Showing papers by "University of Jyväskylä published in 1980"

Influence of aging on the mechanical behavior of leg extensor muscles.

Abstract: Age dependence of the mechanical behavior of leg extensor muscle was investigated using vertical jumps with and without a stretch-shortening cycle on the force-platform. A total 226 subjects (113 females and 113 males) ranging in age from 4--73 years were examined. The results indicated in general that performance in males was better than that in females. This difference was reduced when body weight was taken into consideration. The peak performance of the various parameters, such as average force, height of rise of center of gravity, net impulse, and also the average power output, was reached in both sexes between the ages of 20 and 30 years. For example, the average vertical force in squatting had the following mean values in the various age groups of the male subjects: 114N (4--6 years), 402N (13--17), 618N (18--28), 508N (29--40), 435N (41--49), 320N (54--65), 315N (71--73 years). When the jumps were performed using the stretch-shortening cycle, the potential of the mechanical performance after prestretching was also sensitive to aging in a similar manner. The results suggest that it is not only the performance of pure concentric contraction that is influenced by the maturation and aging processes but, the that elastic behavior of muscle and reflex potentiation are also affected by the same processes.

Anaerobic threshold, skeletal muscle enzymes and fiber composition in young female cross-country skiers

Abstract: Anaerobic threshold (AT) and maximum oxygen uptake (max VO2) were determined in 15 young female cross-country skiers, aged 15--20 years, during incremental bycycle ergometer exercise. Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), citrate synthase (CS) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were analyzed biochemically and percentage of slow twitch fibres (%ST fibres, myosin adenosine triphosphatase staining) histochemically in muscle samples obtained from m. vastus lateralis. Max VO2 correlated significantly with anaerobic threshold in ml x kg-1 x min-1 (mlAT) but when AT was expressed in percent of max VO2 (%AT) the correlation was insignificant. Significant correlations were found between %AT and SDH (r = 0.63) and between mlAT and CS (r = 0.58). Max VO2 showed no significant correlations with the enzymes studied or %ST fibres. The results of the study seem to support the hypothesis that anaerobic threshold is related to oxidative capacity of muscle.

Connective tissue of "fast" and "slow" skeletal muscle in rats--effects of endurance training.

Abstract: The connective tissue of two skeletal muscles having different contractile properties was investigated in trained and untrained rats. The animals to be trained were put to run on a treadmill 5 days a week for 4 weeks. The "slow" m. soleus (MS) showed higher malate dehydrogenase activity but lower lactate dehydrogenase activity compared to the "fast" m. rectus femoris (MRF). When whole muscles were taken into account, the concentrations of both hydroxyproline and hexosamines were higher for MS compared to MRF. In the middle section of MS there were more hexosamines than in that of MRF, but no similar difference existed in hydroxyproline. The histochemical staining of collagen, however, suggested that there is also more internal collagen for MS as against MRF. It can be supposed that collagen of MRF and MS is differently distributed in different muscle connective tissue components. Compared to MS, the solubility of collagen was higher in MRF, whereas no significant difference between the muscles existed in the prolyl hydroxylase activity. The concentrations of hydroxyproline and hexosamines or the solubility of collagen were not affected by the training given, but the activity of prolyl hydroxylase was increased in MS suggesting that the metabolism of collagen may be accelerated by physical training.

Force-, power-, and elasticity-velocity relationships in walking, running, and jumping

Abstract: Ground reaction forces and mechanical power were investigated when the subjects walked normally, while they were racing or running at four speeds, and when they performed the running long jump take-off. In addition, the apparent spring constants of the support leg in eccentric and concentric phases were investigated at the four running speeds, during the running long jump take-off, and in the triple jump. Six club level track and field athletes, four national level long jumpers, and six national level triple jumpers took part in the study. Cinematographic technique and a mathematical model of hopping (Alexander and Vernon 1975) were employed in the analysis. Force and power values were found to vary in the following order (from highest to lowest): long jump take-off, maximal running speed, submaximal running (80, 60, and 40% of maximum speed), racing gait, and normal gait. The data disclosed that the measured parameters had the highest values in the long jump take-off performed by the long jump athletes. Their peak values were: resultant ground reaction force 3270 +/- 74 N and mechanical power 160.1 +/- 10.5 J x kg-1 x s-1. For the track and field athletes the values were 2010 +/- 80 N and 126.0 +/0 12.6 J x kg-1 x s-1. The apparent spring constant values of the support leg in the national level jumper group were in eccentric phase 30.54 +/- 8.38 N x mm-1 x kg-1 and in concentric phase 0.129 +/- 0.012 N x mm-1 x kg-1. In the track and field athletes the values were 13.97 +/- 1.01 N x mm-1 x kg-1 and 0.093 +/- 0.003 N x mm-1 x kg-1, respectively. In general, the increase in force and mechanical power output was related to the value of the apparent spring constant of the support leg in the eccentric phase. The spring constant in the eccentric phase increased with the velocity of motion in running, the long jump take-off and the triple jump. This suggests that it may be possible to use this parameter as a measure of mechanical performance, as it may reflect the combined elasticity of muscles, tendons, and bones.

