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Aim: The aim of this study was to reveal the epigenome landscape of human normal hepatocytes. Materials & methods: Cells purified from partial hepatectomy specimens of Japanese patients were subjected to whole-genome bisulfite sequencing using postbisulfite adaptor tagging, chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, RNA sequencing and whole-genome sequencing. Results: CHG and CHH methylations were inversely associated with gene expression. Histone modification profiles of personal differentially methylated regions (pDMRs) differed considerably among samples. pDMRs were observed around the transcription start sites of genes whose expression is reportedly regulated by CpG methylation. pDMRs were frequently observed in the vicinity of single-nucleotide variations and insertions/deletions. Conclusion: Genetic variations may induce epigenetic variations, generating individual differences in the phenotypes of normal hepatocytes through variations in expression.

This paper presents a new method for rapid assessment of the extent of annual croplands in Brazil. The proposed method applies a linear spectral mixing model (LSMM) to PROBA-V time series images to derive vegetation, soil, and shade fraction images for regional analysis. We used S10-TOC (10 days synthesis, 1 km spatial resolution, and top-of-canopy) products for Brazil and S5-TOC (five days synthesis, 100 m spatial resolution, and top-of-canopy) products for Mato Grosso State (Brazilian Legal Amazon). Using the time series of the vegetation fraction images of the whole year (2015 in this case), only one mosaic composed with maximum values of vegetation fraction was generated, allowing detecting and mapping semi-automatically the areas occupied by annual crops during the year. The results (100 m spatial resolution map) for the Mato Grosso State were compared with existing global datasets (Finer Resolution Observation and Monitoring?Global Land Cover (FROM-GLC) and Global Food Security?Support Analyses Data (GFSAD30)). Visually those maps present a good agreement, but the area estimated are not comparable since the agricultural class definition are different for those maps. In addition, we found 11.8 million ha of agricultural areas in the entire Brazilian territory. The area estimation for the Mato Grosso State was 3.4 million ha for 1 km dataset and 5.3 million ha for 100 m dataset. This difference is due to the spatial resolution of the PROBA-V datasets used. A coefficient of determination of 0.82 was found between PROBA-V 100 m and Landsat-8 OLI area estimations for the Mato Grosso State. Therefore, the proposed method is suitable for detecting and mapping annual croplands distribution operationally using PROBA-V datasets for regional analysis. Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-15T09:04:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 SANO-VEGETATION-FRACTION-IMAGES-DERIVED.pdf: 19445751 bytes, checksum: bfb77e6986a01be978681caf548120cb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020

The data, information and knowledge on the tropical forest area and its dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon remain contentious. We use time-series satellite images to quantify annual forest area, loss and gain in the Brazilian Amazon during 2000–2017. We find that forest area was ~15% higher than the estimate by the official Brazilian forest dataset (PRODES), but annual forest-loss rates were twice the PRODES estimates (~0.027 × 106 km2 yr–1 during 2001–2016). Forest-loss rates increased again after 2013. The El Niño and drought year (2015/2016) drove large forest area loss. The cumulative forest-loss area within the protected areas (which include ~50% of forests in the region) was ~11% of the total forest-loss area, which highlights the roles of protected areas in forest conservation.

