Supersets save time in the gym: which may help you reach fitness goals faster. [Blog post]

Resistance training is an increasingly popular way to build strength, lose weight and get in shape. But despite its many benefits, it can also be time consuming – which is why many fitness enthusiasts have started incorporating "supersets" into gym routines. When done properly, supersets have the potential to help you build strength and muscle – all while spending less time in the gym. Sometimes called paired sets, supersets are a form of strength training in which you perform a set of repetitions of usually two exercises, back-to-back with minimal or no rest between them. The exercises should also target opposing muscle groups – namely the agonists (the force-generating muscles) and the antagonists (the muscle that relaxes when the agonist contracts). For example, leg curls (where the hamstrings are the agonists and the quadriceps the antagonists) would typically be followed by leg extensions (where the quadriceps are the agonists and the hamstrings the antagonists) to make up a superset. However, many people perform supersets incorrectly. Many believe supersets to be the same as compound sets, in which two exercises engaging the same muscle group are performed back-to-back. Or they get confused with contrast training, in which two similar exercises are paired to increase power, the first performed with a heavier load, while the second is performed explosively with a lighter load – such as heavy squats followed by vertical jumps. Many also think supersets comprise upper and lower body exercises performed in succession

Resistance training: here's why it's so effective for weight loss. [Blog post]

Weight lifting, also known as resistance training, has been practised for centuries as a way of building muscular strength. Research shows that resistance training, whether done via body weight, resistance bands or machines, dumbbells or free weights, not only helps us build strength, but also improves muscle size and can help counteract age-related muscle loss. More recently it's become popular among those looking to lose weight. While exercises such as running and cycling are indeed effective for reducing body fat, these activities can simultaneously decrease muscle size, leading to weaker muscles and greater perceived weight loss, as muscle is more dense than fat. But unlike endurance exercises, evidence shows resistance training not only has beneficial effects on reducing body fat, it also increases muscle size and strength

Here’s why you don’t need to feel sore after a workout to know it’s worked. [Blog post]

"No pain, no gain" is a commonly used expression when it comes to getting in shape. It may also be why many of us think that you need to feel sore after a workout to know that you've done enough. There are many reasons why your muscles might get sore after a workout. But, contrary to popular belief, you don't necessarily need to feel sore in the hours or days after exercise to know you've had agood workout. Delayed onset muscle soreness – better known as DOMS – is a common experience for many who exercise. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is the scientific term to describe the sore and tender feeling our muscles have after a workout. Typically, it happens after we've done particularly strenuous exercise, or if we do exercise we aren't used to. It can happen after any type of exercise, though it's more common after eccentric exercise. These are movements where the muscles resist a load as they're stretched (such as when you're running downhill or descending stairs). The smaller upper-limb muscles (such as your biceps and shoulders) can be more susceptible to DOMS as they may not be accustomed to eccentric exercise

UNLV Jazz 2008 Fall Performances

Program listing performers and works performe

Prion-like α-synuclein pathology in the brain of infants with Krabbe disease

Krabbe disease is an infantile neurodegenerative disorder resulting from pathogenic variants in the GALC gene that causes accumulation of the toxic sphingolipid psychosine. GALC variants are also associated with Lewy body diseases, an umbrella term for age-associated neurodegenerative diseases in which the protein α-synuclein aggregates into Lewy bodies. To explore whether α-synuclein in Krabbe disease has pathological similarities to that in Lewy body disease, we performed an observational post-mortem study of Krabbe disease brain tissue (n = 4) compared to infant controls (n = 4) and identified widespread accumulations of α-synuclein. To determine whether α-synuclein in Krabbe disease brain displayed disease-associated pathogenic properties we evaluated its seeding capacity using the real-time quaking-induced conversion assay in two cases for which frozen tissue was available and strikingly identified aggregation into fibrils similar to those observed in Lewy body disease, confirming the prion-like capacity of Krabbe disease-derived α-synuclein. These observations constitute the first report of prion-like α-synuclein in the brain tissue of infants and challenge the putative view that α-synuclein pathology is merely an age-associated phenomenon, instead suggesting it results from alterations to biological pathways, such as sphingolipid metabolism. Our findings have important implications for understanding the mechanisms underlying Lewy body formation in Lewy body disease

Sexual citizenship in Belfast, Northern Ireland

In this article we examine the contours and construction of sexual citizenship in Belfast, Northern Ireland through in-depth interviews with 30 members of the GLBT community and a discursive analysis of discourses of religion and nationalism. In the first half of the article we outline how sexual citizenship was constructed in the Irish context from the mid-nineteenth century onwards, arguing that a moral conservatism developed as a result of religious reform and the interplay between Catholic and Protestant churches, and the redefining of masculinity and femininity with the rise of nationalism. In the second half of the article, we detail how the Peace Process has offered new opportunities to challenge and destabilise hegemonic discourses of sexual citizenship by transforming legislation and policing, and encouraging inward investment and gentrification

Productivity gains in vegetables from rice husk biochar application in nutrient-poor soils in Timor-Leste

Abstract Response to fertilisation with biochar is greatest in field crops on acidic tropical soils, but limited information is available for vegetable crops. As a case-study using vegetable production in Timor-Leste, we assessed if biochar alleviates nutritional constraints to vegetables in low-nutrient soils. Field trials on vegetable crops were conducted with fertiliser combinations of rice husk biochar, phosphate and local fertiliser at three sites. A pot soil incubation trial of biochar was undertaken with soil from the acid site, where rice husk biochar had a larger effect on productivity than the other fertilisers in chili pepper, tomato and soybean with an average yield increase with biochar of 230% over control. Combining phosphate with biochar augmented the yield over biochar alone in chili pepper, tomato and soybean. At neutral and alkaline sites, fertilisation with biochar lifted mean yield over the control. Soil constraints alleviated by fertiliser were primarily from P and Zn deficiencies. Marked increases in vegetable yields, among the highest globally, were achieved with fertilisation with biochar individually and in combination with phosphate in low nutrient soil in Timor-Leste. Clearly, rice husk biochar is a promising avenue to fertilise the soil with P and Zn and increase crop productivity in Timor-Leste