Exercise physiology and cardiac function. Aspects on determinants of maximal oxygen uptake

Although the athlete's heart has been of interest for over 100 years, further characterization of the athletes heart is needed in order to understand how training affects cardiac dimensions and function. Few studies have investigated the effects of training in female athletes and few have compared males and females. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to characterize the physiologically enlarged athlete's heart and the healthy respiratory response to exercise in both males and females, in order to facilitate the differentiation between the physiologically enlarged heart and the pathologically enlarged heart. Paper I showed that the total heart volume (THV) increases with training in both males and females, with a balanced enlargement of the left and right ventricle. Furthermore, THV was a strong, independent predictor of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak). Males had a larger left ventricular mass (LVM) normalized to THV when compared to females of similar fitness level. In Paper II, THV in relation to VO2peak was compared between 31 patients diagnosed with heart failure and a control group consisting of athletes and normal subjects. The ratio between VO2peak and THV (VO2peak/THV) was defined as the cardiac reserve index. Cardiac reserve index was significantly lower in patients when compared to athletes and controls. This difference also remained when only patients with normal ejection fraction were compared with the control group. Paper III investigated three different respiratory indices (Dx, Px and Pq) in triathletes and controls. The sequence in which the indices occurred during an incremental exercise test differed between well trained and untrained subjects. This difference was shown to be caused by the well trained subjects' ability to metabolize fat at high workloads. In Paper IV cardiac pumping mechanics was compared between athletes and controls matched for age and gender. Cardiac pumping was divided into longitudinal pumping and radial pumping. Except for the longitudinal contribution to the left ventricular stroke volume in males, the results of Paper IV showed that there were essentially no difference in cardiac pumping mechanics between males and females, and between athletes and controls. This emphasizes the results from Paper I that it is the total heart volume that is the dominant determinant for cardiac performance

Konstruktionsprinzipien des Gesellschaftsrechts und seiner (Unternehmens-)Formen

Die Rechtsordnung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland stellt prinzipiell zwei Möglichkeiten der Organisation von Unternehmen zur Verfügung: Ein Unternehmer kann sein Unternehmen einzelkaufmännisch betreiben und allein führen; er kann sich jedoch auch mit mehreren anderen Personen zusammenschließen und mit ihnen das Unternehmen gemeinsam führen. In diesem Fall entsteht eine Gesellschaft, deren Verhältnisse vom Gesellschaftsrecht erfasst und geregelt werden. Im Rahmen der deutschen Wirtschaftsordnung spielen die gesellschaftsrechtlich verfassten Unternehmen die fundamentale Rolle. Der entscheidende Schlüssel zu ihrer Anwendung ist die Kenntnis der Konstruktionsprinzipien des Gesellschaftsrechts und seiner (Unternehmens-)Formen. --

Russian Floating Nuclear Reactors: Lacunae in Current International Environmental and Maritime Law and the Need for Proactive International Cooperation in the Development of Sustainable Energy Sources

During the second half of 2003, Russia announced plans to build barges carrying two nuclear reactors capable of supplying electricity to a town of fifty thousand people. Rapidly developing countries seem particularly interested in this proposal, as these reactors can meet their growing power needs. In addition, these floating nuclear reactors provide an alternative to coal, oil and natural gas, all sources of energy that contribute to global warming. These reactors, however, pose a substantial risk to the environment, particularly in light of Russia\u27s lax environmental policies, and the design of the barges themselves make them susceptible to a wide variety of threats. Currently there are no international legal regimes that would either prescribe enforceable standards for Russia regarding the design and operation of these reactors, or impose liability on Russia in the event of an accident and resulting damage to the environment. All of the relevant treaties administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency have gaps that preclude them from imposing regulatory duties or liability on Russia as a state, and its agents, in the event of an accident. Similarly, although both international customary environmental law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea impose upon nations the duty to prevent pollution of the marine environment, the ability to enforce those duties and impose legal liability for their breach remains in doubt. Therefore, the international community should either: 1) close the gaps in current legal regimes (including treaty-based and customary law regimes) 2); develop a new regime (either based on treaties, or through further development of customary international law) that would effectively regulate and impose liability for damage to the environment resulting from an accident involving these reactors; or 3) cooperate in developing and deploying safer alternative technologies to fulfill the need for power generation that these floating reactors address. Of these alternatives, the simplest is the closing of current gaps in treaties, although the most effective may be a combination of approaches that effectively utilizes the strengths of each alternative

