Light Sailboats: Laser driven autonomous microrobots

We introduce a system of light driven microscopic autonomous moving particles that move on a flat surface. The design is simple, yet effective: Micrometer sized objects with wedge shape are produced by photopolymerization, they are covered with a reflective surface. When the area of motion is illuminated perpendicularly from above, the light is deflected to the side by the wedge shaped objects, in the direction determined by the position and orientation of the particles. The momentum change during reflection provides the driving force for an effectively autonomous motion. The system is an efficient tool to study self propelled microscopic robots

Sex dimorphism in isoproterenol-induced cardiac damage associated neuroinflammation and behavior in old rats

Acute cardiac damage can be induced by isoproterenol injections in animals. The associated inflammatory response could be reflected in the brain as neuroinflammation, with potential consequences for brain function and behavior. Although cardiac responses are reported age and sex-related, for neuroinflammation and brain function this is virtually unknown. Therefore, cardiac damage and its consequences for neuroinflammation, brain function and behavior were compared in aged male and female rats. Wistar rats of 24 months of age were treated with isoproterenol (ISO, twice s.c.) or saline. Four weeks after injections, exploratory behavior and short-term memory were tested. Then, rats were sacrificed. Hearts were collected to measure cardiac damage. Brain tissue was collected to obtain measures of neuroinflammation and brain function. In male-, but not in female rats, ISO induced significant cardiac damage. Accordingly, mortality was higher in males than in females. Baseline hippocampal microglia activity was lower in females, while ISO induced neuroinflammation in both sexes, Hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression appeared lower in females, without effects of ISO. In the open field test, ISO-treated males, but not females, displayed anxiety-like behavior. No effects of ISO were observed on short-term memory in either sex. In conclusion, sex dimorphism in effects of ISO was observed for cardiac damage and open field behavior. However, these effects could not be related to differences in hippocampal neuroinflammation or neuronal function

The effects of exercise training on heart, brain and behavior, in the isoproterenol-induced cardiac infarct model in middle-aged female rats

Women with cardiovascular disease may be more susceptible to concomitant mental health problems, such as depression and cognitive decline. Exercise training has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system as well as on mental functions. Aim of the present study was to study the effects of exercise training on heart, brain and behavior in the isoproterenol (ISO) model in middle-aged female rats. Twelve months old female Wistar rats were submitted to ISO injections (70 mg/kg s.c., on two consecutive days) or received saline. One week later, rats were assigned to either exercise training (treadmill running) or control handling for five weeks. During the last 7 days, tests were performed regarding depressive-like behavior and cognitive function. Then, rats were sacrificed and heart and brains were dissected for (immuno)histochemistry. ISO-induced cardiac effects were eminent from cardiac fibrosis and declined cardiac function. Exercise training reversed cardiac damage and partly restored ISO-induced cardiac dysfunction. However, ISO treatment could not be associated with neuroinflammation, nor impaired hippocampal neurogenesis or neuronal function. Accordingly, no cognitive impairment or depressive-like behavior were observed. Actually, hippocampal microglia hyper-ramification was observed after ISO. Exercise left neuroinflammation and behavior merely unaltered, and even reduced neuronal function. Our data indicated that the cardiac damage after ISO in middle-aged female rats, and the subsequent beneficial effects of five weeks exercise training on the heart, were not reflected in changes in the brain nor in altered behavior

Vibration detection:Its function and recent advances in medical applications

Vibrations are all around us. We can detect vibrations with sensitive skin mechanoreceptors, but our conscious awareness of the presence of vibrations is often limited. Nevertheless, vibrations play a role in our everyday life. Here, we briefly describe the function of vibration detection and how it can be used for medical applications by way of whole body vibration. Strong vibrations can be harmful, but milder vibrations can be beneficial, although to what extent and how large the clinical relevance is are still controversial. Whole body vibration can be applied via a vibrating platform, used in both animal and human research. Recent findings make clear that the mode of action is twofold: next to the rather well-known exercise (muscle) component, it also has a sensory (skin) component. Notably, the sensory (skin) component stimulating the brain has potential for several purposes including improvements in brain-related disorders. Combining these two components by selecting the optimal settings in whole body vibration has clear potential for medical applications. To realize this, the field needs more standardized and personalized protocols. It should tackle what could be considered the "Big Five" variables of whole body vibration designs: vibration amplitude, vibration frequency, method of application, session duration/frequency, and total intervention duration. Unraveling the underlying mechanisms by translational research can help to determine the optimal settings. Many systematic reviews on whole body vibration end with the conclusion that the findings are promising yet inconclusive. This is mainly because of the large variation in the "Big Five" settings between studies and incomplete reporting of methodological details hindering reproducibility. We are of the opinion that when (part of) these optimal settings are being realized, a much better estimate can be given about the true potential of whole body vibration as a medical application

Real-time monitoring of the effectiveness of six COVID-19 vaccines against laboratory confirmed COVID-19 in Hungary in 2021 using the screening method

