Neural correlates for numerical processing in the manual mode     

Masataka N  Ohnishi T  Imabayashi E  Hirakata M  Matsuda H 《Journal of deaf studies and deaf education》2006,11(2):144-152

This paper reports a study designed to examine the neuronal correlates for comprehending the signs of American Sign Language representing numerals in deaf signers who acquired Japanese Sign Language as their first language. The participants were scanned by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) twice on the day of the experiment. The results of the measurements revealed that upon learning that the signs actually have numeric meaning, a network of brain areas is activated immediately. Many of these areas have been previously implicated in numerical processing. The similar neural network of brain regions responsible for numerical processing exists on a nonlinguistical basis and works to retrieve arithmetic facts from presented linguistic material regardless of the mode of the language.  相似文献   

Habitual rowing exercise is associated with high physical fitness without affecting arterial stiffness in older men     

Kawano H  Iemitsu M  Gando Y  Ishijima T  Asaka M  Aoyama T  Ando T  Tokizawa K  Miyachi M  Sakamoto S  Higuchi M 《Journal of sports sciences》2012,30(3):241-246

The present study elucidated the effects of habitual rowing exercise on arterial stiffness and plasma levels of the vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 and the vasodilator nitric oxide (NO) in older men. Eleven rowers (68.0 ± 1.6 years) and 11 sedentary control older men (64.9 ± 1.1 years) were studied. Peak oxygen uptake (36.0 ± 1.7 vs. 27.7 ±1.9 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1)), leg press power (1346 ± 99 vs. 1077 ± 68 W), and HDL-cholesterol (75 ± 5 vs. 58 ±3 mg · ml(-1)) were higher and triglyceride (78 ± 9 vs. 120 ± 14 mg · ml(-1)) was lower in rowers than in control participants (all P < 0.05). Arterial stiffness indices (carotid β-stiffness and cardio-ankle vascular index) and plasma endothelin-1 and NOx (nitrite + nitrate) levels did not differ between the two groups. These results suggest that habitual rowing exercise in older men is associated with high muscle power and aerobic capacity, and favourable blood lipid profile without affecting arterial stiffness or plasma levels of endotheline-1 and NO.  相似文献   

Differences in dinucleotide frequencies of thermophilic genes encoding water soluble and membrane proteins     

Nakashima H  Kuroda Y 《Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B》2011,12(6):419-427

The occurrence frequencies of the dinucleotides of genes of three thermophilic and three mesophilic species from both archaea and eubacteria were investigated in this study. The genes encoding water soluble proteins were rich in the dinucleotides of purine dimers, whereas the genes encoding membrane proteins were rich in pyrimidine dimers. The dinucleotides of purine dimers are the counterparts of pyrimidine dimers in a double-stranded DNA. The purine/pyrimidine dimers were favored in the thermophiles but not in the mesophiles, based on comparisons of observed and expected frequencies. This finding is in agreement with our previous study which showed that purine/pyrimidine dimers are positive factors that increase the thermal stability of DNA. The dinucleotides AA, AG, and GA are components of the codons of charged residues of Glu, Asp, Lys, and Arg, and the dinucleotides TT, CT, and TC are components of the codons of hydrophobic residues of Leu, Ile, and Phe. This is consistent with the suitabilities of the different amino acid residues for water soluble and membrane proteins. Our analysis provides a picture of how thermophilic species produce water soluble and membrane proteins with distinctive characters: the genes encoding water soluble proteins use DNA sequences rich in purine dimers, and the genes encoding membrane proteins use DNA sequences rich in pyrimidine dimers on the opposite strand.  相似文献   

Early effects of oral administration of omeprazole and roxatidine on intragastric pH     

Iida H  Kato S  Sekino Y  Sakai E  Uchiyama T  Endo H  Hosono K  Sakamoto Y  Fujita K  Yoneda M  Koide T  Takahashi H  Tokoro C  Goto A  Abe Y  Kobayashi N  Kubota K  Gotoh E  Maeda S  Nakajima A  Inamori M 《Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B》2012,13(1):29-34

Objective

The ideal medication for the treatment of acid-related diseases, e.g., peptic ulcers, stress-related gastric bleeding, functional dyspepsia, and gastroesophageal reflux disease, should have a rapid onset of action to promote hemostasis and relieve the symptoms. The aim of our study was to investigate the inhibitory effects on gastric acid secretion of a single oral administration of a proton pump inhibitor, omeprazole 20 mg, and an H₂-receptor antagonist, roxatidine 75 mg.

