Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differences in titin segmental elongation between passive and active stretch in skeletal muscle

ABSTRACT Since the 1950s, muscle contraction has been explained using a two-filament system in which actin and myosin exclusively dictate active force in muscle sarcomeres. Decades later, a third filament called titin was discovered. This titin filament has recently been identified as an important regulator of active force, but has yet to be incorporated into contemporary theories of muscle contraction. When sarcomeres are actively stretched, a substantial and rapid increase in force occurs, which has been suggested to arise in part from titin–actin binding that is absent in passively stretched sarcomeres. However, there is currently no direct evidence for such binding within muscle sarcomeres. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether titin binds to actin in actively but not in passively stretched sarcomeres by observing length changes of proximal and distal titin segments in the presence and absence of calcium. We labeled I-band titin with fluorescent F146 antibody in rabbit psoas myofibrils and tracked segmental elongations during passive (no calcium) and active (high calcium) stretch. Without calcium, proximal and distal segments of titin elongated as expected based on their free spring properties. In contrast, active stretch differed statistically from passive stretch, demonstrating that calcium activation increases titin segment stiffness, but not in an actin-dependent manner. The consistent elongation of the proximal segment was contrary to what was expected if titin's proximal segment was attached to actin. This rapid calcium-dependent change in titin stiffness likely contributes to active muscle force regulation in addition to actin and myosin. Summary: Elongation of titin proximal and distal segments differs between passive and active stretch in skeletal muscle myofibrils, but not in an actin-dependent manner.
Avian thermoregulation in the heat: resting metabolism, evaporative cooling and heat tolerance in Sonoran Desert songbirds

ABSTRACT We examined thermoregulatory performance in seven Sonoran Desert passerine bird species varying in body mass from 10 to 70 g – lesser goldfinch, house finch, pyrrhuloxia, cactus wren, northern cardinal, Abert's towhee and curve-billed thrasher. Using flow-through respirometry, we measured daytime resting metabolism, evaporative water loss and body temperature at air temperatures (Tair) between 30 and 52°C. We found marked increases in resting metabolism above the upper critical temperature (Tuc), which for six of the seven species fell within a relatively narrow range (36.2–39.7°C), but which was considerably higher in the largest species, the curve-billed thrasher (42.6°C). Resting metabolism and evaporative water loss were minimal below the Tuc and increased with Tair and body mass to maximum values among species of 0.38–1.62 W and 0.87–4.02 g H2O h−1, respectively. Body temperature reached maximum values ranging from 43.5 to 45.3°C. Evaporative cooling capacity, the ratio of evaporative heat loss to metabolic heat production, reached maximum values ranging from 1.39 to 2.06, consistent with known values for passeriforms and much lower than values in taxa such as columbiforms and caprimulgiforms. These maximum values occurred at heat tolerance limits that did not scale with body mass among species, but were ∼50°C for all species except the pyrrhuloxia and Abert's towhee (48°C). High metabolic costs associated with respiratory evaporation appeared to drive the limited heat tolerance in these desert passeriforms, compared with larger desert columbiforms and galliforms that use metabolically more efficient mechanisms of evaporative heat loss. Summary: Thermoregulatory performance measurements in seven Sonoran Desert passerine bird species show that heat tolerance limits did not scale with body mass among species, but were ∼50°C for all species.
Antinociceptive and neuropharmacological activities of ethanolic extract of the fruits of Ficus hispida Linn.

