Effectiveness of using an unskilled model in action observation combined with motor imagery training for early motor learning in elderly people: a preliminary study

Abstract

Aim of the study: To investigate a more available model for the early phase of motor learning after action observation combined with motor imagery training in elderly people. To address the purpose, we focused on a slow, unskilled model demonstrating an occasional error.

Materials and methods: A total of 36 elderly people participated in the current study and were assigned to either the unskilled or skilled model observation groups (n?=?12, respectively), or the control group (n?=?12). The participants in the observation groups observed the assigned a video clip of an unskilled or skilled model demonstrating a ball rotation task. During the observation, the participants were instructed to imagine themselves as the person in the video clip. The participants in the control group read a scientific paper during the equivalent period of action observation and motor imagery. We measured ball rotation performance (the time required for five rotations, the number of ball drops) in pre- and post-intervention (observation combined with motor imagery training for intervention groups or reading for control group).

Results: Ball rotation performance (ball rotation speed) significantly improved in the unskilled model observation group compared to the other two groups.

Conclusions: Intervention for action observation using unskilled model combined with motor imagery was effective for improving motor performance during the early phase of motor learning.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mycobacterium mageritense</Emphasis> Parotitis in an Immunocompetent Adult

Mycobacterium mageritense, a rapidly growing mycobacterium, is a rare clinical pathogen. Furthermore, parotitis due to non-tuberculosis mycobacterium is very rare in adults. Herein, we report the first case of M. mageritense parotitis in an immunocompetent adult. A 40-year-old man presented with swelling in a left parotid lesion. He was diagnosed with parotitis. The culture from the parotid abscess grew M. mageritense. He was unsuccessfully treated with levofloxacin monotherapy. Trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole was added, leading to some clinical response; however, the erythema persisted despite 14 months of antibiotic therapy. Subsequently, the skin lesion was surgically removed. The antibiotic treatment was ceased a week after surgery as the postoperative course was uneventful and the lesion had improved. No recurrence was noted at 7 months after surgery. Although extremely rare, M. mageritense can cause parotitis in immunocompetent adults, and may not be sufficiently treated with antibiotics alone.     

Efficient Endocytic Uptake and Maturation in Drosophila Oocytes Requires Dynamitin/p50

Dynactin is a multi-subunit complex that functions as a regulator of the Dynein motor. A central component of this complex is Dynamitin/p50 (Dmn). Dmn is required for endosome motility in mammalian cell lines. However, the extent to which Dmn participates in the sorting of cargo via the endosomal system is unknown. In this study, we examined the endocytic role of Dmn using the Drosophila melanogaster oocyte as a model. Yolk proteins are internalized into the oocyte via clathrin-mediated endocytosis, trafficked through the endocytic pathway, and stored in condensed yolk granules. Oocytes that were depleted of Dmn contained fewer yolk granules than controls. In addition, these oocytes accumulated numerous endocytic intermediate structures. Particularly prominent were enlarged endosomes that were relatively devoid of Yolk proteins. Ultrastructural and genetic analyses indicate that the endocytic intermediates are produced downstream of Rab5. Similar phenotypes were observed upon depleting Dynein heavy chain (Dhc) or Lis1. Dhc is the motor subunit of the Dynein complex and Lis1 is a regulator of Dynein activity. We therefore propose that Dmn performs its function in endocytosis via the Dynein motor. Consistent with a role for Dynein in endocytosis, the motor colocalized with the endocytic machinery at the oocyte cortex in an endocytosis-dependent manner. Our results suggest a model whereby endocytic activity recruits Dynein to the oocyte cortex. The motor along with its regulators, Dynactin and Lis1, functions to ensure efficient endocytic uptake and maturation.     