Several studies have reported the waning effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. This study aims to demonstrate the applicability of the screening method for estimating vaccine effectiveness (VE) in a pandemic. We report VE in Hungary, estimated with the screening method, in 2021, covering a period of Alpha and the Delta variant, including the booster dose roll-out. Hungary is in a unique position to use six different vaccines in the same population. All vaccines provided a high level of protection initially, which declined over time. While the picture is different in each age group, the waning of immunity is apparent for all vaccines, especially in the younger age groups and the Sinopharm, Sputnik-V, and AstraZeneca vaccines, which performed similarly. This is clearly reversed by booster doses, more prominent for those three vaccines, where the decline in protection is more evident. Overall, two vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, tend to produce the best results in all age groups, even with waning immunity considered. Using the screening method in future pandemic waves is worthwhile, especially in countries struggling with a lack of resources or when there is a need to deliver VE results within a short timeframe due to urgent decision-making

The effects of whole-body vibration on brain functions: a novel approach to stimulate the brain?

The higher risk of age-related diseases and their associated comorbidities have spread significantly worldwide and caused significant burdens to the health care systems. One of the most effective treatments for age-related diseases is physical activity that has been widely acknowledge to induce significant benefits on both physical and cognitive health. However, what to do if the patients are hampered from perform active physical exercise due to limitations in their cognitive and physical capabilities? Whole Body Vibration (WBV) is an alternative type of exercise interventions based on the use of vibrating platforms, often referred as form of „passive exercise” that can be applied regardless the patient’s cognitive and physical capabilities. In this thesis, we aimed to progress towards the revealing of the behavioral, neurological and physiological, as well as the molecular and cellular aspects of WBV through multiple preclinical experiments including animal models for Alzheimer’s disease, healthy aging and post-operative decline. We found that WBV can ameliorate outcomes of anxiety-like behavior, unprompted locomotor activity and different aspects of memory functions. These findings seem to be accompanied by improved hippocampal neurogenesis, hippocampal neuroinflammation and glial pathology. Furthermore, enhanced muscle strength and motor coordination were also found as the well-known consequences of well-controlled WBV exposure. Our data suggest that WBV can be considered as a relevant auxiliary exercise strategy to improve motor and cognitive performance. However, findings do not always show unanimity among these experiments indicating that further optimization of the WBV protocol is needed. Taken together, our work demonstrated that research on WBV is still imperative and new targets for application and research questions should be combined with more focus on translational research

Inter-speaker Synchronization in Audiovisual Database for Lip-readable Speech to Animation Conversion

Abstract. The present study proposes an inter-speaker audiovisual synchronization method to decrease the speaker dependency of our direct speech to animation conversion system. Our aim is to convert an everyday speaker’s voice to lip-readable facial animation for hearing impaired users. This conversion needs mixed training data: acoustic features from normal speakers coupled with visual features from professional lip-speakers. Audio and video data of normal and professional speakers were synchronized with Dynamic Time Warping method. Quality and usefulness of the synchronization were investigated in subjective test with measuring noticeable conflicts between the audio and visual part of speech stimuli. An objective test was done also, training neural network on the synchronized audiovisual data with increasing number of speakers

Whole-body vibration as a passive alternative to exercise after myocardial damage in middle-aged female rats: Effects on the heart, the brain, and behavior

Background: Females with cardiovascular disease seem more vulnerable to develop concomitant mental problems, such as depression and cognitive decline. Although exercise is shown beneficial in cardiovascular disease as well as in mental functions, these patients may be incapable or unmotivated to perform exercise. Whole body vibration (WBV) could provide a passive alternative to exercise. Aim of the present study was to compare WBV to exercise after isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial damage in female rats, regarding effects on heart, brain and behavior. Methods: One week after ISO (70 mg/kg s.c., on 2 consecutive days) or saline injections, 12 months old female rats were assigned to WBV (10 minutes daily), treadmill running (30 minutes daily) or pseudo intervention for 5 weeks. During the last 10 days, behavioral tests were performed regarding depressive-like behavior, cognitive function, and motor performance. Rats were sacrificed, brains and hearts were dissected for (immuno)histochemistry. Results: Significant ISO-induced cardiac collagen deposition (0.67 ± 0.10 vs 0.18 ± 0.03%) was absent after running (0.45 ± 0.26 vs 0.46 ± 0.08%), but not after WBV (0.83 ± 0.12 vs 0.41 ± 0.05%). However, WBV as well as running significantly reduced hippocampal (CA3) collagen content in ISO-treated rats. Significant regional differences in hippocampal microglia activity and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression were observed. Significant ISO-induced CA1 microglia activation was reduced after WBV as well as running, while opposite effects were observed in the CA3; significant reduction after ISO that was restored by WBV and running. Both WBV and running reversed the ISO-induced increased BDNF expression in the CA1, Dentate gyrus and Hilus, but not in the CA3 area. Whereas running had no significant effect on behavior in the ISO-treated rats, WBV may be associated with short-term spatial memory in the novel location recognition test. Conclusion: Although the female rats did not show the anticipated depressive-like behavior or cognitive decline after ISO, our data indicated regional effects on neuroinflammation and BDNF expression in the hippocampus, that were merely normalized by both WBV and exercise. Therefore, apart from the potential concern about the lack of cardiac collagen reduction, WBV may provide a relevant alternative for physical exercise