Physiology Commons^™

Individual Differences In The Programming Of Rapid Bimanual Movements: Are Two Modes Better Than One?, Ashley N. Vander Does, David E. Sherwood

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 347-358, 2016. One of the challenges in performing simultaneous bimanual movements is to prevent interference from one limb to the other, thereby maintaining spatial accuracy in both limbs. Prior research has shown that when a longer distance movement is performed with a shorter movement, the shorter movement overshoots its target and the longer movement undershoots its target relative to control conditions where two shorter or two longer movements are made. The current experiment investigated the motor control strategies used by participants when performing simultaneous aiming movements combining both different and same distances. Participants (N …

Exercise-Induced Glycogen Reduction Increases Muscle Activity, Matthew S. Tenan, J. Troy Blackburn, Robert G. Mcmurray

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 336-346, 2016. Intramuscular glycogen stores are an important energy source during extended bouts of strenuous exercise. A substantial reduction in glycogen could influence neural muscular drive and result in a decreasing quality of exercise performance and potentially increased injury rates. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of glycogen reduction on motor drive as determined by the surface electromyogram (EMG) amplitude and median frequency during a cycling graded exercise test. Eight trained cyclists performed a discontinuous cycling graded exercise test to exhaustion under both normal and glycogen reduced conditions. EMG …

Power Training And Functional Performance In Middle Aged Women: A Pilot Study, Mitchel A. Magrini, J. Jay Dawes, Craig Elder, Mary Ann Kluge

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 327-335, 2016. Muscular power is a key component of functional performance (FP) and fall risk reduction. The present study investigated the effect that power training with medicine balls had on body composition and FP in middle-age females. 10 women were divided into a control group (n=4, age=59.8+3.6) and an intervention group (n=6, age=59.5+3.6) in this 6-week study. The intervention group completed a medicine ball training program two times a week. Body composition and FP tests were administered prepost. Data was analyzed using a series of Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and Cohen’s d test for …

Do Girls With Excess Adiposity Perform Poorer Motor Skills Than Their Leaner Peers?, Daniel V. Chagas, Joyce F. Carvalho, Luiz A. Batista

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 318-326, 2016. The main aim of this study was to analyze the joint association of body fat percentage and physical activity levels on motor coordination scores in girls with different adiposity status. Sixty-eight school-aged children between 12 and 14 years participated in the study. Skinfold thickness was measured and the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder test was administered. Participants completed a selfreporting questionnaire on physical activity. Children’s adiposity status was attributed in according to age-specific cutoff points of a Brazilian database. Analysis of Variance was used to compare motor coordination scores among groups with different status …

Factors Influencing Muscular Strength And Endurance In Disadvantaged Children From Low-Income Families, Yi Fang, Ryan D. Burns, James C. Hannon, Timothy A. Brusseau

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 306-317, 2016. Examining the correlates of muscular strength and endurance in children from low-income families will provide evidence for interventions to improve these parameters. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictors and trends of muscular strength and endurance in at-risk school-aged children. The sample included 1,232 children (Mean age = 8.8 ± 1.6 years; 625 girls, 607 boys; 60% Hispanic) recruited from three U.S. low-income schools. Children performed health-related fitness testing and wore pedometers for one school week. A stratified random subsample (n = 533) also wore accelerometers to record sedentary …

Perceptions Of Motivational Climate, Goal Orientations, And Light- To Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity Engagement Of A Sample Of Finnish Grade 5 To 9 Students, Arto Gråstén, Anthony P. Watt

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 291-305, 2016. The aim of this study was the examination of relationships between children’s perceptions of motivational climate, goal orientation, and their engagement in light- to vigorous-intensity physical activity. The sample comprised 585 school children at age of 11 to 16-year-old from three small cities located in Northeast-Finland. The cross-sectional data was collected using online questionnaires in April 2014. The findings indicated that the higher task-involving motivational climate in physical education the children reported, the higher total light- and moderate-intensity levels they accumulated. Task-involving climate also indicated higher task orientation and ego-involving climate higher …

The Acute Effect Of Pilates Exercise On Lower Extremity Maximal Strength, Heather Monger, Blain C. Harrison

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 283-290, 2016. In recent years, the effects of chronic core training on athletic performance have been examined with mixed results; however, the acute effects of core training on athletic performance variables have yet to be examined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between an acute bout of core training and lower extremity maximal strength. Seventeen healthy males (weight 90.1 ± 17.2 kg; height 176.7 ± 11.2 cm; age 20.9 ± 1.3 years) performed maximal deadlift assessments following 2 testing conditions. A general cardiovascular warm-up was used as the control …

Physiological Characteristics Of Youth Synchronized Skaters, Laura E. Fischer M.Ed., Lynn A. Darby Ph.D., Amy L. Morgan Ph.D., David A. Tobar Ph.D.

