Temporalis and masseter muscle function during incision in macaques and humans

Most previously published electromyographic (EMG) studies have indicated that the temporalis muscles in humans become almost electrically quiet during incisai biting. These data have led various workers to conclude that these muscles may contribute little to the incisai bite force. The feeding behavior and comparative anatomy of the incisors and temporalis muscles of certain catarrhine primates, however, suggest that the temporalis muscle is an important and powerful contributor to the bite force during incision. One purpose of this study is to analyze the EMG activity of the masseter and temporalis muscles in both humans and macaques with the intention of focusing on the conflict between published EMG data on humans and inferences of muscle function based on the comparative anatomy and behavior of catarrhine primates. The EMG data collected from humans in the present study indicate that, in five of seven subjects, the masseter,anterior temporalis, and posterior temporalis muscles are very active during apple incision (i.e., relative to EMG activity levels during apple and almond mastication). In the other two human subjects the EMG levels of these muscles are lower during incision than during mastication, but in no instance are these muscles ever close to becoming electrically quiet. The EMG data on macaques indicate that, in all six subjects, the masseter, anterior temporalis, and posterior temporalis muscles are very active during incision. These data are in general agreement with inferences on muscle function that have been drawn from the comparative anatomy and behavior of primates, but they do not agree with previous experimental data. The reason for this disagreement is probably due to differences in the experimental procedure. In previous studies subjects simply bit isometrically on their incisors and the resulting EMG pattern was compared to the pattern associated with powerful clenching in centric occlusion. In the present study the subjects incised into actual food objects, and the resulting EMG pattern was compared to the pattern associated with mastication of various foods. It is not surprising that these two procedures result in markedly different EMG patterns, which in turn result in markedly different interpretations of jaw-muscle function. In an attempt to explain the evolution of the postorbital septum in anthropoids, it has been suggested that the anterior temporalis is more active than the masseter during incision (Cachel, 1979). The human and macaque EMG data do not support this hypothesis; during incision, the two muscles show no consistent differences in humans and the masseter appears to be in fact more active than the anterior temporalis in macaques.     

深化微生物检验教学改革, 培养学生综合能力

《微生物检验》是医学检验技术专业重要的专业核心课程, 具有很强的实践性和操作性。课程采取“校企合作”的方法, 根据医院人才培养标准整合教学内容, 在教学过程中强调工学结合, 积极采用个案分析等多种教学方法和手段, 开拓学生思路, 养成良好的科学态度。通过“实训-见习-实习”等实践环节, 培养学生的动手能力, 以及分析问题、解决问题的能力, 为临床输送“医学检验技能应用型人才”。     

持续性军事职业活动对平衡能力的影响*

目的:评定持续性军事职业活动对平衡能力的影响及视觉系统在其中的作用,为精准军事运动训练提供依据。方法:54名健康男性受试者,年龄(20.28±3.72)岁;身高(173.21±5.67)cm;体重(64.29±5.12) kg,在36 h的时间内完成多项军事科目,记录全程运动负荷(随机抽取11人),军事活动结束后进行睁眼平衡能力测试(54人)和闭眼平衡能力测试(随机抽取27人)。结果:内部负荷,与安静状态相比,军事职业活动中的心率(HR)、运动后的过氧消耗(EPOC)和运动冲量(TRIMP)值均显著增加(P＜0.05);平衡能力,与睁眼安静值相比,军事职业活动后睁眼状态下整体、前后和左右方向的重心动摇距离和速度均显著增加(P＜0.05),而整体、前后和左右动摇面积,前后和左右方向的最大动摇径,以及运动椭圆面积无显著变化(P＞0.05);与闭眼安静值相比,军事活动后闭眼状态下平衡能力所有指标均显著增加(P＜0.05)。结果表明视觉可控制持续性军事职业活动后人体重心动摇的幅度和面积。结论:长时间军事职业活动会损害人体的平衡能力,持续性的军事职业活动后,闭眼状态下平衡能力的破坏程度较睁眼状态大,表现为重心动摇幅度和范围的增加,表明视觉系统在控制姿态稳定方面起一定作用。     

Cortical control for mastication in cats: Changes in masticatory movements following lesions in the masticatory cortex

In a previous paper (Hiraba and Sato ) we reported that an accurate mastication might be executed by the cortical processing in bilateral masticatory area (MA)and motor cortices. The aim of this study was to determine if cats with lesion of either unilateral or bilateral MA showed changes in mastication. After exploring mechanoreceptive fields and motor effects of mastication-related neurons (MRNs) in MA using the single unit recording and intracortical microstimulation methods, we made various lesions in MAs with injections of kainic acid (0.1%, 2.0?µl). Since the MA was divided into facial (F) and intraoral (I) projection areas as reported in the previous paper, cats with the unilateral lesion in F or I, and with the bilateral lesion in F & F, I & I or F & I (F on one side and I on other side) were prepared. Cats with unilateral lesion in F or I and with bilateral lesion in F & I showed no changes in mastication except for prolongation of the food intake and masticatory periods. Cats with bilateral lesion into F & F, or I & I showed wider jaw-opening during mastication. Particularly, the latter group showed enormous jaw-opening, delay in the start of mastication and difficulty in manipulating food on the tongue. In all cats with lesions of each type, masticatory and swallowing rhythms remained normal. These findings suggest that accurate mastication is executed by the close integration between F & F and I & I of the bilateral MA.     

