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Resumen La industrialización de la papa en el Perú constituye una oportunidad de negocio para incrementar la oferta de papa procesada, y generar valor agregado para los pequeños productores. Por esa razón es importante contar con variedades aptas para fritura y abastecer a la cadena de valor de la papa para la industria de pollerías (bastones) y snacks (hojuelas). En la investigación se describe el origen y genealogía del clon UH-24 ("Bicentenaria"), sus características agronómicas mediante el análisis de identificación, la forma como se desarrolló y multiplicó en invernadero y campo, así como el proceso de evaluación a través del análisis de adaptación y eficiencia en cuatro ambientes de la región Lima. La variedad de papa Bicentenaria presenta buena capacidad de producción y adaptación en la costa central del Perú, con un rendimiento de tubérculos promedio de 43,2 t ha-1, en comparación con las variedades comerciales Canchán y Diacol Capiro con 37,22 y 32,5 respectivamente, y mayor al clon avanzado UH-18 con 31,6 t ha-1. Se concluye que "Bicentenaria" es un cultivar de altos rendimientos, buena estabilidad fenotípica y atributos como sólidos solubles y tipo de tubérculo adecuados para su procesamiento como fritura en bastones y hojuelas. Abstract The industrialization of potatoes in Peru constitutes a business opportunity to increase the supply of processed potatoes, generating added value for small producers. For this reason, it is important to have varieties suitable for frying and thus supply the potato value chain for the processing industry (french fries) and snacks (flakes). It is described the origin and genealogy of the clone UH-24 ("Bicentenaria"), its agronomic characteristics through the identification analysis, the way how it developed and multiplied in the greenhouse and in the field, as well as the evaluation process through the analysis of adaptation and efficiency in four environments of Lima region. The potato variety Bicentenaria has good production and adaptation capacity in the central coast of Peru, with a mean tuber yield of 43.2 t ha-1, compared to the commercial varieties Canchán and Diacol Capiro with 37.22 and 32.5 respectively and higher than the clone UH-18 with 31.6 t ha-1. It is concluded that "Bicentenaria" is a potato cultivar with high yields, good phenotypic stability and attributes such as soluble solids and type of tuber suitable for processing as french fries and chips.

Increased use of epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation (eSCS) for the rehabilitation of spinal cord injury (SCI) has highlighted the need for a greater understanding of the properties of reflex circuits in the isolated spinal cord, particularly in response to repetitive stimulation. Here, we investigate the frequency-dependence of modulation of short- and long-latency EMG responses of lower limb muscles in patients with SCI at rest. Single stimuli could evoke short-latency responses as well as long-latency (likely polysynaptic) responses. The short-latency component was enhanced at low frequencies and declined at higher rates. In all muscles, the effects of eSCS were more complex if polysynaptic activity was elicited, making the motor output become an active process expressed either as suppression, tonic or rhythmical activity. The polysynaptic activity threshold is not constant and might vary with different stimulation frequencies, which speaks for its temporal dependency. Polysynaptic components can be observed as direct responses, neuromodulation of monosynaptic responses or driving the muscle activity by themselves, depending on the frequency level. We suggest that the presence of polysynaptic activity could be a potential predictor for appropriate stimulation conditions. This work studies the complex behaviour of spinal circuits deprived of voluntary motor control from the brain and in the absence of any other inputs. This is done by describing the monosynaptic responses, polysynaptic activity, and its interaction through its input–output interaction with sustain stimulation that, unlike single stimuli used to study the reflex pathway, can strongly influence the interneuron circuitry and reveal a broader spectrum of connectivity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00221-021-06153-1.

