Technology and Toil in Nineteenth-Century Scotland: An Overview

Creativity is an essential aspect of what it means to be human. We can choose to express this creativity in works of the imagination, such as writing poetry, composing music or painting pictures, but we can also express ourselves in other forms of activity which are perhaps less esoteric, however still imaginative, such as building bridges, making furniture, constructing railway engines, landscaping gardens, and so on. Work then is essential to human existence; it provides outlets for our cre..

MULTIDISCIPLlNE TRAINING DEMANDS MAY IMPAIR ADAPTATION OF THE NEUROMUSCULAR SYSTEM IN TRIATHLETES

Muscle recruitment during cycling is highly consistent and constrained in trained cyclists relative to novice cyclists (Chapman et aI., 2004). This is consistent with previous evidence that adaptation of the neuromuscular system occurs with repeated performance of a motor task. Muscle recruitment in triathletes has not been investigated. Triathletes undertake similar cycling training loads to specialist cyclists, but must also undertake very high running and swimming training loads. The influence of these multidiscipline training demands on muscle recruitment remains unknown. This study compared patterns of distal lower limb muscle recruitment during cycling in triathletes, trained cyclists and novice cyclists

REPEATABILlTY OF INTRAMUSCULAR ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS DURING CYCLING

Fine-wire electromyographic (fEMG) techniques are indicated for the study of distal lower limb muscle recruitment during cycling, but evidence to support the repeatability of fEMG recordings is contradictory. This study investigated the repeatability of fEMG recordings from tibialis anterior (TA), tibialis posterior (TP), peroneus longus (PL), gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) and soleus (SOL) during cycling. The repeatability of fEMG recordings normalised to maximum measured EMG amplitude was high, with mean coefficients of multiple correlation (CMC) ranging from .82 .15 (GL) to .89 .09 (TA). The repeatability of fEMG recordings increased with greater test-retest intervals (p < .008). Data normalised to maximal or submaximal contractions were less repeatable (p < .001). These findings support the use of fEMG techniques to investigate distal lower limb muscle recruitment during cycling

Minocycline for negative symptoms of schizophrenia and possible mechanistic actions:the BeneMin RCT

Objectives: To determine the efficacy of minocycline on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia and the mechanistic role of neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and cognitive enhancing actions. Methods: Two hundred and seven patients with a current research diagnosis of schizophrenia within 5 years of onset were randomised by a permuted blocks algorithm to minocycline (300 mg/day) or matching placebo as an adjunct to their continuing treatment. The primary efficacy outcome variable was the negative symptom subscale score from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scales at 2, 6, 9 and 12 months. The primary mechanistic (biomarker) variables were (1) medial prefrontal grey matter volume (GMV), (2) circulating cytokine interleukin (IL) 6 concentration and (3) dorsolateral prefrontal cortex functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activations during performance of the N-back task. Movement disorder, side effects and treatment adherence were monitored throughout the study. Results: Compared with placebo, the addition of minocycline had no effect on the severity of negative symptoms [treatment effect difference –0.186, 95% confidence interval (CI) –1.225 to 0.854] across the 2-, 6-, 9- and 12-month follow-up visits. None of the mechanistic biomarkers was influenced by minocycline: left GMV –91.2 (95% CI –303.8 to 121.4), IL-6 0.072 (95% CI –0.118 to 0.262) and N-back fMRI 0.66 (95% CI –1.53 to 0.20). There were no statistically significant treatment effects on any of the secondary outcomes and no group differences at baseline. Most measures were stable over the 12 months. Twenty-five out of the 29 serious adverse events were hospital admission for worsening psychiatric state, which affected 10 minocycline-treated participants and six placebo-treated participants. Main outcome measures: The addition of minocycline to standard treatment had no benefit on the symptoms of schizophrenia in this early phase sample. There was no evidence of a progressive neuropathic or inflammatory process affecting GMV. Limitations: Although recruitment to target was achieved on time, only 43% (n = 89) of the 207 randomised patients completed 12 months of the study. However, 83% of those who started treatment remained on it and were assessed over 6 months. By contrast, no follow-up data were available for the cognitive and imaging markers in those who dropped out before the final 12-month assessments, and this reduced the power to detect treatment effects on these mechanistic variables. Patients were not selected for the presence of negative symptoms, and their initial overall psychopathology was, at most, moderate and, therefore, less likely to show treatment effects. Conclusions: The results of the study do not support the use of adjunctive minocycline for the treatment of negative or other symptoms of schizophrenia within 2–5 years of onset. More secure evidence of central inflammation is needed before further trials are conducted at other stages of psychosis. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN49141214. Funding: This project was funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) programme, a Medical Research Council (MRC) and National Institute for Health Research partnership. The study was sponsored by Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and supported by the UK Clinical Research Network

