Altering fatty acid availability does not impair prolonged, continuous running to fatigue: evidence for carbohydrate dependence.

We determined the effect of suppressing lipolysis via administration of nicotinic acid (NA) on fuel substrate selection and half-marathon running capacity. In a single-blinded, Latin square design, 12 competitive runners completed four trials involving treadmill running until volitional fatigue at a pace based on 95% of personal best half-marathon time. Trials were completed in a fed or overnight fasted state: 1) carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion before (2 g CHO·kg(-1)·body mass(-1)) and during (44 g/h) [CFED]; 2) CFED plus NA ingestion [CFED-NA]; 3) fasted with placebo ingestion during [FAST]; and 4) FAST plus NA ingestion [FAST-NA].

Carbohydrate Dependence During Prolonged, Intense Endurance Exercise.

A major goal of training to improve the performance of prolonged, continuous, endurance events lasting up to 3 h is to promote a range of physiological and metabolic adaptations that permit an athlete to work at both higher absolute and relative power outputs/speeds and delay the onset of fatigue (i.e., a decline in exercise intensity).

Candidate Reference Measurement Procedure for the Quantification of Total Serum Cortisol with LC-MS/MS.

Background: Accurate measurement of serum cortisol is required to diagnose and treat adrenal disorders. Although certified reference materials (CRMs) are available to standardize cortisol measurements, External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes still demonstrate a wide dispersion of results. We present a serum cortisol candidate reference measurement procedure that, through analysis of a Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine-listed panel of higher-order CRMs, provides metrologically traceable results.

Prevalence of selected rickettsial infections in cats in Southern Germany.

Prevalence of Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Neorickettsia, and Wolbachia DNA in blood of 479 cats collected in different veterinary clinics in Southern Germany was determined using a previously published conventional PCR using 16S-23S intergenic spacer primers (5' CTG GGG ACT ACG GTC GCA AGA C 3' - forward; 5' CTC CAG TTT ATC ACT GGA AGT T 3' - reverse). Purified amplicons were sequenced to confirm genus and species. Associations between rickettsial infections, and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), as well as feline leukemia virus (FeLV) status were evaluated.

Evaluation of intranasal vaccine administration and high-dose interferon- α2b therapy for treatment of chronic upper respiratory tract infections in shelter cats.

Clinical signs of upper respiratory tract infection can be hard to manage in cats, particularly those in shelters. In this study, clinical data were collected from chronically ill (3-4 weeks' duration) cats with suspected feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) or feline calicivirus (FCV) infections after administration of one of two novel therapies. Group A cats were administered a commercially available formulation of human interferon-α2b at 10,000 U/kg subcutaneously for 14 days, and group B cats were administered one dose of a FHV-1 and FCV intranasal vaccine.

Supplemental trace minerals (zinc, copper, and manganese) as sulfates, organic amino acid complexes, or hydroxy trace-mineral sources for shipping-stressed calves.

Crossbred calves (n = 350; average BW 240 ± 1 kg) were obtained from regional livestock auctions. Within each set (block, n = 4), calves were stratified by BW and arrival sex into 1 of 8, 0.42-ha pens (10 to 12 calves per pen).

Can Tablet Computers Enhance Faculty Teaching?

Background: Learner benefits of tablet computer use have been demonstrated, yet there is little evidence regarding faculty tablet use for teaching.

Objective: Our study sought to determine if supplying faculty with tablet computers and peer mentoring provided benefits to learners and faculty beyond that of non-tablet-based teaching modalities.

Methods: We provided faculty with tablet computers and three 2-hour peer-mentoring workshops on tablet-based teaching.

Performance on the adult rheumatology in-training examination and relationship to outcomes on the rheumatology certification examination.

Objective: The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Adult Rheumatology In-Training Examination (ITE) is a feedback tool designed to identify strengths and weaknesses in the content knowledge of individual fellows-in-training and the training program curricula. We determined whether scores on the ACR ITE, as well as scores on other major standardized medical examinations and competency-based ratings, could be used to predict performance on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Rheumatology Certification Examination.