Sechang Oh,1,4 Tsuyoshi Maruyama,2 Kiyoshi Eguchi,2 Takashi Shida,1 Emi Arai,1 Tomonori Isobe,1 Yoshikazu Okamoto,3 Junichi Shoda1 1Division of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; 2Division of Rehabilitation, 3Division of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Tsukuba Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan; 4Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan Background: Exercise training is an effective therapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Hybrid training (HYB) of voluntary and electrical muscle contractions was developed to prevent disuse atrophy during space flight. HYB can be applied to obtain a strength training effect accompanying articular movement. In this pilot study, we aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of HYB in NAFLD.Methods: A total of 15 middle-aged obese women with NAFLD who had no improvement in serum alanine aminotransferase levels and/or liver fat deposition after 12 weeks of lifestyle counseling participated in an HYB program. HYB of the quadriceps and hamstrings was conducted for 20 minutes twice a week for 24 weeks.Results: NAFLD patients showed attenuated intramyocellular lipid levels in the quadriceps after the HYB intervention (-15.5%). Levels of leptin (-17.4%), tumor necrosis factor-α (-23.2%), and interleukin-6 (-30.5%) were also decreased after the intervention. HYB led to a significant body weight reduction (-4.7%), which in turn was associated with a significant decrease in serum alanine aminotransferase (-35.8%), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (-21.6%), ferritin (-16.0%), oxidative stress (-17.8%) levels, and insulin resistance values (-2.7%).Conclusion: In NAFLD, HYB exerts an antiobesity effect and attenuates liver dysfunction and insulin resistance in association with an increase in muscle strength and a decrease in ectopic muscle fat. Therefore, HYB has great potential as a new type of exercise therapy for liver disease in patients with NAFLD. Keywords: exercise, muscle, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity, oxidative stress, ectopic fat

Sechang Oh,1 Takashi Shida,1 Akemi Sawai,1 Tsuyoshi Maruyama,2 Kiyoshi Eguchi,2 Tomonori Isobe,1 Yoshikazu Okamoto,3 Noriko Someya,4 Kiyoji Tanaka,4 Emi Arai,1 Akiko Tozawa,5 Junichi Shoda1 1Department of Medical Sciences, Facultyof Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 2Department of Rehabilitation, Tsukuba University Hospital, 3Department of Diagnostic Radiology, 4Department of Sports Medicine, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 5Protea Japan Co Ltd, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan Background: While aerobic training is generally recommended as therapeutic exercise in guidelines, the effectiveness of resistance training has recently been reported in the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Acceleration training (AT) is a new training method that provides a physical stimulation effect on skeletal muscles by increasing gravitational acceleration with vibration. AT has recently been indicated as a component of medicine. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of AT in the management of NAFLD in obese subjects.Methods: A total of 18 obese patients with NAFLD who had no improvement in liver function test abnormalities and/or steatosis grade after 12 weeks of lifestyle counseling were enrolled in an AT program. These patients attended a 20-minute session of AT twice a week for 12consecutive weeks.Results: During the AT program, the NAFLD patients showed a modest increase in the strength (+12.6%) and cross-sectional area (+3.1%) of the quadriceps, coupled with a significant reduction in intramyocellular lipids (−26.4%). Notably, they showed a modest reduction in body weight (−1.9%), abdominal visceral fat area (−3.4%), and hepatic fat content (−8.7%), coupled with a significant reduction in levels of aminotransferase (−15.7%), γ-glutamyltransferase (−14.4%), leptin (−9.7%), interleukin-6 (−26.8%), and tumor necrosis factor-α (−17.9%), and a significant increase of adiponectin (+8.7%). On a health-related quality of life survey, the patients showed an improvement in physical functioning (+17.3%), physical role (+9.7%), general health (+22.1), and social functioning (+6.0%).Conclusion: AT reduced hepatic and intramyocellular fat contents and ameliorated liver function test abnormalities in obese patients with NAFLD, which was coupled with improved physical function and body adiposity. AT is clinically beneficial for the management of NAFLD. Keywords: whole-body vibration, obesity, liver steatosis, adipokine, quality of life

Carry out an updated meta-analysis to comprehensively search and review evidence available heretofore and derive reliable assessment of the diagnostic performances of computed tomography angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR) using fractional flow reserve (FFR) as the reference

