Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus): biology, husbandry, and experimental protocols

In this paper, it was analysed the influence of formulation factors over obtaining oxicam hydrogels, using the statistical analysis. Data analysis and predictive modeling by multivariate regression offers a large number of possible explanatory/predictive variables. Therefore, variable selection and dimension reduction is a major task for multivariate statistical analysis, especially for multivariate regressions. The statistical analysis and computational data processing of responses obtained from different pharmaceutical formulations, via different experimental protocols, lead to the optimization of the formulation process. It was found that the most suitable pharmaceutical formulations based on oxicams with the possibility of rapid release contained cyclodextrin, in particular 2-hydroxypropyl-b-cyclodextrin.

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Astyanax mexicanus ssp. jordani: Contreras-Balderas, S. & Almada-Villela, P.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species ◽

10.2305/iucn.uk.1996.rlts.t2270a9379535.en ◽

1996 ◽

Author(s):

Keyword(s):

Astyanax Mexicanus

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Acute and Delayed Effects of Time-Matched Very Short “All Out” Efforts in Concentric vs. Eccentric Cycling

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18157968 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (15) ◽

pp. 7968

Author(s):

Daniel Boullosa ◽

Boris Dragutinovic ◽

Jan-Philip Deutsch ◽

Steffen Held ◽

Lars Donath ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vertical Jump ◽

Active Recovery ◽

Thigh Circumference ◽

Physically Active ◽

Warm Up ◽

Delayed Effects ◽

Acute Responses ◽

Experimental Protocols ◽

Different Populations ◽

Exercise Induced

Background: To the authors’ knowledge, there have been no studies comparing the acute responses to “all out” efforts in concentric (isoinertial) vs. eccentric (isovelocity) cycling. Methods: After two familiarization sessions, 12 physically active men underwent the experimental protocols consisting of a 2-min warm-up and 8 maximal efforts of 5 s, separated by 55 s of active recovery at 80 rpm, in concentric vs. eccentric cycling. Comparisons between protocols were conducted during, immediately after, and 24-h post-sessions. Results: Mechanical (Work: 82,824 ± 6350 vs. 60,602 ± 8904 J) and cardiometabolic responses (mean HR: 68.8 ± 6.6 vs. 51.3 ± 5.7% HRmax, lactate: 4.9 ± 2.1 vs. 1.8 ± 0.6 mmol/L) were larger in concentric cycling (p < 0.001). The perceptual responses to both protocols were similarly low. Immediately after concentric cycling, vertical jump was potentiated (p = 0.028). Muscle soreness (VAS; p = 0.016) and thigh circumference (p = 0.045) were slightly increased only 24-h after eccentric cycling. Serum concentrations of CK, BAG3, and MMP-13 did not change significantly post-exercise. Conclusions: These results suggest the appropriateness of the eccentric cycling protocol used as a time-efficient (i.e., ~60 kJ in 10 min) and safe (i.e., without exercise-induced muscle damage) alternative to be used with different populations in future longitudinal interventions.

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Rheological Characterization of a Concentrated Phosphate Slurry

Fluids ◽

10.3390/fluids6050178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 178

Author(s):

Souhail Maazioui ◽

Abderrahim Maazouz ◽

Fayssal Benkhaldoun ◽

Driss Ouazar ◽

Khalid Lamnawar

Keyword(s):

Flow Behavior ◽

Continuous Phase ◽

Raw Material ◽

Rheological Characterization ◽

Phosphate Ore ◽

Insoluble Particles ◽

Experimental Protocols ◽

Solid Liquid

Phosphate ore slurry is a suspension of insoluble particles of phosphate rock, the primary raw material for fertilizer and phosphoric acid, in a continuous phase of water. This suspension has a non-Newtonian flow behavior and exhibits yield stress as the shear rate tends toward zero. The suspended particles in the present study were assumed to be noncolloidal. Various grades and phosphate ore concentrations were chosen for this rheological investigation. We created some experimental protocols to determine the main characteristics of these complex fluids and established relevant rheological models with a view to simulate the numerical flow in a cylindrical pipeline. Rheograms of these slurries were obtained using a rotational rheometer and were accurately modeled with commonly used yield-pseudoplastic models. The results show that the concentration of solids in a solid–liquid mixture could be increased while maintaining a desired apparent viscosity. Finally, the design equations for the laminar pipe flow of yield pseudoplastics were investigated to highlight the role of rheological studies in this context.