The crude ethanolic extract of the fruits of Ficus hispida Linn. (Family: Moraceae) growing in southeast part of Bangladesh has been evaluated for its possible antinociceptive and neuropharmacological properties. The ethanolic extract of the fruits of F. hispida exhibited statistically significant (p < 0.001) writhing inhibition in acetic acid-induced writhing model in white albino mice (Swiss-webstar strain). The crude extract produced 30.41% inhibition of writhing at the dose of 250 mg/kg body weight and 62.84% inhibition of writhing at the dose of 500 mg/kg body weight, while the standard drug diclofenac inhibition was found to produce 75.68% at a dose of 25 mg/kg body weight. The extract of F. hispida fruits also potentiated the pentobarbital induced sleeping time in mice, decreased the open field score in open field test, decreased the number of hole crossed from one chamber in the hole cross test and decreased the head dip responses in hole board test. Acute toxicity test showed that the plant might be safe for pharmacological uses. Therefore, the obtained results tend to suggest the antinociceptive and neuropharmacological activities of the ethanolic extract of the fruits of F. hispida and thus, provide the scientific basis for the traditional uses of this plant part as a remedy for pain and depression. The obtained results provide a support for the use of this plant in traditional medicine and its further investigation.
Mechanisms for the functional differentiation of the propulsive and braking roles of the forelimbs and hindlimbs during quadrupedal walking in primates and felines

ABSTRACT During quadrupedal walking in most animals, the forelimbs play a net braking role, whereas the hindlimbs are net propulsive. However, the mechanism by which this differentiation occurs remains unclear. Here, we test two models to explain this pattern using primates and felines: (1) the horizontal strut effect (in which limbs are modeled as independent struts), and (2) the linked strut model (in which limbs are modeled as linked struts with a center of mass in between). Video recordings were used to determine point of contact, timing of mid-stance, and limb protraction/retraction duration. Single-limb forces were used to calculate contact time, impulses and the proportion of the stride at which the braking-to-propulsive transition (BP) occurred for each limb. We found no association between the occurrence of the BP and mid-stance, little influence of protraction and retraction duration on the braking–propulsive function of a limb, and a causative relationship between vertical force distribution between limbs and the patterns of horizontal forces. These findings reject the horizontal strut effect, and provide some support for the linked strut model, although predictions were not perfectly matched. We suggest that the position of the center of mass relative to limb contact points is a very important, but not the only, factor driving functional differentiation of the braking and propulsive roles of the limbs in quadrupeds. It was also found that primates have greater differences in horizontal impulse between their limbs compared with felines, a pattern that may reflect a fundamental arboreal adaptation in primates. Summary: Theoretical models and empirical results reveal that functional differentiation of the limbs of quadrupeds in terms of net braking and propulsive roles is driven, in part, by the relative position of the limb point of contact relative to the center of mass.
Hormetic benefits of prior anoxia exposure in buffering anoxia stress in a soil-pupating insect

ABSTRACT Oxygen is essential for most animals, and exposure to a complete lack of oxygen, i.e. anoxia, can result in irreparable damage to cells that can extend up to the organismal level to negatively affect performance. Although it is known that brief anoxia exposure may confer cross-tolerance to other stressors, few data exist on the biochemical and organismal consequences of repeated intermittent bouts of anoxia exposure. In nature, the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae), is frequently exposed to heavy tropical rainfall while pupating in the soil, equating to multiple exposures to hypoxia or anoxia during development. Here, we tested whether prior anoxia exposures during pupal development can induce a beneficial acclimation response, and we explored the consequences of prior exposure for both whole-organism performance and correlated biochemical metrics. Pharate adults (the last developmental stage in the pupal case) were most sensitive to anoxia exposure, showing decreased survival and fertility compared with controls. These negative impacts were ameliorated by exposure to anoxia in earlier pupal developmental stages, indicating a hormetic effect of prior anoxia exposure. Anoxia exposure early in pupal development reduced the oxygen debt repaid after anoxia exposure relative to pharate adults experiencing anoxia for the first time. Lipid levels were highest in all pupal stages when exposed to prior anoxia. Prior anoxia thus benefits organismal performance and relocates resources towards lipid storage throughout pupal–adult development. Summary: Prior anoxia exposure benefits organismal performance, increases lipid levels and reduces the oxygen debt compared with a singular exposure to anoxia in the Caribbean fruit fly.
Visual associative learning in wood ants

