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Opposite Way (opposite + way)
Selected AbstractsMetabolic and anti-inflammatory benefits of eccentric endurance exercise , a pilot studyEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION, Issue 4 2008H. Drexel ABSTRACT Background, Eccentric endurance exercise (e.g. hiking downwards) is less strenuous than concentric exercise (e.g. hiking upwards) but its potential to reduce cardiovascular risk is unknown. Materials and methods, We randomly allocated 45 healthy sedentary individuals (16 men and 29 women, mean age 48 years) to one of two groups, one beginning with two months of hiking upwards, the other with two months of hiking downwards the same route, with a crossover for a further two months. For the opposite way, a cable car was used where compliance was recorded electronically. The difference in altitude was 540 metres; the distance was covered three to five times a week. Fasting and postprandial metabolic profiles were obtained at baseline and after the two month periods of eccentric and concentric exercise, respectively. Results, Forty-two of the 45 participants completed the study; the compliance rate was therefore 93%. Compared with baseline, eccentric exercise lowered total cholesterol (by 4·1%; P = 0·026), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (by 8·4%, P = 0·001), Apolipoprotein B/Apolipoprotein A1 ratio (by 10·9%, P < 0·001), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance scores (by 26·2%, P = 0·017) and C-reactive protein (by 30·0%; P = 0·007); the magnitude of these changes was comparable to that of concentric exercise. Eccentric exercise improved glucose tolerance (by 6·2%, P = 0·023), whereas concentric exercise improved triglyceride tolerance (by 14·9%, P = 0·022). Conclusions, Eccentric endurance exercise is a promising new exercise modality with favourable metabolic and anti-inflammatory effects and is well applicable to sedentary individuals. [source] Temporal variation in glucocorticoid levels during the resting phase is associated in opposite way with maternal and paternal melanic colorationJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 10 2010A. ROULIN Abstract Sex-dependent selection can help maintain sexual dimorphism. When the magnitude of selection exerted on a heritable sex trait differs between the sexes, it may prevent each sex to reach its phenotypic optimum. As a consequence, the benefit of expressing a sex trait to a given value may differ between males and females favouring sex-specific adaptations associated with different values of a sex trait. The level of metabolites regulated by genes that are under sex-dependent selection may therefore covary with the degree of ornamentation differently in the two sexes. We investigated this prediction in the barn owl, a species in which females display on average larger black spots on the plumage than males, a heritable ornament. This melanin-based colour trait is strongly selected in females and weakly counter-selected in males indicating sex-dependent selection. In nestling barn owls, we found that daily variation in baseline corticosterone levels, a key hormone that mediates life history trade-offs, covaries with spot diameter displayed by their biological parents. When their mother displayed larger spots, nestlings had lower corticosterone levels in the morning and higher levels in the evening, whereas the opposite pattern was found with the size of paternal spots. Our study suggests a link between daily regulation of glucocorticoids and sex-dependent selection exerted on sexually dimorphic melanin-based ornaments. [source] Interleukin 1 Polymorphisms, Lifestyle Factors, and Helicobacter pylori InfectionCANCER SCIENCE, Issue 4 2001Nobuyuki Hamajima Associations between Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection and lifestyle factors have been reported by several authors, but little is known about the host factors associated with the infection. This study aims to examine the infection rate of HP according to gene polymorphisms of interleukin (TL)-IA, IL-1B, and IL-1RN, and to investigate the interactions with lifestyle factors. Subjects were 241 non-cancer outpatients who had participated in a HP eradication program. Polymorphisms at -889 (T to C) of IL-1A, at -31 (C to T; T allele makes a TATA box) and -511 (C to T) of IL-1B, and at intron 2 (86-bp VNTR (variable number of tandem repeats)) of IL-1RN were genotyped by PCR (polymerase chain reaction), PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and PCR-CTPP (PCR with confronting two-pair primers). It was found that IL-1B polymorphisms at -31 and -511 were near-completely linked, but in the opposite way to that in Caucasians; -31C/ -511T and -31T/-511C alleles were dominant in the present subjects. The HP infection rate was substantially different among the genotypes of IL-1B C-31T; 45.2% (19/42) for the C/C, 67.7% (90/133) for the C/T, and 63.6% (42/66) for the T/T. The age-sex adjusted odds ratio (OR) relative to the C/C genotype was 2.32 (95%CI (confidence interval), 1.10-4.92) for the T/C genotype and 2.46 (1.06-5.74) for the T/T genotype. The OR for the T/T genotype was significantly modified by smoking status; interaction term=14.6 (1.12-190). The polymorphisms of IL-1A and IL-1RN were not associated with the infection rate. The results suggested that the T allele of IL-1B C-31T is associated with vulnerability to persistent HP infection, and that the vulnerability is modified by smoking. [source] Short-term changes in parents' resolution regarding their young child's diagnosis of cerebral palsyCHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2010I. C. M. Rentinck Abstract Objective This study aimed to describe changes in parents' resolution regarding their young child's diagnosis of cerebral palsy over a period of 1 year, and to describe the changes in strategies of resolution. Methods In this longitudinal study, 38 parents of children with cerebral palsy (mean age 18.4 months, SD = 1.1 at baseline) were followed with the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview, assessing their personal reactions to their child's diagnosis (i.e. resolution status). Changes at main and subclassification level of the Reaction to Diagnosis Interview were investigated using a binominal test. Results Twenty-nine parents (76%) were found to be stable with respect to their main resolution status (i.e. ,resolved' or ,unresolved'), while 24% of the parents either had changed from ,unresolved' to ,resolved' or in the opposite way. Furthermore, of the 28 parents who were classified as ,resolved' at both times, 15 (54%) had changed at subclassification level with respect to the specific strategies used. Conclusion Resolution at a main level of parental reactions to their child's diagnosis was predominantly stable. Most parents were classified as ,resolved' at both baseline and follow-up assessment. However, more detailed analyses at subclassification level showed that most parents with a ,resolved' main status showed changing patterns of resolution strategies to their child's diagnosis, suggesting that resolution is an ongoing process. [source] Ecological effects of regime shifts in the Bering Sea and eastern North Pacific OceanFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 2 2002Ashleen J Benson Abstract Large-scale shifts occurred in climatic and oceanic conditions in 1925, 1947, 1977, 1989 and possibly 1998. These shifts affected the mix and abundance of suites of coexisting species during each period of relative environmental stability,from primary producers to apex predators. However, the 1989 regime shift was not a simple reversal of the 1977 shift. The regime shifts occurred abruptly and were neither random variations nor simple reversals to the previous conditions. Timing of these anomalous environmental events in the North Pacific Ocean appears to be linked to physical and biological responses in other oceanic regions of the world. Changes in the atmospheric pressure can alter wind patterns that affect oceanic circulation and physical properties such as salinity and depth of the thermocline. This, in turn, affects primary and secondary production. Data from the North Pacific indicate that regime shifts can have opposite effects on species living in different domains, or can affect similar species living within a single domain in opposite ways. Climatic forcing appears to indirectly affect fish and marine mammal populations through changes in the distribution and abundance of their predators and prey. Effects of regime shifts on marine ecosystems are also manifested faster at lower trophic levels. Natural variability in the productivity of fish stocks in association with regime shifts indicates that new approaches to managing fisheries should incorporate climatic as well as fisheries effects. [source] Ethnic Labels and Ethnic Identity as Predictors of Drug Use among Middle School Students in the SouthwestJOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE, Issue 1 2001Flavio Francisco Marsiglia This article explores differences in the self-reported drug use and exposure to drugs of an ethnically diverse group of 408 seventh-grade students from a large city in the southwest. We contrast the explanatory power of ethnic labels (African American, non-Hispanic White, Mexican American, and mixed ethnicity) and two dimensions of ethnic identity in predicting drug use. One dimension focuses on perceived ethnically consistent behavior, speech, and looks, while the other gauges a sense of ethnic pride. Ethnic labels were found to be somewhat useful in identifying differences in drug use, but the two ethnic identity measures, by themselves, did not generally help to explain differences in drug use. In conjunction, however, ethnic labels and ethnic identity measures explained far more of the differences in drug use than either did alone. The findings indicate that the two dimensions of ethnic identity predict drug outcomes in opposite ways, and these relations are different for minority students and non-Hispanic White students. Generally, African American, Mexican American, and mixed-ethnicity students with a strong sense of ethnic pride reported less drug use and exposure, while ethnically proud White students reported more. Ethnic minority students who viewed their behavior, speech, and looks as consistent with their ethnic group reported more drug use and exposure, while their White counterparts reported less. These findings are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided. [source] Negative native,exotic diversity relationship in oak savannas explained by human influence and climateOIKOS, Issue 9 2009Patrick L. Lilley Recent research has proposed a scale-dependence to relationships between native diversity and exotic invasions. At fine spatial scales, native,exotic richness relationships should be negative as higher native richness confers resistance to invasion. At broad scales, relationships should be positive if natives and exotics respond similarly to extrinsic factors. Yet few studies have examined both native and exotic richness patterns across gradients of human influence, where impacts could affect native and exotic species differently. We examined native,exotic richness relationships and extrinsic drivers of plant species richness and distributions across an urban development gradient in remnant oak savanna patches. In sharp contrast to most reported results, we found a negative relationship at the regional scale, and no relationship at the local scale. The negative regional-scale relationship was best explained by extrinsic factors, surrounding road density and climate, affecting natives and exotics in opposite ways, rather than a direct effect of native on exotic richness, or vice versa. Models of individual species distributions also support the result that road density and climate have largely opposite effects on native and exotic species, although simple life history traits (life form, dispersal mode) do not predict which habitat characteristics are important for particular species. Roads likely influence distributions and species richness by increasing both exotic propagule pressure and disturbance to native species. Climate may partially explain the negative relationship due to differing climatic preferences within the native and exotic species pools. As gradients of human influence are increasingly common, negative broad-scale native,exotic richness relationships may be frequent in such landscapes. [source] | |||||||||||||