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En ambientes áridos y semiáridos la disponibilidad de agua es el factor principal que controla los procesos biológicos. En un pastizal de la Estepa Magallánica Seca, sur de Santa Cruz, se instaló un ensayo de intercepción de lluvias con el fin de evaluar los cambios en la disponibilidad hídrica en la superficie del suelo. Se realizaron tres tratamientos: sequía con intercepción del 50% (simula año seco), testigo y un tratamiento con riego (50% más de lluvia en el verano). Cada tratamiento tuvo tres repeticiones y en todos los casos se excluyó el pastoreo. El experimento contó con sensores de potencial hídrico mátrico (MPS-6) y temperatura de suelo (un sensor Decagon ECT por parcela a 10 cm de profundidad), y un pluviómetro (Decagon device ECRN – 100), todos conectados a un logger Decagon EM50 con frecuencia de registro horaria. La hipótesis de este trabajo fue que el riego durante el verano evitaría que el suelo se seque y que la intercepción de lluvia generaría un período seco más intenso y prolongado durante esta estación. En general, el suelo estuvo húmedo en el tratamiento irrigado, aunque se generaron breves períodos secos en los casos de lluvias escasas entre riegos. Las parcelas de intercepción tuvieron un período seco más intenso y más prolongado en el tiempo tal como se supuso, pero esto ocurrió solamente en el otoño. A principios de invierno el suelo alcanzó valores de capacidad de campo y permaneció así durante la primavera. Los períodos secos en la superficie del suelo fueron breves, ocurrieron en la estación cálida y dependieron de las lluvias estivales.

Objective Quantitative sensory testing is an expanding pain research domain with numerous clinical and research applications. There is a recognized need for brief reliable quantitative sensory testing protocols that enhance assessment feasibility. This study aimed to integrate static (pain threshold, tolerance, suprathreshold) and dynamic (conditioned pain modulation, offset analgesia, temporal summation) pain reactivity measures into a brief 20-minute protocol that uses a single portable device. The test-retest performance of this optimized protocol was evaluated. Design Using a test-retest design, the brief quantitative sensory testing assessment was administered to participants on two occasions separated by exactly 7 days. Setting A clinical psychology research laboratory at Syracuse University. Subjects Participants were 33 healthy adults recruited from Syracuse University’s online research participation pool. Methods A portable computerized quantitative sensory testing device delivered contact-heat pain to assess static and dynamic pain measures in participants. Dynamic responses were continuously recorded using a computerized visual analog scale. Results Pain threshold, tolerance, and suprathreshold exhibited excellent reliability (intraclass correlations ranged from 0.80 to 0.83). Conditioned pain modulation, offset analgesia, temporal summation yielded reliability in the good to excellent range (intraclass correlations ranged from 0.66 to 0.71). Conclusions Findings suggested that this brief integrated QST protocol may reliably monitor human pain reactivity over brief periods. This protocol may enhance quantitative sensory testing feasibility in clinical and research settings.

Successful plant organ development depends on well-coordinated intercellular communication between the cells of the organ itself, as well as with surrounding cells. Intercellular signals often move via the symplasmic pathway using plasmodesmata. Intriguingly, brief periods of symplasmic isolation may also be necessary to promote organ differentiation and functionality. Recent findings suggest that symplasmic isolation of a subset of parental root cells and newly forming lateral root primordia (LRPs) plays a vital role in modulating lateral root development and emergence. In this opinion article we discuss how two symplasmic domains may be simultaneously established within an LRP and its overlying cells, and the significance of plasmodesmata in this process.

Remote ischemic preconditioning (rIPC) is a cardioprotective phenomenon where brief periods of ischemia followed by reperfusion of one organ/tissue can confer subsequent protection against ischemia/reperfusion injury in other organs, such as the heart. It involves activation of humoral, neural or systemic communication pathways inducing different intracellular signals in the heart. The main purpose of this review is to summarize the possible mechanisms involved in the rIPC cardioprotection, and to describe recent clinical trials to establish the efficacy of these strategies in cardioprotection from lethal ischemia/reperfusion injury. In this sense, certain factors weaken the subcellular mechanisms of rIPC in patients, such as age, comorbidities, medication, and anesthetic protocol, which could explain the heterogeneity of results in some clinical trials. For these reasons, further studies, carefully designed, are necessary to develop a clearer understanding of the pathways and mechanism of early and late rIPC. An understanding of the pathways is important for translation to patients.

Purpose To investigate the influence of brief, repeated periods of clear vision on the changes in axial length and choroidal thickness in response to short-term imposed defocus. Methods The right eye of 16 young adults was exposed to 60 min episodes of continuous and interrupted defocus conditions (+3 DS and -3 DS) over five separate sessions, with the left eye optimally corrected for distance. For interrupted defocus, 2 min episodes of clear vision were imposed before each 15 min episode of myopic or hyperopic defocus (2/15 min). For hyperopic defocus, the effect of frequency of clear vision exposure was also assessed by imposing 1 min of clear vision before each 7.5 min of defocus (1/7.5 min). The right eye axial length and choroidal thickness were measured before, during and after each defocus condition. Results After 60 min of continuous hyperopic defocus the eye elongated significantly by +9 ± 9 μm (p = 0.02). When exposed to interrupted (2/15 min) hyperopic defocus, axial elongation was significantly reduced by 77% compared to continuous hyperopic defocus (p = 0.03), with a final change of only +2 ± 10 μm relative to baseline. During interrupted (1/7.5 min) hyperopic defocus, axial elongation reduced slightly compared to continuous hyperopic defocus (+6 ± 8 μm relative to baseline, p = 0.12). For continuous myopic defocus, a reduction in axial length occurred but was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A similar pattern of response was observed for choroidal thickness changes with continuous and interrupted (1/7.5 min) hyperopic defocus conditions. Conclusions Brief periods of clear vision can diminish axial elongation and choroidal thinning induced by hyperopic defocus exposure in human eyes. If hyperopic defocus contributes to myopia progression in humans, then interruption with brief periods of clear vision could reduce its myopiagenic effects.

Culture plays a significant role in determining what people believe and claim to know. Here, we argue that, in addition to shaping what people come to know, culture influences the accessibility of that knowledge. In five studies, we examined how activating participants’ American identities (a cultural identity) influenced their ability to retrieve well-known information: the 50 U. S. states. Activating participants’ American identities—relative to other identities—led them to retrieve more U. S. states over brief periods of time; the effect disappeared over longer periods of time. Overall, our results suggest that the identity activated affects the speed with which relevant knowledge is retrieved, but that the effect is not large in magnitude (perhaps contributing to why we did not find the effect in Study 4). This work provides the first evidence that cultural identity influences not only what one knows but also its accessibility.

Humans sometimes choose less-than-safe lane change gaps, and this puts themselves and others at risk for brief periods of times. Autonomous vehicles supposed to operate in vehicle dense environments cannot replicate this risky behavior by design. On the contrary, they must guarantee collision-free operations under predefined worst-case scenarios. At the same time, overly conservative lane change gaps negatively impact traffic flow. In this paper, we adopt a worst-case scenario based on vehicles braking capabilities, and we use communications to decrease the safe vehicle following and lane changing gaps without compromising safety. The proposed safe gap is a linear function of the vehicle speed, which is an important feature in the design of stable and robust longitudinal vehicle following controllers. Simulations using realistic vehicle parameters are used to illustrate the approach.

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of the detection of brief periods of pain sensation based on cardiorespiratory signals during dental pain triggers. Twenty patients underwent dental treatment and reported their pain events by pressing a push button while ECG, PPG, and thoracic effort signals were simultaneously recorded. Potential pain-indicating features were calculated from the physiological data (sample length of 6 s) and were used for supervised learning of a Random forest pain detector. The best feature combination was determined by Feature forward selection. The best feature combination comprises nine feature groups consisting of four respiratory and five cardiac related groups. The final algorithm achieved a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 63% with an AUC of 0.828. Using supervised learning it is possible to train an algorithm to differentiate between short time intervals of pain and no pain solely based on cardiorespiratory signals. An on-site and real-time detection and rating of pain sensations would allow a precise, individuum- and treatment-tailored administration of local anesthesia. Severe phases of pain could be paused or avoided, this would allow more comfortable treatment and yield better patient compliance.

This article re-appraises Liverpool’s involvement in the northern whaling trade c.1750-1823. It shows that the town ranked second amongst England’s whaling ports at different times during the 1750s, 1760s, 1770s, and again in 1794. This is much earlier and frequent than previously thought, and therefore has implications for our understanding of the geography of the nation’s whaling industry. Gordon Jackson famously asserted that all the major whaling ports were on the east coast. Whilst this article does not contest the broad thrust of Jackson’s thesis, it does suggest a slight modification. The ability of west coast Liverpool to achieve ‘second’ rank, even if this was for only brief periods, shows that the dominance of the east coast in whaling, though clearly strong, was not absolute.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Delayed cardiovascular responses occur following a single bout of remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC). Is heart rate variability (HRV), a surrogate marker of cardiac vagal control, able to detect a delayed effect after a single bout of RIPC? Do repeated bouts of RIPC further alter HRV? What is the main finding and its importance? Indices of HRV indicated a shift in sympathovagal balance toward greater parasympathetic activity following 2 weeks of RIPC but not after a single bout of RIPC. Thus, repeated bouts of RIPC were necessary to elicit changes in autonomic function. ABSTRACT Remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC), induced by brief periods of ischaemia followed by reperfusion, protects against ischaemia-reperfusion injury and improves microvascular function. However, the effect of RIPC on autonomic function remains unclear. We hypothesized that RIPC, administered as a single bout or repeated over a 2-week period, will increase markers of cardiac vagal control measured by heart rate variability (HRV). Thirty-two young adults performed a single bout (n = 13), repeated bouts (n = 11), or served as a time control (n = 8). RIPC sessions consisted of four repetitions of 5 min unilateral brachial artery occlusion interspersed by 5 min of reperfusion. For the single bout protocol, resting lead II electrocardiogram (ECG) was collected before and 24, 48, 72 and 168 h post-RIPC. The repeated bout protocol consisted of three 4-day periods of RIPC training, each interspersed by a 1-day break. Similar to time controls, ECG was collected before and 24 h after the last RIPC bout. HRV was analysed by power spectral density and symbolic dynamics using 350-beat ECG segments. After a single bout of RIPC, no changes in HRV were observed at any time point (P > 0.05). After 2 weeks of repeated RIPC, the percentage of zero-variation fragments (baseline = 13.1 ± 1.9%, post-RIPC = 6.9 ± 1.5%, P

Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) has been managed primarily with broad-spectrum insecticides in orchard systems. Recently, IPM techniques have been developed specifically for managing H. halys in apple orchards to reduce insecticide inputs and take advantage of its perimeter-driven behavior. In 2015 and 2016, we compared these IPM tactics to one another and an untreated control to measure differences in overall crop protection and insecticide inputs. Tactics included trap-based threshold-triggered spray applications, perimeter-based attract-and-kill (AK) trees treated every 7- and 14-d, and perimeter spray applications applied every 7- and 14-d. All plots were monitored with baited black pyramid traps deployed in plot interiors. In both years, mean number of H. halys captured in untreated control plot traps was significantly greater than plots managed using IPM tactics. In 2015, significantly more insecticide applications were made in 7- and 14-d perimeter and AK plots compared with trap-based threshold plots. There was no significant difference in the percentage of injured fruit in plot interiors among IPM tactics; all were significantly lower than the control. In 2016, significantly more insecticide applications were made in 7-d perimeter spray and AK plots compared with all other treatments. Significantly less injury was detected in plot interiors for 7- and 14-d perimeter and trap-based threshold plots compared with the control and 7- and 14-d AK plots. Although all IPM tactics reduced H. halys injury in apples using a trap-based treatment threshold required fewer insecticide inputs and only during brief periods of the season, while all others required season-long maintenance.

Hibernating mammals drastically lower their rate of oxygen consumption and body temperature (Tb) for several weeks, but regularly rewarm and stay euthermic for brief periods (, Summary: In hibernating garden dormice, torpor bout length depends on oxygen consumption. This indicates that torpor duration is determined by accumulation of a metabolic imbalance, which is cleared during periodic rewarming.

