Resting MAPK expression in chronically trained endurance runners.

Purpose: There is a paucity of research investigating the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) in chronically trained (CT) athletes. Thus, it is unclear how MAPK may contribute to performance and muscle adaptation in CT subjects. The purpose of this study was to determine MAPK total protein, and phosphorylated expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38-MAPK (p38) between untrained, and chronically trained runners.

Changes in resting mitogen-activated protein kinases following resistance exercise overreaching and overtraining.

Purpose: Many physiological maladaptations persist after overreaching and overtraining resistance exercise (RE). However, no studies have investigated changes in mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) after overtraining in humans, despite their critical role regulating exercise-induced muscular adaptations. The purpose of this study was to describe the changes in total and resting phosphorylation status of extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), c-Jun NH-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38-MAPK following a period of RE overreaching or overtraining.

Resting extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 expression following a continuum of chronic resistance exercise training paradigms.

Extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) moderates skeletal muscle growth; however, chronic responses of this protein to unique resistance exercise (RE) paradigms are yet to be explored. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the long-term response of ERK1/2 following circuit weight training (CWT), recreationally weight training (WT), powerlifting (PL) and weightlifting (WL). Independent t-tests were used to determine differences in trained groups compared to sedentary controls.

Data-driven subclassification of speech sound disorders in preschool children.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine whether distinct subgroups of preschool children with speech sound disorders (SSD) could be identified using a subgroup discovery algorithm (SUBgroup discovery via Alternate Random Processes, or SUBARP). Of specific interest was finding evidence of a subgroup of SSD exhibiting performance consistent with atypical speech motor control.

Method: Ninety-seven preschool children with SSD completed speech and nonspeech tasks.

Kansas squat test: a reliable indicator of short-term anaerobic power.

The purposes of this study were to establish stability reliability of a measure of lower-body anaerobic power, the Kansas squat test (KST), and to compare the KST with the commonly used Wingate anaerobic test (WAnT) for lower-body power. Fourteen resistance-trained men (mean ± SD; age = 24.2 ± 3.

Indirect estimates of jaw muscle tension in children with suspected hypertonia, children with suspected hypotonia, and matched controls.

Purpose: In this study, the authors compared indirect estimates of jaw-muscle tension in children with suspected muscle-tone abnormalities with age- and gender-matched controls.

Method: Jaw movement and muscle activation were measured in children (ages 3 years, 11 months, to 10 years) with suspected muscle-tone abnormalities (Down syndrome or spastic cerebral palsy; n = 10) and controls (n = 11). Two measures were used to infer jaw tension: a kinematic index of mass-normalized stiffness and electromechanical delay (EMD).

Distinct developmental profiles in typical speech acquisition.

Three- to five-year-old children produce speech that is characterized by a high level of variability within and across individuals. This variability, which is manifest in speech movements, acoustics, and overt behaviors, can be input to subgroup discovery methods to identify cohesive subgroups of speakers or to reveal distinct developmental pathways or profiles. This investigation characterized three distinct groups of typically developing children and provided normative benchmarks for speech development.

Hemostasis with a bipolar sealer during surgical correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Study Design: Retrospective before-after comparison study.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a radiofrequency-based bipolar hemostatic sealer during surgical correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Summary Of Background Data: Spinal reconstructive surgery is commonly associated with excessive blood loss.

An examination of the relationships among myosin heavy chain isoform content, isometric strength, and mechanomyographic median frequency.

The purpose of the present study was to determine if the combination of isometric knee extension strength and mechanomyographic (MMG) median frequency (MDF) could be used to estimate the percent (%) myosin heavy chain (MHC) Type II isoform content of the vastus lateralis. Five resistance-trained (mean +/- SD age = 23.2 +/- 3.

Mandibular motor control during the early development of speech and nonspeech behaviors.

Purpose: The mandible is often portrayed as a primary structure of early babble production, but empiricists still need to specify (a) how mandibular motor control and kinematics vary among different types of multisyllabic babble, (b) whether chewing or jaw oscillation relies on a coordinative infrastructure that can be exploited for early types of multisyllables, and (c) whether the organization of motor control and associated kinematics varies across the nonspeech behaviors that are candidate motor stereotypies for speech.

Method: Electromyographic signals were obtained from mandibular muscle groups, and associated kinematics were measured longitudinally from a typically developing infant from 9 to 22 months during jaw oscillation, chewing, and several types of early multisyllabic babble.

Results: Measures of early motor control and mandibular kinematics for multisyllabic productions indicated task-dependent changes across syllable types and significant differences across babble and nonspeech behaviors.

A nonword repetition task for speakers with misarticulations: the Syllable Repetition Task (SRT).

Purpose: Conceptual and methodological confounds occur when non(sense) word repetition tasks are administered to speakers who do not have the target speech sounds in their phonetic inventories or who habitually misarticulate targeted speech sounds. In this article, the authors (a) describe a nonword repetition task, the Syllable Repetiton Task (SRT), that eliminates this confound and (b) report findings from 3 validity studies.

