Skinfold thickness versus isotope dilution for body fat assessment during simulated microgravity: results from three bed-rest campaigns in men and women with and without countermeasures

Because body composition is altered during head-down bed rest (HDBR), body mass can not be used as an index of energy balance. Consequently diet allowances should not be based on body mass evolution but on fat mass changes. Though criticized, skinfold thickness (ST) is the costless, easiest and fastest method to use for such an objective. The aim of this study was to compare the percentage of body fat (%BF) estimated by ST with the isotope dilution of H₂¹⁸O. We compiled data from three HDBR campaigns, one on women (n=8) in November 1998 and two on the same men (n=8) in December 1997 (without countermeasure) and January 1998 (with thigh-cuffs countermeasure), according to a crossover design. Body composition was assessed before and after 6 days of HDBR. %BF was derived from the biceps, triceps, sub-scapular and sup-iliac ST according to Durnin and Wormersly (1974). Fat-free mass was measured on the same day by H₂¹⁸O dilution and fat mass was calculated by the difference with body mass and expressed as a percentage. Based on precision tests, the minimum measurable change by ST was 1.1%BF for single measurement point. Both intercepts (F _4,30=0.89, P=0.45) and slopes (F _4,30=0.74; P=0.57) of the ST versus dilution relationships were not affected by the periods (December vs January), experimental conditions (control vs HDBR vs HDBR + thigh cuffs) or sex allowing the derivation of a common relationship %BF_st=0.94 × %BF_dil (F _1,47=97.9, P<0.0001; non-significant intercept excluded) with a bias between methods of −1.7±2.0 %BF (95% CI: −5.8, 2.4 %BF). ST can be used to measure %BF during HDBR provided great care is placed on training and changes are higher than 1.1 %BF. If the method can be applied for in-flight energy balance monitoring given the high observed energy deficit, a tight monitoring of the individual nutritional status as needed during simulation appears, however, dubious based on this solely method.     

Relationship between ROS production, apoptosis and DNA denaturation in spermatozoa from patients examined for infertility

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine the role of apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in inducing DNA damage in ejaculated spermatozoa. METHODS: We examined ejaculated spermatozoa from 31 patients examined for infertility and 19 healthy donors for apoptosis, production of ROS and DNA damage using annexin V binding, chemiluminescence assay and sperm chromatin structure assay. RESULTS: The percentage of spermatozoa that underwent apoptosis in the whole ejaculate and mature fraction was higher in the patients than in the donors (P<0.001 and P=0.009, respectively). Levels of ROS in the whole ejaculate and immature fraction were higher in the patients than in the donors (P=0.002 and P=0.009). Apoptosis was significantly correlated with ROS within patients in the whole ejaculate [r (95% confidence interval)=0.53 (0.19-0.86)] and in the mature [0.71 (0.39-1.00)] and immature spermatozoa [0.75 (0.45-1.00)]. Only apoptosis and the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) were significantly correlated within patients in the whole ejaculate [0.57 (0.18-0.97)]. CONCLUSIONS: DNA damage may be induced by oxidative assault. Apoptosis may not contribute significantly to the DNA damage.     

Effects of aerobic exercise conditioning at intensities corresponding to lactate threshold in the elderly

Summary In this study we attempted to determine the effects of exercise training at the intensity corresponding to lactate threshold (Th_la ^–) on various health-related variables in sedentary but apparently healthy elderly subjects. Six men and five women volunteers [mean age 68.9 (SD 3.4) years] performed supervised endurance-type training on stationary cycle ergometers for 30 min and recreational activities for 30 min, 3 days a week for 12 weeks. Four men and four women served as the control group [68.8 (SD 4.4) years]. As a result of the training programme, statistically significant increases in maximal oxygen consumption (10%), oxygen consumption at Th_la ^–(18%), distance covered in 12-min walk, side step, and leg extensor power were found in the training group, while no changes occurred in the control group. The changes in serum cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations from the pre- to post-training period were statistically significant. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol remained unchanged, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol tended to decrease following the training programme. These data would indicate that exercise training at the intensity corresponding to Th_la ^–may have favourable effects on overall physical fitness and some serum lipid variables in older individuals.     

