Factors Relating to Gender Specificity of Unloading-Induced Declines in Strength

Introduction: This investigation aimed to: (1) confirm whether women were more vulnerable to the negative neuromuscular adaptations elicited by muscle unloading and if so, (2) determine which physiological mechanism(s) explain those gender-related differences. Methods: Healthy young men (20.7 +/- 0.3 years) and women (20.3 +/- 0.3 years)-(N = 12/group)-participated by completing neuromuscular functional tests before and after 7 days of unloading. Results: During isokinetic testing of peak torque, work performed, and power, women displayed significantly (P \u3c = 0.05) greater declines in performance than men at 1.05 and 2.09, but not 0.53 rads/s. During maximal isometric contractions, women experienced greater strength decrements. Similar gender-specific adaptations to unloading were found in EMG activity, but not muscle mass, neuromuscular transmission, or force relative to EMG. Conclusions: Women are more susceptible to the adaptations of muscle unloading, and disturbances in neural drive from the central nervous system are probably responsible. Muscle Nerve 46: 210-217, 201

The Other Side of the Podium: Student Perspectives on Learning Integration

Student perspectives on the transmission of integration in integrative programs were examined through a qualitative study. Participants in the study were 595 graduate and undergraduate students (305 women and 247 men) drawn from four Evangelical Christian institutions of higher education. Participants provided written data in response to three open-ended questions, inquiring about the exemplary and helpful aspects of their educational experiences with respect to integration. Post-hoc content analyses informed by grounded theory analytic processes were used to analyze the data, resulting in two overarching themes: Facilitating Integration, and Concepts of Integration, which respectively address how students learn integration, and how students conceptualize integration. The implications for the conceptualization of integration and for the pedagogy of facilitating integration are explored