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BonZeb: open-source, modular software tools for high-resolution zebrafish tracking and analysis

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-85896-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nicholas C. Guilbeault ◽

Jordan Guerguiev ◽

Michael Martin ◽

Isabelle Tate ◽

Tod R. Thiele

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Open Loop ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Animal Tracking ◽

Larval Zebrafish ◽

Optogenetic Stimulation ◽

Modular Software ◽

Behavioral Tracking ◽

Experimental Protocols

AbstractWe present BonZeb—a suite of modular Bonsai packages which allow high-resolution zebrafish tracking with dynamic visual feedback. Bonsai is an increasingly popular software platform that is accelerating the standardization of experimental protocols within the neurosciences due to its speed, flexibility, and minimal programming overhead. BonZeb can be implemented into novel and existing Bonsai workflows for online behavioral tracking and offline tracking with batch processing. We demonstrate that BonZeb can run a variety of experimental configurations used for gaining insights into the neural mechanisms of zebrafish behavior. BonZeb supports head-fixed closed-loop and free-swimming virtual open-loop assays as well as multi-animal tracking, optogenetic stimulation, and calcium imaging during behavior. The combined performance, ease of use and versatility of BonZeb opens new experimental avenues for researchers seeking high-resolution behavioral tracking of larval zebrafish.

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The Finkleman Preparation: A Computer Simulation for Teaching Undergraduate Students of Pharmacology

Alternatives to Laboratory Animals ◽

10.1177/026119299402200615 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 22 (6) ◽

pp. 474-480

Author(s):

David Dewhurst ◽

Ian Hughes ◽

Richard Ullyott

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Learning Objectives ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Learning Program ◽

Computer Assisted Learning ◽

Sympathetic Nerve Stimulation ◽

Chart Recorder ◽

Experimental Protocols ◽

Evoked Contractions

An interactive computer-assisted learning program is described, which simulates a number of experiments which can be performed on the isolated, innervated duodenum of the rabbit (the Finkleman preparation). This preparation is one of the classical pharmacological preparations used to demonstrate to undergraduate students the effects of selected drugs: those acting on adrenoceptors or intestinal smooth muscle, or those affecting responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation. The program runs on any IBM compatible PC, and makes use of text and high resolution graphics to provide a background to the experiments and to describe the methodology. A screen display which emulates a chart recorder presents simulated results (spontaneous or evoked contractions of the gut), derived from actual data, in response to the selection by students of predetermined experimental protocols from a menu. The program is designed to enhance or replace the traditional laboratory-based practical using this preparation, whilst achieving the majority of the same teaching and learning objectives.

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Assessment of muscle activity using electrical stimulation and mechanomyography: a systematic review

BioMedical Engineering OnLine ◽

10.1186/s12938-020-00840-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Raphael Uwamahoro ◽

Kenneth Sundaraj ◽

Indra Devi Subramaniam

Keyword(s):

Electrical Stimulation ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Muscle Activity ◽

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation ◽

Voluntary Contraction ◽

Electrical Signal ◽

Muscle Performance ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Activity Assessment ◽

Experimental Protocols

AbstractThis research has proved that mechanomyographic (MMG) signals can be used for evaluating muscle performance. Stimulation of the lost physiological functions of a muscle using an electrical signal has been determined crucial in clinical and experimental settings in which voluntary contraction fails in stimulating specific muscles. Previous studies have already indicated that characterizing contractile properties of muscles using MMG through neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) showed excellent reliability. Thus, this review highlights the use of MMG signals on evaluating skeletal muscles under electrical stimulation. In total, 336 original articles were identified from the Scopus and SpringerLink electronic databases using search keywords for studies published between 2000 and 2020, and their eligibility for inclusion in this review has been screened using various inclusion criteria. After screening, 62 studies remained for analysis, with two additional articles from the bibliography, were categorized into the following: (1) fatigue, (2) torque, (3) force, (4) stiffness, (5) electrode development, (6) reliability of MMG and NMES approaches, and (7) validation of these techniques in clinical monitoring. This review has found that MMG through NMES provides feature factors for muscle activity assessment, highlighting standardized electromyostimulation and MMG parameters from different experimental protocols. Despite the evidence of mathematical computations in quantifying MMG along with NMES, the requirement of the processing speed, and fluctuation of MMG signals influence the technique to be prone to errors. Interestingly, although this review does not focus on machine learning, there are only few studies that have adopted it as an alternative to statistical analysis in the assessment of muscle fatigue, torque, and force. The results confirm the need for further investigation on the use of sophisticated computations of features of MMG signals from electrically stimulated muscles in muscle function assessment and assistive technology such as prosthetics control.

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