Biathlon shooting performance after exercise of different intensities.

Biathletes commonly reduce their skiing intensity as they approach the firing line. However, it is not clear how the intensity of the previous exercise affects their shooting results. The purpose of this investigation was to assess shooting performance among elite American biathletes immediately after exercise of various intensities. Shooting performance was assessed from measures of shooting accuracy, shooting precision, and stability of hold. It was found that exercise intensity had minimal effect on shooting accuracy and precision for prone shooting, but did affect these measures for shooting in the standing position. In addition, stability of hold was affected more by exercise intensity for shooting in the standing position compared with prone shooting. If these results can be transferred to competitive biathlon, it is suggested that the intensity of exertion immediately prior to biathlon shooting has minimal influence on prone shooting performance, but does affect shooting in the standing position by altering the stability of the hold.

Auxiliary springs in continuous arch treatment: Part 2. Appliance use and case reports.

In the second part of this series, three clinical examples are presented to illustrate the use of auxiliary space-closure springs with clinically manageable moment-to-force ratios and new canine brackets to accommodate these springs within the framework of conventional and straight-wire 0.018-inch appliance systems. Eligiloy retraction spring models (0.1650 inch x 0.02150 inch) in the edgewise mode were developed for translational movements along a main archwire. The effects of different preactivation bends for influencing intraarch anchorage are shown for the conditions of reciprocal closure, posterior protraction, and anterior retraction.

Auxiliary springs in continuous arch treatment: Part 1. An analytical study employing the finite-element method.

This report describes the results of a finite-element analysis with ANSYS (Version 4.3) from Swanson Analysis Systems and 1 mm-long, 2-D elastic beam elements to modify and refine the designs of maxillary and mandibular springs for space-closure management. This system permitted static analysis by means of modern software systems instead of expensive and cumbersome mechanical bench studies. Our examination of anterior and posterior reactions led to what we believe are optimal designs with clinically manageable moment/force ratios and new canine brackets that accommodate these springs within the framework of conventional and straight-wire appliance systems. Three degrees of freedom were used at each node for translations in the x and y directions and a rotation about the z axis, producing 182 elements with 183 nodes for the mandibular model and 146 elements with 147 nodes for the maxillary model. Elgiloy retraction spring models (0.1650 inch x 0.02150 inch) in the edgewise mode were developed so that the effects of three different preactivation bends could be refined by computer analysis. Sixty-four analyses were performed for each spring, with each of three angle bends (theta 1, theta 2, and theta 3) varied from 0 degrees to 45 degrees in 15 degrees increments. The employment of this computer method promises to simplify the design and development of complex interacting orthodontic systems. Clinical cases are presented in Part 2 of this series, which illustrates the application of auxiliary springs.

Mechanoreceptive submodality channel interactions: psychophysical observations on differential activation of flutter and vibration.

Psychophysical studies on masking of sensations induced by sinusoidal mechanical stimuli were conducted in human subjects to characterize the interactions within and between the submodalities of flutter and vibration. Using a conditioning-test stimulus paradigm, we found that the threshold of a test stimulus was elevated (masking) when the test stimulus was paired with a twice-threshold conditioning stimulus that activated the same submodality. Detection theory analysis further indicated that the observed elevation in threshold resulted in part from a change in stimulus detectability (i.e.d'). In contrast, when the test stimulus and the twice-threshold conditioning stimulus activated different submodalities, no elevation in test stimulus threshold (no masking) was observed. Thus, for stimuli that activate either flutter or vibration, masking (and the inhibitory operations by which it is presumably mediated) is restricted to a given submodality and not distributed across submodalities. This finding suggests that these submodality channels function independently.

Mechanoreceptive submodality channel interactions: single unit analysis of afferent inhibition in the primary somatosensory cortex of the cat.

This study examined whether afferent inhibition generated by activation of one mechanoreceptive submodality influences the response of neurons of the other submodality tested. Response properties of quickly adapting hair and Pacinian neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of the cat were evaluated to assess afferent inhibition generated by single-cycle sinusoidal mechanical stimuli. Animals were lightly anesthetized with sodium thiopental. Stimulation at 20 Hz (low-velocity stimulus) was used to activate hair cells, the receptive fields of which were located in the skin; stimulation at 200 Hz (high-velocity stimulus) was used to activate Pacinian cells, the receptive fields of which were located in the deeper tissues. The skin was partially dissected from the deeper tissue in order to uncouple mechanically the effective receptive surfaces and to achieve greater selectivity. Hair and Pacinian cell test responses were paired with single-cycle 20 and 200 Hz conditioning stimuli. A 20 Hz stimulus, more effective in activating hair cells than Pacinian cells, strongly inhibited the test response of hair cells only and a 200 Hz stimulus, which is more effective in activating Pacinian cells than hair cells, markedly inhibited the test response of Pacinian cells only. Our data indicate that afferent inhibition generated by activation of one submodality channel is largely confined to that submodality channel and is not distributed to the other.

