Passive Response Research Articles

Sex-dependent effects of endocannabinoid modulation of conditioned fear extinction in rats.

Women are twice as likely as men to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) making the search for biological mechanisms underlying these gender disparities especially crucial. One of the hallmark symptoms of PTSD is an alteration in the ability to extinguish fear responses to trauma-associated cues. In male rodents, the endocannabinoid system can modulate fear extinction and has been suggested as a therapeutic target for PTSD. However, whether and how the endocannabinoid system may modulate fear expression and extinction in females remains unknown. To answer this question, we pharmacologically manipulated endocannabinoid signalling in male and female rats prior to extinction of auditory conditioned fear and measured both passive (freezing) and active (darting) conditioned responses. Surprisingly, we found that acute systemic inhibition of the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) or 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) hydrolysis did not significantly alter fear expression or extinction in males. However, the same manipulations in females produced diverging effects. Increased AEA signalling at vanilloid TRPV1 receptors impaired fear memory extinction. In contrast, inhibition of 2-AG hydrolysis promoted active over passive fear responses acutely via activation of cannabinoid1 (CB1 ) receptors. Measurement of AEA and 2-AG levels after extinction training revealed sex- and brain region-specific changes. We provide the first evidence that AEA and 2-AG signalling affect fear expression and extinction in females in opposite directions. These findings are relevant to future research on sex differences in mechanisms of fear extinction and may help develop sex-specific therapeutics to treat trauma-related disorders.

Seasonality of energy and water fluxes in a tropical moist forest in Vietnam

This study presents the results of over 6 years (11/2011–12/2017) of energy and water flux measurements on the first eddy covariance site in Vietnam, in a mature tropical moist forest under monsoon climate. The dry season, lasting approximately four months, has strong interannual variations. Six-year average precipitation and evapotranspiration amounted to 2518 ± 253 mm and 1519 ± 105 mm per year, respectively, and net radiation total was 4897 ± 145 MJ m−2 per year. On average, the evapotranspiration increased from 3.64 ± 1.02 mm d−1 in a dry season to 4.65 ± 1.02 mm d−1 in a wet season, in parallel with a slight counterintuitive increase in net radiation, from 5.44 ± 1.20 mm d−1 to 5.70 ± 1.40 mm d−1 (equivalent water layer that evaporates using the relevant energy). In the driest months, evapotranspiration remained at a level of 60–80 mm per month in spite of nearly absent precipitation. Sensible heat increased in the second half of a dry season. The Bowen ratio was small in a wet season, increased to 1.0 in dry months, while it reached 2.2 in the anomalously hot conditions of April 2016. The average ratio of daily latent heat to daily net radiation in dry and wet season equalled to 68.9 ± 21.4% and 83.0 ± 8.5%, respectively. The energy balance closure in different years varied from 77.2 to 82.4% and was better in the hottest months. Canopy stomatal conductance fell sharply in hot-dry conditions and restricted evapotranspiration. Stomatal regulation of evapotranspiration occurred during three to five months depending on the severity of the dry season; however, in a wet season, evapotranspiration was fully dependent on net radiation and evapotranspiration occurred as a passive response to atmospheric demand.

Internationalisation, Brexit, and the EU academic system: a case study in Austria

ABSTRACT The withdrawal negotiations after the United Kingdom (UK) voted to leave the European Union (EU) have fuelled discussions concerning the expected repercussions on higher education and research in Europe and call for discussing Brexit against the backdrop of internationalisation and the role of the UK in the European higher education and research landscape. When analysing Brexit as a counter development to internationalisation efforts, the question arises as to how institutions in different EU countries deal with and adapt to the new situation that is susceptible to substantially changing the European higher education landscape. By taking Austria as an example and by comparing our findings with other European countries, we study the responses of higher education institutions (HEIs) in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. To understand if and how Austrian HEIs prepared for Brexit, we conducted semi-structured expert interviews with representatives of International Relation Offices. Despite the awareness that Brexit might have negative consequences, the institutions mainly adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude. The institutions justified this rather passive response by highlighting the uncertain outcome of the Brexit negotiations. However, they also showed a commitment to finding solutions and new strategies once the terms of the UK leave are set.