In less than 15 years, the Amazon region experienced three major droughts. Links between droughts and fires have been demonstrated for the 1997/1998, 2005, and 2010 droughts. In 2010, emissions of 510 ± 120 Tg C were associated to fire alone in Amazonia. Existing approaches have, however, not yet disentangled the proportional contribution of multiple land cover sources to this total. We develop a novel integration of multisensor and multitemporal satellite-derived data on land cover, active fires, and burned area and an empirical model of fire-induced biomass loss to quantify the extent of burned areas and resulting biomass loss for multiple land covers in Mato Grosso (MT) state, southern Amazonia—the 2010 drought most impacted region. We show that 10.77% (96,855 km2) of MT burned. We estimated a gross carbon emission of 56.21 ± 22.5 Tg C from direct combustion of biomass, with an additional 29.4 ± 10 Tg C committed to be emitted in the following years due to dead wood decay. It is estimated that old-growth forest fires in the whole Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA) have contributed to 14.81 Tg of C (11.75 Tg C to 17.87 Tg C) emissions to the atmosphere during the 2010 fire season, with an affected area of 27,555 km2. Total C loss from the 2010 fires in MT state and old-growth forest fires in the BLA represent, respectively, 77% (47% to 107%) and 86% (68.2% to 103%) of Brazil's National Plan on Climate Change annual target for Amazonia C emission reductions from deforestation.

In tropical areas, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) still have deficiencies in simulating the timing of vegetation phenology. To start addressing this problem, standard Fourier-based methods are applied to aerosol screened monthly remotely sensed phenology time series (Enhanced Vegetation Index, EVI) and two major driving factors of phenology: solar radiation and precipitation (for March 2000 through December 2006 over northern South America). At 1 x 1 km scale using, power (or variance) spectra on good quality aerosol screened time series, annual cycles in EVI are detected across 58.24% of the study area, the strongest (largest amplitude) occurring in the savanna. Terra Firme forest have weak but significant annual cycles in comparison with savannas because of the heterogeneity of vegetation and nonsynchronous phenological events within 1 x 1 km scale pixels. Significant annual cycles for radiation and precipitation account for 86% and 90% of the region, respectively, with different spatial patterns to phenology. Cross-spectral analysis was used to compare separately radiation with phenology/EVI, precipitation with phenology/EVI and radiation with precipitation. Overall the majority of the Terra Firme forest appears to have radiation as the driver of phenology (either radiation is in phase or leading phenology/EVI at the annual scale). These results are in agreement with previous research, although in Acre, central and eastern Peru and northern Bolivia there is a coexistence of 'in phase' precipitation over Terra Firme forest. In contrast in most areas of savanna precipitation appears to be a driver and savanna areas experiencing an inverse (antiphase) relationship between radiation and phenology is consistent with inhibited grassland growth due to soil moisture limitation. The resulting maps provide a better spatial understanding of phenology-driver relationships offering a bench mark to parameterize ecological models.

Remote sensing data are a key tool to assess large forested areas, where limitations such as accessibility and lack of field measurements are prevalent. Here, we have analysed datasets from moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite measurements and field data to assess the impacts of the 2005 drought in Amazonia. We combined vegetation indices (VI) and climatological variables to evaluate the spatiotemporal patterns associated with the 2005 drought, and explore the relationships between remotely-sensed indices and forest inventory data on tree mortality. There were differences in results based on c4 and c5 MODIS products. C5 VI showed no spatial relationship with rainfall or aerosol optical depth; however, distinct regions responded significantly to the increased radiation in 2005. The increase in the Enhanced VI (EVI) during 2005 showed a significant positive relationship (P < 0.07) with the increase of tree mortality. By contrast, the normalized difference water index (NDWI) exhibited a significant negative relationship (P < 0.09) with tree mortality. Previous studies have suggested that the increase in EVI during the 2005 drought was associated with a positive response of forest photosynthesis to changes in the radiation income. We discuss the evidence that this increase could be related to structural changes in the canopy.

This introductory paper to the volume explains the DIISM problem statement and applies principles of architecture descriptions for evolutionary systems (IEEE 1471-2000) to the information infrastructure for engineering and manufacturing. In our vision, knowledge and skill chains depend on infrastructure systems fulfilling missions in three kinds of environments: the socio-industrial domain of society and its production systems as a whole, the knowledge domain for a scientific discipline, and the sectorial domain, which includes the operational entities (companies, organisational units, engineers, workers) in engineering and manufacturing. The relationships between these different domains are captured in a domain paradigm. For companies, the original scope for infrastructure systems was the factory floor and the engineering office. Recently the scopes of external collaboration and of man-system collaboration have gained importance. Within each of the four identified scopes a system can offer services to different operational levels: operations, development or engineering, and research. The dimensions of scope and service level are briefly explained in relation to the architecting of an infrastructure. Papers are grouped according to their contribution to an infrastructure scenario or to an infrastructure component.

This paper is about the requirements for an advanced factory governance system. Five capital assets are distinguished: Natural. artificial, human, social, and financial. A factory's operations involve and affect thcse fivc capital assets. To scopc workers' activities with respcct to objectives that exist for these capital asscts, this paper applies insights from Manufacturing System Design Decomposition. It is argued that in an advanccd factory govcrnance system the workers do also engage in govcrnance and management activities. We introduce the decision-object hierarchies and an extended generic activity model and explain how human profiles are derived from these. Sociotechnical systems design can be used in such a system to balance 'control by the system', and 'self-control' by the workers involved.

This introductory paper to the DIISM’04 volume explains the DIISM problem statement and applies principles of architecture descriptions for evolutionary systems (IEEE 1471–2000) to the information infrastructure for engineering and manufacturing. In our vision, knowledge and skill chains depend on infrastructure systems fulfilling missions in three kinds of environments: the socio-industrial domain of society and its production systems as a whole, the knowledge domain for a scientific discipline, and the sectorial domain, which includes the operational entities (companies, organizational units, engineers, workers) in engineering and manufacturing. The relationships between these different domains are captured in a domain paradigm An information infrastructure that enables responses to global challenges must draw on a wide range of both industrial and academic excellence, vision, knowledge, skill, and ability to execute. Responses have a scope, from the company, the factory floor and the engineering office to external collaboration and to man-system collaboration. In all scopes a system can offer services to different operational levels: operations, development or engineering, and research. The dimensions of scope and service level are briefly explained in relation to the architecting of an infrastructure. Papers are grouped according to their contribution to an infrastructure scenario or to an infrastructure component.

The appropriate use of context is a powerful tool for managing complexity asexemplified by the realization of a modern product in a globally distributed environment. We show that computational contexts can be created from the properties of entities such as the company, the project, the user, his organizational role, and the product itself. Our paper briefly presents the architecture of a product knowledge environment that is based on computational contexts. It then discusses several possible uses of computational contexts in the product realization process including management of product knowledge, managing the product realization project and supporting users while they perform the wide variety of tasks necessary to design, develop and produce a modern product.

A model driven architecture (MDA) approach is applied to the architecting of a Ubiquitous and Model-driven information Infrastructure (UMI). Our focus is on the stakeholders of the ubiquitous infrastructure, the distinction between the infrastructure; the enterprises and applications accommodated by it, and the dependencies among the conceptual models at different levels. A small example illustrates the proposed concepts and constructions.

Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) shares overlapping clinicopathological features with cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL), requiring detection of monoclonal integration of proviral DNA of type 1 human T cell leukemia virus for its differential diagnosis from the latter. We applied in situ hybridization (ISH) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to paraffin sections from 63 Japanese autopsy cases that had been diagnosed as CTCL in earlier years when ATLL was still not widely known. Eleven and two cases with confirmed diagnoses of ATLL and CTCL served as positive and negative controls, respectively. It was found that ISH was positive in 7 of 63 test cases and 10 of 11 positive controls, whereas PCR was positive in none of the test cases and eight of the positive control cases. Two negative controls were negative for both ISH and PCR. We conclude that ISH is superior to PCR for detecting type 1 human T cell leukemia virus proviral DNA on paraffin sections and that the ISH method is useful for differentiating CTCL from the cutaneous form of ATLL.

In this paper a system for controlling a micromanipulator having several degrees of freedom is presented. On CCD camera is used together with a microscope and a high speed DSP system to provide the correct position of the actuator in a microscopic space. The vision algorithm is based on a modified CMA method for producing the exact XY-position. The relative Z-coordinate is calculated using a modified depth-from-defocus method. A software implementation is presented and performace for the vision system is given together with the test results.