Novel approach for detecting classical swine fever virus from swabs of wild boar cut tails using nested real-time PCR.

We devised a method to detect the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) in tail-wiped swabs from wild boars. The CSFV gene in swabs was detected with high sensitivity using nested real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is a combination of reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and real-time PCR. We compared CSFV gene detection from boar tissue using the conventional and our tail-wiped swab method. The tail-wiped swab method showed sensitivity and specificity of 100% (26/26) and 98.8% (172/174), respectively compared to the conventional method. Thus, the swab-based CSFV detection method was considered to have detection sensitivity comparable to that of conventional methods. Additionally, we conducted surveillance for CSFV in wild boars on Awaji Island. CSFV was detected in 10.7% (45/420) of samples.

CSGAN: Modality-Aware Trajectory Generation via Clustering-based Sequence GAN.

Human mobility data is useful for various applications in urban planning, transportation, and public health, but collecting and sharing real-world trajectories can be challenging due to privacy and data quality issues. To address these problems, recent research focuses on generating synthetic trajectories, mainly using generative adversarial networks (GANs) trained by real-world trajectories. In this paper, we hypothesize that by explicitly capturing the modality of transportation (e.g., walking, biking, driving), we can generate not only more diverse and representative trajectories for different modalities but also more realistic trajectories that preserve the geographical density, trajectory, and transition level properties by capturing both cross-modality and modality-specific patterns. Towards this end, we propose a Clustering-based Sequence Generative Adversarial Network (CSGAN) that simultaneously clusters the trajectories based on their modalities and learns the essential properties of real-world trajectories to generate realistic and representative synthetic trajectories. To measure the effectiveness of generated trajectories, in addition to typical density and trajectory level statistics, we define several new metrics for a comprehensive evaluation, including modality distribution and transition probabilities both globally and within each modality. Our extensive experiments with real-world datasets show the superiority of our model in various metrics over state-of-the-art models.

Relationship Between Muscle Deoxygenation and Cardiac Output in Subjects Without Attenuation of Deoxygenation Hemoglobin Concentration Near the End of Ramp Cycling Exercise: A Longitudinal Study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between the slopes of systemic and quadriceps muscle O2 dynamics in subjects without attenuation point in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration at vastus lateralis (APdeoxy-Hb@VL) during high-intensity cycling. Seven young men without APdeoxy-Hb@VL performed ramp cycling exercise until exhaustion before and after 8 weeks, while continuing recreational physical activities throughout that period. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and deoxy-Hb were monitored at the vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) by near infrared spectroscopy oximetry during exercise. Cardiac output (CO) was also continuously assessed. During high-intensity exercise, at VL, a significantly steeper slope of deoxy-Hb was found after 8 weeks compared with before, while the slopes of deoxy-Hb at RF were not significantly changed. Though a decrease in the slope of CO after 8 weeks did not reach significance (p = 0.12), the change in the slope of CO was significantly related to the change in the slopes of deoxy-Hb at VL (rs = -0.89, p < 0.01) and RF (rs = -0.86, p < 0.05). Our data reinforces the idea that, in subjects without APdeoxy-Hb@VL, the slope of muscle deoxygenation at VL during high-intensity cycling exercise may partly be explained by systemic O2 supply, rather than O2 balance in other thigh muscles.

Systemic and Quadriceps Muscle O2 Dynamics in Subjects Without Attenuation Point of Deoxygenated Haemoglobin Concentration During Ramp Cycling Exercise.

The aim of this study was to compare systemic and quadriceps muscle O2 dynamics between aerobic capacity-matched subjects without (NAP; n = 5) and with (CON; n = 13) attenuation point in deoxygenated haemoglobin concentration (deoxy-Hb) at vastus lateralis (APdeoxy-Hb@VL) during ramp cycling exercise. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and deoxy-Hb were monitored at the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and vastus medialis (VM) by spatial resolved near infrared spectroscopy during exercise. Cardiac output (CO) and pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) were also continuously measured. During high-intensity exercise, in NAP, steeper slopes of both deoxy-Hb and SmO2 were found at VM, similar to VL muscle. Additionally, at RF, the slope of deoxy-Hb was steeper in NAP than CON. While the slope of pulmonary VO2 was similar between groups, the slope of CO was shallower in NAP than CON. During moderate intensity exercise, the slopes of all variables were similar between groups. These results suggest that the slope of muscle deoxygenation was enhanced not only in VL but also other thigh muscles in NAP, compared to CON. Because the slope of CO was associated with the slope of SmO2 and deoxy-Hb at VL during high-intensity exercise, the differences in subjects with and without APdeoxy-Hb@VL may be partly explained by systemic O2 supply, rather than O2 balance in the other quadriceps muscles.

