Osaka Electro-Communication University

Electromyograms (EMGs) of the orbicularis oculi muscle are commonly used to assess the blink reflex, which provides clinically important information. However, mechanomyograms (MMGs) may serve as a promising alternative. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of MMGs in assessing orbicularis oculi responses to stimulation. Electrical stimulation was applied to the facial nerve axons of 25 healthy adult participants, and MMGs were recorded using an accelerometer. The reliability of amplitude-based parameters (Amax and Ap−p) and time-based parameters (Trise, Tzero, Tfall, and Trec) characterizing MMG waveforms was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and coefficient of variation (CV). Additionally, the amplitude and temporal characteristics of MMGs evoked by varying stimulus intensities were compared with simultaneously recorded EMGs. All parameters, except Trec, showed high relative reliability (95% confidence interval of ICC of > 0.75) and high absolute reliability (%SEM and CV < 10%). MMG amplitudes (Amax and Ap−p) and EMG amplitudes (Vmax and Vp−p) increased linearly with stimulus intensity. A strong correlation was found between the amplitudes of both signals (Vmax vs. Amax: r = 0.932, p < 0.0001; Vp−p vs. Ap−p: r = 0.937, p < 0.0001). The first positive MMG peak consistently appeared at a fixed interval (5.52 ± 2.10 ms) after the EMG peak, irrespective of stimulus level. These findings suggest that MMG amplitude and latency (stimulus-to-peak time) are reliable indicators of orbicularis oculi muscle activity and can be effectively used alongside EMG in clinical and research settings. Communicated by Bill Yates.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the precision of various heart rate variability (HRV) analysis parameters during postural changes between sitting and upright postures, with a particular focus on Tone–Entropy analysis, and to verify the absolute evaluability and high reproducibility of Tone–Entropy analysis. Fifteen healthy young men (age 20.7 ± 1.5 years) from two different groups participated in the study, and their heart rates (HRs) were recorded during sitting and upright postures. The postural changes were repeated twice, and each posture was maintained for 2 min. Precision was evaluated by defining the error rate for each HRV index. As a result, Entropy showed almost the same precision as HR. On the other hand, standard frequency domain indices such as low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio showed consistently low precision. Furthermore, our results support the usefulness of Tone–Entropy analysis to date, as it can allow absolute evaluation in Tone–Entropy space even for different groups of subjects and experimental conditions, and the reproducibility of Entropy is also high. In conclusion, it is suggested that Tone–Entropy analysis has high reliability and reproducibility and that frequency power spectrum analysis lacks sufficient precision to be applied to long‐term monitoring analyses in young male subjects.

The first time-resolved leader spectra associated with a downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF) observed by the Telescope Array Surface Detector (TASD) were recently reported by \citeA{kieu2024first}. Building on that study, this paper presents th

Microscopic detection and enumeration of microbial biomass provide essential primary information about the biosphere. Unlike aquatic samples, the application of specific microbial detection methods, such as fluorescence staining, to particle-rich samples such as marine sediments has been challenging because of the abundance of non-cellular particles. Even with recently developed fluorescence-based techniques for distinguishing microbial cells from sediment particles, reliable detection remains hindered by particle interference, often necessitating the expertise of trained specialists. In this study, we developed a deep learning-based image recognition method for identifying microbial cells in sediment samples, aiming to increase the accuracy of microbial cell detection and enumeration in microscopic images while eliminating the need for labor-intensive expert training. Our program first detects and identifies "cell-like particles" based on their green fluorescence and then classifies them via a trained classifier. The classifier successfully distinguished cell-like particles in pre-annotated images with accuracies of 94.1% for two-class classification and 88.8% for four-class classification. The accuracy was further improved to 96.6% by setting the confidence index cutoff to 0.7 and pre-screening focused images. The cell recognition program developed in this study will facilitate accurate and reliable detection of microbes in particle-rich environmental samples, reducing the reliance on intensive expert training.