We aim at clarifying the controversy about the effects of school openings or closures on the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. The mathematical analysis of compartmental models with subpopulations shows that the in-school contact rates affects the overall course of the pandemic only above a certain threshold that separates an influence phase from a non-influence one. The threshold, that we calculate via linear approximation in several cases, seems to appear in all contexts, including outbreaks or new strains upsurge, lockdowns, and vaccination campaigns excluding children, albeit with different values. Our theoretical findings are then confirmed by several data-driven studies that have previously identified the phase transition in specific cases. Specific outcomes of this study are: opposite conclusions reached by studies of the same or similar situations might depend on, possibly small, differences in modeling or in parameter estimation from the very noisy Covid-19 data, that result in identifying different phases; it is possible to keep schools open at any stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, but suitably strict rules must be applied at all times or else this becomes highly detrimental to virus containment efforts; as the threshold during vaccination turns out to correspond to the internal transmission rate that would lead to virus extinction if the school population was isolated, the needed strict control can be sustained only for very brief periods; as a result, either schools will have to face a prolonged closure or children need to be vaccinated as well., 31 pages, 11 figures

Introduction-A significant number of intubated COVID-19 patients may develop worrisome hemorrhage related to trachea-bronchial mucosal and submucosal slough due to severe inflammation/necrosis related to COVID-19 pneumonia. The accumulation of debris in the endotracheal tube can progress to severe endotracheal tube obstruction ( ETO) necessitating high peak driving pressures with eventual loss of satisfactory ventilator volume delivery. Emergency endotracheal tube exchange under these circumstances can be an extremely high-risk undertaking both for the patient and caregivers. Method-Thirty mechanically ventilated COVID-19 patients deemed at high risk for ETO or who had already had a prior episodes of ETO were selected as candidates for bedside percutaneous tracheostomy. Those patients requiring high ventilator settings high ventilator ( i.e. FIO2 > 50 and PEEP more than 10 ) were also included in the study group. A disposable bronchoscope was utilized for direct visualization of appropriate tracheal puncture, guidewire passage, and final positioning of the tracheal tube. Results-All patients, including those individuals on high ventilator support attained the primary outcome of successful percutaneous tracheostomy without serous adverse events. Minor adverse events, such as brief periods of oxygen desaturation, were observed in 3 patients. Conclusion-Bedside percutaneous tracheostomy is a safe therapeutic option for patients with high risk for ETO due to trachea-bronchial mucosal and submucosal slough. Consideration for early, elective intervention may be justified due to high risks associated with urgent/emergency endotracheal tube exchange.

A prospective, randomised study assessed the impact of high-intensity racetrack conditioning on aerobic and anaerobic capacities in seasoned Thoroughbred racehorses. The effect of 10 weeks race conditioning and two simulated races on V̇O2maxand maximum accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) were evaluated. An incremental treadmill test to determine V̇O2max, followed by three supramaximal runs to fatigue (at speeds (V105%, V115%, V125%) corresponding to oxygen requirements 105%, 115% and 125% of V̇O2max, in randomised order) were performed at each timepoint (T1 [pre-conditioning] and T2 [post-conditioning]). Prior to T1, racehorses were briefly de-trained for four-six weeks and given low-level treadmill conditioning to prepare them for the more strenuous race conditioning after T1. Paired variables between T1 and T2 were analysed using a paired t-test. A 2-way RM ANOVA compared variables with >1 measurement. Speed at V̇O2max(P=0.04) and V̇O2max(P=0.01) increased with conditioning. Calculated speeds for the supramaximal runs increased for V105% (P=0.02) and V115% (P=0.03) but not for V125% (P=0.08). There was no conditioning effect on time to fatigue (P=0.34), although it was different between all intensities (2.8, 2.2 and 1.4 mins at V105%, V115% and V125% respectively at T2). O2demand increased with conditioning (P=0.02) for each supramaximal intensity. On average, horses’ aerobic capacity improved 4.43% after conditioning. MAOD was unchanged with conditioning (P=0.25) and unaffected by exercise intensity. Fit racehorses that have undergone repeated intensive training programs, experience smaller, incremental improvement than completely unfit horses. The anaerobic capacity of previously trained racehorses is relatively stable, despite brief periods of de-training.

The long-standing hypothesis that seed quality improves during seed filling, is greatest at the end of seed filling, and declines thereafter (because seed deterioration was assumed to begin then), provided a template for research in seed quality development. It was rejected by investigations where seed quality was shown to improve throughout both seed development and maturation until harvest maturity, before seed deterioration was first observed. Several other temporal patterns of seed quality development and decline have also been reported. These are portrayed and compared. The assessment suggests that the original hypothesis was too simple, because it combined several component hypotheses: (a) the seed improvement (only) phase ends before seed deterioration (only) commences; (b) there is only a brief single point in time during seed development and maturation when, in all circumstances, seed quality is maximal; (c) the seed quality improvement phase coincides perfectly with seed filling, with deterioration only post-seed filling. It is concluded that the search for the single point of maximum seed quality was a false quest because (a) seed improvement and deterioration may cycle (sequentially if not simultaneously) during seed development and maturation; (b) the relative sensitivity of the rates of improvement and deterioration to environment may differ; (c) the period of maximum quality may be brief or extended. Hence, when maximum quality is first attained, and for how long it is maintained, during seed development and maturation varies with genotype and environment. This is pertinent to quality seed production in current and future climates as it will be affected by climate change and a likelihood of more frequent coincidence of brief periods of extreme temperatures with highly sensitive phases of seed development and maturation. This is a possible tipping point for food security and for ecological diversity.

