Effect Of EXP Research Articles

Prevention of muscle atrophy in ICU patients without nerve injury by neuromuscular electrical stimulation: a randomized controlled study

BackgroundExtensive muscle atrophy is a common occurrence in orthopaedics patients who are bedridden or immobilized. The incidence is higher in intensive care unit (ICU) inpatients. There is still controversy about how to use neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in ICU patients. We aim to compare the effectiveness and safety of NMES to prevent muscle atrophy in intensive care unit (ICU) patients without nerve injury.MethodsICU patients without central and peripheral nerve injury were randomized into experimental group I (Exp I: active and passive activity training (APAT) + NMES treatment on the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscle), experimental group II (Exp II: APAT + NMES treatment on gastrocnemius alone), and control group (Ctl: APAT alone). Changes in the strength of gastrocnemius, the ankle range of motion, and the muscle cross-section area of the lower leg were evaluated before and after the intervention. Also, changes in prothrombin time, lactic acid, and C-reactive protein were monitored during the treatment.ResultsThe gastrocnemius muscle strength, ankle joint range of motion, and cross-sectional muscle area of the lower leg in the three groups showed a downward trend, indicating that the overall trend of muscle atrophy in ICU patients was irreversible. The decrease in gastrocnemius muscle strength in Exp I and Exp II was smaller than that in the control group (P < 0.05), but there was no difference between Exp I and Exp II. The decrease in active ankle range of motion and cross-sectional area of the lower leg Exp I and Exp II was smaller than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the decrease in Exp I was smaller than that of Exp II (all P < 0.05). The curative effect in Exp I was better than in Exp II. There were no significant differences in the dynamic changes of prothrombin time, lactic acid, and C-reactive protein during the three groups (P > 0.05).ConclusionIn addition to early exercise training, NMES should be applied to prevent muscle atrophy for patients without nerve injury in ICU. Also, simultaneous NMES treatment on agonist/antagonist muscle can enhance the effect of preventing muscle atrophy.Trial registrationThis study was prospectively registered in China Clinical Trial Registry (www.chictr.org.cn) on 16/05/2020 as ChiCTR2000032950.

The letter position coding mechanism of second language words during sentence reading: Evidence from eye movements.

We conducted three eye movement experiments to investigate the mechanism for coding letter positions in a person's second language during sentence reading; we also examined the role of morphology in this process with a more rigorous manipulation. Given that readers obtain information not only from currently fixated words (i.e., the foveal area) but also from upcoming words (i.e., the parafoveal area) to guide their reading, we examined both when the targets were fixated (Exp. 1) and when the targets were seen parafoveally (Exps. 2 and 3). First, we found the classic transposed letter (TL) effect in Exp. 1, but not in Exp. 2 or 3. This implies that flexible letter position coding exists during sentence reading. However, this was limited to words located in the foveal area, suggesting that L2 readers whose L2 proficiency is not as high as skilled native readers are not able to extract and utilise the parafoveal letter identity and position information of a word, whether the word length is long (Exp. 2) or short (Exp. 3). Second, we found morphological information to influence the magnitude of the TL effect in Exp. 1. These results provide new eye movement evidence for the flexibility of L2 letter position coding during sentence reading, as well as the interactions between the different internal representations of words in this process. Future L2 reading frameworks should integrate word recognition and eye movement control models.

The Implications of Nutritional Strategies that Modify Dietary Energy and Lysine for Growth Performance in Two Different Swine Production Systems.

