Use of L-arginine and salts thereof in drinking water for the prevention and/or treatment of pulmonary hypertension syndrome in avians

Describes a method of treating or preventing pulmonary hypertension syndrome in avians, generally including administering a drinking water containing L-arginine

The effects of an acute exercise bout on GH and IGF-1 in prediabetic and healthy African Americans: A pilot study investigating gene expression

The incidence of pre-diabetes (PD) and Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2D) is a worldwide epidemic. African American (AA) individuals are disproportionately more likely to become diabetic than other ethnic groups. Over the long-term, metabolic complications related to diabetes result in significant alterations in growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Considering the limited exercise-related studies in the area of gene expression changes with disease progression, the objective of this study was to examine differences in exercise-induced gene expression related to the GH and IGF-1 pathways in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy (CON) and PD AA individuals. Design: Ten subjects [5 PD (age = 35±9.3 yr, BMI = 32.1±4.0, FBG = 101.8±1.3 mg/dl) and 5 CON (age = 31±9.4 yr, BMI = 29.4±5.2, FBG = 82.8±9.7 mg/dl)] had blood drawn for RNA isolation prior to exercise (Pre), immediately following acute moderate intensity exercise on a treadmill (Post-1), 6-hours post (Post-6), and 24-hours post (Post-24). Isolation of mRNA from PBMCs was performed using ficoll separation, while the profiling of mRNA expression was performed using Illumina beadchip arrays with standard protocols. Scan results were statistically analyzed for a specific list of genes related to GH and IGF-1. GH and IGF-1 protein levels were also assessed in each sample. To address issues of normality, all GH and IGF-1 data were log-transformed prior to analysis. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Group differences for GH2 variant 2 (p = 0.070) and GH2 variant 3 (p = 0.059) were coupled with significant alterations in IGF-1 mRNA over time (p = 0.024). A significant interaction between group and time was observed for GHRH mRNA (p = 0.008). No group differences were observed in GH AUC (p = 0.649), ?GH (p = 0.331), GHrec (p = 0.294), or IGF-1 AUC (p = 0.865), representing a similar exercise-induced GH and IGF-1 response for both groups. Conclusions: Analysis of GH and IGF-1 related-gene expression indicates that mild elevations in fasting blood glucose and exercise-induced alterations in gene expression are impacted by the prediabetic state

A preliminary investigation of acute exercise intensity on memory and BDNF isoform concentrations

Little is known about the biological mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of acute exercise on memory or the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on this effect. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a putative biological mechanism, and while findings from human studies are equivocal, they have neglected to assess how exercise affects individual BDNF isoform (proBDNF, mBDNF) concentrations in serum or the influence of the BDNF val66met SNP on BDNF isoform concentrations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to conduct an exploratory assessment of the effect of acute exercise intensity on memory performance and BDNF isoform concentrations relative to carrier status of the BDNF val66met SNP met allele and to provide guidance for future, fully-powered trials. Memory and BDNF isoform concentrations were assessed in three exercise groups (light intensity, vigorous intensity, and non-exercise) relative to BDNF met carrier status. Analyses revealed that BDNF isoform concentrations and memory were differentially affected by exercise intensity and BDNF met carrier status. Vigorous intensity exercise increased mBDNF, and BDNF met carriers had lower mBDNF concentration. Light intensity exercise improved memory, and over 24 h, memory was worse for BDNF met carriers. Implications from this work will help direct future mechanistic studies of the exercise-memory relationship

Associations of actigraphy‐assessed sleep variables with adiposity and serum cardiometabolic outcomes in emerging adults

SummaryThis study assessed associations of actigraphy‐assessed sleep with adiposity and serum cardiometabolic outcomes in emerging adults, and whether sex and race modified these associations. Data on 147 emerging adults (age = 19.4 ± 1.3 years; body mass index = 26.4 ± 7.0 kg m$^{−2}$; 59% female; 65% White) from RIGHT Track Health were used. Actigraphy‐based sleep measures included sleep duration, sleep efficiency, sleep timing midpoint, day‐to‐day sleep duration and sleep timing midpoint variability. Combined sleep duration and sleep timing behaviours were also derived (early‐bed/late‐rise, early‐bed/early‐rise, late‐bed/late‐rise, late‐bed/early‐rise). Outcomes included body mass index and BodPod‐assessed fat mass index, fasting serum leptin, C‐reactive protein, and homeostatic model assessment‐insulin resistance. Sleep duration was 5.4 h per night. We noted an inverse association between sleep duration and homeostatic model assessment‐insulin resistance. The early‐bed/early‐rise group had greater body mass index, C‐reactive protein and homeostatic model assessment‐insulin resistance compared with the early‐bed/late‐rise group (referent). Sex modified associations of sleep efficiency with C‐reactive protein; stratified results revealed positive association between sleep efficiency and C‐reactive protein in males, but not females. Race modified associations of sleep duration with body mass index and leptin, and of sleep duration variability with C‐reactive protein. Stratified analyses revealed inverse associations between sleep duration with body mass index and leptin in Black, multiracial/other race individuals only. Positive association between sleep duration variability and C‐reactive protein was noted in White individuals only. Shorter sleep duration, particularly when combined with earlier sleep timing, is associated with greater adiposity and serum cardiometabolic outcomes. Additional studies are needed to assess individual‐ and contextual‐level factors that may contribute to sex and race differences in sleep health and cardiometabolic risk in emerging adults

