TIBIO-FEMORAL JOINT FORCES DURING THE LANDING PHASE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF VERTICAL JUMP

The purpose of this study was to compare the tibio-femoral contact forces during the landing phases of 8 different types of vertical jump (squat, countermovement, hop approach and drop jumps each with and without the use of arms). Data were collected from eight males and eight females. Two S-VHS camcorders and a force platform were used to obtain the 3-D kinematics and kinetics of the knee joint. Activities of selected muscles spanning the knee joint were monitored using surface electromyographic (EMG) techniques. The EMG-assisted optimization model was used to estimate the tibio-femoral joint forces. The peak compressive contact forces ranged from 3-5 body weight (SW) and from 2.5-3.7 SW for the males and females, respectively. These loads seldom fell within the range that is considered to be damaging to the cartilage at the knee

Non-Invasive Epigenetic Detection of Fetal Trisomy 21 in First Trimester Maternal Plasma

BACKGROUND: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common known aneuploidy, caused by an extra copy of all or part of chromosome 21. Fetal-specific epigenetic markers have been investigated for non-invasive prenatal detection of fetal DS. The phosphodiesterases gene, PDE9A, located on chromosome 21q22.3, is completely methylated in blood (M-PDE9A) and unmethylated in the placenta (U-PDE9A). Therefore, we estimated the accuracy of non-invasive fetal DS detection during the first trimester of pregnancy using this tissue-specific epigenetic characteristic of PDE9A. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A nested, case-control study was conducted using maternal plasma samples collected from 108 pregnant women carrying 18 DS and 90 normal fetuses (each case was matched with 5 controls according to gestational weeks at blood sampling). All pregnancies were singletons at or before 12 weeks of gestation between October 2008 and May 2009. The maternal plasma levels of M-PDE9A and U-PDE9A were measured by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. M-PDE9A and U-PDE9A levels were obtained in all samples and did not differ between male and female fetuses. M-PDE9A levels did not differ between the DS cases and controls (1854.3 vs 2004.5 copies/mL; P = 0.928). U-PDE9A levels were significantly elevated in women with DS fetuses compared with controls (356.8 vs 194.7 copies/mL, P<0.001). The sensitivities of U-PDE9A level and the unmethylation index of PDE9A for non-invasive fetal DS detection were 77.8% and 83.3%, respectively, with a 5% false-positive rate. In the risk assessment for fetal DS, the adjusted odds ratios of U-PDE9A level and UI were 46.2 [95% confidence interval: 7.8-151.6] and 63.7 [95% confidence interval: 23.2-206.7], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that U-PDE9A level and the unmethylation index of PDE9A may be useful biomarkers for non-invasive fetal DS detection during the first trimester of pregnancy, regardless of fetal gender

A modified formula using energy system contributions to calculate pure maximal rate of lactate accumulation during a maximal sprint cycling test

Purpose: This study aimed at comparing previous calculating formulas of maximal lactate accumulation rate (νLa.max) and a modified formula of pure νLa.max (PνLa.max) during a 15-s all-out sprint cycling test (ASCT) to analyze their relationships.Methods: Thirty male national-level track cyclists participated in this study (n = 30) and performed a 15-s ASCT. The anaerobic power output (Wpeak and Wmean), oxygen uptake, and blood lactate concentrations (La−) were measured. These parameters were used for different calculations of νLa.max and three energy contributions (phosphagen, WPCr; glycolytic, WGly; and oxidative, WOxi). The PνLa.max calculation considered delta La−, time until Wpeak (tPCr−peak), and the time contributed by the oxidative system (tOxi). Other νLa.max levels without tOxi were calculated using decreasing time by 3.5% from Wpeak (tPCr −3.5%) and tPCr−peak.Results: The absolute and relative WPCr were higher than WGly and WOxi (p &lt; 0.0001, respectively), and the absolute and relative WGly were significantly higher than WOxi (p &lt; 0.0001, respectively); νLa.max (tPCr −3.5%) was significantly higher than PνLa.max and νLa.max (tPCr−peak), while νLa.max (tPCr−peak) was lower than PνLa.max (p &lt; 0.0001, respectively). PνLa.max and νLa.max (tPCr−peak) were highly correlated (r = 0.99; R2 = 0.98). This correlation was higher than the relationship between PνLa.max and νLa.max (tPCr −3.5%) (r = 0.87; R2 = 0.77). νLa.max (tPCr−peak), PνLa.max, and νLa.max (tPCr −3.5%) were found to correlate with absolute Wmean and WGly.Conclusion: PνLa.max as a modified calculation of νLa.max provides more detailed insights into the inter-individual differences in energy and glycolytic metabolism than νLa.max (tPCr−peak) and νLa.max (tPCr −3.5%). Because WOxi and WPCr can differ remarkably between athletes, implementing their values in PνLa.max can establish more optimized individual profiling for elite track cyclists