ABSTRACT Wood ants are a model system for studying visual learning and navigation. They can forage for food and navigate to their nests effectively by forming memories of visual features in their surrounding environment. Previous studies of freely behaving ants have revealed many of the behavioural strategies and environmental features necessary for successful navigation. However, little is known about the exact visual properties of the environment that animals learn or the neural mechanisms that allow them to achieve this. As a first step towards addressing this, we developed a classical conditioning paradigm for visual learning in harnessed wood ants that allows us to control precisely the learned visual cues. In this paradigm, ants are fixed and presented with a visual cue paired with an appetitive sugar reward. Using this paradigm, we found that visual cues learnt by wood ants through Pavlovian conditioning are retained for at least 1 h. Furthermore, we found that memory retention is dependent upon the ants' performance during training. Our study provides the first evidence that wood ants can form visual associative memories when restrained. This classical conditioning paradigm has the potential to permit detailed analysis of the dynamics of memory formation and retention, and the neural basis of learning in wood ants. Summary: Ants form an associative memory of a visual cue paired with a reward through classical conditioning. This allows visual associative learning to be studied in fixed rather than free-moving ants.
Utilidad de la dexmedetomidina en diversos contextos en la medicina actual

En los últimos años se han creado fármacos para lograr una adecuada sedación y analgesia en los pacientes antes, durante y después de las intervenciones médicas. Entre estos medicamentos se encuentra la dexmedetomidina, un fármaco altamente selectivo a los receptores alfa-2, que logra, en dosificación adecuada, analgesia, sedación y simpaticolisis sin efectos adversos importantes. Este fármaco se ha utilizado ampliamente en la terapia intensiva, para lo cual fue ideado, pero también se ha utilizado para diversos procedimientos anestesiológicos, ya sean en generales y regionales, así como para sedaciones superficiales y profundas, tanto en los adultos como en la población pediátrica. En esta revisión se abarcarán las generalidades de la dexmedetomidina, así como su uso en las diferentes especialidades hasta el día de hoy.
Cardiorespiratory interactions in the Pacific spiny dogfish, Squalus suckleyi

ABSTRACT Elasmobranchs are a group of cartilaginous fish with no direct sympathetic innervation of the heart or gills. Fast cardiorespiratory regulation is controlled solely by the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. Cardiovascular changes associated with ventilation are commonly present in the form of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and as cardiorespiratory synchrony (CRS, in which there is a 1:1 beat to breath ratio). The latter has been hypothesized to maximize oxygen uptake, coupling the pulsatile flows of blood and water in the gills. Given this, we hypothesized that CRS should be more prevalent in situations of low oxygen supply and RSA should be abolished by vagotomy. To test this, we investigated the role of the vagus nerve in mediating cardiorespiratory responses to changing environmental oxygen conditions in the elasmobranch Squalus suckleyi. Hypoxia and hyperoxia had little effect on heart rate but did alter breathing frequency and amplitude. Atropine yielded an overall tachycardia in all oxygen conditions and abolished all heart rate variability (HRV), suggesting that HRV solely reflects fluctuating vagal tonus on the heart. Regardless of the presence of atropine, hypoxia still induced an increase in ventilation rate and depth. CRS was only found during progressive hyperoxia post-atropine, when heart rate was uninhibited and ventilation was slowed owing to the increase in oxygen supply, suggesting that in S. suckleyi, CRS is an epiphenomenon and not actively regulated to maximize gas exchange efficiency. Summary: In Pacific spiny dogfish, cardiorespiratory synchrony only occurs during progressive hyperoxia post-atropine, when heart rate is uninhibited and ventilation is slowed owing to the increase in available oxygen.
Synaptic convergence of afferent inputs in primary infrared-sensitive nucleus (LTTD) neurons of rattlesnakes (Crotalinae) as the origin for sensory contrast enhancement

