Impact of Velcro Cuff Closure on Forearm Skin Temperature In Surfers Wearing a 2mm and 3mm Wetsuit

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(6): 1574-1582, 2020. Surfing is a worldwide sport that often requires participants to wear a wetsuit to assist in thermoregulation. In a recent study, forearm skin temperature decreased by approximately 3 °C while wearing a wetsuit during recreational surfing. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that reducing water flow in and out of the wetsuit by cuffing the wetsuit at the wrist, with a novel cuff closure system (Velcro cuff), would result in greater forearm skin temperature while surfing. One hundred and twelve (94 male, 18 female) recreational surfers between the ages of 18-50 participated in this study. Forearm skin temperature was measured at 1-minute intervals across the surf session in both arms with four wireless iButton thermal sensors located two inches from the styloid process (wrist) and olecranon process (elbow). Following instrumentation, all subjects had one of their wrists randomly cuffed with a one-inch wide Velcro cuff that was tightened to 2 cm less than the circumference of the wrist plus wetsuit. Subjects were then instructed to engage in regular recreational surfing activities for a minimum of 30 minutes at seven beaches in North San Diego County from October to April. No significant differences were found between the average cuffed wrist skin temperature and the average uncuffed wrist skin temperature (p = 0.06). However, average cuffed forearm skin temperature was significantly higher than average uncuffed forearm skin temperature (p = 0.01). Results from this study suggest that cuffing the wrist of wetsuits is a simple technique that can be utilized by surfers to significantly improve forearm skin temperature during surfing. These findings may also have an implication on future wetsuit designs

Skill in Interpersonal Networks.

I study the cognitive and behavioral skills that people use to navigate social networks at work, via three separate but related papers. Paper 1 argues that relational schemas, which are the cognitive schemas that people use to guide interactions with other people (Baldwin 1992), are developed over time through exposure to others. However, having a lower variety of schemas (employing generic schemas for multiple relationships) enables a person to interact with more people using fewer cognitive resources (Abelson 1981), but having a greater variety of schemas (having unique schemas for each relation) enables a person to better adapt to the needs of each relationship. Using in-depth interviews, network data, and interaction data from an administrative department of a manufacturing organization, I find a curvilinear relationship between both social experience and network contacts in an environment and the degree to which people develop more specific relational schemas, providing evidence for this tension between the need to adapt to each relationship versus the constraint of cognitive overload. Paper 2 argues that social network position cannot precisely measure access to information flows in a social context. I develop a new method for measuring access to information, using time-ordered communication/interaction data, which accounts for the temporal ordering of communication and the constraints of time, scheduling, and other factors that cause variation in the frequency of communication across and within relationships. Paper 3 focuses on relational acumen, the ability to accurately perceive the strength of one’s relationships. Relational acumen is a form of network perception accuracy, a cognitive skill that provides a basis of power in organizations (Krackhardt 1990). I argue that people who have higher access to social information flows have greater relational acumen. Using data from the same organization, I find that network brokers have greater relational acumen – they are more accurate in perceiving their strong ties. More importantly, I find that having interactions that are in the midst of others’ interactions throughout the day (what I call “interaction efficiency”) provides the greatest benefit for relational acumen. Thus, how one interacts with contacts matters more than who one’s contacts are.PHDBusiness Administration and SociologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99782/1/ncotton_1.pd

Characterization of Adult Heart Rate Responses During Recreational Skateboarding at Community Skateparks

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(2): 501-510, 2020. Youth participating in recreational skating at community skate parks attain exercise intensities and durations that are comparable with the CDC’s exercise recommendations for cardiovascular fitness for their age group. However, it is currently unclear if adults who skateboard in the same environment also achieve the recommended intensities and durations for cardiovascular fitness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that skateboarding would elicit heart rates and durations consistent with the CDC’s recommendations for cardiovascular fitness in adults. Fifty-five subjects between ages 18-55 were recruited from six community skateparks for this study. Subjects completed a questionnaire and were instrumented with a Polar V800 heart rate receiver on the left wrist and an H7 Bluetooth heart rate transmitter around the chest below the pectoralis major. Participants were instructed to engage in a typical skateboarding session on their own board with the duration and intensity of activity to be determined by the participant. The mean age of the participants was 27.4 ± 8.5 years, and participants reported skateboarding at a community skate park a mean of 3.1 ± 1.8 days/week. Participants had a mean heart rate of 138.2 ± 21.9 beats per minute (71.7% of age predicted maximum), skated for 65.5 ± 36.2 minutes, and traveled 4.56 ± 4.5 kilometers. Subjects spent 70% of their total duration at moderate-intensity or above and 30% within the low, and below low-intensity range. Results from this study suggest that adults participating in recreational skateboarding in community skateparks achieve the CDC’s exercise recommendations for cardiovascular fitness. These findings may have implications for community skatepark design and professional training programs for adult skateboarding athletes

