The effects of eccentric exercise on delayed onset muscle soreness, muscle function and free radical production

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a muscle strain injury that presents as tender or aching muscles, often felt during palpation or movement. DOMS is associated with unaccustomed, high-force muscular work and is most pronounced if the work involves a significant eccentric component. Despite substantial research into DOMS its aetiology is still unresolved. There have been recent suggestions that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be involved in the aetiology of DOMS, however the evidence for this association is equivocal. Therefore, the aims of this thesis were to investigate the effects of unaccustomed exercise (downhill running) on DOMS, specifically investigating the role of ROS in its aetiology. Once this had been established, the effects of dietary intervention and antioxidant supplementation on DOMS and ROS were also investigated. Study 1 demonstrated that downhill running, which resulted in DOMS, also induced the production of ROS, detected by ESR spectroscopy as well as an increases in serum malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. It was noted that this increase in ROS occurred -72 h post exercise and was therefore likely to be a result of increased phagocyte activity. Furthermore, the increase in ROS occurred after peak DOMS and when muscle function (as determined by losses of muscle torque assessed by isokinetic dynamometry) was returning to pre-exercise levels, suggesting a temporal dissociation between ROS production and DOMS following downhill running. Circulating levels of ROS were still increasing 72 h post exercise so this study was unable to map the full time-course of ROS production following downhill running. Study 2 investigated the effects of dietary CHO intake on DOMS, ROS and muscle function. It was found that pre-exercise CHO status had no effect on ROS production, DOMS or losses of muscle function following downhill running. The study demonstrated a bi-phasic increase in creatine kinase (CK), with the second increase corresponding with the post-exercise ROS production. The study extended the postexercise sampling period to 96 h, however, ROS were still increasing at this time and therefore this study was also unable to conclude a definitive tune course of ROS production following downhill running. Study 3 demonstrated that prolonged ascorbic acid supplementation attenuated the post-exercise increase in ROS production compared to placebo. This attenuation in ROS prevented the secondary peak in CK activity, however it had no effect on DOMS. Interestingly, supplementation with ascorbic acid resulted in more prolonged losses of muscle function. ROS peaked at 96 h post exercise and therefore the time course ofROS production following downhill running was established. From these studies it was concluded that downhill running did result in post-exercise ROS production. This post-exercise ROS production was associated with secondary muscle damage as measured by plasma CK activity although it had no effect on DOMS. Since supplementation with ascorbic acid attenuated ROS production and prolonged the losses of muscle function, it was suggested that ROS produced by phagocytes m the days following muscle-damaging exercise have a positive role in assisting in the recovery from the traum

The First Direct Distance and Luminosity Determination for a Self-Luminous Giant Exoplanet: The Trigonometric Parallax to 2MASS1207334-393254Ab

We present the first trigonometric parallax and distance for a young planetary mass object. A likely TW Hya cluster member, 2MASSW J1207334-393254Ab (hereafter 2M1207Ab) is an M8 brown dwarf with a mid to late L type planetary mass companion. Recent observations of spectral variability have uncovered clear signs of disk accretion and outflow, constraining the age of the system to <10 Myr. Because of its late spectral type and the clearly youthful nature of the system, 2M1207b is very likely a planetary mass object. We have measured the first accurate distance and luminosity for a self-luminous planetary mass object. Our parallax measurements are accurate to <2 mas (1sigma) for 2M1207Ab. With 11 total epochs of data taken from January 2006 through April 2 007 (475 images for 2M1207Ab), we determine a distance of 58.8+-7.0 pc (17.0{+2.3}{-1.8} mas, 1.28sigma) to 2M1207Ab and a calculated luminosity of 0.68-2.2x10^-5 Lsun for 2M1207b. Hence 2M1207Ab is a clear member of the TW Hya cluster in terms of its distance, proper motions, and youthful nature. However, as previously noted by Mohanty and co-workers, 2M1207b's luminosity appears low compared to its temperature according to evolutionary models.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted to ApJ Letter

Developing digital interventions: a methodological guide.

Digital interventions are becoming an increasingly popular method of delivering healthcare as they enable and promote patient self-management. This paper provides a methodological guide to the processes involved in developing effective digital interventions, detailing how to plan and develop such interventions to avoid common pitfalls. It demonstrates the need for mixed qualitative and quantitative methods in order to develop digital interventions which are effective, feasible, and acceptable to users and stakeholders

Production of scalar KKˉK\bar K molecules in ϕ\phi radiative decays

The potentialities of the production of the scalar $K\bar K$ molecules in the $\phi$ radiative decays are considered beyond the narrow resonance width approximation. It is shown that $BR(\phi\rightarrow\gamma f_0(a_0)\rightarrow\gamma\pi\pi(\pi\eta))\approx (1\div 2)\times 10^{-5}\ ,\BR(\phi\rightarrow\gamma (f_0+a_0)\rightarrow\gamma K^+K^-)\alt 10^{-6}$and$BR(\phi\rightarrow\gamma (f_0+a_0) \to \gamma K^0\bar K^0)\alt 10^{-8}$. The mass spectra in the$\pi\pi\ ,\ \pi\eta\ ,\ K^+K^-\ ,\ K^0\bar K^0$channels are calculated. The imaginary part of the amplitude$\phi\rightarrow\gamma f_0(a_0)$is calculated analytically. It is obtained the phase of the scalar resonance production amplitude that causes the interference patterns in the reaction$e^+e^-\rightarrow\gamma \pi^+\pi^-$in the$\phi$ meson mass region.Comment: 19 pages, revtex, 4 eps files of figure