This study assessed a smartphone-based program to foster basic occupational engagement and personal satisfaction, and eventually increase physical exertion (heart rates), in people with extensive neurodevelopmental disorders. The program relied on a Samsung Galaxy A3 smartphone with Android 6.0 operating system, near-field communication function, and MacroDroid application. Seven participants were involved. The participants’ occupational responses consisted of putting special (hard and thick) cards into an elevated box (into contact with the smartphone) by stretching their arm. The responses activated the smartphone, which delivered brief periods of preferred stimulation. Failure to produce responses led the smartphone to deliver a verbal prompt/encouragement to respond. All participants had significant increases (p

The behavior of the Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus) in reaction to a trawl net is reported from images obtained during one fishing tow operated by a commercial trawler in May 2015 in slope grounds off southern Brazil (depth 370-361 m; 33°37’S, 50°49’W). Video analysis utilized criteria to classify the horizontal and vertical distribution of squid in the field of view of the camera, posture (pitch and yaw), squid color patterns, escape reaction, swimming time and use of the tail fin. The monitored bottom trawl operation intercepted dense and patchily distributed schools of I. argentinus that could be observed for brief periods of time swimming ahead of the mouth of the trawl. Individuals were evenly distributed in the water column but concentrated on the center and right sectors of the trawl mouth. Most squids in the path of a trawl tended to swim by jet-propulsion for 10-20 s, tail-first and with regularly spaced fin flaps. Estimated speed (1.24 m s-1) was higher than cruise speed recorded for other ommastrephid squids in nature (0.3 m s-1), possibly reflecting an emergency escape reaction. After a period of sustained swimming ahead of the trawl, squid reacted in different ways including: a) slowing down and swimming into the net tunnel, b) shifting directions to escape through the trawl mouth sides, and c) swimming up, trying to escape over the top trawl panel, sometimes turning around pointing the tail towards the trawl mouth.

In the sport of rugby, athletes need a multitude of sport-specific skills along with endurance, power, and speed to optimize performance. Further, it is not unusual for athletes to play several competitive matches with insufficient recovery time. Rugby requires repeated bouts of high-intensity actions intermixed with brief periods of low-to-moderate active recovery or passive rest. Specifically, a match is characterized by repeated explosive activities, such as jumps, shuffles, and rapid changes of direction. To facilitate adequate recovery, it is necessary to understand the type of fatigue induced and, if possible, its underlying mechanisms. Common approaches to recovery may include nutritional strategies as well as active (active recovery) and passive recovery (water immersions, stretching, and massage) methods. However, limited research exists to support the effectiveness of each strategy as it related to recovery from the sport of rugby. Therefore, the main aim of the current brief review is to present the relevant literature that pertains to recovery strategies in rugby.

Extraterritorial forays in wolves (Canis lupus) have rarely been documented, especially in human-modified landscapes of southern and central Europe. Integrating information on extraterritorial forays is currently enhanced by Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry and contributes to our knowledge of the spatial dynamics of wolf populations. We hereby report GPS-revealed extraterritorial forays performed by 4 wolves in 3 packs in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park (central Apennines, Italy, 2009-2010). Wolves engaged in extraterritorial forays almost exclusively during fall and winter, when they occurred on average every 22 days, for relatively brief periods (i.e.

Respect for all forms of life is the essence of Agamas, the sacred Jaina texts. The Jaina practice of non-violence well embedded in time and space not only influenced some great emperors but successfully reduced the element of violence for some brief periods of time in Indian history. Right from the time of Mahavira, as some traditions point out, or from the first century BCE, as the remains at Sirkap suggest, Jains had been living in the areas that now constitute Pakistan. Post-partition chaos and riots of the 1980s and 1990s compelled Jains to move eastwards leaving their heritage abandoned. Completely or partially demolished Jaina heritage in Pakistan is analogous to the state of peace and tolerance in current societal trends of violence and intolerance. On the other hand, a few intact temples are the hope of presence of the other tradition. Conservation and restoration of this genre of abandoned heritage would, therefore, result in the restoration of “non-violent” thinking patterns in our society. The present article, based on a joint systematic survey of Nusrat Jahan College (NJC), Pakistan, and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, discusses the distribution and present state of Jaina Heritage across Pakistan and the current efforts to document and restore them.

The treatment of acute ischemic stroke is one of the most rapidly evolving areas in medicine. Like all ischemic vascular emergencies, the priority is reperfusion before irreversible infarction. The central nervous system is sensitive to brief periods of hypoperfusion, making stroke a golden hour diagnosis. Although the phrase "time is brain" is relevant today, emerging treatment strategies use more specific markers for consideration of reperfusion than time alone. Innovations in early stroke detection and individualized patient selection for reperfusion therapies have equipped the emergency medicine clinician with more opportunities to help stroke patients and minimize the impact of this disease.

Human failure constitutes a major cause for accidents of all kinds. Especially drowsiness or situations of cognitive overload impair the ability to react quickly and appropriately to critical events. The present study applies brief periods of monotonous and repetitive trains of thoughts to induce states of hypovigilance and, on the other hand, arithmetical exercises to increase cognitive load. Aim is to determine whether transient cognitive events exert an influence on bodily arousal (here: pupil diameter) as well as on secondary task reaction times. Findings confirm that pupil diameter constitutes a valid indicator of cognitive load. Reaction times emerge particularly slow during high cognitive load, whereas the risk of overlooking brief cue stimuli is not increased. However, it remains unclear whether a valid state of cognitive underload can be induced on basis of short periods of repetitive thoughts. While the associated pupil size changes do not differ from baseline dynamics, motor reactions occur considerably slower compared to a control condition.

Background: Tennis is a popular global sport characterised by repeated, explosive motions and the involvement of several muscle groups during different strokes, which fluctuates randomly from brief periods of maximal or near maximal work to longer periods of moderate and low intensity activity. Objectives: To determine the pattern of injuries amongst tennis players in Accra. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 142 male and female participants selected from tennis clubs in Accra and the Accra sports stadium. A standardised tennis injury report form was used to obtain data from participants. Data on the parts of the body mostly injured and the types of injury mostly sustained by the players were summarised and presented appropriately with the use of graphs and pie charts. Assessment of the causes underlying the prevailing injuries to tennis players was also tabulated and comparisons made. Results: Out of a total of 170 injuries recorded, knee (39 [27.5%]) and shoulder (31 [21.1%]) injuries were the most commonly sustained. Most (80 [56.3%]) tennis injuries occurred during training. Other injuries (26 [18.3%]) occurred during competitions or tournaments whilst 26 (18.3%) occurred during social play. About 10 (7.0%) participants were not certain of the type of activity at the time of injury. The majority (35 [24.65%]) of the players received no treatment for their injuries. However, few of the injuries (20 [14.08%], 14 [9.86%], 6 [4.23%]) sustained were treated by medical personnel, physiotherapists or nurses respectively. There was no association between warm-up before play and cause of injury ( p = 0.375). There was also no association between shoe type and cause of injury ( p = 0.253). Conclusion: The majority of the injuries occurred in the upper and lower limbs. Most of these injuries occurred during training with overuse and overexertion being the most common cause. Clinical implications: It is important to educate tennis players and coaches on injury prevention measures and the use of protective gear during tennis.

