ABSTRACT
Previous psychological studies using questionnaires have consistently reported that athletes have superior motor imagery ability, both for sports-specific and for sports-non-specific movements. However, regarding motor imagery of sports-non-specific movements, no physiological studies have demonstrated differences in neural activity between athletes and non-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in sensorimotor rhythms during kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) of sports-non-specific movements between gymnasts and non-gymnasts. We selected gymnasts as an example population because they are likely to have particularly superior motor imagery ability due to frequent usage of motor imagery, including KMI as part of daily practice. Healthy young participants (16 gymnasts and 16 non-gymnasts) performed repeated motor execution and KMI of sports-non-specific movements (wrist dorsiflexion and shoulder abduction of the dominant hand). Scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded over the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. During motor execution and KMI, sensorimotor EEG power is known to decrease in the α- (8-15 Hz) and ß-bands (16-35 Hz), referred to as event-related desynchronization (ERD). We calculated the maximal peak of ERD both in the α- (αERDmax) and ß-bands (ßERDmax) as a measure of changes in corticospinal excitability. αERDmax was significantly greater in gymnasts, who subjectively evaluated their KMI as being more vivid in the psychological questionnaire. On the other hand, ßERDmax was greater in gymnasts only for shoulder abduction KMI. These findings suggest gymnasts' signature of flexibly modulating sensorimotor rhythms with no movements, which may be the basis of their superior ability of KMI for sports-non-specific movements.
ABSTRACT
RcdA is a regulator of curlin subunit gene D, the master regulator of biofilm formation in Escherichia coli. Here, we determined the X-ray structure of RcdA at 2.55 Å resolution. RcdA consists of an N-terminal DNA-binding domain (DBD) containing a helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif and a C-terminal dimerization domain, and forms a homodimer in crystals. A computational docking model of the RcdA-DNA complex allowed prediction of the candidate residues responsible for DNA binding. Our structure-guided mutagenesis, in combination with gel shift assay, atomic force microscopic observation, and reporter assay, indicate that R32 in α2 of the HTH motif plays an essential role in the recognition and binding of target DNA while T46 in α3 influences the mode of oligomerization. These results provide insights into the DNA-binding mode of RcdA.
Subject(s)
Biofilms/growth & development , DNA-Binding Proteins/chemistry , DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Escherichia coli Proteins/chemistry , Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism , Transcription Factors/chemistry , Transcription Factors/metabolism , DNA, Bacterial/chemistry , DNA, Bacterial/metabolism , Escherichia coli/metabolism , Escherichia coli/physiology , Models, Molecular , Nucleic Acid Conformation , Protein Conformation, alpha-HelicalABSTRACT
This retrospective study examined the validity of the commonly used serum albumin level as an indicator of nutrition status of patients with pressure ulcer(s), particularly because the serum albumin level is affected by various factors and may not be specific to malnutrition. Specifically, we investigated whether nutrition supply or inflammation affects the serum albumin level in 82 patients with pressure ulcers(s) (29 in whom pressure ulcer was present upon admission and 53 in whom pressure ulcer developed after hospital admission). Serum albumin levels, blood test including C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and blood count, caloric intake, and depth and healing of pressure ulcers were compared between various subgroups of patients. Serum albumin levels correlated with red blood cell counts and hemoglobin and CRP levels but not with caloric intake. The correlation with CRP before and after several weeks of pressure ulcer treatment was negative. The serum albumin level upon admission was higher in patients in whom the ulcer healed than in those in whom it did not heal as well as in patients who were discharged than in those who died in the hospital. The serum albumin level appears to reflect inflammation, wound healing, and disease severity rather than nutrition supply in patients with pressure ulcer. J. Med. Invest. 61: 15-21, February, 2014.