ABSTRACT Pitvipers have a specialized sensory system in the upper jaw to detect infrared (IR) radiation. The bilateral pit organs resemble simple pinhole cameras that map IR objects onto the sensory epithelium as blurred representations of the environment. Trigeminal afferents transmit information about changing temperature patterns as neuronal spike discharge in a topographic manner to the hindbrain nucleus of the lateral descending trigeminal tract (LTTD). A presumed, yet so far unknown neuronal connectivity within this central nucleus exerts a synaptic computation that constrains the relatively large receptive field of primary afferent fibers. Here, we used intracellular recordings of LTTD neurons in isolated rattlesnake brains to decipher the spatio-temporal pattern of excitatory and inhibitory responses following electrical stimulation of single and multiple peripheral pit organ-innervating nerve branches. The responses of individual neurons consisted of complex spike sequences that derived from spatially and temporally specific interactions between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs from the same as well as from adjacent peripheral nerve terminal areas. This pattern complies with a central excitation that is flanked by a delayed lateral inhibition, thereby enhancing the contrast of IR sensory input, functionally reminiscent of the computations for contrast enhancement in the peripheral visual system. Editors' Choice: Synaptic processing in the hindbrain of infrared-sensitive rattlesnakes provides contrast enhancement and a potential basis for directional sensitive infrared motion recognition, reminiscent of computational mechanisms in the visual system.
The national immunisation programme in the Netherlands: current status and potential future developments

Het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma in Nederland is zeer effectief en veilig. Om het succes en de effectiviteit van het vaccinatieprogramma te vergroten, is vaccinatie van andere (leeftijds)groepen aan te bevelen. Uitbreiding van het programma met nieuwe doelziekten kan voor een aantal ziekten aanzienlijke gezondheidswinst opleveren. De ziekten waartegen wordt gevaccineerd zijn grotendeels onder controle, maar bewaking van de effectiviteit van het programma is van groot belang. Handhaven van de hoge vaccinatiegraad is essentieel om terugkeer van de ziekten te voorkomen. Vaccinatie van (jong) volwassenen nu (kinkhoest) of in de toekomst (bof, mazelen, rodehond, hepatitis B) zal verder verbetering kunnen geven. Ook andere vaccinatiestrategieen verdienen aandacht, zoals vaccinatie van pasgeborenen of aanstaande ouders. De vervanging van het huidige difterie, tetanus, poliomyelitis, hele-cel kinkhoest en Haemophilus influenzae vaccin (DKTP/Hib) door een combinatievaccin met een a-cellulaire kinkhoestcomponent (DKATP/Hib) ingevoerd begin 2005 moet nauwkeurig worden gemonitored, zowel voor kinkhoest als de overige vaccincomponenten. Het Rijksvaccinatieprogramma kan met vaccins tegen andere ziekten uitgebreid worden. Pneumokokken-vaccinatie van kinderen levert belangrijke gezondheidswinst op. De wenselijkheid om waterpokken-vaccinatie te introduceren - mogelijk in een combinatievaccin met bof, mazelen en rodehond - moet bestudeerd worden. Als tegen meningokokken B, respiratoir syncytieel virus en humaan papillomavirus effectieve en veilige vaccins op de markt komen, is uitbreiding van het vaccinatieprogramma naar verwachting raadzaam. Dit geldt (nog) niet (of in mindere mate) voor de al beschikbare vaccins tegen influenza, hepatitis A en tuberculose. Voor deze ziekten is continuering van het huidige beleid nodig met mogelijke verlaging van de leeftijd voor influenzavaccinatie van 65 jaar naar 50 jaar. De wenselijkheid van vaccinatie van kinderen tegen influenza is een punt voor nader onderzoek, evenals pneumokokken-vaccinatie van ouderen. Vaccinatie tegen herpes simplex virus-2 en rotavirus is nog niet mogelijk. Vaccinatie levert naar verwachting relatief beperkte gezondheidswinst op voor herpes simplex virus-2. Als een rotavirus vaccin beschikbaar komt is een kosten-effectiviteitsanalyse aangewezen.
[Hand hygiene technique assessment using electronic equipment in 26 Hungarian healthcare institutions].