Noninvasive electrical stimulation targeting the posterior lumbosacral roots has been applied recently in reflexes studies and as a neuromodulation intervention for modifying spinal cord circuitry after an injury. Here, we characterized short-latency responses evoked by four bipolar electrode configurations placed longitudinally over the spinal column at different vertebral levels from L1 to T9. They were compared with the responses evoked by the standard unipolar (aka monopolar) electrode configuration (cathode at T11/12, anode over the abdominal wall). Short-latency responses were recorded in the rectus femoris, medial hamstrings, tibialis anterior, and soleus muscles, bilaterally, in 11 neurologically intact participants. The response recruitment characteristics (maximal amplitude, motor threshold) and amplitude-matched onset latencies and paired-pulse suppression (35-ms interstimulus interval) were assessed with 1-ms current-controlled pulses at intensities up to 100 mA. The results showed that short-latency responses can be elicited with all bipolar electrode configurations. However, only with the cathode at T11/12 and the anode 10 cm cranially (∼T9), the maximum response amplitudes were statistical equivalent (P < 0.05) in the medial hamstrings, tibialis anterior, and soleus but not the rectus femoris, whereas motor thresholds were not significantly different across all muscles. The onset latency and paired-pulse suppression were also not significantly different across the tested electrode configurations, thereby confirming the reflex nature of the bipolar short-latency responses. We conclude that the bipolar configuration (cathode T11/12, anode ∼T9) produces reflex responses that are ostensibly similar to those evoked by the standard unipolar configuration. This provides an alternative approach for neuromodulation intervention.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Transcutaneous spinal stimulation with the identified bipolar electrode configuration may offer several advantages for neuromodulation interventions over commonly used unipolar configurations: there are no associated abdominal contractions, which improves the participant's comfort; additional dermatomes are not stimulated as when the anode is over the abdominal wall or iliac crest, which may have unwanted effects; and, due to a more localized electrical field, the bipolar configuration offers the possibility of targeting cord segments more selectively.

Publisher's version (útgefin grein), The availability of engineered biological tissues holds great potential for both clinical applications and basic research in a life science laboratory. A prototype standalone perfusion/compression bioreactor system was proposed to address the osteogenic commitment of stem cells seeded onboard of 3D chitosan-graphene (CHT/G) templates. Testing involved the coordinated administration of a 1 mL/min medium flow rate together with dynamic compression (1% strain at 1 Hz; applied twice daily for 30 min) for one week. When compared to traditional static culture conditions, the application of perfusion and compression stimuli to human bone marrow stem cells using the 3D CHT/G template scaffold induced a sizable effect. After using the dynamic culture protocol, there was evidence of a larger number of viable cells within the inner core of the scaffold and of enhanced extracellular matrix mineralization. These observations show that our novel device would be suitable for addressing and investigating the osteogenic phenotype commitment of stem cells, for both potential clinical applications and basic research., "Peer Reviewed"

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an established method for functional restoration of muscle function, rehabilitation, and diagnostics. In this work, NMES was applied with surface electrodes placed on the anterior thigh to identify the main differences between current-controlled (CC) and voltage-controlled (VC) modes. Measurements of the evoked knee extension force and the myoelectric signal of quadriceps and hamstrings were taken during stimulation with different amplitudes, pulse widths, and stimulation techniques. The stimulation pulses were rectangular and symmetric biphasic for both stimulation modes. The electrode-tissue impedance influences the differences between CC and VC stimulation. The main difference is that for CC stimulation, variation of pulse width and amplitude influences the amount of nerve depolarization, whereas VC stimulation is only dependent on amplitude variations for pulse widths longer than 150 μs. An important remark is that these findings are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the electrode-skin interface. In our case, we used large stimulation electrodes placed on the anterior thigh, which cause higher capacitive effects. The controllability, voltage compliance, and charge characteristics of each stimulation technique should be considered during the stimulators design. For applications that require the activation of a large amount of nerve fibers, VC is a more suitable option. In contrast, if the application requires a high controllability, then CC should be chosen prior to VC.

