Active swimming and transphort by currents observed in Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica) acoustically tracked in the western North Pacific.

The mechanisms of oceanic animal migration remain enigmatic. Adult Japanese eels start their long-distance oceanic migration from coastal areas to breed near the West Mariana Ridge. We tracked acoustically tagged eels released in the Kuroshio Current (KC) area near Japan (five silver-phase eels, three of which had impaired swim bladders) and a tropical/subtropical (TS) area near/in the spawning area (two yellow-phase and three silver-phase eels). We analyzed their active swimming and transport by water currents. The strong flow of the KC dominated the eels' movements in the north, and TS area; their swimming influenced their movements. In the KC area, greater distances were covered at night than during the day, because eels swam in shallower layers with strong currents at night. Three and one eel in the TS and KC area in the upper 400 m showed counterclockwise and clockwise movements around the time of solar culmination, respectively. The meta-analysis showed that eels released at middle latitudes (20°-34° N) generally swam southward through currents, whereas those released at low latitudes (12°-13° N) generally swam northward through currents. Our study suggests the influence of the surrounding current and a potential effect of solar cues on the movements of Japanese eels.

Distribution of wild and stocked Japanese eels in the lower reaches of the Tone River catchment revealed by otolith stable-isotope ratios.

The natural occurrence of Japanese eels Anguilla japonica in Japan's highly altered catchments is a critical measure of habitat restoration and ecosystem health, yet this metric may be obscured by the incidence of co-occurring cultured eels. Distribution of wild and stocked A. japonica in the lower reaches of the Tone River cachment was investigated using otolith oxygen and carbon stable-isotope ratios (δ18 O and δ13 C). We developed a discrimination model to classify wild and cultured eels for 560 individuals and applied it to eels captured in the lower reaches of the Tone River catchment. Wild eels were found at all study sites of this part of the catchment, indicating natural recruitment of the species occurred from the estuary to third-order streams at least as far as Lake Imbanuma. The proportion of wild eels ranged from 86 to 100% at river and stream sites and was only 23% at upstream Lake Imbanuma sites. This difference probably depends on whether or not eels were released near the corresponding site. More than 50% of stocked eels occurred at sites proximate to release locations, indicating limited dispersal by cultured eels.

Expression of uterine lipocalin 2 and its receptor during early- to mid-pregnancy period in mares.

From previous cDNA subtraction studies analyzing gene expression in equine endometrium, high lipocalin 2 (LCN2) mRNA expression was found in the gravid endometrium. In the uterus, LCN2 may transport hydrophobic molecules and siderophores with iron, or may form a complex with another protein, however, the expression of uterine LCN2 beyond day 20 of equine pregnancy and its receptor has not been characterized. To study the expression and potential roles of uterine LCN2 from pre-implantation to mid-gestation period, stage-specific endometrial samples were obtained from day 13 (day 0 = ovulation) cyclic and days 13, 19, 25, and 60 to 131 pregnant mares. Expression of LCN2 mRNA increased in day 19 gravid endometrium and was abundant from day 60 onward. The expression of LCN2 mRNA was localized to the glandular epithelium. LCN2 protein was detected in day 25 gravid endometrium and luminal fluid, and the protein was localized to the glandular epithelium and luminal cavity, whereas LCN2 receptor expression was found in luminal and glandular epithelium and trophectoderm throughout the experimental period. The presence of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) was also examined because MMP9 is known to form a complex with LCN2. Although MMP9 and LCN2 were both found in luminal fluid from day 25 pregnant uterus, the complex of these proteins was not detected. Localization of the receptor in the trophectoderm suggests that endometrial LCN2 could play a role in carrying small substances from the mother to fetus in the equine species.

Light-sensitive vertical migration of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica revealed by real-time tracking and its utilization for geolocation.