Skeletal Muscle Deoxygenation and Its Relationship to Aerobic Capacity During Early and Late Stages of Aging.

The aim of this study was to compare muscle O2 dynamics during exercise among elderly (n = 10, age: 73 ± 3 years), middle-aged (n = 9, age: 50 ± 6 years), and young (n = 10, age: 25 ± 3 years) adults. The subjects performed ramp bicycle exercise until exhaustion. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and relative changes from rest in oxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (∆oxy-Hb/Mb), deoxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin (∆deoxy-Hb/Mb), and total hemoglobin concentration (∆total-Hb) were monitored continuously at the vastus lateralis muscle by near-infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy. At given absolute workloads, SmO2 and ∆oxy-Hb/Mb were significantly lower in elderly than the other groups, while ∆deoxy-Hb/Mb, ∆total-Hb, and pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) were similar among the three groups. In contrast, there were no significant differences in muscle O2 dynamics during submaximal exercise between middle-aged and young subjects. Muscle O2 dynamics may be relatively preserved in early stages of aging, although muscle deoxygenation is enhanced in late stages of aging, probably due to reduced convective O2 supply. Moreover, change in SmO2 was significantly positively correlated with peak VO2 in the elderly, while a significant negative relationship was observed in middle-aged and young subjects. In late stages of aging, diminished peak VO2 may be caused by attenuated convective O2 transport, while reduced peak VO2 can be explained by lowered muscle O2 extraction in early stages of aging.

Influence of delay stage positioning error on signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range, and bandwidth of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy.

Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) employs a mechanical stage to introduce the time delay between pump and probe optical pulses during the sampling process of the time-domain electric field of a terahertz pulse. The positioning error and limited resolution of a mechanical delay stage cause an inaccurate sampling of a terahertz pulse. In this study, we numerically and experimentally investigated the influence of delay stage positioning error on the major characteristics of THz-TDS, such as bandwidth and dynamic range of the system, along with the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the intensity spectra. We demonstrate that the positioning error in the delay stage not only reduces bandwidth and dynamic range of the measurement system but also decreases the SNR of the intensity spectra.

Differences in Muscle O2 Dynamics During Treadmill Exercise Between Aerobic Capacity-Matched Overweight and Normal-Weight Adults.

The aim of this study was to compare muscle O2 dynamics during exercise between aerobic capacity-matched overweight and normal-weight adults. Overweight women (OW, n = 9) and normal-weight women (NW, n = 14) performed graded treadmill exercise until exhaustion. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and relative changes from rest in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration (∆deoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin concentration (∆total-Hb) were monitored continuously at gastrocnemius medialis muscle by near infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy. Significantly higher SmO2 and lower ∆deoxy-Hb and ∆total-Hb were observed in OW compared with NW. Pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) normalized by fat-free mass was matched between groups. In both groups, peak VO2 was significantly correlated with change in SmO2 and ∆deoxy-Hb. Our findings suggest that both muscle blood volume and deoxygenation were lower in overweight adults, compared to aerobic capacity-matched normal-weight adults. Moreover, lowered muscle O2 extraction was related to peak VO2 in overweight adults, as well as in normal-weight adults.

Effects of Aerobic Cycling Training on O2 Dynamics in Several Leg Muscles in Early Post-myocardial Infarction.

The aim of this study was to test the effects of aerobic cycling training on O2 dynamics in several leg muscles in early post-myocardial infarction (post-MI). Fifteen post-MI patients were divided into a 12-week training group (TR, n = 9) or a control/non-training group (CON, n = 6). All participants performed ramp bicycle exercise until exhaustion at two times: within 12-35 days of their MI and then again 12 weeks later. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and total hemoglobin concentration (∆total-Hb) were monitored continuously at thigh and lower leg muscles by near infrared spectroscopy. In CON, there were no significant alterations in muscle O2 dynamics between before and after 12 weeks at any measurement sites. In TR, after 12 weeks, lower SmO2 was observed at all measurement sites. In total-Hb, no significant changes were found after training at any measurement sites in TR. Moreover, the muscle deoxygenation after 12 weeks was related to an improvement of peak O2 uptake in all muscles. Our findings suggest that aerobic cycling training may be useful for early post-MI patients to improve peak aerobic capacity via enhancement of muscle deoxygenation and O2 extraction at several leg muscles.

