Monitoring changes of the tibialis anterior during dorsiflexion with electromyography, sonomyography, dynamometry and kinematic signals

Dorsiflexion (DF) of the foot plays an essential role in both controlling balance and human gait. Electromyography and Sonomyography can provide information on several aspects of muscle function. The aim was to describe a new method for real-time monitoring of muscular activity, as measured using EMG, muscular architecture, as measured using SMG, force, as measured using dynamometry, and kinematic parameters, as measured using IS during isometric and isotonic contractions of the foot DF. The present methodology may be clinically relevant because it involves a reproducible procedure which allows the function and structure of the foot DF to be monitored.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Seville; Spain; 25 September 2013 through 28 September 2013; Code 10172

CMOS First-Order All-Pass Filter With 2-Hz Pole Frequency

A CMOS fully integrated all-pass filter with an extremely low pole frequency of 2 Hz is introduced in this paper. It has 0.08-dB passband ripple and 0.029-mm 2 Si area. It has 0.38-mW power consumption in strong inversion with ±0.6-V power supplies. In subthreshold, it has 0.64-μW quiescent power and operates with ±200-mV dc supplies. Miller multiplication is used to obtain a large equivalent capacitor without excessive Si area. By varying the gain of the Miller amplifier, the pole frequency can be varied from 2 to 48 Hz. Experimental and simulation results of a test chip prototype in 130-nm CMOS technology validate the proposed circuit

Evaluation of Existing Methods for High-Order Epistasis Detection

[Abstract] Finding epistatic interactions among loci when expressing a phenotype is a widely employed strategy to understand the genetic architecture of complex traits in GWAS. The abundance of methods dedicated to the same purpose, however, makes it increasingly difficult for scientists to decide which method is more suitable for their studies. This work compares the different epistasis detection methods published during the last decade in terms of runtime, detection power and type I error rate, with a special emphasis on high-order interactions. Results show that in terms of detection power, the only methods that perform well across all experiments are the exhaustive methods, although their computational cost may be prohibitive in large-scale studies. Regarding non-exhaustive methods, not one could consistently find epistasis interactions when marginal effects are absent. If marginal effects are present, there are methods that perform well for high-order interactions, such as BADTrees, FDHE-IW, SingleMI or SNPHarvester. As for false-positive control, only SNPHarvester, FDHE-IW and DCHE show good results. The study concludes that there is no single epistasis detection method to recommend in all scenarios. Authors should prioritize exhaustive methods when sufficient computational resources are available considering the data set size, and resort to non-exhaustive methods when the analysis time is prohibitive.10.13039/501100010801-Xunta de Galicia (Grant Number: ED431C2016-037, ED431C2017/04 and ED431G2019/01) 10.13039/501100003176-Ministerio de Educacion Cultura y Deporte (Grant Number: FPU16/01333) 10.13039/501100003329-Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (Grant Number: CGL2016-75482-P, PID2019-104184RB-I00, AEI/FEDER/EU, 10.13039/50110 and TIN2016-75845-P)Xunta de Galicia; ED431C2016-037Xunta de Galicia; ED431G2019/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/0

Toxo: A Library for Calculating Penetrance Tables of High-Order Epistasis Models

[Abstract] Background Epistasis is defined as the interaction between different genes when expressing a specific phenotype. The most common way to characterize an epistatic relationship is using a penetrance table, which contains the probability of expressing the phenotype under study given a particular allele combination. Available simulators can only create penetrance tables for well-known epistasis models involving a small number of genes and under a large number of limitations. Results Toxo is a MATLAB library designed to calculate penetrance tables of epistasis models of any interaction order which resemble real data more closely. The user specifies the desired heritability (or prevalence) and the program maximizes the table’s prevalence (or heritability) according to the input epistatic model boundaries. Conclusions Toxo extends the capabilities of existing simulators that define epistasis using penetrance tables. These tables can be directly used as input for software simulators such as GAMETES so that they are able to generate data samples with larger interactions and more realistic prevalences/heritabilities.This research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain (CGL2016-75482-P), the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain and FEDER funds of the EU (TIN2016-75845-P), the Xunta de Galicia (Grupo de Referencia Competitiva, ED431C2016-037), the Xunta de Galicia and FEDER funds of the EU (Centro de Investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022, ref. ED431G2019/01), Consolidation Program of Competitive Research (ED431C 2017/04) and the FPU Program of the Ministry of Education of Spain (FPU16/01333)Xunta de Galicia; ED431C2016-037Xunta de Galicia; ED431G2019/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/0

Magneto-optical effects in interacting localized and propagating surface plasmon modes

We report that the effect of an external magnetic field on the propagation of surface plasmons can be effectively modified through the coupling between localized (LSP) and propagating (SPP) surface plasmons. When these plasmon modes do not interact, the main effect of the magnetic field is a modification of the wavevector of the SPP mode, leaving the LSP virtually unaffected. Once both modes start to interact, there is a strong variation of the magnetic field induced modification of the SPP dispersion curve and, simultaneously, the LSP mode becomes sensitive to the magnetic field.This work was supported by the EU (NMP3-SL- 2008-214107-Nanomagma), the Spanish MICINN (“MAGPLAS” MAT2008-06765-C02-01/NAN and “FUNCOAT” CONSOLIDER INGENIO 2010 CSD2008-00023), the Comunidad de Madrid (“NANOBIOMAGNET” S2009/MAT-1726 and “MICROSERES-CM” S2009/TIC-1476), and CSIC (“CRIMAFOT” PIF08-016-4). We thank A. Cebollada and J. M. García-Martín for growing and characterizing the Au/Co/Au trilayers and reading this manuscript, and R. Quidant and G.Badenes for fruitful discussions.Peer reviewe

