unloading

Inactivity can lead to muscle atrophy and capillary regression in skeletal muscle. Niacin (NA), known for inducing hypermetabolism, may help prevent this capillary regression. In this study involving adult female Sprague-Dawley rats, the animals were randomly assigned to one of four groups: control (CON), hindlimb unloading (HU), NA, and HU with NA supplementation (HU + NA). For a period of 2 weeks, the rats in the HU and HU + NA groups underwent HU, while those in the NA and HU + NA groups received NA (750 mg/kg) twice daily through oral administration...

BACKGROUND: People with high blood pressure have reduced sensitivity to pain, known as blood pressure hypoalgesia. One proposed mechanism for this is altered baroreceptor sensitivity. In healthy volunteers, stimulating the carotid baroreceptors causes reduced sensitivity to acute pain; however, this effect may be confounded by a rise in blood pressure due to baroreflex stimulation. The present study tests whether baroreceptor unloading contributes to the physiological mechanism of blood pressure-related hypoalgesia...

Vertical and horizontal rhythms are crucial aspects of a dynamic golf swing, and the two-step swing drills (TSSD) were specifically designed to promote rhythmic unloading and loading of the legs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a TSSD training session on the swing rhythm and clubhead speed (CHS) among competitive junior golfers (3.1 ± 4.4 hcp). The driver swings (7 swings each) of 10 competitive junior golfers (aged 15-18) were captured before and after a TSSD session consisting of four stages (lasting less than 45 minutes)...

Peroxisomes are organelles that play a central role in lipid metabolism and cellular redox homeostasis. The import of peroxisomal matrix proteins by peroxisomal targeting signal (PTS) receptors is an ATP-dependent mechanism. However, the energy-dependent steps do not occur early during the binding of the receptor-cargo complex to the membrane but late, because they are linked to the peroxisomal export complex for the release of the unloaded receptor. The first ATP-demanding step is the cysteine-dependent monoubiquitination of the PTS receptors, which is required for recognition by the AAA+ peroxins...

The capacity of monoglyceride (MG) gelled emulsions (MEs) in protecting probiotic cells of Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus against stresses suffered during food processing, storage, and human digestion has been recently demonstrated. These findings open new perspectives on the possible participation of probiotics in the stabilization of emulsion structure. To unravel this aspect, rheological analysis and Low-Field 1 H NMR investigations were performed on MEs having different aqueous phases (water or skimmed milk) and stored for increasing time (1 and 14 days) at 4 °C...

Hybrid hydrogels are hydrogels that exhibit heterogeneity in the network architecture by means of chemical composition and/or microstructure. The different types of interactions, together with structural heterogeneity, which can be created on different length scales, determine the mechanical properties of the final material to a large extent. In this work, the microstructure-mechanical property relationships for a hybrid hydrogel that contains both electrostatic and covalent interactions are investigated. The hybrid hydrogel is composed of a microphase-separated polyelectrolyte complex network (PEC) made of poly(4-styrenesulfonate) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) within a soft and elastic polyacrylamide hydrogel network...

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) family of transcription factors (TFs) is a vital transcription factor family of plants. It controls multiple parts of plant development, tissue formation, and abiotic stress response. We cloned the FvNAC29 gene from Fragaria vesca (a diploid strawberry) for this research. There is a conserved NAM structural domain in the FvNAC29 protein. The highest homology between FvNAC29 and PaNAC1 was found by phylogenetic tree analysis. Subcellular localization revealed that FvNAC29 is localized onto the nucleus...

Pumpkin ( Cucurbita maxima ) is an important vegetable crop of the Cucurbitaceae plant family. The fruits of pumpkin are often used as directly edible food or raw material for a number of processed foods. In nature, mature pumpkin fruits differ in size, shape, and color. The Atlantic Giant (AG) cultivar has the world's largest fruits and is described as the giant pumpkin. AG is well-known for its large and bright-colored fruits with high ornamental and economic value. At present, there are insufficient studies that have focused on the formation factors of the AG cultivar...

AIMS: Drug-refractory electrical storm (ES) is a life-threatening medical emergency. We describe the use of venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) in drug-refractory ES without a reversible trigger, for which specific guideline recommendations are still lacking. METHODS AND RESULTS: Retrospective observational study in four Iberian centres on the indications, treatment, complications, and outcome of drug-refractory ES not associated with acute coronary syndromes, decompensated heart failure, drug toxicity, electrolyte disturbances, endocrine emergencies, concomitant acute illness with fever, or poor compliance with anti-arrhythmic drugs, requiring VA-ECMO for circulatory support...

The molecular mechanism underlying the promotion of fracture healing by mechanical stimuli remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the role of zinc finger protein 36 like 2 (ZFP36L2)-histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) axis on the osteogenic responses to moderate mechanical stimulation. Appropriate stimulation of fluid shear stress (FSS) was performed on MC3T3-E1 cells transduced with ZFP36L2 and HDAC1 recombinant adenoviruses, aiming to validate the influence of mechanical stress on the expression of ZFP36L2-HDAC1 and the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization...