Consequences of bullying on university students in Bangladesh

Bullying at university is a pervasive phenomenon that has negative outcomes on the psychological and actual wellbeing of students, their success and achievement. The examination expected to research the consequences of bullying on university level students. A self-administrated survey was planned by the exploration goals and theories. The sample size consists of 380 students randomly selected from different faculties of a public university in Bangladesh. The questionnaire was coded and analyzed using SPSS-AMOS-24 and descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used for data analysis. The results of the study indicated that bullying exists at the university and affects student’s academic achievement and success, either by victims or the bullies. The bullied students resolved unpleasant situations using active or passive responses. This study discovers the causes and consequences of students bullying and gives suggestions to the students, university administration and parents of students on how to solve this problem. The study also helps prevent bullying by educating student about their rights, providing students with confidential way to report bullying, encouraging bystanders by to take immediate actions, such as speaking up and reporting the incident and emphasizing the importance of family involvement. This study has recommended that teachers and the university administration need to take different measures to reduce bullying. Teachers may coordinate with and talk to the bully’s students. Teachers, university administration, and NGOs can seta few projects for menaces to alleviate the university bullying. Moreover, the government should take legal action to prevent bullying. Therefore, the desirable application of the results of this research reality makesa valuable contribution to development at the national level.

Formation of initial projection data in reflection tomography in the implementation of technical vision

The known principles of active monostatic radar are based on the effect of radio wave scattering on objects located on the path of the probing signal, and the subsequent registration of a part of the wave reflected in the direction of the emitter. However, within the framework of this study, it is of interest to register objects that do not return a reflected radio echo towards the emitter. When fixing the position of an object, it is assumed that there is a possible absence of an echo signal characteristic of classical active radar with a passive response. The absence of a characteristic echo signal does not exclude its return as a result of repeated reflection inside the scene, including along other routes and from other objects. Purpose – within the framework of the implementation of technical vision in the course of tomographic observation of a complex radar scene that solves the problems of multidimensional reconstruction, a stochastic model based on the principles of tomography describing the subject area of a complex radar scene is developed. In the indicated relevance of the development of methods for radar detection of hidden objects inaccessible for registration by classical methods, a variant of using tomographic observation of a complex radar scene is proposed. In connection with the admitted lowangle and the emerging problems of an unambiguous deterministic definition, a description of the subject area of the scene from a stochastic position is proposed. In the proposed tomographic method, in conditions of limited initial data, when a deterministic approach to the reconstruction of the radar scene is not possible, an acceptable solution is sought in the stochastic description. At a given value by sampling the space, determined by the hexagonal lattice cell, the scene reconstruction is carried out by selecting and analyzing the echo signal trajectories from the possible set of proposed ones. The decision on the choice of one or another proposed trajectory and its transfer to the category of a possible solution is carried out on the basis of a preliminary calculation of the characteristics of the stochastic description.

Vascular, molecular and cellular mechanisms of development of cognitive impairments after occlusion of carotid arteries

The study was aimed at determining the role of vascular endothelial dysfunction in induction of molecular and cellular mechanisms of the development of cognitive impairments after occlusion of common carotid arteries. The experiments were carried out on Wistar rats. The animals were divided into 2 groups: group 1 - control, sham-operated animals; group 2 - rats with cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion. The model of cerebral ischaemia-reperfusion was reproduced by means of simultaneous occlusion of common carotid arteries (for 5 minutes). The degree of endothelial dysfunction was assessed by determining the amount of circulating endotheliocytes and concentration of nitrogen oxide products in blood plasma. In the brain, we measured the content of malonic dialdehyde, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase. Pathomorphological studies of cerebral structures and morphometric analysis of the number of damaged neurons in ischaemic exposure were carried out by means of light microscopy. Cognitive functions in rats were assessed by means of conditioned reaction of passive avoidance and the test of pattern identification. Common carotid arteries occlusion in rats induced an increase in the level of circulating endotheliocytes and a decrease in end products of nitrogen oxide - nitrites in blood plasma as compared with the control (p≤0.05); the content of malonic dialdehyde in the brain increased 2.6-fold, the activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase decreased 5.9-fold and 2.8-fold, respectively (p≤0.05). The findings of pathomorphological examination registered signs of vasoconstrictive reactions, endothelial oedema, an increase in the proportion of damaged neurons in the cortex of greater hemispheres and hippocampus (p≤0.05). It was determined that occlusion of common carotid arteries in rats resulted in memory disorders revealed in tests of conditioned passive avoidance response and pattern identification (p≤0.05). Occlusion of common carotid arteries in rats becomes a cause of endothelial dysfunction, neurometabolic alterations, damage of neurons in vulnerable regions of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cognitive impairments. Damaging factors of the neurovascular system are intensification of oxidative processes and a decrease in the level of antioxidant defence, presenting important targets of neuroprotection.

