Physiology Commons^™

Head Trauma Not Associated With Long Term Effects On Autonomic Function, Carley A. Shannon, Kimberli L. Pike, Sydney R. Dejonge, Paul R. Nagelkirk, Andrew T. Del Pozzi

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 779-790, 2021. Contact-sports can elicit concussions, which impacts autonomic function, as well as elicit repetitive head trauma, where autonomic function has not yet been assessed. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in autonomic function exist among three groups (CTRL: healthy non-contact-sport participant, RHT: repetitive head trauma contact-sport participant, CONC: previous concussion). Forty participants (16 men and 24 women), aged 18-37 (22 ± 3), participated in the study. Participants were grouped based on their sport and concussion history (CTRL, RHT, and CONC). Body composition was measured via air displacement plethysmography. Prior …

The Influence Of A Total Body Resistance Training Program On Autonomic Modulation And Strength Variables In Young Adults, Cody Altherr, Kayla M. Soave, Paul R. Nagelkirk, Andrew T. Del Pozzi

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(2): 802-814, 2021. The purpose of this study was to examine autonomic modulation using multiple quantitative measures before and after a resistance training (RT) intervention. Seventeen young adults (age 18-35 years) were tested for body composition, muscular strength, and autonomic activity. The RT protocol targeted total-body large muscle groups, which were performed three days a week for eight-weeks. Autonomic assessments included respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), static handgrip exercise, Valsalva maneuver, heart rate variability (HRV), and tilt-table testing. The main finding was that tilt-table duration increased by 68 seconds (p = 0.05) after RT. Upper …

Synphilin-1 And Its Effects On Pathogenesis Of Parkinson’S Disease, Mirghani Mohamed

Honors Scholar Theses

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative and movement disorder primarily caused by the degradation of dopaminergic neurons. Known markers of neurodegeneration in PD are Lewy Bodies, which are fibrillar aggregates that are found in the brains of PD patients. Lewy Bodies can accumulate from specific mutations in the SNCA gene that codes for alpha-synuclein, a protein enriched in presynaptic neurons. A mutated SNCA gene can cause conformational aggregates of alpha-synuclein to form toxic species mediating neuronal death. Research into alpha-synuclein has led to the discovery of a binding partner known as synphilin-1 that is also found in protein aggregates …

Evaluating The Effects Of Match-Induced Fatigue On Landing Ability; The Case Of The Basketball Game, Nikolaos I. Liveris, Charis Tsarbou, Panagiotis D. Tsimeas, George Papageorgiou, Sofia A. Xergia, Athanasios Tsiokanos

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(6): 768-778, 2021. This paper examines the effect of match–induced fatigue on lower limb biomechanics, in the case of a basketball game. For this purpose, sixteen male basketball athletes, ages 18 to 22, performed a jump-landing task prior and post a recreational basketball game. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) was used to examine the biomechanics of landing. The Vertical jump (VJ) and the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale pre- and post-game were employed to assess the level of fatigue induced by the basketball game. In order to compare pre and post measurements, …

Effect Of Stand-Up Paddle Boarding On Hydration Status In Recreational And Competitive Individuals, Robyn Mcarthur, Jasmine Duque-Anne, James Furness, Kevin Kemp-Smith, Vini Simas, Mike Climstein

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(6): 756-767, 2021. Stand up paddle (SUP) boarding is a popular water-based aquatic sport and recreational activity that continues to grow in popularity, however, little is known about its effect upon hydration status in recreational and elite level participants. The aim of this study was to examine the hydration status in SUP by investigating fluid loss through measurement of nude body mass. Thirty participants successfully completed the study. Hydration status was assessed by measurements of nude body mass taken pre and post SUP session. Intensity of the session was monitored throughout each session using a …

Acute Effect Of Different Duration Of Foam Rolling Protocols On Muscle Thickness, Pain Pressure Threshold, And Volume Load On Multiple Sets Of Knee Extension, Felipe Alves Brigatto, Enrico Gori Soares, Tiago Volpi Braz, Júlio Benvenutti Bueno De Camargo, Charlini Simoni Hartz, Danilo Rodrigues Batista, Luan Oenning Col, Paulo Henrique Marchetti, Marcelo Saldanha Aoki, Charles Ricardo Lopes

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(3): 742-755, 2021. Previous studies investigated the effects of foam rolling (FR) on measurements of strength and power. However, the acute effect of FR on muscle thickness (MT) and pressure pain threshold (PPT) after multiple sets of resistance exercise remains to be elucidated. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of one and three minutes of quadriceps FR on muscle thickness (vastus lateralis [VL] and rectus femoris [RF]), pain threshold (VL and RF), and total load lifted (TLL) on multiple sets of knee extension. Nine resistance-trained men (age: 24.8 ± 5.2 …

Flash Radiotherapy: Skin Pigmentation As A Non-Invasive Indicator For Radiation-Induced Damage, Brady Mccallister

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

FLASH ultra-high dose rate radiotherapy (RT) is one of the most rapidly growing subfields of radiation oncology today due to its potential to increase the limits of the therapeutic ratio. The FLASH effect, which includes heightened normal tissue sparing paired with iso-effective tumor cell killing, has been literature documented, in a limited manner, in rodent models, a few large animals, and one clinical patients.

