THE KINEMATICS CHAIN OF INSTEP KICKING OF SOCCER WITH UPPERBODY CONSTRAINED: A PILOT STUDY

The purpose of this study was to understand the kicking performance when the upperbody motion has been limited. One player in the college cup level A volunteered to participate in this study (Aged: 20 years, Height: 172 cm, Body mass: 65 kg). A VICON motion capture system (200 Hz) was used to capture the kicking motion. The participant was asked to kick the ball both using an arm swing and not using an arm swing. The Visual3D was used to calculate the segment velocity, angular velocity, and kinetic chain. The results indicated that kicking with arm swing had a greater ball and lower-extrimity segment velocity. The main effect for lower ball velocity during kicking without arm swing is the decreased angular velocity at the ankle joint. When arm motion has been limited, players should noticed that the ankle joint needs to follow through after foot-ball contact

In vitro endophyte-host plant interaction study to hypothetically describe endophyte survival and antifungal activities in planta

This study is the first to adopt a hypothetical approach to establish the influence of the complex endophyte-host interaction on endophyte survival and antifungal expression. Three k interactions were evaluated; (I) influence of host-induced enzymes on endophyte growth (biomass) and colonization, (II) link between endophyte-produced cellulase, their growth and colonization, and (III) the influence of host environment on antifungal expression of endophytes. The interactions with the host were performed using plant slurry (PS) to mimic in planta (host) environment with analysis on interactions evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients (r). Results revealed that host induced enzymes may be a limiting factor to colonization of endophytes with inverse correlations observed (-0.046 ≤ r ≤-0.7164). These enzymes may also limit growth of endophyte although, PAL (r = 0.536) and TPC (r = 0.8894) appeared contrary. Results were also suggestive that endophytes produced cellulase to aid in colonization in host plants (r = 0.7073 in PS), and cellulase activities are continuously produced even when growth of endophytes are limited (r = -0.314 in PS). Endophytes are presumed to produce antifungal compounds in planta (r = 0.2760 in PS), and these compounds may be secondary metabolites, which are primarily produced under nutrient-depleted conditions where growth is poor (in host plant). The superior growth of endophytes in synthetic PDB media has an inverse correlation to antifungal activity (r = -0.5129), confirming that secondary metabolites are involved in antifungal activities. This study clearly presents that success of inoculated endophytes in colonizing, growing and expressing antifungal activities is dependent on the host plant

Quantitative evaluation of 10 tractography algorithms on a realistic diffusion MR phantom.

International audienceAs it provides the only method for mapping white matter fibers in vivo, diffusion MRI tractography is gaining importance in clinical and neuroscience research. However, despite the increasing availability of different diffusion models and tractography algorithms, it remains unclear how to select the optimal fiber reconstruction method, given certain imaging parameters. Consequently, it is of utmost importance to have a quantitative comparison of these models and algorithms and a deeper understanding of the corresponding strengths and weaknesses. In this work, we use a common dataset with known ground truth and a reproducible methodology to quantitatively evaluate the performance of various diffusion models and tractography algorithms. To examine a wide range of methods, the dataset, but not the ground truth, was released to the public for evaluation in a contest, the "Fiber Cup". 10 fiber reconstruction methods were evaluated. The results provide evidence that: 1. For high SNR datasets, diffusion models such as (fiber) orientation distribution functions correctly model the underlying fiber distribution and can be used in conjunction with streamline tractography, and 2. For medium or low SNR datasets, a prior on the spatial smoothness of either the diffusion model or the fibers is recommended for correct modelling of the fiber distribution and proper tractography results. The phantom dataset, the ground truth fibers, the evaluation methodology and the results obtained so far will remain publicly available on: http://www.lnao.fr/spip.php?rubrique79 to serve as a comparison basis for existing or new tractography methods. New results can be submitted to [email protected] and updates will be published on the webpage

Inhibition of DNA methyltransferases blocks mutant huntingtin-induced neurotoxicity

Although epigenetic abnormalities have been described in Huntington’s disease (HD), the causal epigenetic mechanisms driving neurodegeneration in HD cortex and striatum remain undefined. Using an epigenetic pathway-targeted drug screen, we report that inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), decitabine and FdCyd, block mutant huntingtin (Htt)-induced toxicity in primary cortical and striatal neurons. In addition, knockdown of DNMT3A or DNMT1 protected neurons against mutant Htt-induced toxicity, together demonstrating a requirement for DNMTs in mutant Htt-triggered neuronal death and suggesting a neurodegenerative mechanism based on DNA methylation-mediated transcriptional repression. Inhibition of DNMTs in HD model primary cortical or striatal neurons restored the expression of several key genes, including Bdnf, an important neurotrophic factor implicated in HD. Accordingly, the Bdnf promoter exhibited aberrant cytosine methylation in mutant Htt-expressing cortical neurons. In vivo, pharmacological inhibition of DNMTs in HD mouse brains restored the mRNA levels of key striatal genes known to be downregulated in HD. Thus, disturbances in DNA methylation play a critical role in mutant Htt-induced neuronal dysfunction and death, raising the possibility that epigenetic strategies targeting abnormal DNA methylation may have therapeutic utility in HD

Chromosome segregation in Archaea : SegA– and SegB–DNA complex structures provide insights into segrosome assembly

Genome segregation is a vital process in all organisms. Chromosome partitioning remains obscure in Archaea, the third domain of life. Here, we investigated the SegAB system from Sulfolobus solfataricus. SegA is a ParA Walker-type ATPase and SegB is a site-specific DNA-binding protein. We determined the structures of both proteins and those of SegA–DNA and SegB–DNA complexes. The SegA structure revealed an atypical, novel non-sandwich dimer that binds DNA either in the presence or in the absence of ATP. The SegB structure disclosed a ribbon–helix–helix motif through which the protein binds DNA site specifically. The association of multiple interacting SegB dimers with the DNA results in a higher order chromatin-like structure. The unstructured SegB N-terminus plays an essential catalytic role in stimulating SegA ATPase activity and an architectural regulatory role in segrosome (SegA–SegB–DNA) formation. Electron microscopy results also provide a compact ring-like segrosome structure related to chromosome organization. These findings contribute a novel mechanistic perspective on archaeal chromosome segregation

Incidence of oral cancer in relation to nickel and arsenic concentrations in farm soils of patients' residential areas in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To explore if exposures to specific heavy metals in the environment is a new risk factor of oral cancer, one of the fastest growing malignancies in Taiwan, in addition to the two established risk factors, cigarette smoking and betel quid chewing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is an observational study utilized the age-standardized incidence rates of oral cancer in the 316 townships and precincts of Taiwan, local prevalence rates of cigarette smoking and betel quid chewing, demographic factors, socio-economic conditions, and concentrations in farm soils of the eight kinds of heavy metal. Spatial regression and GIS (Geographic Information System) were used. The registration contained 22,083 patients, who were diagnosed with oral cancer between 1982 and 2002. The concentrations of metal in the soils were retrieved from a nation-wide survey in the 1980s.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The incidence rate of oral cancer is geographically related to the concentrations of arsenic and nickel in the patients' residential areas, with the prevalence of cigarette smoking and betel quid chewing as controlled variables.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Beside the two established risk factors, cigarette smoking and betel quid chewing, arsenic and nickel in farm soils may be new risk factors for oral cancer. These two kinds of metal may involve in the development of oral cancer. Further studies are required to understand the pathways via which metal in the farm soils exerts its effects on human health.</p