Herringchung3202

We found that both the reaching and walking balance-challenged groups showed significantly greater generalization to the equivalent, non-adapted task than the balance-unchallenged groups. Additionally, we found some evidence that all groups generalized across tasks, for example, from walking to reaching, and vice versa, regardless of balance manipulation. Overall, our results demonstrate that challenging balance increases the degree to which a newly learned internal model generalizes to untrained movements.Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are an extensively investigated type of soft actuator. However, the PAM motions have been limited somewhat to uniaxial contraction and extension, restraining the development of PAMs. Given the current strong interest in soft robotics, PAMs have been gaining renewed attention due to their excellent compliance and ease of fabrication. Herein, under the inspiration of the elephant trunk, a family of bending and helical extensile PAMs (HE-PAMs)/helical contractile PAMs (HC-PAMs) was proposed and analyzed. Through both experiment and analysis, a model of generalized bending behavior of PAMs was built and developed to investigate the properties of axial, bending, and helical PAMs in the same theoretical framework. The topological equivalence and bifurcation were found in the analysis and utilized to explain the behaviors of these different PAMs. Meanwhile, a coupled constant curvature and torsion kinematics model was proposed to depict the motion of PAMs more accurately and conveniently. Moreover, a soft tandem manipulator consisting of bending and helical PAMs was proposed to demonstrate their attractive potential.Self-continuity, or how an individual understands their sense of self as persisting from past to present and present to future, is an important aspect of the self-concept that is linked to mental health outcomes. This self-concept construct may be particularly pertinent for sexual minority populations, as living in a heterosexist environment may prove detrimental for the development of self-continuity. The current study examined self-continuity among sexual minority and heterosexual community college and university students (N = 292). Compared to their heterosexual peers, sexual minority participants reported lower levels of self-continuity. Self-continuity moderated the associations between victimization due to gender nonconformity and victimization due to sexual minority status and depressive symptoms, such that higher levels of self-continuity were protective among individuals who were experiencing higher levels of victimization due to gender nonconformity or sexual minority status. Findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for identity development among emerging adults.Background In the United States, 45% of people enrolled in hospice have dementia. We know little about how hospice professionals facilitate preference-aligned end-of-life care for people with dementia (PWD) and their families. Objective To examine hospice stakeholders' perspectives on caring for PWD and their families. Design Multisite qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with interdisciplinary hospice clinicians, leaders, and administrators. The interdisciplinary team used the constant comparative method to identify, code, and characterize relevant themes. Setting/participants Four geographically distinct nonprofit U.S. hospice organizations. Fifty-one hospice employees 61% clinical staff, 25% executive leaders, and 14% administrators. Measurements Interview domains included participants' practices of engaging patients/families in discussions of preferences for end-of-life care and professional opinions of changes over time. Cross-topic probes focused on delivering hospice care to PWD and their proxies/families. Results Four themes regarding caring for PWD in hospice. (1) Dementia prevalence in hospice is increasing and some hospices are developing programs to accommodate specific needs. (2) Setting impacts discussions of preferences and care decisions. (3) Caring for PWD on hospice poses unique challenges caused by (i) perceptions that dementia is not terminal, (ii) a lack of advance care planning discussions before hospice admission, and (iii) proxy decision-makers who were inadequately prepared for their role. (4) Hospice regulatory and policy changes disproportionately impact PWD. Conclusions Hospice professionals perceive increasing demand for, and multilevel challenges to, caring for PWD. Clinicians "upstream" from hospice may help by engaging patients and proxies in discussions of preferences for end-of-life care and providing anticipatory guidance.The existence of ovulatory-cycle shifts in women's mate preferences has been a point of controversy. There is evidence that naturally cycling women in their fertile phase, compared with their luteal phase, evaluate specific behavioral cues in men as more attractive for sexual relationships. However, recent research has cast doubt on these findings. We addressed this debate in a large, preregistered, within-participants study using salivary-hormone measures and luteinizing-hormone tests. One hundred fifty-seven female participants rated the sexual and long-term attractiveness of 70 men in dyadic intersexual interactions in natural videos. Multilevel comparisons across two ovulatory cycles indicated that women's mate preferences for men's behaviors did not shift across the cycle for either competitive or courtship behavior. Within-women hormone levels and relationship status did not affect these results. Hormonal mechanisms and implications for estrus theories are discussed.PURPOSE The median overall survival (OS) for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) is less then 1 year. Factors that contribute to quality of life during treatment are critical to quantify. One factor-time spent obtaining clinical services-is understudied. We quantified total outpatient time among patients with mPDAC receiving palliative systemic chemotherapy. METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis using four patient-level time measures calculated from the medical record of patients with mPDAC receiving 5-fluorouracil infusion, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan; gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel; or gemcitabine within the University of Pennsylvania Health System between January 1, 2011 and January 15, 2019. These included the total number of health care encounter days (any day with at least one visit) and total visit time. Total visit time represented the time spent receiving care (care time) plus time spent commuting and waiting for care (noncare time). We performed descriptive statistics on these outpatient time metrics and compared the number of encounter days to OS. RESULTS A total of 362 patients were identified (median age, 65 years; 52% male; 78% white; 62% received gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel). Median OS was 230.5 days (7.6 months), with 79% of patients deceased at the end of follow-up. On average, patients had 22 health care encounter days, accounting for 10% of their total days survived. Median visit time was 4.6 hours, of which 2.5 hours was spent commuting or waiting for care. CONCLUSION On average, patients receiving palliative chemotherapy for mPDAC spend 10% of survival time on outpatient health care. More than half of this time is spent commuting and waiting for care. These findings provide an important snapshot of the patient experience during ambulatory care, and efforts to enhance efficiency of care delivery may be warranted.Alterations to muscle activity or loading state can induce changes in expression of Myosin Heavy Chain (MHC). For example, sedentary individuals that initiate exercise training can induce a pronounced shift from IIx to IIa MHC. We sought to examine the regulatory response of MHC RNA in human subjects in response to exercise training. In particular, we examined how natural antisense RNA transcripts (NATs) are regulated throughout the MHC gene locus that includes MYH2 (IIa), MYH1 (IIx), MYH4 (IIb) and MYH8 (Neonatal) in vastus lateralis before and after a five-week training regime that consisted of a combination of aerobic and resistance types of exercise. The exercise program induced a IIx to IIa MHC shift that was associated with a corresponding increase in transcription on the antisense strand of the IIx MHC gene, and a decrease in antisense transcription of the IIa MHC gene, suggesting an inhibitory mechanism mediated by NATs. NSC 681239 We also report that the absence of expression of IIb MHC in human limb muscle is associated with the abundant expression of antisense transcript overlapping the IIb MHC coding gene, which is the opposite expression pattern as compared to that previously observed in rats. The NAT provides a possible regulatory mechanism for the suppressed expression of IIb MHC in humans. These data indicate that NATs may play a regulatory role with regard to the coordinated shifts in MHC gene expression that occur in human muscle in response to exercise training.Sphingolipids (SL) are a family of bioactive lipids and a major cellular membrane structural component. SLs include three main compounds; Ceramide (Cer), Sphingosine (Sp) and Sphingosine 1 phosphate (S-1P), all of which have emerging roles in biological functions in cells, especially in the liver. They are under investigation in various liver diseases, including cirrhosis and end stage liver disease. In this review, we provide an overview on the role of SLs in liver pathobiology and focus on their potential role in the development of hepatic fibrosis. link2 We describe recent evidence and suggest SLs are a promising potential therapeutic target for the treatment of liver disease and fibrosis.Proper amounts of copper supplemented in livestock feed improves the physical growth and traits of farm animals. The pancreas is an important organ with both exocrine and endocrine portions. link3 To investigate the role and mechanism of copper in the sheep pancreas, we first established sheep pancreatic duct organoids (sPDOs). We found that an appropriate amount of copper benefited the formation and growth of sPDOs, whereas excess or deficient copper damaged sPDOs. We found that the proliferation-stimulating effect of copper was related to the copper chaperone antioxidant protein 1 (ATOX1)-dependent activation of MEK-ERK1/2 signaling. Atox1 knockdown suppressed the cell proliferation of sPDOs, even in the presence of MEK activator. These results indicate that moderate concentrations of copper promote sPDO growth through ATOX1-regulated cell proliferation by activation of MEK-ERK. Moreover, our study indicates that organoids may be a useful model to study organ growth mechanisms in livestock.Cellular communication network (CCN) proteins are matricellular proteins that coordinate signaling among extracellular matrix, secreted proteins and cell surface receptors. Their specific in vivo function is context-dependent, but they play profound roles in pathological conditions such as fibrosis and cancers. Anti-CCN therapies are in clinical consideration. Only recently, however, has the function of these complex molecules begun to emerge. This review summarizes and interprets our current knowledge regarding these fascinating molecules and provides experimental evidence for their utility as therapeutic targets.