Dynamic analysis of gun control system of main battle tank

The primary aim of the military tank is to hit on the target efficiently in moving condition on off-track. The battle tank is an assembly of suspension system; mobility drives of fire gun such as elevation drive, azimuth drive; ballistic system and firing system etc. These aforesaid assemble systems are mainly responsible for disturbance in stability of main gun. The track used for battle tank also plays the major role in vibrations. Hence, the stability of gun is only possible when vibrations caused by mobility drives get reduced on dynamic tank gun. Mathematical model of weapon control system is modelled in SIMULINK, all kinds of weapon drives are coupled, using a collective framework of cantilever beam to develop the gun model. The passive dynamic responses of main gun can be observed by these mathematical models. The responses of SIMULINK are validated by a model developed in ADAMS.

БІЗНЕС-АНАЛІТИКА В УПРАВЛІННІ ФІНАНСОВИМИ РИЗИКАМИ

The article examines the definition of the category "risk" in the works by domestic scientists. Financial risk management in the company management system is considered. Its basic principles and postulates are established. Risk management is defined as the process of identifying, analysing, and making or reducing uncertainty in making investment decisions. Approaches to the formation of modern strategies and tactics of risk management are generalized. The sequence of stages, which most fully reflects the essence of the risk management process, is presented. The main stages of financial risk management are characterized and their functional significance is determined. It is established that the main direction for improving the management system is the deve-lopment and implementation of active management based on systemic and situational approaches. To choose the optimal tactics for managing financial risks, it is advisable to classify them into industry and quality. The strategies for financial risk management of modern business are generalized in two categories: passive and active response. The use of integrated approaches and new business concepts for efficient financial risk management is substantiated. The main means of reducing financial risk are identified, namely insurance and sale of financial instruments (forward contracts, futures contracts, swaps and options). The main elements of using business analytics tools are considered and analysed. It is noted that most business analytics tools are used to improve risk management; therefore, risk management tools benefit from business analytics approaches. The use of artificial intelligence models, such as neural networks and the method of reference vectors, agent-oriented theory, cognitive computation, is characterized. The proposed approach is aimed at combining several expert solutions, achieving the highest return on investment and reducing losses by working with difficult situations in a dynamic market environment. It is proved that researching business analytics tools in the field of risk management is useful for both practitioners and academic researchers.

Hippocampal Neurogenesis, Dopaminergic Neurons of the Substantia Nigra, and Behavior after Intranasal Administration of Native α-Synuclein Protein to Ageing Mice

Abstract—We studied the effects of intranasal administration of native α-synuclein, whose hyperproduction and misfolding are the key link in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, on hippocampal neurogenesis, the number of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, locomotor activity, learning, memory, and anxiety level in ageing animals. The experiments were performed with 12-month-old C57BL/6 male mice which were treated for 14 days with a solution of recombinant native α-synuclein or physiological saline once every 24 hours. To evaluate behavioral indices, the following tests were used: open field, novel object recognition, conditioned passive avoidance response, and elevated plus maze. Proliferating cells, immature neurons, and dopaminergic nerve cells were immunohistochemically detected using antibodies against bromodeoxyuridine, doublecortin, and tyrosine hydroxylase. It was demonstrated that α-synuclein causes a considerable increase in the number of proliferating cells and a decrease in the number of immature neurons in the dentate gyrus the hippocampus, as well as a decrease in the density of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Mice that received native α-synuclein demonstrated lower locomotion speed, impairments in long-term associative memory, and changes in anxiety-like behavior. We compared the obtained data with the previous results on the effects of α-synuclein oligomers and fibrils under similar experimental protocols. The data are viewed as experimental evidence of the impairment of postnatal neurogenesis during the development of synucleinopathies and support the notion that different α-synuclein conformations cause the development of different neurodegenerative diseases.

Autorotation of the Mandible as Sequelae to Maxillary Intrusion: A Systematic Review.

Background:Autorotation of the mandible is a normally anticipated phenomenon following a surgical superior repositioning of the maxilla in clinical situations where patients have an excessive gummy smile. Prediction of the surgical treatment outcome following a presurgical orthodontic treatment is a critical element in the surgical treatment planning.Materials and Methods:The relevant articles were selected by hand search and electronic media (Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane) from 1982 to 2020. All the relevant articles were properly screened, and findings were extracted from the articles.Results:It was observed that, following maxillary intrusion, mandible would eventually autorotate to take a new occlusion. Mandibular autorotation as a result of maxillary intrusion would lead to minimal shortening of the lower lip in the vertical plane. It was observed that the amount of mandibular autorotation correlates with the extent of maxillary impaction. Studies have shown that there is a passive soft-tissue response which may be attributed to the fact that no muscular detachment had been affected in the lower lip and soft-tissue chin region during the maxillary surgery.Conclusion:It is observed that there is a definite influence on the mandibular and chin positions as a result of maxillary intrusion and autorotation of the mandible. Every 1 mm of maxillary superior impaction, the chin moved 0.6 mm vertically and 0.2 mm horizontally. There is an appreciable shortening of the lower lip length.

Ciona embryonic tail bending is driven by asymmetrical notochord contractility and coordinated by epithelial proliferation.

Ventral bending of the embryonic tail within the chorion is an evolutionarily conserved morphogenetic event in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, the complexity of the anatomical structure of vertebrate embryos makes it difficult to experimentally identify the mechanisms underlying embryonic folding. This study investigated the mechanisms underlying embryonic tail bending in chordates. To further understand the mechanical role of each tissue, we also developed a physical model with experimentally measured parameters to simulate embryonic tail bending. Actomyosin asymmetrically accumulated at the ventral side of the notochord, and cell proliferation of the dorsal tail epidermis was faster than that in the ventral counterpart during embryonic tail bending. Genetic disruption of actomyosin activity and inhibition of cell proliferation dorsally caused abnormal tail bending, indicating that both asymmetrical actomyosin contractility in the notochord and the discrepancy of epidermis cell proliferation are required for tail bending. In addition, asymmetrical notochord contractility was sufficient to drive embryonic tail bending, whereas differential epidermis proliferation was a passive response to mechanical forces. These findings showed that asymmetrical notochord contractility coordinates with differential epidermis proliferation mechanisms to drive embryonic tail bending.This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview.

Response of Piping System with Semi-active Magnetorheological Damper under Tri-directional Seismic Excitation

ABSTRACT Seismic loads on piping system due to earthquakes can cause excessive vibrations, which can lead to serious instability resulting in damage or complete failure of piping system. Vibrations in the piping system can be reduced using passive control, active control, semiactive control and hybrid control. In this paper, semi-active magnetorheological (MR) dampers have been studied to mitigate seismic response and vibration control in piping system used in the process industries, fossil and fissile fuel power plant. The performance of MR dampers using various control algorithms is explored. A study is also conducted on the performance of control due to variation in the command voltage of MR dampers. The effectiveness of the MR dampers in terms of the reduction in responses, namely, displacements, accelerations and base shear of the piping system are compared with uncontrolled and passive controlled responses. This study is carried out under four artificial earthquake motions with increasing amplitudes in all the three directions of motion. The analytical results demonstrate that the MR dampers under particular optimum parameters are very effective and practically implementable for the seismic response mitigation, vibration control and seismic requalification of piping system.

Study on mechanism and application of water resources system adaptability under changing environment

Abstract The water resources system is in a vulnerable situation because of the influence of climate change and the changing environment. The adaptation mechanism was discussed through the analysis of the process of passive response, adaptation and even active adjustment of water resources system under changing environment. The adaptability of the water resources system can be described as natural resilience (NR) of natural system and artificial adaptation (AA) social (artificial) system. The natural resilience indexes were identified and analyzed from the aspects of water quantity, water quality and water ecology. The artificial adaptation indexes were identified and analyzed from the aspects of resource, eco-environment, socio-economic and technical factors. On this basis, the index system was constructed in accord with process mechanism of water resources system adaptability. Besides, to address the two-dimension factors of water resources system adaptability, a method of system analysis based on connection numbers–fuzzy risk matrix was proposed based on the theory of risk matrix. The synthesis interval [Apess, Aopt] of water resources system adaptability is obtained, by defining the pessimistic criterion when two-dimension factors meet the evaluation standard at the same time, and the optimistic criterion when either of the two-dimension factors meets evaluation standard. Finally, the case study in the Huaihe River basin in China was carried out. The results show that the adaptability level of water resources system in the Huaihe River basin expressed fluctuating uprising tendency in 2006–2015. The adaptability level is the lowest [1.856, 2.625] in 2009, the highest [2.500, 3.536] in 2015.

