Functional organisation of anterior thoracic stretch receptors in the deep-sea isopod Bathynomus doederleini: Behavioural, morphological and physiological studies

The relationship between segmental mobility and the organisation of thoracic stretch receptors was examined in the deep-sea isopod Bathynomus doederleini, which shows a developed adaptive behaviour during digging. The movements of segments during digging were analysed from video recordings, which showed that a large excursion occurred in the anterior thoracic segments. Dyefills of axons revealed four types of thoracic stretch receptor (TSR): an N-cell type (TSR-1), a differentiated Ncell type (TSR-2), a muscle receptor organ (MRO)-type with a long, single receptor muscle (TSR-3) and an MROtype with a short, single receptor muscle (TSR-4 to TSR-7). Physiologically, TSR-1 and TSR-2 are tonic-type stretch receptors. TSR-3 to TSR-7 show two kinds of stretchactivated responses, a tonic response and a phasico-tonic response in which responses are maintained as long as the stretch stimulus is delivered. Both TSR-2, with a long muscle strand, and TSR-3, with a single, long receptor muscle, have a wide dynamic range in their stretchactivated response. In addition, TSR-2 is controlled by an intersegmental inhibitory reflex from TSR-3. These results suggest that, although TSR-1 has no receptor muscle and TSR-2 has a less-differentiated receptor-like muscle, they are fully functional position detectors of segmental movements, as are the MRO-type receptors TSR-3 to TSR-7.</p

Screening of sleep apnea based on heart rate variability and long short-term memory

Purpose: Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a prevalent sleep disorder in which apnea and hypopnea occur frequently during sleep and result in increase of the risk of lifestyle-related disease development as well as daytime sleepiness. Although SAS is a common sleep disorder, most patients remain undiagnosed because the gold standard test polysomnography (PSG), is high-cost and unavailable in many hospitals. Thus, an SAS screening system that can be used easily at home is needed. Methods: Apnea during sleep affects changes in the autonomic nervous function, which causes fluctuation of the heart rate. In this study, we propose a new SAS screening method that combines heart rate measurement and long short-term memory (LSTM) which is a type of recurrent neural network (RNN). We analyzed the data of intervals between adjacent R waves (R-R interval; RRI) on the electrocardiogram (ECG) records, and used an LSTM model whose inputs are the RRI data is trained to discriminate the respiratory condition during sleep. Results: The application of the proposed method to clinical data showed that it distinguished between patients with moderate-to-severe SAS with a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 100%, results which are superior to any other existing SAS screening methods. Conclusion: Since the RRI data can be easily measured by means of wearable heart rate sensors, our method may prove to be useful as an SAS screening system at home

Erziehung durch Erzahlung, die die Entwicklung der Kinder stutzt (1) : besonders Erziehung durch Erzahlung in dem Waldorfkindergarten und der Waldorfschule

論文 (Article

Comparison of weighed food record procedures for the reference methods in two validation studies of food frequency questionnaires

Background: Although open-ended dietary assessment methods, such as weighed food records (WFRs), are generally considered to be comparable, differences between procedures may influence outcome when WFRs are conducted independently. In this paper, we assess the procedures of WFRs in two studies to describe their dietary assessment procedures and compare the subsequent outcomes. Methods: WFRs of 12 days (3 days for four seasons) were conducted as reference methods for intake data, in accordance with the study protocol, among a subsample of participants of two large cohort studies. We compared the WFR procedures descriptively. We also compared some dietary intake variables, such as the frequency of foods and dishes and contributing foods, to determine whether there were differences in the portion size distribution and intra- and inter-individual variation in nutrient intakes caused by the difference in procedures. Results: General procedures of the dietary records were conducted in accordance with the National Health and Nutrition Survey and were the same for both studies. Differences were seen in 1) selection of multiple days (non-consecutive days versus consecutive days); and 2) survey sheet recording method (individual versus family participation). However, the foods contributing to intake of energy and selected nutrients, the portion size distribution, and intra- and inter-individual variation in nutrient intakes were similar between the two studies. Conclusion: Our comparison of WFR procedures in two independent studies revealed several differences. Notwithstanding these procedural differences, however, the subsequent outcomes were similar

Central control of bone remodeling by neuromidin U.

Bone remodeling, the function affected in osteoporosis, the most common of bone diseases, comprises two phases: bone formation by matrix-producing osteoblasts 1 and bone resorption by osteoclasts 2 . The demonstration that the anorexigenic hormone leptin 3-5 inhibits bone formation through a hypothalamic relay Bone mass is maintained at a constant level between puberty and menopause by a succession of bone-resorption and bone-formation phases NMU is a small peptide produced by nerve cells in the submucosal and myenteric plexuses in the small intestine, and also by structures in the brain, including the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus 9 . It is generally assumed that NMU acts as a neuropeptide to regulate various aspects of physiology, including appetite, stress response and SNS activation 9 . Indeed, NMU-deficient (Nmu -/-) mice develop obesity due to increased food intake and reduced locomotor activity that is believed, at least in part, to be leptin independent 8 . In addition, expression of NMU is diminished in leptin-deficient (Lep ob ) mice 18 , but can be induced in these mice by leptin treatment When assessed at 3 and 6 months of age, both male and female Nmu -/-mice showed a high bone mass phenotype as compared to the wild type (WT), with male mice more severely affected than female mic