Methods: Between 2008 and 2012, 629 second-year fellows took the ACR ITE.

Nursing Intervention Aimed at Improving Self-Managementfor Persons with Chronic Kidney Disease in North Carolina Medicaid: A Pilot Project.

This pilot project aimed to improve knowledge and self-management among Medicaid beneficiaries with Stage 3b and 4 chronic kidney disease who were identified using a population-based approach. Participants received up to six in-person educational sessions delivered by a nurse practitioner. Increases in knowledge and self-reported behavior changes were generally observed among participants.

Neurological involvement and characterization in acquired hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in adulthood.

Objective: To describe the neurological and neuroradiological features of acquired hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in adulthood by reporting a series of cases.

Methods: Ten consecutive patients who were diagnosed with HLH at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center were evaluated for neurological involvement. All underwent clinical neurological evaluation, and when indicated CSF analysis and MR imaging of the brain.

A Note on PhD Population Growth in Biomedical Sciences.

The explosive increase in the number of postdocs in biomedical fields is puzzling for many science policymakers. We use our previously introduced parameter in this journal, the basic reproductive number in academia ( ), to make sense of PhD population growth in biomedical fields. Our analysis shows how in biomedical fields has increased over time, and we estimate that there is approximately only one tenure-track position in the US for every 6.

Exercise Metabolism: Historical Perspective.

The past 25 years have witnessed major advances in our knowledge of how exercise activates cellular, molecular, and biochemical pathways with regulatory roles in training response adaptation, and how muscle "cross-talk" with other organs is a mechanism by which physical activity exerts its beneficial effects on "whole-body" health. However, during the late 19(th) and early 20(th) centuries, scientific debate in the field of exercise metabolism centered on questions related to the sources of energy for muscular activity, diet-exercise manipulations to alter patterns of fuel utilization, as well as the factors limiting physical work capacity. Posing novel scientific questions and utilizing cutting-edge techniques, the contributions made by the great pioneers of the 19(th) and early 20(th) centuries laid the foundation on which much of our present knowledge of exercise metabolism is based and paved the way for future discoveries in the field.

Modulation of autophagy signaling with resistance exercise and protein ingestion following short-term energy deficit.

Autophagy contributes to remodeling of skeletal muscle and is sensitive to contractile activity and prevailing energy availability. We investigated changes in targeted genes and proteins with roles in autophagy following 5 days of energy balance (EB), energy deficit (ED), and resistance exercise (REX) after ED. Muscle biopsies from 15 subjects (8 males, 7 females) were taken at rest following 5 days of EB [45 kcal·kg fat free mass (FFM)(-1)·day(-1)] and 5 days of ED (30 kcal·kg FFM(-1)·day(-1)).

Effects of sleeping with reduced carbohydrate availability on acute training responses.

We determined the effects of "periodized nutrition" on skeletal muscle and whole body responses to a bout of prolonged exercise the following morning. Seven cyclists completed two trials receiving isoenergetic diets differing in the timing of ingestion: they consumed either 8 g/kg body mass (BM) of carbohydrate (CHO) before undertaking an evening session of high-intensity training (HIT) and slept without eating (FASTED), or consumed 4 g/kg BM of CHO before HIT, then 4 g/kg BM of CHO before sleeping (FED). The next morning subjects completed 2 h of cycling (120SS) while overnight fasted.

The erosion of physical activity in Western societies: an economic death march.

By 2030 type 2 diabetes and associated complications will be the seventh leading cause of death globally. In this context, obesity and physical inactivity have emerged as major risk factors for several chronic metabolic disorders. While exercise training exerts numerous health-related benefits in terms of the prevention and treatment of many disease states, including type 2 diabetes, it is currently under-prescribed and under-valued.

Effects of government spending on research workforce development: evidence from biomedical postdoctoral researchers.

