Frequency range of the auditory effect of UHF

Zero beats of radiosound with an acoustic signal from an electrodynamic emitter in the frequency range up to 8 kHz were recorded in a natural experiment, which were not obtained earlier. It has been shown that the zero beats between the acoustic tonal signal and the first harmonics of the impulse succession of UHF are recorded in the points which correspond to low values on the threshold curve of UHF auditory effect.     

Real-time technique for conversion of skin temperature into skin blood flow: human skin as a low-pass filter for thermal waves

Monitoring of skin blood flow oscillations related with mechanical activity of vessels is a very useful modality during diagnosis of peripheral hemodynamic disorders. In this study, we developed a new model and technique for real-time conversion of skin temperature into skin blood flow oscillations, and vice versa. The technique is based on the analogy between the thermal properties of the human skin and electrical properties of the special low-pass filter. Analytical and approximated impulse response functions for the low- and high-pass filters are presented. The general algorithm for the reversible conversion of temperature into blood flow is described. The proposed technique was verified using simulated or experimental data of cold stress, deep inspiratory gasp, and post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia tests. The implementation of the described technique will enable to turn a temperature sensor into a blood flow sensor.     

Characteristics of the formation of temperature information in afferent units

The impulse activity of single afferent fibers of the dorsal roots of the cat spinal cord is studied for local mechanical, heat, and cold influences on the skin receptor fields. A probability analysis of the impulse flux suggests that a change occurs in the distributions of the intervals between impulses in accordance with the stimuli presented, regardless of the variations in the mean frequency of impulsation. It is hypothesized that the afferent fibers acquire polyfunctional properties on account of their multichannel information.Institute of Physiology, Kazakhstan, Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 582–591, September–October, 1992.     

Flicker in erythrocytes. I. Theoretical models and registration techniques

The phenomenon of stochastic low-frequency oscillations of erythrocyte cell membrane, termed usually the flicker of erythrocytes, is reviewed. The first part describes the theoretical models of erythrocyte flickering and the registration techniques. The relations are given and analyzed which connect the shape of both the frequency and the spatial spectra of stochastic membrane oscillations with geometrical and mechanical parameters of the erythrocyte and with the ambient physical characteristics. The existing concepts of excitation mechanisms of the membrane flickering are presented.     

Tremor and other oscillations in neuromuscular systems

A model has been analyzed which is based on recent experimental evidence concerning the properties of muscles and the sensory feedback pathways from muscles. Damped oscillations can arise in the absence of sensory feedback due to the interaction of a muscle with inertial loads. These mechanical oscillations can have a wide range of frequencies depending on the inertial and elastic loads that are attached to the muscle. Small amounts of sensory feedback will tend to reduce deviations from a steady muscle length, but larger amounts of feedback can produce oscillations. The frequency of these reflex oscillations is determined by the properties of the muscle and feedback pathway, and is rather independent of load. If the strength of the sensory feedback is sufficient, either the mechanical oscillations or the reflex oscillations or both can grow, rather than decay, with time. The growth of these oscillations is limited by saturation non-linearities in the muscle receptors and the muscle itself, so that the oscillations approach a steady amplitude and frequency. Using typical properties of muscles and spinal reflex pathways, the frequency of reflex oscillations will be within the range 8–12 Hz found for physiological tremor. With the longer latency found for supraspinal reflexes, oscillations will occur in the range 4–6 Hz which is characteristic of Parkinson's and cerebellar diseases. The role of longer latency reflexes in the generation of these tremors is discussed.     

Acoustic Myography as a Noninvasive Technique for Assessing Muscle Function: Historical Aspects and Possibilities for Application in Clinical Practice

Neurophysiology - Acoustic myography is a technique for detecting and measuring mechanical oscillations of a sound/infrasound-range frequency produced during muscle contractions; such oscillations...     

