Caput scolopendrae, the head of the scolopendra and its muscular system ...

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Learning the dynamics of the external world: Brain inspired learning for robotic applications

Humans have exceptional abilities to learn new skills, manipulate tools and objects, and interact with our environment. In order to be successful at these tasks, our brain has become exceptionally well adapted to learning to deal not only with the complex dynamics of our own limbs but also with novel dynamics in the external world. While learning of these dynamics includes learning the complex time-varying forces at the end of limbs through the updating of internal models, it must also include learning the appropriate mechanical impedance in order to stabilize both the limb and any objects contacted in the environment. This article reviews the field of human learning by examining recent experimental evidence about adaptation to novel unstable dynamics and explores how this knowledge about the brain and neuro-muscular system can expand the learning capabilities of robotics and prosthetics. © 2006.

Immunohistochemical localization of a Shaker-related voltage-gated potassium channel protein in Schistosoma mansoni (Trematoda: Digenea)

We have recently isolated a cDNA (SKV1.1) encoding a Shakei-related K+ channel from the human parasitic trematode Schistosoma mansoni. In order to better understand the functions of SKv1.1 protein, the distribution of SKv1.1 protein in adult S. mansoni was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using a region-specific antibody. SKV1.1 proteins were widely expressed in the nervous and muscular systems. The strongest immunoreactivity (IR) was observed in the nervous system of both male and female. In the nervous system, IR for SKv1.1 proteins was localized in cell bodies and nerve fibers of the anterior ganglia, the central commissure, and the main nerve cords. IR was also observed in the dorsal and the ventral peripheral nerve nets, fine nerve fibers entering into a variety of structures such as the dorsal tubercles, longitudinal and ventral muscle fibers, and oral and ventral suckers. In the muscular system, SKv1.1 proteins were localized to the longitudinal, circular, and ventral muscle fibers of male as well as in isolated muscle fibers where native A-type K+ currents were measured. Moderate IR was also seen in a large number of cell bodies in the parenchyma. These results indicate that SKv1.1 protein may play an important role in the regulation of the excitability of neurons and muscle cells of S. mansoni. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.

Hérnia perineal em cães : avaliação e resolução cirúrgica : artigo de revisão

As hérnias perineais caracterizam-se pelo enfraquecimento e ruptura de um ou mais músculos e fáscias que formam o diafragma pélvico. A patologia é comum em cães machos, idosos e não castrados. Considerando os riscos de recidiva e de complicações pós-operatórias, pretende-se com este artigo rever os aspectos relacionados com a etiopatogenia e métodos de diagnóstico com realce para os tratamentos cirúrgicos. O diagnóstico baseia-se na história clínica, sinais clínicos, exames físicos e exames complementares de diagnóstico tais como a radiografia e a ultrasonografia, sendo a palpação rectal um dos exames mais importantes, para a determinação das estruturas que formam o aumento de volume perineal. Existe uma grande variedade de procedimentos cirúrgicos, destacando-se os quatro tipos principais de técnicas usadas, nomeadamente a técnica tradicional ou anatómica, a técnica de transposição do músculo obturador interno, em associação com a técnica de colopexia e cistopexia por fixação do ducto deferente, em situações de retroflexão da bexiga e a técnica de implantação de membranas biológicas. Entre as possíveis complicações pós-operatórias de maior relevo, destacam-se a infecção da ferida, a incontinência fecal, o tenesmo, o prolapso rectal e a paralisia do nervo ciático.

