scholarly journals Reciprocal contraction of antagonistic muscles in peripheral preparations, using flashing neon-lamp circuit for excitation of nerve

In a previous communication by one of us (G. B. (1)) it was shown that graded contractions and relaxations of natural form can be obtained in the diaphragm and in skeletal nerve muscle preparation by manipulating a faradic induction apparatus in a special manner. Briefly, this manipulation consists in imparting a smooth to-and-fro movement to the secondary coil of the apparatus, the movement taking place between the points of just maximal and just minimal stimulation. These to-and-fro movements cause certain changes of amplitude in the stimulating current, and the various patterns thus produced are faithfully repeated in the contractions of the experimental muscle, provided the changes are kept within the above-mentioned limiting points. An attempt has been made in the present research to obtain reciprocal contraction of antagonistic muscles by an extension of the above method. In the working-out of the new method of excitation, and in its application to double nerve-muscle preparations, the physiological experiments have been done by one of us (G. B.) and the physical by the other (W. L.).

The following two reactions, observable in the extensor muscle of the knee, appear not without importance for the reflex co-ordination of antagonistic movements at that joint. They are reactions favourably studied in decerebrate rigidity. The cat is the animal in which, under that condition, my results have been chiefly obtained. The reactions can be observed as follows:—In the decerebrate animal a preparation of the extensor of the knee is so made that by detachment of other muscles, or severance of other nerves, the vasto-crureus muscle, with its nerve-branch from the anterior crural trunk, remains the sole nerve-muscle component intact in the whole limb. The vasto-crureus is one of those muscles which, after decerebration, exhibits the marked tonus characteristic of decerebrate rigidity. This tonus of the vasto-crureus then maintains the knee in an attitude of partial or complete extension. The flexor muscles of the knee, together with all the other muscles acting on that joint, have been paralysed by section of their nerves.


In further prosecution of observations made in Ludwig’s laboratory by Schmiedeberg and by Bowditch, N. Baxt in 1875 carried out in that laboratory a prolonged enquiry into the effect produced on the heart’s frequence by combined stimulation of the inhibitory ( vagus ) and accelerator ( accelerans ) nerves going to that organ. His observations were made on large dogs; the two nerves were faradised simultaneously. In most of his experiments, stimulation of accelerans preceded that of vagus by a few seconds, to allow for the well-known longer latency of the former’s reaction; the precurrent stimulation of accelerans alone was immediately followed by stimulation of both nerves simultaneously. Baxt found the rate of heart-beat under the combined stimulation slowed as though the vagus only and no accelerator was in operation; but, immediately following on cessation of the combined stimulation, a full accelerator effect appeared, as though no stimulation of the vagus had taken place. Baxt employed usually minimal stimulation of vagus and maximal of accelerans , for he found minimal excitation of vagus suffice to set aside completely, for the time being, maximal excitation of accelerans . In his hands, the result of the combined stimulation was vagus action, even when weakest, completely obscuring accelerans action even at strongest; but although the accelerans action showed no trace of its existence during the vagus stimulation, it appeared in full force after the vagus action had passed off. The vagus action, therefore, did not destroy it, but merely postponed its appearing. Baxt drew the conclusion that the inhibitory nerve and the excitatory nerve must act on separate points in the heart’s mechanism and are not true antagonists. This view has since been endorsed by many, but is not that of v. Cyon, the discoverer of the accelerator . Another field for examination of the same problem was chosen by v. Frey. He investigated the effect on the venous flow from the sub-maxillary gland of simultaneous stimulation of the vaso-constrictor ( cervical sympathetic ) and the vaso-dilatator ( chorda tympani ) nerves. The dilatating influence of the chorda proved to be completely overpowered by the constricting effect of the sympathetic during combined stimulation of the two. But on discontinuing the combined stimulation there ensued from the vein a markedly excessive blood-flow, i. e ., a marked chorda action ensued as an after-effect. The action of the sympathetic had, therefore, not destroyed the action of the concurrently excited chorda, it had only postponed its appearing, v. Frey, with his customary clearness, wrote: “the antagonism between constrictor and dilatator has not as its basis a simple summing of two forces which act in opposite direction at the same point of application.” The sympathetic prevails entirely for the time being as regards the surface effect, but the chorda nevertheless develops with regular course the change characteristic of its action, and does so “in some part of the excitable apparatus protected from the attack of the sympathetic: only in some other place do the actions of the two collide.”