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 270-282, 2016. Figure skating is a lifelong sport with participation rates increasing for skaters of all ages. Development within the five disciplines of figure skating (individual skating, synchronized skating, pairs skating, ice dancing, and theater on ice) has led to increased physical demands placed on skaters’ bodies. As a result, focus on sport performance testing, training, and injury prevention specific to figure skating is increasing. The purpose of this study was to use field tests to describe the physical characteristics of synchronized skaters and to determine the relationships between these physiological characteristics and skating …

Evaluation Of The Basis Band Fitness Tracker, Pier-Alexandre Desilets, Matthew T. Mahar

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 258-269, 2016. Self-monitoring is a widely recommended behavioral strategy to promote regular physical activity. Commercially available activity monitors are becoming increasingly popular and provide users with the opportunity to self-monitor physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the Basis Band Fitness Tracker to measure heart rate and movement compared to research-grade activity monitors. Twenty participants (14 females and 6 males) aged 18-23 yrs (mean = 20.0 ± 1.1 yrs) wore a Basis Band, an NL-1000 pedometer, an ANT+ Motorola HRM1G chest strap heart rate monitor, and an …

Body Image Dissatisfaction: Responses Between Male And Female Exercisers And Non-Exercisers, Katie Melching, Matt Green, Eric K. O'Neal, Lee Renfroe

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 249-257, 2016.Body image dissatisfaction (BID) is defined as the difference between actual and desired image. Body image or BID is subject to high levels of societal pressure and discrepancies are frequent between actual and desired image. This study examined BID among male exercisers (ME), female exercisers (FE), male non-exercisers (MNE) and female non-exercisers (FNE). Further, the potential relationship of personal BID on individual’s beliefs regarding what their peers’ perceptions would be was examined. College-aged men (n = 169) and women (n = 246) used the Stunkard scale to self-assess body image. Participants labeled …

Characterizing Active And Inactive Brown Adipose Tissue In Adult Humans Using Pet-Ct And Mr Imaging, Aliya Gifford, Theodore F. Towse, Ronald C. Walker, Malcolm J. Avison, E Brian Welch

Peer Reviewed Articles

Activated brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays an important role in thermogenesis and whole body metabolism in mammals. Positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) imaging has identified depots of BAT in adult humans, igniting scientific interest. The purpose of this study is to characterize both active and inactive supraclavicular BAT in adults and compare the values to those of subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT). We obtained [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([¹⁸F]FDG) PET-CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 25 healthy adults. Unlike [¹⁸F]FDG PET, which can detect only active BAT, MRI is capable of detecting both active …

Effects Of Sleep Fragmentation On The Immune System Of Zebra Finches Using Cytokine Gene Expression, Laken N. Cooper

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sleep loss is known to trigger an inflammatory response and increase serum corticosterone in both human and murine models. However, very little evidence is available on the potential effects of sleep loss in avian models. This study aims to construct a profile using cytokine gene expression data to determine how birds respond to sleep loss in a controlled environment. I investigated changes in pro-inflammatory (IL-1β and IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokine gene expression in the periphery (fat, liver, spleen, and heart) and brain (hypothalamus, hippocampus, and apical hyperpallium) in zebra finches exposed to a novel sleep fragmentation method. Serum corticosterone, …

Cloning, Characteristics, And Functional Analysis Of Rabbit Nadph Oxidase 5, Feng Chen, Caiyong Yin, Christiana Dimitropoulou, David J.R. Fulton

Bioelectrics Publications

Background: Nox5 was the last member of the Nox enzyme family to be identified. Functionally distinct from the other Nox isoforms, our understanding of its physiological significance has been hampered by the absence of Nox5 in mouse and rat genomes. Nox5 is present in the genomes of other species such as the rabbit that have broad utility as models of cardiovascular disease. However, the mRNA sequence, characteristics, and functional analysis of rabbit Nox5 has not been fully defined and were the goals of the current study.

Methods: Rabbit Nox5 was amplified from rabbit tissue, cloned, and sequenced. COS-7 cells were …

The Effect Of Fasted Vs Fed High-Intensity Interval Exercise On Metabolism And Diet, William Joseph Perez

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate immediate and delayed metabolic and dietary responses to a single bout of cycling high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) performed in the fasted and fed state. Baseline values of 11 subjects (6 female, 5 male) for resting energy expenditure (REE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), resting VO₂, VO_2max and appetite score (VAS) were measured on the first visit. Energy balance (EB) was determined using diet tracking and activity energy expenditure (paEE). Trials followed a day at net energy balance and began in a fasted state. A 240-kcal energy bar was consumed prior …

Sialylation And Cardiomyocyte Complex N -Glycosylation Protect Against Dilated Cardiomyopathy And Heart Failure, Wei Deng

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the third most common cause of heart failure, often associated with arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death if not controlled. Metabolic and/or environmental factors, such as alcohol abuse, obesity, diabetes and Chagas disease, alter glycoprotein glycosylation, can lead to DCM. Inherited genetic disease, such as the human congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG), causes multi-system manifestations including DCM. Non-congenital changes in glycosylation are also occurred in humans with and in animal models of DCM and heart failure. However, mechanisms responsible for glyco-dependent DCM are not understood. Here we sought to investigate the impact of sialylation and N-glycosylation …

Sexually Dimorphic Adaptation Of Cardiac Function: Roles Of Epoxyeicosatrienoic Acid And Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors, Jun Qin, Yicong Le, Ghezal Froogh, Sharath Kandhi, Houli Jiang, Dong Sun, An Huang

NYMC Faculty Publications

Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cardioprotective mediators metabolized by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) to form corresponding diols (DHETs). As a sex-susceptible target, sEH is involved in the sexually dimorphic regulation of cardiovascular function. Thus, we hypothesized that the female sex favors EET-mediated potentiation of cardiac function via downregulation of sEH expression, followed by upregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs). Hearts were isolated from male (M) and female (F) wild-type (WT) and sEH-KO mice, and perfused with constant flow at different preloads. Basal coronary flow required to maintain the perfusion pressure at 100 mmHg was significantly greater in females than males, and …

Sine-Wave Electrical Stimulation Initiates A Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel-Dependent Soft Tissue Response Characterized By Induction Of Hemocyte Recruitment And Collagen Deposition, Brandon M. Franklin, Eleni Maroudas, Jeffrey L. Osborn

Biology Faculty Publications

Soft tissue repair is a complex process that requires specific communication between multiple cell types to orchestrate effective restoration of physiological functions. Macrophages play a critical role in this wound healing process beginning at the onset of tissue injury. Understanding the signaling mechanisms involved in macrophage recruitment to the wound site is an essential step for developing more effective clinical therapies. Macrophages are known to respond to electrical fields, but the underlying cellular mechanisms mediating this response is unknown. This study demonstrated that low‐amplitude sine‐wave electrical stimulation (ES) initiates a soft tissue response in the absence of injury in Procambarus …

Duplication And Remolding Of Trna Genes In The Mitochondrial Genome Of Reduvius Tenebrosus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), Pei Jiang, Hu Li, Fan Song, Yao Cai, Jianyun Wang, Jinpeng Liu, Wanzhi Cai

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Most assassin bugs are predators that act as important natural enemies of insect pests. Mitochondrial (mt) genomes of these insects are double-strand circular DNAs that encode 37 genes. In the present study, we explore the duplication and rearrangement of tRNA genes in the mt genome of Reduvius tenebrosus, the first mt genome from the subfamily Reduviinae. The gene order rearranges from CR (control region)-trnI-trnQ-trnM-ND2 to CR-trnQ-trnI2-trnI1-trnM-ND2. We identified 23 tRNA genes, including 22 tRNAs commonly found in insects and an additional trnI (trnI2), which has high sequence similarity to trnM. We found several …

Human Locomotion: Examining Energy Costs And Human Behavior Associated With Load-Carrying, Gailynn Benjamin

Honors Projects

The energy expenditure during load-carrying depends on the mass of the load, the position of the load on the body, and if tools are used to help transfer the load. When the load being carried is a human child, strategies employed to cope with the increased energetic burden should include males carrying older and heavier children, arm use decreasing as children become older, and tool use increasing as children become older. To uncover whether people make energetically-mediated decisions to carry children, 236 adult males and 314 adult females were observed walking around parks in Seattle, WA, while carrying a child. …

Multiorgan Chronic Inflammatory Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Murine Model Deficient In Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors 1 And 2, Helieh S. Oz

Physiology Faculty Publications

AIM: To provoke persistent/chronic multiorgan inflammatory response and to contribute to stones formation followed by fibrosis in hepatobiliary and pancreatic tissues.

METHODS: Tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 and 2 (TNFR1/R2) deficient mice reared in-house were given dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC) twice within 10 d by oral gavage delivery. Sham control animals received vehicle treatment and naïve animals remained untreated throughout the study. Animals were monitored daily for symptoms of pain and discomfort. The abdominal and hindpaw hypersensitivity were assessed with von Frey microfilaments. Exploratory behaviors were recorded at the baseline, after initiation of treatment, and before study termination. Histopathological …

Mechanism Of Chimeric Vaccine Mediated Immune Suppression Of Human Dendritic Cells, Jacques Christian Mbongue

