Previous studies investigating the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on muscle strength showed no consensus. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to systematically ...review the literature on the effects of single dose tDCS to improve muscle strength. A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMeb, ISI Web of Science, SciELO, and Scopus using search terms regarding tDCS and muscle strength. Studies were included in accordance with Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Setting (PICOS) including criteria. Healthy men and women, strength training practitioners or sedentary were selected. The acute effects of single dose anode stimulus of tDCS (a-tDCS) and the placebo stimulus of tDCS (sham) or no interventions were considered as an intervention and comparators, respectively. Measures related to muscle strength were analyzed. To conduct the analyses a weighted mean difference (WMD) and the standardized mean difference (SMD) were applied as appropriate. A total of 15 studies were included in this systematic review and 14 in meta-analysis. Regarding the maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC), a small effect was seen between tDCS and Sham with significant difference between the conditions (SMD = 0.29; CI95% = 0.05 to 0.54; Z = 2.36; p = 0.02). The muscular endurance measured by the seconds sustaining a percentage of MIVC demonstrated a large effect between tDCS and Sham (WMD = 43.66; CI95% = 29.76 to 57.55; Z = 6.16; p < 0.001), showing an improvement in muscular endurance after exposure to tDCS. However, muscular endurance based on total work showed a trivial effect between tDCS and Sham with no significant difference (SMD = 0.22; CI95% = -0.11 to 0.54; Z = 1.32, p = 0.19). This study suggests that the use of tDCS may promote increase in maximal voluntary contraction and muscular endurance through isometric contractions.
Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT), a treatment for certain gastrointestinal conditions associated with dysbiosis in people, is also empirically employed in horses with colitis. This study used ...microbiota high-throughput sequencing to compare the fecal microbial profile of healthy horses to that of geriatric microbial transplant recipients experiencing diarrhea and tested whether FMT restores microbiota diversity.
To evaluate the effect of environment and donor characteristics on the intestinal microbiota, fecal samples were collected per rectum from 15 healthy young-adult (2-12 years) and 15 geriatric (≥20 years) horses. Additionally, FMT was performed for 3 consecutive days in 5 geriatric horses with diarrhea using feces from the same healthy donor. Fecal samples were collected from both donor and recipient prior to each FMT and from recipients 24 hours following the last FMT. The profile of the fecal bacterial microbiota was compared using 16S amplicon sequencing.
In contrast to diet and farm location, age did not significantly affect the healthy equine fecal microbiota, indicating that both healthy geriatric and young-adult horses may serve as FMT donors. The fecal microbiota of horses with diarrhea was significantly more variable in terms of β-diversity than that of healthy horses. An inverse correlation between diarrhea score and relative abundance of Verrucomicrobia was identified in surviving FMT recipients. At study completion, the fecal microbiota of horses which responded to FMT had a higher α-diversity than prior to treatment and was phylogenetically more similar to that of the donor.
To compare the psychological responses to continuous (CT) and high-intensity interval training (HIT) sessions.
Fifteen men attended one CT session and one HIT session. During the first visit, the ...maximum heart rate, VO2Peak and respiratory compensation point (RCP) were determined through a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test. The HIT stimulus intensity corresponded to 100% of VO2Peak, and the average intensity of both sessions was maintained at 15% below the RCP. The order of the sessions was randomized. Psychological and physiological variables were recorded before, during and after each session.
There were no significant differences between the average percentages of VO2 during the two exercise sessions (HIT: 73.3% vs. CT: 71.8%; p = 0.779). Lower responses on the feeling scale (p≤0.01) and higher responses on the felt arousal scale (p≤0.001) and the rating of perceived exertion were obtained during the HIT session. Despite the more negative feeling scale responses observed during HIT and a greater feeling of fatigue (measured by Profile of Mood States) afterwards (p<0.01), the physical activity enjoyment scale was not significantly different between the two conditions (p = 0.779).
Despite the same average intensity for both conditions, similar psychological responses under HIT and CT conditions were not observed, suggesting that the higher dependence on anaerobic metabolism during HIT negatively influenced the feeling scale responses.
Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) is empirically implemented in horses with colitis to facilitate resolution of diarrhea. The purpose of this study was to assess FMT as a clinical treatment and ...modulator of fecal microbiota in hospitalized horses with colitis.
A total of 22 horses with moderate to severe diarrhea, consistent with a diagnosis of colitis, were enrolled at two referral hospitals (L1: n = 12; L2: n = 10). FMT was performed in all 12 patients on 3 consecutive days at L1, while treatment at L2 consisted of standard care without FMT. Manure was collected once daily for 4 days from the rectum in all colitis horses, prior to FMT for horses at L1, and from each manure sample used for FMT. Fecal samples from 10 clinically healthy control horses housed at L2, and 30 healthy horses located at 5 barns in regional proximity to L1 were also obtained to characterize the regional healthy equine microbiome. All fecal microbiota were analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing.
As expected, healthy horses at both locations showed a greater α-diversity and lower β-diversity compared to horses with colitis. The fecal microbiome of healthy horses clustered by location, with L1 horses showing a higher prevalence of Kiritimatiellaeota. Improved manure consistency (lower diarrhea score) was associated with a greater α-diversity in horses with colitis at both locations (L1: r = -0.385, P = 0.006; L2: r = -0.479, P = 0.002). Fecal transplant recipients demonstrated a greater overall reduction in diarrhea score (median: 4±3 grades), compared to untreated horses (median: 1.5±3 grades, P = 0.021), with a higher incidence in day-over-day improvement in diarrhea (22/36 (61%) vs. 10/28 (36%) instances, P = 0.011). When comparing microbiota of diseased horses at study conclusion to that of healthy controls, FMT-treated horses showed a lower mean UniFrac distance (0.53±0.27) than untreated horses (0.62±0.26, P<0.001), indicating greater normalization of the microbiome in FMT-treated patients.