The Effect of Half-time Re-Warm up Duration on Intermittent Sprint Performance.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of different durations of half-time re-warm up (RW) on intermittent sprint performance. Using a randomized crossover design, 13 healthy men performed three trials, which consisted of two, 40-min intermittent exercises separated by a 15-min half-time. Half-time interventions were 15 min of seated rest (Control), 7 min of cycling at 70% of maximal heart rate (HRmax) (7 min RW), and 3 min of cycling at 70% of HRmax (3 min RW). The second 40-min intermittent exercise as an exercise performance test was the Cycling Intermittent-Sprint Protocol (CISP), which consisted of 10 s of rest, 5 s of maximal sprint, and 105 s of low-intensity exercise at 50% of VO2max, with the cycles repeated over the 40-min duration. The mean work during the maximal sprint in the initial 10 min of the CISP was higher in the both RW trials than in the control trial (control: 3638 ± 906 J, 7 min RW: 3808 ± 949 J, p < 0.05, 3 min RW: 3827 ± 960 J, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences among three trials for mean work at 10-20, 20-30, and 30-40 min of the CISP. In the initial 10 min of the CISP, the change in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration during the 105 s of exercise at 50% of VO2max, oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production, and respiratory exchange ratio were higher in both RW trials than in the control trial (p < 0.05). The rating of perceived exertion after half-time interventions was higher in both RW trials than in the control trial (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the 3 min RW increased intermittent sprint performance after the half-time, compared with a traditional passive half-time practice, and was as effective in improving intermittent sprint performance as the 7 min RW.

Multi-site Measurements of Muscle O2 Dynamics During Cycling Exercise in Early Post-myocardial Infarction.

The aim of this study was to compare the muscle oxygen dynamics between early post-myocardial infarction (n = 12; MI) and age-matched elderly subjects without MI (n = 12; CON) in several leg muscles during ramp cycling exercise. Muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2), deoxygenated-hemoglobin concentration (∆deoxy-Hb), and total-hemoglobin concentration (∆total-Hb) were monitored continuously at the distal site of vastus lateralis (VLd), proximal site of the vastus lateralis (VLp), rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), gastrocnemius medialis (GM), and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles by near infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy. At given absolute workloads, higher SmO2 was observed at VLd, VLp, RF, and VM in MI, compared to CON. Simultaneously, in MI, deoxy-Hb was lower at VLd, VLp, and VM than CON. In contrast to the thigh muscles, muscle oxygen dynamics were similar between groups in GM and TA. In total-Hb, no significant differences were found at any measurement sites. These results demonstrated that the absence of muscle deoxygenation was observed in MI muscles, especially in the thigh muscles, but not in the lower leg muscles.

Effects of 8 Weeks' Training on Systemic and Muscle Oxygen Dynamics in University Rugby Players.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of training on O2 dynamics in university rugby players. University rugby players (n = 15) participated in 5 strength training sessions and 4 field-based training sessions per week for 8 weeks. Before and after 8-weeks' training, the subjects performed ramp cycling exercise until exhaustion. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2), relative changes from rest in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration (∆Deoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin concentration, cardiac output (CO), and pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) were monitored continuously during exercise. Peak VO2 and CO were normalized by fat-free mass. Though peak VO2 tended to be increased after training, there were no significant changes in CO, nor any muscle O2 dynamic variables at peak exercise between before and after training. However, an increase in peak VO2 was significantly correlated with diminishment of deoxy-Hb and an increase in SmO2. Changes in CO caused by training were not related to improved peak VO2. The improvement of peak VO2 during 8 weeks of rugby training may have been caused by muscle O2 supply, rather than increased CO or muscle O2 extraction.

Low Volume Aerobic Training Heightens Muscle Deoxygenation in Early Post-Angina Pectoris Patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of low volume aerobic exercise training on muscle O2 dynamics during exercise in early post-angina pectoris (AP) patients, as a pilot study. Seven AP patients (age: 72 ± 6 years) participated in aerobic exercise training for 12 weeks. Training consisted of continuous cycling exercise for 30 min at the individual's estimated lactate threshold, and the subjects trained for 15 ± 5 exercise sessions over 12 weeks. Before and after training, the subjects performed ramp cycling exercise until exhaustion. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and relative changes from rest in deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration (∆Deoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin concentration (∆Total-Hb) were monitored at the vastus lateralis by near infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy during exercise. The SmO2 was significantly lower and ∆Deoxy-Hb was significantly higher after training than before training, while there were no significant changes in ∆Total-Hb. These results indicated that muscle deoxygenation and muscle O2 extraction were potentially heightened by aerobic exercise training in AP patients, even though the exercise training volume was low.

