Effect of Two Week L-Arginine Supplementation on Variables Related to Endurance and Strength Performance in Collegiate Football Players

Background: It has been shown that a month-long supplementation period of L-arginine, coupled with exercise training, increases exercise performance more than either supplementation or exercise alone (Hambrecht et al., 2000). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shorter 2 wk L-arginine supplementation period on factors related to endurance and strength performance. Methods: Twelve collegiate football players volunteered to participate in this study. The control group (n = 6) and treatment group (n = 6) both participated in the same off-season training program that consisted of strength training 3 d/wk and agility training 2 d/wk. In addition, the treatment group received 1g of L-arginine twice daily, whereas the control group received a placebo twice daily. At the beginning of the study, participants performed a baseline bench press maximum repetitions test at 70% of their most recently recorded bench press 1 RM (MMR). The participants also performed a graded exercise test (GXT) on a cycle ergometer to volitional exhaustion. Following baseline testing, participants immediately began the supplementation period, and were retested in the MMR and the GXT after 2 wk of supplementation. The effect of supplementation on each dependent variable was determined using ANCOVA with pretests serving as the covariates. Results: ANCOVA did not reveal significant effects of L-arginine supplementation on MMR (F(1,9) = 1.71, p = 0.22), VO2max (F(1,9) = 1.08, p = 0.33), time to exhaustion in the GXT (F(1,9) = 0.19, p = 0.67) , or HRmax during the GXT (F(1,9) = 4.79, p = 0.06). Conclusion: A 2 wk supplementation period coupled with training may not be of sufficient length to improve factors related to endurance and strength performance in trained college-aged men

Spatio-temporal patterns and characteristics of swine shipments in the U.S. based on Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection

Domestic swine production in the United States is a critical economic and food security industry, yet there is currently no large-scale quantitative assessment of swine shipments available to support risk assessments. In this study, we provide a national-level characterization of the swine industry by quantifying the demographic (i.e. age, sex) patterns, spatio-temporal patterns, and the production diversity within swine shipments. We characterize annual networks of swine shipments using a 30% stratified sample of Interstate Certificates of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI), which are required for the interstate movement of agricultural animals. We used ICVIs in 2010 and 2011 from eight states that represent 36% of swine operations and 63% of the U.S. swine industry. Our analyses reflect an integrated and spatially structured industry with high levels of spatial heterogeneity. Most shipments carried young swine for feeding or breeding purposes and carried a median of 330 head (range: 1–6,500). Geographically, most shipments went to and were shipped from Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska. This work, therefore, suggests that although the swine industry is variable in terms of its size and type of swine, counties in states historically known for breeding and feeding operations are consistently more central to the shipment network

INTEGRATED WAVEGUIDE—DETECTOR COUPLER FOR INTEGRATED OPTICS

The leaky waveguide losses of an integrated waveguide—detector coupler (IWDC) structure in the Corning 7059 glass/SiO2/silicon system at A=0.6328 pm has been theoretically modelled and measured as a function of waveguide modal properties, polarization and particularly the SiO2 cladding layer thickness. Numerous couplers with SiO2 thicknesses from 0.15 pm to 0.8 pm were measured with coupling values of 400 dB/cm to 1500 dB/cm for TE and to 5800 dB/cm for TM; in good agreement with the four—layer leaky waveguide theory. We propose and demonstrate the first use of IWDCs as spatially compact optoelectronic crosspoints for switching applications by fabricating and testing a 2x2 switch with silicon photoconductive detectors in the IWDC. The passive power splitting in the integrated switch is close to the ideal fifty percent for a 2x2 matrix but the detectors are not optimum, with evidence of non-ohmic contacts which degrade the crosspoint isolation to best values of 35 dB and an impulse time response of typically 120 ns. For a photogenerated carrier diffusion limited crosstalk from 20 MHz to 340 MHz of —20 dB, crosspoint densities of >160 _2 000 cm are possible.ThesisMaster of Engineering (ME

MODELING THE CONDENSED-PHASE BEHAVIOR OF Π-CONJUGATED POLYMERS

It is well established that the morphology and physical properties of an organic semiconducting (OSC) material regulate its electronic properties. However, structure-function relationships remain difficult to describe in polymer-based OSC, which are of particular interest due to their robust mechanical properties. If relationships among the molecular and bulk levels of structure can be found, they can aid in the design of improved materials. To explore and detail important structure-function relationships in polymer-based OSC, this work employs molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study various π-conjugated polymers in different environments. Two independent investigations are discussed in this work. One investigation examines how the purposeful disruption of the π-conjugated backbone to increase the chain flexibility impacts the chain structure and packing in the condensed phase. This is done by adding a conjugation break spacer (CBS) unit of one to ten carbons in length into the monomer structure of diketopyrrolopyrrole-based polymers. It is found that trends in the folding and glass structure follow the increase and the parity (odd versus even) of the CBS length. The second investigation analyzes a variety of polymers and small molecule acceptor (SMA) blends to observe the effects of changing the shape of either component and the physical properties of the material, as well as the structure of the polymer chains. It is found that the conjugated core, the side chains, and the planarity or sphericity each influence the density and diffusion of the materials made

