Search results for "Functional role"
showing 10 items of 16 documents
Deciphering the functional role of spatial and temporal muscle synergies in whole-body movements
2018
AbstractVoluntary movement is hypothesized to rely on a limited number of muscle synergies, the recruitment of which translates task goals into effective muscle activity. In this study, we investigated how to analytically characterize the functional role of different types of muscle synergies in task performance. To this end, we recorded a comprehensive dataset of muscle activity during a variety of whole-body pointing movements. We decomposed the electromyographic (EMG) signals using a space-by-time modularity model which encompasses the main types of synergies. We then used a task decoding and information theoretic analysis to probe the role of each synergy by mapping it to specific task …
Suprathreshold stochastic resonance behind cancer
2018
Noise in gene expression is pervasive and, in some cases, even fulfills a functional role. Cancer cell populations exploit noise to increase heterogeneity as a defense against therapies. What lies behind this picture is a phenomenon of stochastic resonance led by the collective, rather than by individual cells.
Subtle genotypic changes can be observed soon after diagnosis in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.
2016
Clonal variants of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) coexist in specific patients, although the dynamics of their emergence is unknown. We used MIRU-VNTR to detect microevolution leading to variants of MTB in 3 out of 19 patients (15%) soon after diagnosis (61-85 days). Most harbored SNPs and for some of them a potential functional role was suggested. Microevolution in tuberculosis seems to occur sooner and more often than expected and could affect tracking of transmission.
Functional role of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein in Alzheimer's disease.
2006
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by neuronal loss, neurofibrillary tangle formation and the extracellular deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques. The amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the enzymes responsible for Aβ generation seem to be the base elements triggering the destructive processes. Initially, the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) was genetically linked to AD and later it emerged to impact on many fundamental events related to this disease. LRP is not only involved in Aβ clearance but is also the major receptor of several AD-associated ligands, e.g. apolipoprotein E and α<sub>2</sub>-m…
The influence of eye movements on the temporal features of executed and imagined arm movements.
2007
The very close coordination between eye and hand indicates that eye movements are parts of the neural processes underlying the planning and control of arm movements. Eye movements are fundamental during observed actions and play a functional role in visual mental imagery. However, the role of eye movements during imagined actions is still unknown. Here, we report the timing features of eye and arm pointing movements for nine healthy participants in four conditions: Executed movements with orientation saccades (Eyes Free) or with no saccades (Eyes Motionless), and Imagined movements with Eyes Free or with Eyes Motionless. The first result was a facilitation effect of saccades upon both execu…
Researches Regarding the Usage of Titanium Alloys in Cranial Implants
2014
In the last few decades, the concept of flexible manufacturing has started to gain more and more attention, as an adaptation of production methods to the increasingly varied demands by customers. Therefore, new procedures have been introduced as alternatives to the classical ones, a very promising one being incremental forming [. A possible application for this new procedure, targeted by the authors of this paper, is the manufacturing of custom-shaped prosthetic parts for use in various areas of human medicine. Such prostheses can have a functional role, when they target the replacing of a functional component of the human body, or an esthetic role, when they target the solving of problems …
Model of a Constructive Fuctional Optimization of the Cardan Cross
2015
This paper aims to establish an optimization model using the Ansys program, and taking into account the specific constraints depending on the functional role of the specific area. We present certain calculation parameters applied to the cardanic transmission of the Dacia, this cardanic transmission being considered an optimization model. The entire cardanic transmission was analyzed, resulting that the cardan crosses are parts which are strained the most, and that is why it will be here that the optimization will be focused, in terms of minimizing the Von Mises stress.
Insects’ potential: Understanding the functional role of their gut microbiome
2021
The study of insect-associated microbial communities is a field of great importance in agriculture, principally because of the role insects play as pests. In addition, there is a recent focus on the potential of the insect gut microbiome in areas such as biotechnology, given some microorganisms produce molecules with biotechnological and industrial applications, and also in biomedicine, since some bacteria and fungi are a reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). To date, most studies aiming to characterize the role of the gut microbiome of insects have been based on high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and/or metagenomics. However, recently functional approaches such as m…
Ephaptic coupling of myelinated nerve fibers
2001
Numerical predictions of a simple myelinated nerve fiber model are compared with theoretical results in the continuum and discrete limits, clarifying the nature of the conduction process on an isolated nerve axon. Since myelinated nerve fibers are often arranged in bundles, this model is used to study ephaptic (nonsynaptic) interactions between impulses on parallel fibers, which may play a functional role in neural processing.
Computing Metal-Binding Proteins for Therapeutic Benefit
2021
Over one third of biomolecules rely on metal ions to exert their cellular functions. Metal ions can play a structural role by stabilizing the structure of biomolecules, a functional role by promoting a wide variety of biochemical reactions, and a regulatory role by acting as messengers upon binding to proteins regulating cellular metal-homeostasis. These diverse roles in biology ascribe critical implications to metal-binding proteins in the onset of many diseases. Hence, it is of utmost importance to exhaustively unlock the different mechanistic facets of metal-binding proteins and to harness this knowledge to rationally devise novel therapeutic strategies to prevent or cure pathological st…