The Effects of Body Composition on Resting Metabolic Rate among College Aged Students

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the measure of daily energy expenditure while the body is at rest. RMR is becoming more useful in order to measure the energy demands in both athletes and non-athletes. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze the RMR among college aged students, along with their body compositions in order to determine if there is a correlation between body fat percentage and RMR. METHODS: Participants in this study included 19 students at Midwestern State University between the ages of 19-25. (n = 19; female = 12; male = 7). Participants were asked prior to their initial measurements about their fitness status and were placed into either a physically active (PA) group or a sedentary group (S). Each participant was assigned a date and time in the morning for resting measurements, including: height (cm), weight (kg), resting heart rate (RHR), body fate percentage (%) and RMR (kcal). A Pearson Product R Correlation Coefficient was run to determine association between RMR, body fat percentage and other variables. Results are represented as means and standard deviations (+SD). Statistical significance was set a priori at p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 19 participants were tested in this study (PA=15, S=4). Because there were only four (4) participants determined to be sedentary, statistical analysis was run as one sample size of 19 rather than two separate groups. The mean RMR of the participants was 1858.95 ± 337.55 kcal*day-1. There were no significant correlations between RMR and body fat percentage (r = -0.4, p \u3e 0.05). There were significant correlations in height and weight when related to RMR (r = 0.75; r = 0.68, respectively). A post hoc analysis with BMI was then conducted. Mean (SD) BMI of the participants was 25.11 (2.89) kg*m-2. There was no significant association between BMI and RMR (r = 0.30, p \u3e 0.05). Lean body mass (LBM) was observed to have a significant correlation with RMR (r = 0.83, p \u3c 0.05). A post hoc analysis was conducted in order to determine gender differences between the subjects. BMI was not significantly different between males and females (p = 0.79, p \u3e 0.05). CONCLUSION: Body fat percentage is not significantly correlated with RMR. However, body composition does affect RMR, specifically through LBM

The Effect of Covid-19 on Cardiac Health Investigated by Electrocardiogram in Collegiate Athletes

Covid-19 has emerged as a global pandemic and affected almost every organ of the body. There is limited data on cardiovascular involvement in athletes with covid-19 infection. PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of covid-19 on cardiac health in collegiate athletes by electrocardiogram. METHODS: Prior to testing, all subjects signed an Informed Consent approved by the university Institutional Review Board (IRB). Screening electrocardiograms were performed in 45 Covid-19 infected basketball, football and soccer playing athletes (39 males and 6 females) of 18-25 years of age and have since shown to be negative following two successive tests. The data were then compared to ECG values in non-infected basketball, football, and soccer athletes, obtained by conducting meta-analyses with having same age and sport criteria. Descriptive statistics were means and standard deviation (SD). Additional statistical analyses utilized a Factorial ANOVA with main effect, post hoc Tukey and effect size calculations. Statistical significance is set a priori at P \u3c 0.05. RESULTS: The total number of subjects in experimental group were 12 male basketball players, 23 male football players, 4 male soccer players and 6 female Soccer players. The total number of subjects in control group obtained through meta-analyses were 591 male basketball athletes, 176 male footballers, 588 male soccer athletes and 154 female soccer athletes. The baseline characteristics of mean (SD) BMI (kg/m2) for experimental group was as follows: male basketball: 23.4 (1.77), male football: 31.5 (6.53), male soccer: 23.9 (1.55), and female soccer: 24.5 (4.52). For control groups, BMI were as follows: male basketball: 25, male football: 22.6 (7), male soccer: 23.1 (0.8), and female soccer: 21.8 (0.3). The factorial ANOVA shows that there is a significant difference in ECG parameters between male and females (p=0.001) and between sports (p= 0.000034) but not between experimental and control group (p=0.18). The post hoc Tukey analysis indicated the following: PR interval and QRS duration were significantly (p=0.006, p=0.017) higher in males compared to females, respectively; PR interval was significantly (p=0.04) lower in Soccer players compared to other sports. The resting heart rate (RHR) was significantly (p=0.01) higher in the experimental group compared to controls, yet was within normal range of heart rate. While there was not a significant difference between the two groups in the ECG parameters, there was a small to huge effect size in ECG parameters in male and female soccer players. In male soccer players between the groups, the value of Cohen D for RHR was 0.16 (very small effect size), 0.92 (large effect size) for QRS duration and 0.72 (medium effect size) for QTc interval. For the female soccer players, the value of Cohen D for RHR was 1.70 (very large effect size), and 0.67 (medium effect size) for QRS duration. There is a huge effect size in RHR in male football athletes with a Cohen D value of 2.1. CONCLUSION: The effect of Covid-19 on ECG parameters is more profound in male athletes compared to female counterparts, primarily in RHR, PR interval and QRS duration. In terms of sports, the male and female soccer players have changes in ECG parameters when compared to male football and basketball athletes

Effects of 8-Week Ketogenic Diet on Anthropometrics, Body Composition, Metabolic Parameters, and Psychological Factors in Young Obese Population