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic inflammatory disease in which insulin producing β-cells of the pancreatic islets are killed by autoreactive cells of the immune system in response to a loss of tolerance. Dendritic cells (DC) interact predominantly with naïve T cells to regulate the delicate balance between immunity and tolerance required to maintain immunological homeostasis. In this dissertation, immature human dendritic cells (iDC) were inoculated with a chimeric fusion protein vaccine containing the pancreatic β-cell auto-antigen proinsulin linked to a mucosal adjuvant the cholera toxin B subunit (CTB-INS). Proteomic analysis of vaccine inoculated DCs revealed strong up-regulation of …

Glutamate And Gaba Receptor-Mediated Plasticity In The Mesolimbic Dopamine System By Alcohol, Ashley Cerise Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Alcoholism is a devastating chronic relapsing disorder with significant costs to individuals and society. The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system plays an important role in regulating reward and addiction. GABA neurons located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) regulate VTA DA neuron activity, and are a relevant target for alcohol in the brain. VTA GABA neurons exhibit marked hyperexcitability during withdrawal from ethanol. Past research has demonstrated that the motivational effects of opiates cause a change in VTA GABA(A) receptors in opiate-dependent animals, which switch from a GABA-induced hyperpolarization of GABA neurons to a GABA-induced depolarization. The focus of this study …

Stress Ecology Of The Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Oreganus And Crotalus Helleri), Natalie Claunch

Master's Theses

Stress is a physiological state induced by disturbance or adverse environmental conditions and is modulated by the glucocorticoid hormone corticosterone (CORT) in reptiles. Stressors can have various impacts on vertebrate trait expression and may affect survival or reproduction. Little is known about the effects of chronically elevated CORT in free-ranging reptiles, or the effect of disturbance stress on venom composition in captive snakes.

In chapter 1, we investigated the effects of researcher induced disturbance on CORT levels and venom composition in a group of captive Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus). Venom protein concentration and plasma CORT levels were …

A Semi-Automated Algorithm For Segmenting The Hippocampus In Patient And Control Populations, Nathan Mckay Muncy

Theses and Dissertations

Calculating hippocampal volume from Magnetic Resonance (MR) images is an essential task in many studies of neurocognition in healthy and diseased populations. The `gold standard' method involves hand tracing, which is accurate but laborious, requiring expertly trained researchers and significant amounts of time. As such, segmenting large datasets with the standard method is impractical. Current automated pipelines are inaccurate at hippocampal demarcation and volumetry. We developed a semi-automated hippocampal segmentation pipeline based on the Advanced Normalization Tools (ANTs) suite of programs to segment the hippocampus. We applied the semi-automated segmentation pipeline to 70 participant scans (26 female) from groups that …

Melanocortin 1 Receptor: Structure, Function, And Regulation, Erin M. Wolf Horrell, Mary C. Boulanger, John A. D'Orazio

Physiology Faculty Publications

The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) is a melanocytic G_s protein coupled receptor that regulates skin pigmentation, UV responses, and melanoma risk. It is a highly polymorphic gene, and loss of function correlates with a fair, UV-sensitive, and melanoma-prone phenotype due to defective epidermal melanization and sub-optimal DNA repair. MC1R signaling, achieved through adenylyl cyclase activation and generation of the second messenger cAMP, is hormonally controlled by the positive agonist melanocortin, the negative agonist agouti signaling protein, and the neutral antagonist β-defensin 3. Activation of cAMP signaling up-regulates melanin production and deposition in the epidermis which functions to limit UV …

Genetic Manipulation Of Iron Biomineralization Enhances Mr Relaxivity In A Ferritin-M6a Chimeric Complex, Marina Radoul, Limor Lewin, Batya Cohen, Roni Oren, Stanislav Popov, Geula Davidov, Moriel H. Vandsburger, Alon Harmelin, Ronit Bitton, Jean-Marc Greneche, Michal Neeman, Raz Zarivach

Physiology Faculty Publications

Ferritin has gained significant attention as a potential reporter gene for in vivo imaging by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, due to the ferritin ferrihydrite core, the relaxivity and sensitivity for detection of native ferritin is relatively low. We report here on a novel chimeric magneto-ferritin reporter gene – ferritin-M6A – in which the magnetite binding peptide from the magnetotactic bacteria magnetosome-associated Mms6 protein was fused to the C-terminal of murine h-ferritin. Biophysical experiments showed that purified ferritin-M6A assembled into a stable protein cage with the M6A protruding into the cage core, enabling magnetite biomineralisation. Ferritin-M6A-expressing C6-glioma cells showed enhanced …

Patient-Specific Inference Of Average Glucose From Glycated Hemoglobin, Roy Malka, David M. Nathan, John M. Higgins

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Modeling Of Endotoxin-Induced Inflammation In Young Men, Renee Brady

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Hill's Diagrammatic Method And Reduced Graph Powers, Gregory D. Smith, Richard Hammack

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

A Theoretical Model Of The Increase In Venous Oxygen Saturation Levels In Advanced Glaucoma Patients, Julia C. Arciero

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.