This article explores the impact of Universal Credit (UC) on a group of formerly homeless people who were forcibly made to experience a system of full of errors and government that, in their view, ...did not care. The experience of a marginalised and vulnerable group with complex needs allows one to consider the impacts of welfare reforms on vulnerable people. The research was conducted with formerly homeless contacted via organisations that support people who experienced homelessness in Brighton, Southeast of the UK. Five people (32 years and older) participated. Qualitative data were obtained in photo‐elicitation interviews and were thematically analysed. Findings were that they faced a system of error as well as experiencing a sense the government did not care about their situation. The participants expressed their views on how the UC process made them ‘struggle’ and caused them to have to ‘use food banks’, and argued that the staff did not know the policy. The system is singled out as the cause of UC claimants' destitution. For the participants, policymakers' negligence, contempt, and detachment were not hard to understand. The article provides implications for practice and research.
A
bstract
We discuss the impact of heavy neutrino-antineutrino oscillations (
N
N
¯
Os
) on heavy neutral lepton (HNL) searches at proposed electron-positron colliders such as the future circular
e
+
...e
−
collider (FCC-
ee
). During the
Z
pole run, HNLs can be produced alongside a light neutrino or antineutrino that escapes detection and can decay into a charged lepton or antilepton together with an off-shell
W
boson. In this case, signals of lepton number violation (LNV) only show up in the final state distributions. We discuss how
N
N
¯
Os
, a typical feature of collider-testable low-scale seesaw models where the heavy neutrinos form pseudo-Dirac pairs, modify such final state distributions. For example, the forward-backward asymmetry (FBA) of the reconstructed heavy (anti)neutrinos develops an oscillatory dependence on the HNL lifetime. We show that these oscillations can be resolvable for long-lived HNLs. We also discuss that when the
N
N
¯
Os
are not resolvable, they can nevertheless significantly modify the theory predictions for FBAs and observables such as the ratio of the total number of HNL decays into
ℓ
−
over ones into
ℓ
+
, in an interval of the angle
θ
between the HNL and the beam axis. Our results show that
N
N
¯
Os
should be included in collider simulations of HNLs at the FCC-
ee
.
Cryptosporidiosis, a leading cause of diarrhea among infants, is caused by apicomplexan parasites classified in the genus
The lack of effective drugs is motivating research to develop alternative ...treatments. With this aim, the impact of probiotics on the course of cryptosporidiosis was investigated. The native intestinal microbiota of specific pathogen-free immunosuppressed mice was initially depleted with orally administered antibiotics. A commercially available probiotic product intended for human consumption was subsequently added to the drinking water. Mice were infected with
oocysts. On average, mice treated with the probiotic product developed more severe infections. The probiotics significantly altered the fecal microbiota, but no direct association between ingestion of probiotic bacteria and their abundance in fecal microbiota was observed. These results suggest that probiotics indirectly altered the intestinal microenvironment or the intestinal epithelium in a way that favored proliferation of
The results of our study show that
responded to changes in the intestinal microenvironment induced by a nutritional supplement. This outcome paves the way for research to identify nutritional interventions aimed at limiting the impact of cryptosporidiosis.
In this article we investigate how a particular vision of the future of EU defence has embedded itself into different arenas of EU politics over decades, and is currently gaining material expression ...in the European Defence Fund (EDF). Through an historiographic approach, we traced the development of a particular narrative on security, innovation, research, and economic growth based on fears of technology gaps and dependence on the US, and a belief in the potential of military R&D to produce civilian benefits. We provide an alternative reading of the emergence of the EDF by drawing on literature within Science and Technology Studies, in particular the concept of sociotechnical imaginaries, to highlight wider socio‐political dimensions of defence technologies and expand debates on EU defence.
ABSTRACT
We present ALMA CO (2-1) observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 3281 at ∼100 pc spatial resolution. This galaxy was previously known to present a bi-conical ionized gas outflow extending ...to 2 kpc from the nucleus. The analysis of the CO moment and channel maps, as well as kinematic modelling, reveals two main components in the molecular gas: one rotating in the galaxy plane and another outflowing and extending up to ∼1.8–2.6 kpc from the nucleus, partially encasing the ionized component. The mass of the outflowing molecular gas component is Mmol, out = (2.5 ± 1.6) × 106 $\rm {{\rm M}_{\odot }}$ , representing ∼1.7–2 per cent of the total molecular gas seen in emission within the inner 2.3 kpc. The corresponding mass outflow rate and power are $\dot{M}_{\mathrm{out},\mathrm{mol}}$ = 0.12–0.72 $\rm {{\rm M}_{\odot }\, yr^{-1}}$ and $\dot{E}_{\mathrm{out},\mathrm{mol}}$ = (0.045–1.6) ${\times }\, 10^{40}$ $\rm {erg\, s^{-1}}$ , which translates to a kinetic coupling efficiency with the AGN power of only 10−4–0.02 per cent. This value reaches up to 0.1 per cent when including both the feedback in the ionized and molecular gas, as well as considering that only part of the energy couples kinetically with the gas. Some of the non-rotating CO emission can also be attributed to inflow in the galaxy plane towards the nucleus. The similarity of the CO outflow – encasing the ionized gas one and the X-ray emission – to those seen in other sources, suggests that this may be a common property of galactic outflows.
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