2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Sándor Richter

The order and modalities of cross-member state redistribution as well as the net financial position of the member states are one of the most widely discussed aspects of European integration. The paper addresses selected issues in the current debate on the EU budget for the period 2007 to 2013 and introduces four scenarios. The first is identical to the European Commission's proposal; the second is based on reducing the budget to 1% of the EU's GNI, as proposed by the six net-payer countries, while maintaining the expenditure structure of the Commission's proposal. The next two scenarios represent radical reforms: one of them also features a '1% EU GNI'; however, the expenditures for providing 'EU-wide value-added' are left unchanged and it is envisaged that the requisite cuts will be made in the expenditures earmarked for cohesion. The other reform scenario is different from the former one in that the cohesion-related expenditures are left unchanged and the expenditures for providing 'EU-wide value-added' are reduced. After the comparison of the various scenarios, the allocation of transfers to the new member states in terms of the conditions prevailing in the different scenarios is analysed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Engku Liyana Zafirah Engku Mohd Suhaimi ◽  
Jamil Salleh ◽  
Suzaini Abd Ghani ◽  
Mohamad Faizul Yahya ◽  
Mohd Rozi Ahmad

An investigation on the properties of Tenun Pahang fabric performances using alternative yarns was conducted. The studies were made in order to evaluate whether the Tenun Pahang fabric could be produced economically and at the same time maintain the fabric quality. Traditional Tenun Pahang fabric uses silk for both warp and weft. For this project, two alternative yarns were used which were bamboo and modal, which were a little lower in cost compared to silk. These yarns were woven with two variations, one with the yarns as weft only while maintaining the silk warp and the other with both warp and weft using the alternative yarns. Four (4) physical testings and three (3) mechanical testings conducted on the fabric samples. The fabric samples were evaluated including weight, thickness, thread density, crease recovery angle, stiffness and drapability. The results show that modal/silk and bamboo silk fabrics are comparable in terms of stiffness and drapability, hence they have the potential to replace 100% silk Tenun Pahang.


2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corina Caduff ◽  
Sabina Gebhardt Fink ◽  
Florian Keller ◽  
Steffen Schmidt

Intermedialität wird hier systematisch an Musik, Literatur, visuelle Kunst und Film dargestellt. Den Anfang machen allgemeine Überlegungen zu Materialität und Medium in diesen verschiedenen Künsten. Im Weiteren werden unter dem Aspekt ›Bimedialität‹ verschiedene Beispiele vorgestellt, die jeweils aus zwei Medien bestehen (z.B. Musikfilm, das Lied oder Schriftbilder). Dabei folgen wir der Frage, ob und wie jeweils eines der beiden Medien eine Vorrangstellung bekommt. Der abschließende Teil behandelt „intermediale Bezüge in Monomedialität“. Hier geht es um monomediale Darstellungen, denen aber eine Beschäftigung mit einem anderen Medium vorangegangen ist. Das ist etwa dann der Fall, wenn ein Schriftsteller über ein Bild schreibt, ohne daß dieses (im Text) zu sehen ist. In this article, we offer a systematic description of intermedia relations across music, literature, the visual arts, and film. Beginning with some general reflections on materiality and medium in these diverse fields of art, we then offer various examples consisting of two media (e.g. music film, song, images in writing). We pursue the question if, and how, one of the two media may take priority over the other. In our conclusion, we deal with „intermedia relations in monomediality“. This section focuses on artistic representations made in one medium, but based on reflections on another medium. For instance, this is the case when a novelist writes about a picture without having this picture reprinted in the text.


Author(s):  
Anatolii Petrovich Mykolaiets

It is noted that from the standpoint of sociology, “management — a function of organized systems of various nature — (technical, biological, social), which ensures the preservation of their structure, maintaining a certain state or transfer to another state, in accordance with the objective laws of the existence of this system, which implemented by a program or deliberately set aside”. Management is carried out through the influence of one subsystem-controlling, on the other-controlled, on the processes taking place in it with the help of information signals or administrative actions. It is proved that self-government allows all members of society or a separate association to fully express their will and interests, overcome alienation, effectively combat bureaucracy, and promote public self-realization of the individual. At the same time, wide direct participation in the management of insufficiently competent participants who are not responsible for their decisions, contradicts the social division of labor, reduces the effectiveness of management, complicates the rationalization of production. This can lead to the dominance of short-term interests over promising interests. Therefore, it is always important for society to find the optimal measure of a combination of self-management and professional management. It is determined that social representation acts, on the one hand, as the most important intermediary between the state and the population, the protection of social interests in a politically heterogeneous environment. On the other hand, it ensures the operation of a mechanism for correcting the political system, which makes it possible to correct previously adopted decisions in a legitimate way, without resorting to violence. It is proved that the system of social representation influences the most important political relations, promotes social integration, that is, the inclusion of various social groups and public associations in the political system. It is proposed to use the term “self-government” in relation to several levels of people’s association: the whole community — public self-government or self-government of the people, to individual regions or communities — local, to production management — production self-government. Traditionally, self-government is seen as an alternative to public administration. Ideology and practice of selfgovernment originate from the primitive, communal-tribal democracy. It is established that, in practice, centralization has become a “natural form of government”. In its pure form, centralization does not recognize the autonomy of places and even local life. It is characteristic of authoritarian regimes, but it is also widely used by democratic regimes, where they believe that political freedoms should be fixed only at the national level. It is determined that since the state has achieved certain sizes, it is impossible to abandon the admission of the existence of local authorities. Thus, deconcentration appears as one of the forms of centralization and as a cure for the excesses of the latter. Deconcentration assumes the presence of local bodies, which depend on the government functionally and in the order of subordination of their officials. The dependency of officials means that the leadership of local authorities is appointed by the central government and may be displaced.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-54
Author(s):  
Hendrico Firzandy Latupeirissa ◽  
Gierlang Bhakti Putra ◽  
Niki Prastomo

