Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) crosses the blood-brain barrier when administered intravenously and accumulates in the brain. In this study, we investigated whether CoQ10 protects against ischemia-reperfusion injury by measuring neurological function and brain infarct volumes in a rat model of transient focal cerebral ischemia. In male Wistar rats, we performed transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) for 60 minutes, followed by reperfusion for 24 hours or 7 days. Forty-five minutes after the onset of occlusion (or 15 minutes before reperfusion), rats received a single intravenous injection of solubilized CoQ10 (30 mg·mL(-1)·kg(-1)) or saline (2 mL/kg). Sensory and motor function scores and body weights were obtained before the rats were killed by decapitation, and brain infarct volumes were calculated using tetrazolium chloride staining. CoQ10 brain levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. CoQ10 significantly improved neurological behavior and reduced weight loss up to 7 days after tMCAO (P < 0.05). Furthermore, CoQ10 reduced cerebral infarct volumes by 67% at 24 hours after tMCAO and 35% at 7 days (P < 0.05). Cerebral ischemia resulted in a significant reduction in endogenous CoQ10 in both hemispheres (P < 0.05). However, intravenous injection of solubilized CoQ10 resulted in its increase in both hemispheres at 24 hours and in the contralateral hemisphere at 7 days (P < 0.05). Our results demonstrate that CoQ10 is a robust neuroprotective agent against ischemia-reperfusion brain injury in rats, improving both functional and morphological indices of brain damage.

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The neuroprotective effect of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10)was demonstrated on the rats model of ischemic stroke provoked by persistent 24-h occlusion of the middle cerebral artery. Coenzyme Q10 (30 mg/kg) was injected intravenously in 60 min after artery occlusion. Ubiquinone crossed the blood-brain barrier, accumulated in the brain, and produced a neuroprotective effect: it alleviated ischemia-induced neurological deficit and reduced the size of necrotic zone by 49% in comparison with rats receiving physiological saline.

Hand motion tracking plays an important role in virtual reality systems for immersion and interaction purposes. This paper discusses the problem of finger tracking and proposes the application of the extension of the Madgwick filter and a simple switching (motion recognition) algorithm as a comparison. The proposed algorithms utilize the three-link finger model and provide complete information about the position and orientation of the metacarpus. The numerical experiment shows that this approach is feasible and overcomes some of the major limitations of inertial motion tracking. The paper’s proposed solution was created in order to track a user’s pointing and grasping movements during the interaction with the virtual reconstruction of the cultural heritage of historical cities.

Parameters of the oxidative status of the brain and blood plasma were measured in rats 24 h after 1-h focal cerebral ischemia. In the brain of rats exposed to cerebral ischemia, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were elevated. Ischemia reduced the total antioxidant activity of the brain and the levels of malonic dialdehyde and protein carbonyl derivatives. In the blood plasma of experimental rats, superoxide dismutase activity and malonic dialdehyde level increased and total antioxidant activity decreased, i.e. the shifts were similar to those in the brain. The ischemia-induced changes in the brain and blood were not always co-directed.