INTRODUCTION Hand hygiene is probably the most effective tool of nosocomial infection prevention, however, proper feedback and control is needed to develop the individual hand hygiene practice. AIM Assessing the efficiency of modern education tools, and digital demonstration and verification equipment during their wide-range deployment. METHOD 1269 healthcare workers took part in a training organized by our team. The training included the assessment of the participants' hand hygiene technique to identify the most often missed areas. The hand hygiene technique was examined by a digital device. RESULTS 33% of the participants disinfected their hands incorrectly. The most often missed sites are the fingertips (33% on the left hand, 37% on the right hand) and the thumbs (42% on the left hand, 32% on the right hand). CONCLUSION The feedback has a fundamental role in the development of the hand hygiene technique. With the usage of electronic devices feedback can be provided efficiently and simply. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(29): 1143-1148.
An FPGA Logic Cell and Carry Chain Configurable as a 6:2 or 7:2 Compressor

To improve FPGA performance for arithmetic circuits that are dominated by multi-input addition operations, an FPGA logic block is proposed that can be configured as a 6:2 or 7:2 compressor. Compressors have been used successfully in the past to realize parallel multipliers in VLSI technology; however, the peculiar structure of FPGA logic blocks, coupled with the high cost of the routing network relative to ASIC technology, renders compressors ineffective when mapped onto the general logic of an FPGA. On the other hand, current FPGA logic cells have already been enhanced with carry chains to improve arithmetic functionality, for example, to realize fast ternary carry-propagate addition. The contribution of this article is a new FPGA logic cell that is specialized to help realize efficient compressor trees on FPGAs. The new FPGA logic cell has two variants that can respectively be configured as a 6:2 or a 7:2 compressor using additional carry chains that, coupled with lookup tables, provide the necessary functionality. Experiments show that the use of these modified logic cells significantly reduces the delay of compressor trees synthesized on FPGAs compared to state-of-the-art synthesis techniques, with a moderate increase in area and power consumption.
E-PROPHET: a novel routing protocol for intermittently connected wireless networks

We propose an enhanced Probabilistic Routing Protocol which using History of Encounter and Transitivity (E-PROPHET) routing protocol. The E-PROPHET introduces the contact frequency and contact duration into the routing protocols, which makes sure the message be forwarding to accurate next hop. Results of simulation indicate that the E-PROPHET saves the buffer space, improves the packet delivery ratio, and decreases the End-to-End delay.
Factors associated with rheumatoid arthritis patients’ compliance with home exercises and splint use

The levels of compliance with home exercise programmes and night splints was examined in a group of 28 patients diagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis. Of these, 53% reported compliant behaviour with home programmes, and 35% of the 14 patients given hand night splints reported compliant behaviour. With the exception of benefits of exercises as perceived by the patients, none of the independent variables included were found to be associated with compliance with home programmes and the use of splints. Suggestions about ways of improving compliance with physiotherapeutic home programmes are discussed.
The Effect of Discretizing Survival Times in Randomized Controlled Trials

The aim of survival analysis is to study if and when some event occurs. With continuous-time analysis subjects are followed until the time they experience the event or drop out. In practice, subjects cannot always be followed continuously and event occurrence is measured in time periods. This type of survival analysis is known as discrete-time survival analysis and measuring subjects discretely rather than continuously results in a loss of information. The aim of this paper is to study the effects of discretizing survival times for randomized controlled trials by means of a simulation study. It is shown that parameter and standard error biases of both approaches are small and those of the discrete-time approach are only slightly larger than those of the continuous-time approach. The number of time periods has a negligible effect on bias. Power levels hardly differ across the two approaches, so following subjects continuously is not necessary, except when a detailed estimate of the underlying baseline haza.