Mechanism of relation among heart meridian, referred cardiac pain and heart

It has been demonstrated that an important clinical phenomenon often associated with visceral diseases is the referred pain to somatic structures, especially to the body area of homo-segmental innervation. It is interesting that the somatic foci of cardiac referred pain were often and mainly distributed along the heart meridian (HM), whereas the acupoints of HM have been applied to treat cardiac disease since ancient times. The purpose of this study was to investigate the neural relationship between the cardiac referred pain and the heart meridian. Fluorescent triple-labeling was injected into the pericardium, some acupoints of HM and lung meridian (LM, for control). The responses of the left cardiac sympathetic nerve and of the EMG in left HM and LM were electrophysiologically studied, when the electrical stimuli were applied to the acupoints of left HM and to the left cardiac sympathetic nerve. More double-labeled neurons in HM-heart, not in LM-heart, were observed in the ipsilateral dorsal root gangli     

Tyramine and β-phenylethylamine,from fermented food products,as agonists for the human trace amine-associated receptor 1 (hTAAR1) in the stomach

The aromatic amines tyramine and β-phenylethylamine are abundant in fermented foods. Recently, a family of human trace amine-associated receptors (hTAARs) was discovered that responds to these compounds. This study examined the expression of hTAAR genes in five human organs. Among them, the stomach expressed hTAAR1 and hTAAR9. Interestingly, more hTAAR1 was expressed in the pylorus than in the other stomach regions. The CRE-SEAP reporter assay revealed that only hTAAR1 functioned as a G_s-coupled receptor in response to tyramine and β-phenylethylamine stimulation. The β-phenylethylamine-mediated hTAAR1 activity could be potentiated using 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine. These data suggest that tyramine and β-phenylethylamine in fermented foods act at hTAAR1 as agonists in the pylorus of stomach.     

Shear and pressure under the first ray in neuropathic diabetic patients: Implications for support of the longitudinal arch

ObjectiveTo assess dynamic arch support in diabetic patients at risk for Charcot neuroarthopathy whose arch index has not yet shown overt signs of foot collapse.MethodsTwo indirect measures of toe flexor activation (ratios: peak hallux pressure to peak metatarsal pressure – Ph/Pm; peak posterior hallux shear to peak posterior metatarsal shear – Sh/Sm) were obtained with a custom built system for measuring shear and pressure on the plantar surface of the foot during gait. In addition, the tendency of the longitudinal arch to flatten was measured by quantifying the difference in shear between the 1st metatarsal head and the heel (S_flatten) during the first half of the stance phase. Four stance phases from the same foot for 29 participants (16 control and 13 neuropathic diabetic) were assessed.ResultsThe peak load ratio under the hallux (Ph/Pm) was significantly higher in the control group (2.10±1.08 versus 1.13±0.74, p=0.033). Similarly, Sh/Sm was significantly higher in the control group (1.87±0.88 versus 0.88±0.45, p=0.004). The difference in anterior shear under the first metatarsal head and posterior shear under the lateral heel (S_flatten) was significantly higher in the diabetic group (p<0.01). Together these findings demonstrate reduced plantar flexor activity in the musculature responsible for maintaining the longitudinal arch.ConclusionsWith no significant difference in arch index between the two groups, but significant differences in Ph/Pm, Sh/Sm and S_flatten the collective results suggest there are changes in muscle activity that precede arch collapse.     

Transient and long-time kinetic responses of the cadaveric leg during internal and external foot rotation

The purpose of this study was to determine the long-time and transient characteristics of the moment generated by external (ER) and internal (IR) rotation of the calcaneus with respect to the tibia. Two human cadaver legs were disarticulated at the knee joint while maintaining the connective tissue between the tibia and fibula. An axial rotation of 21° was applied to the proximal tibia to generate either ER or IR while the fibula was unconstrained and the calcaneus was permitted to translate in the transverse plane. These boundary conditions were intended to allow natural motion of the fibula and for the effective applied axis of rotation to move relative to the ankle and subtalar joints based on natural articular motions among the tibia, fibula, talus, and calcaneus. A load cell at the proximal tibia measured all components of force and moment. A quasi-linear model of the moment along the tibia axis was developed to determine the transient and long-time loads generated by this ER/IR. Initially neutral, everted, inverted, dorsiflexed, and plantarflexed foot orientations were tested. For the neutral position, the transient elastic moment was 16.5 N-m for one specimen and 30.3 N-m for the other in ER with 26.3 and 32.1 N-m in IR. The long-time moments were 5.5 and 13.2 N-m (ER) and 9.0 and 9.5 N-m (IR). These loads were found to be transient over time similar to previous studies on other biological structures where the moment relaxed as time progressed after the initial ramp in rotation.     