Why Can't Rodents Vomit? A Comparative Behavioral, Anatomical, and Physiological Study

The vomiting (emetic) reflex is documented in numerous mammalian species, including primates and carnivores, yet laboratory rats and mice appear to lack this response. It is unclear whether these rodents do not vomit because of anatomical constraints (e.g., a relatively long abdominal esophagus) or lack of key neural circuits. Moreover, it is unknown whether laboratory rodents are representative of Rodentia with regards to this reflex. Here we conducted behavioral testing of members of all three major groups of Rodentia; mouse-related (rat, mouse, vole, beaver), Ctenohystrica (guinea pig, nutria), and squirrel-related (mountain beaver) species. Prototypical emetic agents, apomorphine (sc), veratrine (sc), and copper sulfate (ig), failed to produce either retching or vomiting in these species (although other behavioral effects, e.g., locomotion, were noted). These rodents also had anatomical constraints, which could limit the efficiency of vomiting should it be attempted, including reduced muscularity of the diaphragm and stomach geometry that is not well structured for moving contents towards the esophagus compared to species that can vomit (cat, ferret, and musk shrew). Lastly, an in situ brainstem preparation was used to make sensitive measures of mouth, esophagus, and shoulder muscular movements, and phrenic nerve activity-key features of emetic episodes. Laboratory mice and rats failed to display any of the common coordinated actions of these indices after typical emetic stimulation (resiniferatoxin and vagal afferent stimulation) compared to musk shrews. Overall the results suggest that the inability to vomit is a general property of Rodentia and that an absent brainstem neurological component is the most likely cause. The implications of these findings for the utility of rodents as models in the area of emesis research are discussed. © 2013 Horn et al

Cohort Profile: Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study

The Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study was established to assess the prevalence of chronic airflow obstruction, a key characteristic of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and its risk factors in adults (≥40 years) from general populations across the world. The baseline study was conducted between 2003 and 2016, in 41 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and Oceania, and collected high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry from 28 828 participants. The follow-up study was conducted between 2019 and 2021, in 18 sites across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. At baseline, there were in these sites 12 502 participants with high-quality spirometry. A total of 6452 were followed up, with 5936 completing the study core questionnaire. Of these, 4044 also provided high-quality pre- and post-bronchodilator spirometry. On both occasions, the core questionnaire covered information on respiratory symptoms, doctor diagnoses, health care use, medication use and ealth status, as well as potential risk factors. Information on occupation, environmental exposures and diet was also collected

Authenticity in Marco Polo’s Story and in Honors Student Research: An Aside from the Early Renaissance

Recently I read and skimmed editions of the writings of Marco Polo, including Komroff’s The Travels of Marco Polo and Moule and Pelliot’s encyclopedic The Description of the World. Apart from cataloguing details about Asian lands, peoples, and inventions fantastic in the eyes of early fourteenth- century Europeans, these, along with Laurence Bergreen’s well-documented biography Marco Polo: From Venice to Xanadu, unexpectedly suggested to me how, increasingly in this digital age, student research projects present questions of authenticity similar to those of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts—Polo’s being no exception