蜚蠊单个棘—钟形感器冲动发放的特性

本文分析了蜚镰后胸足单个棘一钟形感器对机械位移刺激的反应模式以及冲动发放的特性.结果证明该感器是一种适应较慢的相位性触觉感受器,对触刺激有相当稳定的反应.     

Mechanical and Electrical Oscillations in Cardiac Muscle of the Turtle

During contractures of the turtle ventricle rapid changes in length induce sinusoidal oscillations under isotonic conditions. They are due to delayed responses to stretching and release, which can be demonstrated also under isometric conditions. Oscillations of two distinct frequencies are produced under different conditions and are distinguished as high- and low-frequency oscillations. In depolarized muscles the frequency is such that the duration of one cycle is about the same as that of a normal twitch, while in high-Ca solutions the duration can be the same as in high-K solutions or about six times lower. As reported previously, twitches are followed by weak mechanical and electrical oscillations. Their frequency agrees with the high-frequency oscillations. The same effects can also be induced by stretching and release. It is suggested that the phenomena observed are due to feedback mechanisms which originate in the contractile mechanism. The high-frequency oscillations are similar to those observed previously in other muscles, particularly insect fibrillar muscle, and are not due to changes in Ca concentration. The other mechanisms involve the membrane and possibly the intracellular Ca stores.     

Muscle pump function during locomotion: mechanical coupling of stride frequency and muscle blood flow

We imposed opposing oscillations in treadmill speed and grade on nine rats to test for direct mechanical coupling between stride frequency and hindlimb blood flow. Resting hindlimb blood flow was 15.5 +/- 1.7 ml/min. For 90 s at 7.5 m/min, rats alternated walking at -10 degrees for 10 s and +10 degrees for 10 s. This elicited oscillations in hindlimb blood flow having an amplitude of 4.1 +/- 0.5 ml/min (18% of mean flow) with a delay presumably due to metabolic vasodilation. Similar oscillations in speed (5.5-9.5 m/min) elicited oscillations in hindlimb blood flow (amplitude 3.4 +/- 0.5 ml/min, 15% of mean flow) with less of a delay, possibly due to changes in vasodilation and muscle pump function. We then simultaneously imposed these speed and grade oscillations out of phase (slow uphill, fast downhill). The rationale was that the oscillations in vasodilation evoked by the opposing oscillations in speed and grade would cancel each other, thereby testing the degree to which stride frequency affects hindlimb blood flow directly (i.e., muscle pumping). Opposing oscillations in speed and grade evoked oscillations in hindlimb blood flow having an amplitude of 3.3 +/- 0.6 ml/min (16% of mean flow) with no delay and directly in phase with the changes in speed and stride frequency. The finding that hindlimb blood flow changes directly with speed (when vasodilation caused by changes in speed and grade oppose each other) indicates that there is a direct coupling of stride frequency and hindlimb blood flow (i.e., muscle pumping).     

Modeling of a simple motor task in man: intentional arrest of an ongoing movement

Normal subjects and cerebellar patients were instructed to arrest “as soon as possible” a ballistically initiated flexion movement of the forearm. The intentional actions consist essentially of a downward torque, the peak value of which has almost a constant latency (about 200 msec) from the beginning of the movement. A variable number of oscillations precede the arrest of the movement, the characteristics of which depend on the initial velocity of the flexion and on the mass with which the forearm is loaded. The motor commands responsible for the intentionally produced downward torque are controlled centrally as to leave the ratio between the peak values of the angular velocity which precede and follow the peak of the torque almost constant, under all conditions. To describe the oscillations a simple analytical model was proposed which includes the mechanical as well as the reflex factors, the latter under the form of a delayed velocity term. The satisfactory fitting of this model to the experimental findings permitted to establish the following points:

1. The oscillations are sustained by both a mechanical and a reflex stiffness. The contribution of the reflex loop is however quantitatively dominant since it accounts for about 75% of the inertial torque. It is fairly constant over the range of frequency of the oscillations considered.
2. Under the imposed experimental conditions angular velocity appears to be the parameter of the movement which is predominantly sensed and fed back by the reflex loop.

Data were also presented on the performance of the motor task by patients who underwent surgical ablations of the cerebellar cortex. Comparison of these results with those of normal subjects strongly supports the hypothesis that cerebellar-related activities are instrumental in determining the sensitivity of the stretch reflex to angular velocity.     

Chemoreception of sugars by an excitable liquid membrane

Studies were made on electrical oscillations across a liquid membrane consisting of an oil layer, nitrobenzene containing picric acid, between two aqueous layers. This system showed sustained rhythmic oscillations of electrical potential of 200-300 mV with intervals in the order of 1 min. It was found that the histogram of frequency of oscillations was characteristic depending on the structures of the sugars. The histograms of glucose, fructose, galactose and sorbose showed a single maximum whereas those of sorbitol and mannitol showed double maxima.     

Is the intrasomal phase of fast axonal transport driven by oscillations of intracellular calcium?

An hypothesis is presented suggesting that the delivery of vesicle-packaged protein from the neuronal soma to the axonal transport system is physiologically coupled to spontaneous fluctuations of intracellular calcium (Ca_i). Evidence is reviewed that oscillations of Ca_i, commonly detected as agonist-or voltage-triggered waves and spikes propagating through the cytosol, also occur as spontaneous events. Endogenously-generated oscillations are examined since intrasomal transport persists in the absence of extracellular signals or nerve impulse activity. Vesicle budding from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) may be a key step at which anterograde transport is regulated by events related to the release and reuptake of ER stores of Ca²⁺.Special-issue dedicated to Dr. Sidney Ochs.     

Mass-induced oscillations in the femur-tibia control system of stick insects

Attaching an inert mass to a freely moving tibia of an otherwise fixed stick insect Carausius morosus, induces undamped oscillations of the tibia. We describe the use of a rotational pendulum to observe these oscillations applying various amounts of inertia. The dependence of the frequency of these oscillations on the moment of inertia is similar to that of a purely mechanical system. The sequence of the oscillatory behavior can be separated into 3 distinct behavioural states. The transitions between some of these states could be elicited by external stimuli and partly showed characteristics of habituation and dishabituation. With a rotational pendulum on each middle leg, simultaneous oscillations of both legs were measured to investigate coupling effects between the neural control systems of the two legs. In some cases, significant coupling effects could be observed in phase and frequency. In many other cases, no coupling was found. The habituation and dishabituation effects were not transferred between the middle legs.     

Analysis of the regulation of noradrenaline secretion by autoadrenoreceptors and stimulation frequency

A mathematical model is presented which quantitatively describes the value of secreted mediator to each subsequent impulse in the series of presynaptic impulses. The model is constructed with the account taken of the role of presynaptic adrenoreceptors regulating noradrenaline secretion. An analysis of the model shows that the observed decrease and further stabilization of presynaptic responses in the series of presynaptic impulses observed in neurophysiological experiments can be connected with the work of alpha- and beta-autoadrenoreceptors. The increase of impulsation frequency affects the sensitivity of these receptors, which brings about an increase of concentration of secreted to each subsequent impulse mediator in the synaptic slit in the series of presynaptic impulses and stabilization of secretion at a higher level.     

Effect of length oscillations on airway smooth muscle reactivity and cross-bridge cycling

Excessive airway narrowing due to airway smooth muscle (ASM) hyperconstriction is a major symptom in many respiratory diseases. In vitro imposition of length oscillations similar to those produced by tidal breathing on contracted ASM have shown to reduce muscle active forces, which is usually attributed to unconfirmed disruption of actomyosin cross-bridges. This research focuses on an in vitro investigation of the effect of mechanical oscillations on ASM reactivity and actomyosin cross-bridges. A computerized organ bath system was used to test maximally precontracted bovine ASM subjected to length oscillations at frequencies in the range of 10-100 Hz superimposed on tidal breathing oscillation. Using an immunofluorescence technique, two specific antibodies against the phospho-serine19 myosin light chain and the α-smooth muscle actin were used to analyze the colocalization between these two filaments. Data were processed using the plug-in "colocalization threshold" of ImageJ 1.43m software. The results demonstrate that both tidal and superimposed length oscillations reduce the active force in contracted ASM for a relatively long term and that the latter enhances the force reduction of the former. This reduction was also found to be frequency and time dependent. Additionally colocalization analysis indicates that length oscillations cause the detachment of the actomyosin connections and that this condition is sustained even after the cessation of the length oscillations.     

A molecular mechanical force field for the conformational analysis of oligosaccharides: comparison of theoretical and crystal structures of Man alpha 1-3Man beta 1-4GlcNAc

A molecular mechanical force field is described for the conformational analysis of oligosaccharides. This force field has been derived by the addition of new parameters to the AMBER force field and is compatible with simulations of proteins. This new parametrization is assessed by comparison of the theoretically predicted conformations of Man alpha 1-3Man beta 1-4GlcNAc with the corresponding crystal structure. Molecular dynamics simulation data are presented for this structure both in vacuo and with the explicit inclusion of water molecules. While the former demonstrate significant torsional oscillations about glycosidic linkages at physiological temperature, in the latter these oscillations are highly damped due to the stabilizing influence of a "cage" of solvent-solvent and solvent-solute hydrogen bonds.     

Loss of control biomechanics of the human arm-elbow system

An experimental study was conducted to determine whether external disturbance oscillations, such as those that could be created by hand held tools, alter the dynamic response characteristics of the human arm-muscle system. A special arm-test frame was used to induce external sinusoidal torque oscillations of various amplitudes and frequencies, while the reaction force and angular displacement were monitored. Two different output variable frequency responses were determined using input/output cross-spectrum analysis. The angular displacement of the test frame and a component of hand reaction force were the output variables used, while the test frame torque was the input. Test results from one subject are presented in this paper. Changes in the magnitude and phase angle of the frequency responses were observed for different frequencies of the disturbance torque. These changes indicate that the stability margin and response amplitude of the human arm-muscle system do change as a function of the frequency and amplitude of external disturbance oscillations. This suggests that at certain operating frequencies hand held tools can induce large reaction amplitudes or even loss of control.     

Feedback control of the limbs position during voluntary rhythmic oscillation

The mechanisms that control the limbs position during rhythmic voluntary oscillations were investigated in ten subjects, who were asked to synchronise the lower peak of their hand or foot rhythmic oscillations to a metronome beat. The efficacy of the “position control” was estimated by measuring the degree of synchronisation between the metronome signal and the requested limb position and how it was affected by changing both the oscillation frequency (between 0.4 and 3.0 Hz) and the limbs inertial properties. With the limbs unloaded, the lower peak of both the hand and foot oscillations lagged the metronome beat of a slight amount that remained constant over the whole frequency range (mean phase delay −13.2° for the hand and −4.7° for the foot). The constancy was obtained by phase-advancing, at each frequency increment, the electromyogram (EMG) activation with respect of the clock beat of the amount necessary to compensate for the simultaneous increase of the lag between the EMG and the movement, produced by the limb mechanical impedance. After loading of either limb, the increase of the oscillation frequency induced larger EMG-movement delays and the anticipatory compensation became insufficient, so that the movement progressively phase-lagged the clock beat. The above results have been accurately simulated by a neural network connected to a pendulum model that shared the same mechanical properties of the moving limb. The network compares a central command (the intended position) to the actual position of the effector and acts as a closed-loop proportional, integrative and derivative controller. It is proposed that the synchronisation of rhythmic oscillations of either the hand or the foot is sustained by a feed-back control that conforms the position of each limb to that encoded in the central voluntary command.