Variable effects of β-adrenoceptor blockade on muscle blood flow during exercise

The role of β-adrenoceptors in exercise-induced muscle hyperaemia was investigated. Exercise was performed with a small and a large muscle mass: knee extension (KE) and bicycle exercise (BE). Seven healthy subjects performed light and maximal KE and eight subjects performed stepwise dynamic BE to exhaustion before and after acute i.v. administration of propranolol (0.15 mg kg^-1). Leg blood flow was measured by a bolus dye dilution technique. During KE at low and high power leg blood flow was reduced by 8.7 and 10.5% after propranolol was administered, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was reduced at low, but not at high power resulting in increased leg vascular resistance (LVR) during high intensity. During BE propranolol reduced leg blood flow and increased LVR at low power, but not at high power. At high BE intensity LVR did not change with increasing power and was slightly decreased after propranolol was administered. In this situation oxygen uptake was close to maximum and the concentration of catecholamines was 3–5 times higher compared with KE. There was no significant effect of propranolol on lactate release or arterial-femoral venous (a-fv) differences for adrenaline or noradrenaline. We conclude that β-adrenoceptors modulate local vasodilation in skeletal muscles during exercise independently of local muscle energy demand, but that the effect is highly dependent on active muscle mass since a-adrenergic activity during maximal BE seemed to disguise any effect of propranolol on LVR.     

Physical work capacity in dynamic exercise with differing muscle masses in healthy young and older men

Ten young (aged 23–30 years) and nine older (aged 54–59 years) healthy men with similar estimated limb muscle volumes performed, in random order, three different types of ergometer exercise tests (one-arm cranking, two-arm cranking, and two-leg cycling) up to the maximal level. Values for work load (WL), peak oxygen consumption , peak heart rate (HR), peak ventilation , respiratory gas exchange ratio (R), recovery blood lactate concentration [La^–], and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were compared between the age-groups in the given exercise modes. No significant age-related differences in WL, peak , peak HR, R, [La^–], or RPE were found in one-arm or two-arm cranking. During one-arm cranking the mean peak was 1.65 (SD 0.26)1 · min^–1 among the young men and 1.63 (SD 0.10)1 · min^–1 among the older men. Corresponding mean peak during two-arm cranking was 2.19 (SD 0.32)1 · min-1 and 2.09 (SD 0.18)1 · min^–1, respectively. During one-arm cranking peak was higher (P < 0.05) among the older men compared to the young men. During two-leg cycling the young men showed higher values in WL (P < 0.001), peak (P < 0.001), and peak HR (P < 0.001). The mean peak was 3.54 (SD 0.24)1 · min^–1 among the young men and 3.02 (SD 0.20)1 · min^–1 among the older men. Corresponding mean peak HR was 182 (SD 5) beats · min^–1 and 170 (SD 8) beats · min^–1, respectively. During two-leg cycling, peak , R, [La^–], and RPE did not differ between the two age-groups. In summary, the older men with similar sizes of estimated arm and leg muscle volumes as the young men had a reduced physical work capacity in two-leg cycling. In one-arm or two-arm cranking, no significant difference in work capacity was found between the age-groups. These results indicate, that in healthy men, age, at least up to the 6th decade of life, is not necessarily associated with a decline in physical work capacity in exercises using relatively small muscle groups, in which the limiting factors are more peripheral than central.     

DNA degradation by the mixture of copper and catechol is caused by DNA-copper-hydroperoxo complexes, probably DNA-Cu(I)OOH

Free hydroxyl radicals (free (.)OH), singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)), or (. )OH produced by DNA-copper-hydroperoxo complexes are possible DNA-damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the reaction system containing copper, catechol, and DNA. para-Chlorobenzoic acid (pCBA) degradation studies revealed that CuCl(2) mixed with catechol produced free (.)OH. In the presence of DNA, however, inhibition of the pCBA degradation suggested that another ROS is responsible for the DNA degradation. Of a series of ROS scavengers investigated, only KI, NaN(3), and Na-formate-all of the salts tested-strongly inhibited the DNA degradation, suggesting that the ionic strength rather than the reactivity of the individual scavengers could be responsible for the observed inhibition. The ionic strength effect was confirmed by increasing the concentration of phosphate buffer, which is a poor (.)OH scavenger, and was interpreted as the result of destabilization of DNA-copper-hydroperoxo complexes. Piperidine-labile site patterns in DNA degraded by copper and catechol showed that the mixture of Cu(II) and catechol degrades DNA via the intermediate formation of a DNA-copper-hydroperoxo complex. Replacement of guanine by 7-deazaguanine did not retard the DNA degradation, suggesting that the DNA-copper-hydroperoxo complexes do not bind to the guanine N-7 as proposed in the literature.     