Health risks associated with vascular disorders, such as cold sensitivity caused by peripheral cooling, tend to become more severe during winter. To mitigate these effects, continuous monitoring of a peripheral cooling and timely, targeted thermal interventions are essential. Previous studies have proposed a wearable system that assesses individual cold sensitivity by measuring the temperature gradient between the core body temperature and peripheral skin temperatures, such as those of the hands and feet. However, because thermal comfort varies significantly between individuals, a preventive approach that is tailored to personal cold sensitivity is essential. This study uses two internationally recognized thermal comfort indices: the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD). The results reveal that limiting the temperature difference between the core body temperature and the surface of the toes to within 6.60 ℃ (±1.76) and limiting the difference between the core and the wrist to within 5.06 ℃ (±2.04) is effective in maintaining a PMV within ± 0.5 and a PPD below 10 %. The contribution of this study lies in demonstrating that thermal interventions targeting locally cooled body areas, based on the obtained findings, can help maintain thermal comfort while preventing cold sensitivity.

Wild-type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTRwt-CA) is a life-threatening condition caused by the deposition of amyloid fibrils from misfolded transthyretin in the myocardium. While protein misfolding underlies its pathogenesis, the triggers and factors driving disease progression remain unclear. This study explores the relationship between lifestyle factors, particularly oxidative stress, and the incidence of ATTRwt-CA. A lifestyle questionnaire survey was conducted among patients with and without ATTRwt-CA at Kochi Medical School Hospital, Japan. Multivariate regression models were used to assess the odds of ATTRwt-CA occurrence in individuals with identified risk factors. The mean ages of patients in the ATTRwt-CA group (n = 65) and the non-ATTRwt-CA group (n = 65) were 77.9 ± 6.5 years and 78.5 ± 7.4 years, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified male sex (adjusted odds ratio, 4.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.39-14.29; P = 0.01) as an independent risk factor for ATTRwt-CA. Past sunlight exposure of ≥ 1 hour per day (adjusted odds ratio, 3.21; 95% confidence interval, 0.87-11.88; P = 0.08) showed a tendency towards a positive association with ATTRwt-CA occurrence. In contrast, past black tea consumption (adjusted odds ratio, 0.13; 95% confidence interval, 0.01-1.28; P = 0.08) and past smoking (adjusted odds ratio, 0.29; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-0.72; P < 0.01) were tentatively or significantly associated with ATTRwt-CA occurrence. Lifestyle factors may be linked to the occurrence of ATTRwt-CA, potentially through mechanisms involving oxidative stress.

Abstract In recent years, subterahertz (sub-THz) electromagnetic waves have been increasingly applied in next-generation wireless communications, imaging, spectroscopy, and nondestructive sensing. However, high-sensitivity detection of sub-THz waves is a difficult task for conventional electronic and photonic techniques. Here, we report the first successful demonstration of ultrasensitive room-temperature detection of sub-THz waves using a frequency up-conversion technique based on a backward optical parametric process in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals. The detection sensitivity reached 50 attojoules (aJ), outperforming those of cryogenically cooled bolometers and commercial pyroelectric detectors by several orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the frequency can be flexibly tuned by simply rotating the PPLN crystals. This simple, stable, and highly sensitive photonic scheme can potentially realize sub-THz wave detection for future wireless communications (6G/7G), sensing, imaging, and spectroscopic applications.

Recently, online platforms for urban planning have been developed. However, although there are examples of their use in urban-scale planning, they have not been fully utilized in district-scale town planning, which involves the development of public spaces such as station-front spaces and parks. The aim of this paper is to develop an online platform to support citizen participation workshops in district-scale urban planning. We will clarify the effectiveness of a system that enables the accumulation and updating of data examined by administrators, citizens and experts at workshops and other events in the development of public spaces.

Tensile fracture properties of glassy poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) were observed by constant-speed stretching at a wide range of stretching rates, including very low stretching rates. When the stretching rate was decreased to very low value, despite the decrease in stress with decreasing stretching rate, both PMMA and PVC specimens no longer showed ductile deformation accompanied by necking and fractured at low strains around which the yield point appeared. This abnormal "embrittlement" observed at very low strain rates was not due to simple physical aging during stretching. Furthermore, fracture near the yield point as observed at very low strain rates was frequently observed even in the strain rate range where ductile deformation was also achieved. The tendency for fracture to occur around the yield point, which was commonly observed in both PMMA and PVC, is likely a general nature of glassy polymers. Since the yield point is a manifestation of the flow in glassy polymers due to nonlinear relaxation, the nonlinear relaxation mechanism which enables glassy polymers to deform largely probably contains a mechanism that generates nuclei for fracture.