Comparison of the temporal properties of medium latency responses induced by cortical and peripheral stimulation

Sudden foot dorsiflexion lengthens soleus muscle and activates stretch-based spinal reflexes. Dorsiflexion can be triggered by activating tibialis anterior (TA) muscle through peroneal nerve stimulation or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which evokes a response in the soleus muscle referred to as Medium Latency Reflex (MLR) or motor-evoked potential-80 (Soleus MEP80), respectively. This study aimed to examine the relationship between these responses in humans. Therefore, latency characteristics and correlation of responses between soleus MEP80 and MLR were investigated. We have also calculated the latencies from the onset of tibialis activity, i.e., subtracting of TA-MEP from MEP80 and TA direct motor response from MLR. We referred to these calculations as Stretch Loop Latency Central (SLLc) for MEP80 and Stretch Loop Latency Peripheral (SLLp) for MLR. The latency of SLLc was found to be 61.4 ± 5.6 ms which was significantly shorter (P = 0.0259) than SLLp (64.0 ± 4.2 ms) and these latencies were correlated (P = 0.0045, r = 0.689). The latency of both responses was also found to be inversely related to the response amplitude (P = 0.0121, r = 0.451) probably due to the activation of large motor units. When amplitude differences were corrected, i.e. investigating the responses with similar amplitudes, SLLp, and SLLc latencies found to be similar (P = 0.1317). Due to the identical features of the soleus MEP80 and MLR, we propose that they may both have spinal origins

Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Executive Function and Attention in Adult Patients With ADHD

Aerobic exercise can improve cognitive functions in healthy individuals and in various clinical groups, which might be particularly relevant for patients with ADHD. This study investigated the effects of a single bout of aerobic exercise on attention and executive functions in adult patients with ADHD, including functional MRI to examine the underlying neural mechanisms. On two different days, 23 adult patients with ADHD and 23 matched healthy controls performed in a flanker task, while functional MR images were collected, following 30 min of continuous stationary cycling with moderate intensity as well as after a control condition (watching a movie). Behavioral performance and brain activation were tested for differences between groups and conditions and for interactions to investigate whether exercise improves executive function to a greater extent in patients compared to healthy controls. Exercise significantly improved reaction times in congruent and incongruent trials of the flanker task in patients with ADHD but not in healthy controls. We found no changes in brain activation between the two conditions for either group. However, a subgroup analysis of ADHD patients with a higher degree of cardiorespiratory fitness revealed decreased activation in premotor areas during congruent trials and in premotor and medial frontal cortex during incongruent trials in the exercise compared to the control condition. Our results indicate exercise-induced improvements in attention and processing speed in patients with ADHD, demonstrating that adult patients with ADHD may benefit from an acute bout of exercise. These findings could be of high relevance for developing alternative treatment approaches for ADHD. In addition, results of the current study contribute to elucidate the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of exercise on cognition and to better understand the role of cardiorespiratory fitness on these effects

Potential role of dietary ?-3 essential fatty acids on some oxidant/antioxidant parameters in rats' corpus striatum

Omega-3 (?-3) is an essential fatty acid (EFA) found in large amounts in fish oil. It contains eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is one of the building structures of membrane phospholipids of brain and necessary for continuity of neuronal functions. Evidences support the hypothesis that schizophrenia may be the result of increased reactive oxygen species mediated neuronal injury. Recent reports also suggest the protective effect of ?-3 EFA against neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia. This study proposed to assess the changes in antioxidant enzyme and oxidant parameters in the corpus striatum (CS) of rats fed with ?-3 EFA diet (0.4 g/kg/day) for 30 days. Eight control rats and nine rats fed with ?-3 were decapitated under ether anesthesia, and CS was removed immediately. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and nitric oxide (NO) levels as well as total superoxide dismutase (t-SOD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme activities in the CS were measured. Rats treated with ?-3 EFA had significantly lower values of TBARS (P<0.001), NO (P<0.002) and XO (P<0.005) whereas higher values of t-SOD enzyme activity (P<0.002) than the control rats. These results indicate that ?-3 EFA rich fish oil diet reduces some oxidant parameters in CS. This may be revealed by means of reduced CS TBARS levels as an end product of lipid peroxidation of membranes in treated rats. Additionally, reduced XO activity and NO levels may support this notion. On the other hand, although the mechanism is not clear, ?-3 EFA may indirectly enhance the activity of antioxidant enzyme t-SOD. Taken together, this preliminary animal study provides strong support for a therapeutic effect of ?-3 EFA supplemented to classical neuroleptic regimen in the treatment of schizophrenic symptoms and tardive dyskinesia. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

MerR-fluorescent protein chimera biosensor for fast and sensitive detection of Hg2+ in drinking water

PubMed ID: 31411759Mercury ion (Hg2+) is a universal pollutant and its detection is crucial for public healthcare. In this study, we developed a novel fluorescent biosensor by construction of a protein fusion between the mercury-sensing transcription factor MerR and enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP). Hg2+-induced conformational change of MerR was transduced into fluorescence signal. Fluorescence intensity of the biosensor protein decreased with increasing concentrations of Hg2+ and a linear response was obtained in the range of 0.5–40 nM. The limit of detection was 0.5 nM, which was much lower than the maximum allowed level in water. The biosensor specificity was highly dependent on type and concentration of metal ion. The biosensor exhibited high specificity in a mixture of metal ions at 0.5 nM concentration. However, the interference effect was more pronounced at 40 nM concentration of metal ions. The measurement was completed in less than 1 Min with no need for sample preparation or preincubation steps. The biosensor achieved accurate and reliable detection in the spiked drinking water sample, as validated by the inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. © 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.Ege Üniversitesi: 2011 FEN 035We thank Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit for the financial support (project number: 2011 FEN 035). The authors declare no conflict of interest. -

Stability Analysis and Optimized Slope Angle for the Iron Ore Open-Pit Mine

With an increase in the overall slope height of open pit mines, stability analysis and amount of stripping waste rock becomes progressively difficult. It is necessary to optimize the overall slope angle by increasing it as much as possible with ensuring the mining safety. After comprehensive geotechnical investigation and rock mechanical laboratory tests, the combined use of limit equilibrium and numerical modeling analysis methods increases reliability and accuracy of the stability analysis. With the optimum slope design in Bizmisen iron ore mine, there will be a significant decrease in production cost and in the amount of stripping

Prevalence of depression in the elderly population of manİsa and related risk factors [Manisa’da yaşlilarda depresif belirti prevalansi ve ilişkili risk faktörleri]

Introduction: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of depressive symptoms in elderly people living in Manisa and to reveal the possible risk factors. Materials and Method: The population of this cross-sectional study included 17760 elderly people living in the Manisa Celal Bayar University Health Education and Research District in 2017. The sample size of the study was calculated as 546 using Epi Info 7.0 software. Sample selection was performed by a simple random sampling method of the records of Manisa Provincial Public Health Directorate. The data were collected by authors, and the participation ratio was 97.8% (n=534). The Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living and Geriatric Depression Scale were used as data collection tools, in addition to a sociodemographic form. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate Odds ratios (with logistic regression analysis). Results: The mean age of the participants was 72.70±6.35 years. Of note, 56.3% of the elderly participants were women, 44.3% were primary school graduates and 19.6% were living alone. Moreover, 78.6% of them had at least one chronic disease requiring continuous medication. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 32.8%. Conclusion: Multivariate analyses indicated that the prevalence of depressive symptoms is more likely higher in individuals living alone and in those who are dependent on others for daily life activities. Additionally, negative expenditure income balance, perceived annual change in health status, history of previous psychiatric disease and history of abuse significantly increase the prevalence of depressive symptoms. © 2018, Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved