Soil moisture and water redistribution patterns in white oak (Quercus alba) saplings and trees in fragmented urban woodlands.

In the midwestern United States, models predict extended summer heatwaves and increasingly frequent and prolonged drought conditions. In the Chicago region, the potential for large-scale mortality of white oak trees (Quercus alba) coupled with the ongoing decline of white oak sapling recruitment are major concerns for researchers and practitioners. In this study, we determined the sources of water used by mature white oak trees and saplings in three qualitatively different sites within a remnant oak forest in Chicago during the 2021 drought.

Caffeine Abstinence in Habituated Users: Cardiovascular Responses to Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction.

Context: Blood flow restriction resistance exercise studies often require caffeine abstinence to avoid cardiovascular effects that could change the blood flow restriction stimulus. However, effects may be attenuated for habituated users.

Objective: To compare cardiovascular responses to blood flow restriction resistance exercise when habituated users consume or abstain from caffeine.

Comparing the acute responses between a manual and automated blood flow restriction system.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to compare acute responses between manual and automated blood flow restriction (BFR) systems.

Methods: A total of 33 individuals completed this study. On visit 1, arterial occlusion pressure (AOP, mm Hg), cardiovascular responses, and discomfort (RPE-D) were measured with each BFR system at rest.

Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia in habituated caffeine users: Effects of abstaining versus consuming typical doses.

Background: Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) typically requires caffeine abstinence. For habitual users, it is unknown if abstinence affects PORH.

Objective: Compare PORH after habitual users consume or abstain from caffeine.

Affective and Perceptual Responses During an 8-Week Resistance Training to Failure Intervention at Low vs. High Loads in Untrained Women.

Anderson, AlOK, Voskuil, CC, Byrd, MT, Garver, MJ, Rickard, AJ, Miller, WM, Bergstrom, HC, and Dinyer McNeely, TK. Affective and perceptual responses during an 8-week resistance training to failure intervention at low vs. high loads in untrained women.

Effect of repeated eccentric exercise on muscle damage markers and motor unit control strategies in arm and hand muscle.

To examine the contralateral repeated bout effect (CL-RBE) on muscle damage markers and motor unit (MU) control strategies, seventeen healthy adults performed two bouts of 60 eccentric contractions with elbow flexor (EF group;  ​= ​9) or index finger abductor (IA group;  ​= ​8) muscles, separated by 1 week. All participants randomly performed eccentric exercise on either the right or left arm or hand muscles, and muscle damage markers and submaximal trapezoid contraction tests were conducted pre, post, 1- and 2-day post eccentric protocol. One week after the first bout, the same exercise protocol and measurements were performed on the contralateral muscles.

A comparison of variability between absolute and relative blood flow restriction pressures.

Introduction: Recommendations are that blood flow restriction (BFR) be applied relative to arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) to provide a similar stimulus.

Purpose: Compare variability of the change in blood flow, shear rate and discomfort between recommended relative pressures and an absolute pressure.

Methods: During one visit, brachial arterial blood flow was measured in 91 participants using pulse-wave Doppler ultrasonography.

Effect of Arm Eccentric Exercise on Muscle Damage of the Knee Flexors After High-Intensity Eccentric Exercise.

Repeated bout effect (RBE) describes a phenomenon that an initial unaccustomed eccentric exercise (ECC) bout can confer a protective effect against muscle damage from the subsequent same exercise. This protection has been observed in the same muscle, as well as the contralateral homologous (CL-RBE) muscle. But it is unknown whether the RBE is evident for non-local unrelated heterogonous muscles.

Downhill running impairs peripheral but not central neuromuscular indices in elbow flexor muscles.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 1-h downhill running exercise on the elbow flexor muscles' neuromuscular functions. Seventeen adults (Control [CON]:  = 9; Experimental [EXP]:  = 8) completed this study. The CON rested for 30 min while the EXP performed the downhill running.

The Effects of a Preconditioning Rolling Session on Subsequent Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage.

West, JT, Miller, WM, Jeon, S, and Ye, X. The effects of a preconditioning rolling session on subsequent eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. J Strength Cond Res 34(8): 2112-2119, 2020-The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a preexercise unilateral quadriceps muscle rolling intervention on subsequent ipsilateral (IPSI) or contralateral (CTRA) knee extension eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage.

A Comparison of Motor Unit Control Strategies between Two Different Isometric Tasks.

Background: This study examined the motor unit (MU) control strategies for non-fatiguing isometric elbow flexion tasks at 40% and 70% maximal voluntary isometric contraction.

Methods: Nineteen healthy individuals performed two submaximal tasks with similar torque levels: contracting against an immovable object (force task), and maintaining the elbow joint angle against an external load (position task). Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were collected from the agonist and antagonist muscles.

Knowledge, attitudes, intentions, and behavior related to green infrastructure for flood management: A systematic literature review.

Green infrastructure (GI), which mimics natural hydrological systems, is a promising solution for flood management at the intersection of urban built infrastructure and natural systems. However, it has not yet achieved widespread uptake, due in part to insufficient understanding of human dimensions of the broader socio-ecological-technical system. We therefore conducted a multidisciplinary systematic literature review to synthesize research on people's existing knowledge about flood risk and GI, and how that shapes their attitudes and motivation to adopt new solutions.

Soil hydrology drives ecological niche differentiation in a native prairie microbiome.

While the impacts of soil moisture on soil microbiome diversity and composition are well characterized, the influence of hydrological regime has been overlooked. As precipitation patterns are altered by climate change, understanding the impact of soil hydrology on community structure and function is critical. In this work, water level was continuously monitored for over a year in a Midwestern prairie-wetland at 10 cm depth increments up to a depth of 120 cm in 10 locations.