A porcine-based experiment was conducted to test the effects of FLASH RT on normal tissue compared to conventional (CONV) RT. A clinical linear accelerator (LINAC) was reversibly converted to be capable of FLASH RT. A female …

Temperature Regulation Of Plant Hormone Signaling During Stress And Development, Christian Castroverde, Damaris Dina

Biology Faculty Publications

Global climate change has broad-ranging impacts on the natural environment and human civilization. Increasing average temperatures along with more frequent heat waves collectively have negative effects on cultivated crops in agricultural sectors and wild species in natural ecosystems. These aberrantly hot temperatures, together with cold stress, represent major abiotic stresses to plants. Molecular and physiological responses to high and low temperatures are intricately linked to the regulation of important plant hormones. In this review, we shall highlight our current understanding of how changing temperatures regulate plant hormone pathways during immunity, stress responses and development. This article will present an overview …

Novel Facet Of An Old Dietary Molecule? Direct Influence Of Caffeine On Glucose And Biogenic Amine Handling By Human Adipocytes, Wiem Haj Ahmed, Nathalie Boulet, Anaïs Briot, Barry J. Ryan, Gemma K. Kinsella, Jeffrey O’Sullivan, Francisco Les, Josep Mercader-Barceló, Gary T. Henehan, Christian Carpéné

Articles

Caffeine is a plant alkaloid present in food and beverages consumed worldwide. It has high lipid solubility with recognized actions in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues, notably the adipose depots. However, the literature is scant regarding caffeine’s influence on adipocyte functions other than lipolysis, such as glucose incorporation into lipids (lipogenesis) and amine oxidation. The objective of this study was to explore the direct effects of caffeine and of isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) on these adipocyte functions. Glucose transport into fat cells freshly isolated from mice, rats, or humans was monitored by determining [3H]-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake, while the incorporation …

James Davidson Fawcett (1933–2020): Imbibing With The Kiwi, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

An obituary and summary of the life of James D. Fawcett (1933-2020), herpetologist and instructor and professor of Biology at University of Nebraska at Omaha, 1972-2015. Includes bibliography of his works, list of master's theses chaired, and recollections of former students.

Habitat Heterogeneity Affects The Thermal Ecology Of The Federally Endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard, Nicole Gaudenti

Master's Theses

Global climate change is already contributing to the extirpation of numerous species worldwide, and sensitive species will continue to face challenges associated with rising temperatures throughout this century and beyond. It is especially important to evaluate the thermal ecology of endangered ectotherm species now so that mitigation measures can be taken as early as possible. A recent study of the thermal ecology of the federally endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) suggested that they face major activity restrictions due to thermal constraints in their desert habitat, but that large shade-providing shrubs act as thermal buffers to allow them …

Effects Of Resistance Training On Muscle Quality Index, Muscle Strength, Functional Capacity, And Serum Immunoglobulin Levels Between Obese And Non-Obese Older Women, Paulo Silva, Dahan Da Cunha Nascimento, Ivo Vieira De Sousa Neto, Silvana Funghetto, Ramires Tibana, James W. Navalta, Fabiani Beal, Jonato Prestes

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(7): 707-726, 2021. Considering the negative impact of obesity on neuromuscular and immune systems, we sought to compare the effects of a 10-week resistance training (RT) program on muscle quality index (MQI), muscle strength, functional capacity, and immunoglobulins in older women with and without obesity. Thirty-nine older women participated in the present study (age: 69.02 ± 6.16, fat (%): 38.80% ± 6.28) and underwent a linear RT program performed on two non-consecutive days of the week. Body composition, functional tests, immunoglobulins, muscle quality of upper and lower limbs and absolute muscular strength of the upper …

Effect Of Huperzine A On Cognitive Function And Perception Of Effort During Exercise: A Randomized Double-Blind Crossover Trial, Chadsley M. Wessinger, Cynthia Inman, Jeremiah Weinstock, Edward Weiss

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(2): 727-741, 2021. Huperzine A has shown the ability to acutely improve cognitive function in certain populations, and therefore is commonly added to pre-workout supplements. However, its effects have not been studied in exercise-trained individuals. OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that acute consumption of huperzine A would improve cognitive function during exercise, which may be beneficial for exercise performance. METHODS: From January to April, 2018, 15 exercise-trained individuals (11 women [height 166 ± 2 cm, weight 60.5 ± 3.0 kg] and 4 men [height 173 ± 4 cm, weight 82.0 ± 11.0 kg], BMI 23.5 ± 1.4 …

An Examination Of Fontan Circulation Using Differential Equation Models And Numerical Methods, Vanessa Maybruck