Expression and immunohistochemical localization of leptin in human periapical granulomas

Background: Leptin, initially described as an adipocyte-derived hormone to regulate weight control, is expressed in normal and inflamed human dental pulp, being up-regulated during pulp experimental inflammation. Leptin receptor (LER) has been identified in human periapical granulomas. The aim of this study was to analyze and characterize the expression of leptin in human periapical granulomas. Material and Methods: Fifteen periapical inflammatory lesions were obtained from extracted human teeth and teeth which underwent periapical surgery. After their morphological categorization as periapical granulomas and gradation of the inflammatory infiltrate, they were examined by immunohistochemistry using human leptin policlonal antibodies. Leptin mRNA expression was also determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and the amount of leptin protein was analyzed by immunoblot. Results: All periapical lesions exhibited the characteristic of chronic granulomatous inflammatory process with inflammatory infiltrate grade III. Leptin+ cells were detected in 13 periapical granulomas (86.6%). The median number of Leptin+ cells in periapical granulomas was 1.70 (0.00-7.4). Amongst the inflammatory cells in the periapical granulomas, only macrophages were reactive to leptin antibodies. Western blot analysis revealed the presence in all samples of a protein with apparent molecular weight of approximately 16 kDa, corresponding to the estimated molecular weights of leptin. The expression of leptin mRNA was confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis and the size of the amplified fragment (296 bp for leptin and 194 bp for cyclophilin) was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Conclusions: For the first time, it has been demonstrated that human periapical granuloma expresses the adipokine leptin

Organic carbon and environmental quality of riverine and off-shore sediments from the Gulf of Cádiz, Spain

6 páginas, 2 figuras, 3 tablas, 14 referencias.-- [email protected] we show that heavy metal geoaccumulation is apparent in the Tinto and Odiel estuary and, at a lower magnitude, in off-shore sediments. Values above probable effects level (PEL) are recorded for As, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in the Tinto and Odiel estuary, for As and Hg in the associated off-shore sediments and for As in the Guadiana River. Significant correlations were found between total organic carbon (TOC) and Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in the Tinto and Odiel estuary, and Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Hg and As in the Guadiana River. PCA analysis differentiated the three studied locations.Peer reviewe

Optimization Design of RC Elevated Water Tanks under Seismic Loads

[EN] This paper deals with the seismic column design of 35 elevated RC water storage tanks. Tanks comprise a top conic trunk reservoir, a column with variable hollow square cross-sections, and a shallow foundation on a sand layer. The five-column heights considered are 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 m. The five tanks are subjected to seven degrees of seismic loading characterized by the reference peak ground acceleration in Eurocode 8. The elevated tanks are designed against the full prescriptions of Eurocode 2, Eurocode 8, and the Spaniard Structural Code of Practice. This includes variable loads for seismicity, wind, snow, etc., together with the action of self-weight and dead loads. The optimization design method considered is a variant of the old bachelor algorithm, an adaptive threshold acceptance method with a neighborhood move based on the mutation operator from genetic algorithms. Column results show the high nonlinearity of the problem since the horizontal seismic forces depend on the rigidity and height of the columns. The main features of the optimized tanks give guidance for the practical design of this kind of elevated RC water tank.Grant PID2020-117056RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by "ERDF A way of making Europe".Martínez-Martín, FJ.; Yepes, V.; Gonzalez Vidosa, F.; Hospitaler Pérez, A.; Alcalá-González, J. (2022). Optimization Design of RC Elevated Water Tanks under Seismic Loads. Applied Sciences. 12(11):1-19. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12115635119121

Organic carbon and environmental quality of riverine and off-shore sediments from the Gulf of Cádiz, Spain

6 páginas, 2 figuras, 3 tablas, 14 referencias.-- [email protected] we show that heavy metal geoaccumulation is apparent in the Tinto and Odiel estuary and, at a lower magnitude, in off-shore sediments. Values above probable effects level (PEL) are recorded for As, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn in the Tinto and Odiel estuary, for As and Hg in the associated off-shore sediments and for As in the Guadiana River. Significant correlations were found between total organic carbon (TOC) and Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn in the Tinto and Odiel estuary, and Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Hg and As in the Guadiana River. PCA analysis differentiated the three studied locations.Peer reviewe

Violation of quark-hadron duality and spectral chiral moments in QCD

We analyze the spectral moments of the V-A two-point correlation function. Using all known short-distance constraints and the most recent experimental data from tau decays, we determine the lowest spectral moments, trying to assess the uncertainties associated with the so-called violations of quark-hadron duality. We have generated a large number of 'acceptable' spectral functions, satisfying all conditions, and have used them to extract the wanted hadronic parameters through a careful statistical analysis. We obtain accurate values for the ChPT couplings L10 and C87, and a realistic determination of the dimension six and eight contributions in the operator product expansion, O6=(-5.4^{+3.6}_{-1.6})*10^-3 GeV^6 and O8=(-8.9^{+12.6}_{-7.4})*10^-3 GeV^8, showing that the duality-violation effects have been usually underestimated in previous literature