An Assessment of the Hydration Status of Recreational Endurance Athletes during Mountain Marathon Events.

Changes in hydration status have been shown to have deleterious effects on physiological functioning, physical performance, mental decision making, and subjective sensation of effort. This exploratory study assessed the hydration status of athletes taking part in mountain marathon events and the implications on performance, cognition and well-being markers. Twenty-nine male recreational athletes from the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) and nineteen from the Longmynd Hike (LH) provided urine samples before, at mid-point (in the OMM) and after the events. Body mass; reaction time tests; and subjective ratings of well-being and effort were also collected/performed at these time points. Post-urine specific gravity (Usg) values [(OMM: 1.023 (range: 1.008 – 1.038) g/ml; LH: 1.024 (range: 1.014 – 1.035) g/ml] were significantly higher than pre-values [(OMM: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml; LH: 1.013 (range: 1.002 – 1.026) g/ml] in both events (p 0.05). There was no association between hydration status and overall performance in the LH, whilst change in Usg from pre- to mid-event was positively associated with performance in the OMM (r = .561, p = 0.004). Whilst no associations were observed between hydration status and reaction time, rate of perceived exertion and subjective ratings of nausea showed positive associations with Usg. These findings suggest that although changes in hydration status of this level may not significantly affect performance, they can impact on participant sensations of effort and well-being

Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and During, Mountain Marathon Events

Participation in ultra-endurance events such as mountain marathons is increasing, yet analysis of the nutritional intake and requirements of this group of athletes have received relatively little attention. This field study examined athletes’ food intake prior to, and during a mountain marathon event to assess compliance with recommendations and to identify associations with performance. Nineteen male athletes competing in the Longmynd Hike (LH) completed a 7-day food diary in the week prior to the event and a weighed food inventory of all items consumed during the event. Despite reported intentions to increase carbohydrate (CHO) consumption in the week prior to the event, there was no significant change in consumption across the week. The mean daily CHO intake of 4.5 g/kg/d was below that recommended to effectively enhance glycogen stores. CHO and energy consumption prior to the event were positively associated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/d): r = .56, p = 0.03; CHO (g/kg/d): r = .54, p = 0.04]. Energy and CHO consumption during the event were also positively correlated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/h): r = .80, p < 0.001; CHO (g/kg/h): r = .75, p = 0.001)], despite most participants again failing to meet recommendations for intake. Further research is needed to determine reasons for non-compliance with nutritional guidelines and to investigate to what extent type and timing of macronutrient intake during such events impacts on performance

Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cell Biology

Leukemia progression and relapse is fueled by leukemia stem cells (LSC) that are resistant to current treatments. In the progression of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), blast crisis progenitors are capable of adopting more primitive but deregulated stem cell features with acquired resistance to targeted therapies. This in turn promotes LSC behavior characterized by aberrant self-renewal, differentiation, and survival capacity. Multiple reports suggest that cell cycle alterations, activation of critical signaling pathways, aberrant microenvironmental cues from the hematopoietic niche, and aberrant epigenetic events and deregulation of RNA processing may facilitate the enhanced survival and malignant transformation of CML progenitors. Here we review the molecular evolution of CML LSC that promotes CML progression and relapse. Recent advances in these areas have identified novel targets that represent important avenues for future therapeutic approaches aimed at selectively eradicating the LSC population while sparing normal hematopoietic progenitors in patients suffering from chronic myeloid malignancies

Effects of hand orientation on motor imagery - event related potentials suggest kinesthetic motor imagery to solve the hand laterality judgment task

Motor imagery (MI) refers to the process of imagining the execution of a specific motor action without actually producing an overt movement. Two forms of MI have been distinguished: visual MI and kinesthetic MI. To distinguish between these forms of MI we employed an event related potential (ERP) study to measure interference effects induced by hand orientation manipulations in a hand laterality judgement task. We hypothesized that this manipulation should only affect kinesthetic MI but not visual MI. The ERPs elicited by rotated hand stimuli contained the classic rotation related negativity (RRN) with respect to palm view stimuli. We observed that laterally rotated stimuli led to a more marked RRN than medially rotated stimuli. This RRN effect was observed when participants had their hands positioned in either a straight (control) or an inward rotated posture, but not when their hands were positioned in an outward rotated posture. Posture effects on the ERP-RRN have not previously been studied. Apparently, a congruent hand posture (hands positioned in an outward rotated fashion) facilitates the judgement of the otherwise more demanding laterally rotated hand stimuli. These ERP findings support a kinesthetic interpretation of MI involved in solving the hand laterality judgement task. The RRN may be used as a non-invasive marker for kinesthetic MI and seems useful in revealing the covert behavior of MI in e.g. rehabilitation programs

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Influence of training status and exercise modality on pulmonary O2 uptake kinetics in pre-pubertal girls

