A Cholinergic Synaptically Triggered Event Participates in the Generation of Persistent Activity Necessary for Eye Fixation

An exciting topic regarding integrative properties of the nervous system is how transient motor commands or brief sensory stimuli are able to evoke persistent neuronal changes, mainly as a sustained, tonic action potential firing. A persisting firing seems to be necessary for postural maintenance after a previous movement. We have studied in vitro and in vivo the generation of the persistent neuronal activity responsible for eye fixation after spontaneous eye movements. Rat sagittal brainstem slices were used for the intracellular recording of prepositus hypoglossi (PH) neurons and their synaptic activation from nearby paramedian pontine reticular formation (PPRF) neurons. Single electrical pulses applied to the PPRF showed a monosynaptic glutamatergic projection on PH neurons, acting on AMPA-kainate receptors. Train stimulation of the PPRF area evoked a sustained depolarization of PH neurons exceeding (by hundreds of milliseconds) stimulus duration. Both duration and amplitude of this sustained depolarization were linearly related to train frequency. The train-evoked sustained depolarization was the result of interaction between glutamatergic excitatory burst neurons and cholinergic mesopontine reticular fibers projecting onto PH neurons, because it was prevented by slice superfusion with cholinergic antagonists and mimicked by cholinergic agonists. As expected, microinjections of cholinergic antagonists in the PH nucleus of alert behaving cats evoked a gaze-holding deficit consisting of a re-centering drift of the eye after each saccade. These findings suggest that a slow, cholinergic, synaptically triggered event participates in the generation of persistent activity characteristic of PH neurons carrying eye position signals

Polynomials for Crystal Frameworks and the Rigid Unit Mode Spectrum

To each discrete translationally periodic bar-joint framework \C in \bR^d we associate a matrix-valued function \Phi_\C(z) defined on the d-torus. The rigid unit mode spectrum \Omega(\C) of \C is defined in terms of the multi-phases of phase-periodic infinitesimal flexes and is shown to correspond to the singular points of the function z \to \rank \Phi_\C(z) and also to the set of wave vectors of harmonic excitations which have vanishing energy in the long wavelength limit. To a crystal framework in Maxwell counting equilibrium, which corresponds to \Phi_\C(z) being square, the determinant of \Phi_\C(z) gives rise to a unique multi-variable polynomial p_\C(z_1,\dots,z_d). For ideal zeolites the algebraic variety of zeros of p_\C(z) on the d-torus coincides with the RUM spectrum. The matrix function is related to other aspects of idealised framework rigidity and flexibility and in particular leads to an explicit formula for the number of supercell-periodic floppy modes. In the case of certain zeolite frameworks in dimensions 2 and 3 direct proofs are given to show the maximal floppy mode property (order $N$). In particular this is the case for the cubic symmetry sodalite framework and some other idealised zeolites.Comment: Final version with new examples and figures, and with clearer streamlined proof

Use of autologous conditioned serum (Orthokine®) for the treatment of the degenerative osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint.: review of the literature

Objectives: Treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) using autologous conditioned serum (ACS) has become in recent years an alternative to consider in the approach of the degenerative joint disease of the knee. There is no support in the literature for the use of ACS for the treatment of OA of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), although the promising results obtained in human patients with knee joint disease as well as in animal studies are opening the way for its use at the TMJ. The aim of this paper is to conduct a review of the published literature regarding the use of the ACS for the treatment of OA in humans, considering the level of scientific evidence, and following the principles of the evidence-based medicine and dentistry. Material and Methods: A PubMed-MEDLINE search was carried out of articles published between 1980 and 2011. After an initial search, a total of 102 articles were obtained, followed by a selection of the most relevant articles according to the topic; a total of 8 articles were selected, which were stratified according to their level of scientific evidence using SORT criteria (Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy). Results: At the time of this review, there is no available literature referring the use of ACS at the TMJ. However, the use of the ACS in other joints is well documented, both experimentally and clinically, in humans and animals. The reviewed articles, with a level of evidence 1 and 2 according to the SORT criteria, have generally promising results. Discussion and Conclusions: The use of ACS in the treatment of OA in joints other than the TMJ, is endorsed by the level of evidence found in the literature, which opens the door to future studies to determine the feasibility of the use of the ACS in the treatment of degenerative OA that affects TMJ

Quadratic Model Predictive Control Including Input Cardinality Constraints

© 2017 IEEE. This note addresses the problem of feedback control with a constrained number of active inputs. This problem is known as sparse control. Specifically, we describe a novel quadratic model predictive control strategy that guarantees sparsity by bounding directly the l0-norm of the control input vector at each control horizon instant. Besides this sparsity constraint, bounded constraints are also imposed on both control input and system state. Under this scenario, we provide sufficient conditions for guaranteeing practical stability of the closed-loop. We transform the combinatorial optimization problem into an equivalent optimization problem that does not consider relaxation in the cardinality constraints. The equivalent optimization problem can be solved utilizing standard nonlinear programming toolboxes that provides the input control sequence corresponding to the global optimum

Titchmarsh theorems for Fourier transforms of Hölder-Lipschitz functions on compact homogeneous manifolds

There have been changes in leadership in both the Student Activities Board and the Student Government Association. The Associate Dean of Students Sophie Wisniewski provides an update on the review of the Judicial Board in light of issues concerning sexual assault on campus. Letters to the editor respond to changes in financial aid for international students and a previous article about political interactions with Republicans on campus. The Women\u27s Issues Block discusses abortion.https://openworks.wooster.edu/voice1981-1990/1444/thumbnail.jp

An experience in modelling business process architecture

We present a mapping of a previously designed Business Process Architecture (BPA) meta-model onto ArchiMate, i.e., the de facto standard Enterprise Architecture (EA) modelling language. This construct mapping allows developing process maps, i.e., descriptions of (views of) the business process architecture of an organization. We demonstrate the development of these process maps using the Signavio Business Process Management (BPM) modelling platform. The developed process maps are part of the organization’s enterprise architecture model and are linked to BPMN process diagrams that detail the functional, control-flow, data and resource aspects of the business processes included in the process map. Our research contributes to the integration of BPM and EA by researching BPA as a concept common to both disciplines

Increasing Vegetable Diversity Consumption Impacts the Sympathetic Nervous System Activity in School-Aged Children

Evidence about the impact of vegetable and fruit diversity consumption on the autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning is scarce. In this cross-sectional study (513 participants, 49.9% girls aged 7 to 12 years), we evaluated the association between vegetable and fruit diversity consumption and the ANS in school-aged children. Dietary intake was collected using a single 24-h recall questionnaire. Fruit and vegetable diversity consumption was estimated by summing up all the different individual vegetables and fruits consumed in one day. Pupillometry was used to assess pupillary light response, which evaluated the ANS activity. Adjusted linear regressions estimated the association between vegetable and fruit diversity consumption with pupillary light response measures. There was a positive and significant association between vegetable diversity consumption and the average dilation velocity, a measure related to the sympathetic nervous system activity (beta-coefficient = 0.03, 95%CI: 0.002; 0.07). Our findings show that vegetable diversity consumption is associated with the ANS response, a possible early link between diet and health in school-aged children

The Influence of Eating at Home on Dietary Diversity and Airway Inflammation in Portuguese School-Aged Children

Considering the negative impact of a lack of dietary diversity on children's nutritional status, we aimed to describe dietary variety according to eating at home frequency and assessed its association with respiratory outcomes in school-aged children. This cross-sectional study included 590 children (49% girls) aged 7 to 12 years from 20 public schools located in city of Porto, Portugal. Daily frequency of eating at home groups were calculated and dietary diversity was calculated using a 10-food group score from a 24 h recall questionnaire. Spirometry and exhaled nitric oxide levels (eNO; = 35 ppb) were assessed. The comparison of diet diversity according to the groups was performed by ANOVA and ANCOVA. The association between dietary diversity and respiratory outcomes was examined using regression models. In multivariate analysis, children in the highest group of eating at home episodes (>= 4 occasions) obtained the lowest dietary diversity mean score, while the lowest group (= 5 food groups) significantly decreased the odds of having an eNO >= 35. Diet diversity might decrease the chance of airway inflammation among children. However, having more eating episodes at home could be a barrier to a more diverse diet