Selenium deficiency and the dynamics of changes of thyroid profile in patients with acute myocardial infarction and chronic heart failure

Background: Selenium (Se) is incorporated in 25 enzymes, for example, glutathione peroxidase (activatedb by oxidative stress) and deiodinases (converting thyroid hormones). Oxidative stress present in heart failure (HF) and myocardial infarction (MI) might cause Se deficiency and decreased thyroxine to triiodothyronine conversion. Aims:  We sought to evaluate Se levels in Polish patients with MI, HF, and healthy volunteers in relation to thyroid hormone levels. Methods: The study group consisted of 143 participants: 54 patients with MI, 59 patients with decompensated HF, and 30 healthy matched volunteers. The patients underwent echocardiography and laboratory tests on admission and 5 months later. Results: Se levels were lower in patients with MI and HF than in controls (median [interquartile range, IQR], 65.9 [55.2–76.1] μg/l and 59.7 [47.7–70.7] μg/l vs 93.2 [84.2–99.1] μg/l, respectively; P < 0.001). The Se deficiency was very common in patients with MI and HF, while it was rare in controls (70.37% and 74.58% vs 10%, respectively; P < 0.001). Patients with MI and HF presented lower free triiodothyronine (FT3) levels and lower FT3 to free thyroxine (FT4) ratio in comparison with controls (median [IQR], 3.90 [3.60–4.38] pmol/l and 4.25 [3.57–4.60] pmol/l vs 4.92 [4.50–5.27] pmol/l; P < 0.001; and 0.25 [0.23–0.29] and 0.25 [0.21–0.28] vs 0.32 [0.29–0.37]; P < 0.001, respectively). There was a weak to moderate correlation between Se level, FT3 level, and the FT3/FT4 ratio. At follow‑up, the FT3/FT4 ratio tended to normalize in patients with MI and remained decreased in patients with HF (mean [SD], 0.31 [0.06] vs 0.27 ([0.05]; P < 0.001. Conclusions: Se deficiency is very common in Polish patients with MI and HF. Thyroid hormones disturbances were more transient in patients with MI, but more chronic in those with HF

Association of serum levels of lipoprotein A-I and lipoprotein A-I/A-II with high on-treatment platelet reactivity in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Objective: High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) are a very heterogeneous group of particles. Little is known about the impact of their subfractions including lipoprotein A-I (LpA-I) and lipoprotein A-I/A-II (LpA-I/A-II) on platelet function and high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR), particularly in the acute phase of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The aim of the study was to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of LpA-I and LpA-I/A-II and HPR in STEMI patients. Methods: Fifty-two consecutive STEMI patients (26.9% women, mean age 60.6±9.1 years) were enrolled into this study. Clinical and demographic data were collected and HDL subfractions were measured by rocket immunoelectrophoresis. Platelet reactivity was assessed using light transmission aggregometry and quantitative flow cytometry. Results: We found a positive correlation between platelet aggregation after both ADP-5 and ADP-20 stimulation and serum level of LpA-I. Compared with subjects with satisfactory platelet response to clopidogrel, patients with HPR had 32.44% higher serum level of LpA-I (p=0.021). On the other hand, patients with HPR assessed by ADP-5 stimulation had 22.13% lower serum level of LpA-I/A-II (p=0.040). Regression analysis showed that LpA-I [odds ratio (OR) 1.03; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1-1.07; p=0.049] and current smoking (OR 0.18; 95% CI 0.04-0.81; p=0.025) were independent predictors of HPR. With receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, we designated the cut-off point at serum level of 57.52 mg/dL for LpA-I for predicting HPR (AUC=0.71, p=0.010). Conclusion: This study showed that higher serum level of LpA-I measured in the acute phase of STEMI is an independent risk factor for HPR. Our study is the first to demonstrate an important and distinct activity of LpA-I and LpA-I/A-II that can prove pleiotropic and different functions of HDL subfractions in acute STEMI. (Anatol J Cardiol 2018; 19: 374-81

Androgen receptor protein is down-regulated by basic fibroblast growth factor in prostate cancer cells