Obese have a significantly higher Body Mass Index (BMI), which can be associated with poor nutritional intake and sedentary lifestyles. The ketogenic diet is a form of a dietary intervention which is often implemented for metabolic syndrome individuals such as obese populations. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of a ketogenic diet on anthropometrics, body composition, metabolic parameters, and psychological factors in young obese population. METHODS: Seven young obese participants (n=7, height (cm); 174.8 ± 10.9, weight (kg); 105 ± 20.7, BMI (kg∙m-2); 34.6 ± 4.8) completed an 8-week intervention with a 70:20:10 ratio of fats to proteins to carbohydrates. Participants within the study were provided three meals per day, for a total of 8 weeks. Statistical analyses were performed with IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 27.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA). All data was reported as mean and standard deviation (SD). Dependent paired t-Test was used to determine ketogenic diet intervention effects. Frequencies were used to measure results from psychological factors. Statistical significance was set a priori p ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: Participants within the study noted significant reductions in anthropometric variables during 8 weeks: body mass (Pre: 105.8 ± 20.5 kg Post: 98.9 ± 18.8 kg, p= 0.000), BMI (Pre: 34.6 ± 4.8 kg·m-2, Post: 32.2 ± 4.2 kg·m-2, p= 0.001), waist circumference (Pre: 101.5 ± 13.9 cm, Post: 96.3 ± 13.3 cm, p= 0.000), and hip circumference (Pre: 112.6 ± 11.5 cm, Post: 107.3 ± 10.8 cm, p= 0.000). Significant reductions were shown in body composition variables: body fat (Pre: 25.6 ± 0.8%, Post: 21.1 ± 1.4%, p=0.000), and lean body mass (Post: 78.9 ± 14.9 kg, Post: 78.2 ± 14.5 kg, p=.0035). Significant reductions were shown in metabolic parameters: systolic blood pressure (Post: 126.6 ± 10.0 mmHg, Post: 120 ± 6.6 mmHg, p=0.029), diastolic blood pressure (Pre: 81.7 ± 4.9 mmHg, Post: 76.3 ± 1.8 mmHg, p= 0.020), and VO2max (Pre: 47.6 ± 8.9 mL·kg-1·min-1, Post: 51.8 ± 9.2 mL·kg-1·min-1, p=0.001. Question 1 within the psychological questionnaire results shown a reduction in the negative aspect in poor health score, with a significant increase shown towards good health. Question 3g results shown that here was a significant increase in frequencies of improvement towards having no limitations regarding walking a one-mile distance. Question 9g had significant increase in individuals selecting improved overall energy levels in comparison to baseline. CONCLUSION: The 8 weeks of ketogenic diet intervention may contribute or change bioenergetics pathways and results in significant adaptations on anthropometrics, body composition, metabolic parameters, and psychological factors in young obese population

Loss of androgen signaling in mesenchymal sonic hedgehog responsive cells diminishes prostate development, growth, and regeneration.

Prostate embryonic development, pubertal and adult growth, maintenance, and regeneration are regulated through androgen signaling-mediated mesenchymal-epithelial interactions. Specifically, the essential role of mesenchymal androgen signaling in the development of prostate epithelium has been observed for over 30 years. However, the identity of the mesenchymal cells responsible for this paracrine regulation and related mechanisms are still unknown. Here, we provide the first demonstration of an indispensable role of the androgen receptor (AR) in sonic hedgehog (SHH) responsive Gli1-expressing cells, in regulating prostate development, growth, and regeneration. Selective deletion of AR expression in Gli1-expressing cells during embryogenesis disrupts prostatic budding and impairs prostate development and formation. Tissue recombination assays showed that urogenital mesenchyme (UGM) containing AR-deficient mesenchymal Gli1-expressing cells combined with wildtype urogenital epithelium (UGE) failed to develop normal prostate tissue in the presence of androgens, revealing the decisive role of AR in mesenchymal SHH responsive cells in prostate development. Prepubescent deletion of AR expression in Gli1-expressing cells resulted in severe impairment of androgen-induced prostate growth and regeneration. RNA-sequencing analysis showed significant alterations in signaling pathways related to prostate development, stem cells, and organ morphogenesis in AR-deficient Gli1-expressing cells. Among these altered pathways, the transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) pathway was up-regulated in AR-deficient Gli1-expressing cells. We further demonstrated the activation of TGFβ1 signaling in AR-deleted prostatic Gli1-expressing cells, which inhibits prostate epithelium growth through paracrine regulation. These data demonstrate a novel role of the AR in the Gli1-expressing cellular niche for regulating prostatic cell fate, morphogenesis, and renewal, and elucidate the mechanism by which mesenchymal androgen-signaling through SHH-responsive cells elicits the growth and regeneration of prostate epithelium

