The Effects of a Short-Term Endurance Training Program with Blood Flow Restriction Cuffs Versus ACSM Recommended Endurance Training on Arterial Compliance and Muscular Adaptations in Recreationally Active Males

RESULTS: Significant time and group interaction found in cardiac ejection time (p\u3c.05). Significant condition difference between blood flow restriction (BFR) and control for heart rate (HR) max (p=.05) and maximum oxygen consumption (VO2) (p\u3c.05). Significant time difference found in pulse wave velocity femoral to distal (p\u3c.05). Significant repetition main effect (p\u3c.01) for root mean square (RMS) and median frequency (MDF) of Thorstensson. Significant time and group interaction in vastus lateralis of MDF (p\u3c.01). Significant repetition main effect for RMS and MDF ratio (p\u3c.01) Significant time and repetition interaction in vastus lateralis of RMS ratio (p\u3c.03) CONCLUSION: The BFR session showed improvement in both post HR max and post VO2 in comparison to the control group. This may have been caused by increased tolerance to pain/metabolic by-products for HR and increased efficiency at extracting oxygen for VO

Analysis of Probabilistic Basic Parallel Processes

Basic Parallel Processes (BPPs) are a well-known subclass of Petri Nets. They are the simplest common model of concurrent programs that allows unbounded spawning of processes. In the probabilistic version of BPPs, every process generates other processes according to a probability distribution. We study the decidability and complexity of fundamental qualitative problems over probabilistic BPPs -- in particular reachability with probability 1 of different classes of target sets (e.g. upward-closed sets). Our results concern both the Markov-chain model, where processes are scheduled randomly, and the MDP model, where processes are picked by a scheduler.Comment: This is the technical report for a FoSSaCS'14 pape

Genome-Wide Association Study and Subsequent Exclusion of ATCAY as a Candidate Gene Involved in Equine Neuroaxonal Dystrophy Using Two Animal Models.

Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder of unknown etiology. Clinical signs of neurological deficits develop within the first year of life in vitamin E (vitE) deficient horses. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was carried out using 670,000 SNP markers in 27 case and 42 control Quarter Horses. Two markers, encompassing a 2.5 Mb region on ECA7, were associated with the phenotype (p = 2.05 × 10-7 and 4.72 × 10-6). Within this region, caytaxin (ATCAY) was identified as a candidate gene due to its known role in Cayman Ataxia and ataxic/dystonic phenotypes in mouse models. Whole-genome sequence data in four eNAD/EDM and five unaffected horses identified 199 associated variants within the ECA7 region. MassARRAY® genotyping was performed on these variants within the GWAS population. The three variants within ATCAY were not concordant with the disease phenotype. No difference in expression or alternative splicing was identified using qRT-PCR in brainstem across the ATCAY transcript. Atcayji-hes mice were then used to conduct functional analysis in a second animal model. Histologic lesions were not identified in the central nervous system of Atcayji-hes mice. Additionally, supplementation of homozygous Atcayji-hes mice with 600 IU/day of dl-α-tocopheryl acetate (vitE) during gestation, lactation, and adulthood did not improve the phenotype. ATCAY has therefore been excluded as a candidate gene for eNAD/EDM

Acute Effects of Aerobic Exercise with Blood Flow Restriction on Pulse Wave Velocity in Females