Interactions between polypeptide growth factors and the androgen receptor (AR) are important for regulation of cellular events in carcinoma of the prostate. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), the prototype of heparin-binding growth factors, and the AR are commonly expressed in prostate cancer. bFGF diminished prostate-specific antigen protein in the supernatants of androgen-stimulated human prostate cancer cells LNCaP by 80%. In the present study, we asked whether the bFGF effect on prostate-specific antigen is preceded by action on AR expression. LNCaP cells were treated with bFGF and AR protein expression was determined by immunoblotting and ligand binding assay. bFGF down-regulated AR protein in a dose-dependent manner showing a maximal effect at 50 ng ml−1both in the presence or absence of dihydrotestosterone. Down-regulation of AR protein expression occurred already after 8 h of bFGF treatment and a maximal inhibition was observed 24 h after addition of bFGF to culture media. As AR expression can be reduced by an increase in intracellular calcium levels, we investigated whether the bFGF effect on AR protein is mediated by this mechanism. Calcium release from intracellular stores and store-operated calcium influx after treatment with either bFGF or calcium ionophore A 23187 were measured by single cell fluorescence technique. The ionophore A 23187 was able to induce calcium influx and an increase in cytoplasmic calcium concentration in LNCaP cells. In contrast, bFGF was incapable of eliciting a similar effect. In contrast to AR protein, AR mRNA levels were not affected by bFGF as shown by semiquantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In summary, these studies show that bFGF is a potent negative regulator of AR protein expression in the human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Many-body Effects in Angle-resolved Photoemission: Quasiparticle Energy and Lifetime of a Mo(110) Surface State

In a high-resolution photoemission study of a Mo(110) surface state various contributions to the measured width and energy of the quasiparticle peak are investigated. Electron-phonon coupling, electron-electron interactions and scattering from defects are all identified mechanisms responsible for the finite lifetime of a valence photo-hole. The electron-phonon induced mass enhancement and rapid change of the photo-hole lifetime near the Fermi level are observed for the first time.Comment: RevTEX, 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in PR

Charge-imbalance effects in intrinsic Josephson systems

We report on two types of experiments with intrinsic Josephson systems made from layered superconductors which show clear evidence of nonequilibrium effects: 1. In 2-point measurements of IV-curves in the presence of high- frequency radiation a shift of the voltage of Shapiro steps from the canonical value hf/(2e) has been observed. 2. In the IV-curves of double-mesa structures an influence of the current through one mesa on the voltage measured on the other mesa is detected. Both effects can be explained by charge-imbalance on the superconducting layers produced by the quasi-particle current, and can be described successfully by a recently developed theory of nonequilibrium effects in intrinsic Josephson systems.Comment: 8pages, 9figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Digital maturity and its determinants in General Practice: a cross- sectional study in 20 countries

Background: The extent to which digital technologies are employed to promote the delivery of high-quality healthcare is known as Digital Maturity. Individual and systemic digital maturity are both necessary to ensure a successful, scalable and sustainable digital transformation in healthcare. However, digital maturity in primary care has been scarcely evaluated. Objectives: This study assessed the digital maturity in General Practice (GP) globally and evaluated its association with participants' demographic characteristics, practice characteristics and features of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) use. Methods: GPs across 20 countries completed an online questionnaire between June and September 2020. Demographic data, practice characteristics, and features of EHRs use were collected. Digital maturity was evaluated through a framework based on usage, resources and abilities (divided in this study in its collective and individual components), interoperability, general evaluation methods and impact of digital technologies. Each dimension was rated as 1 or 0. The digital maturity score was calculated as the sum of the six dimensions and ranged between 0 to 6 (maximum digital maturity). Multivariable linear regression was used to model the total score, while multivariable logistic regression was used to model the probability of meeting each dimension of the score. Results: One thousand six hundred GPs (61% female, 68% Europeans) participated. GPs had a median digital maturity of 4 (P25–P75: 3–5). Positive associations with digital maturity were found with: male gender [B = 0.18 (95% CI 0.01; 0.36)], use of EHRs for longer periods [B = 0.45 (95% CI 0.35; 0.54)] and higher frequencies of access to EHRs [B = 0.33 (95% CI 0.17; 0.48)]. Practicing in a rural setting was negatively associated with digital maturity [B = −0.25 (95%CI −0.43; −0.08)]. Usage (90%) was the most acknowledged dimension while interoperability (47%) and use of best practice general evaluation methods (28%) were the least. Shorter durations of EHRs use were negatively associated with all digital maturity dimensions (aOR from 0.09 to 0.77). Conclusion: Our study demonstrated notable factors that impact digital maturity and exposed discrepancies in digital transformation across healthcare settings. It provides guidance for policymakers to develop more efficacious interventions to hasten the digital transformation of General Practice