Mobilization of proline in the starchy endosperm of germinating barley grain.

Abstract: In germinating grains of barley, Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Himalaya, free proline accumulated in the starchy endosperm during the period of rapid mobilization of reserve proteins. When starchy endosperms were separated from germinating grains and homogenized in a dilute buffer of pH 5 (the pH of the starchy endosperm), the liberation of proline continued in these suspensions. The process was completely inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate, indicating that it was totally dependent on serine carboxy-peptidases. The carboxypeptidases present in the starchy endosperms of germinating grains were fractionated by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Four peaks were obtained, all with different activity spectra on the seven carbobenzoxydipeptides (Z-dipeptides) tested. Two of the peaks corresponded to previously known barley carboxypeptidases; these as well as a third peak hydrolyzed substrates of the types Z-X-Y and Z-X-Pro (X and Y denote any amino acid residue except proline). The fourth peak corresponded to a proline carboxypeptidase specific for substrates of the Z-Pro-X type. Apparently, in the hydrolysis of longer proline-containing peptides there must be sequential cooperation between the two carboxypeptidase types. The carboxypeptidases in extracts of starchy endosperms also liberated proline from the peptides Ala-Ala-Ala-Pro and Ala-Ala-Pro while Ala-Pro and Pro-Ala were not attacked. The dipeptides, however, were rapidly hydrolyzed around pH 7 by extracts prepared from the scutella of germinating grains. It is concluded that one part of the proline residues of the reserve proteins is liberated in situ in the starchy endosperm through the combined action of acid proteinases and carboxypeptidases, while another part is taken up in the form of small peptides by the scutellum, where proline is liberated by amino- and/or dipeptidases in some “neutral compartment”.

Studies on vinblastine-induced autophagocytosis in mouse liver

Abstract: The origin of the membranes of autophagic vacuoles (AV) and acquisition of acid phosphatase into AV's were studied in vinblastine-induced autophagocytosis (VBL, 50 mg/kg, i.p.) in mouse hepatocytes. Using unbuffered OsO4, very intense staining was observed in the outer cisternae of the Golgi apparatus and also frequently in the cavity between the double membranes obviously destined to form AV's as well as in the cavity between the double membranes of newly formed AV's. There may occur a transformation process in the membranes limiting an AV analogous to that observed at the Golgi cisternae. The transformation of the outer AV membrane occurs independently of fusion with lysosomes. Inosine diphosphatase activity was localized within the cisternae and on the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and occasionally within the innermost cisterna of the Golgi apparatus. The results together with the unbuffered OsO4-staining pattern suggest that the membranes of most AV's are derived from the transformed smooth surfaced cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum which do not have inosine diphosphatase activity. Acid phosphatase activity was localized in lysosomes, occasionally within the innermost cisternae of the Golgi apparatus, between the double membranes of a few newly formed AV's and within most older single membrane-limited AV's. VBL did not prevent the fusion of lysosomes with AV's.

Effects of physical training on metabolism of connective tissues in young mice.

Abstract: The effects of physical training on the metabolism of collagen, calcium and glycosaminoglycans in various connective tissues were studied in male NMRI mice. The mice to be trained and their controls were about 3 weeks old (expt. I) and 8 weeks old (expt. II) at the commencement of training. The training was performed on a 5 degree inclined treadmill 5 days a week for 4 weeks in expt. I and for 3 weeks in expt. II. The daily exercise time was progressively increased from 20 min in the first week up to 80 min in the third week. The incorporation of 3H-proline to collagen hydroxyproline was increased by training in long bones, skeletal muscle and Achilles tendon, whereas the incorporation of 35S-sulphate into glycosaminoglycans of bones was lower for the trained compared to the control mice. The differences between the two groups in the incorporation of 45calcium were negligible. The results indicate that the metabolism of collagen is accelerated by physical training in several connective tissues in young rapidly growing mice, whereas the metabolism of glycosaminoglycans remains uneffected or is even retarded.

