Injury by herbivores is a major biotic stress that limits soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill crop production. Among the main soybean insect pests, Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner is responsible for ...causing significant economic damage in soybean. The primary management strategy for this insect is chemical control and use of Bt transgenic soybean. Alternative strategies, such as host plant resistance, are considered an efficient and less-aggressive method, especially in association with other strategies as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach. In this study, we evaluated 30 soybean genotypes to verify antixenosis expression through oviposition, attractiveness, and food consumption tests. From this, we selected 13 promising genotypes to verify the possible presence of antibiosis. Our results suggest that antixenosis was found in genotypes ‘TMG 133' RR, ‘TMG 1179' RR, ‘IAC 19’, ‘IAC 17’, ‘IAC 100’, D75-10169, and IAC 78-2318. By influence on behavior and negative impact on larval viability, antixenosis and antibiosis were indicated for the genotypes IAC 74-2832, ‘IAC 19’, ‘IAC 17’, ‘IAC 100’, and PI 274454. ‘TMG 7062’ IPRO was found to provide antibiosis resistance by negatively affecting larval development and viability. Because of reduced food consumption by larvae, antixenosis was indicated for ‘IAC 24’. These genotypes should be considered in soybean breeding programs focusing on soybean resistance to A. gemmatalis.
Introduction and hypothesis
The objectives were to evaluate clinical and anatomical parameters assessed by three-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound (3D ultrasound) in parous and nulliparous women of ...childbearing age and to assess underreported symptoms of sexual dysfunction (SD), urinary incontinence (UI) and flatus incontinence (FI).
Methods
Women without complaints of pelvic floor dysfunction, aged 20–50 years, were eligible for this prospective cross-sectional study. They completed the King’s Health Questionnaire, Female Sexual Function Index and St Mark’s Incontinence Score adapted for this study. Next, a physical examination and 3D ultrasound were performed. The scores obtained in the questionnaires were compared with the 3D ultrasound data.
Results
In total, 326 women were invited to participate. Of these, 203 women met the inclusion criteria, and their cases were classified as nulliparity (NU, 59), vaginal delivery (VD, 80), forceps delivery (FD, 18) and caesarean section (CS, 48). These groups were homogeneous regarding age (
p
=0.096), parity (
p
=0.051) and body mass index (
p
=0.06). The hiatal dimension (HD;
p
=0.003) and transverse diameter (TD) (
p
=0.001) were significantly different among the groups. Compared with the NU and CS groups, the VD and FD groups had an increased HD and TD. The frequencies of underreported symptoms identified by questionnaires were as follows: SD (46.3%), UI (35%) and FI (28%). After VD and FD, women were more likely to present UI (
p
<0.001), FI (
p
<0.001) and SD (
p
=0.002) than the women with NU and those who had undergone a CS. UI was related to a greater HD (
p
=0.002) and anteroposterior diameter (
p
=0.022), FI was associated with a thinner left pubovisceral muscle (
p
=0.013), and SD was related to a greater HD (
p
=0.026).
Conclusions
Three-dimensional ultrasound can identify mild morphological changes in young women with apparently normal physical examinations, mainly after VD and FD. In such individuals, these findings are associated with higher incidences of underreported sexual, urinary and anal symptoms.
Low back joint compression forces have been linked to the development of chronic back pain. Back-support exoskeletons controllers based on low back compression force estimates could potentially ...reduce the incidence of chronic pain. However, progress has been hampered by the lack of robust and accurate methods for compression force estimation. Electromyography (EMG)-driven musculoskeletal models have been proposed to estimate lumbar compression forces. Nonetheless, they commonly underrepresented trunk musculoskeletal geometries or activation–contraction dynamics, preventing validation across large sets of conditions. Here, we develop and validate a subject-specific large-scale (238 muscle–tendon units) EMG-driven musculoskeletal model for the estimation of lumbosacral moments and compression forces, under eight box-lifting conditions. Ten participants performed symmetric and asymmetric box liftings under 5 and 15 kg weight conditions. EMG-driven model-based estimates of L5/S1 flexion–extension moments displayed high correlation, R2 (mean range: 0.88–0.94), and root mean squared errors between 0.21 and 0.38 Nm/kg, with respect to reference inverse dynamics moments. Model-derived muscle forces were utilized to compute lumbosacral compression forces, which reached eight times participants body weight in 15 kg liftings. For conditions involving stooped postures, model-based analyses revealed a predominant decrease in peak lumbar EMG amplitude during the lowering phase of liftings, which did not translate into a decrease in muscle–tendon forces. During eccentric contraction (box-lowering), our model employed the muscle force–velocity relationship to preserve muscle force despite significant EMG reduction. Our modeling methodology can inherently account for EMG-to-force non-linearities across subjects and lifting conditions, a crucial requirement for robust real-time control of back-support exoskeletons.