PURPOSE To investigate visual cortical responses in children with infantile nystagmus syndrome (INS) and the potential contribution of foveation periods. METHODS The medical records of children with INS who had visual evoked potential (VEP) recordings to reversing checkerboards and onset of horizontal gratings were reviewed retrospectively. VEP recordings underwent objective selective averaging for extraction of brief periods having consistent amplitude and timing with the stimulus presentation. VEP amplitude, latency, and signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) were compared to results from published age-matched controls under the same conditions. Relative foveation in INS subjects was determined from the proportion of time a video-oculography recording met eye position and velocity criteria. RESULTS A total of 26 children met inclusion criteria. Selective averaging increased VEP amplitude and SNR in INS by 270%-420% compared to standard averaging (P

Introduction Agitation, experienced by patients with dementia, is difficult to manage and stressful for caregivers. Currently, agitation is primarily assessed by caregivers or clinicians based on self‐report or very brief periods of observation. This limits availability of comprehensive or sensitive enough reporting to detect early signs of agitation or identify its precipitants. The purpose of this article is to provide proof of concept for characterizing and predicting agitation using a system that continuously monitors patients’ activities and living environment within memory care facilities. Methods Continuous and unobtrusive monitoring of a participant is achieved using behavioral sensors, which include passive infrared motion sensors, door contact sensors, a wearable actigraphy device, and a bed pressure mat sensor installed in the living quarters of the participant. Environmental sensors are also used to continuously assess temperature, light, sound, and humidity. Episodes of agitation are reported by nursing staff. Data collected for 138 days were divided by 8‐hour nursing shifts. Features from agitated shifts were compared to those from non‐agitated shifts using t‐tests. Results A total of 37 episodes of agitation were reported for a male participant, aged 64 with Alzheimer's disease, living in a memory care unit. Participant activity metrics (eg, transitions within the living room, sleep scores from the bedmat, and total activity counts from the actigraph) significantly correlated with occurrences of agitation at night (P

INTRODUCTION: Primary dysmenorrhea is the pain of lower abdominal before and during the menstruation. Primary dysmenorrhea is more likely to affect girls during adolescence. Fortunately for many women, the problem eases as they mature, particularly after a pregnancy. Although it may be painful and sometimes debilitating for brief periods of time, it is not harmful. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of selected exercise on primary dysmenorrhea pain among girl. METHODS: Young women aged (21.1±2.0) were included in this study. The intervention with exercises included core strengthening, flexibility, kegel and endurance exercises. The duration of the intervention was eigth weeks, two times per week with duration of 30 minutes per session. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to measure the intensity of pain. RESULTS: The results show that exercise effects to reduce pain intensity among young women with dysmenorrhea. There was a significant difference in the score for pre-test (M: 6.94, SD: 1.33) and post-test (M: 5.02, SD: 1.15) conditions; t (9.1) = 2.34, p= 0.000. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the mixed exercise of flexibility, core stability and kegle exercise can reduce the primary dysmenorrhea pain among girls.

Emmetropization is controlled by the defocus in the retinal image. It is a classical problem how changes in focus, introduced by accommodation, are taken into account. We have quantified accommodation errors in chickens wearing negative lenses to find out whether they can predict subsequent eye growth. Two groups of chicks, aged 10 to 13 days, wore lenses (−7D) monocularly for 4–7 days. Fellow eyes remained untreated. Vitreous chamber depth (VCD) was measured in alert hand-held chickens with high resolution, using the Lenstar LS 900 (Haag-Streit, Koeniz, Switzerland). Non-cycloplegic refractive state was measured by automated infrared photoretinoscopy with and without the lenses in place. In group 1 (n = 6), measurements were done 5 times a day to obtain detailed VCD growth curves. In group 2 (n = 10), measurements were only taken twice, at 9 am and 4 pm, to reduce the risk of recovery from induced myopia due to the frequent removal of the lenses. As expected from the negative power of the lenses, refractions measured through the lenses were more hyperopic although not as much as predicted by the lens powers, indicating that chickens partially refocused their eyes by accommodation. Among different animals, accommodation errors varied from 1.1 ± 0.9 to 3.6 ± 1.1D (group 1, mean ± 1 standard deviation) and 0.22 ± 1.25 to 1.72 ± 1.23D (group 2). No correlations were found between the magnitude of the accommodation errors in individual animals and subsequent changes in VCD. With negative lenses, VCD grew both during day and night while fellow eyes grew only during the day but shrank during the night. In conclusion, accommodation errors did not predict future eye growth. This raises the question as to why brief periods of clear vision, when lenses are taken off, have a strong inhibitory effect on myopia development while periods of clear vision due to accommodation have apparently no effect. A possible explanation is that, in addition to retina-driven control of eye growth, there is a second neural pathway for the control of eye growth that carries the signal of accommodation – although it is striking that no neuronal and structural correlate has been identified to date.