Honors Student Research

Certain congenital heart defects can lead to the development of only a single pumping chamber, or ventricle, in the heart instead of the usual two ventricles. Individuals with this defect undergo a corrective, three-part surgery, the third step of which is the Fontan procedure, but as the patients age, their cardiovascular health will likely deteriorate. Using computational fluid dynamics and differential equations, Fontan circulation can be modeled to investigate why the procedure fails and how Fontan failure can be maximally prevented. Borrowing from well-established literature on RC circuits, the differential equation models simulate systemic blood flow in a piecewise, switch-like …

Mechanisms Of Oscillations And Polyglot Entrainment In Neuronal And Circadian Models, Emel Khan

Dissertations

Entrainment is a type of synchronization in which the period of an endogenous oscillator matches the period of an external forcing signal and a stable phase relationship is maintained between them. Entrainment patterns are described in terms of the number of input oscillations (N) that are phase-locked to a number of output oscillations (M), referred to as N:M patterns. Arnold tongue diagrams are used to depict the regions of N:M entrainment patterns in the input period-amplitude parameter space. Although the entrainment of self-sustained oscillators by periodic forcing are well investigated is a well-studied problem, entrainment of damped oscillators has been …

Igf1-Stimulated Posttraumatic Hippocampal Remodeling Is Not Dependent On Mtor, Erica L. Littlejohn, Anthony J. Desana, Hannah C. Williams, Rudy T. Chapman, Binoy Joseph, Jelena A. Juras, Kathryn E. Saatman

Physiology Faculty Publications

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is stimulated acutely following traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, many hippocampal neurons born after injury develop abnormally and the number that survive long-term is debated. In experimental TBI, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) promotes hippocampal neuronal differentiation, improves immature neuron dendritic arbor morphology, increases long-term survival of neurons born after TBI, and improves cognitive function. One potential downstream mediator of the neurogenic effects of IGF1 is mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which regulates proliferation as well as axonal and dendritic growth in the CNS. Excessive mTOR activation is posited to contribute to aberrant plasticity related to posttraumatic epilepsy, …

Identifying The Cell Composition And Clonal Diversity Of Supratentorial Ependymoma Using Single Cell Rna-Sequencing, James He

University Scholar Projects

Ependymoma is a primary solid tumor of the central nervous system. Supratentorial ependymoma (ST-EPN), a subtype of ependymomas, is driven by an oncogenic fusion between the ZFTA and RELA genes in 70% of cases. We introduced this fusion into neural progenitor cells of mice embryos via in utero electroporation of a non-viral binary piggyBac transposon system containing ZFTA-RELA. From preliminary data in the LoTurco lab, inducing the expression of ZFTA-RELA into different neural progenitor cells produces tumors of varying lethality and cellular composition. To define the cellular composition and subclonal diversity of ST-EPN tumors, we used single cell RNA-sequencing to …

Identifying The Cell Composition And Clonal Diversity Of Supratentorial Ependymoma Using Single Cell Rna-Sequencing, James He

Honors Scholar Theses

Ependymoma is a primary solid tumor of the central nervous system. Supratentorial ependymoma (ST-EPN), a subtype of ependymomas, is driven by an oncogenic fusion between the ZFTA and RELA genes in 70% of cases. We introduced this fusion into neural progenitor cells of mice embryos via in utero electroporation of a non-viral binary piggyBac transposon system containing ZFTA-RELA. From preliminary data in the LoTurco lab, inducing the expression of ZFTA-RELA into different neural progenitor cells produces tumors of varying lethality and cellular composition. To define the cellular composition and subclonal diversity of ST-EPN tumors, we used single cell RNA-sequencing …

Validity And Test-Retest Reliability Of The Jumpo App For Jump Performance Measurement, Amilton Vieira, Anthony J. Blazevich, Alexandre Souza Da Costa, James J. Tufano, Martim Bottaro

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(7): 677-686, 2021. The vertical jump test is one of the simplest and most prevalent physical tests used in practice and research. This study investigated the validity and reliability of a new mobile application (Jumpo) for measuring jump performance on Android devices. University-aged students (n = 10; 20 ± 3 years; 176 ± 6 cm; 68 ± 9 kg) reported to the laboratory on three occasions (2-7 days apart): to be familiarized with the jump performance measurements and then for test-retest reliability assessments. Participants performed countermovement jumps (CMJ), squat jumps (SJ), and right and …

Relationship Of Biological Maturation With Muscle Power In Young Female Athletes, Paulo Francisco De Almeida-Neto, Alexandre Bulhões-Correia, Dihogo De Matos, Phelipe Wilde De Alcântara Varela, Vanessa Carla Monteiro Pinto, Paulo M. Dantas, Felipe Aidar, Breno Guilherme De Araujo Tinoco Cabral

International Journal of Exercise Science

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(6): 696-706, 2021. There is still no consensus on how biological maturation (BM) affects the muscle power of upper and lower limbs in young people. The objective was to verify associations between BM and muscle power, as well as to compare the muscle power of upper (ULP) and lower limbs (LLP) among young athletes in different stages of BM. The sample consisted of 79 female athletes (10.9 ± 1.11 years old). Regarding BM, the sample was divided into three groups: delayed BM, synchronized BM, and accelerated BM. BM was identified by subtracting chronological age from …