Simple SummaryReducing dietary energy is a common practice for dealing with the price volatility of high energy sources, such as fats and oils, which are the costliest constraints in swine feed formulation. Theoretically, pigs can overcome a reduced energy density by increasing feed intake; however, as other factors like fibrous ingredients limit feed intake physically rather than metabolically, reducing dietary energy could also entail a lower energy intake. The expected effect on feed intake also influences lysine intake, and therefore, when NE trials are conducted, it is necessary to ensure that lysine is not a limiting factor for growth. In the present work, the effects of two dietary energy and lysine levels were tested in a factorial arrangement. The same approach of different levels was analyzed in two different swine production systems targeting different carcass traits. The experiment showed that in one system, reducing energy density did not impair growth; however, in the other system, it limited growth slightly by limiting fat deposition. Although reducing energy density increased feed intake, pigs could not reach a similar energy intake, and consequently were more efficient using energy for growth.This work aimed to determine the impacts of lowering dietary net energy (NE) density in two swine production systems that produce pigs with different carcass traits. To ensure that dietary lysine was not limiting growth, two studies were conducted in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with NE and standardized ileal digestible lysine (SID Lys) as experimental factors. A total of 1248 pigs were used in each study, Pietrain (Exp. 1, males non-castrated) or Duroc (Exp. 2, males castrated) sired. Reducing NE resulted in a greater feed intake; however, this was not sufficient to reach the same NE intake. While in Exp. 1 a 3.2% lower NE intake did not impair average daily gain (ADG; p = 0.220), in Exp. 2 a 4.7% lower NE intake reduced ADG by 1.4% (p = 0.027). Furthermore, this effect on ADG entailed a reduced ham fat thickness (p = 0.004) of the first marketed pigs. Increasing SID Lys only had a positive effect in Exp. 1, but no significant interaction between NE and SID Lys was reported (p ≥ 0.100). Therefore, dietary NE can be reduced without impairing growth performance when pigs can increase feed intake sufficiently, and thus, limit energy deficiencies.

A 11‐day compressed overload and taper induces larger physiological improvements than a normal taper in elite cyclists

Endurance athletes usually achieve performance peaking with 2-4weeks of overload training followed by 1-3weeks of tapering. With a tight competition schedule, this may not be appropriate. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the effect of a compressed variant of the recommended overload and tapering approach (EXP; n=9, VO2peak =77±5mL·min-1 ·kg-1 ) with a 11-day traditional taper that maintained the usual frequency of high-intensity aerobic interval training (HIT) and reduced the duration of training at lower exercise intensity (TRAD, n=8, VO2peak =74±4mL·min-1 ·kg-1 ) on physiological and psychological variables of endurance performance. EXP performed a 6-day period with daily HIT followed by a 5-day step taper. Testing was performed before the intervention (pre), on the 7th (post-1), and on the 11th day of the intervention (post-2). From pre to post-2, EXP achieved a larger relative improvement than TRAD in VO2peak (4.0±3.7% vs 0.8±1.8%, respectively, P=.041) and the 1-min peak power output from the VO2peak test (5.0±3.6% vs 0.9±1.5%, respectively, P=.009) and had a tendency toward larger improvement in power output at a blood lactate concentration of 4mmol∙L-1 (P=.088) and peak isokinetic knee extension (P=.06). The effect size of the relative improvement in the endurance variables revealed a moderate-to-large effect of EXP vs TRAD. In conclusion, this study indicates that elite cyclists performing the present 11-day compressed performance peaking protocol consisting of a 6-day HIT overload followed by a 5-day step taper are superior to a 11-day taper only.

Locomotion behavior changes in peripartum beef cows and heifers.

Changes in locomotor activity of beef females during the 72 h prepartum were determined in 3 experiments: (i) a 2-yr study with spring-calving multiparous cows (Exp. 1; n = 34 and 27 for years 1 and 2, respectively); (ii) spring-calving primiparous (first pregnancy; n = 13) and multiparous (n = 21) dams (Exp. 2); and (iii) fall-calving multiparous cows (Exp. 3; n = 33). For all experiments, IceQube activity monitors (iceRobotics, Edinburgh, UK) were placed above the left hind fetlock of pregnant females ≥3 d prepartum. During the calving season, females were housed in 18 × 61 m drylots with ad libitum access to hay or haylage. Parturition was closely monitored, and time of birth was noted. Motion index, standing and lying time, step count, and the number of lying bouts for each dam (summed per hour) were determined for the 72 h preceding calving. Within experiment, data were analyzed by day (days -3 to -1 prepartum), by 6-h period during the final 24 h prepartum, and by hour during the final 6 h prepartum using a mixed model with time as a repeated effect. Year was also included as a fixed effect in Exp. 1. Fixed effects of parity and time prepartum × parity were included for Exp. 2. In all 3 experiments, motion index, standing time, step count, and the number of lying bouts were greater (P < 0.001) on day -1 compared with days -2 and -3 prepartum. In the 24 h prepartum, dams had greater (P < 0.01) motion index, standing time, step count, and the number of lying bouts during 6 h preceding parturition compared with -11 to -6 h in all experiments. Motion index, step count, and lying bouts changed (P ≤ 0.02) during the last 6 h in all experiments. Primiparous dams had more (P ≤ 0.01) lying bouts than multiparous dams during the last day and -11 to -6 prepartum. In all experiments, the number of lying bouts more than doubled (P < 0.001) from -2 to -1 prepartum, with no effect of year (P = 0.57) in Exp. 1 or parity (P ≥ 0.29) in Exp. 2. This suggests that lying bout changes may be the most reliable of parameters measured in detection of calving. Moreover, fall-calving cow behavioral patterns were similar to changes observed in spring-calving females, suggesting that calving season may have minimal effects on pre-calving behavior. Overall, electronic locomotor activity monitors can detect behavioral changes peripartum in beef heifers and cows. More research is necessary to determine if these can be used to remotely sense early signs of parturition in beef cattle.

