The repeatability of stride time variability, regularity, and long-range correlations.

Background: Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and sample entropy (SE) measure the long-term correlations and regularity of gait patterns, respectively, having previously been used to identify participants at risk of falling, previous history of injury, or patients with motor diseases. Since these measures are more sensitive to gait impairment than linear measures (e.g.

The Agreement between Wearable Sensors and Force Plates for the Analysis of Stride Time Variability.

The variability and regularity of stride time may help identify individuals at a greater risk of injury during military load carriage. Wearable sensors could provide a cost-effective, portable solution for recording these measures, but establishing their validity is necessary. This study aimed to determine the agreement of several measures of stride time variability across five wearable sensors (Opal APDM, Vicon Blue Trident, Axivity, Plantiga, Xsens DOT) and force plates during military load carriage.

Can handling a weapon make soldiers more unstable?

Gait stability in soldiers can be affected by task constraints that may lead to injuries. This study determined the effects of weapon handling and speed on gait stability in seventeen soldiers walking on a treadmill with and without a replica weapon at self-selected (SS), 3.5 km·h, 5.

Activated Platelets Induce an Anti-Inflammatory Response of Monocytes/Macrophages through Cross-Regulation of PGE and Cytokines.

Platelets are well known for their role in hemostasis and are also increasingly recognized for their roles in the innate immune system during inflammation and their regulation of macrophage activation. Here, we aimed to study the influence of platelets on the production of inflammatory mediators by monocytes and macrophages. Analyzing cocultures of platelets and murine bone marrow-derived macrophages or human monocytes, we found that collagen-activated platelets release high amounts of prostaglandin E (PGE) that leads to an increased interleukin- (IL-) 10 release and a decreased tumor necrosis factor (TNF) secretion out of the monocytes or macrophages.

Salt supplementation ameliorates developmental kidney defects in COX-2 mice.

Deficiency of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) activity in the early postnatal period causes impairment of kidney development leading to kidney insufficiency. We hypothesize that impaired NaCl reabsorption during the first days of life is a substantial cause for nephrogenic defects observed in COX-2 mice and that salt supplementation corrects these defects. Daily injections of NaCl (0.

Angiotensin II-AT1-receptor signaling is necessary for cyclooxygenase-2-dependent postnatal nephron generation.

Deletion of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) causes impairment of postnatal kidney development. Here we tested whether the renin angiotensin system contributes to COX-2-dependent nephrogenesis in mice after birth and whether a rescue of impaired renal development and function in COX-2 mice was achievable. Plasma renin concentration in mouse pups showed a birth peak and a second peak around day P8 during the first 10 days post birth.

Neural Mechanisms of Positive Mood Induced Modulation of Reality Monitoring.

This study investigates the neural mechanisms of mood induced modulation of cognition, specifically, on reality monitoring abilities. Reality monitoring is the ability to accurately distinguish the source of self-generated information from externally-presented contextual information. When participants were in a positive mood, compared to a neutral mood, they significantly improved their source memory identification abilities, particularly for self-generated information.

Infusion of iodine-based contrast agents into poly(p-dioxanone) as a radiopaque resorbable IVC filter.

To determine the feasibility of infusing resorbable inferior vena cava (IVC) filter with iodine-based contrast agents to produce a radiopaque, computed tomography (CT)-visible IVC filter. Infused poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) was obtained by incubating PPDO in different concentrations of 4-iodobenzoyl chloride (IBC) and 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid (TIBA). Characterizations of infused and nascent PPDO were done using elemental analysis, micro-CT, tensile strength analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry.

Light-activatable gold nanoshells for drug delivery applications.

Gold nanoshells (AuNSs) are currently being investigated as nanocarriers for drug delivery systems and have both diagnostic and therapeutic applications, including photothermal ablation, hyperthermia, drug delivery, and diagnostic imaging, particularly in oncology. AuNSs are valuable for their localized surface plasmon resonance, biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and facile functionalization. AuNSs used for drug delivery can be spatially and temporally triggered to release controlled quantities of drugs inside the target cells when illuminated with a near-infrared (NIR) laser.

Gradient evolution of body colouration in surface- and cave-dwelling Poecilia mexicana and the role of phenotype-assortative female mate choice.

Ecological speciation assumes reproductive isolation to be the product of ecologically based divergent selection. Beside natural selection, sexual selection via phenotype-assortative mating is thought to promote reproductive isolation. Using the neotropical fish Poecilia mexicana from a system that has been described to undergo incipient ecological speciation in adjacent, but ecologically divergent habitats characterized by the presence or absence of toxic H2S and darkness in cave habitats, we demonstrate a gradual change in male body colouration along the gradient of light/darkness, including a reduction of ornaments that are under both inter- and intrasexual selection in surface populations.