Muscle Deoxygenation and Its Heterogeneity Changes After Endurance Training.

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the time course of muscle deoxygenation and its heterogeneity changes through endurance training. Nine healthy untrained male participated in this study. The subjects performed a ramp incremental cycle exercise protocol to estimate VO2peak and muscle tissue oxygen saturation (SmO2) distribution in the VL muscle before and after 3 (3 wk-T) and 6 weeks of endurance training (6 wk-T). The probe of multi-channel near infrared spatially resolved spectroscopy was attached to the left vastus lateralis muscle along the direction of the long axis. The subjects performed cycle exercise at 60 % of VO2peak for 30 min/day, 3 days/week as the endurance training. After the training, VO2peak at 3 wk-T and 6 wk-T were significantly increased compared to pre-training (Pre-T) and VO2peak at 6 wk-T was significantly increased compared to 3 wk-T. Mean SmO2 within measurement sites at VO2peak was significantly decreased after 3 wk-T and 6 wk-T compared to Pre-T, but mean SmO2 was not significantly different between 3 wk-T and 6 wk-T. Conversely, the heterogeneity of the SmO2 during exercise was not significantly changed through endurance training. A significantly negative correlation was found between ΔVO2 and ΔSmO2 after the first 3 weeks of endurance training. In contrast, no correlation was found betweenΔVO2 and ΔSmO2 after the last 3 weeks of endurance training. These results suggest that the enhanced muscle O2 availability may be one of the primary factors in increasing VO2peak after the first 3 weeks of endurance training.

Muscle Oxygen Dynamics During Cycling Exercise in Angina Pectoris Patients.

Muscle O2 dynamics during ramp cycling exercise were compared between angina pectoris patients (AP; n = 7, age: 73 ± 6 years) after coronary artery bypass grafting and age-, height-, and body weight-matched elderly control subjects (CON; n = 7, age: 74 ± 8 years). Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and relative change in deoxygenated (∆deoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin concentration (∆total-Hb) were measured continuously during exercise in the vastus lateralis (VL) by near infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy. Pulmonary O2 uptake (VO2) was also monitored throughout exercise to determine peak VO2. In AP, SmO2 was significantly higher, and ∆deoxy-Hb was significantly lower during exercise, compared to CON. In all subjects, ∆SmO2 (values at peak exercise minus values at resting) was negatively correlated to peak VO2 (r = -0.52, p < 0.05), and ∆deoxy-Hb at peak exercise tended to be negatively associated with peak VO2 (r = 0.48, p = 0.07). Blunted skeletal muscle deoxygenation response was observed in AP patients, which may be related to lower aerobic capacity in AP patients.

Sex-Related Difference in Muscle Deoxygenation Responses Between Aerobic Capacity-Matched Elderly Men and Women.

Muscle O2 dynamics during ramp cycling exercise were compared between aerobic capacity-matched elderly men (n=8, age 65±2 years) and women (n=8, age 66±3 years). Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) and relative change in deoxygenated (Δdeoxy-Hb) and total hemoglobin concentration (Δtotal-Hb) were monitored continuously during exercise in the vastus lateralis (VL) and gastrocnemius medialis (GM) by near infrared spatial resolved spectroscopy. SmO2 was significantly higher during exercise in women than in men in VL, but not in GM. In VL, Δdeoxy-Hb and Δtotal-Hb were significantly higher in men than in women, especially during high intensity exercise. However, no significant difference was observed in Δdeoxy-Hb or Δtotal-Hb in GM. Sex-related differences in muscle deoxygenation response may be heterogeneous among leg muscles in elderly subjects.

Effects of Low Volume Aerobic Training on Muscle Desaturation During Exercise in Elderly Subjects.

Aging enhances muscle desaturation responses due to reduced O2 supply. Even though aerobic training enhances muscle desaturation responses in young subjects, it is unclear whether the same is true in elderly subjects. Ten elderly women (age: 62±4 years) participated in 12-weeks of cycling exercise training. Training consisted of 30 min cycling exercise at the lactate threshold. The subjects exercised 15±6 sessions during training. Before and after endurance training, the subjects performed ramp cycling exercise. Muscle O2 saturation (SmO2) was measured at the vastus lateralis by near infrared spectroscopy during the exercise. There were no significant differences in SmO2 between before and after training. Nevertheless, changes in peak pulmonary O2 uptake were significantly negatively related to changes in SmO2 (r=-0.67, p<0.05) after training. Muscle desaturation was not enhanced by low volume aerobic training in this study, possibly because the training volume was too low. However, our findings suggest that aerobic training may potentially enhance muscle desaturation at peak exercise in elderly subjects.

