Effects of Low-Intensity and Long-Term Aerobic Exercise on the Psoas Muscle of mdx Mice: An Experimental Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle disease characterized by the absence of the protein dystrophin, which causes a loss of sarcolemma integrity, determining recurrent muscle injuries, decrease in muscle function, and progressive degeneration. Currently, there is a need for therapeutic treatments to improve the quality of life of DMD patients. Here, we investigated the effects of a low-intensity aerobic training (37 sessions) on satellite cells, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC)-1α protein (PGC-1α), and different types of fibers of the psoas muscle from mdx mice (DMD experimental model). Wildtype and mdx mice were randomly divided into sedentary and trained groups (n = 24). Trained animals were subjected to 37 sessions of low-intensity running on a motorized treadmill. Subsequently, the psoas muscle was excised and analyzed by immunofluorescence for dystrophin, satellite cells, myosin heavy chain (MHC), and PGC-1α content. The minimal Feret’s diameters of the fibers were measured, and light microscopy was applied to observe general morphological features of the muscles. The training (37 sessions) improved morphological features in muscles from mdx mice and caused an increase in the number of quiescent/activated satellite cells. It also increased the content of PGC-1α in the mdx group. We concluded that low-intensity aerobic exercise (37 sessions) was able to reverse deleterious changes determined by DMD.     

Production and characterization of porous magnetic biochar: before and after phosphate adsorption insights

Journal of Porous Materials - The modification process of biochars enables different advantages including enhanced adsorption properties for different pollutants. Herein, porous magnetic biochars...     

Mathematical Challenge in the Eyes of the Beholder: Mathematics Teachers’ Views

Abstract

This study is based on our belief that mathematics should be challenging in any classroom and that mathematical challenge is among the central factors that determine the quality of mathematics lessons. Choosing challenging mathematical problem for the students is central in teachers’ work while their conception of mathematical challenge can determine the quality of a mathematics lesson. At the same time, little is known about teachers’ views on mathematical challenge. Thus, we explored conceptions of mathematical challenge in two groups of experienced mathematics teachers. The first group (N₁ = 9) was asked to define the notion of mathematical challenge and give examples of challenging mathematical tasks. Later the members of the group discussed these examples and definitions. A written response questionnaire was administered to a second group of teachers (N₂ = 41) based on answers given by teachers in the first group. We found that the teachers have a broad conception of mathematical challenge and appreciate the relativity of mathematical challenge but are not always convinced that it is possible to incorporate challenging mathematics in everyday teaching in the classroom.     

Connected by media [vision and views]

Advertising campaigns and highly popular government programs have for many years trumpeted the need to get people connected to the Internet. That meant solving the technological and sociological issues involved in providing network access to the population and turning them into regular users. The message echoes today in a slightly muted form. Except in developing parts of the world, getting people connected is no longer a major challenge. The challenge today is to create and support experiences that users continue to value. The recent drop in the overheated valuations of networking-oriented businesses serves as a useful reminder that people don't really care about being connected to the Internet per se. They use the Internet to connect to other people or things. In the case of, connecting to people, a valuable question to ask might be, How can connected applications identify communities, support their activities, and evolve to meet their needs? With respect to things, let's consider the increasingly popular situation in which those things are multimedia content. In particular, let's think about how multimedia content might be the glue that connects, defines, and supports communities. Irrespective of views on intellectual property issues or business models, even a cursory reading of recent events makes it undeniable that the Web is becoming a remarkably effective-if not yet efficient-multimedia content distribution platform. While this may not have been a design goal earlier, it's now a significant driving force in the evolution of network technology, user services, and access devices. Given media content, people, and the Internet, there are three sorts of connectedness pairings to consider: people-to-people; people-to-media; and media-to-media     

Global stabilizability of an anaerobic biodegradation process via piecewise constant feedback

We consider a nonlinear model of an anaerobic digestion process with methane production. We propose a stabilizing control law involving piecewise constant feedback and study the asymptotic stability of the obtained closed‐loop system. An extremum seeking algorithm is applied to maximize the output. Numerical simulation results are also presented to illustrate the theoretical investigations.     

Subjective evaluation of terry fabrics handle

Based on a survey among specialists, the impact of criteria such as thickness, bulkiness, smoothness, stiffness, extensibility and elasticity on the handle of terry fabrics is evaluated and ranked. A methodology was developed to determine the weight coefficient of the factors involved in the evaluation. A relation was determined providing a connection between the examined factors and the handle rated on the Kawabata scale. A manual evaluation of terry fabric with different mass per unit area, structural features and finishing treatments was performed. Two methods were used – by ranking and by assigning a numerical score (from 0 to 5). The opinion of the evaluators has proven consistency, as the ranking of the samples, regardless of the method, was the same. The obtained results will be used to create a complex evaluation of terry fabrics handle.