Músculo esquelético, insuficiência cardíaca crônica e o papel do exercício

Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) show metabolic, hemodynamic and skeletal muscle alterations, which decrease the life expectancy. These alterations are attributed to several factors. The focus of this review was to approach the questions related to physiological, metabolic, morphological and molecular alterations which affect the muscular system of these patients. Later, it was discussed the benefits of physical exercise to this syndrome as well as the pharmacological interventions, which are in investigation aiming the treatment of the same. Some muscle alterations are already described on the literature. For example, the more predominance of type II fibers, lower oxidative enzymatic activity, muscle atrophy and elevated concentration of cytokines that affect the muscle integrity. Thus, further studies involving cellular and molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle in order to create strategies for prevention and treatment for patients with CHF are required

Mecanismos de controle durante a manutenção da postura ereta em participantes de 4,8 e 12 anos e adultos

Pós-graduação em Ciências da Motricidade - IBRC

Avaliação imunoistoquímica da musculatura estriada esquelética em cães com leishmaniose visceral

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Meningitis and pneumococcal pyomyositis in a child with intramuscular hemangiomas: an autopsy case report

Pyomyositis is the bacterial infection of skeletal muscle, usually accompanied by abscesses. The main etiologic agent is Staphylococcus aureus. There are rare cases attributed to Streptococcus pneumoniae. This paper presents an autopsy of a four year old child with multiple congenital intramuscular hemangiomas that developed pneumococcal pyomyositis associated with meningitis. The authors propose the hypothesis that patients with hemangiomas, mainly the intramuscular type, may also represent a risk group for pyomyositis. The possibility of respiratory/meningeal co-infection, might also be considered even if the clinical picture is restricted to the muscular system.

The legs: a key to bird evolutionary success

Birds are the most diverse and largest group of extant tetrapods. They show marked variability, yet much of this variation is superficial and due to feather and bill color and shape. Under the feathers, the skeleto-muscular system is rather constant throughout the bird group. The adaptation to flight is the explanation for this uniformity. The more obvious morphological adaptations for flight are the wings, but the trunk is always rigid, the tail is short and the neck is flexible, since all these features are correlated with flying behaviour. Unrelated to the exigencies of flight, the legs always have three long bones, and all the birds walk on their toes. This leg structure is a striking plesiomorphic feature that was already present in related dinosaurs. The multi-purpose potential of the legs is the result of the skeletal architecture of a body with three segmented flexed legs. This configuration provides mechanical properties that allow the use of the legs as propulsive, paddling, foraging or grooming tools. It is the association of diverse modes of locomotion-walking, running, hopping, flying and swimming-that have enabled the birds to colonize almost all the environments on Earth.

Spider Venoms Potentially Lethal to Humans

Spiders have one pair of venom glands, and only a few families have reduced them completely (Uloboridae, Holarchaeidae) or modified them to another function (Symphytognathidae or Scytodidae, see Suter and Stratton 2013). All other 42,000 known spider species (99%) utilize their venom to inject it into prey items, which subsequently become paralysed or are killed. Spider venom is a complex mixture of hundreds of components, many of them interacting with cell membranes or receptors located mainly in the nervous or muscular system (Herzig and King 2013). Spider venom, as it is today, has a 300-million-yearlong history of evolution and adaptation and can be considered as an optimized tool to subdue prey. In Mesothelae, the oldest spider group with less than 100 species, the venom glands lie in the anterior part of the cheliceral basal segment. They are very small and do not support the predation process very effectively. In Mygalomorphae, the venom glands are well developed and fill the basal cheliceral segment more or less completely. Many of these 3,000 species are medium- to large-/very large-sized spiders, and they have created the image of being dangerous beasts, attacking and killing a variety of animals, including humans. Although this picture is completely wrong, it is persistent and contributes considerably to human arachnophobia. The third group of spiders, Araneomorphae or “modern spiders”, comprises 93% of all spider species. The venom glands are enlarged and extend to the prosoma; the openings of the venom ducts are moved from the convex to the concave side of the cheliceral fangs and enlarged as well. These changes save the chelicerae from the necessity of being large, and hence, on the average, araneomorph spiders are much smaller than mygalomorphs. Nevertheless, they possess relatively large venom glands, situated mainly in the prosoma, and may also have rather potent venom.