Dietary composition and prey selectivity of juvenile porcupine rays Urogymnus asperrimus

Fifty‐five juvenile porcupine ray Urogymnus asperrimus were collected in the isolated St Joseph Atoll, Seychelles. Stomach contents were sampled using non‐lethal gastric lavage to determine the dietary composition, degree of prey selectivity and whether sex or size affected their diet. Sediment samples were collected to quantify prey availability so that prey selectivity could be estimated. Two phyla (Sipuncula and Nemertea) and 11 polychaete and crustacean families were recorded in stomach contents. Juvenile U. asperrimus appeared to specialize on one polychaete family, Capitellidae, which was the most important prey item (index of importance = 35%). This polychaete family was also most abundant in the sediment samples and U. asperrimus are thus considered opportunistic predators. There was evidence of a size‐related shift in the crustacean families consumed by juvenile U. asperrimus. Data collected at this remote location provides important baseline ecological information that may prove useful in developing conservation strategies for this ecologically important species.     

Natural feeding habits of two nudibranchs: Kalinga ornata and Plocamopherus tilesii (Nudibranchia: Doridacea: Polyceridae)

Stomach contents of Kalinga ornata and Plocamopherus tilesii (Nudibranchia: Doridacea: Polyceridae) were investigated using a light microscope to reveal their natural diets. Ossicles of ophiuroids were found in the stomachs of four out of 29 specimens of K. ornata. In contrast, both zooecia of Bryozoa and ossicles of ophiuroids were found in the stomachs of P. tilesii specimens. This is only the second record of a nudibranch species feeding on ophiuroids.     

In‐vivo multispectral video endoscopy towards in‐vivo hyperspectral video endoscopy

For in‐vivo diagnostics of cancer and pre‐cancer in the stomach, there is no endoscopic procedure offering both high sensitivity and high specificity. Our data suggest that multispectral or hyperspectral imaging may be helpful to solve this problem. It is successfully applied to the detection and analysis of easily reachable carcinomas, ex‐vivo samples of hollow organ mucosal carcinomas and also histological samples. An endoscopy system which allows flexible multispectral videoendoscopy for in‐vivo diagnostics has so far been unavailable. To overcome this problem, we modified a standard Olympus endoscopy system to conduct in‐vivo multispectral imaging of the upper GI tract. The pilot study is performed on 14 patients with adeno carcinomas in the stomach. For analysis, Support Vector Machine with linear and Gaussian Kernel, AdaBoost, RobustBoost and Random‐Forest‐walk are used and compared for the data classification with a leave‐one‐out strategy. The margin of the carcinoma for the training of the classifier is drawn by expert‐labeling. The cancer findings are cross‐checked by biopsies. We expect that the present study will help to improve the further development of hyperspectral endoscopy and to overcome some of the problems to be faced in this process.

     

游猎蛛在茶尺蠖高峰日的种间竞争作用

为了合理保护和充分利用天敌,明确茶园游猎蛛天敌捕食茶尺蠖Ectropis obliqua hypulina的种间竞争力及其差异。本文运用通经分析法、灰色关联度分析法、竞争系数分析法及竞争强度指数分析法对龙井43、黄山大叶种、乌牛早、安吉白茶、平阳特早和农抗早6类茶园中茶尺蠖高峰日时的7种游猎蛛捕食茶尺蠖的种间竞争作用进行分析。结果表明,按相关系数比较,乌牛早茶园茶尺蠖与条纹蝇虎Plexippus setipet的相关系数为-0.888,平阳特早茶园茶尺蠖与三突花蟹蛛Misumenops tricuspidatus和斜纹猫蛛Oxyopes Sertatws的相关系数分别为0.981和-0.902,均达相关水平,天敌间鞍型花蟹蛛Xysticus ephippiafus、三突花蟹蛛、斑管巢蛛Clubiona reichlini和斜纹猫蛛均与黑色跳蛛Plexippus paykulli相关,鞍型花蟹蛛、粽管巢蛛Clubiona japonicola和黑色跳蛛均与三突花蟹蛛相关。用灰色关联度法分析,与茶尺蠖数量上关系密切的前4种天敌依次是三突花蟹蛛、粽管巢蛛、黑色跳蛛和鞍型花蟹蛛。按竞争系数大小...     

Aspects of reproduction and diet of the long-finned herring, Ilisha africana, off Cape Coast, Ghana

I. Africana off Cape Coast bred continuously throughout the year. The major breeding season was preceded by a period of high feeding activity, mainly on fish fry, penaeid shrimps and crustacean zooplankton.