Background
There is no established management algorithm for portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in cirrhotic patients. The aim of our study was to prospectively evaluate anticoagulation and transjugular ...intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) to treat PVT.
Methods
Cirrhotics with non‐malignant PVT were included. Low weight molecular heparin anticoagulation was considered in all; TIPS was indicated if thrombosis progressed or anticoagulation was contraindicated. Patients who were not anticoagulated nor received TIPS served as controls.
Results
Fifty‐six patients (of whom 21 controls) were included. PVT was occlusive in 11/35, with extension to the superior mesenteric or splenic vein in 13/35. In the study group 33 patients were anticoagulated, with a recanalization rate of 36% (12/33) compared with 1/21 among controls. A time interval between appearance of thrombosis and anticoagulation < 6 months predicted chance of repermeation. Thrombus progression occurred in 15/21 non anticoagulated patients and in 5/33 anticoagulated patients (P < 0.001). TIPS was placed in six patients. There were five variceal bleedings and two intestinal venous ischaemia episodes in the control group, compared with one variceal bleeding episode in the study group.
Conclusions
In cirrhotics with PVT, a treatment algorithm using anticoagulation and TIPS achieves a good chance of complete repermeation, reduces portal hypertensive complications, and decreases the rate of thrombosis progression.
Wolbachia has been introduced into Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to control the spread of arboviruses, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika. Studies showed that certain Wolbachia strains (such as wMel) ...reduce replication of dengue viruses in the laboratory, prompting the release of mosquitoes carrying the bacterium into the field, where vectorial capacity can be realistically assessed in relation to native non-carriers. Here we apply a new analysis to two published datasets, and show that wMel increases the mean and the variance in Ae. aegypti susceptibility to dengue infection when introgressed into Brazil and Vietnam genetic backgrounds. In the absence of other processes, higher mean susceptibility should lead to enhanced viral transmission. The increase in variance, however, widens the basis for selection imposed by unexplored natural forces, retaining the potential for reducing transmission overall.
Dopaminergic signaling in the striatum, particularly at dopamine 2 receptors (D2R), has been a topic of active investigation in obesity research in the past decades. However, it still remains unclear ...whether variations in striatal D2Rs modulate the risk for obesity and if so in which direction. Human studies have yielded contradictory findings that likely reflect a complex nonlinear relationship, possibly involving a combination of causal effects and compensatory changes. Animal work indicates that although chronic obesogenic diets reduce striatal D2R function, striatal D2R down-regulation does not lead to obesity. In this study, we evaluated the consequences of striatal D2R up-regulation on body-weight gain susceptibility and energy balance in mice. We used a mouse model of D2R overexpression (D2R-OE) in which D2Rs were selectively up-regulated in striatal medium spiny neurons. We uncover a pathological mechanism by which striatal D2R-OE leads to reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis, reduced energy expenditure, and accelerated obesity despite reduced eating. We also show that D2R-OE restricted to development is sufficient to promote obesity and to induce energy-balance deficits. Together, our findings indicate that striatal D2R-OE during development persistently increases the propensity for obesity by reducing energy output in mice. This suggests that early alterations in the striatal dopamine system could represent a key predisposition factor toward obesity.
