Efficacy of a Motivational Video on Heart Rate, RPE, and Total Work Performed During Stationary Cycling

Sedentary lifestyles are a very common way of life for 21st century Americans. Lack of enjoyment and motivation are two common factors that deter people from engaging in physical activity and exercise on a regular basis (1). However, it has been found that visual stimulation may help motivate or distract from exertion (2–4). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of watching a motivational video (Tour de France (MV)) versus a calming video (Bob Ross painting (PV)) while cycling. Ten recreationally active subjects from the University of Lynchburg staff, faculty, and student population partook in a within-subjects experimental design. All subjects completed two randomized sessions on a stationary bike at a moderate intensity for twenty minutes with at least 48 hours between sessions. Subjects watched Bob Ross painting (PV) in one session and the Tour de France (MV) in another. The motivational video significantly improved mileage completed (8.01 m ± 0.89 vs 6.95 m ± 1.05, p = 0.004), but had no effect on HR or RPE (p \u3e0.05). Subjects were able to enhance performance while watching a motivational cycling video during exercise but did not perceive an increase in effort or intensity while doing so

TRACKING PLANT VIRUS INFECTIONS THROUGH MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS: A SEARCH FOR SOURCES OF NONPERSISTENT VIRUS VECTORS AND RESERVOIRS AT LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCALES

My dissertation explores the ecology of aphid-vectored viruses in Midwestern cucurbits; in particular, it focuses on identifying source populations of vectors and virus reservoirs within fields and interactions of vector aphids with land cover surrounding and within fields. Initially, I identified the most commonly occurring viruses and aphid species associated with virus infections in pumpkin fields located across Indiana. This was done by assaying cucurbit leaf tissue with multiplex-rt-PCR targeting all four aphid-vectored, nonpersistent viruses found in cucurbits (papaya ringspot virus type-W, watermelon mosaic virus type-2, zucchini yellow mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus) and concurrently monitoring aphid species alightment in fields throughout Indiana. Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) was the most common infection, detected in all but one field across both years. Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) was also detected in many fields, but not zucchini mosaic virus or cucumber mosaic virus. Therioaphis trifolii and Aphis craccivora were positively associated with PRSV, and Aphis nerii with WMV. Rhopalosiphum padi was negatively associated with WMV. No relationship between total aphid or noncolonizing species counts was found with virus infection, and an increase in total colonizing species (Aphis gossypii) trapped in fields predicted a decrease in PRSV infection. Negative relationships between aphid species alightment and virus infection in fields could result from a virus-induced reduction in pumpkin plant quality, thereby reducing abundance of a colonizing species within the field. Other virus-mediated effects in pumpkins could reduce aphid attraction to pumpkin fields as well, such as modification of the olfactory stimuli detectable by airborne aphids. I also inventoried weed species within fields and assayed samples for virus content, to investigate weed cover contributions to vector behavior or as host to virus or vector. Using land cover data from the National Land Cover Database, relationships among virus, aphid

Mapping of mutants resistant to p-fluorophenylalanine in diploid Aspergillus nidulans, lethal in haploids

In a previous paper (Babudri and Morpurgo 1990 Curr. Genet. 17:519-522) we described a new class of para-fluorophenylalanine (FPA) resistant mutants in Aspergillus nidulans. These mutants were obtained by plating UV irradiated diploid conidia on minimal medium (MM) supplemented with FPA (0.188 mg/ml)

S-100a0 protein stimulates Ca2+ -induced Ca2+ release from isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles

AbstractS-100a0 protein, the αα-isoform of the S-100 family, stimulates Ca2+ -induced Ca2+ release from terminal cisternae isolated from rat skeletal muscle cells. The stimulatory effect of S-100a0 is maximal at ∼5 μM S-100a0 and half maximal at ∼0.1 μM S-100a0, at 1.8 μM free Ca2+ in the presence of 5 mM Mg2+ plus 0.1 M KCl. The effect of the protein on Ca2+ -induced Ca2+ release is completely inhibted by the calcium release blocker, ruthenium red

Crop Pests and Predators Exhibit Inconsistent Responses to Surrounding Landscape Composition

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies

Crop pests and predators exhibit inconsistent responses to surrounding landscape composition

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies

Efficacy of a Motivational Video on Heart Rate, RPE, and Total Work Performed During Stationary Cycling

Sedentary lifestyles are a staple among the stereotypes of 21st century Americans. Lack of enjoyment and motivation are often two common factors that deter people from engaging in physical activity and exercise on a regular basis. However, it has been found that visual stimulation may help either distract and/or motivate people from thinking about exertion levels associated with exercise (1–3). The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of watching a motivational video (Tour de France (MV)) versus watching a calming video (Bob Ross painting (PV)) while cycling. A minimum of ten recreationally active subjects from the University of Lynchburg staff, faculty, and student population partook in a within-subjects experimental design. All subjects completed two sessions of biking at a moderate intensity on a cycle ergometer for twenty minutes with at least 48 hours between sessions. The two sessions were randomized. In one session, subjects watched a video of Bob Ross painting video (PV). In the other session, subjects watched a Tour de France video designed to provide motivation during exercise (MV). Preliminary results appear to agree with the hypothesis that heart and total work performed will be significantly better in the MV condition compared to PV

Electronic and Vibrational Spectroscopy of Perylene Diimide and Oligothiophene Triplet Excited States

The identification and characterization of excited states in conjugated organic molecules have been active areas of fundamental research for decades. Recent interest has been spurred by emerging applications in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). Among the most important fundamental questions are the diffusion rates of excited states in organic molecular materials, as well as the size (spatial extent) of excited states. Triplet excited states have been a particular focus, in part because of the long lifetimes and transport distances of these species, as well as the fact that they are the products of singlet exciton fission. In this dissertation, the structures and dynamics of excited states were probed in two important families of organic molecules: perylene-3, 4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PDI), and oligothiophene. The vibrational spectrum of a PDI triplet excited state is reported for the first time. Several enhanced bands in the 1300--1600 cm⁻¹ region are readily distinguished from bands of the ground state, and the triplet spectrum is expected to be a useful reference for further studies of these excitons in PDI materials. Additionally, the diffusion constant and diffusion length (25 nm) for a singlet excited state in a PDI aggregate are derived from an analysis of exciton-exciton annihilation kinetics recorded by transient absorption spectroscopy. The triplet excited states for a series of solvated oligothiophenes with 3 to 9 rings are probed with transient resonance Raman spectroscopy. The spectra evolve significantly up to a chain length of 7 units. This length is inferred to be the natural extent of the triplet excited state for long thiophene oligomers or polythiophene at room temperature in solution. The effect of substituents was also elucidated in this stud