The Arabidopsis CLASP gene encodes a microtubule-associated protein involved in cell expansion and division

Controlling microtubule dynamics and spatial organization is a fundamental requirement of eukaryotic cell function. Members of the ORBIT/MAST/CLASP family of microtubule-associated proteins associate with the plus ends of microtubules, where they promote the addition of tubulin subunits into attached kinetochore fibers during mitosis and stabilize microtubules in the vicinity of the plasma membrane during interphase. To date, nothing is known about their function in plants. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis thaliana CLASP protein is a microtubule-associated protein that is involved in both cell division and cell expansion. Green fluorescent protein-CLASP localizes along the full length of microtubules and shows enrichment at growing plus ends. Our analysis suggests that CLASP promotes microtubule stability. clasp-1 T-DNA insertion mutants are hypersensitive to microtubule-destabilizing drugs and exhibit more sparsely populated, yet well ordered, root cortical microtubule arrays. Overexpression of CLASP promotes microtubule bundles that are resistant to depolymerization with oryzalin. Furthermore, clasp-1 mutants have aberrant microtubule preprophase bands, mitotic spindles, and phragmoplasts, indicating a role for At CLASP in stabilizing mitotic arrays. clasp-1 plants are dwarf, have significantly reduced cell numbers in the root division zone, and have defects in directional cell expansion. We discuss possible mechanisms of CLASP function in higher plants.     

Intraspecific variability of the tandem repeats in Nicotiana putrescine N-methyltransferases

The putrescine N-methyltransferase (PMT) cDNA clone previously isolated from tobacco encodes a spermidine synthase-like protein with an 11 amino acid element repeated four times in tandem at the amino terminus. Genomic Southern blot analyses indicated that this N-terminal repeat array is found in tobacco PMTs but absent in Hyoscyamus and Atropa PMTs. A truncated tobacco PMT in which this repeat array was entirely removed still retained full enzymatic activity when expressed in Escherichia coli. Three PMT genes (NsPMT1, NsPMT2, NsPMT3) isolated from Nicotiana sylvestris encode two, five, and nine tandem repeats, respectively, in the first exon, but otherwise encode highly conserved proteins. Analysis of PCR fragments amplified from the genomes of N. tabacum and its two probable progenitors shows that one of the nine repeat elements in NsPMT3 was precisely deleted in the corresponding N. tabacum gene. These results indicate that direct tandem repeats of a 33 bp sequence that encodes 11 amino acids of no obvious function were added to the ancestral Nicotiana PMT gene, and that the tandem repetition was genetically very unstable, contracting or expanding during evolution of the Nicotiana species.     

A facile synthesis of 4,6-O-benzylidene-D-glycals via 1,5-anhydro-4,6-O-benzylidene-D-hex-1-en-3-ulose

Benzylidenation of readily available 1,5-anhydro-d-hex-1-en-3-ulose, followed by sodium borohydride reduction, afforded the title compounds in high yields. Separation of 4,6-O-benzylidene-d-allal and -d-glucal was accomplished by selective acetylation with lipase PS.     

Characterization of prostanoid receptors present on adrenergic neurons innervating the porcine uterine longitudinal muscle

The cyclooxygenase-prostanoid pathway regulates myometrial contractility through activation of prostanoid receptors on uterine smooth muscles. However, the possible expression of prostanoid receptors on autonomic nerves cannot be excluded completely. The aim of the present study was to clarify the presence of neural prostanoid receptors on adrenergic nerves in the porcine uterine longitudinal muscle. In [(3)H]-noradrenaline-loaded longitudinal muscle strips of porcine uterus, electrical field stimulation (EFS) evoked [(3)H]-noradrenaline release in a stimulation frequency-dependent manner. The EFS-evoked release was completely abolished in Ca(2+)-free (EGTA, 1mM) incubation medium and by tetrodotoxin or omega-conotoxin GVIA, suggesting that [(3)H]-noradrenaline was released from neural components. The EFS-evoked [(3)H]-noradrenaline release was significantly enhanced by treatment with indomethacin. In the presence of indomethacin, PGE(2) and PGF(2alpha), but not PGD(2), inhibited the EFS-evoked [(3)H]-noradrenaline release. Of synthetic prostanoid receptor agonists examined, both U46619 (TP) and sulprostone (EP(1)/EP(3)) decreased the EFS-evoked [(3)H]-noradrenaline release in a concentration-dependent manner, while fluprostenol (FP), BW245C (DP) and butaprost (EP(2)) were almost ineffective. SQ29548 (TP receptor antagonist) blocked the effect of U46619, but SC19220 (EP(1) receptor antagonist) did not change the inhibition by sulprostone or PGE(2). Double immunofluorescence staining using protein gene product 9.5, tyrosine hydroxylase, EP(3) receptor and TP receptor antibodies suggested the localization of EP(3) or TP receptors on adrenergic nerves in the porcine uterus. These results indicated that neural EP(3) and TP receptors are present on adrenergic nerves of the porcine uterine longitudinal muscle. Endogenous prostanoid produced by cyclooxygenase can regulate noradrenaline release in an inhibitory manner through activation of these neural prostanoid receptors.     

