Three-Months of Neuromotor Fitness Program Affect the Body Composition and Physical Performance in Untrained Women

International Journal of Exercise Science 12(4): 1346-1354, 2019. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of three months of neuromotor fitness on body composition and physical performance in untrained women. Nine untrained women (age: 38.1 ± 6.9 years; total body mass: 79.3 ± 10.7 kg; height: 161.5 ± 3.9 cm; body mass index: 30.4 ± 4.1) participated in the present study. Subjects attended the laboratory on twenty-seven occasions during a three-month period at least forty-eight hours in between sessions. Sessions 1 and 2 were used to measure morphology and body composition, and to familiarize all subjects with the experimental procedure and physical performance tests (muscle power, balance, muscular endurance, and flexibility). During sessions 3 to 26, all exercises were performed twice a week during 60-min in each session. All exercises were divided into three different circuit programs composed by12 stations with one-min exercise and a passive recovery of thirty-sec. There were significant decreases (p \u3c 0.005) for circumference in the right and left arm, pectoral, waist, abdomen, hip, and right and left calf. There were significant increases in lean body mass (p \u3c 0.005) and total body weight (p \u3c 0.005). There were significant decreases for body mass index (p \u3c 0.005), fat mass (p \u3c 0.005), and fat percentage (p \u3c 0.05). There were significant decreases (p \u3c 0.005) for skinfold in triceps, pectoral, subaxilar, shoulder blade, abdomen, hip, and thigh. There were significant increases for power test (p \u3c 0.005), muscular endurance test (p \u3c 0.005), and functional test (p \u3c 0.005). There were no significant differences for flexibility (p \u3c 0.005). The neuromotor fitness program affects the body composition and increases the physical performance in untrained women

Malattia di Kyrle: eccezionale risposta all’isotretinoina orale

Si presenta il caso di una paziente di 51 anni, affetta da sindrome metabolica, spondiloartrite sieronegativa ed insufficienza renale cronica, afferente al servizio di dermatologia per la presenza di lesioni papulo-nodulari ipercheratosiche follicolari diffuse agli arti ed estremamente pruriginose. Tali lesioni, presenti da alcuni anni, erano state dapprima trattate con terapie topiche (steroidi, antibiotici, retinoidi ed emollienti) con scarso beneficio. A scopo diagnostico veniva eseguita una biopsia cutanea per esame istologico con esito di malattia di Kyrle. Veniva iniziato un ciclo di fototerapia con nb-UVB, poi sospeso per inefficacia. Anche la terapia con metotrexato, impostata per insoddisfacente controllo della patologia reumatologica, non mostrava alcun beneficio sulle manifestazioni cutanee. Veniva dunque intrapresa una terapia con isotretinoina orale 0,5 mg/Kg/die la quale dopo circa 1 anno ha permesso di ottenere una eccezionale e pressoché completa remissione del quadro cutaneo, in assenza di rilevanti effetti collaterali

Biomechanical properties of fishing lines of the glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa (Diptera; Keroplatidae)

Animals use adhesive secretions in highly diverse ways, such as for settlement, egg anchorage, mating, active or passive defence, etc. One of the most interesting functions is the use of bioadhesives to capture prey, as the bonding has to be performed within milliseconds and often under unfavourable conditions. While much is understood about the adhesive and biomechanical properties of the threads of other hunters such as spiders, barely anything is documented about those of the New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa. We analysed tensile properties of the fishing lines of the New Zealand glowworm Arachnocampa luminosa under natural and dry conditions and measured their adhesion energy to different surfaces. The capture system of A. luminosa is highly adapted to the prevailing conditions (13–15 °C, relative humidity of 98%) whereby the wet fishing lines only show a bonding ability at high relative humidity (>80%) with a mean adhesive energy from 20–45 N/m and a stronger adhesion to polar surfaces. Wet threads show a slightly higher breaking strain value than dried threads, whereas the tensile strength of wet threads was much lower. The analyses show that breaking stress and strain values in Arachnocampa luminosa were very low in comparison to related Arachnocampa species and spider silk threads but exhibit much higher adhesion energy values. While the mechanical differences between the threads of various Arachnocampa species might be consequence of the different sampling and handling of the threads prior to the tests, differences to spiders could be explained by habitat differences and differences in the material ultrastructure. Orb web spiders produce viscid silk consisting of β-pleated sheets, whereas Arachnocampa has cross-β–sheet crystallites within its silk. As a functional explanation, the low tear strength for A. luminosa comprises a safety mechanism and ensures the entire nest is not pulled down by prey which is too heavy

