Advances in processing of surface myoelectric signals: Part 1

During sustained voluntary or electrically elicted muscle contractions the surface myoelectric signal is nonstationary and it undergoes progressive changes reflecting the modifications of the motor unit action potentials and their propagation velocity. In particular, during sustained electrical stimulation, the evoked signals show progressive amplitude, time scaling and shape modification. The quantitative evaluation of these changes is important for non-invasive muscle characterisation and may be performed in either the time or frequency domain using parametric and nonparametric spectral analysis as well as alternative methodologies. The paper introduces the detection techniques, reviews and compares the methods of spectral estimation based on FFT and autoregressive models, and discusses their applications and limitations in extracting information from the surface myoelectric signal with particular regard to myoelectric manifestations of localised muscle fatigue during sustained contractions.     

Levodopa improves physical fatigue in Parkinson's disease: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

We quantitatively investigated the effect of carbidopa/levodopa (25/100) on physical fatigue during finger tapping and force generation in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Parkinson's disease (PD) subjects were randomly assigned to carbidopa/levodopa or placebo for Visit 1 or 2 and participated in the following two studies: (1) Finger tapping. Twenty-five PD patients used their index fingers to strike two keys 20 cm apart on a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) keyboard. The slopes of the regression line of dwell time and movement time were used to assess the rate of fatigue development. (2) Force generation. Twelve PD patients contracted the wrist extensors maximally to obtain a baseline maximum voluntary contraction (BMVC) force. Then they repetitively contracted the wrist extensors at 50% of the BMVC for 7 seconds and rested for 3 seconds. An interval maximum voluntary contraction (IMVC) was measured every three repetitions. Fatigue was defined as an IMVC of less than 60% of the BMVC. The slope of the regression line of IMVC was used to assess the rate of force decline. These two studies were repeated 1 hour after carbidopa/levodopa (25/100) or placebo. Subjects filled out the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI) at the beginning of the first visit. Results showed that the slope of dwell time decreased with levodopa but not with placebo (P = 0.004). The rate of force decline also decreased with levodopa but not with placebo (P = 0.01). The subscores in the dimension of physical fatigue in the MFI did not correlate with the rate changes in dwell time or the rate changes in force decline. We concluded that (1) levodopa improves physical fatigue in finger tapping and force generation, (2) physical fatigue in Parkinson's disease is at least partially related to dopamine deficiency, and (3) the MFI measures different aspects of physical fatigue compared with those measured by finger tapping and force generation.     

运动性中枢疲劳及乳酸对大鼠大脑皮质神经细胞MCT mRNA表达的影响

目的:探讨运动性中枢疲劳时大鼠大脑皮质MCT1、MCT2mRNA表达的变化以及乳酸对大鼠大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达的影响。方法:12只Wistar大鼠随机分为对照组和力竭训练1周组,每组6只。通过7天力竭训练建立中枢疲劳模型,观察中枢疲劳时大鼠大脑皮质MCT1、MCT2mR-NA表达变化;采用原代培养的大鼠大脑皮质神经元,观察不同浓度乳酸作用后大鼠大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达的变化。采用Trizol法提取大脑皮质和神经元总RNA;用SYBRAgreenI荧光定量RT-PCR测定MCT1及MCT2mRNA表达变化。结果:整体水平:力竭训练1周组MCT1mRNA表达无明显变化,而MCT2mRNA表达较对照组显著升高6·35±3·54倍(P<0·05)。细胞水平:乳酸作用后,神经元MCT2mRNA表达在pH=7·25时较对照组(pH=7·35组)升高3·08±2·38倍(P<0·05)。但随着乳酸浓度进一步升高,MCT2mRNA表达无明显增加。结果提示,中枢疲劳可能引发大脑皮质神经元MCT2mRNA表达升高,MCT2基因表达可能与乳酸在中枢疲劳中的作用有关。     

Predicted and Measured Muscle Forces after Recoveries of Differing Durations Following Fatigue in Functional Electrical Stimulation

Abstract: Using ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the bioenergetics of paralyzed muscles activated by functional electrical stimulation (FES) were studied in vivo during fatigue and recovery on paraplegic subjects. During the activation phase of the muscle, the muscle force was also monitored. The phosphorus metabolites were found to vary systematically during fatigue and to recover slowly to their rest state values after cessation of FES. During fatigue, a good correlation was found between the decaying force and each of the profiles of phos-phocreatine, inorganic phosphorus, and intracellular pH. A musculotendon 5 element model was proposed for the activated muscle to predict its force generation capacity. A fatigue recovery function, based on the metabolic profiles, was introduced into the model. This model allowed us to predict the force expected to be developed as a function of the time after recovery of given time durations. Validation experimental measurements of force were carried out and included recurrent fatigue tests, both in the initially un-fatigued state and at various times in the postfatigue stage of the muscle. Comparison of the predicted and measured forces indicated satisfactory agreement of the results. The developed model of muscle dynamics should help to design a strategy for reducing muscle fatigue under FES.     

视觉近点测定修布和验布作业视疲劳的初步探讨

应用视觉近点测定评价纺织厂不同作业工人的视疲劳。检查了32名修布工人和38名验布工人。同一工厂的33名保育员作对照组。结果表明:视觉近点的测定指标比调查受试者主诉的眼视觉症状更为敏感。修布和验布组在工作后,作业者的视觉近点比上班前明显变远,但时照蛆工作前后无明显变化。三组视觉近点比较,发现修布和验布组视觉近点的变化。提示由修布和验布作业引起的视觉疲劳,可以通过测定视觉近点来进行评价。     

山东产四种菟丝子免疫增强作用的比较研究

目的 比较山东产四种菟丝子对小鼠免疫功能、抗疲劳、耐缺氧等方面的作用。方法 选用昆明种小鼠，用山东产四种菟丝子的水、醇提取物灌胃，观察小鼠腹腔巨噬细胞吞噬功能、免疫器官重量的变化、游泳实验和耐缺氧等指标。结果 山东产四种菟丝子均可增加小鼠吞噬百分率，使幼龄小鼠的胸腺和脾脏增重，并可显著延长小鼠的游泳及缺氧存活时间。其中以菟丝子和南方菟丝子的作用较好，水提取物的作用优于醇提取物。结论 山东产四种菟丝子具有增强机体免疫功能、抗疲劳、耐缺氧作用。菟丝子中的多糖是其提高机体免疫力，增强体质的有效物质之一。     

Fibromyalgia syndrome: the beneficial effects of exercise.

This article highlights positive outcomes for a convenience sample of six women (49-64 years of age) with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) who participated in an exercise program over 5 years. This group showed improvement with various FMS symptoms,fitness, and psychosocial factors early in the program, then showed further improvement as a result of adding new exercises to the protocol during the fourth and fifth years. Data suggest that certain people with FMS can improve their functional capacity with exercise over time, and move to even higher levels of physical function while aging and coping with FMS. Practical advice is provided for rehabilitation nurses regarding exercise and FMS.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Effects of dobutamine on the fatigued diaphragm: A comparison with dopamine

We examined the effects of dopamine (DOA) 10 μg·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹ I.V. and dobutamine (DOB) 10 μg·kg⁻¹. min⁻¹ I.V. on the contractility of the fatigued diaphragm in 26 anesthetized, mechanically ventilated dogs. Animals were divided into two groups of 13 each: the DOA and DOB groups. Diaphragmatic fatigue was induced by intermittent supramaximal bilateral electrophrenic stimulation at a frequency of 20 Hz applied for 30 min. Diaphragmatic contractility was assessed from changes in transdiaphragmatic pressure (P_di). After diaphragmatic fatigue, P_di at low-frequency (20 Hz) stimulation decreased significantly compared with the prefatigue value (P<0.05), whereas no change in P_di was observed at high-frequency (100 Hz) stimulation. In the fatigued diaphragm, P_di at both stimuli increased with an infusion of either DOA (P<0.05) or DOB (P<0.05). The increase of P_di at 20 Hz stimulation was significantly larger in the DOB group compared with that of the DOA group (P<0.05). In each group, P_di at both stimuli decreased after the cessation of administration. The integrated diaphragmatic electric activity (E_di) in the two groups did not change at any frequency of stimulation throughout the study. We conclude that DOB in comparison with DOA is more effective in improving the contractility of the fatigued diaphragm.     

Does work with visual display units impair visual activities after work?

It is well established that visual display unit (VDU) operators complain of visual fatigue and visual stress during after-work hours. The present study was divided into two parts. In the first part, standard eye examinations were performed on a group of VDU workers (n = 32) and a control group (n = 15); those subjects who were found to have correct vision (n = 16 and 13, respectively) participated in the second part. The eye examinations revealed that on the average, the VDU workers suffered more than twice as many visual impairments as the controls. In those with correct vision, the near point of accommodation was measured at the beginning of the workday at the start of the week, and at the end of the workday, four days later. In the VDU group, the decrease in accommodation was uniformally distributed between zero and 1.0 diopter, whereas among the non-VDU workers, 77% of the decrease was between zero and 0.25 diopter. The dynamic range of accommodation in the VDU workers on the second examination was smaller than on the first. We conclude that some of the visual stress and visual fatigue that developed at work hindered visual activities after work.