Ameliorating effects of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) fruit on plasma ethanol level in a mouse model assessed with 1H-NMR based metabolic profiling

The ameliorating effects of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) flesh and peel samples on plasma ethanol level were investigated using a mouse model. Mango fruit samples remarkably decreased mouse plasma ethanol levels and increased the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. The 1H-NMR-based metabolomic technique was employed to investigate the differences in metabolic profiles of mango fruits, and mouse plasma samples fed with mango fruit samples. The partial least squares-discriminate analysis of 1H-NMR spectral data of mouse plasma demonstrated that there were clear separations among plasma samples from mice fed with buffer, mango flesh and peel. A loading plot demonstrated that metabolites from mango fruit, such as fructose and aspartate, might stimulate alcohol degradation enzymes. This study suggests that mango flesh and peel could be used as resources for functional foods intended to decrease plasma ethanol level after ethanol uptake

Replicative genetic association study between functional polymorphisms in AVPR1A and social behavior scales of autism spectrum disorder in the Korean population

Abbreviations ADI-A1: Failure to use nonverbal behaviors to regulate social interaction; ADIA2: Failure to develop peer relationship; ADI-A3: Lack of shared enjoyment; ADI-A4: Lack of socioemotional reciprocity; ANOVA: Analysis of variance; ASD: Autism spectrum disorder; ASDS: Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale; AVP: Arginine vasopressin; AVPR1A: Arginine vasopressin receptor 1A; Df: Degree of freedom; EMSA: Electrophoretic mobility-shift assay; FBAT: Family-based association test; HBAT: Haplotype family-based association test; IRB: Institutional Review Board; K-ADI-R: Korean version of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised; K-ADOS: Korean version of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; K-CBCL: Korean Child Behavior Checklist; KEDI-WISC-R: Korean Educational Development Institute-Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised; K-SMS: Korean version of the Social Maturity Scale; MAF: Minor allele frequency; PDD-NOS: Pervasive developmental disorder that were not otherwise specified; RLUs: Relative luciferase units; SCQ: Social Communication Questionnaires; SNPs: Single nucleotide polymorphisms; SRS: Social Responsiveness Scale; TDT: Transmission disequilibrium test; VABS: Vineland Adaptive BehaviorAbstract Background Arginine vasopressin has been shown to affect social and emotional behaviors, which is mediated by the arginine vasopressin receptor (AVPR1A). Genetic polymorphisms in the AVPR1A promoter region have been identified to be associated with susceptibility to social deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We hypothesize that alleles of polymorphisms in the promoter region of AVPR1A may differentially interact with certain transcriptional factors, which in turn affect quantitative traits, such as sociality, in children with autism. Methods We performed an association study between ASD and polymorphisms in the AVPR1A promoter region in the Korean population using a family-based association test (FBAT). We evaluated the correlation between genotypes and the quantitative traits that are related to sociality in children with autism. We also performed a promoter assay in T98G cells and evaluated the binding affinities of transcription factors to alleles of rs7294536. Results The polymorphisms—RS1, RS3, rs7294536, and rs10877969—were analyzed. Under the dominant model, RS1–310, the shorter allele, was preferentially transmitted. The FBAT showed that the rs7294536 A allele was also preferentially transmitted in an additive and dominant model under the bi-allelic mode. When quantitative traits were used in the FBAT, rs7294536 and rs10877969 were statistically significant in all genotype models and modes. Luciferase and electrophoretic mobility-shift assays suggest that the rs7294536 A/G allele results in a Nf-κB binding site that exhibits differential binding affinities depending on the allele. Conclusion These results demonstrate that polymorphisms in the AVPR1A promoter region might be involved in pathophysiology of ASD and in functional regulation of the expression of AVPR1A.This work has been supported by the Healthcare Technology R&D project (no. HI12C0021) by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea; the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (NRF-2014R1A2A1A110 53289 and NRF-2017M3C7A1027467