Teaching Access, or Freedom of Information Law

Based on the author\u27s experience developing and administering the course and materials, this article provides an introduction and resources to teach a graduate journalism or professional law school course on access to government, commonly called freedom of information law , which may be constructed as a capstone course in law school. The appendices provide supporting material and references

Preparation and characterization of chloroaluminum phthalocyanine-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles by thermal analysis and powder X-ray diffraction techniques

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) without drug and SLN loaded with chloroaluminum phthalocyanine (AlClPc) were prepared by solvent diffusion method in aqueous system and characterized by thermal analyses and X-ray diffraction (XRD) in this study. Determination of particle size, zeta potential (ZP), and encapsulation efficiency were also evaluated. SLN containing AlClPc of nanometer size with high encapsulation efficiency and ZP were obtained. The results indicated that the size of SLN loaded with AlClPc is larger than that of the inert particle, but ZP is not changed significantly with incorporation of the drug. In differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves, it was observed that the melting point of stearic acid (SA) isolated and in SLN occurred at 55 and 64 degrees C, respectively, suggesting the presence of different polymorphs. DSC also shows that the crystallinity state of SLN was much less than that of SA isolated. The incorporation of drug in SLN may have been favored by this lower crystallinity degree of the samples. XRD techniques corroborated with the thermal analytic techniques, suggesting the polymorphic modifications of stearic acid.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq), BrazilFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sergipe-FAPITEC/SEMinisterio da SaudeSE

Common Genetic Polymorphisms Influence Blood Biomarker Measurements in COPD

Implementing precision medicine for complex diseases such as chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) will require extensive use of biomarkers and an in-depth understanding of how genetic, epigenetic, and environmental variations contribute to phenotypic diversity and disease progression. A meta-analysis from two large cohorts of current and former smokers with and without COPD [SPIROMICS (N = 750); COPDGene (N = 590)] was used to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with measurement of 88 blood proteins (protein quantitative trait loci; pQTLs). PQTLs consistently replicated between the two cohorts. Features of pQTLs were compared to previously reported expression QTLs (eQTLs). Inference of causal relations of pQTL genotypes, biomarker measurements, and four clinical COPD phenotypes (airflow obstruction, emphysema, exacerbation history, and chronic bronchitis) were explored using conditional independence tests. We identified 527 highly significant (p 10% of measured variation in 13 protein biomarkers, with a single SNP (rs7041; p = 10−392) explaining 71%-75% of the measured variation in vitamin D binding protein (gene = GC). Some of these pQTLs [e.g., pQTLs for VDBP, sRAGE (gene = AGER), surfactant protein D (gene = SFTPD), and TNFRSF10C] have been previously associated with COPD phenotypes. Most pQTLs were local (cis), but distant (trans) pQTL SNPs in the ABO blood group locus were the top pQTL SNPs for five proteins. The inclusion of pQTL SNPs improved the clinical predictive value for the established association of sRAGE and emphysema, and the explanation of variance (R2) for emphysema improved from 0.3 to 0.4 when the pQTL SNP was included in the model along with clinical covariates. Causal modeling provided insight into specific pQTL-disease relationships for airflow obstruction and emphysema. In conclusion, given the frequency of highly significant local pQTLs, the large amount of variance potentially explained by pQTL, and the differences observed between pQTLs and eQTLs SNPs, we recommend that protein biomarker-disease association studies take into account the potential effect of common local SNPs and that pQTLs be integrated along with eQTLs to uncover disease mechanisms. Large-scale blood biomarker studies would also benefit from close attention to the ABO blood group

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field