Biomechanical effects of shod vs. unshod deadlift in males

There are many forms of resistance training, with the barbell squat, bench press, and deadlift being three of the most popular exercises. The squat and bench press have been examined extensively, while the deadlift has not. The purpose of this study was to examine participants performing the barbell deadlift while wearing their normal lifting shoes and while barefoot. Thirty male participants aged 18-30 and with at least one year of deadlift experience were recruited for this study. An eight camera system and a force platform was used to measure three-dimensional movements and ground reaction forces during 80% one repetition maximum deadlifts. Ankle, knee, and hip joint angles and moments were analyzed at the instance of lift off and knee pass, along with bar velocity at those same points. Ankle dorsiflexion angle (p = 0.018), knee flexion angle (p \u3c 0.001), and knee flexion moment (p \u3c 0.001) were significantly higher at the point of lift off in the shod condition. The bar velocity (p = 0.028) was significantly higher at knee pass in the shod condition. These results indicate that performing the deadlift while barefoot could benefit lifters who struggle with more flexed postures and/or have limited ankle dorsiflexion range of motion. These changes in posture likely led to the reduced knee flexion moments required to initiate bar lift off. However, lifting barefoot may decrease deadlift performance in terms of power generated as evidenced by reduced bar velocity

EEG and Evoked Potential Measured of Age and Sex Differences in Central Nervous System Processing

Age and gender differences in CNS information processing were investigated with EEG measures of power spectral analysis and cortical coupling , and evoked potential measures of brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), visual evoked potentials (VEPs), pattern reversal evoked potentials (PREPs) , and P300 evoked potentials . Eighty normal volunteers comprised four subgroups of 20 subjects: young females and young males (25-35 years); old females and old males (55-70 years). Trends were generally consistent across evoked potential measures: women and young people produced faster latency responses; females and oldsters produced larger amplitude responses. Old age was associated with reduced variability of electrophysiological responding across recording sites. Significant age and gender findings may be related to CNS excitatory /inhibitory equilibrium. Females and oldsters reportedly experience reduction of some neurotransmitters believed to be inhibitory in function. Furthermore, old age is accompanied by neuropathological changes which could result in heightened CNS excitability

No aggression in a 4-year-old boy with an androgen-producing tumour: Case Report

BACKGROUND: The androgen testosterone plays a critical role in many aspects of sexual differentiation. Also, it is thought to induce aggressive behaviours or to play a role in social dominance. CASE PRESENTATION: In this case report a 4-year-old boy is described whose testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) levels were raised to pubertal levels due to a testosterone producing testis tumour. This provided the unique opportunity to examine the effects of elevated levels of androgens on levels of aggression or on social dominance before the onset of puberty. CONCLUSION: The present case report does not support the hypothesis of a causal relationship between testosterone and aggression or between testosterone and social dominance in young children

Les sceaux

Copia digital : Junta de Castilla y León. Conserjería de Cultura y Turismo, 201

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient in Siblings of People With Autism.

This study measures the distribution of autistic traits, using the autism-spectrum quotient (AQ), in siblings of individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Total AQ scores, along with AQ subscales, were collected from child, adolescent and adult controls, siblings, and volunteers with ASC using one of the three age-appropriate versions of the instrument: the AQ (adult self-report), the AQ-adolescent and AQ-child (both parent-reports). We examined the effect of Group (case, sibling and control) and AQ version (adult, adolescent and adult) on total and subscale scores. In addition, we tested for sex differences in all groups and on all versions. We found that in male and female adults, AQ scores in siblings fell between cases and controls (cases > siblings > controls). In children and adolescents, female siblings also scored higher than control females (female cases > female siblings > female controls), but there was no difference between male siblings and controls (male cases > male siblings = male controls). An investigation of subscale scores revealed that male siblings only differed from controls on the "Communication" subscale (male cases > male siblings > male controls), while female siblings differed from controls on all subscales except "Imagination" (female cases > female siblings > female controls). This study confirms the broader autism phenotype in siblings, and reveals this is modulated by sex and AQ version. Autism Res 2017, 10: 289-297. © 2016 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.165