Das Treuhandrecht und das Ende der Privatisierung in Ostdeutschland: Ein Rückblick

Die Treuhandidee steht allgemein für ein juristisches Konstrukt des Eigentums, das dem Treuhänder nach außen die volle Rechtsstellung eines Eigentümers verleiht, ihm im Innenverhältnis zum Treugeber jedoch mehr oder weniger starker Beschränkung unterwirft. In (Ost-)Deutschland erlebte diese Idee seit 1990 rechtsfigürlich als Treuhandanstalt zur treuhänderischen Verwaltung des Volkseigentums eine besondere und wirtschaftshistorisch einmalige Anwendung. Nachdem die Treuhandanstalt allerdings ihr Wirken bereits Ende des Jahres 1994 zum Abschluss gebracht und die verbliebenen "Rest"- Aufgaben auf die Bundesanstalt für vereinigungsbedingte Sonderaufgaben (BvS) als deren Nachfolgerin übertragen hatte, beschloss der Bundestag durch Gesetz vom 28. Oktober 2003 auch die Abwicklung der BvS zum Ende des Jahres 2003. Diese Entscheidung markierte damit das Ende der Privatisierung in Ostdeutschland. --

Ryttarens effekt på rörelsesymmetrin hos kliniskt halta hästar när de rids på rakt spår