Short-time tracking (one to eight days) of the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) using ultrasonic transmitter was performed in the tropical-subtropical area adjacent to the spawning area and temperate area off the Japanese Archipelago. Of 16 eels (11 wild and five farmed) used, 10 wild eels displayed clear diel vertical migration (DVM) from the beginning, while the other five farmed eels tracked for 19 to 66 hours did not. During daytime, a significantly positive correlation between migration depth and light intensity recorded on the vessel was observed in the 10 wild eels, indicating that the eels were sensitive to sunlight even at the middle to lower mesopelagic zone (500 to 800 m). During nighttime, the eel migration depth was observed to be associated with the phase, rising and setting of the moon, indicating that the eels were sensitive to moonlight at the upper mesopelagic zone (<300 m). Two of 10 wild eels were in the yellow stage but shared similar DVM with the silver stage eels. Swimbladders of three silver stage eels were punctured before releasing, but very little effect on DVM was observed. The eels very punctually initiated descent upon nautical dawn and ascent upon sunset, enabling us to determine local times for sunrise and sunset, and hence this behavior may be used for geolocating eels. In fact, estimated positions of eels based on the depth trajectory data were comparable or even better than those obtained by light-based archival tag in other fish species.

Proposal for a new noncontact method for measuring tongue moisture to assist in tongue diagnosis and development of the tongue image analyzing system, which can separately record the gloss components of the tongue.

Tongue diagnosis is a noninvasive diagnosis and is traditionally one of the most important tools for physicians who practice Kampo (traditional Japanese) medicine. However, it is a subjective process, and its results can depend on the experience of the physician performing it. Previous studies have reported how to measure and evaluate the shape and color of the tongue objectively. Therefore, this study focused on the glossy component in order to quantify tongue moisture in tongue diagnosis. We hypothesized that moisture appears as a gloss in captured images and measured the amount of water on the tongue surface in 13 subjects. The results showed a high correlation between the degree of gloss and the amount of water on the tongue surface and suggested that the moisture on the tongue can be estimated by the degree of gloss in a captured image. Because the moisture level on the tongue changes during the course of taking photos, it became clear that we had to wait at least 3 minutes between photos. Based on these results, we established the tongue image analyzing system (TIAS), which can consistently record the gloss and color of the tongue surface simultaneously.

Vascular injury following microendoscopic lumbar discectomy treated with stent graft placement.

The risk of great vessel injury is low in microendoscopic lumbar discectomy applied in a favorable visual field. However, it is important to be aware of the depth of the pituitary rongeur. In this article, the authors report the case of a 55-year-old woman with lumbar disc herniation who underwent microendoscopic discectomy and subsequently presented with an aneurysm and arteriovenous fistula located at the bifurcation of the right common iliac artery. The patient was treated with endoscopic placement of a stent graft and recovered uneventfully.

Expression of endometrial immune-related genes possibly functioning during early pregnancy in the mare.

Despite enormous efforts, biochemical and molecular mechanisms associated with equine reproduction, particularly processes of pregnancy establishment, have not been well characterized. Previously, PCR-selected suppression subtraction hybridization analysis was executed to identify unique molecules functioning in the equine endometrium during periods of pregnancy establishment, and granzyme B (GZMB) cDNA was found in the pregnant endometrial cDNA library. Because GZMB is produced from natural killer (NK) cells, endometrial expression of GZMB and immune-related transcripts were characterized in this study. The level of GZMB mRNA is higher in the pregnant endometrium than in non-pregnant ones. This expression was also confirmed through Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses. IL-2 mRNA declined as pregnancy progressed, while IL-15, IFNG and TGFB1 transcripts increased on day 19 and/or 25. Analyses of IL-4 and IL-12 mRNAs demonstrated the increase in these transcripts as pregnancy progressed. Increase in CCR5 and CCR4 mRNAs indicated that both Th1 and Th2 cells coexisted in the day 25 pregnant endometrium. Taken together, the endometrial expression of immune-related transcripts suggests that immunological responses are present even before the trophectoderm actually attaches to the uterine epithelial cells.

Temporal changes in tongue color as criterion for tongue diagnosis in Kampo medicine.