Forgiveness of Self and Others: A Group Approach to the Treatment of PTSD and Other Trauma Related Experiences

Forgiveness is often misinterpreted as the act of forgetting what happened or offering one’s offender the ability to redeem themselves for their wrongdoings. This is simply not the case. Rather, forgiveness is the process of the individual making the unprovoked choice to release their resentment in their own voyage towards living a free and happy life without being imprisoned from the emotions un-forgiveness produces. Forgiveness, as it may be a necessary process for the individual is to attain a sense of peaceful acceptance and liberation from their pain, is not an easy process. Providing a peer-based support system in the context of a controlled therapeutic environment, where risk is being consistently monitored, could provide the individual with the appropriate challenging of their thoughts and situations that best fits their treatment needs

Immunoreactivity of anti pZP antibodies from the serum of SpayVac vaccinated mares to equine zona protein

2014 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Immunocontraception with the porcine zona pellucida (pZP) antigen is a well-published means of wild horse contraception. There are three pZP vaccines currently proposed for use in horses, Zonastat-H®, PZP-22, and SpayVac®. Despite abundant research concerning the safety and contraceptive efficacy of pZP vaccines in numerous species, the contraceptive mechanisms of the pZP antigen remain unclear and have not been investigated thoroughly for SpayVac. We investigated the immunoreactivity of anti pZP antibodies from the serum of SpayVac vaccinated mares to equine zona protein using Western blot and immunohistochemical techniques. These techniques were first applied using a bovine model because bovine oocytes are more easily obtained in large quantities relative to equine oocytes. Once the procedure was validated, equine samples were utilized. Western blot analysis revealed immunoreactivity of anti pZP antibodies that were produced in response to SpayVac vaccination to protein isolated from mature equine oocytes, equine zona pellucidae, equine follicular tissue, and equine ovarian stromal tissue. Immunohistochemical analysis identified the location of binding of anti pZP antibodies to the zona pellucida of mature oocytes isolated from Graafian follicles as well as the zona pellucida of immature oocytes in ovarian tissue. Western blot and immunohistochemical analyses also indicate high specificity of anti pZP antibodies for equine zona protein and predominant affinity for zona protein 3. Collectively, results suggest a model where anti pZP antibodies produced in response to SpayVac vaccination are immunoreactive to equine zona protein in vitro. If available in the follicular fluid and able to permeate the ovary following SpayVac vaccination, anti pZP antibodies may act on not only mature oocytes, but also oocytes of growing follicles in vivo. The results of this study lend insight into the infertility observed following SpayVac vaccination, and may also help explain the long-term ovarian effects following pZP vaccination reported by other studies

DEVELOPING PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE AS COMMUNAL PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Learning does not only happen during dedicated instructional time, which also applies to learning how to teach. Teachers can reflect on their practice while working to continue to improve and develop their teaching skills. In addition to self-reflection, teachers can also learn from their colleagues to experiment with new practices and take others’ teaching knowledge into their repertoire. Understanding how these two processes function can lead to developments in teacher education and professional development, specifically for initiatives that seek to promote collaboration among teachers. Post-secondary educators in particular can benefit from collaborative and reflective practices to improve their teaching, especially given that these educators do not often have rigorous teaching training. To explore how teaching practices can be influenced by interactions with one’s community of educator colleagues, this work combines the recently developed refined consensus model of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with Wenger’s communities of practice framework to explore how teaching knowledge moves throughout a community of educators. Taking an ethnographic approach that involves participant observation and in-depth immersion, a cohort of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) in a chemistry department is studied to learn how teaching knowledge and practice are developed through experience in their cohorts of fellow GTAs. Specifically, this work compares the experiences of recitation and laboratory GTAs teaching in the same discipline and level of course: general chemistry. Observations of GTA training, weekly meetings, and instructional time are supplemented with data from semi-structured and informal interviews to determine specific features of this group’s PCK and the social factors that moderate its uptake by members of the group. Analyzing the knowledge bases that contribute to PCK reveals that the structure of the specific job these GTAs perform mitigates the development of their teaching practices, specifically their content knowledge, which is a prerequisite for developing PCK and therefore limits its growth. Possibilities for connecting this research into practice are explored, as is the benefit of the new framework that this study seeks to validate

Letter from James G. Mask to George Sibley, June 17, 1817

Transcript of Letter from James G. Mask to George Sibley, June 17, 1817. Mask discusses mutual interests around people in Fayetteville, North Carolina