Análisis de la influencia de la estimulación con vibraciones en la respuesta neuromuscular en competidores de esgrima

La esgrima es un deporte de combate en el que todas las acciones están dirigidas a conseguir el objetivo de la competición, que es el de tocar al contrario sin ser tocado, y para ello los tiradores/as se sirven de todas las herramientas, técnicas, tácticas y de condición física posibles a su alcance. La calidad de las acciones de los esgrimistas en competición dependerá fundamentalmente de dos de los sistemas involucrados en el proceso. Por un lado, la activación del sistema nervioso, y por otro lado la respuesta del sistema muscular. Una de las herramientas utilizadas en los últimos años para estimular el sistema neuromuscular, y que ha reportado en muchas investigaciones resultados positivos, ha sido la plataforma de vibraciones vertical. Por esto, decidimos llevar a cabo un estudio con deportistas de esgrima de competición con un protocolo de exposición aguda a las vibraciones, y medir el efecto producido por esta herramienta sobre el sistema neuromuscular a través del estudio de los cambios experimentados en los tiempos de reacción simple, tiempos de respuesta electiva y tiempos de movimiento, así como los efectos en la eficacia del tocado de esgrima analizados antes y después de recibir el estímulo vibratorio. El estudio se desarrolló con tiradores/as de competición de nivel nacional y pertenecientes al Centro de Tecnificación de la Federación de Esgrima de Castilla y León (n=38; Edad: 22 ±9,08). La muestra estaba compuesta por 12 mujeres y 26 hombres, de categorías, cadetes (13), júnior (12), y absolutos (13). El protocolo elegido fue realizado por cada participante en tres ocasiones, una inicial, otra tras pasar por una carga de estimulación en la plataforma de vibraciones, y una fase final, pasado un tiempo de recuperación de 10 minutos para comprobar el grado de disipación del efecto vibratorio. El estímulo elegido para la estimulación sobre la plataforma de vibraciones fue de una frecuencia de 50 Hz, durante un periodo de 60 segundos y con una amplitud de 4 mm. Los resultados se analizaron en función de las variables dependientes tiempo de reacción, tiempo de respuesta electiva, tiempo de movimiento, y precisión y eficacia. Estos datos se cruzaron con las variables independientes sexo, categoría, nivel deportivo y años de experiencia. El propósito del presente estudio fue el de analizar los efectos producidos por una intervención de estimulación neuromuscular mecánica en fase aguda en un grupo de tiradores/as de esgrima de competición. Los resultados mostraron que la carga de estimulación neuromuscular mecánica (ENM) aplicada en nuestro estudio provocó un discreto efecto en la respuesta neuromuscular de los tiradores participantes en la investigación. Se encontraron efectos significativos provocados por el estímulo vibratorio en las siguientes variables: en el tiempo de reacción simple se registró una mejora del 8,1%, en el tiempo de respuesta electiva a pie parado un 10%, en la precisión a pie parado un 7%, y en la eficacia a pie parado un 18,5%. Igualmente se observaron ligeras diferencias por sexos, encontrando un efecto de mayor tamaño en el grupo femenino. Es necesario resaltar que las características particulares de la muestra parecen haber influido en los resultados encontrados de forma importante. Por último, debemos destacar que el efecto residual producido por la estimulación aplicada en nuestra investigación en algún caso superó los diez minutos, ya que se hallaron efectos positivos de la estimulación neuromuscular mecánica en varios de los registros finales como hemos visto. ABSTRACT Fencing is a combat sport in which all actions are aimed at achieving the objective of the competition, which is that of touching the opponent without being touched and for this the fencers make use of all the tools, techniques, tactics and physical condition possible at their disposal. The quality of the fencers´ actions in competition will depend primarily on two of the systems involved in the process: on the one hand, the activation of the nervous system and, on the other, the response of the muscular system. One of the tools recently used to stimulate the neuromuscular system, and which has produced positive results in many research studies, has been the vertical vibration platform. Therefore, we decided to conduct a study with competition fencers with a protocol of acute exposure to vibration and to measure the effect produced by this tool on the neuromuscular system by means of the study of changes experienced in simple reaction times, the elective response times and movement times, as well as the effects on the efficacy of the fencing touch analyzed before and after receiving the vibratory stimulus. The study was conducted with fencers in national competitions and belonging to the Technification Center of the Fencing Federation of Castilla y León (n = 38), with a mean age of 22 years (SD 9.08). The sample was composed of 12 women and 26 men, by categories cadets (13), juniors (12), and seniors (13). The protocol chosen was performed by each participant on three occasions: an initial one, another after going through a stimulation load on the vibration platform, and a final phase, after a 10 minute recovery time to assess the degree of dissipation of the vibratory effect. The stimulus chosen on the vibration platform was a frequency of 50 Hz, for a period of 60 seconds and an amplitude of 4 mm. The results were analyzed according to the following dependent variables: the reaction time, the response time, the accuracy and the efficiency. This data was crossed with the independent variables: gender, category, sporting level and the years of experience. The purpose of this study was analyze the effects of neuromuscular stimulation intervention in a group of fencing competition shooters. The results showed that the mechanical neuromuscular stimulation (MNS) load applied in our study led to a modest effect on the neuromuscular response of the fencers involved in the research. Significant effects were found caused by the vibratory stimulus on the simple reaction time 8,1%, elective response time 10%, as well as the accuracy 7%, and efficiency 18,5%. We should also point out that slight differences by gender were observed, finding a greater effect in females. It should be emphasized that the specific characteristics of the sample appear to have significantly influenced the results. Finally, we should note that the residual effect produced by the stimulation applied in our research in some cases exceeded ten minutes, given that positive effects of the mechanical neuromuscular stimulation were found in several of the final scores.