BACKGROUND: In Kampo medicine (Japanese traditional herbal medicine), the appearance of the tongue contains a lot of useful information for diagnosis. However, an inspection of the tongue is not considered to be important in modern medical diagnosis, since the skills applied in the examination are difficult to understand. Thus, we developed an imaging system and algorithm for quantitative analysis of the tongue to provide the traditional techniques of Kampo with greater objectivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tongue images were taken from 9 healthy subjects for 3 consecutive weeks (5 days/week), 12 times a day, with 300 images taken successively within 30 s each time. Then, the temporal color changes in 30 s, 1 day, and 3 weeks were measured in the device-independent International Commission on Illumination (CIE) 1976 L*a*b* color space. RESULTS: The tongue color change in 30 s varied between individuals, and it was mainly classified into 3 patterns. This image acquisition system and valid color management should help all tongue-related research, and the 30-s temporal color change might be an important target for further tongue analysis. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to acquire tongue images without specular reflection and with valid color reproduction, and the color change in 30 s was found to vary. Tongue color changes have not been mentioned in the classics of Kampo medicine, since they were certainly impossible to discriminate by the naked eye. The change during 30 s is a new finding based on the electronic devices, and together they are expected to become a new criterion for tongue analysis.

Genetic isolation between the Western and Eastern Pacific populations of pronghorn spiny lobster Panulirus penicillatus.

The pronghorn spiny lobster, Panulirus penicillatus, is a circumtropical species which has the widest global distribution among all the species of spiny lobster, ranging throughout the entire Indo-Pacific region. Partial nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial DNA COI (1,142-1,207 bp) and 16S rDNA (535-546 bp) regions were determined for adult and phyllosoma larval samples collected from the Eastern Pacific (EP)(Galápagos Islands and its adjacent water), Central Pacific (CP)(Hawaii and Tuamotu) and the Western Pacific (WP)(Japan, Indonesia, Fiji, New Caledonia and Australia). Phylogenetic analyses revealed two distinct large clades corresponding to the geographic origin of samples (EP and CP+WP). No haplotype was shared between the two regional samples, and average nucleotide sequence divergence (Kimura's two parameter distance) between EP and CP+WP samples was 3.8±0.5% for COI and 1.0±0.4% for 16S rDNA, both of which were much larger than those within samples. The present results indicate that the Pacific population of the pronghorn spiny lobster is subdivided into two distinct populations (Eastern Pacific and Central to Western Pacific), with no gene flow between them. Although the pronghorn spiny lobster have long-lived teleplanic larvae, the vast expanse of Pacific Ocean with no islands and no shallow substrate which is known as the East Pacific Barrier appears to have isolated these two populations for a long time (c.a. 1MY).

Principal component vector rotation of the tongue color spectrum to predict "Mibyou" (disease-oriented state).

PURPOSE: Kampo medicine (Japanese traditional herbal medicine) contains concepts useful for preventive medicine. For example, "Mibyou" (disease-oriented state) aims to prevent illness by early recognition. Kampo diagnosis is based on subjective examinations, such as tongue inspection, by trained specialist physicians. An objective metric of the tongue color spectrum was developed as a surrogate for subjective visual inspection. METHODS: Tongue images were acquired with a hyperspectral imaging system, and the uncoated tongue region was segmented automatically. The spectral information of the uncoated tongue area was analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA). The component vector most representative of each clinical symptom was found by rotating the vector on a plane spanned by two arbitrary principal component vectors. RESULTS: The system was tested in human volunteers. Forty-four hyperspectral images were acquired from 30 healthy male subjects for initial testing. The Oketsu (blood stagnation) score was determined by an experienced clinician in Kampo medicine from 27 of 30 subjects. The correlation between respective principal components and Oketsu score was 0.67 at maximum, and increased to 0.73 by linear combination, while it was -0.75 by vector rotation. Significant correlations for many disorders were demonstrated, and vector rotation showed better correlation than linear combination. CONCLUSIONS: A PCA-based algorithm was developed to objectively evaluate patients using color images of the tongue surface. Testing showed that this method was a feasible surrogate for expert visual tongue analysis. This tool should help non-trained people identify "Mibyou" health status for individuals. The algorithm is free of empirical criteria, and it may be it applicable to many hyperspectral image types.

Regional image analysis of the tongue color spectrum.

PURPOSE: Kampo medicine (Japanese traditional herbal medicine) can identify "Mibyou" (disease-oriented state) based on visual tongue inspection by a trained physician. Surface colors of uncoated tongue provide essential features. A hyperspectral imaging system which performs regional image analysis of the tongue color spectrum was developed to automatically inspect the uncoated tongue. METHODS: Hyperspectral tongue surface images were acquired by a camera equipped with an integrating sphere. The color spectrum from 4 tongue areas--uncoated tongue, coated tongue, lip, and perioral areas--were quantified. The average spectrum of each area was determined and 4 images calculated by focusing on the differences between respective spectra; highlight, shadow, tongue coat, and lip-weighted images were calculated. The uncoated tongue area was extracted by subtraction. RESULTS: Reproducibility was evaluated by applying the camera and extraction algorithm to 44 images from human subjects. Eighty-two percentage were judged as acceptable by a Kampo medicine physician expert. CONCLUSIONS: Using a hyperspectral camera and extraction algorithm, the tongue color of the uncoated part was automatically extracted. This technique is suitable for tongue color analysis and may help non-trained users to identify "Mibyou".

Production of calcium maintenance factor Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) by the equine endometrium during the early pregnant period.

A factor responsible for progression to pregnancy establishment in the mare has not been definitively characterized. To identify factors possibly involved in the establishment of equine pregnancy, the endometrium was collected from day 13 (day 0=day of ovulation) cyclic and day 13, 19 and 25 pregnant animals. From initial subtractive hybridization studies, a calcium regulating factor, Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) mRNA, was found as a candidate molecule expressed uniquely in the pregnant endometrium. Endometrial expression of STC1 mRNA was noted on day 19 and was markedly increased in the day 25 gravid endometrium. STC1 protein was found in the extracts of day 25 gravid endometrium and immunochemically localized in the uterine glands. In addition, STC1 protein was detected in uterine flushing media collected from day 25 pregnant mares. High concentrations of estradiol-17 ß (E(2)) were detected in day 25 conceptuses. E(2) levels were much higher in the gravid endometrium than in other regions, whereas progesterone levels did not differ among the samples from different endometrial regions. Expression of STC1 mRNA, however, was not significantly upregulated in cultured endometrial explants treated with various concentrations of E(2) (0.01-100 ng/ml) with or without 10 ng/ml progesterone. These results indicate that an increase in STC1 expression appears to coincide with capsule disappearance in the conceptus, and suggest that STC1 from the uterine glands likely plays a role in conceptus development during the pregnancy establishment period in the mare.

Early detection of disease-oriented state from hyperspectral tongue images with principal component analysis and vector rotation.

In this article, we propose an effective colorprocessing algorithm to analyze the hyperspectral image of the tongue and its application to preventive medicine by the concept of Japanese traditional herbal medicine (Kampo medicine). Kampo medicine contains a number of concepts useful for preventive medicine such as "Mibyou" - disease-oriented state - signs of abnormalities. Hyperspectral images of the tongue were taken with the system with an integrating sphere, and tongue area without coating was eliminated automatically. Then, spectral information of the tongue area without coating was analyzed by principal component analysis, and the component vector best representing the clinical symptom was found by rotating the vector on a plane spanned by two arbitrary principal component vectors.

Objective evaluation of visibility in virtual chromoendoscopy for esophageal squamous carcinoma using a color difference formula.

Computed virtual chromoendoscopy with flexible spectral imaging color enhancement (FICE) is a new dyeless imaging technique that enhances mucosal and vascular patterns. However, a method for selecting a suitable wavelength for a particular condition has not been established. The aim of this study is to evaluate the color difference method for quality assessment of FICE images of the intrapapillary capillary loop in magnifying endoscopy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The color difference between 60 microvessels and background mucosa observed using the magnifying endoscope was 8.31±2.84 SD under white light and 12.26±3.14 (p=0.0031), 11.70±4.49 (p=0.0106), and 17.49±5.40 (p<0.0001) in FICE modes A, B, and C, respectively. The visibility scores for microvessels observed by medical students were 6.00±1.12 points under white light and 11.1±2.25 (p<0.0001), 8.65±2.06 (p=0.0001), and 12.55±2.56 (p<0.0001) in FICE modes A, B, and C, respectively. Furthermore, the measurement of color difference was correlated with the visibility score assigned by medical students (Pearson's correlation coefficient=0.583, p<0.0001) In conclusion, the color difference method corresponds to human vision and is an appropriate method for evaluation of endoscopic images.

