Body Composition, Muscular Performance, and Free Testosterone Following 12-Weeks of Protein Supplementation and Resistance Training in Men Aged 35-55

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of protein supplementation and Autoregulatory Progressive Resistance Exercise (APRE) training on measures of body composition, muscular performance, and free testosterone in middle-aged men. METHODS: Untrained males (n = 35; 43.3 ± 6.6 years) participated in this study. Lean mass (LM) and fat mass (FM) were measured via Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), while strength was measured utilizing one repetition maximum (1RM), endurance measured using maximum repetitions completed (REPS) at 75% 1RM for the bench and leg press, and free testosterone was measured using changes in serum values. Subjects were randomly placed into one of four groups: protein (PO), APRE, protein plus APRE (PAPRE), or control (CON). Subjects repeated testing for the DEXA, 1RM, REPS, and blood draw every four weeks for 12 weeks. Both PO and PAPRE groups ingested 25g of supplemental protein twice daily. Subjects in the exercise groups completed a resistance training program, 3 days per week, for 12 weeks. RESULTS: Analysis revealed a significant time interaction (p \u3c .01) and a trend towards significance for group time interaction (p = .08) between baseline and week 12 for LM, with the APRE and PAPRE groups showing a significant increase following the 12-weeks. Significant time and group by time interactions (p \u3c .01) occurred for BP and LP 1RM. APRE and PAPRE displayed increases at multiple times over the course of the 12-weeks for both BP and LP, while the PRO and CON groups exhibited increases for LP only. While REPS remained unchanged (p \u3e .05), volume lifted exhibited a significant time interaction between baseline and week 12 for BP and LP (p \u3c .01), and a significant group by time interaction for LP (p \u3c .01). PRO increased BP volume, and PAPRE increased both BP and LP volume, while APRE and CON remained relatively the same following the 12-weeks. There were no significant changes in serum free testosterone over the course of the 12-week study. CONCLUSION: APRE, alone and in combination with supplemental protein, provides greater benefits in changes in LM and muscular performance compared to that of supplemental protein alone for middle-aged men following a 12-week intervention

A Magnetohydrodynamic Nonradiative Accretion Flow in Three Dimensions

We present a global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) three dimensional simulation of a nonradiative accretion flow originating in a pressure supported torus. The evolution is controlled by the magnetorotational instability which produces turbulence. The flow forms a nearly Keplerian disk. The total pressure scale height in this disk is comparable to the vertical size of the initial torus. Gas pressure dominates only near the equator; magnetic pressure is more important in the surrounding atmosphere. A magnetically dominated bound outflow is driven from the disk. The accretion rate through the disk exceeds the final rate into the hole, and a hot torus forms inside 10 r_g. Hot gas, pushed up against the centrifugal barrier and confined by magnetic pressure, is ejected in a narrow, unbound, conical outflow. The dynamics are controlled by magnetic turbulence, not thermal convection, and a hydrodynamic alpha model is inadequate to describe the flow. The limitations of two dimensional MHD simulations are also discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ApJ Letters. For web version and mpeg animations see http://www.astro.virginia.edu/~jh8h/nraf

Exact shering box solutions of MHD flows with resistivity, viscosity and cooling

Axisymmetric incompressible modes of the magneto-rotational instability (MRI) with a vertical wavenumber are exact solutions of the non-linear local equations of motion for a disk (shearing box). They are referred to as "channel solutions". Here, we generalize a class of these solutions to include energy losses, viscous, and resistive effects. In the limit of zero shear, we recover the result that torsional Alfv\'en waves are exact solutions of the non-linear equations. Our method allows the extension of these solutions into the dissipative regime. These new solutions serve as benchmarks for simulations including dissipation and energy loss, and to calibrate numerical viscosity and resistivity in the Zeus3D code. We quantify the anisotropy of numerical dissipation and compute its scaling with time and space resolution. We find a strong dependence of the dissipation on the mean magnetic field that may affect the saturation state of the MRI as computed with Zeus3D. It is also shown that elongated grid cells generally preclude isotropic dissipation and that a Courant time step smaller than that which is commonly used should be taken to avoid spurious anti-diffusion of magnetic field.Comment: 17 pages, 18 figures, MNRAS in pres

Quantitative test of general theories of the intrinsic laser linewidth

We perform a first-principles calculation of the quantum-limited laser linewidth, testing the predictions of recently developed theories of the laser linewidth based on fluctuations about the known steady-state laser solutions against traditional forms of the Schawlow-Townes linewidth. The numerical study is based on finite-difference time-domain simulations of the semiclassical Maxwell-Bloch lasing equations, augmented with Langevin force terms, and thus includes the effects of dispersion, losses due to the open boundary of the laser cavity, and non-linear coupling between the amplitude and phase fluctuations ($\alpha$ factor). We find quantitative agreement between the numerical results and the predictions of the noisy steady-state ab initio laser theory (N-SALT), both in the variation of the linewidth with output power, as well as the emergence of side-peaks due to relaxation oscillations.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figure

GREEN economy Driving a Green Economy Through Public Finance and Fiscal Policy Reform WORKING PAPER v. 1.0For more information on the Green Economy Initiative www.unep.org/greeneconomy

Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as well as the UN Foundation for their generous support of the Green Economy Initiative. Copyright © United Nations Environment Programme, 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from UNEP. Disclaimer The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the United Nations Environment Programme concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Moreover, the views expressed do not necessarily represent the decision or the stated policy of the United Nations Environment Programme, nor does citing of trade names or commercial processes constitute endorsement. Layout and printing by

Inflation expectations surveys as predictors of inflation and behavior in financial and labor markets

Inflation (Finance) ; Forecasting ; Interest rates