A tritium vessel cleanup experiment in TFTR

A simple tritium cleanup experiment was carried out in TFTR following the initial high power deuterium-tritium discharges in December 1993. A series of 34 ohmic and deuterium neutral beam fueled shots was used to study the removal of tritium implanted into the wall and limiters. A very large plasma was created in each discharge to ``scrub`` an area as large as possible. Beam-fueled shots at 2.5 to 7.5 MW of injected power were used to monitor tritium concentration levels in the plasma by detection of DT-neutrons. The neutron signal decreased by a factor of 4 during the experiment, remaining well above the expected T-burnup level. The amount of tritium recovered at the end of the cleanup was about 8% of the amount previously injected with high power DT discharges. The experience gained suggests that measurements of tritium inventory in the torus are very difficult to execute and require dedicated systems with overall accuracy of 1%

Sensory Atypicalities in Dyads of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Their Parents

Sensory atypicalities are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). To date, the relationship between sensory atypicalities in dyads of children with ASD and their parents has not been investigated. Exploring these relationships can contribute to an understanding of how phenotypic profiles may be inherited, and the extent to which familial factors might contribute towards children's sensory profiles and constitute an aspect of the broader autism phenotype (BAP). Parents of 44 children with ASD and 30 typically developing (TD) children, aged between 3 and 14 years, participated. Information about children's sensory experiences was collected through parent report using the Sensory Profile questionnaire. Information about parental sensory experiences was collected via self-report using the Adolescent/Adult Sensory Profile. Parents of children with ASD had significantly higher scores than parents of TD children in relation to low registration, over responsivity, and taste/smell sensory processing. Similar levels of agreement were obtained within ASD and TD parent-child dyads on a number of sensory atypicalities; nevertheless significant correlations were found between parents and children in ASD families but not TD dyads for sensation avoiding and auditory, visual, and vestibular sensory processing. The findings suggest that there are similarities in sensory processing profiles between parents and their children in both ASD and TD dyads. Familial sensory processing factors are likely to contribute towards the BAP. Further work is needed to explore genetic and environmental influences on the developmental pathways of the sensory atypicalities in ASD

The Borexino detector at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso

Borexino, a large volume detector for low energy neutrino spectroscopy, is currently running underground at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. The main goal of the experiment is the real-time measurement of sub MeV solar neutrinos, and particularly of the mono energetic (862 keV) Be7 electron capture neutrinos, via neutrino-electron scattering in an ultra-pure liquid scintillator. This paper is mostly devoted to the description of the detector structure, the photomultipliers, the electronics, and the trigger and calibration systems. The real performance of the detector, which always meets, and sometimes exceeds, design expectations, is also shown. Some important aspects of the Borexino project, i.e. the fluid handling plants, the purification techniques and the filling procedures, are not covered in this paper and are, or will be, published elsewhere (see Introduction and Bibliography).Comment: 37 pages, 43 figures, to be submitted to NI

Enzymatic Degradation of PrPSc by a Protease Secreted from Aeropyrum pernix K1

BACKGROUND: An R30 fraction from the growth medium of Aeropyrum pernix was analyzed for the protease that can digest the pathological prion protein isoform (PrP(Sc)) from different species (human, bovine, deer and mouse). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Degradation of the PrP(Sc) isoform by the R30 fraction and the purified protease was evaluated using the 6H4 anti-PrP monoclonal antibody. Fragments from the N-terminal and C-terminal of PrP(Sc) were also monitored by Western blotting using the EB8 anti-PrP monoclonal antibody, and by dot blotting using the C7/5 anti-PrP monoclonal antibody, respectively. For detection of smaller peptides from incomplete digestion of PrP(Sc), the EB8 monoclonal antibody was used after precipitation with sodium phosphotungstate. Characterization of the purified active protease from the R30 fraction was achieved, through purification by fast protein liquid chromatography, and identification by tandem mass spectrometry the serine metalloprotease pernisine. SDS-PAGE and zymography show the purified pernisine plus its proregion with a molecular weight of ca. 45 kDa, and the mature purified pernisine as ca. 23 kDa. The purified pernisine was active between 58 °C and 99 °C, and between pH 3.5 and 8.0. The temperature and pH optima of the enzymatic activity of the purified pernisine in the presence of 1 mM CaCl(2) were 105 °C ± 0.5 °C and pH 6.5 ± 0.2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study has identified and characterized pernisine as a thermostable serine metalloprotease that is secreted from A. pernix and that can digest the pathological prion protein PrP(Sc)