Corporate political strategy: the roles of management accounting in relational work

ABSTRACT Research has provided substantial evidence that firms engage in Corporate Political Activity/Strategy (CPA), as a form of relational work, to manage and influence political actors and shape political institutions in ways favourable to the firm. However, relatively little is known about how management accounting is mobilised in an organisation in order to support CPA attempts. This paper addresses this gap by investigating how management accounting is implicated in relational work. We explore this issue in a Brazilian organisation (Electra), which was privatised as part of a wider privatisation program in Brazil. We draw on the institutional work and CPA (in particular on Oliver and Holzinger’s [2008. The effectiveness of strategic political management: A dynamic capabilities framework. The Academy of Management Review, 33(2), 496–520. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.31193538] framework) literature. By doing so, we find that our focal firm used a multiplicity of relational strategy types (i.e. reactive, anticipatory, defensive, and proactive) in a more simultaneous way than has previously been reported in the literature. Moreover, we identify four roles that management accounting may play in organisations’ attempts to engage in CPA. These roles were intertwined with the relational strategies adopted in our focal company. This finding contrasts with the research in management accounting, which has dichotomised passive and active responses to external pressures. We show that these two responses were blended in our case, and management accounting may be concomitantly implicated in compliance and influence strategies. We further discuss these findings in relation to the literature on relational work/strategy and management accounting.

Load Distribution at the Patellofemoral Joint During Walking.

We combined computational modelling with experimental gait data to describe and explain load distribution across the medial and lateral facets of the patella during normal walking. The body was modelled as a 13-segment, 32-degree-of-freedom (DOF) skeleton actuated by 80 muscles. The knee was represented as a 3-body, 12-DOF mechanical system with deformable articular cartilage surfaces at the tibiofemoral (TF) and patellofemoral (PF) joints. Passive responses of the knee model to 100 N anterior-posterior drawer and 5 Nm axial torque tests were consistent with cadaver data reported in the literature. Trajectories of 6-DOF TF and PF joint motion and articular joint contact calculated for walking were also consistent with measurements obtained from biplane X-ray imaging. The force acting on the lateral patellar facet was considerably higher than that on the medial facet throughout the gait cycle. The vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and patellar tendon forces contributed substantially to the first peak in the PF contact force during stance whereas all three portions of the vasti and rectus femoris were responsible for the second peak during swing. A higher lateral patellar contact force was caused mainly by the laterally-directed shear force applied by the quadriceps muscles, especially the vastus lateralis, intermedius and rectus femoris. A better understanding of the contributions of the individual knee muscles to load distribution in the PF compartment may lead to improved surgical and physiotherapy methods to treat PF disorders.

The efficiencies of inorganic mercury bio-methylation by aerobic bacteria under different oxygen concentrations

Limited information is available about the bio-methylation of inorganic mercury (iHg) under aerobic conditions. In this study, two γ-proteobacteria strains (P. fluorescens TGR-B2 and P. putida TGR-B4) were obtained from the soil of The Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR), demonstrating effective aerobic transformation capacities of iHg into methylmercury (MeHg). Based on periodical changes in soil oxygen content of the TGR, a culture system was established, in which 300 ng Hg (II) L–1 and O2 were set at 7%, 14%, and 21%, respectively. Results indicated that the two strains differed significantly in bacterial growth rate and MeHg production. The kinetic model of MeHg showed typical characteristics of a “two-staged” process: The first stage was dominated by bio-methylation, which was shown by increasing of net MeHg content. Moreover, the second stage was dominated by bio-demethylation, which decreased net MeHg content. Thus, we hypothesized that the mechanism of aerobic bacterial iHg bio-methylation: (1) should inefficiency compared to anaerobic bacteria i.e.SRB, which were regulated by hgcA/B gene clusters, (2) might be regarded as a passive stress response and depended on the bacterial iHg intoxication threshold and MeHg tolerance threshold.

