The differential interaction effect of mastery and performance climate on athletes’ emotional and physical exhaustion:The role of athletes’ gratitude.

Motivational climate (i.e., mastery and performance climate) has been found to shape athletes’ emotional and physical exhaustion, the core dimension of burnout. However, the interactional effect between mastery and performance climate on emotional and physical exhaustion has been rarely examined. In this study, we proposed that athletes’ gratitude will determine the interaction effect of mastery climate and performance climate on emotional and physical exhaustion. Specifically, we hypothesized that among athletes high in gratitude, mastery climate can mitigate the association between performance climate and emotional and physical exhaustion; among those low in gratitude, mastery climate can intensify the association between performance climate and emotional and physical exhaustion. Using a time-lagged survey, data from 293 athletes revealed a three-way interaction effect among mastery climate, performance climate, and gratitude. We did not find that mastery climate can mitigate the association between performance climate and emotional and physical exhaustion for those high in gratitude but found that among athletes low in gratitude, the positive association between performance climate and emotional and physical exhaustion was stronger in a higher mastery climate than in a lower mastery climate. Our study offers an interactionist perspective to help further understand the joint effect of mastery and performance climates on emotional and physical exhaustion by taking the role of individual differences into account.</p

Relationship between Obesity-related Hormone Peptides and Quality of Life in Obese Women among Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Groups

AbstractThe aim of this study was to explore the relationship between obesity-related hormone peptides and quality of life in obese women among different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome groups (證型 zhèng xíng). 260 obese women met with age between 20 and 65years old and body mass index (BMI) ≧ 27kg/m2, were recruited. The participants filled out a questionnaire on obese TCM syndrome groups, which was designed by professional TCM doctors, and two questionnaires on quality of life (QOL), WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version and MOS Short Form-12 (SF-12). Data of biochemical characteristics and obesity-related hormone peptides were collected at the same time. According to the responses provided, the obese subjects were classified into spleen deficiency with dampness encumbrance syndrome (脾虛濕阻證 pí xū shī zǔ zhèng; SDD), stomach heat with dampness encumbrance syndrome (胃熱濕阻證 wèi rè shī zǔ zhèng; SHD), liver depression and qi stagnation syndrome (肝鬱氣滯證 gān yù qì zhì zhèng; LDQ), dual spleen-kidney deficiency syndrome (脾腎兩虛證 pí shèn liǎng xū zhèng; SKD), yin deficiency with internal heat syndrome (陰虛內熱證 yīn xū nèi rè zhèng; YDI) and a control group. For physical conditions, SDD group had significantly higher means in weight and BMI compared with the control group. The insulin and leptin levels in SHD group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The LDQ group showed marked decrease in mental condition scores compared with the control group. This study found that obese women in the SDD group were fatter than those in the control group. SHD group might have greater influence on the regulation of obesity-related hormone peptides. The LDQ group had poor QOL than the control group. Analysis of TCM syndrome groups among obese women merits further investigation

Exercise Preconditioning Provides Long-Term Protection Against Early Chronic Doxorubicin Cariotoxicity

Acute doxorubicin (DOX) cardiotoxicity can be attenuated by exercise preconditioning, but little is known of whether this cardioprotection continues beyond 10 days post-DOX administration. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exercise preconditioning on early chronic DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. Male rats were randomly assigned to sedentary, treadmill, or wheel running groups. Treadmill and wheel running animals participated in a progressive treadmill training protocol or voluntary wheel running, respectively, for 10 weeks. Following the intervention, animals were further randomized to receive either DOX (sedentary + DOX, treadmill + DOX, wheel running + DOX) or saline (sedentary + saline, treadmill + saline, wheel running + saline). All animals then remained sedentary for 4 weeks. A 22% reduction in fractional shortening was observed in left ventricles from previously sedentary animals receiving DOX when compared with sedentary + saline. This degree of decline was not observed in treadmill + DOX and wheel running + DOX. Sedentary + DOX possessed significantly depressed mitral and aortic valve blood flow velocities when compared with sedentary + saline, but these decrements were not observed in treadmill + DOX and wheel running + DOX. Ex vivo analysis revealed that left ventricular developed pressure and maximal rate of pressure development were significantly lower in sedentary + DOX when compared to sedentary + saline. Treadmill and wheel running prior to DOX treatment protected against these decrements. Exercise cardioprotection was associated with preserved myosin heavy chain but not sarcoendoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2a expression. In conclusion, 10 weeks of prior exercise protected against early chronic DOX cardiotoxicity suggesting that training status may be a determining factor in the degree of late-onset cardiotoxicity experienced by cancer patients undergoing treatment with DOX

