Implications of moderate altitude training for sea level endurance in elite distance runners

Elite distance runners participated in one of two studies designed to investigate the e ects of mod- erate altitude training (inspiratory partial pressure of oxygen »115±125 mmHg) on submaximal, maximal and supramaximal exercise performance following return to sea-level. Study 1 (New Mexico, USA) involved 14 subjects who were assigned to a 4-week altitude training camp (1500±2000 m) whilst 9 performance-matched subjects continued with an identical training programme at sea-level (CON). Ten EXP subjects who trained at 1640 m and 19 CON subjects also participated in study 2 (Krugersdorp, South Africa). Selected metabolic and cardiorespiratory parameters were determined with the subjects at rest and during exercise 21 days prior to (PRE) and 10 and 20 days following their return to sea- level (POST). Whole blood lactate decreased by 23% (P < 0.05 vs PRE) during submaximal exercise in the EXP group only after 20 days at sea-level (study 1). However, the lactate threshold and other measures of running economy remained unchanged. Similarly, su- pramaximal performance during a standardised track session did not change. Study 2 demonstrated that hypoxia per se did not alter performance. In contrast, in the EXP group supramaximal running velocity de- creased by 2% (P < 0.05) after 20 days at sea-level. Both studies were characterised by a 50% increase in the frequency of upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract infections during the altitude sojourns, and two male subjects were diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis following their return to sea-level (study 1). Group mean plasma glutamine concentrations at rest decreased by 19% or 143 (74) lM (P < 0.001) after 3 weeks at alti- tude, which may have been implicated in the increased incidence of infectious illness

Scallop swimming kinematics and muscle performance: modelling the effects of "within-animal" variation in temperature sensitivity

Escape behaviour was investigated in Queen scallops (Aequipecten opercularis) acclimated to 5, 10 or 15 degrees C and tested at their acclimation temperature. Scallops are active molluscs, able to escape from predators by jet-propelled swimming using a striated muscle working in opposition to an elastic hinge ligament. The first cycle of the escape response was recorded using high-speed video ( 250 Hz) and whole-animal velocity and acceleration determined. Muscle shortening velocity, force and power output were calculated using measurements of valve movement and jet area, and a simple biomechanical model. The average shortening speed of the adductor muscle had a Q(10) of 2.04, significantly reducing the duration of the jetting phase of the cycle with increased temperature. Muscle lengthening velocity and the overall duration of the clap cycle were changed little over the range 5 - 15 degrees C, as these parameters were controlled by the relatively temperature-insensitive, hinge ligament. Improvements in the average power output of the adductor muscle over the first clap cycle ( 222 vs. 139 W kg(-1) wet mass at 15 and 5 degrees C respectively) were not translated into proportional increases in overall swimming velocity, which was only 32% higher at 15 degrees C ( 0.37m s(-1)) than 5 degrees C (0.28 m s(-1))

Higher biodiversity is required to sustain multiple ecosystem processes across temperature regimes

Natural Environment Research Council. Grant Number: NE/D013305/

Chronic nicotine administration restores brain region specific upregulation of oxytocin receptor binding levels in a G72 mouse model of schizophrenia.

Nicotine dependence and schizophrenia are two mental health disorders with remarkably high comorbidity. Cigarette smoking is particularly prevalent among schizophrenic patients and it is hypothesized to comprise a form of self-medication for relieving cognitive deficits in these patients. Emerging evidence suggests a role of the neurohypophysial peptide oxytocin in the modulation of drug addiction, as well as schizophrenia symptomology; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Therefore, we sought to investigate the effects of chronic nicotine administration on oxytocin receptor (OTR) binding in the brain of a transgenic mouse model of schizophrenia that carries a bacterial artificial chromosome of the human G72/G30 locus (G72Tg). Female wild-type (WT) and heterozygous G72 transgenic CD-1 mice were treated with a chronic nicotine regimen (24 mg/kg/day, osmotic minipumps for 14 days) and quantitative autoradiographic mapping of oxytocin receptors was carried out in brains of these animals. OTR binding levels were higher in the cingulate cortex (CgCx), nucleus accumbens (Acb) and central amygdala (CeA) of saline treated G72Tg mice compared with WT control mice. Chronic nicotine administration reversed this upregulation in the CgCx and CeA. Interestingly, chronic nicotine administration induced an increase in OTR binding in the CeA of solely WT mice. These results indicate that nicotine administration normalizes the dysregulated central oxytocinergic system of this mouse model of schizophrenia and may contribute towards nicotine's ability to modulate cognitive deficits which are common symptoms of schizophrenia. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Systematic review of antiepileptic drugs’ safety and effectiveness in feline epilepsy

Understanding the efficacy and safety profile of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in feline epilepsy is a crucial consideration for managing this important brain disease. However, there is a lack of information about the treatment of feline epilepsy and therefore a systematic review was constructed to assess current evidence for the AEDs’ efficacy and tolerability in cats. The methods and materials of our former systematic reviews in canine epilepsy were mostly mirrored for the current systematic review in cats. Databases of PubMed, CAB Direct and Google scholar were searched to detect peer-reviewed studies reporting efficacy and/or adverse effects of AEDs in cats. The studies were assessed with regards to their quality of evidence, i.e. study design, study population, diagnostic criteria and overall risk of bias and the outcome measures reported, i.e. prevalence and 95% confidence interval of the successful and affected population in each study and in total