Influence of slow-release urea on nitrogen balance and portal-drained visceral nutrient flux in beef steers

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of slow-release urea (SRU) versus feed-grade urea on portal-drained visceral (PDV) nutrient flux, nutrient digestibility, and total N balance in beef steers. Multi-catheterized steers were used to determine effects of intraruminal dosing (Exp. 1; n = 4; 319 +/- 5 kg of BW) or feeding (Exp. 2; n = 10; 4 Holstein steers 236 +/- 43 kg of BW and 6 Angus steers 367 +/- 46 kg of BW) SRU or urea on PDV nutrient flux and blood variables for 10 h after dosing. Intraruminal dosing of SRU (Exp. 1) prevented the rapid increase in ruminal ammonia concentrations that occurred with urea dosing (treatment x time P = 0.001). Although apparent total tract digestibilities of DM, OM, NDF, and ADF were not affected by treatment (P > 0.53, Exp. 2), SRU increased fecal N excretion (49.6 vs. 45.6 g/d; P = 0.04) and reduced apparent total tract N digestibility (61.7 vs. 66.0%; P = 0.003). Transfer of urea from the blood to the gastrointestinal tract occurred for both treatments in Exp. 1 and 2 at all time points with the exception for 0.5 h after dosing of urea in Exp. 1, when urea was actually transferred from the gastrointestinal tract to the blood. In both Exp. 1 and 2, both urea and SRU treatments increased arterial urea concentrations from 0.5 to 6 h after feeding, but arterial urea concentrations were consistently less with SRU (treatment x time P < 0.001, Exp. 1; P = 0.007, Exp. 2). Net portal ammonia release remained relatively consistent across the entire sampling period with SRU treatment, whereas urea treatment increased portal ammonia release in Exp. 1 and tended to have a similar effect in Exp. 2 (treatment x time P = 0.003 and P = 0.11, respectively). Urea treatment also increased hepatic ammonia uptake within 0.5 h (treatment x time P = 0.02, Exp. 1); however, increased total splanchnic release of ammonia for the 2 h after urea treatment dosing suggests that PDV ammonia flux may have exceeded hepatic capacity for removal. Slow-release urea reduces the rapidity of ammonia-N release and may reduce shifts in N metabolism associated with disposal of ammonia. However, SRU increased fecal N excretion and increased urea transfer to the gastrointestinal tract, possibly by reduced SRU hydrolysis or effects on digestion patterns. Despite this, the ability of SRU to protect against the negative effects of urea feeding may be efficacious in some feeding applications.

Effect of yeast culture on in vitro fermentation of a high-concentrate or high-fiber diet using equine fecal inoculum in a Daisy II incubator1