PURPOSE: To investigate the acute effects of a 20-minute walk/run at 40% VO2 with and without blood flow restriction on pulse wave velocity (PWV). METHODS: Seventeen female subjects, between the ages of 18 and 40, signed informed consent and were familiarized with the study protocol, on the same day measurements were assessed: height, weight, body composition, and thigh circumference. Followed by each subject performing the Bruce Protocol on a treadmill. Subjects were asked to come back to the lab hydrated and 8 hours fasted on two different days (separated by at least 48 hours). After reaching hydration, participants were asked to lie down in the supine position for a minimum of 10 minutes and baseline hemodynamics and measurement of PWV using SphygmoCor® CPV Pulse Wave Analyzer. The sites tested were carotid to radial (C-R), carotid to femoral (C-F), and femoral to posterior tibial (F-PT). The randomized testing sessions consisted of two 20-minute walk/run sessions at 40% VO2 intensity with BFR cuffs inflated (BFR), and the BFR cuffs un-inflated (CON). Tightness of the cuffs was set at 55-60 mmHg for BFR, and the cuffs were placed snug enough that they don’t move during exercise for the CON session. The final cuff pressures were achieved by starting at 120 mmHg and increasing progressively by 20 mmHg with 10 s rest in between increments. Upon completion of exercise, post exercise PWV was assessed at immediately, 15, 25, and 45 minutes. RESULTS: No condition*time interaction or condition and time main effects were observed for C-R and C-F sites (p\u3e0.05). There were no significant condition*time interaction or time main effect for the F-PT site (p\u3e0.05), but a significant condition main effect was detected at the 15 minute mark post exercise following the BFR session (p\u3c.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the BFR session resulted in an improved arterial compliance at the F-PT site. This may have been caused by the increased shear stress from blood pooling during the BFR session resulting in a greater release of nitric oxide therefore vasodilation in the lower body. There may be a practical application of using this combination of exercise and settings to help improve cardiovascular health. Since this was an acute study, future training studies should look at the chronic effects on pulse wave velocity using these settings

Finite Automata for the Sub- and Superword Closure of CFLs: Descriptional and Computational Complexity

We answer two open questions by (Gruber, Holzer, Kutrib, 2009) on the state-complexity of representing sub- or superword closures of context-free grammars (CFGs): (1) We prove a (tight) upper bound of $2^{\mathcal{O}(n)}$ on the size of nondeterministic finite automata (NFAs) representing the subword closure of a CFG of size $n$. (2) We present a family of CFGs for which the minimal deterministic finite automata representing their subword closure matches the upper-bound of $2^{2^{\mathcal{O}(n)}}$ following from (1). Furthermore, we prove that the inequivalence problem for NFAs representing sub- or superword-closed languages is only NP-complete as opposed to PSPACE-complete for general NFAs. Finally, we extend our results into an approximation method to attack inequivalence problems for CFGs

Effects of Dynamic and Isometric Vibration Exercises on Hemodynamics, Flexibility, and Stress Hormone Levels

PURPOSE: To investigate the acute effects of lower body dynamic (DYN) vs isometric (ISO) exercises on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR), flexibility using the sit and reach, and cortisol (COR) and amylase (AMY) levels measured pre and post exercise with different variations of frequency and amplitude on a power plate in pre-hypertensive females. METHODS: Nine females (age: 23.8 ± 5.1 yrs) performed the ISO and DYN control sessions with the power plate off and ISO and DYN exercises with a combination of low frequency/high amplitude (LF/HA) and high frequency/low amplitude (HF/LA). A 5-min warm-up at 3.0 mph on the treadmill occurred before testing. DYN exercises were performed from standing position to 120° for squat, 90° for lunge, and 90° for squat for a total of four sets for one-min with metronome set at 40 bpm. ISO exercises were performed at the knee angles mentioned previously. Subjects had a 30 sec rest in-between sets. Blood pressure (BP) and HR were recorded using an automated BP cuff pre, post, post 15-min, and post 30-min. Flexibility was recorded after the warm-up and post testing. The passive drool collection method was used to collect saliva to observe the changes in COR and AMY for a total of 1mL for each session before the warm up and post-exercise. Vials were then placed in the freezer to await analysis. RESULTS: There was a significant condition*time interaction (

Optimal Strategies in Infinite-state Stochastic Reachability Games

We consider perfect-information reachability stochastic games for 2 players on infinite graphs. We identify a subclass of such games, and prove two interesting properties of it: first, Player Max always has optimal strategies in games from this subclass, and second, these games are strongly determined. The subclass is defined by the property that the set of all values can only have one accumulation point -- 0. Our results nicely mirror recent results for finitely-branching games, where, on the contrary, Player Min always has optimal strategies. However, our proof methods are substantially different, because the roles of the players are not symmetric. We also do not restrict the branching of the games. Finally, we apply our results in the context of recently studied One-Counter stochastic games

