Exercise-Induced Glycogen Reduction Increases Muscle Activity

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 was collected from the vastus lateralis. Repeated measures regression models indicated that EMG amplitudes were elevated at cycling workloads higher than 196 Watts and metabolic workloads higher than 40.8 ml/kg/min, corresponding to 77% VO2max. There was no effect of increases in workload or glycogen reduction on EMG median frequency. Changes in mechanical and metabolic workload had a substantial effect on EMG amplitude (Cohen’s f2 = 0.227 and 0.247, respectively), but not median frequency (Cohen’s f2 = 0.026 and 0.033, respectively). Thus, EMG amplitude is a more effective and reliable measure to examine changes in motor drive during variable workload conditions and metabolic perturbations. The results suggest that healthy glycogen reduced humans require higher levels of muscle activity in order to attain a given mechanical and metabolic workload. This may affect the long term performance of professional and military athletes who need to be able to perform at a high level for extended periods of activity

Physicians' values and their career stage

Professional values of 241 practicing physicians were determined from factor analyzing their responses to 25 questionnaire items dealing with an ideal medical school in their vicinity. The seven factors (values)--(1) Academic, (2) Professional Separatism, (3) Support, (4) Social Welfare, (5) Research/Specialization, (6) Status/ Prestige, and (7) Convenience--were examined for their relationship to background characteristics (e.g., training) and practice (e.g., specialty). Few differences were found. However, when values were analyzed by age and career stage, significant fluctuations were found. Levinson's adult development theory was able to account for a sizeable portion of the observed variations. Practical and theoretical consequences are discussed in connection with physician stress at critical career stages.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25255/1/0000698.pd

Handbook of Test Methods for Evaluating Chemical Deicers

This handbook contains a structured selection of specific test methods for complete characterization of deicing chemicals. Sixty-two specific test methods are defined for the evaluation of chemical deicers in eight principal property performance areas: 1) physicochemical characteristics; 2) deicing performance; 3) compatibility with bare and coated metals in concrete; 5) compatibility with concrete and nonmetals; 6) engineering parameters; 7) ecological effects; and 8) health and safety aspects. The 62 specific chemical deicer test methods are composed of 12 primary and 50 supplementary test methods. The primary test methods, which were developed for conducting the more important evaluations, are identified as follows: 1) ice melting tests for liquid and solid deicers; 2) ice penetration tests for liquid and solid deicers; 3) ice undercutting tests for liquid and solid deicers; 4) bare metal corrosion test; 5) concrete degradation test; 6) concrete scaling test; 7) friction characterization test; 8) ecological effects tests; and 9) rebar in concrete corrosion test. xx

Kinks in the Presence of Rapidly Varying Perturbations

Dynamics of sine-Gordon kinks in the presence of rapidly varying periodic perturbations of different physical origins is described analytically and numerically. The analytical approach is based on asymptotic expansions, and it allows to derive, in a rigorous way, an effective nonlinear equation for the slowly varying field component in any order of the asymptotic procedure as expansions in the small parameter $\omega^{-1}$, $\omega$ being the frequency of the rapidly varying ac driving force. Three physically important examples of such a dynamics, {\em i.e.}, kinks driven by a direct or parametric ac force, and kinks on rotating and oscillating background, are analysed in detail. It is shown that in the main order of the asymptotic procedure the effective equation for the slowly varying field component is {\em a renormalized sine-Gordon equation} in the case of the direct driving force or rotating (but phase-locked to an external ac force) background, and it is {\em the double sine-Gordon equation} for the parametric driving force. The properties of the kinks described by the renormalized nonlinear equations are analysed, and it is demonstrated analytically and numerically which kinds of physical phenomena may be expected in dealing with the renormalized, rather than the unrenormalized, nonlinear dynamics. In particular, we predict several qualitatively new effects which include, {\em e.g.}, the perturbation-inducedComment: New copy of the paper of the above title to replace the previous one, lost in the midst of the bulletin board. RevTeX 3.

The Unique Origin of Colors of Armchair Carbon Nanotubes

The colors of suspended metallic colloidal particles are determined by their size-dependent plasma resonance, while those of semiconducting colloidal particles are determined by their size-dependent band gap. Here, we present a novel case for armchair carbon nanotubes, suspended in aqueous medium, for which the color depends on their size-dependent excitonic resonance, even though the individual particles are metallic. We observe distinct colors of a series of armchair-enriched nanotube suspensions, highlighting the unique coloration mechanism of these one-dimensional metals.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Octahedral Trifluoromagnesate, an Anomalous Metal Fluoride Species, Stabilizes the Transition State in a Biological Motor

Isoelectronic metal fluoride transition state analogue (TSA) complexes, MgF3- and AlF4-, have proven to be immensely useful in understanding mechanisms of biological motors utilizing phosphoryl transfer. Here we report a previously unobserved octahedral TSA complex, MgF3(H2O)-, in a 1.5 Å resolution Zika virus NS3 helicase crystal structure. 19F NMR provided independent validation and also the direct observation of conformational tightening resulting from ssRNA binding in solution. The TSA stabilizes the two conformations of motif V of the helicase that link ATP hydrolysis with mechanical work. DFT analysis further validated the MgF3(H2O)- species, indicating the significance of this TSA for studies of biological motors

An appropriate tool for entrepreneurial learning in SMEs? The case of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme

The 20Twenty Leadership Programme was developed by Cardiff Metropolitan University as an executive education programme to be delivered within South Wales to small businesses. It is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and administered by the Welsh European Funding Office and has the key aim of developing SME’s growth potential via a range of leadership and management skills, including a focus on ‘soft’ skills. The focus of this paper is to place the 20Twenty Leadership Programme within the wider context of entrepreneurship policy and SME training initiatives in particular, and then to examine the rationale and delivery methods of the Programme in relation to these. It also reflects on the Programme’s success (or otherwise) to date where possible. Finally, the paper seeks to suggest fruitful areas of further research both in terms of the 20Twenty Leadership Programme itself, but also with regard to evaluation in relation to other parallel programmes, and to SME training initiatives more generally

The dimensions of academic scholarship: Faculty and administrator views

Faculty and administrators responded to 32 activity statements related to “scholarship” on a frequency basis and on the characteristicness of the role. Approximately 1,000 faculty members in 24 colleges and universities and 55 administrators from 5 of the schools participated. Factor analysis revealed 6 dimensions of scholarship — professional activity, research (publishing), teaching, service, artistic endeavor, and “engagement with the novel,” the last being a new conception, one valued highly by both faculty and administrators in all types of colleges and universities. Significant differences appeared with respect to faculty and administrative views on the importance of research in regional universities.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43591/1/11162_2004_Article_BF00992038.pd

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing