. Interpreting cardiac muscle force-length dynamics using a novel functional model. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 286: H1535-H1545, 2004; 10.1152/ ajpheart.01029.2003.-To describe the dynamics of constantly activated cardiac muscle, we propose that length affects force via both recruitment and distortion of myosin cross bridges. This hypothesis was quantitatively tested for descriptive and explanative validity. Skinned cardiac muscle fibers from animals expressing primarily ␣-myosin heavy chain (MHC) (mouse, rat) or ␤-MHC (rabbit, ferret) were activated with solutions from pCa 6.1 to 4.3. Activated fibers were subjected to small-amplitude length perturbations [⌬L(t)] rich in frequency content between 0.1 and 40 Hz. In descriptive validation tests, the model was fit to the ensuing force response [⌬F(t)] in the time domain. In fits to 118 records, the model successfully accounted for most of the measured variation in ⌬F(t) (R 2 range, 0.997-0.736; median, 0.981). When some residual variations in ⌬F(t) were not accounted for by the model (as at low activation), there was very little coherence (Ͻ0.5) between these residual force variations and the applied ⌬L(t) input function, indicating that something other than ⌬L(t) was causing the measured variation in ⌬F(t). With one exception, model parameters were estimated with standard errors on the order of 1% or less. Thus parameters of the recruitment component of the model could be uniquely separated from parameters of the distortion component of the model and parameters estimated from any given fiber could be considered unique to that fiber. In explanative validation tests, we found that recruitment and distortion parameters were positively correlated with independent assessments of the physiological entity they were assumed to represent. The recruitment distortion model was judged to be valid from both descriptive and explanative perspectives and is, therefore, a useful construct for describing and explaining dynamic force-length relationships in constantly activated cardiac muscle. muscle stiffness; cross-bridge recruitment; cross-bridge distortion; model validation; mouse; rat; ferret; rabbit MUSCLE LENGTH modulates cardiac muscle force development, and the resultant force-length relationship (FLR) is basic to the Frank-Starling mechanism of the heart. In general, however, muscle FLRs extend beyond the typical isometric twitching conditions under which force-length data are commonly collected to also include the force response to any length change during contraction. Thus descriptors of muscle FLR should also depict the dynamic force response to length changes that occur during contraction. One often-studied aspect of the dynamic FLR is the force response to sinusoidal length change in a constantly activated muscle fiber. Under these dynamic conditions, the amplitude and phase of the force response depends on both the frequency and amplitude of the sinusoidal length change. Dividing the steady-state sinusoidal force response by the sinusoidal length change yields...

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This essay describes the various problems China faces on account of its exam-centric education system and pedagogy. Along with interviews and focus groups, this study draws on survey responses from 43 Chinese high school students enrolled in the Yunnan Province's No. 10 school. Moreover, this essay explores the policy arguments and key assumptions underlying this pedagogical approach as well as the negative influences exam-oriented education systems have on Chinese students, who view education as nothing more than merely passing examinations. This particular approach, at its worst, can stifle a student's imagination, creativity, and sense of self, qualities crucial for a child's ultimate success in and out of the classroom. The study suggests moderate pressure to excel in school, when paired with deemphasizing high-stakes testing, better motivates students and improves student success and psychological health, both in terms of academic success and also a productive adulthood.

To investigate the role of nonlinear myofilament regulatory processes in sarcomeric mechanodynamics, a model of myofilament kinetic processes, including thin filament on-off kinetics and crossbridge cycling kinetics with interactions within and between kinetic processes, was built to predict sarcomeric stiffness dynamics. Linear decomposition of this highly nonlinear model resulted in the identification of distinct contributions by kinetics of recruitment and by kinetics of distortion to the complex stiffness of the sarcomere. Further, it was established that nonlinear kinetic processes, such as those associated with cooperative neighbor interactions or length-dependent crossbridge attachment, contributed unique features to the stiffness spectrum through their effect on recruitment. Myofilament model-derived sarcomeric stiffness reproduces experimentally measured sarcomeric stiffness with remarkable fidelity. Consequently, characteristic features of the experimentally determined stiffness spectrum become interpretable in terms of the underlying contractile mechanisms that are responsible for specific dynamic behaviors.

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