Differences in Neuromuscular Adaptations After Two Weeks of Conventional vs Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Training

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to determine the neuromuscular changes in the rectus femoris (RF) muscle as measured by electromyography (EMG) following short-term resistance training with and without blood flow restriction (BFR). METHODS: 12 males (age = 27.4 ± 6.3 years; height = 171 ± 7 cm; weight = 79.8 ± 13.2 kg) performed six sessions of lower body unilateral resistance training using a leg extension machine. The leg on which BFR was applied was determined through randomization leg dominance Each training session consisted of unilateral knee extensions with and without blood flow restriction. Electromyography data was recorded for each participant during two isometric maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) and two isokinetic knee extension tests (180°/s and 60°/s) using a Biodex System 4 Pro™. EMG was recorded from the RF during these tests. Resistance training consisted of six non-consecutive sessions of knee extension exercises performed in a time frame of two weeks. For the BFR group, subjects trained for a total of four sets (30, 15, 15, 15) at an intensity of 20% 1RM. The contralateral limb was trained with two sets of 11 repetitions at an intensity of 70% 1RM without BFR. The volume of exercises was similar for both conditions. RESULTS: No condition*time interactions or condition and time main effects were observed for root mean square (RMS), mean RMS, yMax, and median frequency (MDF) in both MVC and isokinetic 180°/s and 60°/s (p\u3e0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Both training conditions resulted in insignificant changes and there was no significant difference found between time points. It could be concluded that this was not enough time or stimulus to note major differences across modalities in relation to neuromuscular adaptations of the RF as measured by EMG. Further studies should investigate the effects of higher volume load on neuromuscular adaptations

Tight local approximation results for max-min linear programs

In a bipartite max-min LP, we are given a bipartite graph \myG = (V \cup I \cup K, E), where each agent $v \in V$ is adjacent to exactly one constraint $i \in I$ and exactly one objective $k \in K$. Each agent $v$ controls a variable $x_v$. For each $i \in I$ we have a nonnegative linear constraint on the variables of adjacent agents. For each $k \in K$ we have a nonnegative linear objective function of the variables of adjacent agents. The task is to maximise the minimum of the objective functions. We study local algorithms where each agent $v$ must choose $x_v$ based on input within its constant-radius neighbourhood in \myG. We show that for every $\epsilon>0$ there exists a local algorithm achieving the approximation ratio ${\Delta_I (1 - 1/\Delta_K)} + \epsilon$. We also show that this result is the best possible -- no local algorithm can achieve the approximation ratio ${\Delta_I (1 - 1/\Delta_K)}$. Here $\Delta_I$ is the maximum degree of a vertex $i \in I$, and $\Delta_K$ is the maximum degree of a vertex $k \in K$. As a methodological contribution, we introduce the technique of graph unfolding for the design of local approximation algorithms.Comment: 16 page

Survivin as a therapeutic target in Sonic hedgehog-driven medulloblastoma.

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a highly malignant brain tumor that occurs primarily in children. Although surgery, radiation and high-dose chemotherapy have led to increased survival, many MB patients still die from their disease, and patients who survive suffer severe long-term side effects as a consequence of treatment. Thus, more effective and less toxic therapies for MB are critically important. Development of such therapies depends in part on identification of genes that are necessary for growth and survival of tumor cells. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates cell cycle progression and resistance to apoptosis, is frequently expressed in human MB and when expressed at high levels predicts poor clinical outcome. Therefore, we hypothesized that Survivin may have a critical role in growth and survival of MB cells and that targeting it may enhance MB therapy. Here we show that Survivin is overexpressed in tumors from patched (Ptch) mutant mice, a model of Sonic hedgehog (SHH)-driven MB. Genetic deletion of survivin in Ptch mutant tumor cells significantly inhibits proliferation and causes cell cycle arrest. Treatment with small-molecule antagonists of Survivin impairs proliferation and survival of both murine and human MB cells. Finally, Survivin antagonists impede growth of MB cells in vivo. These studies highlight the importance of Survivin in SHH-driven MB, and suggest that it may represent a novel therapeutic target in patients with this disease