The limited available evidence suggests that endurance training does not influence the pulmonary oxygen uptake (V(O)(2)) kinetics of pre-pubertal children. We hypothesised that, in young trained swimmers, training status-related adaptations in the V(O)(2) and heart rate (HR) kinetics would be more evident during upper body (arm cranking) than during leg cycling exercise. Eight swim-trained (T; 11.4 +/- 0.7 years) and eight untrained (UT; 11.5 +/- 0.6 years) girls completed repeated bouts of constant work rate cycling and upper body exercise at 40% of the difference between the gas exchange threshold and peak V(O)(2). The phase II V(O)(2) time constant was significantly shorter in the trained girls during upper body exercise (T: 25 +/- 3 vs. UT: 37 +/- 6 s; P &#60; 0.01), but no training status effect was evident in the cycle response (T: 25 +/- 5 vs. UT: 25 +/- 7 s). The V(O)(2) slow component amplitude was not affected by training status or exercise modality. The time constant of the HR response was significantly faster in trained girls during both cycle (T: 31 +/- 11 vs. UT: 47 +/- 9 s; P &#60; 0.01) and upper body (T: 33 +/- 8 vs. UT: 43 +/- 4 s; P &#60; 0.01) exercise. The time constants of the phase II V(O)(2)and HR response were not correlated regardless of training status or exercise modality. This study demonstrates for the first time that swim-training status influences upper body V(O)(2) kinetics in pre-pubertal children, but that cycle ergometry responses are insensitive to such differences

Chemical–Genetic Profiling of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and -Pyrimidines Reveals Target Pathways Conserved between Yeast and Human Cells

Small molecules have been shown to be potent and selective probes to understand cell physiology. Here, we show that imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines compose a class of compounds that target essential, conserved cellular processes. Using validated chemogenomic assays in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we discovered that two closely related compounds, an imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and -pyrimidine that differ by a single atom, have distinctly different mechanisms of action in vivo. 2-phenyl-3-nitroso-imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine was toxic to yeast strains with defects in electron transport and mitochondrial functions and caused mitochondrial fragmentation, suggesting that compound 13 acts by disrupting mitochondria. By contrast, 2-phenyl-3-nitroso-imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine acted as a DNA poison, causing damage to the nuclear DNA and inducing mutagenesis. We compared compound 15 to known chemotherapeutics and found resistance required intact DNA repair pathways. Thus, subtle changes in the structure of imidazo-pyridines and -pyrimidines dramatically alter both the intracellular targeting of these compounds and their effects in vivo. Of particular interest, these different modes of action were evident in experiments on human cells, suggesting that chemical–genetic profiles obtained in yeast are recapitulated in cultured cells, indicating that our observations in yeast can: (1) be leveraged to determine mechanism of action in mammalian cells and (2) suggest novel structure–activity relationships

Advances in understanding and treating ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurocognitive behavioral developmental disorder most commonly seen in childhood and adolescence, which often extends to the adult years. Relative to a decade ago, there has been extensive research into understanding the factors underlying ADHD, leading to far more treatment options available for both adolescents and adults with this disorder. Novel stimulant formulations have made it possible to tailor treatment to the duration of efficacy required by patients, and to help mitigate the potential for abuse, misuse and diversion. Several new non-stimulant options have also emerged in the past few years. Among these, cognitive behavioral interventions have proven popular in the treatment of adult ADHD, especially within the adult population who cannot or will not use medications, along with the many medication-treated patients who continue to show residual disability

Measurement of VH, H → b b ¯ production as a function of the vector-boson transverse momentum in 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

Cross-sections of associated production of a Higgs boson decaying into bottom-quark pairs and an electroweak gauge boson, W or Z, decaying into leptons are measured as a function of the gauge boson transverse momentum. The measurements are performed in kinematic fiducial volumes defined in the `simplified template cross-section' framework. The results are obtained using 79.8 fb-1 of proton-proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. All measurements are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model predictions, and limits are set on the parameters of an effective Lagrangian sensitive to modifications of the Higgs boson couplings to the electroweak gauge bosons

Measurement of the t¯tZ and t¯tW cross sections in proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A measurement of the associated production of a top-quark pair (t¯t) with a vector boson (W, Z) in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV is presented, using 36.1  fb−1 of integrated luminosity collected by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events are selected in channels with two same- or opposite-sign leptons (electrons or muons), three leptons or four leptons, and each channel is further divided into multiple regions to maximize the sensitivity of the measurement. The t¯tZ and t¯tW production cross sections are simultaneously measured using a combined fit to all regions. The best-fit values of the production cross sections are σt¯tZ=0.95±0.08stat±0.10syst pb and σt¯tW=0.87±0.13stat±0.14syst pb in agreement with the Standard Model predictions. The measurement of the t¯tZ cross section is used to set constraints on effective field theory operators which modify the t¯tZ vertex