Lewis blood group fucolipids and their isomers from human and canine intestine.

Glycolipids containing fucose linked to N-acetylglucosamine were isolated and characterized from 14 individual human and 13 individual dog intestines. From 8 of the dog intestines, Lewis a isomer fucolipids were isolated, all identical and having the structure Gal(beta 1 leads to 4)[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3]GlcNAc(beta 1 leads to 3)Gal(beta 1 leads to 4)Glc-ceramide. Lewis b isomer fucolipids were isolated from 12 of the intestines, all identical and having the structure Fuc(alpha 1 leads to 2)Gal(beta 1 leads to 4)[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3]GlcNAc(beta 1 leads to 3)Gal(beta 1 leads to 4)Glc-ceramide. Lewis a-active glycolipids were isolated as the sole major fucolipid in 6 of the human intestines and differed from the canine isomer only in the position of the linkage of galactose to N-acetylglucosamine, having the beta 1 leads to 3 (type 1) rather than the beta 1 leads to 4 (type 2) linkage. Lewis b-active fucolipids were isolated from 8 human intestines and differed from their canine isomer only in that they, too, had the type 1 rather than the type 2 oligosaccharide chain. Lewis a and b glycolipid isomers commonly co-existed in canine intestine as major fucolipids whereas Lewis a and b glycolipids did not so co-exist in human intestine. In all of the fucolipids, only hydroxylated fatty acids were present and phytosphingosine and sphingosine were the predominant long chain bases. These findings are of interest in the biosynthesis of these substances and in their genetic expression.

Reflex responses of paraspinal muscles to tapping.

ERECTOR SPINAE REFLEX STUDIES IN HEALTHY SUBJECTS REVEALED TWO RESPONSES: a 12·0±1·6 ms latency, oligosynaptic response, and a 30 to 50 ms latency response with polysynaptic reflex characteristics. There was a silent period after the first and second responses. The effect of limb position, trunk, neck, postural changes, Jendrassik manoeuvre and vibration on both responses were also evaluated.

Rebound excitation and the rhythmic activity of the ventrobasal complex of the thalamus.

(1) Membrane potential changes of 18 thalamocortical relay (TCR) cells of the ventrobasal complex of the cat thalamus were recorded intracellularly during rhythmic thalamic activities under moderate barbiturate anesthesia. (2) A single cutaneous stimulus evoked an initial EPSP followed by a longlasting IPSP. On the late declining phase of the IPSP, clustered rapidly rising depolarizations (RDs) were seen to generate a burst of spike potentials. The cluster of depolarizations was often followed by an IPSP, and another cycle of IPSPs and RDs with bursts of spikes was repeated. Similar rhythmic activities of TCR cells and clusters of RDs were also evoked by a single cortical stimulus, Spontaneous occurence of RDs was observed. (3) The temporal correlation between the occurrence of RDs and that of the spike potentials was noted. (4) Chloride ions were injected into the TCR cell through the recording microelectrode to eliminate the membrane hyperpolarization which would initiate the postanodal exaltation. After inversion of the IPSPs, RDs remained in the similar phase of rebound excitation to that before the reversal of the IPSPs. (5) it is concluded that excitatory inputs to TCR cells play an important role for the generation of the rhythmic discharges of TCR cells.

Spatial and temporal features of afferent inhibition of thalamocortical relay cells.

1. The temporal and spatial features of the afferent inhibition of thalamocortical relay (TCR) cells in the ventrobasal complex of the thalamus have been examined using paired conditioning and test air jets. 2. The response of TCR units to air jets may be divided into three parts: a) an early response of 1--6 impulses, which begins after a latency of 8--10 ms and lasts for 10--25 ms; b) a period of 70--80 ms following the early response, during which the spontaneous activity is inhibited; and c) a period of late activity, which follows the inhibitory period. 3. The inhibition of TCR units generated by an air jet lasts about 80 ms. The time course of inhibition is the same in hair units and in units activated by Pacinian corpuscles. Evidence is presented that suggests that inhibition decays at the same rate throughout the inhibitory receptive field. 4. The spatial features of inhibition demonstrated in this study are: a) that the excitatory and inhibitory receptive-field centers coincide; b) that these fields have different shape; and c) that there is a significant area in which the inhibitory receptive field surrounds the excitatory receptive field.

Cutaneous masking. I. Psychophysical observations on interactions of multipoint stimuli in man.

1. Psychophysical masking of cutaneous sensation at the locus of punctate test stimulation has been quantitatively examined with phasic mechanical and brief air-pulse stimuli using a conditioning-test stimulus paradigm. 2. Masking was maximal at the minimal interstimulus distance effective with this paradigm, varies inversely with interstimulus distance, and is demonstrable with the conditioning and test stimuli up to 10 cm apart on the forearm. 3. The degree of masking was found to be a direct function of the relative intensity of the conditioning stimulus with respect to the test stimulus. 4. Variations in the interstimulus interval permitted an investigation of the temporal features of cutaneous masking. It was detectable from 10 ms before to 70 ms after conditioning stimulation. Maximum masking occurred when the test stimulus was delivered about 10 ms following conditioning stimulus onset. 5. We also noted the much less marked, but still significant, enhancement phenomenon, in which weak conditioning stimuli, at just-threshold intensity levels, lowered the detection threshold for sensation at the test stimulus locus. We found this enhancement of sensation to have the same spatial distribution as did masking, but a much reduced time course. It began with the test stimulus presented simultaneously with the conditioning stimulus, peaked with 10--15 ms interstimulus intervals, but decayed in less than 40 ms. 6. Since psychophysical experiments often form the framework for the understanding of physiologic processes, it is suggested that these behavioral determinations of enhancement and masking may be correlated with the electrophysiologic properties of excitation and inhibition in neurons of the major primary somatic pathways of the central nervous system.

Cutaneous masking. II. Geometry of excitatory andinhibitory receptive fields of single units in somatosensory cortex of the cat.

1. The responses of single neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex of the cat to brief air-pulse stimuli were quantitatively examined. These controlled natural stimuli activated almost exclusively rapidly adapting hair units which, on systematic movement of the stimulus through the receptive field, gave unit-response profiles that showed the classical unimodal tent-shaped distribution. 2. Conditioning stimulus-induced inhibition of a response evoked by a fixed test stimulus was measured by systematically moving the conditioning stimulus through the receptive field. The spatial distribution of in-field inhibitory activity was unimodal and highly covariant with that of the conditioning excitation, the peak inhibition corresponding to the functional center of the excitatory receptive field. 3. Nearly one-half of the units studied evidenced inhibition extending beyond the excitatory receptive field, forming a "surround" inhibitory region; but these were usually restricted areas with rather weak inhibitory effects. 4. Time-course measuring revealed, on the average, inhibition effects measureable from 10 ms before to some 70 ms following conditioning stimulation, with peak inhibition delayed some 10--15 ms from the conditioning stimulus onset. We showed the backward inhibition, occurring with the test stimulus delivered before the onset of the conditioning stimulus, to be a property of the test response duration. Inhibition measured in the surround areas had essentially the same time course as the inhibition calculated from measurements made within the receptive fields. 5. The spatial and temporal profiles of the excitatory and inhibitory cortical unitary activity are thus very similar to the parametric features of psychophysical enhancement and masking. These findings suggest that the excitatory and inhibitory activities related to individual stimuli interact in multipoint stimulus paradigms so that simple unimodal composite profiles are synthesized.

Mechanisms of decubitus ulcer formation--an hypothesis.

Understanding of the etiology of decubitus ulcer formation is fragmentary and the existing literature contains much experimental data that are inconsistent with the idea that pressure sore formation is due extensively to depriving a tissue region of blood. In fact, there is substantial data that illustrate that tissue can remain viable for very extended lengths of time, up to 13 hours, when subjected to externally applied pressures that collapse the blood microvasculature in a region. Based on these observations and on studies done in this laboratory on lymph propulsion and pressure sore prevention, an hypothesis has been formulated that is consistent with the published data and with clinical observations. The hypothesis states that a major contributing factor to pressure sores is the tissue necrosis that is caused by the accumulation of anaerobic metabolic waste products due to occlusion of the lymph vessels.

Reflex effects of vibration in patients with spinal cord lesions.

The vibration reflex was studied in 49 patients with traumatic spinal cord lesions. It was elicited in all patients, even after presumably complete division of the cord. The vibration relfex consisted of a short-latency, brief outburst of phasic activity of motor units, followed by rapidly decreasing phasic component and a later slowly declining tonic component. When periods of vibration were repeated at short intervals of 2 to 10 seconds, the responses showed an approximately exponential decline, although the beginning of each subsequent response was always larger than the end of the preceding response. A large part of this decline can be characterized as a habituation of the vibration reflex. In comparison with the vibration reflex in normal subjects, the phasic component was increased and the tonic one reduced. The tonic component was especially susceptible to potentiation and dishabituation by voluntary effort to contract the vibrated muscle, even in some patients with no other evidence that the lesion was incomplete. We suggest that the tonic component of the human vibration reflex depends, at least in part, on segmental interneurons and their descending spinal pathways, while the phasic component depends mainly on the excitability level of spinal motoneurons.