Then, it counts the number of intersections of the circles and quickly approximates the exact location of the sensor with the densest intersections as a near-optimal point. There have been several studies of battery-less wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for agricultural sensing, and some recent studies have used optimal tracking methods for UAVs to wirelessly power sensor nodes. However, these proposed systems were designed without considering the time needed to complete the wireless power transfer to each node. Because a UAV's battery capacity is limited, the area coverable by a UAV is determined by the amount of time needed to power all the sensor nodes in the field. Thus, if a navigation algorithm can enable UAVs to reach the near-optimal point more quickly, fewer flight tasks will be needed to cover the fields, which will reduce system operating costs. We compared our proposed method to a conventional hill-climbing algorithm in terms of navigation accuracy and time needed to power the sensor nodes. The results showed that the proposed algorithm performed 30% better than the conventional algorithm.

Blinking of single cyanine (DiI) molecules dispersed in poly(methyl acrylate) and in a series of poly(alkyl methacrylate) matrices is reported. The blinking dynamics is characterized by relaxation times obtained from the decay of autocorrelation function of individual DiI molecules. The mean relaxation times are independent of the polymer composition, molecular weight or the temperature. On the other hand, we observed a systematic increase of the fraction of molecules that show the blinking with increasing temperature difference T − T g ( T g being the glass transition temperature). The results are discussed in terms of an increase of free volume around DiI molecules with increasing temperature.

Based on the topic and opinion classification, a tweet credibility analysis method is proposed to detect false information or rumors spreading on Twitter on and after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The credibility is assessed by calculating the ratio of the same opinions to all opinions about a topic identified by topic models generated using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. To identify an opinion (positive or negative) expressed in a tweet, a sentiment analysis is performed using a semantic orientation dictionary. However, the accuracy is a problem to identify the few false tweets. The accuracy of the originally proposed method was susceptible since the sentiment opinion of most tweets was identified negative by the baseline (namely Takamura's) semantic orientation dictionary. Furthermore, specialty namely expertise of users was not considered. To cope with these problems, a method for extracting sentiment orientations of words and phrases was proposed considering user's specialty / expertise degree or mark to each of the same / opposite opinion tweets. The effects of both improvements are proven by experiments using a large number of real tweets. Namely, in these experiments rum or tweets were detected more accurately.

To detect false information or rumors spread on Twitter on and after the Great East Japan Earthquake, a tweet credibility assessing method was proposed, based on the topic and opinion classification. The credibility is assessed by calculating the ratio of the same opinions to all opinions about a topic identified by topic models generated using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. To identify an opinion (positive or negative) about a tweet, sentiment analysis is performed using a semantic orientation dictionary. However, it is a kind of imbalanced data analysis to identify usually very few false tweets and the accuracy is a problem. The accuracy of the originally proposed method was susceptible since the sentiment opinion of most tweets was identified negative by the baseline (namely Takamura's) semantic orientation dictionary. To cope with this problem, a method for extracting sentiment orientations of words and phrases is also proposed to improve the evaluation for analyzing the credibility of tweet information. This method 1) evolutionally learns from a large amount of social data on Twitter, 2) focuses on adjective predicates, and 3) considers co-occurrences with negation expressions or multiple adjectives, between subjects and predicates, etc. The effects are proven by experiments using a large number of real tweets, in which we could detect rumor tweet much more accurately. In opposition to the baseline semantic dictionary, our method leads to succeed in imbalanced data analysis.

As a new scheme of a master-mold (imprint-mask) fabrication, half pitch (hp) 12nm lines and spaces (L/S) pattern was fabricated from hp 24nm L/S resist mandrels, which was prepared by EB writing as well as nanoimprinting, and followed by self-aligned double-pattering (SADP) technique. It was observed that line width roughness (LWR, 3 sigma value) was reduced and improved by a single and multiple nanoimprinting to make hp24nm resist mandrels in the new scheme. We have studied the phenomena and then revealed that the resist patterns of nanoimprinting had more sharp and smooth shoulders as well as bottom edges than EB resist patterns. Those seemed to be reflected to better LWR and LWR reduction by nanoimprinting. The new scheme has advantages of resolution enhancement and better pattern quality of LWR on a mold (mask) for nanoimprint lithography, with comparing to a conventional and single EB lithography.

The electrode surface of a lithium battery was characterized using in situ reflectivity techniques and epitaxial thin films. Epitaxial LiFePO4 thin films were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition. Changes in interfacial structures on the surface are determined by X-ray and neutron reflectivity (NR) measurements using an X-ray-transmission electrochemical cell. The LiFePO4 surface is stable during the first charge/discharge process. NR analysis indicates a reversible change in the concentration gradient of lithium ions at the LiFePO4/electrolyte interface on lithium deintercalation.

Fine hole and dot patterns with bit pitches (bp’s) of less than 40 nm were fabricated in the circular band area of a quartz substrate by R–θ electron beam lithography (EBL), reactive ion etching (RIE), and nanoimprinting. These patterning processes were studied to obtain minimum pitch sizes of hole and dot patterns without pattern collapse. The patterning on the circular band was aimed to apply these patterning processes to future high-density bit-patterned media (BPM) for hard disk drive (HDD) and permanent memory for the long life archiving of digital data. In hole patterning, a minimum-22-nm-bp and 8.2-nm-diameter pattern (1.3 Tbit/in.2) was obtained on a quartz substrate by optimizing the R–θ EBL and RIE processes. Dot patterns were replicated on another quartz substrate by nanoimprinting using a hole-patterned quartz substrate as a master mold followed by RIE. In dot patterning, a minimum-30-nm-bp and 18.5-nm-diameter pattern (0.7 Tbit/in.2) was obtained by introducing new descum conditions. It was observed that the minimum bp of successful patterning increased as the fabrication process proceeded, i.e., from 20 nm bp in the first EBL process to 30 nm bp in the last quartz dot patterning process. From the measured diameters of the patterns, it was revealed that pattern collapse was apt to occur when the value of average diameter plus 3 sigma of diameter was close to the bp. It was suggested that multiple fabrication processes caused the degradation of pattern quality; therefore, hole patterning is more suitable than dot patterning for future applications owing to the lower quality degradation by its simple fabrication process.

Bit Patterned Media (BPM) is essential of HDD media areal density increase, which will be combined with heatassisted magnetic recording (HAMR) eventually for thermal diffusion prevention. 1Tbit/inch 2 areal density is the first demonstration target, which is 25nm pitch hole array, for the BPM development. Nano-Imprinting Lithography (NIL) is indispensable too, so molds as well, for the BPM large-scale production for throughput. At the beginning, 52nm pitch and below was successfully made on quartz master-mold. However, by our comprehensive development and improvement in material and process, we successfully fabricate 25nm pitch master-mold by EB Lithography, 25nm pitch working-replica by Nano-Imprinting Lithography as well.

Nanoimprint Lithography and a mold, mold replication from an EB master mold as well, those are essential for a large-scale production of bit patterned media. 1Tbit/inch2 (bit pitch 25nm) areal density on a 2.5inch HDD media, it is feasibility demonstration target all the media makers and the HDD makers are aiming at. This paper describes difficulties we faced, and solutions we established by designing and optimizing materials and process, to fabricate 25nm pitch master mold by EBL as well as working replica mold by NIL.© (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Nano-Imprint Lithography and a mold, mold replication from an EB master mold as well, those are essential for a large-scale production of patterned media. In nano-imprinting, since it is contact printing, a higher separation force might cause damages to the master and imprinting tool, degradation in pattern quality as well. Those difficulties also work to retard continuous imprinting for the mold replication. Then, we focused on release materials characterization and selection to facilitate clean separation between cured resist and the master. This paper describes a novel release material, and continuous nano-imprinting results with it for replica mold fabrication from an EB master for the patterned media application.© (2011) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Nano-Imprint Lithography and a mold, mold replication from an EB master mold as well, those are essential for a large-scale production of patterned media. In nano-imprinting, since it is contact printing, a higher separation force might cause damages to the master and imprinting tool, degradation in pattern quality as well. Those difficulties also work to retard continuous imprinting for the mold replication. Then, we focused on release materials characterization and selection to facilitate clean separation between cured resist and the master. This paper describes a novel release material, and continuous nano-imprinting results with it for replica mold fabrication from an EB master for the patterned media application.

PURPOSE To investigate the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis in testicular germ cell tumors, we evaluated gonadotropin responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH), semen quality, and serum levels of sex steroid hormones in patients with testicular cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS Basal serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and human chorionic gonadotropin-beta (hCG-beta) were measured before and after high orchiectomy in 20 patients with germ cell tumors of the testicle (9 with seminoma and 11 with nonseminomatous tumor). Semen quality and basal serum levels of testosterone, free testosterone, and estradiol were measured before orchiectomy. The Gn-RH test was performed before orchiectomy in all patients and after orchiectomy in patients without detectable gonadotropin levels in pre-operative serum samples. Gonadotropin levels were measured at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after intravenous injection of 100 micrograms of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH). RESULTS Serum gonadotropin concentrations were not detectable in 6 of 8 (75%) men with hCG positive tumors or in 4 of 12 (33.3%) men with hCG negative tumors before orchiectomy. Before surgery, 10 men without detectable gonadotropin levels showed complete suppression of the LH and FSH responses to LH-RH and 10 men with detectable gonadotropin levels showed significant increases in the LH and FSH responses (p < 0.01) at 30 minutes. After surgery, the Gn-RH test was performed in 9 men without detectable gonadotropin levels prior to surgery. Seven of these 9 men exhibited significant increases in the LH and FSH responses (p < 0.01) at 30 minutes while no response to LH-RH before or after surgery was seen in 2 men with detectable serum hCG-beta. We observed a significantly lower sperm density (median 7.5 x 10(6)/ml, range 0.4 to 17.8) in men with hCG positive tumors than in men with hCG negative tumors (median 33 x 10(6)/ml, range 0 to 103) (p < 0.002). Although testosterone levels did not differ significantly in men with hCG positive tumors and men with hCG negative tumors, free testosterone levels were significantly higher in men with hCG positive tumors (median 28.4 ng/ml, range 8.5 to 39.8) compared with men with hCG negative tumors (median 18.7 ng/ml, range 4.9 to 24.1) (p < 0.002). Estradiol levels were significantly increased in men with hCG positive tumors (median 44 pg/ml, range 26 to 110) compared with men with hCG negative tumors (median 33.5 pg/ml, range 10 to 87) (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION The present findings indicate that serum hCG producing testicular cancers are associated with a complete suppression of the gonadotropin response to Gn-RH at the pituitary level, resulting in an inhibition of LH and FSH secretion, and also that serum hCG secreted by testicular cancers may suppresses spermatogenesis and may stimulate androgen and estradiol production by the testes. Since suppressed serum gonadotoropin levels are found in men with hCG non-producing testicular cancers, other factors derived from the tumor may cause downregulation of the gonadotropin response to Gn-RH.