Enrichment of antioxidant capacity and vitamin E in pita made from barley

This study aimed to enhance total antioxidant and vitamin E content of pita bread, by replacing 50% of the standard baker's flour with flours milled from covered (WI2585 and Harrington) or hulless (Finniss) barley genotypes, previously shown to have high antioxidant and vitamin E levels at harvest. Pita breads were made from either 100% baker's flour (control) or 50% malt flour, whole-grain flour, or flour from barley grains pearled at 10%, 15%, and 20% grain weight. Antioxidant capacity and vitamin E content of flours and pitas were determined by their ability to scavenge 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The physical and sensory properties of the pitas were also assessed. All pitas made from either whole grain or pearled barley flour had a higher antioxidant capacity and most also had higher vitamin E content than standard pita. The antioxidant and vitamin E levels were reduced in pearled compared to whole grains, however the extent of that reduction varied among genotypes. The greatest antioxidant and vitamin E levels were found in pita made from malt flour or Finniss whole grain flour. Furthermore, sensory analysis suggested these pitas were acceptable to consumers and retained similar physical and sensory properties to those in the control pita.Thi Thu Dung Do, Beverly Muhlhausler, Amanda Box and Amanda J. Abl

Review of consenting processes for ocean energy in selected European Union Member States

Abstract Consenting is still generally regarded as a non-technological barrier to the progress of the marine renewable energy industry, caused by the complexity of consenting processes and the lack of dedicated legal frameworks. Existing consenting systems for ocean energy projects tend to be based on procedures designed for other sectors and are seen as inappropriate for the specific needs of ocean energy. Licensing procedures are also viewed by developers as time-consuming because regulators see ocean energy as a new activity with unknown or uncertain effects and consequently often apply strong interpretation of the precautionary principle. Consenting processes for ocean energy are, nevertheless, evolving throughout Europe, driven by national and European policies and incentives on renewables, changing legal and administrative frameworks to facilitate development and more integrated marine governance. This review compares the consenting processes for ocean energy in different European countries, focusing on aspects thought to hamper operation of the process. It shows that different systems of governance across the EU Member States have resulted in diversity in the design of consenting processes, though common features can also be identified. This evidence-based review enables suggestions for streamlining consenting processes for wave energy.</p

Potentiation of thrombus instability: a contributory mechanism to the effectiveness of antithrombotic medications

© The Author(s) 2018The stability of an arterial thrombus, determined by its structure and ability to resist endogenous fibrinolysis, is a major determinant of the extent of infarction that results from coronary or cerebrovascular thrombosis. There is ample evidence from both laboratory and clinical studies to suggest that in addition to inhibiting platelet aggregation, antithrombotic medications have shear-dependent effects, potentiating thrombus fragility and/or enhancing endogenous fibrinolysis. Such shear-dependent effects, potentiating the fragility of the growing thrombus and/or enhancing endogenous thrombolytic activity, likely contribute to the clinical effectiveness of such medications. It is not clear how much these effects relate to the measured inhibition of platelet aggregation in response to specific agonists. These effects are observable only with techniques that subject the growing thrombus to arterial flow and shear conditions. The effects of antithrombotic medications on thrombus stability and ways of assessing this are reviewed herein, and it is proposed that thrombus stability could become a new target for pharmacological intervention.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

New Constraints (and Motivations) for Abelian Gauge Bosons in the MeV-TeV Mass Range

We survey the phenomenological constraints on abelian gauge bosons having masses in the MeV to multi-GeV mass range (using precision electroweak measurements, neutrino-electron and neutrino-nucleon scattering, electron and muon anomalous magnetic moments, upsilon decay, beam dump experiments, atomic parity violation, low-energy neutron scattering and primordial nucleosynthesis). We compute their implications for the three parameters that in general describe the low-energy properties of such bosons: their mass and their two possible types of dimensionless couplings (direct couplings to ordinary fermions and kinetic mixing with Standard Model hypercharge). We argue that gauge bosons with very small couplings to ordinary fermions in this mass range are natural in string compactifications and are likely to be generic in theories for which the gravity scale is systematically smaller than the Planck mass - such as in extra-dimensional models - because of the necessity to suppress proton decay. Furthermore, because its couplings are weak, in the low-energy theory relevant to experiments at and below TeV scales the charge gauged by the new boson can appear to be broken, both by classical effects and by anomalies. In particular, if the new gauge charge appears to be anomalous, anomaly cancellation does not also require the introduction of new light fermions in the low-energy theory. Furthermore, the charge can appear to be conserved in the low-energy theory, despite the corresponding gauge boson having a mass. Our results reduce to those of other authors in the special cases where there is no kinetic mixing or there is no direct coupling to ordinary fermions, such as for recently proposed dark-matter scenarios.Comment: 49 pages + appendix, 21 figures. This is the final version which appears in JHE

Host genotype and time dependent antigen presentation of viral peptides: predictions from theory

The rate of progression of HIV infected individuals to AIDS is known to vary with the genotype of the host, and is linked to their allele of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) proteins, which present protein degradation products at the cell surface to circulating T-cells. HLA alleles are associated with Gag-specific T-cell responses that are protective against progression of the disease. While Pol is the most conserved HIV sequence, its association with immune control is not as strong. To gain a more thorough quantitative understanding of the factors that contribute to immunodominance, we have constructed a model of the recognition of HIV infection by the MHC class I pathway. Our model predicts surface presentation of HIV peptides over time, demonstrates the importance of viral protein kinetics, and provides evidence of the importance of Gag peptides in the long-term control of HIV infection. Furthermore, short-term dynamics are also predicted, with simulation of virion-derived peptides suggesting that efficient processing of Gag can lead to a 50% probability of presentation within 3 hours post-infection, as observed experimentally. In conjunction with epitope prediction algorithms, this modelling approach could be used to refine experimental targets for potential T-cell vaccines, both for HIV and other viruses