Constitutive acoustic-emission elastic-stress behavior of magnesium alloy

Repeated laoding and unloading of a magnesium alloy below the macroscopic yield stress result in continuous acoustic emissions which are generally repeatable for a given specimen and which are reproducible between different specimens having the same load history. An acoustic emission Bauschinger strain model is proposed to describe the unloading emission behavior. For the limited range of stress examined, loading and unloading stress delays of the order of 50 MN/sq m are observed, and they appear to be dependent upon the direction of loading, the stress rate, and the stress history. The stress delay is hypothesized to be the manifestation of an effective friction stress. The existence of acoustic emission elastic stress constitutive relations is concluded, which provides support for a previously proposed concept for the monitoring of elastic stresses by acoustic emission

Dux4 Target Gene Expression in Mouse Muscle Transplanted with Muscle Cells from FSHD Patients

Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is one of the most prevalent forms of muscular dystrophy. However, because of the unique nature of the genetic abnormality underlying the disease, there is currently no widely available laboratory model. In order to gain insights into FSHD molecular pathology, we developed a xenograft model by transplanting myogenic cells from patients with FSHD (4qA contractions) as well as from their unaffected relatives into the tibialis anterior muscles of immunodeficient mice. Our findings show that muscle xenografts derived from FSHD myogenic cells express Dux4 target genes, recapitulating the expression of these disease biomarkers in muscle biopsies of FSHD patients. FSHD muscle xenografts provide an animal model for investigations of the molecular pathogenesis of FSHD muscles and for drug development

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Benjamin Browne Foster: Down East Diary edited by Charles H. Foster; Maine During the Federal and Jerffersonian Period: A Biographical Guide compiled by Ronald F. Banks; York Is Living History by Neil Rold

Intervenção em redes sociais eleva funções de atenção e memória em idosas: um estudo neuropsicológico

The cognitive functions of elderly people who interact online were assessed. Interventional research of a descriptive-analytical nature was conducted. A sample of 41 elderly women was evaluated both before and after the intervention. The data analysis was carried out using the Friedman test, with a significance level set at p ≤ 0.05. The empirical material was examined through content analysis. A significant improvement in cognitive functions of attention and memory in the groups that underwent the intervention was observed. It is concluded that cognitive training on social networks can promote healthy aging by improving certain cognitive functions in the elderly.As funções cognitivas de pessoas idosas que interagem na internet foram avaliadas. Uma pesquisa intervencionista de caráter descritivo-analítico foi conduzida. Uma amostra de 41 idosas foi avaliada antes e depois da intervenção. A análise dos dados foi realizada utilizando o teste Friedman, com um nível de significância estabelecido em p ≤ 0,05. O material empírico foi examinado através da análise de conteúdo. Uma melhoria significativa nas funções cognitivas de atenção e memória nos grupos que passaram pela intervenção foi observada. Conclui-se que o treinamento cognitivo nas redes sociais pode promover um envelhecimento saudável ao melhorar certas funções cognitivas em idosos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Outcome Measures in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Clinical Trials

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a debilitating muscular dystrophy with a variable age of onset, severity, and progression. While there is still no cure for this disease, progress towards FSHD therapies has accelerated since the underlying mechanism of epigenetic derepression of the double homeobox 4 (DUX4) gene leading to skeletal muscle toxicity was identified. This has facilitated the rapid development of novel therapies to target DUX4 expression and downstream dysregulation that cause muscle degeneration. These discoveries and pre-clinical translational studies have opened new avenues for therapies that await evaluation in clinical trials. As the field anticipates more FSHD trials, the need has grown for more reliable and quantifiable outcome measures of muscle function, both for early phase and phase II and III trials. Advanced tools that facilitate longitudinal clinical assessment will greatly improve the potential of trials to identify therapeutics that successfully ameliorate disease progression or permit muscle functional recovery. Here, we discuss current and emerging FSHD outcome measures and the challenges that investigators may experience in applying such measures to FSHD clinical trial design and implementation

Book Reviews

Reviews of the following books: Acadia, Maine, and New Scotland: Marginal Colonies in the Seventeenth Century by John G. Reid; Faces of Maine by Bob Niss; Morning Was Starlight: My Maine Boyhood by Ernest Dodge