青年教师对医学临床课程教学能力现状调查及应对策略研究

如何提高我国临床课程青年教师团队的素质与教学能力,是近年来伴随国内医学教育发展扩大而日益突出的问题。作为当前医学临床课程的教学主力,青年教师的教学能力会对医学临床课程教学效果产生重大影响。但绝大部分临床课程青年教师都毕业于医学院校,未曾接受专业的师范类培训,导致尽管自身临床知识丰富,但教学水平明显受限的情况发生。本研究采取对我院各科室青年临床教师进行问卷调查的方法,深入分析青年教师的临床教学能力现状与问题,并提出改进方案,以使他们能够更快完成青年临床医师与青年临床教师之间的角色变换,提升自身教学能力,进而提高我院临床课程的教学质量。     

Limitations of a morphological criterion of adaptive inference in the fossil record

Experimental analyses directly inform how an anatomical feature or complex functions during an organism's lifetime, which serves to increase the efficacy of comparative studies of living and fossil taxa. In the mammalian skull, food material properties and feeding behaviour have a pronounced influence on the development of the masticatory apparatus. Diet‐related variation in loading magnitude and frequency induce a cascade of changes at the gross, tissue, cellular, protein and genetic levels, with such modelling and remodelling maintaining the integrity of oral structures vis‐à‐vis routine masticatory stresses. Ongoing integrative research using rabbit and rat models of long‐term masticatory plasticity offers unique insight into the limitations of functional interpretations of fossilised remains. Given the general restriction of the palaeontological record to bony elements, we argue that failure to account for the disparity in the hierarchical network of responses of hard versus soft tissues may overestimate the magnitude of the adaptive divergence that is inferred from phenotypic differences. Second, we note that the developmental onset and duration of a loading stimulus associated with a given feeding behaviour can impart large effects on patterns of intraspecific variation that can mirror differences observed among taxa. Indeed, plasticity data are relevant to understanding evolutionary transformations because rabbits raised on different diets exhibit levels of morphological disparity comparable to those found between closely related primate species that vary in diet. Lastly, pronounced variation in joint form, and even joint function, can also characterise adult conspecifics that differ solely in age. In sum, our analyses emphasise the importance of a multi‐site and hierarchical approach to understanding determinants of morphological variation, one which incorporates critical data on performance.     

The poetics of babytalk

Caretaker-infant attachment is a complex but well-recognized adaptation in humans. An early instance of (or precursor to) attachment behavior is the dyadic interaction between adults and infants of 6 to 24 weeks, commonly called "babytalk." Detailed analysis of 1 minute of spontaneous babytalk with an 8-week infant shows that the poetic texture of the mother’s speech—specifically its use of metrics, phonetics, and foregrounding—helps to shape and direct the baby’s attention, as it also coordinates the partners’ emotional communication. We hypothesize that the ability to respond to poetic features of language is present as early as the first few weeks of life and that this ability attunes cognitive and affective capacities in ways that provide a foundation for the skills at work in later aesthetic production and response. By linking developmental social processes with formal cognitive aspects of art, we challenge predominant views in evolutionary psychology that literary art is a superfluous byproduct of adaptive evolutionary mechanisms or primarily an ornament created by sexual selection. David S. Miall is Professor of English at the University of Alberta in Canada. He is the author of essays on British Romantic writers, empirical studies of readers’ responses to literature, hypertext and literary computing. Ellen Dissanayake is Visiting Scholar at the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities, University of Washington. Her most recent book is Art and Intimacy: How the Arts Began (2000).     

Craniodental mechanics and diet in Asian colobines: Morphological evidence of mature seed predation and sclerocarpy

Folivory has been accepted as the general dietary pattern for colobines. However, recent ecological studies have revealed that extensive seed eating is found in some colobine species. The ripeness of foraged seeds is also reported to differ between seed eaters. As seeds are generally stress‐limited and may pose greater mechanical demands, seed‐eating species are predicted to exhibit morphological features adaptive for seed predation. In addition, species that feeds on seeds from unripe fruits with hard pericarp is predicted to exhibit increased leverage for anterior dentition. To test these hypotheses, we compared the craniodental morphology of seed‐eating Asian colobines (Presbytis rubicunda and Trachypithecus phayrei) with those of species that rarely exploit seeds (Presbytis comata, Trachypithecus obscurus, and Semnopithecus vetulus). The results show that the seed‐eating colobines possess a masticatory system with enhanced leverage at postcanine bite points. The sclerocarpic forager P. rubicunda also exhibits markedly greater masticatory leverage at anterior dental bite points, while the mature‐seed‐eating T. phayrei shows no such advantage for canine and incisor use. These observations suggest that P. rubicunda is well adapted to husking the resistant pericarps of unripe fruits, using the anterior dentition and to gain access to the immature seeds, whereas such sclerocarpic feeding behavior may be less important for T. phayrei. Our findings indicate that the distinctive craniodental variations of colobines may be linked to mature and/or immature seed eating and suggest the significance of seed predation for the evolution of colobine monkeys. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.