Objectives: These 2 studies evaluated technology-based behavioral interventions for promoting daily activities and supported ambulation in people with mild-to-moderate and moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, respectively. Methods: Study 1 included 8 participants who were taught to start and carry out daily activities on their own using a tablet or smartphone device, which provided activity reminders, step instructions, and praise. Study 2 included 9 participants who were taught to engage in brief periods of ambulation using a walker combined with a tilt microswitch and a notebook computer, which monitored step responses and provided stimulation and prompts. Results: The participants of study 1 succeeded in starting the activities independently and carrying them out accurately. The participants of study 2 largely increased their ambulation levels and also showed signs of positive involvement (eg, smiles and verbalizations). Conclusion: The aforementioned technology-based interventions may represent practical means for supporting people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Humans have a tendency to think about themselves. What generates this self-focus? One clue may come from the observation that the same part of the brain that supports self-reflection—the medial pFC (MPFC/Brodmann's area 10 [BA 10])—also spontaneously engages by default whenever the brain is free from external demands to attention. Here, we test the possibility that the default tendency to engage MPFC/BA 10 primes self-referential thinking. Participants underwent fMRI while alternating between brief periods of rest and experimental tasks in which they thought about their own traits, another person's traits, or another location's traits. Greater default engagement in MPFC/BA 10 during momentary breaks preferentially facilitated task performance on subsequent self-reflection trials on a moment-to-moment basis. These results suggest that reflexively engaging MPFC/BA 10 by default may nudge self-referential thinking, perhaps explaining why humans think about themselves so readily.

To determine the behavior of different-aged lambs during short periods of increased sensorial isolation from their mothers, 60 ewe-lamb pairs were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: "C," intact lambs that remained with their mothers; "A," lambs with restricted auditory capacity; "A+V," lambs with restricted auditory and visual capacities; "A+V+W," lambs with restricted auditory and visual capacities plus separation from their mothers by an open wire mesh; and "A+V+S," lambs with restricted auditory and visual capacities plus separation from their mothers by a solid wall. These treatments were repeated in the same animals when lambs were 3 (G 3 ), 10 (G 10 ), and 20 (G 20 ) days old. The behavior of lambs was recorded during each 15-minute separation period, and data were examined using covariance analysis to determine differences for repeated measures over time. In general, after the physical separation from the ewes (A+V+W and A+V+S groups), lambs emitted more vocalizations (3, 10, and 20 days old) and displayed more frequent urination (3 days old), exploration of objects (20 days old) and conspecifics (3 and 20 days old), escape attempts (A+V+W at 10 and 20 days of age; A+V+S at 20 days old), or walking (A+V+W at 10 and 20 days of age; A+V+S at 3, 10 and 20 days old) and lying down (10 and 20 days old for A+V+W and 3 days old for A+V+S) in comparison to the other treatments. G 10 and G 20 lambs of the A+V, A+V+W, and A+V+S groups also displayed greater values for walking activity ( P 3 lambs. In general, it is concluded that the exhibition of the examined behavioral parameters was increased with the degree of sensorial isolation, and particularly when the physical contact between the lambs and their dams was restricted. As lambs became older, they showed an increased behavioral reactivity in response to the increased sensorial isolation.

A clear understanding of car following behavior and microscopic relationships is critical for advancing traffic flow theory. Without empirical microscopic data, plausible but incorrect hypotheses perpetuate in the vacuum. The Next Generation Simulation (NGSIM) project was undertaken to collect such data and the NGSIM data set has become the de facto standard, underlying the vast majority of empirically based advances of the past decade. But there has been a growing minority of researchers who have found unrealistic relationships in the NGSIM data. To date, the critical findings have almost exclusively come from the existing NGSIM database itself. Unfortunately, as this paper shows, the NGSIM errors are beyond anything that could be corrected strictly through cleaning or interpolation of the reported NGSIM data. This paper takes the deepest evaluation yet of the NGSIM data. This research manually re-extracts the vehicle trajectories from a portion of the original NGSIM video to explicitly quantify NGSIM errors, e.g., piecewise constant speeds punctuated by brief periods of large acceleration exhibited by the NGSIM data were not evident in the newly extracted trajectories. This point is particularly troublesome for applications that rely on acceleration, e.g., most car following models. The magnitude of errors exhibit a dependency on speed, location and vehicle length. Examples are shown where a real vehicle stopped but the NGSIM trajectory does not and then overruns the location of the real leader. Needless to say, the re-extracted trajectories showed much cleaner speed-spacing relationships than the corresponding raw NGSIM trajectories. Finally, this work tracked the original NGSIM vehicles seen in one camera and added another 236 vehicles (11%) visible before/after the period of NGSIM tracking. As of publication, the manually re-extracted data from this paper will be released to the research community.

The Colorado potato beetle is a serious pest of Solanaceae in China. In early summer, cold spells in later spring may occur for brief periods in the field environmental conditions, and temperatures often deviate far below the normal temperature for short periods, such as sudden short-term low temperature, may affect the development of Colorado potato beetle eggs. This paper studies the effects of low temperature stress at 8 °C for 0 d, 1 d, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, and 10 d on the development of Colorado potato beetle eggs. Our results show that egg survival is significantly affected by short-term low temperature exposure. The percentage of eggs hatched is significantly affected by different treatment times (p = 0.000)—the percentage of eggs hatched decreases with increased treatment time, and Colorado potato beetles will extend the wintering time of their soil to resist the effects of lower temperatures. Thus, exposure of Colorado potato beetles to a short-term low temperature affects their emergence and population growth, this study could provide information for the occurrence, monitoring, and early warning of Colorado potato beetle during short-term temperature.

We compared two progressive schedules of reinforcement in which rats received access to sweetened condensed milk for depressing and holding down a response lever. Duration requirements increased after each reinforcer delivery in a manner similar to progressive-ratio schedules. Under one schedule, any response duration less than that required for reinforcement had no programmed consequences. Under the second schedule, the cumulative duration of all responses could meet the reinforcement criteria. Breaking points were consistently higher when all lever presses, regardless of duration, contributed to meeting the reinforcer requirements. Breaking points under both schedules increased when food deprivation was long enough to result in body-weight reductions, but the sensitivity of the schedules to brief periods of food deprivation was inconsistent. Under both schedules, food deprivation produced an increase in shorter durations, thus reducing the efficiency of responding.

Emerging results from practice-based research demonstrate that energy efficient houses often do not meet theoretical energy use based on the current standards of residential buildings. A factor influencing this inconsistency is related to user behaviour and everyday practices. The objective of this research is to uncover some of the complexities associated with the practices of heating and cooling in the home, which are influenced by motivations, knowledge and technologies, including the use of photovoltaic panels. For this purpose, ten Australian houses were established as embedded Living Labs and monitored for over a year. The results confirm the variation of energy use in houses; in this case, similar designs vary by up to 33%. The type of heating and cooling systems that houses rely on through the year was found to be a major determinant in energy use. However, energy variation between houses is also linked to intra-home practices and behaviours. This research found that individuals living in the same house may have different motivations and/or heating and cooling practices, affecting the overall energy use. For instance, one individual who is motivated to save on energy bills might turn on appliances during the day to make the most of solar panels or use the heater for brief periods of time, whilst another inhabitant of the same house might turn on the heater for extended periods out of habit or to achieve a hedonic experience. The adoption of an explanatory design mixed-method approach to study everyday practices in the home showed that the routines, household configuration, technology and varied occupant motivations impact on the practice of ambient heating and cooling, impacting its regularity, duration, time of the day and intensity.

Unihemispheric sleep is an aspect of the cerebral lateralization of certain species of birds. During sleep, domestic chicks (Gallus gallus) show brief periods of monocular-unihemispheric sleep (Mo-Un sleep): one eye is open and the connected hemisphere is awaken while the other eye remains shut and the connected hemisphere sleeps. The time spent in Mo-Un sleep was investigated following a brief monocular deprivation (MD) in chicks hatched from eggs incubated in darkness and reared in light (D-L), incubated in light and reared in light (L-L) and incubated in darkness and reared in darkness (D-D). The right eye occluded for 12 h in half of chicks and the left eye in the other half. At the end of MD, the Mo-Un sleep was recorded. The effect of MD (total time and time bias) prevailed in determining the pattern of Mo-Un sleep. Chicks showed more time sleeping with the eye/hemisphere that was in control of visual behaviour during MD and opened more time the eye and awake the hemisphere visually deprived. The Mo-Un pattern was not influenced by incubation, rearing, symmetry/asymmetry of visual pathways and imprinting thereby indicating that Mo-Un sleep pattern depends only on the kind of visual experience during wakefulness.

A number of ancient glacial deposits, or tillites, are currently interpreted as originating by subaqueous debris-flow processes at glacial termini. Problems in identifying the glacial origin of such deposits can arise because some criteria commonly used for establishing glaciation, especially outsize clasts interpreted as dropstones from icebergs, can apparently be produced by nonglacial debris flows and debris falls. Could some of these debris-flow diamictite deposits be related to large-body impacts, especially those that occurred at times other than established glacial periods? Debris-flow ejecta of known impacts seem to be marked by mildly shocked clasts showing evidence of plastic behavior with brittle failure, commonly resulting in multiple, partially displaced fractures, grading into crushed and brecciated clasts. These deformation features entail brief periods of high confining pressures, in accord with a hypervelocity-impact origin. I report here several debris-flow diamictites, currently...

Residual free glycerin (FG) is a critical marker of fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) fuel quality. Yet, routine determinations by standard methods display excessive imprecision, and the uncertainties undermine confidence in the data. Various degrees of agitation are used here to evaluate the possibility of heterophase formation as a contributor to imprecision and potential bias. Statistical markers from the analysis of 13 biodiesel samples reveal that seven contain unexpected heterophases, which, due to settling, cause underestimates of 15–68%. Agitation alone re-suspends heterophases for brief periods, easing potential biases, but also increases imprecision. A promising new sample pretreatment is presented, which reduces the deleterious effects of heterophases. Solubility limitations are explored as possible contributing factors, and measurements made at 23 °C in purified soy FAME reveal an equilibrium solubility which is more than 80% below previously published estimates. Strong interactions of liquid FG with small amounts of moisture reduce solubility to below international quality limits, while interactions of initially dissolved forms of moisture and FG produce bias-inducing heterophases at 0.02% FG. The unexpected low solubility of FG, exacerbated by interactions with impurities, is seen as an important contributor to underestimates and imprecision, and a strong influencing factor on the fate of residual FG in commercial biodiesel fuels.

During slow-wave sleep and anesthesia, mammalian cortex exhibits a synchronized state during which neurons shift from a largely nonfiring to a firing state, known as an Up-state transition. Up-state transitions may constitute the default activity pattern of the entire cortex (Neske GT. Front Neural Circuits 9: 88, 2016) and could be critical to understanding cortical function, yet the genesis of such transitions and their interaction with single neurons is not well understood. It was recently shown that neurons firing at rates >2 Hz fire spikes in a stereotyped order during Up-state transitions (Luczak A, McNaughton BL, Harris KD. Nat Rev Neurosci 16: 745–755, 2015), yet it is still unknown if Up states are homogeneous and whether spiking order is present in neurons with rates NEW & NOTEWORTHY During cortical Up-state transitions in sleep and anesthesia, neurons undergo brief periods of increased firing in an order similar to that occurring in awake states. We show that these transitions can be classified into distinct types based on the shape of the local field potential. Transition times can be defined to

[Graphic][1] The incubation of eggs is a critical stage in the life of a bird. Although the eggs need the warmth of their parent's body to develop, most birds need to leave their eggs for brief periods to forage for food. When the adults are gone, the egg's temperature will fall and might

Studies on preference assessments have shown that when both edible and leisure items are compared, edible items tend to displace leisure items in preference hierarchies. However, the mechanisms behind this process are currently unclear. One possibility is that displacement may be a product of the relatively brief periods of access to leisure items typically used in preference assessments. The purpose of the current investigation was to examine whether the duration of access to leisure items affects displacement. In this study, participants chose between preferred leisure items and the edible items that had previously been shown to displace those leisure items in a preference hierarchy. Duration of access to the leisure item was systematically increased across series to identify the magnitude at which leisure items became more preferred than edible items. Results indicate that as the duration of access to leisure items increases, displacement decreases.