Sex-Related Differences in Anxious-Depressive and Defensive Behavior in Wistar Rats

Sex-related differences in the behavior of animals in aversive situations were identified by comparing male and female Wistar rats in tests for anxiety, depression-like behavior, assessments of the dynamics of the acquisition and extinction of a classical defensive reflex and a passive avoidance reflex, and also acquisition of an active avoidance reflex. In tests for anxiety, females differed from males in having lower levels of anxiety and greater movement and exploratory activity. In the Porsolt test, females showed less extensive signs of depression-like behavior. After stress, the blood corticosterone content in females was greater than that in males. Females showed higher pain sensitivity. Conditioned reflex fear in the passive avoidance reflex was greater in males than females; there was no difference in animals of different sexes in the classical defensive reflex. Extinction of conditioned reflex fear in these two types of reflex occurred more quickly in females than males. Acquisition of the active avoidance reflex was easier in females than males. It is suggested that females are more inclined to the active defensive strategy and to overestimate danger, while males, conversely, prefer passive defensive responses.

Bird wings act as a suspension system that rejects gusts.

Musculoskeletal systems cope with many environmental perturbations without neurological control. These passive preflex responses aid animals to move swiftly through complex terrain. Whether preflexes play a substantial role in animal flight is uncertain. We investigated how birds cope with gusty environments and found that their wings can act as a suspension system, reducing the effects of vertical gusts by elevating rapidly about the shoulder. This preflex mechanism rejected the gust impulse through inertial effects, diminishing the predicted impulse to the torso and head by 32% over the first 80 ms, before aerodynamic mechanisms took effect. For each wing, the centre of aerodynamic loading aligns with the centre of percussion, consistent with enhancing passive inertial gust rejection. The reduced motion of the torso in demanding conditions simplifies crucial tasks, such as landing, prey capture and visual tracking. Implementing a similar preflex mechanism in future small-scale aircraft will help to mitigate the effects of gusts and turbulence without added computational burden.

Improvements and Degradation to Spatial Tactile Acuity Among Blind and Deaf Individuals

Cross-modal reorganization takes place for sensory cortices when there is no more primary input. For instance, the visual cortex in blind individuals which receives no visual input starts responding to auditory and tactile stimuli. Reorganization may improve or degrade processing of other modality inputs, via bottom-up compensational processes and top-down updating. In two experiments, we measured the spatial tactile response in a large sample of early- (N = 49) and late-blind (N = 51) individuals with varying levels of Braille proficiencies, and early-deaf (N = 69) with varying levels of hearing devices against separate hearing and sighted controls. Spatial tactile responses were measured using a standard gradient orientation task on two locations, the finger and tongue. Experiments show limited to no advantage in passive tactile response for blind individuals and degradation for deaf individuals at the finger. However, the use of hearing devices decreased the tactile impairment in early-deaf individuals. Also, no differences in age-related decline in both sensory-impaired groups were shown. Results show less tactile acuity differences between blind and sighted than previously reported, but supports recent reports of tactile impairment among the early-deaf.

3D finite element models from serial section histology of skeletal muscle tissue – The role of micro-architecture on mechanical behaviour

In this contribution we create three-dimensional (3D) finite element models from a series of histological sections of porcine skeletal muscle tissue. Image registration is performed on the stained sections by affinely aligning them using auxiliary markers, followed by image segmentation to determine muscle fibres and the extracellular matrix in each section, with particular regard to the continuity of the fibres through the stack. With this information, 3D virtual tissue samples are reconstructed, discretised, and associated with appropriate non-linear elastic anisotropic material models. While the gross anatomy is directly obtained from the images, the local directions of anisotropy were determined by the use of an analogy with steady state diffusion. The influence of the number of histological sections considered for reconstruction on the numerically simulated mechanical response of the virtual tissue samples is then studied. The results show that muscle tissue is fairly heterogeneous along the fascicles, and that transverse isotropy is inadequate in describing their material symmetry at the typical length scale of a fascicle. Numerical simulations of different load cases suggest that ignoring the undulations of fibres and their non-uniform cross-sections only moderately affects the passive response of the tissue in tensile and compressive modes, but can become crucial when predicting the response to generic loads and activation.