It was more than 50 years ago that an appearance of birefringence in alginate gels prepared under cation flow was reported for the first time, however, the anisotropic structure of the alginate gel has not been studied in detail. In the present study, anisotropic Ca-alginate gels were prepared within dialysis tubing in a high Ca2+-concentration external bath, and optical and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were performed to characterize the structure of the gel. The observations of the gel with crossed polarizers and with circular polarizers revealed the molecular orientation perpendicular to the direction of Ca2+ flow. Analyses of the SAXS intensity profiles indicated the formation of rod-like fibrils consisting of a few tens of alginate molecules and that the anisotropy of the gel was caused by the circumferential orientation of the large fibrils. From the observed asymmetric SAXS pattern, it was found that the axis of rotational symmetry of the anisotropic structure was parallel to the direction of Ca2+ flow. The alignment factor (Af) calculated from the SAXS intensity data confirmed that the orientation of the fibrils was perpendicular to the direction of Ca2+ flow.
The rapid growth of car use in Asian developing countries causes a variety of problems, such as traffic congestion and increasing environmental damage. The delay of railway introduction is one of the factors for the progress of motorization in each city. This study quantitatively examined the impact on motorization of early urban railway development in Asian developing mega-cities. The impact is modeled using data of metropolises in Japan, China and Thailand. By applying the model to scenarios on railway development in mega-cities of Asian developing countries, the impact of railway development timing is revealed.
Animals process and integrate sensory inputs to generate appropriate behavioral output. However, neural mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear. Here we established a short-term, visual discrimination task for head-fixed mice combined with in vivo two-photon imaging to relate neural activity to behavior. Viral vectors encoding the calcium indicator protein GCaMP6m were injected into the visual cortex of adult C57BL/6j mice. Water-restricted mice were trained to discriminate a target stimulus consisting of a grating drifting towards one horizontal direction, from a non-target stimulus drifting towards the opposite direction. The trained mice correctly responded to the target stimulus to lick a water-reward spout in front of the animal. After finishing the training, neural activity recording was carried out using two-photon calcium imaging from the mice performing the task. This head fixed, lick/no-lick visual discrimination task offers a quick learning paradigm compatible with pharmacological and neurophysiological methods including two-photon imaging, optogenetics and circuit tracing, making it possible to understand circuits and computations underlying perceptual decision-making as well as neurocognitive disorders.
This study aims to estimate the necessary scale of additional mass transit on trunk lines to reduce carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from regional passenger transport in Japan. First, a local transport region is defined as an area within which most daily transport is conducted. In each region, the target of CO 2 emissions from local passenger transport activities in 2050 is set to 20% of those emissions in 2000. The amount of CO 2 exhaust from local passenger transport can be estimated on the basis of technological innovation; thus, the amount of reduction needed to achieve the target can be calculated. Second, changes in CO 2 emissions from the introduction of a mass transit system are evaluated, considering their reduction from replacing private vehicles and the emissions from constructing and operating the mass transit system. For this purpose, life-cycle assessment is applied. The total amount of CO 2 emissions from infrastructure construction, vehicle production, and operation from mass transit is calculated. The transport density of each route is estimated with population density in a densely inhabited district of each local transport region. The transit system that emits the least CO 2 per passenger kilometer is selected. The extent of new services needed to achieve the CO 2 reduction target is calculated. A series of calculations provides the lengths of additional mass transit routes required to reduce traffic volumes sufficiently to achieve the CO 2 reduction target for local passenger transport by 2050.
In Asian developing countries, rapid motorization in mega cities could increase the amount of CO2 emissions from passenger transport. One of counter policies to CO2 mitigation is to promote low-carbon transport modes in urban area. But CO2 emissions per passenger-km from passenger transport depend on the number of passengers carried. It is also important to consider throughout lifetime CO2 emissions generated from production of infrastructure and vehicles as well as from their operation. This study proposes a method to identify low-carbon passenger transport modes for intra-urban travel by province-level region in Asian developing countries, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach. As intra-urban transport modes, the focus is on passenger car, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and heavy rail. First, demand for use of each mode is estimated with the population density of the densely inhabited area of each province as transport density. Then, the number of operated vehicles to meet the demand is determined by transport density. Finally, Life Cycle CO2 (LC-CO2) emissions from infrastructure construction, vehicles manufacturing and operation are calculated by multiplying emission factors by the number of vehicles and their root length. The mode with the least LC-CO2 is identified as a low-carbon transport mode for each province. As case study areas, this study analyses provinces in Thailand by using Thesaban nakhons as a densely inhabited area. In addition, as future technological scenarios for Asia are considered with emission factors of Japan. The main results of this study are as follows. (1) In a scenario with emission factors of present Japan, BRT emits the least LC-CO2 in provinces with highly-dense urban areas and in the remaining provinces and, the introduction of mass transit mode cannot reduce CO2 emissions. (2) In a scenario with emission factors of future Japan, passenger car is selected as a mode that emits the lowest CO2 in most provinces.
A stockperson has a significant influence on the productivity and welfare of his animals depending on his stockmanship competence. In this study, stockmanship competence (SC) is defined as the capacity of the stockperson to ensure the welfare of his animals by providing his animals' needs. The study was conducted to evaluate the SC of backyard goat raisers and examine its relationship to goat productivity and economic profitability. There were 101 respondents for this study who have all undertaken farmer livestock school on integrated goat management (FLS-IGM). Interview was conducted in Region I, Philippines on September 3 to 30, 2012 and March 4 to 17, 2013. Data on SC, goat productivity and farmer's income were gathered. Questions regarding SC were formulated based on the Philippine Recommendations for Goat Production and from other scientific literature. Housing, feeding, breeding and health and husbandry management were the indicators used in computing stockmanship competence index score (SCIS). Pearson correlation using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was carried out to analyse the relationship between SCIS, productivity and income. Based from the results of the study, a majority of the respondents raised native and upgraded goats. The computed mean SCIS before and after undergoing FLS-IGM were 38.52% and 75.81% respectively, a percentage difference of 65.23%. Both index scores resulted in significant differences in productivity and income. The median mature weight and mortality rate of goats before FLS-IGM was 14 kg and 30% respectively. After FLS-IGM, median mature weight was 19 kg and mortality rate decreased from 30% to 11.11%. Likewise, fewer goat diseases were observed by farmers who were able to undergo FLS-IGM. With regard to income, there was a 127.34% difference on the median net income derived by farmers. Result implies that improved SC could lead not only to increased productivity and income of backyard goat raisers but also to better animal welfare.
Monitoring neural activity and associating neural dynamics with the anatomical connectome are required to understand how the brain works. Neural dynamics are measured by electrophysiology and optical imaging. Since the discovery of the two-photon excitation phenomenon, significant progress has been made in deep imaging for capturing neural activity from numerous neurons in vivo. The development of two-photon microscopy is aimed to image neural activity from a large and deep region with high spatial (x, y, and z) and temporal (t) resolutions at a high signal-to-noise ratio. Imaging deep regions along the optical axis (z-axis) is particularly challenging because heterogeneous biological tissues scatter and absorb light. Recent advances in the light focus modulation technology at high speeds in three dimensions (x, y, and z) have allowed multiplane two-photon imaging. z-Focus control by varifocal optical systems, such as ferroelectric liquid lenses, gradient refractive index lenses, and adaptive optical element systems, and multiplexing by time- and wavelength-division strategies have allowed to rapidly observe specimens at different focal depths. Herein, we overview the recent advances in multiplane functional imaging systems that enable four-dimensional (x, y, z, and t) analysis of neural dynamics, with a special emphasis on z-scanning mechanisms and multiplexing strategies.
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