Mutations in the rotated abdomen locus affect muscle development and reveal an intrinsic asymmetry in Drosophila.

In bilateral animals, the left and right sides of the body usually present asymmetric structures, the genetic bases of whose generation are still largely unknown [CIBA Foundation (1991) Biological Asymmetry and Handedness, CIBA Foundation Symposium 162 (Wiley, New York), pp. 1-327]. In Drosophila melanogaster, mutations in the rotated abdomen (rt) locus cause a clockwise helical rotation of the body. Even null alleles are viable but exhibit defects in embryonic muscle development, rotation of the whole larval body, and helical staggering of cuticular patterns in abdominal segments of the adult. rotated abdomen is expressed in the embryonic mesoderm and midgut but not in the ectoderm; it encodes a putative integral membrane glycoprotein (homologous to key yeast mannosyltransferases). Mesodermal cells defective in O-glycosylation lead to an impaired larval muscular system. We propose that the staggering of the adult abdominal segments would be a consequence of the relaxation of intrinsic rotational torque of muscle architecture, preventing the colateral alignment of the segmental histoblast cells during their proliferation at metamorphosis.

An introduction to alysidal algebra (IV)

Purpose – Deontical impure systems are systems whose object set is formed by an s-impure set, whose elements are perceptuales significances (relative beings) of material and/or energetic objects (absolute beings) and whose relational set is freeways of relations, formed by sheaves of relations going in two-way directions and at least one of its relations has deontical properties such as permission, prohibition, obligation and faculty. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Mathematical and logical development of human society ethical and normative structure. Findings – Existence of relations with positive imperative modality (obligation) would constitute the skeleton of the system. Negative imperative modality (prohibition) would be the immunological system of protection of the system. Modality permission the muscular system, that gives the necessary flexibility. Four theorems have been formulated based on Gödel's theorem demonstrating the inconsistency or incompleteness of DISs. For each constructed systemic conception can happen to it one of the two following things: either some allowed responses are not produced or else some forbidden responses are produced. Responses prohibited by the system are defined as nonwished effects. Originality/value – This paper is a continuation of the four previous papers and is developed the theory of deontical impure systems.