Earable Ω (OMEGA): A Novel Clenching Interface Using Ear Canal Sensing for Human Metacarpophalangeal Joint Control by Functional Electrical Stimulation.

(1) Background: A mouth-free interface is required for functional electrical stimulation (FES) in people with spinal cord injuries. We developed a novel system for clenching the human metacarpophalangeal (MP) joint using an earphone-type ear canal movement sensor. Experiments to control joint angle and joint stiffness were performed using the developed system. (2) Methods: The proposed FES used an equilibrium point control signal and stiffness control signal: electrical agonist-antagonist ratio and electrical agonist-antagonist sum. An angle sensor was used to acquire the joint angle, and system identification was utilized to measure joint stiffness using the external force of a robot arm. Each experiment included six and five subjects, respectively. (3) Results: While the joint angle could be controlled well by clenching with some hysteresis and delay in three subjects, it could not be controlled relatively well after hyperextension in the other subjects, which revealed a calibration problem and a change in the characteristics of the human MP joint caused by hyperextension. The joint stiffness increased with the clenching amplitude in five subjects. In addition, the results indicated that viscosity can be controlled. (4) Conclusions: The developed system can control joint angle and stiffness. In future research, we will develop a method to show that this system can control the equilibrium point and stiffness simultaneously.

Smallest detectable change and test-retest reliability of a self-reported outcome measure: Results of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and 12-item General Health Questionnaire.

RATIONALE, AIMS, AND OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine the smallest detectable change (SDC) and test-retest reliability of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). METHOD: We tested 154 young adults at baseline and 2 weeks later. We calculated the intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) for test-retest reliability with a two-way random effects model for agreement. We then calculated the standard error of measurement (SEM) for agreement using the ICC formula. The SEM for agreement was used to calculate SDC values at the individual level (SDCind ) and group level (SDCgroup ). RESULTS: The study participants included 137 young adults. The ICCs for all self-reported outcome measurement scales exceeded 0.70. The SEM of CES-D was 3.64, leading to an SDCind of 10.10 points and SDCgroup of 0.86 points. The SEM of GSES was 1.56, leading to an SDCind of 4.33 points and SDCgroup of 0.37 points. The SEM of GHQ-12 with bimodal scoring was 1.47, leading to an SDCind of 4.06 points and SDCgroup of 0.35 points. The SEM of GHQ-12 with Likert scoring was 2.44, leading to an SDCind of 6.76 points and SDCgroup of 0.58 points. CONCLUSION: To confirm that the change was not a result of measurement error, a score of self-reported outcome measurement scales would need to change by an amount greater than these SDC values. This has important implications for clinicians and epidemiologists when assessing outcomes.

Identification of common words to improve self-confidence in Japanese students with subthreshold depression.

Background Subthreshold depression (StD) is more common than major depressive disorder. Objective The study aimed to identify common words to improve self-confidence in Japanese university students with StD for developing a smartphone application to help those with StD. Methods In this cross-sectional study, words participants used to improve their self-confidence were gathered using self-report questionnaires in 154 university students in Japan. The words used to improve self-confidence were categorized using a computerized text analysis method based on the frequency of appearance. Results Participants were 154 male and females [StD group (n = 82) and healthy control (HC) group (n = 72); median age = 20 years]. A total of 290 words for improving self-confidence were identified. In the StD group, the keywords that appeared with the highest frequencies were "can", "let's try", "good luck", "able", and "don't worry". The keywords that occurred with the highest frequencies (the top eight) were common across both groups. The keywords were grouped into eight categories. The "encouragement" and "praise" categories were found in the responses of more than 80% of participants in both groups. Frequencies of the "determination" and "trust" categories were significantly higher in the StD group than in the HC group. Conclusions We conclude that "can", "let's try", and "good luck" are the most common words that Japanese students with StD use when describing how they improve their self-confidence. Future work will use these common words to develop a smartphone application to help those suffering from StD.

A versatile transfection assay system to evaluate the biological effects of diverse industrial chemicals.

Gene expression processes are now recognized as important targets of the toxic effects exerted by industrial chemicals. The transient transfection assay is a powerful tool to evaluate such effects. Thus, we developed a versatile assay system by constructing a basic reporter plasmid in which the regulatory DNA sequence to be studied can easily be substituted. To verify the performance of this system, reporter plasmids carrying any of the three distinct regulatory sequences, estrogen responsive element (ERE), glucocorticoid responsive element (GRE) and xenobiotic responsive element (XRE) were constructed. After transfection of human cells, these plasmids successfully expressed the relevant reporter genes in response to specific inducers, ß-estradiol, dexamethasone and 3-methylcholanthrene, respectively. Several industrial chemicals were assayed using these reporter plasmids, and the ability of p-dimethylaminoazobenzene to elevate GRE- and XRE-mediated transcription was detected. α-Naphthylamine and o-tolidine were also observed to increase the XRE-mediated response. The transfection assay system established here will be useful to evaluate the effects of a wide variety of industrial chemicals.

Evaluation of PRNP expression based on genotypes and alleles of two indel loci in the medulla oblongata of Japanese Black and Japanese Brown cattle.

BACKGROUND: Prion protein (PrP) level plays the central role in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility. Increasing the level of PrP decreases incubation period for this disease. Therefore, studying the expression of the cellular PrP or at least the messenger RNA might be used in selection for preventing the propagation of BSE and other prion diseases. Two insertion/deletion (indel) variations have been tentatively associated with susceptibility/resistance of cattle to classical BSE. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied the expression of each genotype at the two indel sites in Japanese Black (JB) and Japanese Brown (JBr) cattle breeds by a standard curve method of real-time PCR. Five diplotypes subdivided into two categories were selected from each breed. The two cattle breeds were considered differently. Expression of PRNP was significantly (p<0.0001) greater in the homozygous deletion genotype at the 23-bp locus in JB breed. Compared to the homozygous genotypes, the expression of PRNP was significantly greater in the heterozygous genotype at the 12-bp locus in JB (p<0.0001) and in JBr (p = 0.0394) breeds. In addition, there was a statistical significance in the PRNP levels between the insertion and the deletion alleles of the 23-bp locus in JB (p = 0.0003) as well as in JBr (p = 0.0032). There was no significance in relation to sex, age, geographical location or due to their interactions (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the del/del genotype or at least its del allele may modulate the expression of PRNP at the 23-bp locus in the medulla oblongata of these cattle breeds.

[Mechanism of metallothionein gene activation mediated by heavy-metal dependent transcription factor MTF-1].

Transcriptional activation of metallothionein (MT) genes by heavy metals is a valuable system for understanding the functions of MT as well as the cellular response against heavy metals. Although it is now known that heavy metal signals culminating in MT induction converge upon a transcription factor MTF-1, the mechanism underlying the MTF-1 response to heavy metals has not been elucidated. To address this issue, we investigated various aspects of the in vivo response of MTF-1 against heavy metals. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that heavy metal-dependent DNA binding of MTF-1 is the critical step in vivo. MTF-1 is primarily localized in the nucleus so that heavy metal-dependent nuclear translocation demonstrated by other groups does not seem to be universal and hence may not be critical for activation of MTF-1. In the six Zn finger motifs, the hallmark of MTF-1, the third and the fourth fingers are essential for the nuclear localization of MTF-1. Furthermore, all fingers except the last are important for transcriptional activation function of MTF-1, suggesting their key role for MTF-1 function. Also, a cysteine cluster structure located in the C-terminal region of MTF-1 is critical for transactivating function of MTF-1. These results suggest a central role of the Zn-finger domain and intramolecular cooperation through a structural change of MTF-1 for its response to heavy metal challenge.