The antenna of a male insect can capture pheromones generated by a female insect. In this study, the sensilla of an antenna are represented by a row of cylinders, and the mass of pheromones they capture along with the capture rate are calculated. The diameter of the real sensilla of a moth Bombyx mori is assumed in the calculation. Reynolds number and Péclet number, which are defined by the diameter of cylinders and the uniform flow, are 0.04 and 0.26, respectively. Calculation parameters are the gap between neighboring cylinders representing sensilla and their angle of attack. For a high angle of attack, the analytical exams show that the capture rate is maximized when the ratio of the gap between cylinders to their diameter is 10. In all the cases, the capture rate is maximum when the angle of attack is 90 degrees and the ratio of the gap between cylinders to their diameter is 10. This ratio is close to that observed in the sensilla of a moth Bombyx mori. When the ratio of the gap between cylinders to their diameter is smaller than 3, the capture rate is nearly independent of the ratio of the gap between cylinders to their diameter and the angle of attack.

Accurate, objective estimation of subjective workload is critical issue in occupational health and safety, yet existing methods largely rely on observational assessments rather than quantitative metrics. To address this gap, this paper presents a novel approach for objectively estimating subjective workload by combining the substantial muscle activity ratio, which accounts for fatigue-induced reductions in muscle strength, with a logistic function approximating individual sensitivity curves. The method was applied to three shoulder muscles during a repetitive upper-limb task performed by healthy participants. The results indicated that, for each participant, the estimated subjective workload closely approximated the perceived workload in at least one of the three muscles. This finding demonstrates that the proposed method can simulate temporal changes in perceived workload despite inter-individual variability. Incorporating the logistic function allowed the model to account for nonlinear perception of workload. Further analysis suggested that the dominant muscle contributing to perceived workload differed across participants, depending on individual movement strategies during the task. Motion analysis confirmed that differences in shoulder joint kinematics were associated with the muscles most closely tracking perceived workload. These findings highlight the necessity of accounting for both biomechanical and kinematical factors when estimating subjective workload. Overall, the study demonstrates a physiologically grounded framework for predicting perceived workload and provides a foundation for developing generalized models applicable to real-world tasks, supporting more informed strategies for worker load management.

The aortic valve plays a crucial role in cardiac function by opening synchronously with left ventricular contraction to pump blood into the aorta and closing during left ventricular relaxation to prevent blood regurgitation. Aortic valve stenosis (AS), resulting from congenital bicuspid valves or age-related calcification, can cause symptoms of heart failure (HF) or angina. In severe cases, angina may develop even in the absence of coronary artery stenosis, potentially leading to impaired cardiac function or worsening HF. In this study, we developed a patient-specific hemodynamic computational fluid dynamics model by adjusting internal parameters such as vessel length, cardiac resistance, and cardiac elastance, based on previously established 0D-1D multiscale cardiovascular hemodynamic models developed by our research team. Seven patients with both diastolic and systolic HF were included, and their hemodynamic parameters were used to construct patient-specific models. This study aims to predict coronary hemodynamics and cardiac function under conditions of AS using patient-specific models of individuals with HF. Hemodynamics and coronary circulation were evaluated under various conditions by imposing AS on the HF models. As a result, coronary blood flow was decreased by approximately 20% in HF patients under AS, compared to a 7% reduction observed in healthy individuals. These simulation results suggest that AS in HF patients leads to a reduction in coronary blood flow and may contribute to myocardial ischemia, even in the absence of coronary artery stenosis. Furthermore, patient-specific hemodynamic models may offer a valuable non-invasive approach for evaluating cardiovascular risk and guiding individualized treatment strategies.

Epithelial cell layers dynamically remodel their mechanical interactions with the substrate, but the quantitative evaluation of such interfacial behavior remains challenging. Here, we employed quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring to investigate how the viscoelastic coupling between epithelial monolayers and their substrate responds to calcium chelation by ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA), which disrupts cadherin-mediated cell–cell adhesion and mimics an epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like condition. Time-resolved measurements of resonance frequency and energy dissipation were analyzed using a viscoelastic model to extract changes in apparent elastic modulus and damping ratio. EGTA treatment induced a gradual increase in apparent elasticity and a concurrent reduction in viscous damping, reflecting a transition from a strongly coupled viscoelastic state to a partially decoupled and effectively more elastic configuration. The magnitude of these responses increased with culture duration, indicating stronger collective mechanics in more mature cell layers. These findings demonstrate that QCM-D can sensitively detect dynamic alterations in the interfacial mechanical behavior of living cell layers, providing a simple and quantitative platform for investigating EMT-associated transitions and other processes involving collective mechanical remodeling.

This study reports the development of a compact tabletop onsite device designed to facilitate non-invasive, rapid, low-cost, and user-friendly health evaluation by quantifying amino acids in sweat through enzymatic reactions. The system employs freeze-dried reagents coated onto a multilayer PET film-based microfluidic channel. As sweat extract flows through the channel, each target amino acid reacts selectively with its corresponding enzyme, and the resulting color change is quantified within a short onsite analysis time. Sweat was collected using a pre-wetted non-woven patch, automatically extracted into liquid form with a dedicated cassette, and applied to the analytical film device. The extract contained multiple amino acids, including glycine, aspartic acid, leucine, histidine, and serine, which were detected by their respective enzymes. Although further optimization of the enzymatic reaction conditions is required to reduce variability among amino acids, the present device demonstrates a practical platform for convenient onsite multi-amino acid analysis in sweat, with potential applications in beauty, sports, health screening, agriculture, environmental monitoring, and space exploration.