Many viruses use programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting to express defined ratios of structural and enzymatic proteins. Pseudoknot structures in messenger RNAs stimulate frameshifting in upstream slippery sequences. The detailed molecular determinants of pseudoknot mechanical stability and frameshifting efficiency are not well understood. Here we use single-molecule unfolding studies by optical ...

In vitro isotonic and isometric mechanical properties of the sternohyoid (SH) muscle, an upper airway dilator muscle, were studied in rats with a growth hormone (GH)-secreting tumour (GH tumour group; n = 10). The effects of muscle fatigue were also studied. Stress and shortening were measured in muscles contracting from zero load up to isometric load under tetanic conditions. Isometric stress ...

Understanding the mechanical determinants of the energy cost of limb swing is crucial for refining our models of locomotor energetics, as well as improving treatments for those suffering from impaired limb-swing mechanics. In this study, we use guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) as a model to explore whether mechanical work at the joints explains limb-swing energy use by combining inverse dynamic m...

Complex musculoskeletal models and computer simulations can provide critical insight into muscle mechanical work output during locomotion. Simulations provide both a consistent mechanical solution that can be interrogated at multiple levels (muscle fiber, musculotendon, net joint moment, and whole-body work) and an ideal framework to identify limitations with different estimates of muscle work ...