Sex Differences with Aging in the Fatigability of Dynamic Contractions

This study determined the sex difference with aging in fatigability of the elbow flexor muscles during a dynamic fatiguing task, and explored the associated mechanisms. We compared fatigability of the elbow flexor muscles in 18 young (20.2 ± 1 years: 9 men) and 36 old adults (73.5 ± 1 years: 16 men) during and in recovery from repeated dynamic contractions (~ 60°/s) with a load equivalent to 20% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque until failure. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to assess supraspinal fatigue (an increase in the superimposed twitch, SIT) and the peak rate of muscle relaxation. Time to failure was briefer for the men than the women (6.1 ± 2.1 vs. 9.7 ± 5.5 min, respectively; P = 0.02) with no difference between young and old adults (7.2 ± 2.9 vs. 8.4 ± 5.2 min, respectively, P = 0.45) and no interaction (P \u3e 0.05). The relative decline in peak relaxation rate with fatigability was similar for young and old adults (P = 0.11), but greater for men than women (P = 0.046). Supraspinal fatigue increased for all groups and was associated with the time to failure (P \u3c 0.05). Regression analysis however, indicated that the time to failure was best predicted by the peak relaxation rate (baseline values and slowing with fatigability) (r2 = 0.55). Rate-limiting contractile mechanisms (e.g. excitation–contraction coupling) were responsible for the increased fatigability of the elbow flexors of men compared with women for a dynamic fatiguing task of slow angular velocity, and this sex difference was maintained with aging. The age difference in fatigability for the dynamic task was diminished for both sexes relative to what is typically observed with isometric fatiguing contractions

Stroke-related Effects on Maximal Dynamic Hip Flexor Fatigability and Functional Implications

Introduction: Stroke-related changes in maximal dynamic hip flexor muscle fatigability may be more relevant functionally than isometric hip flexor fatigability. Methods: Ten chronic stroke survivors performed 5 sets of 30 hip flexion maximal dynamic voluntary contractions (MDVC). A maximal isometric voluntary contraction (MIVC) was performed before and after completion of the dynamic contractions. Both the paretic and nonparetic legs were tested. Results: Reduction in hip flexion MDVC torque in the paretic leg (44.7%) was larger than the nonparetic leg (31.7%). The paretic leg had a larger reduction in rectus femoris EMG (28.9%) between the first and last set of MDVCs than the nonparetic leg (7.4%). Reduction in paretic leg MDVC torque was correlated with self-selected walking speed (r2 = 0.43), while reduction in MIVC torque was not (r2 = 0.11). Conclusions: Reductions in maximal dynamic torque of paretic hip flexors may be a better predictor of walking function than reductions in maximal isometric contractions

Measurement of elastic J / psi photoproduction at HERA

The reaction gamma p -> J/Psi p has been studied in ep interactions using the ZEUS detector at HERA. The cross section for elastic J/Psi photoproduction has been measured as a function of the photon-proton centre of mass energy W in the range 40 < W < 140 GeV at a median photon virtuality Q^2 of 5*10^{-5} GeV^2. The photoproduction cross section, sigma_{gamma p -> J/Psi p}, is observed to rise steeply with W. A fit to the data presented in this paper to determine the parameter $\delta$ in the form sigma_{gamma p -> J/Psi p} \propto W^{\delta} yields the value \delta = 0.92 \pm 0.14 \pm 0.10. The differential cross section dsigma/d|t| is presented over the range |t| < 1.0 GeV^2 where t is the square of the four-momentum exchanged at the proton vertex. d\sigma/d|t| falls exponentially with a slope parameter of 4.6 \pm 0.4 (+0.4-0.6) GeV^{-2}. The measured decay angular distributions are consistent with s-channel helicity conservation.Comment: Replacement has an updated author list. 32 pages, 5 figures, Latex, Submitted to Z. Phys.