physical activities

Todos os Santos Bay (BTS) is the 2nd largest bay in Brazil and an important resource for the people of the State of Bahia. We made measurements of radon and radium in selected areas of the bay to evaluate if these tracers could provide estimates of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and flushing times of the Paraguaçu Estuary and BTS. We found that there were a few areas along the eastern and northeastern shorelines that displayed relatively high radon and low salinities, indicating possible sites of enhanced SGD...

In this review, mucosal immune defense mechanisms used to control infections in the bovine genital tract (vestibule, vagina, cervix, uterus and oviduct) during the postpartum period are reviewed. Knowledge gaps are highlighted to emphasize the need for further investigations. Physical barriers to the entry of microbes include vulvar sealing, vestibule-vaginal constriction, a narrow cervical opening and the mucosal epithelium along with the overlying mucus layer. Genital tract mucosal epithelial cells recognize damage-associated molecular patterns and pathogen-associated molecular patterns and respond by secreting antimicrobial peptides and cytokines to recruit and activate immune cells...

There are marked differences in the etiology of the major histological types of esophageal cancer (EC)-squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) and adenocarcinomas (EAC). This study aimed to summarize the current scientific knowledge on modifiable risk factors for EC, by histological type, through a systematic review of meta-analyses referenced in PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge. We identified 100 meta-analyses on risk factors for ESCC (n = 54), EAC (n = 43), or EC (n = 51). ESCC risk significantly increased with alcohol and maté drinking, smoking, red and processed meat consumption and human papillomavirus infection, while it was negatively associated with body mass index and consumption of fruit, vegetables, white meat, folate, and some carotenoids...

Cells respond to many signals with a limited number of signaling components. Heterotrimeric G proteins and MAPK cascades are universally used by eukaryotic cells to transduce signals in various developmental processes or stress responses by activating different effectors. MAPK cascade is integrated with G proteins by scaffold protein during plant immunity. However, the molecular relationship between G proteins and MAPK modules in plant development is still unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that Arabidopsis Gβ protein AGB1 interacts with MPK3 and 6, MKK4 and 5, as well as the regulatory domains of YODA (YDA), the upstream MEKK of MKK4/5...

To investigate how hearing status, sign language experience and task demands influence functional responses in the human superior temporal cortices (STC) we collected fMRI data from deaf and hearing participants (male and female), who either acquired sign language early or late in life. Our stimuli in all tasks were pictures of objects. We varied the linguistic and visuospatial processing demands in three different tasks that involved decisions about (1) the sublexical (phonological) structure of the British Sign Language (BSL) signs for the objects; (2) the semantic category of the objects; and (3) the physical features of the objects...

Physical inactivity and disuse are major contributors to age-related muscle loss. Denervation of skeletal muscle has been previously used as a model with which to investigate muscle atrophy following disuse. Although gene regulatory networks that control skeletal muscle atrophy after denervation have been established, the transcriptome in response to the recovery of muscle after disuse and the associated epigenetic mechanisms that may function to modulate gene expression during skeletal muscle atrophy or recovery have yet to be investigated...

Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (COX) catalyzes the last step in the respiratory pathway. In Saccharomyces cervisiae this inner membrane complex is composed of 11 protein subunits. Expression of COX is assisted by some 2 dozen ancillary proteins that intercede at different stages of the assembly pathway. One such protein, Cox16p, encoded by COX16, was shown to be essential for activity and assembly of COX. The function of Cox16p, however, has not been determined. We present evidence that Cox16p is present in Cox1p assembly intermediates and in COX...

OBJECTIVE: Adherence to physical activity (PA) recommendations is hampered by the lack of effective strategies to promote behavior change. The Italian Diabetes and Exercise Study_2 is a randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel behavioral intervention strategy for increasing PA and decreasing sedentary time (SED-time) in patients with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The study randomized 300 physically inactive and sedentary patients with type 2 diabetes 1:1 to receive theoretical and practical counseling once yearly for 3 years (intervention group [INT]) or standard care (control group [CON])...

OBJECTIVE: To identify associations between the weight groups underweight (UW), overweight (OW) and obesity (OB) at 5 years of age and exposures related to pregnancy, anthropometric measures at birth, sociodemographic factors, and family health, anthropometric measures and habits. DESIGN: Regional cohort study. SETTING: Oppland County, Norway. METHODS: Pregnancy data were obtained from a prospective perinatal register for children born in the county, and weight and height were measured by midwives at birth and by public health nurses at 5 years...

Ferritin nanocages are of particular interest as a novel platform for drug and vaccine delivery, diagnosis, biomineralization scaffold and more, due to their perfect and complex symmetry, ideal physical properties, high biocompatibility, low toxicity profiles as well as easy manipulation by genetic or chemical strategies. However, a short half-life is still a hurdle for the translation of ferritin-based nanomedicines into the clinic. Here, we developed a series of rationally designed long circulating ferritin nanocages (LCFNs) with 'Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDP)' as a stealth layer for extending the half-life of ferritin nanocages...

The interfacial adhesion between polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and native starch is poor. To improve the interfacial adhesion, PHAs were in-situ grafted onto starch using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a free radical initiator. The grafting reaction was carefully characterized and confirmed by gel analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The gel yield of the PHAs/starch/DCP blend increased with the DCP concentration up to 2wt%. Meanwhile, obvious plastic deformation (stretched fibrils) was observed at the interface in the PHAs/starch/DCP blend in comparison with complete interfacial debonding in the PHAs/starch physical blend...

Inspired by the hydrophilic, biocompatible, adsorbent properties of chitosan. A simple, adaptable, green synthesis method was developed to prepare a thin film composite membranes using chitosan as a pore decorating material for the removal of anionic dye-Reactive orange 16 (RO-16). The hydrophilic chitosan was used to fill up the porous hydrophobic PVDF substrate, modified by MWCNTs. The dye rejection was carried out through the formation of a strong electrostatic interaction between the cationic group of chitosan surface and the anionic group of RO-16 dye...

A novel activated sludge (AS) conditioning method through permanganate/bisulfate (PM/BS) process was proposed. The method involved a new conditioner of reactive Mn(III) intermediate. Moreover, a Mn(III) conditioning-horizontal electro-dewatering (Mn(III) C-HED) process was established to improve AS dewatering performance. Underlying mechanisms were unraveled by investigating changes in physicochemical characteristics, scanning electron microscope (SEM) morphology, and transformation of water and organic matters...

BACKGROUND: We evaluated data from a clinical trial of first metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ1) implant hemiarthroplasty and arthrodesis to determine the association between patient factors and clinical outcomes. METHODS: Patients ≥18 years with hallux rigidus grade 2, 3, or 4 were treated with synthetic cartilage implant MTPJ1 hemiarthroplasty or arthrodesis. Pain visual analog scale (VAS), Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) sports and activities of daily living (ADL) scores, and Short Form-36 Physical Function (SF-36 PF) subscore were obtained preoperatively, and at 2, 6, 12, 24, 52, and 104 weeks postoperatively...

Understanding the minimal dose of physical activity required to achieve improvement in physical functioning and reductions in disability risk is necessary to inform public health recommendations. To examine the effect of physical activity dose on changes in physical functioning and the onset of major mobility disability in The Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) Study. We conducted a multicenter single masked randomized controlled trial that enrolled participants in 2010 and 2011 and followed them for an average of 2...

Greenlee, TA, Greene, DR, Ward, NJ, Reeser, GE, Allen, CM, Baumgartner, NW, Cohen, NJ, Kramer, AF, Hillman, CH, and Barbey, AK. Effectiveness of a 16-week high-intensity cardioresistance training program in adults. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2528-2541, 2017-The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of a novel, 16-week high-intensity cardioresistance training (HICRT) program on measures of aerobic fitness, agility, aerobic power, muscular endurance, lower-body explosive power, and self-reported activity level...

Fry, AC, Housh, TJ, Cramer, JB, Weir, JP, Beck, TW, Schilling, BK, Miller, JD, and Nicoll, JX. Noninvasive assessment of skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain expression in trained and untrained men. J Strength Cond Res 31(9): 2355-2362, 2017-Numerous conditions and types of physical activity (e.g., exercise, aging, and muscle-related diseases) can influence muscle fiber types and the proteins expressed. To date, muscle fibers can only be characterized by actually obtaining a tissue sample using the invasive muscle biopsy procedure...

This study examined the relationship between parental and child physical activity (PA) in a rural community. Forty-one children and at least 1 parent wore pedometers to measure step count over the course of 4 days. Parents also completed a PA survey assessing parental support for PA, parental enjoyment for PA, perceived importance of PA, and their own PA levels. Parental PA level and mothers' support for PA were moderately associated with their child's PA levels. Thus, future PA promotion efforts could focus on encouraging parents, primarily mothers, to be more active to help improve their child's PA levels...

Motherhood is associated with low rates of physical activity that increase disease risk. Most theory-based approaches to increasing physical activity focus on personal rather than social factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations among perceptions of community collective efficacy and objectively measured physical activity, self-efficacy, social support, and health. Mothers completed questionnaires and wore a pedometer for 7 days. There was a significant, positive association between physical activity and collective efficacy-social cohesion subscale...

The strong in-plane anisotropy of rhenium disulfide (ReS2) offers an additional physical parameter that can be tuned for advanced applications such as logic circuits, thin-film polarizers, and polarization-sensitive photodetectors. ReS2 also presents advantages for optoelectronics, as it is both a direct-gap semiconductor for few-layer thicknesses (unlike MoS2 or WS2) and stable in air (unlike black phosphorus). Raman spectroscopy is one of the most powerful characterization techniques to non-destructively and sensitively probe the fundamental photo-physics of a 2D material...