Relationship between anxiety and monotonous task performance in response to local cooling: an experimental study in healthy young men.

There are limited studies on monotonous task performance and its relationship with anxiety and stress traits. This study aimed to determine if local cooling exerts physiological effects and positively affects task performance. Ten male participants performed monotonous work for 24 min under control and local cooling conditions. We measured physiological arousal and anxiety using electroencephalography and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, respectively. The participants rated their drowsiness, the thermal sensation of the seat and whole-body thermal sensation. Despite the lack of significant differences in physiological arousal, the state anxiety score, which reflects the current stressful situation, was significantly lower in the local cooling condition. Therefore, cooling might help relieve stress during monotonous tasks, without impairing task performance. In addition, individuals with higher state anxiety scores tended to experience a faster increase in their arousal level. Thus, individual anxiety traits may modulate attentional resources during monotonous task performance.Practitioner summary: The study on topic related to monotonous task performance and its relationship with anxiety and stress traits is novel. Minimising negative emotions is key to monotonous task execution under stress. Individual anxiety might modulate resource allocation for monotonous task execution.

Determining how different levels of indoor carbon dioxide affect human monotonous task performance and their effects on human activation states using a lab experiment: a tracking task.

Different individuals respond differently to carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the local atmosphere. We aimed to determine whether brain activity changes with various CO2 concentrations and whether this is correlated with heart rate and arterial oxygen saturation (SPO2). We used electrocardiograms, SPO2 measurements, electroencephalograms, and task performance metrics in various CO2 concentrations and studied the changes in these metrics. We found that SPO2 did not change in various CO2 conditions; elevations in CO2 up to 4000 ppm had no measurable influence on ventilation and SPO2, suggesting no effect on monotonous task performance seen in terms of the alpha wave band rate. However, heart rate increased as early as within 15 min. We found that some individuals who naturally have lower SPO2 values tended to undergo faster lowering of arousal level. Practitioner summary: SPO2 may be an individual characteristic that affects the human ability to maintain concentration in monotonous tasks in enclosed spaces, such as driving a car. This study highlights the fact that different individuals respond differently to various CO2 levels, based on SPO2 levels, as manifested by decreased concentration and brain activity. Abbreviations: CO2: carbon dioxide; SPO2: arterial oxygen saturation; HR: heart rate; PaCO2: partial pressure of carbon dioxide; EEG: electroencephalography; ECG: electrocardiography; EOG: electrooculogram; HF: high-frequency; LF: low-frequency; ANOVA: analysis of variance; RRI: R-R interval ; Type 1: sensitive group; Type 2: non-sensitised group.

MicroRNA-2861 targets STAT3 and MMP2 to regulate the proliferation and apoptosis of ectopic endometrial cells in endometriosis.

This study aimed to elucidate the roles and regulatory mechanism of miR-2861 in the development of endometriosis. The expression of miR-2861 in endometriotic tissues and eutopic endometrial tissues was determined. Ectopic endometrial cells were transfected with miR-2861 mimic, miR-2861 inhibitor and their corresponding controls. The effects of miR-2861 overexpression and inhibition on cell proliferation and apoptosis were then investigated. In addition, regulatory relationship between miR-2681 and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) or matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) was explored, as well as between STAT3 and MMP2. Compared with eutopic endometrial tissues, miR-2861 was significantly downregulated in endometriotic tissues. Overexpression of miR-2861 markedly inhibited ectopic endometrial cell proliferation and induced apoptosis. Additionally, STAT3 and MMP2 were confirmed as the targets of miR-2861, and the effects of knockdown of STAT3 or MMP2on regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis were opposite with inhibition of miR-2861. Besides, STAT3 could enhance the expression of MMP2 in ectopic endometrial cells. Our study reveals that miR-2861 was lowly expressed in endometriotic tissues, and downregulation of miR-2861 may promote proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of ectopic endometrial cells in endometriosis via upregulation of STAT3 and MMP2. miR-2861 may be a potential biomarker or therapeutic target for endometriosis.

Multipoint surface electromyography measurement using bull's-eye electrodes for wide-area topographic analysis.

BACKGROUND: Surface electromyography (sEMG) is primarily used to analyze individual and neighboring muscle activity. However, using a broader approach can enable simultaneous measurement of multiple muscles, which is essential for understanding muscular coordination. Using the "bull's-eye electrode," which allows bipolar derivation without directional dependence, enables wide-area multipoint sEMG measurements. This study aims to establish a multipoint measurement system and demonstrate its effectiveness and evaluates forearm fatigue and created topographic maps during a grasping task. METHODS: Nine healthy adults with no recent arm injuries or illnesses participated in this study. They performed grasping tasks using their dominant hand, while bull's-eye electrodes recorded their muscle activity. To validate the effectiveness of the system, we calculated the root mean squares of muscle activity and entropy, an indicator of muscle activity distribution, and compared them over time. RESULTS: The entropy analysis demonstrated a significant time-course effect with increased entropy over time, suggesting increased forearm muscle uniformity, which is possibly indicative of fatigue. Topographic maps visually displayed muscle activity, revealing notable intersubject variations. DISCUSSION: Bull's-eye electrodes facilitated the capture of nine homogeneous muscle activity points, enabling the creation of topographic images. The entropy increased progressively, suggesting an adaptive muscle coordination response to fatigue. Despite some limitations, such as inadequate measurement of the forearm muscles' belly, the system is an unconventional measurement method. CONCLUSION: This study established a robust system for wide-area multipoint sEMG measurements using a bull's-eye electrode setup. This system effectively evaluates muscle fatigue and provides a comprehensive topographic view of muscle activity. These results mark a significant step towards developing a future multichannel sEMG system with enhanced measurement points and improved wearability. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Chiba University Graduate School of Engineering (acceptance number: R4-12, Acceptance date: November 04, 2022).

Characterization of the nitrobenzene-degrading strain Pseudomonas sp. a3 and use of its immobilized cells in the treatment of mixed aromatics wastewater.

A bacterial strain Pseudomonas sp. a3 capable of degrading nitrobenzene, phenol, aniline, and other aromatics was isolated and characterized. When nitrobenzene was degraded, the release of NH(4) (+) was detected, but not of NO(2) (-). This result implied that nitrobenzene might have a partial reductive metabolic pathway in strain a3. However, aniline appeared as one of the metabolites during the aerobic degradation of nitrobenzene. Moreover, the appearance of 2-aminophenol during aniline degradation by strain a3 indicated that novel initial reactions existed during the degradation of nitrobenzene and aniline by strain a3. Strain a3 was immobilized in the mixed carrier of polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate to improve its degrading efficiency. The optimal concentrations of polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate in the mixed carrier were 9 and 3 %, respectively. The immobilized cells had stable degradation activity and good mechanical properties in the recycling tests. The immobilized cells also exhibited higher tolerances in acidic (pH 4-5) and highly saline (10 % NaCl) environments than those of free cells. The biodegradation of nitrobenzene mixed with aniline and phenol using immobilized cells of Pseudomonas sp. a3 was also greatly improved compared with those of free cells. The immobilized cells could completely degrade 300 mg L(-1) nitrobenzene within 10 h with 150 mg L(-1) aniline and 150 mg L(-1) phenol. This result revealed that the immobilized cells of Pseudomonas sp. a3 could be a potential candidate for treating nitrobenzene wastewater mixed with other aromatics.

Construction of a stable genetically engineered rhamnolipid-producing microorganism for remediation of pyrene-contaminated soil.

One rhamnolipid-producing bacterial strain named Pseudomonas aeruginosa BSFD5 was isolated and characterized. Its rhlABRI cassette including necessary genes for rhamnolipid synthesis was cloned and transformed into the chromosome of P. putida KT2440 by a new random transposon vector without introducing antibiotic-resistance marker, generating a genetically engineered microorganism named P. putida KT2440-rhlABRI, which could stably express the rhlABRI cassette and produce rhamnolipid at a yield of 1.68 g l(-1). In experiments using natural soil, it was shown that P. putida KT2440-rhlABRI could increase the dissolution of pyrene and thus promote its degradation by indigenous microorganisms. P. putida KT2440-rhlABRI thus demonstrated potential for enhancing the remediation of soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

What is the significance of the traditional pinching mode of holding chopsticks?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of manipulation mode of chopsticks on the learning process, using assessment of task performance and electromyography, and to understand the significance of the traditional manipulation mode from the viewpoint of physiological anthropology. Previous studies have described two modes of manipulating chopsticks, the traditional pincers-pinching mode and the scissors-pinching mode. METHODS: We conducted experiments with two conditions of holding chopsticks: scissors mode and pincers mode. Eight subjects participated and were assigned to these modes, and they learned handling tasks in their assigned mode for 5 days with the non-dominant hand. We measured task execution times and conducted electromyography of the following muscles: first dorsalis interosseus, flexor pollicis brevis, flexor digiti minimi brevis, flexor digitorum superficialis, and extensor digitorum. RESULTS: The training effects were found in each mode. The pincers mode showed significantly shorter task performance times than did scissors mode. On electromyography, significant increases in activity of flexor digiti minimi brevis and tended an increase in flexor digitorum superficialis and a decrease in extensor digitorum occurred in pincers mode but not in scissors mode. CONCLUSIONS: The traditional mode of holding chopsticks was associated with not only high task performance but also an advantage in terms of learning motor control.