Sex work, discrimination, drug use and violence: a pattern for HIV risk among transgender sex workers compared to MSM sex workers and other MSM in Guatemala.

The risk of HIV infection is higher among transgender women and cisgender men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to the general population due in part to social and contextual factors. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and association of alcohol and drug abuse, discrimination and violence among transgender sex workers compared to cisgender male sex workers and cisgender men who had not received money for sex in Guatemala City. In 2010, transgender women and cisgender men who had had sex with men or transgender women were recruited into a cross-sectional behavioural survey.

Comparison of Myoelectric Activity During a Suspension-Based and Traditional Split Squat.

Miller, WM, Barnes, JT, Sofo, SS, and Wagganer, JD. Comparison of myoelectric activity during a suspension-based and traditional split squat. J Strength Cond Res 33(12): 3236-3241, 2019-Over several decades, traditional resistance training has incorporated body-mass suspension training (SPT), for example, Total-Body Resistance Exercise (TRX); however, very little research has been completed investigating the effects of lower body SPT.

A systematic review of the human health and social well-being outcomes of green infrastructure for stormwater and flood management.

Background: The increase in frequency and intensity of urban flooding is a global challenge. Flooding directly impacts residents of industrialized cities with aging combined sewer systems, as well as cities with less centralized infrastructure to manage stormwater, fecal sludge, and wastewater. Green infrastructure is growing in popularity as a sustainable strategy to mimic nature-based flood management.

Unilateral hamstring foam rolling does not impair strength but the rate of force development of the contralateral muscle.

Background: Self-administered foam rolling (SAFR) is an effective massage technique often used in sport and rehabilitation settings to improve range of motion (ROM) without impairing the strength performance. However, the effects of unilateral SAFR on contralateral non-intervened muscle's rate of force development (RFD) are unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the acute effects of unilateral hamstrings SAFR on the contralateral limb flexibility, the isometric strength, and the RFD parameters.

Effects of Maximal vs. Submaximal Isometric Fatiguing Exercise on Subsequent Submaximal Exercise Performance.

Miller, WM, Ye, X, and Jeon, S. Effects of maximal vs. submaximal isometric fatiguing exercise on subsequent submaximal exercise performance.

Low-Load vs. High-Load Resistance Training to Failure on One Repetition Maximum Strength and Body Composition in Untrained Women.

Dinyer, TK, Byrd, MT, Garver, MJ, Rickard, AJ, Miller, WM, Burns, S, Clasey, JL, and Bergstrom, HC. Low-load vs. high-load resistance training to failure on one repetition maximum strength and body composition in untrained women.

Enabling Large-Scale Ex Vivo Production of Megakaryocytes from CD34 Cells Using Gas-Permeable Surfaces.

Patients suffering from acute or sustained thrombocytopenia require platelet transfusions, which are entirely donor-based and limited by challenges related to storage and fluctuating supply. Developing cell-culture technologies will enable ex vivo and donor-independent platelet production. However, critical advancements are needed to improve scalability and increase megakaryocyte (Mk) culture productivity.

Sex comparisons of agonist and antagonist muscle electromyographic parameters during two different submaximal isometric fatiguing tasks.

To examine the task failure time of the force- and position-based submaximal elbow flexion fatiguing tasks for both sexes, twelve men and eight women visited the laboratory for two separate experimental occasions. During the experiment, they pulled against a rigid restraint for the force task and maintained a constant elbow joint angle to support an equivalent inertial load for the position task. For both fatiguing tasks (50% of the isometric strength at the elbow joint angle of 135 degree), the task failure time, along with the surface electromyographic (EMG) amplitude and mean frequency (MNF) were measured.

Sex comparisons of the bilateral deficit in proximal and distal upper body limb muscles.

Bilateral deficit (BLD) describes a phenomenon that the force produced during maximal simultaneous bilateral contraction is lower than the sum of those produced unilaterally. The aim of this study was to examine the potential sex-related differences in BLD in upper body proximal and distal limb muscles. Ten men and eight women performed single-joint maximal contractions with their elbow flexors and index finger abductors at separate laboratory visits, during which the maximal isometric voluntary contractions (MVICs) were performed unilaterally and bilaterally with a randomized order in the designated muscle group.

Achieving the first 90 for key populations in sub-Saharan Africa through venue-based outreach: challenges and opportunities for HIV prevention based on PLACE study findings from Malawi and Angola.

Introduction: Providing outreach HIV prevention services at venues (i.e. "hotspots") where people meet new sex partners can decrease barriers to HIV testing services (HTS) for key populations (KP) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Traditional Versus Suspended Push-up Muscle Activation in Athletes and Sedentary Women.

Syed-Abdul, MM, Soni, DS, Miller, WM, Johnson, RJ, Barnes, JT, Pujol, TJ, and Wagganer, JD. Traditional versus suspended push-up muscle activation in athletes and sedentary women. J Strength Cond Res 32(7): 1816-1820, 2018-Many strength training programs incorporate push-up exercises, which primarily activate upper-body muscles.

A uniform-shear rate microfluidic bioreactor for real-time study of proplatelet formation and rapidly-released platelets.

Platelet transfusions, with profound clinical importance in blood clotting and wound healing, are entirely derived from human volunteer donors. Hospitals rely on a steady supply of donations, but these methods are limited by a 5-day shelf life, the potential risk of contamination, and differences in donor/recipient histocompatibility. These challenges invite the opportunity to generate platelets ex vivo.