We examine effects of government spending on postdoctoral researchers' (postdocs) productivity in biomedical sciences, the largest population of postdocs in the US. We analyze changes in the productivity of postdocs before and after the US government's 1997 decision to increase NIH funding. In the first round of analysis, we find that more government spending has resulted in longer postdoc careers.

Hypoenergetic diet-induced reductions in myofibrillar protein synthesis are restored with resistance training and balanced daily protein ingestion in older men.

Strategies to enhance weight loss with a high fat-to-lean ratio in overweight/obese older adults are important since lean loss could exacerbate sarcopenia. We examined how dietary protein distribution affected muscle protein synthesis during energy balance (EB), energy restriction (ER), and energy restriction plus resistance training (ER + RT). A 4-wk ER diet was provided to overweight/obese older men (66 ± 4 yr, 31 ± 5 kg/m(2)) who were randomized to either a balanced (BAL: 25% daily protein/meal × 4) or skewed (SKEW: 7:17:72:4% daily protein/meal; n = 10/group) pattern.

Outcomes of benign breast papillomas diagnosed at image-guided vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy.

Purpose: To determine the upgrade rate of benign papillomas diagnosed at image-guided vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy (VACNB) and to compare our results with the summarized literature.

Materials And Methods: A database search was performed to identify patients older than 18 years of age with benign papillomas diagnosed at VACNB between 2004 and 2013. A total of 199 papillomas in 184 patients were identified.

Resistance exercise with low glycogen increases p53 phosphorylation and PGC-1α mRNA in skeletal muscle.

Purpose: We determined the effect of reduced muscle glycogen availability on cellular pathways regulating mitochondrial biogenesis and substrate utilization after a bout of resistance exercise.

Methods: Eight young, recreationally trained men undertook a glycogen depletion protocol of one-leg cycling to fatigue (LOW), while the contralateral (control) leg rested (CONT). Following an overnight fast, subjects completed 8 sets of 5 unilateral leg press repetitions (REX) at 80 % 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM) on each leg.

Expert panel consensus on assessment checklists for a rheumatology objective structured clinical examination.

Objective: While several regional fellowship groups conduct rheumatology objective structured clinical examinations (ROSCEs), none have been validated for use across programs. We aimed to establish agreement among subspecialty experts regarding checklist items for several ROSCE stations.

Methods: We administered a 1-round survey to assess the importance of 173 assessment checklist items for 11 possible ROSCE stations.

Outcomes following treatment of veterans for substance and tobacco addiction.

Persons who use tobacco in addition to alcohol and other drugs have increased health risks and mortality rates. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of participation in a tobacco cessation program on tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use in a population seeking treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs). Tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use were assessed by urine drug screens, breathalyzer readings, and self-report.

Increasing leucine concentration stimulates mechanistic target of rapamycin signaling and cell growth in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells.

Leucine is a key amino acid for initiating translation in muscle cells, but the dose-dependent effects of leucine on intracellular signaling are poorly characterized. This study examined the effect that increasing doses of leucine would have on changes in mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR)-mediated signaling, rates of protein synthesis, and cell size in C2C12 cells. We hypothesized that a leucine "threshold" exists, which represents the minimum stimulus required to initiate mTOR signaling in muscle cells.

Integrative biology of exercise.

Exercise represents a major challenge to whole-body homeostasis provoking widespread perturbations in numerous cells, tissues, and organs that are caused by or are a response to the increased metabolic activity of contracting skeletal muscles. To meet this challenge, multiple integrated and often redundant responses operate to blunt the homeostatic threats generated by exercise-induced increases in muscle energy and oxygen demand. The application of molecular techniques to exercise biology has provided greater understanding of the multiplicity and complexity of cellular networks involved in exercise responses, and recent discoveries offer perspectives on the mechanisms by which muscle "communicates" with other organs and mediates the beneficial effects of exercise on health and performance.