Method: Ninety-five preschool children with speech delay and 63 with typical speech completed an assessment battery that included the Nonword Repetition Task (NRT; C.

Comparison of mid-term clinical outcomes after primary total hip arthroplasty with Oxinium vs cobalt chrome femoral heads.

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the midterm clinical outcomes after implantation of Oxinium (OX) vs cobalt-chrome (CC) femoral heads. Primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures were performed in 100 patients. After randomization, half of the patients received OX femoral heads and half received CC femoral heads.

A wavelet-based analysis of surface mechanomyographic signals from the quadriceps femoris.

The purpose of this study was to use a wavelet analysis designed specifically for surface mechanomyographic (MMG) signals to examine the MMG responses of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and vastus medialis (VM) muscles. Fifteen healthy men [age (mean +/- SD): 26.4 +/- 6.

Task specificity in early oral motor development.

This article addresses a long-standing clinical and theoretical debate regarding the potential relationship between speech and nonspeech behaviors in the developing system. The review is motivated by the high popularity of nonspeech oral motor exercises (NSOMEs), including alimentary behaviors such as chewing, in the treatment of speech disorders in young children. The similarities and differences in the behavioral characteristics, sensory requirements, and task goals for speech and nonspeech oromotor behaviors are compared.

Kinetic comparison of free weight and machine power cleans.

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the kinetic characteristics of the power clean exercise using either free weight or machine resistance. After familiarization, 14 resistance trained men (mean +/- SD; age = 24.9 +/- 6.

Respiratory movement patterns during vocalizations at 7 and 11 months of age.

Purpose: The present investigation was designed to study the modulation of abdomen and rib cage movements during vocalization over a period of development associated with rapid decreases in the compliance of the chest wall.

Method: Rib cage and abdominal kinematics were recorded during spontaneous vocalizations in 7- and 11-month old infants. Principal component analysis was used to represent each infant's abdomen and rib cage traces as the weighted sum of a small number of principal component (PC) waveforms.

Babbling, chewing, and sucking: oromandibular coordination at 9 months.

Purpose: The ontogeny of mandibular control is important for understanding the general neurophysiologic development for speech and alimentary behaviors. Prior investigations suggest that mandibular control is organized distinctively across speech and nonspeech tasks in 15-month-olds and adults and that, with development, these extant forms of motor control primarily undergo refinement and rescaling. The present investigation was designed to evaluate whether these coordinative infrastructures for alimentary behaviors and speech are evident during the earliest period of their co-occurrence.

The influence of myosin heavy chain isoform composition and training status on the patterns of responses for mechanomyographic amplitude versus isometric torque.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoform composition and training status on the mechanomyographic (MMG) amplitude versus isometric torque relationship for the vastus lateralis. Five resistance-trained (mean +/- SD age = 23.2 +/- 3.

Nonfunctional overreaching during off-season training for skill position players in collegiate American football.

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance and hormonal responses to a 15-week off-season training program for American football. Nine skill position players from a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I-A football team participated as subjects in this study. Following 4 weeks of weight training (phase I), subjects performed weight training concurrently with high-volume conditioning drills (phase II).

Estimating mandibular motion based on chin surface targets during speech.

Purpose: The movement of the jaw during speech and chewing has frequently been studied by tracking surface landmarks on the chin. However, the extent to which chin motions accurately represent those of the underlying mandible remains in question. In this investigation, the movements of a pellet attached to the incisor of the mandible were compared with those of pellets attached to different regions of the chin.

Cortisol and stress responses during a game and practice in female collegiate soccer players.

The purpose of this study was to compare the cortisol responses from a regular season game and a typical practice session in female National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate soccer players. Eighteen players were assigned to 2 groups, 10 starters and 8 nonstarters, depending on their playing time. Salivary cortisol concentration, as well as competitive sport anxiety (somatic and cognitive anxiety, self-confidence), was monitored before and after 1 regular season game and 1 typical practice session.

Acute effects of augmented eccentric loading on jump squat performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine the acute effects of a spectrum of eccentric loads on force, velocity, and power during the concentric portion of maximal-effort jump squats utilizing a repeated measures design. Thirteen resistance-trained men (age = 22.8 +/- 2.

Protein carbonyls are acutely elevated following single set anaerobic exercise in resistance trained men.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a single set of strenuous squat exercise would result in an acute oxidative stress, as demonstrated previously by a single sprint. Thirteen resistance trained men performed one set of 15 repetitions of barbell squats using 70% of one repetition maximum and a 30 s maximal cycle sprint on two different occasions. The total work performed was calculated for each exercise bout.

Oxidative stress response in trained men following repeated squats or sprints.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to measure the oxidative stress response to similarly matched work bouts of squat and sprint exercise.

Methods: Twelve anaerobically trained men performed six 10-s sprints and, on a separate occasion, repeated barbell squats to approximately equal the amount of work performed during the sprints. Blood lactate, heart rate, and perceived exertion was measured before and following each exercise bout.