Lumbar position sense acuity during an electrical shock stressor

BACKGROUND: Optimal motor control of the spine depends on proprioceptive input as a prerequisite for co-ordination and the stability of the spine. Muscle spindles are known to play an important role in proprioception. Animal experiments suggest that an increase in sympathetic outflow can depress muscle spindle sensitivity. As the muscle spindle may be influenced by sympathetic modulation, we hypothesized that a state of high sympathetic activity as during mental stress would affect the proprioceptive output from the muscle spindles in the back muscles leading to alterations in proprioception and position sense acuity. The aim was to investigate the effect of mental stress, in this study the response to an electrical shock stressor, on position sense acuity in the rotational axis of the lumbar spine. METHODS: Passive and active position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the lumbar spine was investigated in the presence and absence of an electrical shock stressor in 14 healthy participants. An electrical shock-threat stressor lasting for approximately 12 minutes was used as imposed stressor to build up a strong anticipatory arousal: The participants were told that they were going to receive 8 painful electrical shocks however the participants never received the shocks. To quantify the level of physiological arousal and the level of sympathetic outflow continuous beat-to-beat changes in heart rate (beats*min(-1)) and systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure (mmHg) were measured. To quantify position sense acuity absolute error (AE) expressed in degrees was measured. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measurements (subjects as random factor and treatments as fixed factors) was used to compare the different treatments. RESULTS: Significant increases were observed in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate during the stress sessions indicating elevated sympathetic activity (15, 14 and 10%, respectively). Despite pronounced changes in the sympathetic activity and subjective experiences of stress no changes were found in position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the lumbar spine in the presence of the electrical shock stressor compared to the control period. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that position sense acuity in the rotational plane of the spine was unaffected by the electrical shock stressor

Factors Influencing Consumer Dietary Health Preventative Behaviours

Background: The deterioration of the health status of the Romanian population during the economic transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has been linked to lifestyles factors ( e. g. diet) regarded as a main determinants of the disparity in life expectancy between Eastern and Western Europe. Reforms in the health care system in this transition economy aim to focus on preventive action. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact on the individual decision to engage in Dietary Health Preventive Behaviour ( DHPB) and investigate their influence in the context of an adapted health cognition model

Non-native mollusks throughout South America: emergent patterns in an understudied continent

Non-native species have been introduced at escalating rates during the last decades, mainly due to the dispersion generated by the increasing trade and transport worldwide. Mollusks, the second largest metazoan phylum in terms of species richness, are no exception to this pattern, but, to date, a comprehensive synthesis of non-native mollusk species (NNMS) in South America was not available. For this purpose, an e-discussion group was formed with malacologists and taxonomists from South America, where we exchanged and analyzed bibliography, databases and information about NNMS, providing expert opinion to this assessment. The first list of non-native mollusk species for South America, considering terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments, includes 86 NNMS distributed in 152 ecoregions (terrestrial, freshwater and marine) of the 189 recognized for the South American continent. Information on their native region, vectors, first record for South America and distribution, are also provided. In the analysis of the distribution of the NNMS and the entry points of each species (e.g., ports, cargo and passenger airports, cities) and status of conservation of the ecoregions, four hot spots were recognized: Subtropical-Atlantic, Northern Andes, Central Andes and Southern Andes. This work, thus, sets the baseline on NNMS for South America, a key piece of information regarding the development of policies targeting the management of biological invasions and their socio-ecological impacts.Fil: Darrigran, Gustavo Alberto. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Agudo Padrón, Ignacio. Projeto ''Avulsos Malacológicos''; BrasilFil: Baez, Pedro. Sociedad Malacológica Chile; Chile. Universidad Andrés Bello; ChileFil: Belz, Carlos Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Cardoso, Franz. Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; PerúFil: Carranza, Alvar. Universidad de la República; Uruguay. Ministerio de Educación y Cultura. Museo Nacional de Historia Natural; UruguayFil: Collado, Gonzalo. Sociedad Malacológica Chile; Chile. Universidad del Bıo Bio; ChileFil: Correoso, Modesto. Universidad de Las Fuerzas Armadas; EcuadorFil: Cuezzo, Maria Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical. Instituto de Biodiversidad Neotropical; ArgentinaFil: Fabres, Alejandra. Sociedad Malacológica Chile; Chile. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Gutiérrez Gregoric, Diego E.. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Universidad del Bio Bio; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Letelier, Sergio. Sociedad Malacológica Chile; ChileFil: Ludwig, Sandra. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Mansur, Maria Cristina. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Pastorino, Roberto Santiago Guido. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Penchaszadeh, Pablo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Peralta, Carolina. Universidad Simon Bolivar; VenezuelaFil: Rebolledo, Andrea. Sociedad Malacológica Chile; ChileFil: Rumi Macchi Z., Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Santos, Sonia. Universidade Do Estado de Rio Do Janeiro. Instituto de Biologia "roberto Alcantara Gomes".; BrasilFil: Thiengo, Silvana Aparecida Rogel. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Vidigal, Teofania Heloisa Dutra Amorim. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Damborenea, Maria Cristina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Smach; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin