Recovery of endurance running capacity: effect of carbohydrate-protein mixtures

Including protein in a carbohydrate solution may accelerate both the rate of glycogen storage and the restoration of exercise capacity following prolonged activity. Two studies were undertaken with nine active men in study A and seven in study B. All participants performed 2 trials, each involving a 90 min run at 70% VO2max followed by a 4 h recovery. During recovery, either a 9.3% carbohydrate solution (CHO) or the same solution plus 1.5% protein (CHO-PRO) was ingested every 30 min in volumes providing either 1.2 g CHO · kg-1 · h-1 (study A) or 0.8 g CHO · kg-1 · h-1 (study B). Exercise capacity was then assessed by run time to exhaustion at 85% VO2max. Ingestion of CHO-PRO elicited greater insulinemic responses than CHO (P less than or equal to 0.05) but with no differences in run times to exhaustion. Within the context of this experimental design, CHO and CHO-PRO restored running capacity with equal effect

Judas Thaddaeus

A study of the early Christian evidence regarding Judas Thaddaeus, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, particularly in relation to apostolic missionary activities in the eastern church

An exploration into the reliability of child witness memory evidence: The role of standardised assessment, misinformation, and the perception of professionals

The Criminal Justice System (CJS) regularly calls upon child witnesses in legal proceedings. It is vitally important that the reliability of a witness’s account is assessed to ensure that accurate evidence is being relied upon in legal decision-making. The overarching aim of this thesis is to better understand the practicalities of working with child memory evidence and how to support this by: (1) examining how a measurement of suggestibility to incorrect information (i.e., misinformation) could be incorporated into practice, to identify whether assessing suggestibility to misinformation could benefit forensic practitioners and child witnesses; and (2) examining how children are perceived by criminal justice professionals, and how professionals work with child memory evidence. This thesis includes a meta-analysis, which found that child witnesses are more likely than adults to succumb to misinformation (Chapter 2). Next, a qualitative study with focus groups of UK professionals working with child memory evidence elucidated opinions about evidence from children and found that professionals were able to identify gaps and issues with current practice and did not appear to have access to a standardised assessment of reliability (Chapter 3). Therefore, the Bonn Test Statement of Suggestibility (BTSS; Endres, 1997) was analysed to assess its applicability to support professionals. It was identified as theoretically useful, though important ethical considerations were highlighted (Chapter 4). Together, this work identifies gaps in the current literature, such as the need to better understand the impact that professionals have on child well-being and evidence, the perceptions that different professionals (e.g., lawyers) have of children, and further meta-analytical assessment of moderating factors of suggestibility to misinformation (e.g., retention interval, misinformation timing, cognitive factors). Practically, the work identifies a need for training and psychological resources to support professionals in the UK to assess the reliability of accounts from child witnesses

Life cycle, biochemistry and chemotherapy of Spironucleus vortens

Spironucleus is an opportunistic protozoan parasite capable of causing devastating losses in the production of both ornamental and food fish. Control of infection outbreaks is problematic due to restrictions on the use of chemotherapeutics and rapid parasite transmission amongst fish. This PhD investigated the life cycle, biochemistry and chemotherapy of Spironucleus vortens. Direct transmission of S. vortens was found to be facilitated by the trophozoite form, information which may be applied in aquaculture to prevent infection outbreaks. No S. vortens cysts were observed in vitro or in vivo and trophozoites were able to survive for prolonged periods in the faeces of angelfish. This novel finding facilitated development of a non-invasive method to quantify the degree of intestinal colonization in the host, which was then applied to determine the efficacy of new and existing chemotherapeutics against S. vortens in vivo. Garlic-derived compounds were shown to be realistic alternatives to the current drug of choice, metronidazole, in the treatment of Spironucleosis in fish. Synergy between metronidazole and the garlic-derived compound, ajoene, was also observed in vitro and in vivo. The mode of action of metronidazole and garlic-derivatives involved disruption of S. vortens intracellular redox balance, a pivotal cellular process which ensures normal cellular function and survival. Further biochemical investigations into the antioxidant defence system (consisting of glutathione, thioredoxin and superoxide dismutase) as well as the carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism of S. vortens provided greater understanding of the success of this organism as a parasite. This is reflected in its ability to withstand fluctuations in O2 and nutrition during key pathogenic stages of its life cycle, including extra-intestinal systemic infection and transmission to a new host

