Evaluating Acute Changes in Joint Range-of-motion using Self-myofascial Release, Postural Alignment Exercises, and Static Stretches

International Journal of Exercise Science 6(4) : 310-319, 2013. This study was designed to compare the acute effect of self-myofascial release (SMR), postural alignment exercises, and static stretching on joint range-of-motion. Our sample included 27 participants (n = 14 males and n = 13 females) who had below average joint range-of-motion (specifically a sit-and-reach score of 13.5 inches [34.3 cm] or less). All were university students 18–27 years randomly assigned to complete two 30–40-minute data collection sessions with each testing session consisting of three sit-and-reach measurements (which involved lumbar spinal flexion, hip flexion, knee extension, and ankle dorsiflexion) interspersed with two treatments. Each treatment included foam-rolling, postural alignment exercises, or static stretching. Participants were assigned to complete session 1 and session 2 on two separate days, 24 hours to 48 hours apart. The data were analyzed so carryover effects could be estimated and showed that no single acute treatment significantly increased posterior mean sit-and-reach scores. However, significant gains (95% posterior probability limits) were realized with both postural alignment exercises and static stretching when used in combination with foam-rolling. For example, the posterior means equaled 1.71 inches (4.34 cm) when postural alignment exercises were followed by foam-rolling; 1.76 inches (4.47 cm) when foam-rolling was followed by static stretching; 1.49 inches (3.78 cm) when static stretching was followed by foam-rolling; and 1.18 inches (2.99 cm) when foam-rolling was followed by postural alignment exercises. Our results demonstrate that an acute treatment of foam-rolling significantly increased joint range-of-motion in participants with below average joint range-of-motion when combined with either postural alignment exercises or static stretching

The Effect of CardioWaves Interval Training on Resting Blood Pressure, Resting Heart Rate, and Mind-Body Wellness

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(1): 89-100, 2016. An experimental study to examine the effects of CardioWaves interval training (CWIT) and continuous training (CT) on resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and mind-body wellness. Fifty-two normotensive (blood pressure \u3c120/80 mmHg), pre-hypertensive (120–139/80–89 mmHg), and hypertensive (\u3e140/90 mmHg) participants were randomly assigned and equally divided between the CWIT and CT groups. Both groups participated in the assigned exercise protocol 30 minutes per day, four days per week for eight weeks. Resting blood pressure, resting heart rate, and mind-body wellness were measured pre- and post-intervention. A total of 47 participants (15 females and 32 males) were included in the analysis. The CWIT group had a non-significant trend of reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) and increased diastolic blood pressure (DBP) while the CT group had a statistically significant decrease in awake SBP (p = 0.01) and total SBP (p = 0.01) and a non-significant decrease in DBP. With both groups combined, the female participants had a statistically significant decrease in awake SBP (p = 0.002), asleep SBP (p = 0.01), total SBP (p = 0.003), awake DBP (p = 0.02), and total DBP (p = 0.05). The male participants had an increase in SBP and DBP with total DBP showing a statistically significant increase (p = 0.05). Neither group had a consistent change in resting heart rate. Both groups showed improved mind-body wellness. CWIT and CT reduced resting blood pressure, with CT having a greater effect. Resting heart rate did not change in either group. Additionally, both CWIT and CT improved mind-body wellness

An internal promoter underlies the difference in disease severity between N- and C-terminal truncation mutations of Titin in zebrafish

Truncating mutations in the giant sarcomeric protein Titin result in dilated cardiomyopathy and skeletal myopathy. The most severely affected dilated cardiomyopathy patients harbor Titin truncations in the C-terminal two-thirds of the protein, suggesting that mutation position might influence disease mechanism. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we generated six zebrafish lines with Titin truncations in the N-terminal and C-terminal regions. Although all exons were constitutive, C-terminal mutations caused severe myopathy whereas N-terminal mutations demonstrated mild phenotypes. Surprisingly, neither mutation type acted as a dominant negative. Instead, we found a conserved internal promoter at the precise position where divergence in disease severity occurs, with the resulting protein product partially rescuing N-terminal truncations. In addition to its clinical implications, our work may shed light on a long-standing mystery regarding the architecture of the sarcomere

Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe

Large Scale Association Analysis Identifies Three Susceptibility Loci for Coronary Artery Disease

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) and their replications that have associated DNA variants with myocardial infarction (MI) and/or coronary artery disease (CAD) are predominantly based on populations of European or Eastern Asian descent. Replication of the most significantly associated polymorphisms in multiple populations with distinctive genetic backgrounds and lifestyles is crucial to the understanding of the pathophysiology of a multifactorial disease like CAD. We have used our Lebanese cohort to perform a replication study of nine previously identified CAD/MI susceptibility loci (LTA, CDKN2A-CDKN2B, CELSR2-PSRC1-SORT1, CXCL12, MTHFD1L, WDR12, PCSK9, SH2B3, and SLC22A3), and 88 genes in related phenotypes. The study was conducted on 2,002 patients with detailed demographic, clinical characteristics, and cardiac catheterization results. One marker, rs6922269, in MTHFD1L was significantly protective against MI (OR = 0.68, p = 0.0035), while the variant rs4977574 in CDKN2A-CDKN2B was significantly associated with MI (OR = 1.33, p = 0.0086). Associations were detected after adjustment for family history of CAD, gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and smoking. The parallel study of 88 previously published genes in related phenotypes encompassed 20,225 markers, three quarters of which with imputed genotypes The study was based on our genome-wide genotype data set, with imputation across the whole genome to HapMap II release 22 using HapMap CEU population as a reference. Analysis was conducted on both the genotyped and imputed variants in the 88 regions covering selected genes. This approach replicated HNRNPA3P1-CXCL12 association with CAD and identified new significant associations of CDKAL1, ST6GAL1, and PTPRD with CAD. Our study provides evidence for the importance of the multifactorial aspect of CAD/MI and describes genes predisposing to their etiology

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Influence of Tennis Racquet Kinematics on Ball Topspin Angular Velocity and Accuracy during the Forehand Groundstroke

Forehand groundstroke effectiveness is important for tennis success. Ball topspin angular velocity (TAV) and accuracy are important for forehand groundstroke effectiveness, and have been extensively studied, previously; despite previous, quality studies, it was unclear whether certain racquet kinematics relate to ball TAV and shot accuracy during the forehand groundstroke. This study evaluated potential relationships between (1) ball TAV and (2) forehand accuracy, and five measures of racquet kinematics: racquet head impact angle (i.e., closed or open face), horizontal and vertical racquet head velocity before impact, racquet head trajectory (resultant velocity direction, relative to horizontal) before impact, and hitting zone length (quasi-linear displacement, immediately before and after impact). Thirteen collegiate-level tennis players hit forehand groundstrokes in a biomechanics laboratory, where racquet kinematics and ball TAV were measured, and on a tennis court, to assess accuracy. Correlational statistics were used to evaluate potential relationships between racquet kinematics, and ball TAV (mixed model) and forehand accuracy (between-subjects model; α = 0.05). We observed an average (1) racquet head impact angle, (2) racquet head trajectory before impact, relative to horizontal, (3) racquet head horizontal velocity before impact, (4) racquet head vertical velocity before impact, and (5) hitting zone length of 80.4 ± 3.6˚, 18.6 ± 4.3˚, 15.4 ± 1.4 m·s-1, 6.6 ± 2.2 m·s-1, and 79.8 ± 8.6 mm, respectively; and an average ball TAV of 969 ± 375 revolutions per minute. Only racquet head impact angle and racquet head vertical velocity, before impact, significantly correlated with ball TAV (p < 0.01). None of the observed racquet kinematics significantly correlated to the measures of forehand accuracy. These results confirmed mechanical logic and indicate that increased ball TAV is associated with a more closed racquet head impact angle (ranging from 70 to 85˚, relative to the ground) and increased racquet head vertical velocity before impact

ATP-Dependent Mobilization of the Glucocorticoid Receptor during Chromatin Remodeling

Chromatin remodeling by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) is associated with activation of transcription at the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) promoter. We reconstituted this nucleoprotein transition with chromatin assembled on MMTV DNA. The remodeling event was ATP dependent and required either a nuclear extract from HeLa cells or purified human Swi/Snf. Through the use of a direct interaction assay (magnetic bead pull-down), we demonstrated recruitment of human Swi/Snf to MMTV chromatin by GR. Unexpectedly, we found that GR is actively displaced from the chromatin template during the remodeling process. ATP-dependent GR displacement was reversed by the addition of apyrase and was specific to chromatin templates. The disengagement reaction could also be induced with purified human Swi/Snf. Although GR apparently dissociated during chromatin remodeling by Swi/Snf, it participated in binding of the secondary transcription factor, nuclear factor 1. These results are paralleled by a recent discovery that the hormone-occupied receptor undergoes rapid exchange between chromatin and the nucleoplasmic compartment in living cells. Both the in vitro and in vivo results are consistent with a dynamic model (hit and run) in which GR first binds to chromatin after ligand activation, recruits a remodeling activity, facilitates transcription factor binding, and is simultaneously lost from the template