Age- and activity-related differences in the abundance of Myosin essential and regulatory light chains in human muscle

Traditional methods for phenotyping skeletal muscle (e.g., immunohistochemistry) are labor-intensive and ill-suited to multixplex analysis, i.e., assays must be performed in a series. Addressing these concerns represents a largely unmet research need but more comprehensive parallel analysis of myofibrillar proteins could advance knowledge regarding age- and activity-dependent changes in human muscle. We report a label-free, semi-automated and time efficient LC-MS proteomic workflow for phenotyping the myofibrillar proteome. Application of this workflow in old and young as well as trained and untrained human skeletal muscle yielded several novel observations that were subsequently verified by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM).We report novel data demonstrating that human ageing is associated with lesser myosin light chain 1 content and greater myosin light chain 3 content, consistent with an age-related reduction in type II muscle fibers. We also disambiguate conflicting data regarding myosin regulatory light chain, revealing that age-related changes in this protein more closely reflect physical activity status than ageing per se. This finding reinforces the need to control for physical activity levels when investigating the natural process of ageing. Taken together, our data confirm and extend knowledge regarding age- and activity-related phenotypes. In addition, the MRM transitions described here provide a methodological platform that can be fine-tuned to suite multiple research needs and thus advance myofibrillar phenotyping

A lattice determination of moments of unpolarised nucleon structure functions using improved Wilson fermions

Within the framework of quenched lattice QCD and using O(a) improved Wilson fermions and non-perturbative renormalisation, a high statistics computation of low moments of the unpolarised nucleon structure functions is given. Particular attention is paid to the chiral and continuum extrapolations.Comment: LaTeX, 66 pages, 22 figure

The basic chemistry of exercise-induced DNA oxidation:oxidative damage, redox signalling and their interplay

Acute exercise increases reactive oxygen and nitrogen species generation. This phenomenon is associated with two major outcomes: (1) redox signalling and (2) macromolecule damage. Mechanistic knowledge of how exercise-induced redox signalling and macromolecule damage are interlinked is limited. This review focuses on the interplay between exercise-induced redox signalling and DNA damage, using hydroxyl radical (·OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as exemplars. It is postulated that the biological fate of H2O2 links the two processes and thus represents a bifurcation point between redox signalling and damage. Indeed, H2O2 can participate in two electron signalling reactions but its diffusion and chemical properties permit DNA oxidation following reaction with transition metals and ·OH generation. It is also considered that the sensing of DNA oxidation by repair proteins constitutes a non-canonical redox signalling mechanism. Further layers of interaction are provided by the redox regulation of DNA repair proteins and their capacity to modulate intracellular H2O2 levels. Overall, exercise-induced redox signalling and DNA damage may be interlinked to a greater extent than was previously thought but this requires further investigation

Indoor Carbon Monoxide: A Case Study in England for Detection and Interventions to Reduce Population Exposure

Background. Potential exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) in private homes is largely unquantified. Aim. To estimate prevalence of potential exposure to CO in residential dwellings and describe associated interventions in an inner-city community. Methods. A housing association in London, Hackney Homes, began fitting CO alarms in the 22,831 local authority homes it is responsible for in January 2010. A gas engineer investigated each alarm activation and recorded the information on a standard form. We undertook a cross-sectional study of all 22,831 homes, using data from these forms. Descriptive analysis was performed, including incidence, monthly variation, cause of alarm activation, and actions taken. Results. Between November 2011 and April 2012, 106 incidents were reported. Of these, 34.6% identified an issue with a gas appliance, and 10.6% identified misuse of cooking methods as the cause of activation. Relevant interventions were put in place, including disconnection of the gas appliance and education around cooking methods. Discussion. Little is known about the burden of CO poisoning in residential dwellings. This study provides important information on the path to quantifying population exposure to CO as well as establishing a possible approach to access this key information and realistic interventions to reduce potential exposure

Mass Predictions for Pseudoscalar JPC=0−+J^{PC}=0^{-+} Charmonium and Bottomonium Hybrids in QCD Sum-Rules

Masses of the pseudoscalar $(J^{PC}=0^{-+})$ charmonium and bottomonium hybrids are determined using QCD Laplace sum-rules. The effects of the dimension-six gluon condensate are included in our analysis and result in a stable sum-rule analysis, whereas previous studies of these states were unable to optimize mass predictions. The pseudoscalar charmonium hybrid is predicted to have a mass of approximately 3.8 GeV and the corresponding bottomonium prediction is 10.6 GeV. Calculating the full correlation function, rather than only the imaginary part, is shown to be necessary for accurate formulation of the sum-rules. The charmonium hybrid mass prediction is discussed within the context of the X Y Z resonances.Comment: 10 pages, 7 embedded figures. Analysis extended and refined in v