Brick debris that makes up the majority of construction waste has not received proper waste disposal in Indonesia. On the other hand, brick debris could be potentially reused as non-structural building materials to reduce its negative impact on the environment. This study aims to test the effectiveness of soundproofing on recycled brick debris. The soundproof test was carried out on brick debris in the form of fine and coarse grains. The simulation box is then used as a support for the brickwork material and then the box is exposed to a sound source with a certain level of noise that is considered disturbing human comfort. Noise level measurements are made in the outside and inside the box. These measurements are tabulated and then analyzed to see the success of the two aggregates in reducing noise. Basically, the brickwork material has succeeded in becoming a recycled building material that can absorb noise, although further research must be carried out to be able to state that this material is truly ready to be used as an alternative building material with good acoustic capabilities.


Author(s):  
Jane Caputi

The proposed new geological era, The Anthropocene (a.k.a. Age of Humans, Age of Man), marking human domination of the planet long called Mother Earth, is truly The Age of the Motherfucker. The ecocide of the Anthropocene is the responsibility of Man, the Western- and masculine-identified corporate, military, intellectual, and political class that masks itself as the exemplar of the civilized and the human. The word motherfucker was invented by the enslaved children of White slave masters to name their mothers’ rapist/owners. Man’s strategic motherfucking, from the personal to the planetary, is invasion, exploitation, spirit-breaking, extraction and toxic wasting of individuals, communities, and lands, for reasons of pleasure, plunder, and profit. Ecocide is attempted deicide of Mother Nature-Earth, reflecting Man’s goal to become the god he first made in his own image. The motivational word Motherfucker has a flip side, further revealing the Anthropocene as it signifies an outstanding, formidable, and inexorable force. Mother Nature-Earth is that “Mutha’ ”—one defying translation into heteropatriarchal classifications of gender, one capable of overwhelming Man, and not the other way around. Drawing upon Indigenous and African American scholarship; ecofeminism; ecowomanism; green activism; femme, queer, and gender non-binary philosophies; literature and arts; Afrofuturism; and popular culture, Call Your “Mutha’ ” contends that the Anthropocene is not evidence of Man’s supremacy over nature, but that Mother Nature-Earth, faced with disrespect, is going away. It is imperative now to call the “Mutha’ ” by decolonizing land, bodies, and minds, ending rapism, feeding the green, renewing sustaining patterns, and affirming devotion to Mother Nature-Earth.


1973 ◽  
Vol 93 ◽  
pp. 74-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gould

To Professor E. R. Dodds, through his edition of Euripides'Bacchaeand again inThe Greeks and the Irrational, we owe an awareness of new possibilities in our understanding of Greek literature and of the world that produced it. No small part of that awareness was due to Professor Dodds' masterly and tactful use of comparative ethnographic material to throw light on the relation between literature and social institutions in ancient Greece. It is in the hope that something of my own debt to him may be conveyed that this paper is offered here, equally in gratitude, admiration and affection.The working out of the anger of Achilles in theIliadbegins with a great scene of divine supplication in which Thetis prevails upon Zeus to change the course of things before Troy in order to restore honour to Achilles; it ends with another, human act in which Priam supplicates Achilles to abandon his vengeful treatment of the dead body of Hector and restore it for a ransom. The first half of theOdysseyhinges about another supplication scene of crucial significance, Odysseus' supplication of Arete and Alkinoos on Scherie. Aeschylus and Euripides both wrote plays called simplySuppliants, and two cases of a breach of the rights of suppliants, the cases of the coup of Kylon and that of Pausanias, the one dating from the mid-sixth century, the other from around 470 B.C. or soon after, played a dominant role in the diplomatic propaganda of the Spartans and Athenians on the eve of the Peloponnesian War.


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