Internal mechano-sensors, as an indispensable part of the proprioceptive system intelligent equipment, have attracted enormous research interest because their extremely crucial role in monitoring machining processes, real-time diagnosis equipment faults, adaptive motor control and so on. The mechano-sensory structure with signal-transduction function is important factor determining sensing perf...

Recent findings suggest that itch produced by intradermal insertion of cowhage spicules in human is histamine independent. Neuronal mechanisms underlying nonhistaminergic itch are poorly understood. To investigate which nerve fibers mediate cowhage induced itch in man, action potentials were recorded from cutaneous C-fibers of the peroneal nerve in healthy volunteers using microneurography. Mec...

In the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris, chloroplast movement is induced by mechanical stimulation as well as by light stimulation. Directional movement of both types depends on an actin-based motile system. To investigate the physiological relationship between mechanical and light signaling in the regulation of chloroplast movement, we examined the mechano-response of chloroplasts whose motility...

Animals employ mechano-sensory systems to detect and explore their environment. Mechano-sensation encompasses stimuli such as constant pressure, surface movement or vibrations at various intensities that need to be segregated in the central nervous system. Besides different receptor structures, sensory filtering via intrinsic response properties could provide a convenient way to solve this prob...

The effective transfer of tiny liquid droplets is vital for a number of processes such as chemical and biological microassays. Inspired by the tarsi of meniscus-climbing insects, which can climb menisci by deforming the water/air interface, we developed a mechano-regulated surface consisting of a background mesh and a movable microfibre array with contrastive wettability. The adhesion of this m...

A high-sensitivity mechano-luminescent sensor was fabricated on the basis of piezoelectric/electroluminescent composites. The working principle of this mechano-luminescent sensor was elucidated by analyzing the relationship between the piezoelectric-induced charges and the electroluminescent effects. When a stress is applied on the piezoelectric layer, electrical charges will be induced at both...

Crayfish (Astacus astacus) muscle stretch receptors show strong homology to mammalian muscle spindles and bipolar neurons in D. melanogaster. All are typical, non-ciliated, stretch-sensitive, afferent neurons. Such receptors are observed in many species and perform an important sensory role. However, they are poorly characterised. A previous study reported a bio-mechanical and behavioural model...

Burning pain was induced in healthy human subjects by intracutaneous injections of capsaicin (20 microl, 0.1%) in the innervation territory of the cutaneous branch of the peroneal nerve and the pain responses were compared with the activation patterns of afferent C-fibres recorded by microneurography. Responsiveness of single units to mechanical or heat stimuli or to sympathetic reflex provocat...

Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by cardiovascular irregularities, including hypertension. Dopamine, a circulating hormone, is implicated in essential hypertension in humans and animal models. Vascular endothelial primary cilia are known to function as mechano-sensory organelles. Although both primary cilia and dopamine receptors play important roles in vascular hypertension, their re...

Microneurography was used in healthy human subjects to record action potentials from unmyelinated nerve fibers (C units) in cutaneous fascicles of the peroneal nerve. Activity-dependent slowing (n = 96) and transcutaneous electrical thresholds (n = 67) were determined. Eight units were sympathetic efferents according to their responses to sympathetic reflex provocations. Mechano-heat-responsive...