A Taiwanese Propolis Derivative Induces Apoptosis through Inducing Endoplasmic Reticular Stress and Activating Transcription Factor-3 in Human Hepatoma Cells

Activating transcription factor-(ATF-) 3, a stress-inducible transcription factor, is rapidly upregulated under various stress conditions and plays an important role in inducing cancer cell apoptosis. NBM-TP-007-GS-002 (GS-002) is a Taiwanese propolin G (PPG) derivative. In this study, we examined the antitumor effects of GS-002 in human hepatoma Hep3B and HepG2 cells in vitro. First, we found that GS-002 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis in dose-dependent manners. Several main apoptotic indicators were found in GS-002-treated cells, such as the cleaved forms of caspase-3, caspase-9, and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). GS-002 also induced endoplasmic reticular (ER) stress as evidenced by increases in ER stress-responsive proteins including glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (GADD153), phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), phosphorylated protein endoplasmic-reticular-resident kinase (PERK), and ATF-3. The induction of ATF-3 expression was mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways in GS-002-treated cells. Furthermore, we found that GS-002 induced more cell apoptosis in ATF-3-overexpressing cells. These results suggest that the induction of apoptosis by the propolis derivative, GS-002, is partially mediated through ER stress and ATF-3-dependent pathways, and GS-002 has the potential for development as an antitumor drug

Metronomic chemotherapy prevents therapy-induced stromal activation and induction of tumor-initiating cells

Although traditional chemotherapy kills a fraction of tumor cells, it also activates the stroma and can promote the growth and survival of residual cancer cells to foster tumor recurrence and metastasis. Accordingly, overcoming the host response induced by chemotherapy could substantially improve therapeutic outcome and patient survival. In this study, resistance to treatment and metastasis has been attributed to expansion of stem-like tumor-initiating cells (TICs). Molecular analysis of the tumor stroma in neoadjuvant chemotherapy–treated human desmoplastic cancers and orthotopic tumor xenografts revealed that traditional maximum-tolerated dose chemotherapy, regardless of the agents used, induces persistent STAT-1 and NF-κB activity in carcinoma-associated fibroblasts. This induction results in the expression and secretion of ELR motif–positive (ELR(+)) chemokines, which signal through CXCR-2 on carcinoma cells to trigger their phenotypic conversion into TICs and promote their invasive behaviors, leading to paradoxical tumor aggression after therapy. In contrast, the same overall dose administered as a low-dose metronomic chemotherapy regimen largely prevented therapy-induced stromal ELR(+) chemokine paracrine signaling, thus enhancing treatment response and extending survival of mice carrying desmoplastic cancers. These experiments illustrate the importance of stroma in cancer therapy and how its impact on treatment resistance could be tempered by altering the dosing schedule of systemic chemotherapy

A Comparison of Cycle Ergometer VO2max Test and On-Ice Aerobic Test on UND Women\u27s Ice Hockey Team

Due to the great increase in popularity of women’s ice hockey, it is important for coaches to have good testing and training methods in order to know their players’ on-ice fitness level. This study examined the correlation between the on-ice Reed Repeat Skating test (RSS) and the off-ice cycle ergometer VCtemax test on female collegiate ice hockey players. Twenty-one participants were tested on both tests but only fourteen participants’ data could be analyzed. The results indicated that the off-ice V02max test was not significantly correlated to RSS drop-off index (r = -0.253) and total time (r = -0.480). Player’s age, body mass, and playing position were not good indicators to predict player’s RSS drop-off index (over-20yr= 18.35 ±6.86, under-20yr = 19.02 ± 2.71; over-70kg = 18.13 ±5.07, under- 70kg = 19.01 ±5.81; F= 19.93 ± 5.76, D = 16.31 ± 3.88) and total time (over-20yr = 95.30 ± 5.00, under-20yr = 99.94 ± 2.42; over-70kg = 98.11 ± 5.28, under-70kg = 96.67 ± 4 33; F = 97.57 ± 3.48, D = 96.78 ± 6.70). R-VChmaxwas only significantly correlated to player’s body mass (over-70 = 33.28 ± 6.1 lml/kg/min, under-70 = 38.80 ± 2.49ml/kg/min) but was not significantly correlated to playing position (F = 37.07 ± 5.32 ml/kg/min, D = 35.30 ± 4.95 ml/kg/min) and age (over-20 = 38.45 ± 5.13ml/kg/min, under-20 = 33.75 ± 3.85ml/kg/min). The results suggested that the cycle ergometer V0?.max test might not be an ideal predictor of the women collegiate ice hockey players’ on-ice fitness