Route of Change on Angleysey

A research collaboration between the Bodorgan Estate, in the south-west of Anglesey, and the Institute for the Study of Welsh Estates (ISWE) at Bangor University, is shedding light on how the estate was put to a variety of usesduring and after the Second World War

Exploring treatment by covariate interactions using subgroup analysis and meta-regression in cochrane reviews:a review of recent practice

Treatment by covariate interactions can be explored in reviews using interaction analyses (e.g., subgroup analysis). Such analyses can provide information on how the covariate modifies the treatment effect and is an important methodological approach for personalising medicine. Guidance exists regarding how to apply such analyses but little is known about whether authors follow the guidance.Using published recommendations, we developed criteria to assess how well interaction analyses were designed, applied, interpreted, and reported. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was searched (8th August 2013). We applied the criteria to the most recently published review, with an accessible protocol, for each Cochrane Review Group. We excluded review updates, diagnostic test accuracy reviews, withdrawn reviews, and overviews of reviews. Data were summarised regarding reviews, covariates, and analyses.Each of the 52 included reviews planned or did interaction analyses; 51 reviews (98%) planned analyses and 33 reviews (63%) applied analyses. The type of analysis planned and the type subsequently applied (e.g., sensitivity or subgroup analysis) was discrepant in 24 reviews (46%). No review reported how or why each covariate had been chosen; 22 reviews (42%) did state each covariate a priori in the protocol but no review identified each post-hoc covariate as such. Eleven reviews (21%) mentioned five covariates or less. One review reported planning to use a method to detect interactions (i.e., interaction test) for each covariate; another review reported applying the method for each covariate. Regarding interpretation, only one review reported whether an interaction was detected for each covariate and no review discussed the importance, or plausibility, of the results, or the possibility of confounding for each covariate.Interaction analyses in Cochrane Reviews can be substantially improved. The proposed criteria can be used to help guide the reporting and conduct of analyses

How to Express Self-Referential Probability. A Kripkean Proposal

We present a semantics for a language that includes sentences that can talk about their own probabilities. This semantics applies a fixed point construction to possible world style structures. One feature of the construction is that some sentences only have their probability given as a range of values. We develop a corresponding axiomatic theory and show by a canonical model construction that it is complete in the presence of the ω-rule. By considering this semantics we argue that principles such as introspection, which lead to paradoxical contradictions if naively formulated, should be expressed by using a truth predicate to do the job of quotation and disquotation and observe that in the case of introspection the principle is then consistent

Detection of siRNA induced mRNA silencing by RT-qPCR: considerations for experimental design

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RNA interference (RNAi) has been one of the most rapidly expanding areas of biological research in the past decade, revolutionizing the ability to analyze gene function. Thorough validation of siRNA duplexes is required prior to use in experimental systems, ideally by western blotting to show a reduction in protein levels. However, in many cases good antibodies are not available, and researchers must rely on RT-qPCR to detect knockdown of the mRNA species.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We have observed a phenomenon that gives a disparity between analyzing small interfering RNA (siRNA) efficacy by western blotting of the protein levels and real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) measurement of mRNA levels. Detection of this phenomenon was dependent upon the location of the target amplicon for PCR primers within the mRNA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggests that for certain mRNAs, degradation of the 3' mRNA fragment resulting from siRNA mediated cleavage is blocked, leaving an mRNA fragment that can act as a template for cDNA synthesis, giving rise to false negative results and the rejection of a valid siRNA duplex. We show that this phenomenon may be avoided by the careful design of RT-qPCR primers for each individual siRNA experiment.</p