Methods

Ten Helicobacter pylori-negative male subjects participated in this randomized, two-way crossover study. Intragastric pH was monitored continuously for 6 h after single oral administration of omeprazole 20 mg and roxatidine 75 mg. Each administration was separated by a 7-d washout period.

Results

During the 6-h study period, the average pH after administration of roxatidine was higher than that after administration of omeprazole (median: 4.45 vs. 2.65; P=0.0367). Also during the 6-h study period, a longer duration of maintenance at pH above 2, 5, and 6 was observed after administration of roxatidine 75 mg than after administration of omeprazole 20 mg (median: 90.6% vs. 55.2%, P=0.0284; 43.7% vs. 10.6%, P=0.0125; 40.3% vs. 3.3%, P=0.0125; respectively).

Conclusions

In Helicobacter pylori-negative healthy male subjects, oral administration of roxatidine 75 mg increased the intragastric pH more rapidly than that of omeprazole 20 mg.  相似文献   

Beliefs About Intergenerational Communication Across the Lifespan: Middle Age and the Roles of Age Stereotyping and Respect Norms     

Robert M. McCann  René M. Dailey  Hiroshi Ota 《Communication Studies》2013,64(4):293-311

Guided by theoretical models, this research examines (for the first time within the same design) young American adults' reports of age stereotypes, norms of respect, beliefs about intra‐ and intergenerational communication, and communication satisfaction toward young adult, middle‐aged, and older adult targets. Multivariate analyses showed that as age of target increased so did trait attributions of benevolence, norms of politeness and deference, and communicative respect and satisfaction; however, attributions of personal vitality decreased linearly. Path analyses revealed that the more young adults stereotyped older adults as benevolent and personally vital, the less likely they were to report avoiding communication with them. Deference norms also positively related to the degree of communicative respect afforded older adults and the more respondents reported avoiding communication with them, the less satisfied they were with their intergenerational conversations.  相似文献   

Does ankle joint flexibility affect underwater kicking efficiency and three-dimensional kinematics?     

Hirofumi Shimojo  Rio Nara  Yasuhiro Baba  Hiroshi Ichikawa  Yusuke Ikeda  Yoshimitsu Shimoyama 《Journal of sports sciences》2013,31(20):2339-2346

ABSTRACT

Ankle flexibility is critical to obtain a high swimming velocity in undulatory underwater swimming (UUS). The present study investigated the Froude (propelling) efficiency and three-dimensional (3D) kinematics of human UUS following the extrinsic restriction of the ankle by tape application. In Experiment 1, swimmers (9 male and 8 female college swimmers) performed UUS trials involving normal swimming (Normal) and swimming with tape application at the ankle (Tape). Kicking frequency was controlled in both settings. UUS kinematics were obtained with a two-dimensional motion analysis. Swimming velocity significantly decreased during swimming with tape application compared with that during normal swimming (Normal, 1.33 m·s^?1; Tape, 1.26 m·s^?1, p < 0.05). The Froude efficiency was not affected (Normal, 0.77; Tape, 0.76), and ankle plantar angle did not decrease during swimming (Normal, 159.02°; Tape, 160.38°). In Experiment 2, lower limb rotations of a male swimmer were analysed using 3D motion analysis under the same conditions as Experiment 1. An insufficient forefoot rotation was observed during downstroke kicks (the phase of the highest acceleration to forward direction). These findings suggest that UUS velocity is affected by the mobility of end effector.  相似文献   

Forthcoming events     

Masaya Hirashima  Hiroshi Kadota  Shizuka Sakurai  Katzutoshi Kudo  Tatsuyuki Ohtsuki 《Journal of sports sciences》2013,31(4):301-303

The proximal-to-distal segmental sequence has been identified in many sports activities, including baseball pitching and ball kicking. However, proximal-to-distal sequential muscle activity has not been identified. The aims of this study were to establish whether sequential muscle activity does occur and, if it does, to determine its functional role. We recorded surface electromyograms (EMGs) for 17 muscles from the upper extremity and abdomen during overarm throwing and detected the onset and peak times as indices of muscle activity. The following electromyographic properties were commonly identified in the participants. First, sequential muscle activity was observed from the scapular protractors to the shoulder horizontal flexors and from the shoulder horizontal flexors to the elbow extensor, but not from the elbow extensor to the wrist flexor or forearm pronator. Secondly, the external oblique contralateral to the throwing arm became activated before the ipsilateral external oblique. This sequence is considered to be very effective for the generation of high force and energy in the trunk. Thirdly, the ipsilateral external oblique began its activity almost at foot strike. Finally, the main activity of the rectus abdominis appeared just before the point of release.  相似文献   

Higher education in Japan     

Hiroshi Kida 《Higher Education》1975,4(3):261-272

The present state of development of higher education is described and quantified. Notable characteristics of the system are (i) the predominance of private establishments, (ii) the variety of courses available, (iii) the wide social base from which students are drawn, (iv) the highly competitive nature of the entry procedures. The system faces many challenges including the linked problems of management and finance.  相似文献   

Can a rat count?     

Hiroshi Imada  Hiroyasu Shuku  Mitsuyo Moriya 《Learning & behavior》1983,11(4):396-400

A 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted in a licking-suppression situation to test if a rat could count the number of shocks given in a 5-min session under signaled and unsignaled shock conditions. Groups F received three .7-sec grid shocks per session throughout 80 sessions, whereas Groups V received, on any day, one, two, three, four, or five shocks, with a mean of three shocks. The rats’ counting ability was assessed in terms of the post-third-shock acceleration of licking. The results of this measure were compared between Groups F and Groups V on test days in which both groups received three shocks with the identical shock sequence. There was no evidence that rats could count under either signaled or unsignaled shock conditions. The basal rate of licking was less in groups run under the unsignaled shock condition than under the signaled shock condition. The effect of fixed/variable shock frequency upon basal rate of licking was not significant. The results are discussed with reference to the optimal shock density view of Davis and Memmott (1982).  相似文献   

Maternal Responsiveness to Infants in Three Societies: The United States, France, and Japan     

Marc H. Bornstein  Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda  Joseph Tal  Pamela Ludemann  Sueko Toda  Charles W. Rahn  Marie-Germaine Pêcheux  Hiroshi Azuma  Danya Vardi 《Child development》1992,63(4):808-821

This study examines and compares prominent characteristics of maternal responsiveness to infant activity during home-based naturalistic interactions of mother-infant dyads in New York City, Paris, and Tokyo. Both culture-general and culture-specific patterns of responsiveness emerged. For example, in all 3 locales infants behaved similarly, mothers also behaved similarly with respect to a hierarchy of response types, and mothers and infants manifest both specificity and mutual appropriateness in their interactions: Mothers responded to infants' exploration of the environment with encouragement to the environment, to infants' vocalizing nondistress with imitation, and to infants' vocalizing distress with nurturance. Differences in maternal responsiveness among cultures occurred to infant looking rather than to infant vocalizing and in mothers' emphasizing dyadic versus extradyadic loci of interaction. Universals of maternal responsiveness, potential sources of cultural variation, and implications of similarities and differences in responsiveness for child development in different cultural contexts are discussed.  相似文献