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of a closed system, fermentation apparatus (Daisy II incubator) and determine the effects of a yeast culture (YC) preparation (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on in vitro microbial populations, diet digestion, and fermentation patterns in horses. In Exp. 1, 4 mature horses were fed a pelleted concentrate and alfalfa cubes in a 50:50 (%, as-fed) ratio. Fecal samples were taken from each horse to form the inoculum and placed in 4 separate incubation vessels. Twenty nylon bags (10 with 0.25 g and 10 with 0.50 g of the total mixed diet) were placed in each vessel, and in vitro fermentation was carried out for 48 h to determine DM, NDF, and ADF digestibility. In Exp. 2, fecal samples were taken from 4 mature horses consuming either a high-concentrate (HC) or high-fiber (HF) diet. Filter bags containing the HC or HF diet were added to the 4 incubation vessels along with their respective inoculums. Yeast culture was added to 2 of the vessels containing the HC or HF diet, whereas the other 2 vessels served as controls. Vessels were incubated as in Exp. 1 with samples taken at 24 and 48 h. Filter bags were used to determine DM, NDF, ADF, and OM digestibility, whereas vessel fluid was analyzed for lactate, ammonia, VFA, and microbial concentrations. Results of Exp. 1 indicated that DM, NDF, and ADF digestibility were greater (P < 0.05), whereas the corresponding CV was lower (P < 0.05) for the 0.25- vs. the 0.50-g sample size. In Exp. 2, YC tended (P = 0.10) to decrease ammonia concentrations in the HF diet and increased (P < 0.05) acetate production in the HC diet when compared with the control. There were no effects of YC on pH, lactate, or the measured microbial populations, as well as DM, NDF, or ADF digestibility. The results did, however, show that in vitro and in vivo DM digestibility estimates were similar within a diet. Data from Exp. 1 indicated that the 0.25-g sample size provides a more accurate estimate of DM digestibility with less variation. Although YC had little, if any, effect in Exp. 2, the results indicated that the Daisy II incubator does provide valid estimates of total tract DM digestibility in the horse. These data provide further evidence that this process would be an effective and practical means of approximating the digestibility of diets with varying concentrate to forage ratios.

Limited Capacity for Contour Curvature in Iconic Memory

We measured the difference threshold for contour curvature in iconic memory by using the cued discrimination method. The study stimulus consisting of 2 to 6 curved contours was briefly presented in the fovea, followed by two lines as cues. Subjects discriminated the curvature of two cued curves. The cue delays were 0 msec. and 300 msec. in Exps. 1 and 2, respectively, and 50 msec. before the study offset in Exp. 3. Analysis of data from Exps. 1 and 2 showed that the Weber fraction rose monotonically with the increase in set size. Clear set-size effects indicate that iconic memory has a limited capacity. Moreover, clear set-size effect in Exp. 3 indicates that perception itself has a limited capacity. Larger set-size effects in Exp. 1 than in Exp. 3 suggest that iconic memory after perceptual process has limited capacity. These properties of iconic memory at threshold level are contradictory to the traditional view that iconic memory has a high capacity both at suprathreshold and categorical levels.

Self-Reference in Elaborative Processing of Desirability of Trait Adjectives

We investigated whether the desirability of trait adjectives was elaboratively processed during self-reference tasks (Exp. 1-1, 1-2) and whether desirability information played a role in memory processes in self-reference tasks (Exp. 2). In Exp. 1-1, 14 participants performed a series of initial tasks and target tasks, which were self-reference, evaluative, or semantic. Responses on the evaluating target task were faster when the initial task was self-reference rather than semantic. Exp. 1-2 demonstrated that information relevant to the evaluative task did not facilitate the process of performing an other-reference task. Although there was no evidence that desirability information had a role in the self-reference effect in Exp. 2, desirability of trait adjectives was specifically processed during self-reference tasks.

ATTENTIONAL FOCUS AND FEAR OF BLUSHING: A CASE STUDY

By means of a single case study, the effects of redirecting attention above exposure only on fear of blushing, avoidance, and idiosyncratic dysfunctional beliefs were tested. A social phobic patient with fear of blushing as the predominant complaint received sessions of Task Concentration Training (TCT) and Exposure in Vivo (EXP) alternately, after a steady baseline had been established. The treatment consisted of 14 individual sessions. Assessments were held before and after baseline, after treatment, after 4 weeks follow-up, and after 1-year follow-up. Continuous measurements were held throughout the treatment in order to measure the differential effects of TCT and EXP on fear, avoidance and beliefs. TCT and EXP together, turned out to be an effective treatment for fear of blushing: large effects were observed on all three outcome measurements. When differential effects are closely looked at, EXP seemed more effective in decreasing fear of blushing. However, the patient appeared to have used TCT strategies as well during the EXP weeks, which may have contributed to the favourable effects of EXP.