Objective assessments of medial osteoarthritic knee severity by MRI: new computer software to evaluate femoral condyle contours.

An irregular contour of the medial femoral condyle (MFC) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears to indicate the severity of medial-type knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to establish a system to enable objective assessments of OA knee severity using newly developed software that semi-automatically measures irregularity of the MFC. (1) We evaluated 48 patients aged 50-83 years with 55 knees of medial-type OA. The following scores were recorded: Lysholm score, visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Japanese Knee Osteoarthritis Measure (JKOM). MFC irregularity was automatically calculated by newly programmed computer software. Four parameters for condyle irregularity were calculated: (a) the average thickness of the contour (ATC), (b) the ratio of the upper surface length to the lower surface length of the contour (RUL), (c) average squared thickness of the contour (ASTC) and (d) standard deviation of the contour thickness (SDC). (2) Nine knees that underwent total knee arthroplasty were further analysed histopathologically and compared with irregularity score. Statistically, the RUL and SDC were significantly correlated with the Lysholm score, VAS and JKOM, with good reliability. Histological examinations showed that an irregular contour reflected the density of cystic lesions formed in subchondral bone. An irregularity of MFC on MRI is correlated with OA disease severity clinically and histopathologically. The new computer software is useful to objectively assess OA disease severity.

Image-based control of skin translucency.

We propose a method for skin translucency control of facial images. This is one of the important tasks in the reproduction of posters, TV commercials, movies, and so on. As the first step of processing, we extract the component maps of melanin, hemoglobin, and shading from skin color images by using our conventional method. The extracted shading component is controlled to change the translucency of the skin by simple kernel operations for the component. The efficiency for the change of translucency is confirmed by using the images of numerical and optical skin phantoms. The method is also applied into the real skin color image with the consideration of each component, and realistic change of skin translucency was observed from the resultant images synthesized by the proposed method.

Spring-bead animation of viscoelastic materials.

An interactive animation method for viscoelastic materials builds on Rouse's spring-bead model. Particles are connected one-dimensionally by spring forces to represent single polymer chains. The method approximates the collision's force between particles through the particle density's gradient. This model lets the viscoelasticity be changed dynamically by severing the interconnection of polymer chains.

Image-based control of skin melanin texture.

We introduce a useful tool for controlling the skin melanin texture of facial photographs. Controlling the skin melanin texture is an important task in the reproduction of posters, TV commercials, movies, and so on. We used component maps of melanin, which were obtained by a previous method [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 16, 2169 (1999)] as the first processing step. We propose to control the melanin texture continuously and physiologically, based on the analysis of 123 skin textures in our database. The physiological validity for the change of the melanin texture is confirmed by comparing the synthesized image with an ultraviolet image, which can be used to predict the change of melanin texture due to aging. The control processes are implemented on programmable graphics hardware, and real-time processing is achieved for a facial videostream.

Calculation of ocular single-pass modulation transfer function and retinal image simulation from measurements of the polarized double-pass ocular point spread function.

The single-pass modulation transfer function (MTF(sgl)) is an important numerical parameter that can help elucidate the performance and some processes of the human visual system. In previous studies, the MTF(sgl) was calculated from double-pass point spread function (PSF) measurements. These measurements include a depolarized reflection component from the retina that introduces a measurement artifact, and they require long acquisition times to allow averaging to reduce speckle. To solve these problems, we developed a new ocular PSF analysis system (PSFAS) that uses polarization optics to eliminate the depolarized retinal reflection component, and a rotating prism to increase measurement speed. Validation experiments on one patient showed that the MTF(sgl) measured by PSFAS agrees closely with the MTF calculated from contrast sensitivity measurements. A simulated retinal image was calculated by convolution of Landolt rings with the calculated single-pass PSF provided by the PSFAS. The contrast characteristic then was calculated from the simulated retinal images. These results indicate that the MTF(sgl) obtained using the PSFAS may be a reliable measure of visual performance of the optics of the eye, including the optical effects of the retina. The simulated retinal images and contrast characteristics are useful for evaluating visual performance.