Insertion of the CXC chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9) into the mouse hepatitis virus genome results in protection from viral-induced encephalitis and hepatitis.

The role of the CXC chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL9) in host defense following infection with mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) was determined. Inoculation of the central nervous system (CNS) of CXCL9-/- mice with MHV resulted in accelerated and increased mortality compared to wild type mice supporting an important role for CXCL9 in anti-viral defense. In addition, infection of RAG1-/- or CXCL9-/- mice with a recombinant MHV expressing CXCL9 (MHV-CXCL9) resulted in protection from disease that correlated with reduced viral titers within the brain and NK cell-mediated protection in the liver. Survival in MHV-CXCL9-infected CXCL9-/- mice was associated with reduced viral burden within the brain that coincided with increased T cell infiltration. Similarly, viral clearance from the livers of MHV-CXCL9-infected mice was accelerated but independent of increased T cell or NK cell infiltration. These observations indicate that CXCL9 promotes protection from coronavirus-induced neurological and liver disease

Decreased pH does not alter metamorphosis but compromises juvenile calcification of the tube worm Hydroides elegans

Using CO2 perturbation experiments, we examined the pre- and post-settlement growth responses of a dominant biofouling tubeworm (Hydroides elegans) to a range of pH. In three different experiments, embryos were reared to, or past, metamorphosis in seawater equilibrated to CO 2 values of about 480 (control), 980, 1,480, and 2,300 μatm resulting in pH values of around 8.1 (control), 7.9, 7.7, and 7.5, respectively. These three decreased pH conditions did not affect either embryo or larval development, but both larval calcification at the time of metamorphosis and early juvenile growth were adversely affected. During the 24-h settlement assay experiment, half of the metamorphosed larvae were unable to calcify tubes at pH 7.9 while almost no tubes were calcified at pH 7.7. Decreased ability to calcify at decreased pH may indicate that these calcifying tubeworms may be one of the highly threatened species in the future ocean. © 2012 The Author(s).published_or_final_versio

The effect of estrogen on muscle damage biomarkers following prolonged aerobic exercise in eumenorrheic women

This study assessed the influence of estrogen (E 2 ) on muscle damage biomarkers [skeletal muscle - creatine kinase (CK); cardiac muscle - CK-MB] responses to prolonged aerobic exercise. Eumenorrheic women (n=10) who were physically active completed two 60-minute treadmill running sessions at ~60-65% maximal intensity during low E 2 (midfollicular menstrual phase) and high E 2 (midluteal menstrual phase) hormonal conditions. Blood samples were collected prior to exercise (following supine rest), immediately post-, 30 min post-, and 24 hours post-exercise to determine changes in muscle biomarkers. Resting blood samples confirmed appropriate E 2 hormonal levels Total CK concentrations increased following exercise and at 24 hours post-exercise were higher in the midfollicular low E 2 phase (p<0.001). However, CK-MB concentrations were unaffected by E 2 level or exercise (p=0.442) resulting in the ratio of CK-MB to total CK being consistently low in subject responses (i.e., indicative of skeletal muscle damage). Elevated E 2 levels reduce the CK responses of skeletal muscle, but had no effect on CK-MB responses following prolonged aerobic exercise. These findings support earlier work showing elevated E 2 is protective of skeletal muscle from exercise-induced damage associated with prolonged aerobic exercise

Menstrual cycle phase effects free testosterone responses to prolonged aerobic exercise

Research has shown that total testosterone (tT) levels in women increase acutely during a prolonged bout of aerobic exercise. Few studies, however, have considered the impact of the menstrual cycle phase on this response or have looked at the biologically active free testosterone (fT) form responses. Therefore, this study examined the fT concentration response independently and as a percentage (fT%) of tT to prolonged aerobic exercise during phases of the menstrual cycle with low estrogen-progesterone (L-EP; i.e., follicular phase) and high estrogen-progesterone (H-EP; i.e., luteal phase). Ten healthy, recreationally trained, eumennorrheic women (X ± SD: age = 20 ± 2 y, mass = 58.7 ± 8.3 kg, body fat = 22.3 ± 4.9 %, VO2max = 50.7 ± 9.0 ml/kg/min) participated in a laboratory based study and completed a 60-minute treadmill run during the L-EP and H-EP menstrual phases at ~70% of VO2max. Blood was drawn prior to (PRE), immediately after (POST) and following 30 minutes of recovery (30POST) with each 60-minute run. During H-EP, there was a significant increase in fT concentrations from PRE to POST (p < 0.01) while in L-EP fT levels were unchanged; which resulted in fT being significantly higher at H-EP POST versus L-EP POST (p < 0.03). Area-under-the-curve (AUC) responses were calculated, for fT the total AUC was greater in H-EP than L-EP (p < 0.04). There was no significant interaction of fT% between phases and exercise sampling time. There was, however, a main effect for exercise where fT% POST was a greater proportion of tT than at PRE (p < 0.01). In summary, hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle impact fT response to a prolonged aerobic exercise bout; specifically, there being higher levels under H-EP conditions. This suggests more biologically active T is available during exercise in this phase. This response may be a function of the higher core temperatures found with H-EP causing greater sex hormone binding protein release of T, or could be a function of greater degrees of glandular production. Further work is warranted to elucidate the mechanism of this occurrence. It is recommended that researchers examining T responses to exercise in women look at both tT and fT forms in order to have an accurate endocrine assessment in women