Neuromodulation using electrical stimulation is able to enhance motor control of individuals suffering an upper motor neuron disorder. This work examined the effect of sustained electrical stimulation to modify spasticity in the leg muscles. We applied transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation with a pulse rate of 50 Hz for 30 min. The subjects were assessed before and after the intervention using in a pendulum test setup. The motion of the free swinging leg was acquired through video tracking and goniometer measurements. The quantification was done through the R2n index which shows consistency identifying the spasticity levels. In all incomplete SCI subjects having severe spasticity, the results show that electrical stimulation is effective to modify the increased muscle tone., Research funding: This work was supported by the Mexican Council of Research and Technology (CONACYT), Grant: 264528 (www.conacyt.mx) and; Landspitali – University Hospital science found (www.landspitali.is).

There is multiple evidence in the literature that a sub-threshold pre-pulse, delivered immediately prior to an electrical stimulation pulse, can alter the activation threshold of nerve fibers and motor unit recruitment characteristics. So far, previously published works combined monophasic stimuli with sub-threshold depolarizing pre-pulses (DPPs) with inconsistent findings-in some studies, the DPPs decreased the activation threshold, while in others it was increased. This work aimed to evaluate the effect of DPPs during biphasic transcutaneous electrical stimulation and to study the possible mechanism underlying those differences. Sub-threshold DPPs between 0.5 and 15 ms immediately followed by biphasic or monophasic pulses were administered to the tibial nerve; the electrophysiological muscular responses (motor-wave, M-wave) were monitored via electromyogram (EMG) recording from the soleus muscle. The data show that, under the specific studied conditions, DPPs tend to lower the threshold for nerve fiber activation rather than elevating it. DPPs with the same polarity as the leading phase of biphasic stimuli are more effective to increase the sensitivity. This work assesses for the first time the effect of DPPs on biphasic pulses, which are required to achieve charge-balanced stimulation, and it provides guidance on the effect of polarity and intensity to take full advantage of this feature. Graphical abstract In this work, the effect of sub-threshold depolarizing pre-pulses (DPP) is investigated in a setup with transcutaneous electrical stimulation. We found that, within the tested 0-15 ms DPP duration range, the DPPs administered immediately before biphasic pulses proportionally increase the nerve excitability as visible in the M-waves recorded from the soleus muscle. Interestingly, these findings oppose published results, where DPPs, administered immediately before monophasic stimuli via implanted electrodes, led to decrease of nerve excitability.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a widely used technique for clinical diagnostic, treatment, and research. Normally, it applies charge-balanced biphasic pulses, which several publications have reported to be less efficient than monophasic pulses. A good alternative is the use of interphase intervals (IPI) on biphasic pulses that allows to achieve similar responses than those evoked by monophasic stimulation. This study analyzes the enhancing mechanism of the IPI and provides guidelines on how to optimize the IPI in order to reduce secondary effects such as the electrode corrosion. The tibial nerve was excited by NMES biphasic pulses with different IPI durations and polarities. Then, the elicited responses were recorded on the soleus muscle via electromyography. When cathodic-first pulses were applied, the responses increased proportionally to the IPI until the duration of 250 µs, where the increase saturated at 30% of the original amplitude. The responses evoked during anodic-first were 6% to 30% smaller than those evoked during cathodic-first pulses and continuously increased until the IPI duration of 2500 µs, where the responses reached an increase of around 30%. The results suggest that when a cathodic-first pulse is used, the IPI could be optimized (based on the setup geometry) to allow the action potentials to travel out of the hyperpolarization zone induced by the anodic phase. When anodic-first stimuli are applied, the IPI duration allows the fiber to recover from an apparent insensitive state induced by the anodic phase. The use of IPI is a viable option to improve the efficiency of actual stimulation systems, since only small modifications are required to significantly reduce the electrical charge required and boost the stimulation efficiency.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an established method for functional restoration of muscle function, rehabilitation, and diagnostics. In this work, NMES was applied with surface electrodes placed on the anterior thigh to identify the main differences between current-controlled (CC) and voltage-controlled (VC) modes. Measurements of the evoked knee extension force and the myoelectric signal of quadriceps and hamstrings were taken during stimulation with different amplitudes, pulse widths, and stimulation techniques. The stimulation pulses were rectangular and symmetric biphasic for both stimulation modes. The electrode-tissue impedance influences the differences between CC and VC stimulation. The main difference is that for CC stimulation, variation of pulse width and amplitude influences the amount of nerve depolarization, whereas VC stimulation is only dependent on amplitude variations for pulse widths longer than 150 μs. An important remark is that these findings are strongly dependent on the characteristics of the electrode-skin interface. In our case, we used large stimulation electrodes placed on the anterior thigh, which cause higher capacitive effects. The controllability, voltage compliance, and charge characteristics of each stimulation technique should be considered during the stimulators design. For applications that require the activation of a large amount of nerve fibers, VC is a more suitable option. In contrast, if the application requires a high controllability, then CC should be chosen prior to VC.

