The University of Human Arts and Sciences (Japanese: 人間総合科学大学, Hepburn: Ningen sōgō kagaku daigaku) is a private distance learning university with headquarters in Iwatsuki-ku, Saitama, Saitama, Japan, established in 2000. It has a satellite campus in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The predecessor of the university, Tokyo Chiropractic School, was founded in 1953.
Background/Objectives: Statistical shape modeling (SSM) is used to describe transtibial residual-limb morphology for prosthetic socket design, simulation, and future structural testing. However, conventional intrinsic metrics such as compactness, generality, and specificity may not directly reflect geometric fidelity to the original shape. This study examined the relationship between geometric fidelity and SSM evaluation and assessed a cross-sectional shape representation framework for transtibial residual limbs. Methods: Residual-limb surfaces were acquired from 62 adults with unilateral transtibial amputation using a structured-light 3D scanner while preserving habitual limb posture. Two surface-based registration methods, non-rigid iterative closest point and Bayesian coherent point drift, were compared with a cross-sectional representation in which proximal and distal regions were sectioned separately and reconstructed by strip triangulation. Geometric fidelity to the original mesh was quantified using average symmetric surface distance (ASSD). SSM performance was evaluated using compactness, generality, and specificity. Results: The optimal cross-sectional configuration was 60 sections × 72 points. The proposed method showed the best geometric fidelity (ASSD, 1.30 ± 0.14 mm), followed by Bayesian coherent point drift (1.33 ± 0.14 mm) and non-rigid iterative closest point (1.48 ± 0.48 mm). Compactness was highest for the proposed method, reaching 95% cumulative variance in four modes, compared with five and seven modes, respectively, for the two surface-based methods. In geometry-space evaluation, the proposed method showed the lowest specificity error, while differences in generality were statistically significant but small in magnitude. Conclusions: Intrinsic SSM metrics alone were insufficient to judge registration quality in transtibial residual-limb modeling. The cross-sectional representation preserved the original surface geometry more faithfully than the evaluated surface-based methods while maintaining competitive SSM performance.
Background/ObjectivesHarp music has long been used for comfort and healing, yet its neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined how major and minor harp sounds influence frontal alpha activity, mood, and reaction times, with a focus on depression-related individual differences.MethodsParticipants listened to 3-min major and minor harp excerpts while EEG alpha activity was recorded. Subjective ratings of arousal, stress, comfort, and mood were assessed, followed by auditory and visual reaction-time tasks.ResultsIndividuals with lower depression scores showed marked frontal alpha suppression during harp listening, which was associated with faster auditory reaction times. Those with higher depression scores exhibited consistently lower frontal alpha power with minimal modulation by harp sounds.ConclusionsFrontal alpha suppression during harp listening may reflect enhanced auditory attentional processing in individuals with lower depression levels. These findings suggest that depression-related traits shape neural responsiveness to harp music and should be considered when evaluating its therapeutic potential.
This study examined the potential of utilizing human mobility data collected via smartphones as method for understanding usage patterns in local-authority-managed parks. The analysis revealed that incorporating information on park users' residential locations and lifestyle characteristics enables a clearer understanding of actual usage conditions and provides insights into strategies for promoting future utilization.
Despite the rapid spread of generative AI in education, conversational AI for children in natural settings remains underexplored. We outline the design and a pilot field test of a dedicated voice dialogue device that supports child-AI interaction. In a pilot study at a private after-school care facility, children and staff used shared M5Stack Core2-based devices. Questionnaires indicated high usability for children and low operational burden for staff, although system response delay increased when multiple devices requested text-to-speech simultaneously. The main phase assigns one device per child for about 28 days to collect detailed dialogue logs and interaction metrics, examining longitudinal changes in conversational behavior and deriving design implications for educational and welfare settings.
Background:Growth differentiation factor (GDF)-15 is associated with various conditions such as cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and chronic kidney disease. Phase angle (PhA) reflects cellular health and nutritional status. However, the relationship between serum GDF-15 concentrations and PhA is unclear. Methods:Serum GDF-15 concentrations in patients with heart failure (n = 91), aortic stenosis patients undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR) or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) (n = 48), and healthy older individuals (n = 73) were measured via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. PhA was measured with an impedance-based body composition analyzer. Results:PhA showed a negative correlation with serum GDF-15 concentrations in total subjects. PhA showed a positive correlation with serum albumin (Alb) levels, hemoglobin (Hb) levels, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and grip strength, and serum GDF-15 concentrations showed a negative correlation with serum Alb levels, Hb levels, eGFR, and grip strength. In multivariate regression analysis, after adjusting for age, PhA reflected the association with grip strength. For the presence or absence of muscle weakness measured by handgrip strength, in men, PhA had a cutoff value of 4.35 and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.857, while GDF-15 had a cutoff value of 2012 pg/mL and an AUC of 0.773. In women, PhA had a cutoff value of 4.25 and an AUC of 0.804, while GDF-15 had a cutoff value of 1109 pg/mL and an AUC of 0.764. Conclusion:PhA showed a negative correlation with serum GDF-15 concentrations in hospitalized patients with cardiovascular disease. Both PhA and serum GDF-15 concentrations might be considered as a biomarker of sarcopenia or cachexia.
