Home-based isometric exercise training induced reductions resting blood pressure

Purpose: Isometric exercise training (IET) reduces resting blood pressure (BP). Most previous protocols impose exercise barriers which undermine its effectiveness as a potential physical therapy for altering BP. An inexpensive, home-based programme would promote IET as a valuable tool in the fight against hypertension. The aims of this study were: (a) to investigate whether home-based wall squat training could successfully reduce resting BP, and (b) to explore the physiological variables that might mediate a change in resting BP. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy normotensive males were randomly assigned to a control and a 4 week home-based IET intervention using a crossover design with a 4 week ‘washout’ period in-between. Wall squat training was completed 3x weekly over 4 weeks with 48 hours between sessions. Each session comprised 4x 2 minute bouts of wall squat exercise performed at a participant-specific knee joint angle relative to a target HR of 95% HRpeak, with 2 minutes rest between bouts. Resting heart rate, BP, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance and stroke volume were taken at baseline and post each condition. Results: Resting BP (systolic = -4 ± 5, diastolic = -3 ± 3 and mean arterial = -3 ± 3 mmHg), cardiac output (-0.54 ± 0.66 L∙min-1) and heart rate (-5 ± 7 beats∙min-1) were all reduced following IET, with no change in total peripheral resistance or stroke volume compared to the control. Conclusion: These findings suggest the wall squat provides an effective method for reducing resting BP in the home resulting primarily from a reduction in resting heart rate

The MetabolomeExpress Project: enabling web-based processing, analysis and transparent dissemination of GC/MS metabolomics datasets

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Standardization of analytical approaches and reporting methods via community-wide collaboration can work synergistically with web-tool development to result in rapid community-driven expansion of online data repositories suitable for data mining and meta-analysis. In metabolomics, the inter-laboratory reproducibility of gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry (GC/MS) makes it an obvious target for such development. While a number of web-tools offer access to datasets and/or tools for raw data processing and statistical analysis, none of these systems are currently set up to act as a public repository by easily accepting, processing and presenting publicly submitted GC/MS metabolomics datasets for public re-analysis.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>Here, we present MetabolomeExpress, a new File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server and web-tool for the online storage, processing, visualisation and statistical re-analysis of publicly submitted GC/MS metabolomics datasets. Users may search a quality-controlled database of metabolite response statistics from publicly submitted datasets by a number of parameters (eg. metabolite, species, organ/biofluid etc.). Users may also perform meta-analysis comparisons of multiple independent experiments or re-analyse public primary datasets via user-friendly tools for t-test, principal components analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and correlation analysis. They may interact with chromatograms, mass spectra and peak detection results via an integrated raw data viewer. Researchers who register for a free account may upload (via FTP) their own data to the server for online processing via a novel raw data processing pipeline.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>MetabolomeExpress <url>https://www.metabolome-express.org</url> provides a new opportunity for the general metabolomics community to transparently present online the raw and processed GC/MS data underlying their metabolomics publications. Transparent sharing of these data will allow researchers to assess data quality and draw their own insights from published metabolomics datasets.</p

708 Common and 2010 rare DISC1 locus variants identified in 1542 subjects:analysis for association with psychiatric disorder and cognitive traits

A balanced t(1;11) translocation that transects the Disrupted in schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene shows genome-wide significant linkage for schizophrenia and recurrent major depressive disorder (rMDD) in a single large Scottish family, but genome-wide and exome sequencing-based association studies have not supported a role for DISC1 in psychiatric illness. To explore DISC1 in more detail, we sequenced 528 kb of the DISC1 locus in 653 cases and 889 controls. We report 2718 validated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of which 2010 have a minor allele frequency of &lt;1%. Only 38% of these variants are reported in the 1000 Genomes Project European subset. This suggests that many DISC1 SNPs remain undiscovered and are essentially private. Rare coding variants identified exclusively in patients were found in likely functional protein domains. Significant region-wide association was observed between rs16856199 and rMDD (P=0.026, unadjusted P=6.3 × 10-5, OR=3.48). This was not replicated in additional recurrent major depression samples (replication P=0.11). Combined analysis of both the original and replication set supported the original association (P=0.0058, OR=1.46). Evidence for segregation of this variant with disease in families was limited to those of rMDD individuals referred from primary care. Burden analysis for coding and non-coding variants gave nominal associations with diagnosis and measures of mood and cognition. Together, these observations are likely to generalise to other candidate genes for major mental illness and may thus provide guidelines for the design of future studies. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited

Clinical practice: Noninvasive respiratory support in newborns

The most important goal of introducing noninvasive ventilation (NIV) has been to decrease the need for intubation and, therefore, mechanical ventilation in newborns. As a result, this technique may reduce the incidence of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In addition to nasal CPAP, improvements in sensors and flow delivery systems have resulted in the introduction of a variety of other types of NIV. For the optimal application of these novelties, a thorough physiological knowledge of mechanics of the respiratory system is necessary. In this overview, the modern insights of noninvasive respiratory therapy in newborns are discussed. These aspects include respiratory support in the delivery room; conventional and modern nCPAP; humidified, heated, and high-flow nasal cannula ventilation; and nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation. Finally, an algorithm is presented describing common practice in taking care of respiratory distress in prematurely born infants

Global Diversity of Ascidiacea

The class Ascidiacea presents fundamental opportunities for research in the fields of development, evolution, ecology, natural products and more. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge regarding the global biodiversity of the class Ascidiacea, focusing in their taxonomy, main regions of biodiversity, and distribution patterns. Based on analysis of the literature and the species registered in the online World Register of Marine Species, we assembled a list of 2815 described species. The highest number of species and families is found in the order Aplousobranchia. Didemnidae and Styelidae families have the highest number of species with more than 500 within each group. Sixty percent of described species are colonial. Species richness is highest in tropical regions, where colonial species predominate. In higher latitudes solitary species gradually contribute more to the total species richness. We emphasize the strong association between species richness and sampling efforts, and discuss the risks of invasive species. Our inventory is certainly incomplete as the ascidian fauna in many areas around the world is relatively poorly known, and many new species continue to be discovered and described each year

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

The use of the CR-10 scale to allow self-regulation of isometric exercise intensity in pre-hypertensive and hypertensive participants

Purpose: Isometric exercise (IE) has been shown to lower blood pressure (BP). Using equipment with force output displays, intensity is usually regulated at 30% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC); however, the cost of programmable equipment and their requirement for maximal contractions presents limitations. A simple, cost-effective alternative deserves investigation. The purpose of this study was (i) to explore the relationship between %MVC, change in systolic BP (ΔSBP), and perceived exertion (CR-10) and (ii) to assess the validity of self-regulation of intensity during isometric handgrip exercise. Methods: Fourteen pre-hypertensive and hypertensive adults completed eight, 2-minute isometric handgrip exercises at randomised intensities; participants estimated their perceived exertion at 30-second intervals (Estimation Task). Subsequently, on three separate occasions participants performed four 2-minute contractions at an exertion level that they perceived to be equivalent to CR-10 “Level-6” (Production Task). Results: There were significant linear relationships between the estimated exertion on the CR-10 scale, and ΔSBP (r=0.784) and %MVC (r=0.845). Level 6 was equivalent to an average ΔSBP of 38mmHg (95% CI; 44mmHg, 32mmHg) and a relative force of 33% MVC (95% CI; 36.2%, 30%). During the production task, %MVC was not significantly different between the estimation task and each production task. In at least the first two repetitions of each production task, ΔSBP was significantly lower than that observed in the estimation task. Conclusion: These findings show that CR-10 “level-6” is an appropriate method of self-regulating isometric handgrip intensity; its use offers an affordable and accessible alternative for isometric exercise prescription aimed at reducing BP

Strengths and limitations of period estimation methods for circadian data

A key step in the analysis of circadian data is to make an accurate estimate of the underlying period. There are many different techniques and algorithms for determining period, all with different assumptions and with differing levels of complexity. Choosing which algorithm, which implementation and which measures of accuracy to use can offer many pitfalls, especially for the non-expert. We have developed the BioDare system, an online service allowing data-sharing (including public dissemination), data-processing and analysis. Circadian experiments are the main focus of BioDare hence performing period analysis is a major feature of the system. Six methods have been incorporated into BioDare: Enright and Lomb-Scargle periodograms, FFT-NLLS, mFourfit, MESA and Spectrum Resampling. Here we review those six techniques, explain the principles behind each algorithm and evaluate their performance. In order to quantify the methods' accuracy, we examine the algorithms against artificial mathematical test signals and model-generated mRNA data. Our re-implementation of each method in Java allows meaningful comparisons of the computational complexity and computing time associated with each algorithm. Finally, we provide guidelines on which algorithms are most appropriate for which data types, and recommendations on experimental design to extract optimal data for analysis