Enhanced Li‐Ion Accessibility in MXene Titanium Carbide by Steric Chloride Termination

Pseudocapacitance is a key charge storage mechanism to advanced electrochemical energy storage devices distinguished by the simultaneous achievement of high capacitance and a high charge/discharge rate by using surface redox chemistries. MXene, a family of layered compounds, is a pseudocapacitor‐like electrode material which exhibits charge storage through exceptionally fast ion accessibility to redox sites. Here, the authors demonstrate steric chloride termination in MXene Ti₂CT_x (T_x : surface termination groups) to open the interlayer space between the individual 2D Ti₂CT_x units. The open interlayer space significantly enhances Li‐ion accessibility, leading to high gravimetric and volumetric capacitances (300 F g^?1 and 130 F cm^?3) with less diffusion limitation. A Li‐ion hybrid capacitor consisting of the Ti₂CT_x negative electrode and the LiNi_1/3Co_1/3Mn_1/3O₂ positive electrode displays an unprecedented specific energy density of 160 W h kg^?1 at 220 W kg^?1 based on the total weight of positive and negative active materials.     

Molecular cloning and preliminary expression analysis of banded dogfish (Triakis scyllia) CC chemokine cDNAs by use of suppression subtractive hybridization

Suppression subtractive hybridization was carried out by using cDNAs of peripheral white blood cells (PWBCs) of banded dogfish (Triakis scyllia) after phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) stimulation. The Trsc-SCYA107, MIP31 and MIP32 clones contained an open reading frame encoding 97, 99 and 97 amino acids, respectively. Comparison of the deduced amino acids showed that the banded dogfish MIP31 and MIP32 sequences shared 42.3% and 40.0% identity with human SCYA20, respectively, while the Trsc-SCYA107 sequence shared 50.6, 44.2 and 42.0% identity with the catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) Scca-SCYA107, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) CK4A and CK4B, respectively. The genomic sequences of banded dogfish Trsc-SCYA107, MIP31 and MIP32 contain four exons and three introns, and MIP31 and MIP32 shared the same intron/exon organization with that of human. The MIP31 and MIP32 genes of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-unstimulated banded dogfish were expressed in gill, kidney and liver, while Trsc-SCYA107 mRNA was detected in various tissues except for brain. However, the constitutive expression of MIP32 gene was much lower than the Trsc-SCYA107 and MIP31 genes. RT-PCR analysis of the Trsc-SCYA107 expression in tissues of LPS-stimulated fish showed enhanced expression at 24 h poststimulation in the gill, heart, leydig, spleen and testes, while the expression of MIP31 and MIP32 was not influenced by LPS-stimulation in vivo. Furthermore, a relative increase in the expression of the Trsc-SCYA107 and MIP32 genes in PWBCs was observed at 1–12 h poststimulation with PMA and LPS, with maximal expression observed at 3 h, while MIP31 expression was observed at 3–12 h poststimulation only with PMA.