I samma takt som hästsporten i Sverige ökar krävs det också att förståelsen och kunskaperna om hästens rörelsemönster utvecklas. Den vanligaste orsaken till att hästar behandlas av veterinär är just ortopediska skador (hältor) vilka orsakar en negativ påverkan på hästens prestationsförmåga och således en förkortad tävlingskarriär. För att undvika att hältorna blir kroniska krävs en korrekt detektion av hältan och att rätt behandling sätts in tidigt, detta ökar också hästens möjlighet till återhämtning. Ridprov blir då en central utredningsform, speciellt i de situationer då hältan är subtil, hästen är halt på flera ben eller i de fall där hältan inte är uppenbar men hämmar eller helt hindrar träningen. Tidigare studier som genomförts på friska hästar, som fungerat i träning, har visat att många hästar har rörelseasymmetrier av samma grad som hästar som varit i behov av att utredas för hälta. I dagsläget är det dock oklart hur mycket ryttaren påverkar halta hästars rörelseasymmetri. Denna studie har genomförts i syfte att undersöka vad som händer med rörelsemönstret hos halta hästar som rids under lättridning på rakt spår. Med hjälp av det objektiva mätsystemet Lameness Locator studerades rörelseasymmetrier hos nio kliniskt halta hästar och mätningarna gjordes i trav på rakt spår, både med och utan ryttare. Ryttaren red hästen i tre olika positioner under studien; nedsuttet, lättridning på höger sittben och lättridning på vänster sittben. Antalet hästar som studerades var för få för att kunna påvisa om det finns någon statistisk signifikans mellan ryttarens olika positioner och rörelseasymmetrin hos halta hästar. I denna studie konstaterades att fem hästar hade en signifikant ökad PDmax (frånskjutshälta bakben) och en häst hade en signifikant ökad HDmax (frånskjutshälta framben). Bland de tre resterande hästarna uppvisade två stycken både en signifikant ökad PDmin (belastningshälta bakben) och PDmax på samma ben medan den tredje endast hade en signifikant ökad PDmin. En ökning av asymmetrin kunde identifieras vid lättridning jämfört med nedsuttet vid de hältor som fastslogs bland hästarna i testgruppen, detta inkluderade både PDmax och PDmin. PDmax ökade som mest när ryttaren red lätt och satt ned på den diagonalen som inkluderar det halta bakbenet, medan PDmin ökade när ryttaren red lätt och sitter ned på den friska diagonalen. Asymmetrin i hästarnas rörelsemönster minskade i samband med att ryttaren red nedsuttet i jämförelse med att vara utan ryttare i mätningarna. Slutsatsen, som ska tas med en viss reservation, är att rörelseasymmetrierna vid frånskjutshältor på bakben ökade under lättridning när man sitter ned på det halta bakbenet och belastningshältor på bakben ökade när ryttaren satt ned på det friska bakbenet jämfört med endast nedsutten position.While the equestrian sport is growing at a fast pace in Sweden it is of importance that the understanding and knowledge of the horse’s movement pattern is developed. The most common reason for treatment of horses by a veterinarian is orthopaedic injuries (lameness), which can reduce the horse’s performance and shorten their athletic career. To prevent lameness from becoming chronic an accurate detection of the lameness is required as well as starting with the correct treatment at an early stage, this will also increase the chances of recovery. Riding tests will then be an important form of investigation, especially in situations where the lameness is very subtle, the horse is lame on several legs or in cases where the horse has no apparent lameness but is still inhibited in its training. In previous studies made on healthy horses which have functioned in their training, it was discovered that many horses have asymmetries at similar levels as horses that needed to be examined for lameness. However, at present time it is uncertain how much the rider affects the movement asymmetries of a lame horse when ridden during rising trot. This study has been carried out to investigate what happens to the movement pattern of a lame horse when ridden in rising trot straight forward. Using the objective measurement system Lameness locator, the movement pattern of nine clinically lame horses was studied at trot straight forward, both with and without a rider. The rider rode the horse in three different positions during the study; sitting, rising trot on the right ischial bone and rising trot on the left ischial bone. The number of studied horses were too few to be able to prove if there is any statistically significant difference between the rider’s positions and movement asymmetries in lame horses. In this study it was found that five out of nine clinically lame horses had a significant increased PDmax (pushoff lameness hindlimb) and one had a significant increased HDmax (pushoff lameness forelimb). Among the three remaining horses two of them displayed both a significant increased PDmax and PDmin (impact lameness hindlimb) in the same leg, whilst the third had only a significant increased PDmin. Among the lamenesses found in the test group, which included both PDmax and PDmin, an increased asymmetry was identified during rising trot compared to sitting. PDmax increased the most during rising trot and sat down on the diagonal of lameness in the hindlimb, while PDmin increased the most during rising trot and sat down on the diagonal of the hindlimb which was sound. The asymmetry in the horse’s movement pattern decreased when the rider sat down in comparison to when the horse was unridden. The conclusion, which should be considered with caution, is that motion asymmetries in pushoff hindlimb lameness increased during rising trot and the rider sat down on the lame hindlimb while impact hindlimbs increased when the rider sat down on the sound hindlimb as compared to sitting position

The Role of Interleukin-12 on Modulating Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)More than 200,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Although therapies effective in treating metastatic breast cancer currently exist, each year approximately 40,000 women die from this disease. Current evidence indicates that anti-cancer immune responses can be induced by vaccination in situ to the growth of metastasis and protect patients from the tumor recurrence. However, induction of anticancer immune responses may be limited in their efficacy due to immune suppression mechanisms induced by the developing cancer. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells are one population of immune regulators comprised of immature cells of myeloid origin with important roles in blocking immune activation and promoting tumor progression. Elimination or maturation of these cells has been found to promote enhanced anti-tumor effects and improve overall survival. This thesis identifies a new role for interleukin-12 as a modulator of myeloid-derived suppressor cell activity. Interleukin-12 was found to promote up-regulation of cell maturation markers on the surface of myeloid-derived suppressor cells with an accompanying decrease in factors responsible for conferring suppressive activity such as nitric oxide synthase 2 and arginase I. The alterations in myeloid-derived suppressor cells were observed following both in vitro and in vivo treatment with interleukin-12. Further analysis of the anti-tumor efficacy of interleukin-12 revealed that at least part of its suppression of tumor growth can be linked to reductions in myeloid-derived suppressor cell populations in the tumor microenvironment and an influx of active CD8+ T cells into the tumor microenvironment. The findings outlined in this thesis show that interleukin-12 alters the suppressive function of myeloid-derived suppressor cells leading to significant immune infiltration and activation resulting in increased overall survival and a reduction in metastasis