Elementary Professional Development within a ‘Practical’ Action Research Effort to Improve Student Literacy

The purpose of this inquiry was to support and augment the action research efforts of elementary teachers who were attempting to enhance literacy outcomes in their respective classrooms. Included are elementary teacher insights, university-based facilitator views, and principal perspectives that together complete a picture of our professional development efforts. Together the data provide an overview of an action research effort, wherein praxis was noted as a necessary element to assume ‘practical’ investigative roles. Praxis herein is the deliberate, informed, planned, and systematic action which is the critical underpinning of all action research efforts. The action in this case was directed towards improvement and implementation of an instructional initiative. This outcome brings with it an immense level of significance in that all educators seek to improve educational outcomes personally, professionally, and politically; therefore a report such as this may be viewed as an essential tool to refine educational practice

The effects of low-intensity cycling on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation

This study examined the effect of 24 h of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance and assessed the effect of acute exercise on cognitive performance following sleep deprivation. Young, active, healthy adults (n = 24, 14 males) were randomized to control (age = 24.7 ± 3.7 years, BMI = 27.2 ± 7.0) or exercise (age = 25.3 ± 3.3 years, BMI = 25.6 ± 5.1) groups. Cognitive testing included a 5-min psychomotor vigilance task (PVT), three memory tasks with increasing cognitive load, and performance of the PVT a second time. On morning one, cognitive testing followed a typical night's sleep. Following 24-h of sustained wakefulness, cognitive testing was conducted again prior to and after the acute intervention. Participants in the exercise condition performed low-intensity cycling (~ 40%HRR) for 15-min and those in the control condition sat quietly on the bike for 15-min. t-Tests revealed sleep deprivation negatively affected performance on the PVT, but did not affect memory performance. Following the acute intervention, there were no cognitive performance differences between the exercise and rested conditions. We provide support for previous literature suggesting that during simple tasks, sleep deprivation has negative effects on cognitive performance. Importantly, in contrast to previous literature which has shown multiple bouts of exercise adding to cognitive detriment when combined with sleep deprivation, our results did not reveal any further detriments to cognitive performance from a single-bout of exercise following sleep deprivation

An external focus of attention is effective for balance control when sleep-deprived

The purpose of our study was to examine if the beneficial effects of an external focus are effective for balance control when sleep-deprived. Sleep-deprived participants (27 hours awake) completed three blocks of five separate 30 second trials on a dynamic balance board. All participants were given internal, external, and control instruction. For the internal focus trials, participants focused on their feet; whereas, for the external focus trials, participants focused on the balance board. Participants’ time in balance was significantly greater during the external focus compared to the internal focus and control. These findings suggest that external focus instructions are effective when participants are sleep-deprived

Vernacular Soliloquy, Theatrical Gesture, and Embodied Consciousness in The Marrow of Tradition

Charles Chesnutt’s Marrow of Tradition (1901) is overwhelmingly understood as an historical novel. Critics have again and again focused on its journalistic historicity; its ambivalent racial politics; its attitudes towards assimilation, separatism, vengeance, and resistance; and Chesnutt’s alleged biographical identification with various characters. This generalized preoccupation with the explicitly political or historical contours of the novel frequently precludes closer scrutiny of Chesnutt’s formal literary strategies. This paper shirks that tendency by considering The Marrow of Tradition not just as an historical novel, but also as a novel of consciousness. Viewing the novel from the perspective of its representation of consciousness both reframes its historiographical bearing and opens up new ways to understand Chesnutt’s fiction and nineteenth-century African American literature. It argues that the location of black consciousness in the novel is the soliloquy, and demonstrates that the soliloquy should be understood as a form of “embodied consciousness”: a narrative mode endowed with the expressivity of theatrical gesture. It further examines these performative gestures in relation to additional patterns in the novel: first, the destructive circulation of written, material texts; and second, recurring images of corporeality and physical breakdown wherein one’s capacity for speech is endangered. As they are invulnerable to such formal compromise and breakdown, Chesnutt’s soliloquies together produce a counter-archive of vernacular memory and reveal how dramatic form functions in the novel more broadly

CRISPR-Cas9 screens in human cells and primary neurons identify modifiers of C9ORF72 dipeptide-repeat-protein toxicity.

Hexanucleotide-repeat expansions in the C9ORF72 gene are the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (c9ALS/FTD). The nucleotide-repeat expansions are translated into dipeptide-repeat (DPR) proteins, which are aggregation prone and may contribute to neurodegeneration. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to perform genome-wide gene-knockout screens for suppressors and enhancers of C9ORF72 DPR toxicity in human cells. We validated hits by performing secondary CRISPR-Cas9 screens in primary mouse neurons. We uncovered potent modifiers of DPR toxicity whose gene products function in nucleocytoplasmic transport, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), proteasome, RNA-processing pathways, and chromatin modification. One modifier, TMX2, modulated the ER-stress signature elicited by C9ORF72 DPRs in neurons and improved survival of human induced motor neurons from patients with C9ORF72 ALS. Together, our results demonstrate the promise of CRISPR-Cas9 screens in defining mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases