The mechanism of bacterial gliding motility (active movement over surfaces without the aid of flagella) is not known. A large number of mutants of the gliding bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae (Cytophaga johnsonae) with defects in gliding motility have been previously isolated, and genetic techniques to analyze these mutants have recently been developed. We complemented a nongliding mutant of...

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Although scarring is recognized as contributing to limited shoulder movements, compromised tissue gliding in a wider range of fascial and connective tissue structures is under-recognized. AIM To report on soft tissue patterns in patients with upper limb dysfunction after modified radical mastectomy. METHODS Tissue gliding was ...

CONTEXT There are discrepancies regarding the efficacy of neural gliding exercises for the management of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). OBJECTIVE To conduct a systematic review assessing the efficacy of neural gliding in comparison to alternative nonsurgical treatment for the management of CTS. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A computerized search was performed in April 2008. Criteria for inclusion req...

Gliding is thought to be an economical form of locomotion. However, few data on the climbing and gliding of free-ranging gliding mammals are available. This study employed an animal-borne three-dimensional acceleration data-logging system to collect continuous data on the climbing and gliding of free-ranging Malayan colugos, Galeopterus variegatus. We combined these movement data with empirical...

Many bacterial species use gliding motility in natural habitats because external flagella function poorly on hard surfaces. However, the mechanism(s) of gliding remain elusive because surface motility structures are not apparent. Here, we characterized the dynamics of the Myxococcus xanthus gliding motor protein AglR, a homolog of the Escherichia coli flagella stator protein MotA. We observed t...

Abstract: To provide a conventional autonomous underwater vehicle with gliding capability, we assume a moving battery and a buoyancy bag installed in a torpedo shaped autonomous underwater vehicle. We develop a mathematical model for the underwater vehicle and derive a stable gliding condition for it. Then an LQR controller is designed to control the zigzag depth of the vehicle, where the deriv...

Mycoplasma pneumoniae protein P200 was localized to the terminal organelle, which functions in cytadherence and gliding motility. The loss of P200 had no impact on binding to erythrocytes and A549 cells but resulted in impaired gliding motility and colonization of differentiated bronchial epithelium. Thus, gliding may be necessary to overcome mucociliary clearance.

The cell-wall-less prokaryote Mycoplasma pneumoniae, long considered among the smallest and simplest cells capable of self-replication, has a distinct cellular polarity characterized by the presence of a differentiated terminal organelle which functions in adherence to human respiratory epithelium, gliding motility, and cell division. Characterization of hemadsorption (HA)-negative mutants has ...

Mycoplasmas that are known to exhibit gliding motility possess a differentiated tip structure. This polar organelle mediates cytadherence and gliding motor activity and contains a cytoskeleton-like component that provides structural support. Here, we describe gliding motility and a unique cytoskeleton in Mycoplasma insons, which lacks any obviously differentiated tip structure.

Many flying animals use both flapping and gliding flight as part of their routine behaviour. These two kinematic patterns impose conflicting requirements on wing design for aerodynamic efficiency and, in the absence of extreme morphing, wings cannot be optimised for both flight modes. In gliding flight, the wing experiences uniform incident flow and the optimal shape is a high aspect ratio wing...