The Effects of Body Tempering on Force Production, Flexibility and Muscle Soreness in Collegiate Football Athletes

There has been limited research to explore the use of body tempering and when the use of this modality would be most appropriate. This study aimed to determine if a body tempering intervention would be appropriate pre-exercise by examining its effects on perceived soreness, range of motion (ROM), and force production compared to an intervention of traditional stretching. The subjects for this study were ten Division 1 (D1) football linemen from Sacred Heart University (Age: 19.9 ± 1.5 years, body mass: 130.9 ± 12.0 kg, height: 188.4 ± 5.1 cm, training age: 8.0 ± 3.5 years). Subjects participated in three sessions with the first session being baseline testing. The second and third sessions involved the participants being randomized to receive either the body tempering or stretching intervention for the second session and then receiving the other intervention the final week. Soreness using a visual analog scale (VAS), ROM, counter movement jump (CMJ) peak force and jump height, static jump (SJ) peak force and jump height, and isometric mid-thigh pull max force production were assessed. The results of the study concluded that body tempering does not have a negative effect on muscle performance but did practically reduce perceived muscle soreness. Since body tempering is effective at reducing soreness in athletes, it can be recommended for athletes as part of their pre-exercise warmup without negatively effecting isometric or dynamic force production

Stereoselective synthesis of functionalized pyrrolidines by the diverted NH insertion reaction of metallocarbenes with β-aminoketone derivatives

A highly stereoselective route to functionalized pyrrolidines from the metal catalyzed diverted N-H insertion of a range of diazocarbonyl compounds with β-aminoketone derivatives is described. A number of catalysts (rhodium(II) carboxylate dimers, copper(I) triflate and an iron(III)porphyrin) are shown to promote the process under mild conditions to give a wide range of highly substituted proline derivatives. The reaction starts with a metallocarbene N-H insertion but is diverted by an intermolecular aldol reaction

Active megadetachment beneath the western United States

Geodetic data, interpreted in light of seismic imaging, seismicity, xenolith studies, and the late Quaternary geologic history of the northern Great Basin, suggest that a subcontinental-scale extensional detachment is localized near the Moho. To first order, seismic yielding in the upper crust at any given latitude in this region occurs via an M7 earthquake every 100 years. Here we develop the hypothesis that since 1996, the region has undergone a cycle of strain accumulation and release similar to “slow slip events” observed on subduction megathrusts, but yielding occurred on a subhorizontal surface 5–10 times larger in the slip direction, and at temperatures >800°C. Net slip was variable, ranging from 5 to 10 mm over most of the region. Strain energy with moment magnitude equivalent to an M7 earthquake was released along this “megadetachment,” primarily between 2000.0 and 2005.5. Slip initiated in late 1998 to mid-1999 in northeastern Nevada and is best expressed in late 2003 during a magma injection event at Moho depth beneath the Sierra Nevada, accompanied by more rapid eastward relative displacement across the entire region. The event ended in the east at 2004.0 and in the remainder of the network at about 2005.5. Strain energy thus appears to have been transmitted from the Cordilleran interior toward the plate boundary, from high gravitational potential to low, via yielding on the megadetachment. The size and kinematic function of the proposed structure, in light of various proxies for lithospheric thickness, imply that the subcrustal lithosphere beneath Nevada is a strong, thin plate, even though it resides in a high heat flow tectonic regime. A strong lowermost crust and upper mantle is consistent with patterns of postseismic relaxation in the southern Great Basin, deformation microstructures and low water content in dunite xenoliths in young lavas in central Nevada, and high-temperature microstructures in analog surface exposures of deformed lower crust. Large-scale decoupling between crust and upper mantle is consistent with the broad distribution of strain in the upper crust versus the more localized distribution in the subcrustal lithosphere, as inferred by such proxies as low P wave velocity and mafic magmatism

Glutamatergic regulation of ghrelin-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system

Recently, we demonstrated that the central ghrelin signalling system, involving the ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1A), is important for alcohol reinforcement. Ghrelin targets a key mesolimbic circuit involved in natural as well as drug-induced reinforcement, that includes a dopamine projection from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens. The aim of the present study was to determine whether it is possible to suppress ghrelin's effects on this mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway can be suppressed, by interrupting afferent inputs to the VTA dopaminergic cells, as shown previously for cholinergic afferents. Thus, the effects of pharmacological suppression of glutamatergic, orexin A and opioid neurotransmitter systems on ghrelin-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system were investigated. We found in the present study that ghrelin-induced locomotor stimulation was attenuated by VTA administration of the N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor antagonist (AP5) but not by VTA administration of an orexin A receptor antagonist (SB334867) or by peripheral administration of an opioid receptor antagonist (naltrexone). Intra-VTA administration of AP5 also suppressed the ghrelin-induced dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Finally the effects of peripheral ghrelin on locomotor stimulation and accumbal dopamine release were blocked by intra-VTA administration of a GHS-R1A antagonist (BIM28163), indicating that GHS-R1A signalling within the VTA is required for the ghrelin-induced activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Given the clinical knowledge that hyperghrelinemia is associated with addictive behaviours (such as compulsive overeating and alcohol use disorder) our finding highlights a potential therapeutic strategy involving glutamatergic control of ghrelin action at the level of the mesolimbic dopamine system

The national portfolio for postgraduate family medicine training in South Africa : a descriptive study of acceptability, educational impact, and usefulness for assessment

Background: Since 2007 a portfolio of learning has become a requirement for assessment of postgraduate family medicine training by the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa. A uniform portfolio of learning has been developed and content validity established among the eight postgraduate programmes. The aim of this study was to investigate the portfolio's acceptability, educational impact, and perceived usefulness for assessment of competence. Methods: Two structured questionnaires of 35 closed and open-ended questions were delivered to 53 family physician supervisors and 48 registrars who had used the portfolio. Categorical and nominal/ordinal data were analysed using simple descriptive statistics. The open-ended questions were analysed with ATLAS.ti software. Results: Half of registrars did not find the portfolio clear, practical or feasible. Workshops on portfolio use, learning, and supervision were supported, and brief dedicated time daily for reflection and writing. Most supervisors felt the portfolio reflected an accurate picture of learning, but just over half of registrars agreed. While the portfolio helped with reflection on learning, participants were less convinced about how it helped them plan further learning. Supervisors graded most rotations, suggesting understanding the summative aspect, while only 61% of registrars reflected on rotations, suggesting the formative aspects are not yet optimally utilised. Poor feedback, the need for protected academic time, and pressure of service delivery impacting negatively on learning. Conclusion: This first introduction of a national portfolio for postgraduate training in family medicine in South Africa faces challenges similar to those in other countries. Acceptability of the portfolio relates to a clear purpose and guide, flexible format with tools available in the workplace, and appreciating the changing educational environment from university-based to national assessments. The role of the supervisor in direct observations of the registrar and dedicated educational meetings, giving feedback and support, cannot be overemphasized

The sensorium at work: the sensory phenomenology of the working body

The sociology of the body and the sociology of work and occupations have both neglected to some extent the study of the ‘working body’ in paid employment, particularly with regard to empirical research into the sensory aspects of working practices. This gap is perhaps surprising given how strongly the sensory dimension features in much of working life. This article is very much a first step in calling for a more phenomenological, embodied and ‘fleshy’ perspective on the body in employment, and examines some of the theoretical and conceptual resources available to researchers wishing to focus on the lived working-body experiences of the sensorium. We also consider some possible representational forms for a more evocative, phenomenologically-inspired portrayal of sensory, lived-working-body experiences, and offer suggestions for future avenues of research

Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research Consortium: Accelerating Evidence-Based Practice of Genomic Medicine

Despite rapid technical progress and demonstrable effectiveness for some types of diagnosis and therapy, much remains to be learned about clinical genome and exome sequencing (CGES) and its role within the practice of medicine. The Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (CSER) consortium includes 18 extramural research projects, one National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) intramural project, and a coordinating center funded by the NHGRI and National Cancer Institute. The consortium is exploring analytic and clinical validity and utility, as well as the ethical, legal, and social implications of sequencing via multidisciplinary approaches; it has thus far recruited 5,577 participants across a spectrum of symptomatic and healthy children and adults by utilizing both germline and cancer sequencing. The CSER consortium is analyzing data and creating publically available procedures and tools related to participant preferences and consent, variant classification, disclosure and management of primary and secondary findings, health outcomes, and integration with electronic health records. Future research directions will refine measures of clinical utility of CGES in both germline and somatic testing, evaluate the use of CGES for screening in healthy individuals, explore the penetrance of pathogenic variants through extensive phenotyping, reduce discordances in public databases of genes and variants, examine social and ethnic disparities in the provision of genomics services, explore regulatory issues, and estimate the value and downstream costs of sequencing. The CSER consortium has established a shared community of research sites by using diverse approaches to pursue the evidence-based development of best practices in genomic medicine