Aerobic training enhances muscle deoxygenation in early post-myocardial infarction.

PURPOSE: Exercise-induced skeletal muscle deoxygenation is startling by its absence in early post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Exercise training early post-MI is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk and increased aerobic capacity. We therefore investigated whether aerobic training could enhance the muscle deoxygenation in early post-MI patients. METHODS: 21 ± 8 days after the first MI patients (n = 16) were divided into 12-week aerobic training (TR, n = 10) or non-training (CON, n = 6) groups. Before and after intervention, patients performed ramp bicycle exercise until exhaustion. Muscle deoxygenation was measured at vastus lateralis by near-infrared spectroscopy during exercise. RESULTS: Aerobic training significantly increased peak oxygen uptake (VO2) (18.1 ± 3.0 vs. 22.9 ± 2.8 mL/kg/min), decreased the change in muscle oxygen saturation from rest to submaximal and peak exercise (∆SmO2; 2.4 ± 5.7 vs. -7.0 ± 3.4 %), and increased the relative change in deoxygenated hemoglobin/myoglobin concentration from rest to submaximal (-1.5 ± 2.3 vs. 3.0 ± 3.6 µmol/L) and peak exercise (1.1 ± 4.5 vs. 8.2 ± 3.5 µmol/L). Change in total hemoglobin/myoglobin concentration in muscle was not significantly affected by training. In CON, no significant alterations were found after 12 weeks in either muscle deoxygenation or peak VO2 (18.6 ± 3.8 vs. 18.9 ± 4.6 mL/kg/min). An increase in peak VO2 was significantly negatively correlated with change in ∆SmO2 (r = -0.65) and positively associated with change in ∆deoxy-Hb/Mb at peak exercise (r = 0.64) in TR. CONCLUSIONS: In early post-MI patients, aerobic training enhanced skeletal muscle deoxygenation, and the enhancement was related to increased aerobic capacity.

Time-scale dependency of host plant biomass- and trait-mediated indirect effects of deer herbivory on a swallowtail butterfly.

Despite recent attempts to quantify the relative strength of density- and trait-mediated indirect effects, rarely has the issue been properly addressed at the population level. Most research is based on short-term small-scale experiments in which behavioural and/or physiological responses prevail. Here, we estimated the time-scales during which density- and trait-mediated effects manifest, as well as the strength of these effects, using an interaction chain with three organisms (deer-plant-butterfly). A hierarchical Bayesian model was performed by using a long-term data set of deer density in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan (where local densities differ spatially and temporally) as well as densities of the swallowtail butterfly Byasa alcinous and its host plant Aristolochia kaempferi. The time-scale effect of deer on plant quantity and quality was estimated according to the degree of carry-over effects. The negative influence on leaf density showed a temporal saturation pattern over the long term, while the positive influence on leaf quality due to resprouting of leaves after deer browsing showed no clear temporal trend. The net indirect effect changed from positive to negative with time, with the negative density-mediated effect becoming prominent in the long term. Our novel approach is widely applicable in assessing the dynamic impacts of wildlife if the spatio-temporal variability of expansion and/or invasion history is known.

Comparison of generalist predators in winter-flooded and conventionally managed rice paddies and identification of their limiting factors.

Winter-flooding of rice paddies without the application of agricultural chemicals is attracting attention as a new agricultural method for enhancing the habitat conditions of wintering waterfowl in rice paddy ecosystems throughout Japan and east Asia. Conditions in these paddies are expected to result in restoration of not only the winter habitats of waterfowl but also those of other taxonomic groups during the rice growing season. In this study, we tested whether the diversity of summer spiders--ubiquitous predators in rice paddies--was higher in the winter-flooded paddies than in the conventional ones by conducting field measurements in 31 winter-flooded and 7 conventional paddies. Limiting factors of spiders in the winter-flooded paddies were then examined. Results revealed that both the density and species richness of spiders were significantly higher in the winter-flooded paddies than in the conventional ones both before and after the insecticide application against pecky rice bug Stenotus rubrovittatus (Matsumura)(Hemiptera: Miridae) to conventional paddies. In addition, spider density and species richness in the winter-flooded paddies correlated with the availability of two prey groups--chironomids and other nematocera. These findings suggest that in the winter-flooded paddies the diversity of generalist predators is higher than in the conventional ones during the rice-growing season and that the combination of management at both the landscape and field level is likely more effective for increasing spider abundance in winter-flooded paddies.