Breaststroke swimmer's knee A biomechanical and arthroscopic study

Abstract: The cause of the breaststroke swimmer's knee with medial pain of the knee joint has not been clearly identified. Breaststroke swimmers with knee pain were, therefore, examined arthroscopically. None showed any other disorders of their knees than medial synovitis in seven of nine swimmers. Since structural abnormalities could be ruled out, biomechanical analyses utilizing cinematographic techniques were used to study patients swimming in a special flume with the speed set at 90% of their best competitive performance. The results indicate that the extension and flexion and also in some cases the hip abduction and adduction movements of the whip kick were performed with high peak angular velocities. No significant differences in swimming technique among the six patients studied and three controls could be observed. It is concluded that a combination of high angular velocities at the hip and knee and external rotation of the tibia relative to the femur repeated in excessive amounts might be the primary cause for the medial synovitis documented in these patients. The breaststroker's knee thus seems to be an overuse syndrome.

3d impurities in Al: density functional results

Abstract: Self-consistent spin density functional calculations have been carried out for 3d transition metal impurities in aluminium. The width of the virtual level decreases as it moves away from the Fermi energy with increasing occupancy. The results are compared with recent XPS measurements.

Decay characteristics of 0{ 2 / + } and 0{ 3 / + } states in 112 Cd and 114 Cd

Abstract: Absolute rates ofE0 andE2 transitions depopulating 0 2 + and 0 3 + states in112Cd and114Cd have been determined using conversion-electron andγ-ray spectroscopy, and double Coulomb excitation. The collectivity of these states is established and discussed.

Acid proteolytic capacity in mouse cardiac and skeletal muscles after prolonged submaximal exercise.

Abstract: Acid proteolytic capacity in mouse cardiac muscle and in predominantly white (distal head of m. vastus lateralis) or predominantly red (proximal red heads of m. vastus lateralis, m. v. medialis, and m. v. intermedius) skeletal muscle was estimated 5 days after 3 h, 6 h or 9 h prolonged running at a speed of 13.5 m/min. The activities of acid protease and β-glucuronidase together with the rate of acid autolysis considerably increased in both skeletal muscle types, especially in red muscle, but did not increase in cardiac muscle. Acid proteolytic capacity and β-glucuronidase activity increased in relation to the duration of running. Protein content and oxidative capacity (the activities of citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase) decreased in red skeletal muscle after 6 h and 9 h running. In white muscle only protein content slightly decreased after 9 h running. No corresponding changes were observed in cardiac muscle. Histopathological changes were traced in mixed skeletal muscle (m. rectus femoris). Necrotic lesions were observed in the red superficial area of m. rectus femoris after 6 h and, in particular, after 9 h running. The results show that prolonged submaximal running also produces lethal and sublethal skeletal muscle fibre injuries, as well as exhaustive exercise or temporary ischaemia as reported earlier. It is suggested that sublethal injuries precede lethal ones and that acid proteolytic capacity increases especially in the sublethally injured muscle fibres.

A statistical study of the additivities of substituent effects in the 13C NMR chemical shifts of hydroxy- and chloro-substituted benzenes

Abstract: The 13C NMR spectra of six hydroxybenzenes, all chlorobenzenes, all chlorophenols and eight chlorocatechols are measured and assigned. The additivity of the substituent effects and the usefulness of some corrective parameters are studied with regression analysis. The order of the chemical shifts is most efficiently predicted by the simplest substituent effect model, containing only the direct effects of the substituents, although the 95% confidence limits of the calculated shifts are as high as 5.6 ppm. If the chemical shifts need to be predicted within the measuring errors (approximately 0.05–0.10 ppm, in the present data), the number of necessary corrections is very impractical. The correction parameters are found to be independent of the solvent if no conformational effects are operative. These corrections, or the non-additivity parameters, are thus theoretically interesting. Approximate 1J(CH) couplings are also reported and the additivity of substitution effects on these parameters are discussed.