The gender-congruency effect in picture-word tasks

In Dutch noun phrases like “het boek” (the book) or “de kat” (the cat), the definite article (het or de) depends on the noun's grammatical gender (neuter or non-neuter). Schriefers reported that the production of a noun phrase like “het rode bed” (“the red bed”) in response to a colored picture takes less time when the picture is accompanied by a distractor word of congruent gender (e.g., “huis,” a het-word) than when it is accompanied by a word of incongruent gender (e.g., “hand,” a de-word). In three experiments we explored the characteristics of this gender-congruency effect. The following conclusions were reached. First, the gender-congruency effect is a rather robust phenomenon. Second, with the exception of a small effect in Exp. 2, no evidence was obtained for a gender-congruency effect when subjects were required to produce a single noun in response to a picture (e.g., “bed”). Third, the gender-congruency effect decreases with a decreasing familiarity of the distractor word. Implications for models of word production are discussed.

Role of Nitric Oxide in Responses to Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibition in Sodium-Depleted Guinea Pig and Rat

Previous reports have suggested that NO is an important mediator of the antihypertensive effects of renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibition. We examined the effects of the NO synthase inhibitor L-NNA on the hypotensive effects of captopril, the Ang II antagonist EXP 3174, or the renin inhibitor terlakiren. In sodium-depleted guinea pigs (GPs), L-NNA (3 mg/kg) increased MAP by 15–21% for at least 5 hours. L-NNA partially blocked the hypotensive effects of captopril (1 mg/kg, iv), but not those of EXP 3174 (1 mg/kg, iv) or terlakiren (3 mgkg). In sodium-depleted rats, 10 mg/kg L-NNA (iv) increased MAP by 16–22%, and partially or fully blocked the hypotensive effect of EXP 3174 (1 mg/kg, iv) or captopril (3 mgkg, iv), respectively. Thus, in contrast to the rat, NO in GPs appears to participate only in the hypotensive action of ACE inhibition and does not appear to be strongly involved in the hypotensive action of A11 antagonism or renin inhibition. The involvement of NO in the hypotensive effects of RAS antagonists other than ACE inhibitors may be species-dependent

地震の起こり方のシミュレーション

It has been suggsted that Gutenberg-Richter's and Omori's relations applied to an identical aftershock sequence are not independent but to be derived from a common generating function. The formulaN(t)=A exp(-αt)/(c+t)pis proposed to express aftershock activity in place of the popular modified Omori's formula. Suggestion is made that careful control of observation conditions is necessitated so as to obtain uniformities in the independently determined p values. It is needed to avoid contamination from the effect of exp(-αt) which is affected by the observation conditions.

Further Considerations of the Phenomenology of Proxemics

Subjective distance is the individual's experience of a particular objective interpersonal distance. In the present experiments, this distance was measured by subjects positioning two inanimate forms at a separation distance they judged as identical to an actual social spacing preceding the measurement task. In Exp. 1, subjective distances for 30 males and 30 females were assessed following a condition of inappropriate spatial closeness; the subjects significantly underestimated the objective interpersonal distance. This replicated an earlier finding despite the fact that the method of measuring subjective distance was dramatically altered. The consistency of this finding provided some validity for the subjective-distance construct. In Exp. 2, a cognitive reappraisal of close interpersonal spacing by 20 subjects significantly reduced the underestimation effect of Exp. 1. A theoretical analysis of the subjective distance data emphasized perceived size as a salient psychological cue to distance perception in a proxemic situation.

Irrelevant Thirst Drive and Light Aversion

In two experiments satiated female albino rats learned to press a bar to turn off a bright light, and performance was measured with 0 or 24 hours thirst added on two test days. The 28 Ss of Exp. I received extinction treatment on the test days; 14 Ss of Exp. II continued dark-rewarded bar pressing on the test days. Added thirst had no over-all effect in Exp. I and decreased performance in Exp. II. Ss extinguished with the light always on performed better than those with the light always off, and the amount of decrease from the first to the second extinction day depended in a complex manner on both lighting and thirst conditions. Thus, Hull's prediction of energization by irrelevant drives is not confirmed. The data were considered in relation to Estes' stimulus theory of drive.