Force is generated by muscle units according to the neural activation sent by motor neurons. The motor unit is therefore the interface between the neural coding of movement and the musculotendinous ...system. Here we propose a method to accurately measure the latency between an estimate of the neural drive to muscle and force. Furthermore, we systematically investigate this latency, which we refer to as the neuromechanical delay (NMD), as a function of the rate of force generation. In two experimental sessions, eight men performed isometric finger abduction and ankle dorsiflexion sinusoidal contractions at three frequencies and peak-to-peak amplitudes {0.5, 1, and 1.5 Hz; 1, 5, and 10 of maximal force %maximal voluntary contraction (MVC)}, with a mean force of 10% MVC. The discharge timings of motor units of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle were identified by high-density surface EMG decomposition. The neural drive was estimated as the cumulative discharge timings of the identified motor units. The neural drive predicted 80 ± 0.4% of the force fluctuations and consistently anticipated force by 194.6 ± 55 ms (average across conditions and muscles). The NMD decreased nonlinearly with the rate of force generation ( R
= 0.82 ± 0.07; exponential fitting) with a broad range of values (from 70 to 385 ms) and was 66 ± 0.01 ms shorter for the FDI than TA ( P < 0.001). In conclusion, we provided a method to estimate the delay between the neural control and force generation, and we showed that this delay is muscle-dependent and is modulated within a wide range by the central nervous system. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The motor unit is a neuromechanical interface that converts neural signals into mechanical force with a delay determined by neural and peripheral properties. Classically, this delay has been assessed from the muscle resting level or during electrically elicited contractions. In the present study, we introduce the neuromechanical delay as the latency between the neural drive to muscle and force during variable-force contractions, and we show that it is broadly modulated by the central nervous system.
1. This study investigated the effects of hydroxy trace minerals (HTM) compared to sulphate trace minerals (STM) supplementation on growth performance, carcase parameters and mineral retention in ...broilers.
2. A total of 1792 male Cobb 500 d-old were allocated in a completely randomised trial design to one of eight dietary treatments with eight replicates per treatment. The HTM sources used were two levels of Cu hydroxychloride (CHC) (low and high), combined with three levels of Zn hydroxychloride (ZHC) (low, med and high) and two additional treatments STM; Cu sulphate monohydrate (CSM) (low and high) combined with high Zn sulphate monohydrate (ZSM). At 21 and 42 d-old growth performance was evaluated. Additionally, at 42 d-old the carcase traits, meat quality, apparent ileal absorption and activity of antioxidant enzymes were accessed.
3. A data showed that broilers receiving high-CHC had higher body weight, weight gain and better feed conversion ratio as compared to low-CHC at 21 d-old. On day 42, the feed conversion ratio was improved for birds supplemented with high-CHC in diets containing med-ZHC, as compared to low-CHC.
4. Dietary Cu increased the redness of breast colour at the level of high-CHC compared to low-CHC. Greater results were observed on carcase traits for the med-ZHC group as compared to low- or high-ZHC. The ceruloplasmin activity in serum increased in the high-CSM diets containing high-ZSM as compared to low-CSM. The AIA of Cu was higher in broilers supplemented with high-CHC containing med-ZHC as compared to low-CHC. Otherwise, the AIA of Zn increased in broilers fed low-CHC containing low- or med-ZHC as compared to high-CHC.
5. The trial showed that mineral trace supplementation of broilers diets with high-CHC (150 mg/kg) and low-ZHC (80 mg/kg) was a good alternative to replace sulphate mineral sources in diets.
Lumbar joint compression forces have been linked to the development of chronic low back pain, which is specially present in occupational environments. Offline methodologies for lumbosacral joint ...compression force estimation are not commonly integrated in occupational or medical applications due to the highly time-consuming and complex post-processing procedures. Hence, applications such as real-time adjustment of assistive devices (i.e., back-support exoskeletons) for optimal modulation of compression forces remains unfeasible. Here, we present a real-time electromyography (EMG)-driven musculoskeletal model, capable of estimating accurate lumbosacral joint moments and plausible compression forces. Ten participants performed box-lifting tasks (5 and 15 kg) with and without the Laevo Flex back-support exoskeleton using squat and stoop lifting techniques. Lumbosacral kinematics and EMGs from abdominal and thoracolumbar muscles were used to drive, in real-time, subject-specific EMG-driven models, and estimate lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces. Real-time EMG-model derived moments showed high correlations (R2 = 0.76 - 0.83) and estimation errors below 30% with respect to reference inverse dynamic moments. Compared to unassisted lifting conditions, exoskeleton liftings showed mean lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces reductions of 11.9 - 18.7 Nm (6 - 12% of peak moment) and 300 - 450 N (5 - 10%), respectively. Our modelling framework was capable of estimating in real-time, valid lumbosacral joint moments and compression forces in line with in vivo experimental data, as well as detecting the biomechanical effects of a passive back-support exoskeleton. Our presented technology may lead to a new class of bio-protective robots in which personalized assistance profiles are provided based on subject-specific musculoskeletal variables.
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