Distribution of aquatic Oligochaeta in the Finnish Lake District

Abstract: SUMMARY. The distribution of oligochaetes was examined at sampling stations grouped into three types: (1), in eutrophic and dystrophic areas or in areas polluted by pulp-mill wastewaters; (2), slightly eutrophic stations; (3), ‘clean’ stations unaffected by sewage or other inputs. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri and Potamothrix hammoniensis were practically the only species in group 1, and the same species accounted for two thirds of the total numbers in group 2, although Peloscolex ferox and some other species also occurred. At the cleanest stations the dominating species were P. ferox, Psammoryctides barbatus, Stylodrilus heringianus and Tubifex tubifex. A factor analysis showed that L. hoffmeisteri and P. hammoniensis were associated with increased nutrients and water colour in the lower part of the epilimnion. In the metalimnion the relationship of S. heringianus and P. ferox to water colour and total nitrogen differed from that of L. hoffmeisteri and P. hammoniensis. Winter oxygen content was important for S. heringianus.

Inhibitors of endogenous proteinases in the seeds of Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris

Abstract: Extracts of resting pine seeds inhibited the proteinase activities present in extracts of endosperms of germinating seeds (hydrolysis of haemoglobin at pH 3.7 and hydrolysis of casein at pH 5.4 and 7.0). Heating the extracts of resting seeds at 60°C destroyed their own proteinase activity but their proteinase inhibitor activity decreased by only 25 to 30%. Some properties of the inhibitor(s) were studied using extracts treated at 60°C. The inhibitor activities were non-dialysable. the inhibition increased linearly with increasing inhibitor concentration up to 80% of total proteinase activity, and the maximal inhibition was 80% at pH 3.7. 90% at pH 5.4. and 97% at pH 7.0. The extracts of resting seeds did not inhibit the pepsin-like acid pine proteinase that accounts for a minor part of the proteolytic activity of endosperm extracts at pH 3.7. Neither did they have any effect on the acid pine carboxypeptidase or trypsin and chymotrypsin. Fresh extracts of endosperms of germinating seeds contained relatively high proteinase activity (assayed directly) and moderate inhibitor activity (assayed after treatment at 60°C). When fresh extracts were dialysed at 50°C for 48 h their proteinase activities increased considerably while the corresponding inhibitor activities disappeared. It is concluded that the decrease of inhibitors during dialysis is due to enzymatic inactivation and that the corresponding increase of proteinase activities is at least partly due to the destruction of the inhibitors.

Nonlinear density dependence of the positron decay rate in helium

Abstract: The decay rate of thermalized positrons in helium is calculated as a function of the fluid density, incorporating the multiple scattering of the positron off the atoms. The obtained nonlinearity agrees with experimental data outside the self-trapping region.

Lipid metabolism during exercise. II. Respiratory exchange ratio and muscle glycogen content during 4 h bicycle ergometry in two groups of healthy men.

Abstract: Seven physically fit (well-trained, maximal oxygen uptake 69.6±4.4 ml×kg−1×min−1) and eight less fit (moderately trained, maximal oxygen uptake 56.1±5.7 ml×kg−1×min−1) healthy male subjects were exercised for 4 h by bicycle ergometry against a pedalling resistance calculated to cause oxygen consumption corresponding to approximately 30% of each individual's maximal oxygen uptake value. Respiratory exchange ratio was estimated at 1 h and blood glucose and lactate concentrations and muscle glycogen content at 2 h intervals. Muscle glycogen content decreased markedly during the first 2 h of exercise in the well-trained group but was similar after 4 h exercise in both groups. No major differences were observed between the two subject groups in blood variable concentrations. Calculations based on respiratory exchange ratio showed that the proportion of carbohydrates utilized in the total energy consumption was 14% in the physically fit group and 25% in the less fit group, thus supporting previous observations that more energy is derived by fat oxidation in well-trained than in less-trained individuals during submaximal work at relatively similar oxygen consumption levels.

Not Race, but Grace: Presbyterian Missionaries and American Indians, 1837–1893

Abstract: Race, writes George W. Stocking, Jr., was "a characteristically nineteenthcentury phenomenon." Historians of articulate racial thought in America generally believe that the optimism of the eighteenth century gave way in the nineteenth to pessimism in matters of race. Growing numbers of scientists, and perhaps nonscientists too, came to believe that certain races were innately inferior, retarded by inherited qualities that were unchangeable or changeable only over long periods of time, and that cultural manifestations were the product primarily of biological endowment. By late in the century, according to Stocking, "race and culture were linked in a single evolutionary hierarchy extending from the dark-skinned savage to the civilized white man. " 1 In the first six decades of its life (1837-1893) the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America sent more than 400 missionaries to at least seventeen diverse Indian tribes.2 Convinced of the absolute superiority of their Christian civilization, these missionaries relentlessly denounced the ways of the Indians.3 They condescended to and