Iron (Fe) needs to be delivered to different organs and tissues of above-ground parts for playing its multiple physiological functions once it is taken up by the roots. However, the mechanisms underlying Fe distribution are poorly understood. We functionally characterized OsOPT7, a member of oligo peptide transporter family in terms of expression patterns, localization, transport activity and phenotypic analysis of knockdown lines. OsOPT7 was highly expressed in the nodes, especially in the uppermost node I, and its expression was upregulated by Fe-deficiency...

OBJECTIVE: Significant aortic regurgitation is a common complication following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) intervention, and existing studies have not attempted to monitor regurgitation signals and undertake preventive measures during full support. Regurgitation is an adverse event that can lead to inadequate left ventricular unloading, insufficient peripheral perfusion, and repeated episodes of heart failure. Moreover, regurgitation occurring during full support due to pump position displacement cannot be directly controlled through control algorithms...

The global shipping network (GSN) has been suggested as a pathway for the establishment and reintroduction of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus primarily via the tire trade. We used historical maritime movement data in combination with an agent-based model to understand invasion risk in the United States Gulf Coast and how the risk of these invasions could be reduced. We found a strong correlation between the total number of cargo ship arrivals at each port and likelihood of arrival by both Ae. aegypti and Ae...

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates the potential for stress shielding within musculoskeletal soft tissues through analysis of stress distributions between lumbar fascial and muscle tissues via mechanical testing. METHODS: Using a custom apparatus, 51 posterior thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) samples and 18 erector spinae (ES) cadaveric samples underwent tensile testing involving three loading-unloading cycles, followed by loading to 6% strain, to mechanically characterize samples...

Yamashita, Y and Umemura, Y. Effect of high-intensity with short-duration re-warm up on subsequent performance in a cold environment. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2024-The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high-intensity, short-duration re-warm-up (RW) during half time (HT) on subsequent performance in a cold environment. Eleven male subjects (age, 21 ± 2 years; height, 172.4 ± 4.5 cm; body mass, 65.6 ± 7.1 kg; V̇o2max, 47.5 ± 4.8 ml·kg-1·min-1) performed 2 experimental trials comprising 40 minutes of intermittent cycling exercise, which consisted of 15-second rest, 25-second unloading cycling, 10-second high-intensity cycling, and 70-second moderate-intensity cycling as the first half...

Background : Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction or failure occurs in more than 30% of patients in cardiogenic shock (CS). However, the importance of timely diagnosis of prognostically relevant impairment of RV function is often underestimated. Moreover, data regarding the impact of mechanical circulatory support like the Impella on RV function are rare. Here, we investigated the effects of the left ventricular (LV) Impella on RV function. Moreover, we aimed to identify the most optimal and the earliest applicable parameter for bedside monitoring of RV function by comparing the predictive abilities of three common RV function parameters: the pulmonary artery pulsatility index (PAPi), the ratio of right atrial pressure to pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (RA/PCWP), and the right ventricular stroke work index (RVSWI)...

Background: Fulminant myocarditis (FM) constitutes a severe and life-threatening form of acute cardiac injury associated with cardiogenic shock. The condition is characterised by rapidly progressing myocardial inflammation, leading to significant impairment of cardiac function. Due to the acute and severe nature of the disease, affected patients require urgent medical attention to mitigate adverse outcomes. Besides symptom-oriented treatment in specialised intensive care units (ICUs), the necessity for temporary mechanical cardiac support (MCS) may arise...

High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) based micro-finite element (μFE) analysis allows accurate prediction of stiffness and ultimate load of standardised (∼1 cm) distal radius and tibia sections. An alternative homogenized finite element method (hFE) was recently validated to compute the ultimate load of larger (∼2 cm) distal radius sections that include Colles' fracture sites. Since the mechanical integrity of the weight-bearing distal tibia is gaining clinical interest, it has been shown that the same properties can be used to predict the strength of both distal segments of the radius and the tibia...

OBJECTIVES: Although risk factors for unsuccessful Maze procedure have been demonstrated, an appropriate patient selection is still controversial. In our institute, Maze procedure is indicated for those whom normal sinus rhythm (NSR) was reestablished by intraoperative direct cardioversion (DC) after ventricular unloading by total cardiopulmonary bypass. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of our indication criteria for Maze procedure in patients with mitral valve disease...

Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) shunts venous blood to the systemic arterial circulation to provide end-organ perfusion while increasing afterload that may impede left ventricle (LV) ejection and impair cardiac recovery. To maintain flow across the aortic valve and reduce risk of lethal clot formation, secondary mechanical circulatory support (MCS) devices are increasingly used despite limited understanding of their effects on cardiac function. This study sought to quantify the effects of VA-ECMO and combined with either intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) or percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) on LV physiologic state and perfusion metrics in a porcine model of acute cardiogenic shock...