Effects of Physical Agents on Muscle Healing with a Focus on Animal Model Research

Skeletal muscle injury is caused by a variety of events, such as muscle laceration, contusions, or strain. Muscle fibers respond to minor damage with immediate repair mechanisms that reseal the cell membrane. On the other hand, repair of irreversibly damaged fibers is achieved by activation of muscle precursor cells. Muscle repair is not always perfect, especially after severe damage, and can lead to excessive fibroblast proliferation that results in the formation of scar tissue within muscle fibers. Remaining scar tissue can impair joint movement, reduce muscular strength, and inhibit exercise ability; therefore, to restore muscle function, minimizing the extent of injury and promoting muscle regeneration are necessary. Various physical agents, such as cold, thermal, electrical stimulation, and low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy, have been reported as treatments for muscle healing. Although approaches based on the muscle regeneration process have been under development, the most efficacious physiological treatment for muscle injury remains unclear. In this review, the influence of these physical agents on muscle injury is described with a focus on research using animal models.     

SUPPRESSION OF FLUID FORCES ACTING ON TWO SQUARE PRISMS IN A TANDEM ARRANGEMENT BY PASSIVE CONTROL OF FLOW

The suppression of fluid forces acting on two square prisms in a tandem arrangement in which a flow approaching the upstream prism was controlled by a thin flat plate was examined, with variation in spacing between the plate and the upstream prism. The width of the plate was one-ninth of the prism width. The position of the control plate was varied from the front surface of the upstream prism to 2·25 times the prism width in the upstream direction, and the position of the downstream prism was varied from the rear surface of the upstream prism to 10 times the prism width in the downstream direction. A dramatic decrease in fluid forces acting on both prisms was observed for a certain range of control plate positions. For such optimum positions of the control plate, the shear layers that separated from the control plate attached near the edges of the front surface of the upstream prism and each shear layer bifurcated into two layers, one part of the shear layers making a quasi-steady recirculating region between the control plate and the upstream prism, and the other part separating from the leading edges and attaching again to the side-surfaces of the upstream prism. When the control plate was placed with spacings S/W=1·501·90 (S: spacing between the control plate and the upstream prism, W: width of the prism), the above-mentioned flow pattern appeared, and the fluid forces and vortex shedding of the upstream prism were almost completely suppressed. Also, the upstream prism was found to be insensitive to the existence of the downstream prism when the latter was located downstream, approximately six or more times the prism width.     

127)I2在633nm波段的超精细强谱线及稳频半导体激光器

报道了观察到的碘分子（¹²⁷I₂）在633nm波段的5组超精细强谱线,并对每组谱线的频率间距及相应振转能级的跃迁强度作出了计算,结果和实验吻合得很好．利用计算结果,对这5组谱线对应的振转能带作出了甄别．由于这些新谱线比用于氦氖激光器稳频的R（127）11.5跃迁强几百倍,因此利用这些新谱线作为半导体激光稳频的参考谱线,得到了功率为3mW的激光输出,这种半导体激光可成为新型光频标． 关键词：     

Role of initial complexes in 1,2-addition reactions of disilene derivatives

Mechanisms of four 1,2-addition reactions, H₂Si=SiHMe + H₂O, H₂Si=SiHF + H₂O, H₂Si=SiH(C≡CH) + H₂O, H₂Si=SiH(NH₂) + HF, were investigated in detail by the ab initio MO method using a recent approach combined with frontier MO theory. Twelve reaction pathways were found. The initial step of each reaction is the formation of a weakly bonded complex. According to the structure and the charge distribution of the complexes, the reactions are categorized into two types. Reactions starting from electrophilic interaction between the LUMO of water (or hydrogen fluoride) and the HOMO of disilene always result in syn-adducts. On the other hand, nucleophilic interaction between the HOMO of the water and the LUMO of disilene leads both syn and anti adducts. Depending on the acidity of the reagent and the charge on the silicon to be attacked, the reactions proceed in simple one-step mechanisms or in two-step ones via a Lewis-type complex. The paired interacting orbitals of the initial complexes were examined in order to predict the reaction pathways.     

Complex Formation of Cyclodextrins with Various Thiophenes and their Polymerization in Water: Preparation of Poly-pseudo-rotaxanes containing Poly(thiophene)s

Cyclodextrins (α-CD, β-CD and 2,6-di-O-dimethyl-β-CD (DM-β-CD)) were found to form inclusion compounds with thiophenes (thiophene (T), bithiophene (2T)) in water and in crystalline states. The structures of α-CD–T, β-CD–2T, and DM-β-CD–2T inclusion complexes were determined by X-ray crystallography. DM-β-CD forms a 1:1 cage type complex with 2T. In contrast, β-CD formed 2:3 (CD:guest) complexes with thiophene and α-CD formed 2:3 complexes, both of the channel type. These inclusion complexes were found to polymerize by FeCl₃ in the inclusion compounds in water. The products were formed poly-pseudo-rotaxane between cyclodextrins and poly(thiophene) characterized by IR, ¹H-NMR and ¹³C CP/MAS NMR. The molecular weights of the poly-pseudo-rotaxanes with poly(thiophene) were determined by the MALDI-TOF mass spectra to be 3000–5000. In comparison between poly-pseudo-rotaxane (DM-β-CD–poly(thiophene)), authentic poly(thiophene) and the washed DM-β-CD–poly(thiophene) which was washed with DMF to dethread DM-β-CD, these poly-pseudo-rotaxane was characterized by Raman, UV–vis and fluorescence spectra. The maximum emission band of DM-β-CD–poly(thiophene) shifted to a shorter wavelength. The hypsochromic shift was derived from poly-pseudo-rotaxane with DM-β-CD.     

SUS304钢表面粗糙度对红外图像的影响

为提高红外热像仪图像及测温精度,根据红外热像仪的测温原理和红外辐射原理,通过使用红外热像仪、CCD相机以及激光表面形状测量显微镜,研究了SUS304钢在单轴拉伸塑性变形过程中表面粗糙度与目标发射率的关系;并用热电偶和红外热像仪对塑性变形过程中的温度分布进行了测量。研究结果表明,目标发射率随表面粗糙度成比例增大,造成红外热像仪测定的塑性变形区域比实际变形区域大;通过预先设定材料的表面粗糙度,以提高有效目标发射率,能得到较好的红外图像和测温精度。     

Multi-dimensional diffusion process of allele frequencies in population genetics

One of the ultimate goals of population genetics is to theoretically describe the behavior of allele frequency. Diffusion theory has been commonly used for this purpose mainly in one-locus one-population models, although it is not easy to handle diffusion theory in models with multiple loci or with multiple populations. This review introduces several successful cases, where multi-dimensional diffusion equations contributed to addressing evolutionary questions, thereby demonstrating its strong potential in population genetics.     

Association Between Social Network and Physical Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults in Japan

Objective: A poor social network and the decline of physical function are known to be critical risk factors for functional decline in older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between social network and physical function in Japanese community-dwelling older adults. Methods: Participants were 339 adults aged 65 years or older (mean age : 73.0 years, women :70.2%), living independently in their communities. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess social network on two different scales―the 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale (6LSNS) and frequency of contact with other people. Handgrip strength, knee extension strength, gait speed, Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) results, and 5-repetition chair stand test (CST) scores were used to determine physical function. A multiple regression analysis that adjusted for confounding factors was used to analyze the relationship between the social network scales and each physical function test. Results: According to the results of a multiple regression analysis, a high 6LSNS score was significantly associated with greater handgrip strength (B = 0.63, p = 0.03), faster CST (B = −0.23, p = 0.01), and faster TUG (B = −0.12, p = 0.03), and high frequency of contact was significantly associated with greater handgrip strength (B = 1.08, p = 0.01). Conclusions: Social network was associated with muscle strength and physical performance. Consequently, older adults with poor social networks require an assessment of physical function, since their physical functions have possibly deteriorated.     

Photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer reactions in fullerene—phenothiazine linked compounds: effects of magnetic field and spacer chain length

Spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of two fullerene(C₆₀)-phenothiazine(PH) linked compounds with different spacer chain length have been compared in benzonitrile (polar solvent) and in benzene (non-polar solvent). Transient absorption and fluorescence spectra indicated that photoinduced intramolecular electron transfer occurred in benzonitrile, but not in benzene. The results are due to solvent effect on energy levels of the photogenerated biradical. The driving forces for the electron transfer were determined by measuring the redox potentials of the C₆₀ and PH moieties. Thermodynamic parameters for the electron transfer processes were evaluated and compared. In benzonitrile, the lifetime of the photo-generated biradical was very long, in spite of being around the top region in Marcus theory. The decay rate of the biradicals was retarded in the presence of magnetic fields. The decay rate constant decreased quickly with increasing the magnetic field and became constant above about 0.2 T. The magnetic field effects verified that the triplet biradical was generated by the intramolecular electron transfer from PH to the triplet excited state of C₆₀. The long lifetime is most probably ascribed to the spin multiplicities of the biradical.