Managed turf is a potential net source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While most studies to date have focused on non-sports turf, sports turf may pose an even greater risk of high GHG emissions due to the generally more intensive fertiliser, irrigation and mowing regimes. This study used manual and automated chambers to measure nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions from three sports fields and an area of non-sports turf in southern Australia. Over 213 days (autumn to late spring), the average daily N2O emission was 37.6 g N ha−1 day−1 at a sports field monitored at least weekly and cumulative N2O emission was 2.5 times higher than the adjacent non-sports turf. Less frequent seasonal sampling at two other sports fields showed average N2O daily emission ranging from 26 to 90 g N ha−1 day−1. Management practices associated with periods of relatively high N2O emissions were surface renovation and herbicide application. CH4 emissions at all of the sports fields were generally negligible with the exception of brief periods when soil was waterlogged following heavy rainfall where emissions of up to 1.3 kg C ha−1 day−1 were recorded. Controlled release and nitrification inhibitor containing fertilisers didn't reduce N2O, CH4 or CO2 emissions relative to urea in a short term experiment. The N2O emissions from the sports fields, and even the lower emissions from the non-sports turf, were relatively high compared to other land uses in Australia highlighting the importance of accounting for these emissions at a national level and investigating mitigation practices.

Perioperative stroke is a rare, but serious complication in shoulder-arthroscopy or arthroplasty. Recent literature suggests the beach chair position, widely used during shoulder surgery, might induce severe perioperative hypotension, and with this cerebral desaturation and ultimately perioperative stroke. In this article we report four cases of perioperative stroke in shoulder surgery. In all cases, patients underwent brief periods of hypotension, which might have caused perioperative stroke. Based on an analysis in our hospital, we think the prevalence of perioperative stroke during shoulder surgery is higher than reported. Surgeons should be aware of this risk when using the beach chair position.

Vestibular signals, which encode head movement in space as well as orientation relative to gravity, contribute to the ongoing muscle activity required to stand. The strength of this vestibular contribution changes with the presence and quality of sensory cues of balance. Here we investigate whether the vestibular drive for standing balance also depends on different sensory cues of gravity by examining vestibular-evoked muscle responses when independently varying load and gravity conditions. Standing subjects were braced by a backboard structure that limited whole-body sway to the sagittal plane while load and vestibular cues of gravity were manipulated by: (a) loading the body downward at 1.5 and 2 times body weight (i.e., load cues), and/or (b) exposing subjects to brief periods (20 s) of micro- (

Cone photoreceptors of the 13-lined ground squirrel (13-LGS) undergo reversible structural changes during hibernation, including cone outer segment disc degeneration and inner segment mitochondria depletion. Here, we evaluated cone structure with adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) before, during, and after hibernation. Also, intra-animal comparisons of cone structure were made at distinct physiological states (pre-hibernation, torpor, interbout euthermia, and post-hibernation) with AOSLO and transmission electron microscopy. Our results indicate that the 13-LGS cone mosaic is only transiently affected by structural remodeling during hibernation. Outer segment remodeling starts during torpid states during a period of fall transition in room temperature, with more severe structural changes during bouts torpor in cold temperature. Cones return to euthermic-like structure during brief periods of interbout euthermia and recover normal waveguiding properties as soon as 24 hours post-hibernation. Cone structure is visible with split-detector AOSLO thrSoughout hibernation, providing evidence that intact outer segments are not necessary to visualize cones with this technique. Despite the changes to cone structure during hibernation, cone density and packing remained unchanged throughout the seasonal hibernation cycle. Pairing non-invasive imaging with ultrastructural assessment may provide insight to the biological origins of cone photoreceptor signals observed with AOSLO.

The Good Behavior Game (GBG), a well-researched classroom group contingency, is typically played for brief periods of time, which raises questions about the effects on subsequent contexts. This study used a multiple baseline design and showed that when the GBG was implemented in one context, behavior improved in only that context. Behavior improved in the subsequent activity only when the GBG was implemented.

Highlights • We used a continuous performance measure VSTM in children aged between 7 and 12. • This was combined with a probabilistic mixture model. • Older children were more likely to remember the target, but were no more precise. • Mixture model parameters corresponded to differences in standardized WM and STM., Our ability to retain visuospatial information over brief periods of time is severely limited and develops gradually. In childhood, visuospatial short-term and working memory are typically indexed using span-based measures. However, whilst these standardized measures have been successful in characterizing developmental and individual differences, each individual trial only provides a binary measure of a child’s performance—they are either correct or incorrect. Here we used a novel continuous report paradigm, in combination with probabilistic modeling, to explore developmental and individual differences in how likely children were to recall memoranda, and how precisely they could report them. Taking this approach revealed a number of novel findings: (i) a concurrent processing demand negatively impacted upon both of these parameters, increasing the guessing rate and making children less precise; (ii) older children (aged 10–12, N = 20) were significantly less likely to guess, but when they did remember the target were no more precise in reporting it than younger children (aged 7–9, N = 20); (iii) children’s performance on standardized short-term and working memory tasks was significantly associated with both the guessing likelihood, and the precision of target responding, on the continuous report task. In short, we show that continuous report paradigms can offer interesting insight into processes that underlie developmental and individual differences in visuospatial memory in childhood.

Facebook has become an important tool for recruiting research participants and for program delivery. Given the wide use of Facebook, there is much potential for the site to help with recruitment efforts in both physical and behavioral health care arenas; reaching groups typically difficult to recruit and providing outreach to individuals that may not have received services elsewhere. Health studies using Facebook have generally reported success, including cost-effectiveness, recruitment of samples in brief periods of time, and ability to locate participants for follow-up research. Still, the use of Facebook for research and program delivery is a relatively new area that warrants more research attention and guidance around issues like validity of data, representativeness of samples, and protections of human subjects.

Exercise-induced gastrointestinal disease (EIGD) has been reported in all domestic athletes. In dogs and humans, EIGD is most commonly associated with ultra-endurance racing sled dogs and marathon/triathlon competitors, respectively, suggesting that the syndrome is specifically a function of prolonged exercise. However, EIGD is also common in horses that exercise for brief periods, and more recently, EIGD has been identified in Labrador retrievers that perform off-leash explosive detection patrols. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that EIGD could be induced in retrievers performing competition-style retrieves. Gastric endoscopy and histopathological examination of gastric biopsies were performed on 10 healthy retrievers before and 24 h after a series of multi-set retrieves totalling over 5 km. Although the exercise challenge resulted in a small but statistically significant increase in gastric endoscopy severity score, it did not result in a higher prevalence of clinically-significant gastric disease or changes in gastric histopathology. We conclude that competitive retrieving is unlikely to induce clinically-significant gastric disease in healthy dogs.