Quantum biology on the edge of quantum chaos

We give a new explanation for why some biological systems can stay quantum coherent for long times at room temperatures, one of the fundamental puzzles of quantum biology. We show that systems with the right level of complexity between chaos and regularity can increase their coherence time by orders of magnitude. Systems near Critical Quantum Chaos or Metal-Insulator Transition (MIT) can have long coherence times and coherent transport at the same time. The new theory tested in a realistic light harvesting system model can reproduce the scaling of critical fluctuations reported in recent experiments. Scaling of return probability in the FMO light harvesting complex shows the signs of universal return probability decay observed at critical MIT. The results may open up new possibilities to design low loss energy and information transport systems in this Poised Realm hovering reversibly between quantum coherence and classicality

Global gene expression of Prochlorococcus ecotypes in response to changes in nitrogen availability

Nitrogen (N) often limits biological productivity in the oceanic gyres where Prochlorococcus is the most abundant photosynthetic organism. The Prochlorococcus community is composed of strains, such as MED4 and MIT9313, that have different N utilization capabilities and that belong to ecotypes with different depth distributions. An interstrain comparison of how Prochlorococcus responds to changes in ambient nitrogen is thus central to understanding its ecology. We quantified changes in MED4 and MIT9313 global mRNA expression, chlorophyll fluorescence, and photosystem II photochemical efficiency (F(v)/F(m)) along a time series of increasing N starvation. In addition, the global expression of both strains growing in ammonium-replete medium was compared to expression during growth on alternative N sources. There were interstrain similarities in N regulation such as the activation of a putative NtcA regulon during N stress. There were also important differences between the strains such as in the expression patterns of carbon metabolism genes, suggesting that the two strains integrate N and C metabolism in fundamentally different ways

Regulation of atrial natriuretic peptide secretion by a novel Ras-like protein

Atrial cardiomyocytes, neurons, and endocrine tissues secrete neurotransmitters and peptide hormones via large dense-core vesicles (LDCVs). We describe a new member of the Ras family of G-proteins, named RRP17, which is expressed specifically in cardiomyocytes, neurons, and the pancreas. RRP17 interacts with Ca2+-activated protein for secretion-1 (CAPS1), one of only a few proteins known to be associated exclusively with LDCV exocytosis. Ectopic expression of RRP17 in cardiomyocytes enhances secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a regulator of blood pressure and natriuresis. Conversely, genetic deletion of RRP17 in mice results in dysmorphic LDCVs, impaired ANP secretion, and hypertension. These findings identify RRP17 as a component of the cellular machinery involved in regulated secretion within the heart and potential mediator of the endocrine influence of the heart on other tissues

Genetic Covariance Structure of Reading, Intelligence and Memory in Children

This study investigates the genetic relationship among reading performance, IQ, verbal and visuospatial working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM) in a sample of 112, 9-year-old twin pairs and their older siblings. The relationship between reading performance and the other traits was explained by a common genetic factor for reading performance, IQ, WM and STM and a genetic factor that only influenced reading performance and verbal memory. Genetic variation explained 83% of the variation in reading performance; most of this genetic variance was explained by variation in IQ and memory performance. We hypothesize, based on these results, that children with reading problems possibly can be divided into three groups: (1) children low in IQ and with reading problems; (2) children with average IQ but a STM deficit and with reading problems; (3) children with low IQ and STM deficits; this group may experience more reading problems than the other two

Anatomical Network Comparison of Human Upper and Lower, Newborn and Adult, and Normal and Abnormal Limbs, with Notes on Development, Pathology and Limb Serial Homology vs. Homoplasy

How do the various anatomical parts (modules) of the animal body evolve into very different integrated forms (integration) yet still function properly without decreasing the individual's survival? This long-standing question remains unanswered for multiple reasons, including lack of consensus about conceptual definitions and approaches, as well as a reasonable bias toward the study of hard tissues over soft tissues. A major difficulty concerns the non-trivial technical hurdles of addressing this problem, specifically the lack of quantitative tools to quantify and compare variation across multiple disparate anatomical parts and tissue types. In this paper we apply for the first time a powerful new quantitative tool, Anatomical Network Analysis (AnNA), to examine and compare in detail the musculoskeletal modularity and integration of normal and abnormal human upper and lower limbs. In contrast to other morphological methods, the strength of AnNA is that it allows efficient and direct empirical comparisons among body parts with even vastly different architectures (e.g. upper and lower limbs) and diverse or complex tissue composition (e.g. bones, cartilages and muscles), by quantifying the spatial organization of these parts-their topological patterns relative to each other-using tools borrowed from network theory. Our results reveal similarities between the skeletal networks of the normal newborn/adult upper limb vs. lower limb, with exception to the shoulder vs. pelvis. However, when muscles are included, the overall musculoskeletal network organization of the upper limb is strikingly different from that of the lower limb, particularly that of the more proximal structures of each limb. Importantly, the obtained data provide further evidence to be added to the vast amount of paleontological, gross anatomical, developmental, molecular and embryological data recently obtained that contradicts the long-standing dogma that the upper and lower limbs are serial homologues. In addition, the AnNA of the limbs of a trisomy 18 human fetus strongly supports Pere Alberch's ill-named "logic of monsters" hypothesis, and contradicts the commonly accepted idea that birth defects often lead to lower integration (i.e. more parcellation) of anatomical structures