Levosimendan for the prevention of acute organ dysfunction in sepsis

BACKGROUND Levosimendan is a calcium-sensitizing drug with inotropic and other properties that may improve outcomes in patients with sepsis. METHODS We conducted a double-blind, randomized clinical trial to investigate whether levosimendan reduces the severity of organ dysfunction in adults with sepsis. Patients were randomly assigned to receive a blinded infusion of levosimendan (at a dose of 0.05 to 0.2 μg per kilogram of body weight per minute) for 24 hours or placebo in addition to standard care. The primary outcome was the mean daily Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score in the intensive care unit up to day 28 (scores for each of five systems range from 0 to 4, with higher scores indicating more severe dysfunction; maximum score, 20). Secondary outcomes included 28-day mortality, time to weaning from mechanical ventilation, and adverse events. RESULTS The trial recruited 516 patients; 259 were assigned to receive levosimendan and 257 to receive placebo. There was no significant difference in the mean (±SD) SOFA score between the levosimendan group and the placebo group (6.68±3.96 vs. 6.06±3.89; mean difference, 0.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.07 to 1.29; P=0.053). Mortality at 28 days was 34.5% in the levosimendan group and 30.9% in the placebo group (absolute difference, 3.6 percentage points; 95% CI, −4.5 to 11.7; P=0.43). Among patients requiring ventilation at baseline, those in the levosimendan group were less likely than those in the placebo group to be successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation over the period of 28 days (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.97; P=0.03). More patients in the levosimendan group than in the placebo group had supraventricular tachyarrhythmia (3.1% vs. 0.4%; absolute difference, 2.7 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.1 to 5.3; P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS The addition of levosimendan to standard treatment in adults with sepsis was not associated with less severe organ dysfunction or lower mortality. Levosimendan was associated with a lower likelihood of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation and a higher risk of supraventricular tachyarrhythmia. (Funded by the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme and others; LeoPARDS Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN12776039.

VALIDATION OF A 3-DIMENSIONAL VIDEO MOTION CAPTURE SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING BARBELL POWER AND VELOCITY DURING THE BENCH PRESS

Andrew C. Fry, Luke Bradford, Trent Herda, Joseph Weir FACSM, Michael Lane, Matthew Andre, Andrea Hudy, J. Deckert and J. Siedlik.Neuromechanics Laboratory and Kansas Athletics Inc., University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS Analyses of barbell kinetics and kinematics have typically required the use of force plates, tether-based position transducers, or digitized video analysis. PURPOSE: To determine the validity of a 3-dimensional video markerless motion capture system for determining barbell kinetics and kinematics. METHODS: Two 3-D video cameras sampling at 30 Hz and mounted on the top of a power rack were interfaced with a self-contained computer and software system, and operated with a touch screen (EliteForm, Lincoln, NE). For laboratory comparison purposes, a ceiling–mounted linear position transducer (Unimeasure, Corvallis, OR) was attached via a tether to the barbell. Data from the position transducer was sampled at 1000 Hz using a BioPac data acquisition system (Goleta, CA). Velocity (m.s-1) and power (W) were derived using LabView software (National Instruments, Austin, TX). One weight-trained male subject (age = 25 yrs, hgt = 1.75 m, BW = 82.6 kg, 1 RM = 161.0 kg) performed the barbell bench press exercise for 10 sets x 1 repetition at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 and 80% 1 RM loads using maximal acceleration during the concentric phase. Dependent variables included peak (PV) and X̅ velocity (MV) and peak (PP) and X̅ power (MP). Linear regressions between lab-derived and 3-D video-derived data provided correlation coefficients, and regression slopes (b). Bland-Altman plots were used to determine X̅ differences, from which effect sizes (Cohen’s D) and % error for the 3-D camera system was determined. RESULTS: Lab-derived mean values for all loads ranged as follows; MV = 0.36 – 1.00 m.s-1, PV = 0.47 – 1.60 m.s-1, MP = 460.9 – 621.6 W, and PP = 619.9 – 1055.6 W. CONCLUSION: The 3-D video markerless motion capture system provided accurate and valid barbell velocity and power data for the bench press exercise. Supported in part by Nebraska Global LL

Search for quark-lepton compositeness and a heavy W boson using the ev channel in pp(overbar) collisions at (square root)s = 1.8 TeV

We present searches for quark-lepton compositeness and a heavy W′ boson at high electron-neutrino transverse mass. We use ∼110pb-1 of data collected in pp̅ collisions at √s = 1.8TeV by the CDF Collaboration during 1992–1995. The data are consistent with standard model expectations. Limits are set on the quark-lepton compositeness scale Λ, the ratio of partial cross sections σ(W′→eν)/σ(W→eν), and the mass of a W′ boson with standard model couplings. We exclude Λ<2.81TeV and a W′ boson with mass below 754GeV/c2 at the 95% confidence level. Combining with our previously published limit obtained using the muon channel, we exclude a W′ boson with mass below 786GeV/c2 at the 95% confidence level