A funder is missing from the manuscript’s Funding section. The correct funding statement is as follows: JLVL was supported by the Mexican Council of Research and Technology (CONACYT) grant: 236850 (www.conacyt.mx). This work was also supported by the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF), Proj.Nr. LS11-057 (www.wwtf.at), and the Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation (WfL), Proj.Nr. WFL-AT-007/11 (http://www.wingsforlife.com). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Transcutaneous electrical stimulation can depolarize nerve or muscle cells applying impulses through electrodes attached on the skin. For these applications, the electrode-skin impedance is an important factor which influences effectiveness. Various models describe the interface using constant or current-depending resistive-capacitive equivalent circuit. Here, we develop a dynamic impedance model valid for a wide range stimulation intensities. The model considers electroporation and charge-dependent effects to describe the impedance variation, which allows to describe high-charge pulses. The parameters were adjusted based on rectangular, biphasic stimulation pulses generated by a stimulator, providing optionally current or voltage-controlled impulses, and applied through electrodes of different sizes. Both control methods deliver a different electrical field to the tissue, which is constant throughout the impulse duration for current-controlled mode or have a very current peak for voltage-controlled. The results show a predominant dependence in the current intensity in the case of both stimulation techniques that allows to keep a simple model. A verification simulation using the proposed dynamic model shows coefficient of determination of around 0.99 in both stimulation types. The presented method for fitting electrode-skin impedance can be simple extended to other stimulation waveforms and electrode configuration. Therefore, it can be embedded in optimization algorithms for designing electrical stimulation applications even for pulses with high charges and high current spikes. © 2015 Vargas Luna et al.

Este trabajo presenta una metodología para la extracción de la actividad respiratoria derivada de un ECG (EDR, por sus siglas en ingles), basado en el enfoque de amplitud modulada (AM). Esto permite redefinir las metodologías actuales para obtener una señal EDR más continua, con altos factores de correlación y un retraso menor entre la EDR y la actividad respiratoria. Se implementaron dos algoritmos: uno utilizando la modulación de la amplitud del pico R (EDRAM) y el otro aplicando un filtro paso-banda en el espectro de frecuencia de la respiración. A diferencia de otros trabajos en la literatura, se utilizan filtros convencionales de bajo orden pero sin sacrificar el factor de correlación (0.76 y 0.67) y manteniendo un retardo de 0.27s (con EDRAM) en un ciclo de 6s. Se realizó una prueba de robustez, donde se muestra una tolerancia a ruido blanco de hasta un 20% del valor máximo antes de que el factor de correlación bajara considerablemente. El algoritmo EDRAM se aplicó con éxito en un prototipo de sistema portable. Las dos metodologías propuestas muestran ventajas como el procesamiento en tiempo real y robustez bajo ciertos ruidos. La perspectiva de AM propuesta soporta el uso de ambos algoritmos para aplicaciones típicas con alta eficiencia, bajo costo computacional y facilidad de implementación. Estas características hacen que esta técnica facilite el desarrollo de sistemas portátiles, así como para incrementar la información de las bases de datos actuales.