2-Mercapto-ethanol enhancement of agglutination reaction--a possible in vitro serological correlate for assessment of functional immunity in simian malaria

Conventional indirect haemagglutination test was performed in rhesus monkey sera (collected from Plasmodium knowlesi infected animals) with and without prior treatment of sera with 2-mercapto-ethanol (2-ME). Surprisingly, many sera samples showed significant enhancement of final titre with 2-ME. The 2-ME enhancement effect was more pronounced in the sera of hyperimmune monkeys on further injection of antigen or parasites. It was also noticeable in the sera during primary drug-suppressed P. knowlesi infection and appeared to have a bearing on the immune status of the animals to rechallenge. The use of a soluble antigen prepared from P. knowlesi infected erythrocytes was found to be essential in IHA test to demonstrate the 2-ME enhancement effect. Antigen prepared from freed parasites (commonly used) failed to show a similar effect in IHA. The possible role of certain T-lymphocyte products - antigen binding, non-agglutinating, 2-ME sensitive molecules - in malarial immunology has been proposed.     

Cardiovascular changes associated with decreased aerobic capacity and aging in long-distance runners

Summary Fifty-five male runners aged between 30 to 80 years were examined to determine the relative roles of various cardiovascular parameters which may account for the decrease in maximal oxygen uptake ( ) with aging. All subjects had similar body fat composition and trained for a similar mileage each week. The parameters tested were , maximal heart rate (HR _max), cardiac output (Q), and arteriovenous difference in oxygen concentration (C _a —C _ˉv) O₂ during graded, maximal treadmill running. Average body fat and training mileage were roughly 12% and 50 km·week⁻¹, respectively. The average 10-km runtime slowed significantly by 6.0%·decade⁻¹ {[10-km run-time (min)=0.323 x age (years)+24.4] (n=49,r=0.692,p<0.001)}. A strong correlation was found between age and {[ (ml·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹)=- 0.439xage+76.5] (n=55,r=-0.768, p<0.001)}. Thus, decreased by 6.9%·decade⁻¹ along with reductions ofHR _max (3.2%·decade⁻¹, p<0.001) andQ (5.8%·decade⁻¹, p<0.001), while no significant change with age was observed in estimated (C _a —C _ˉv) O₂. It was concluded that the decline of with aging in runners was mainly explained by the central factors (represented by the decline ofHR andQ in this study), rather than by the peripheral factor (represented by (C _a —C _ˉv) O₂). This study was supported, in part, by a Research Grant on Aging and Health, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Japan, and by a Research Grant for young researchers, Meiji Life Foundation of Health and Welfare, Japan.     

Lipid metabolism during exercise I: Physiological and biochemical characterization of normal healthy male subjects in relation to their physical fitness

Summary On the basis of maximal oxygen uptake ( O₂ max) 18 normal, healthy men were divided into two groups of equal size: moderately trained subjects (MTR) each having O₂ max below 65.0 ml·min^–1·kg^–1 body weight (54.0±8.3) and well trained subjects (WTR), whose O₂ max exceeded 65.0 ml·min^–1·kg^–1 body weight (69.2±4.1). The WTR group had slightly (non significant, n.s.) higher percentage of slow twitch, oxidative (SO) fibers in M. vastus lateralis and higher (n.s.) activities of cytochrome c oxidase (CytOx), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA-dehydrogenase (HADH), and citrate synthase (CS), while lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity was lower (n.s.). In the MTR group only, the SO-%, and the activities of CytOx, SDH and HADH correlated positively with O₂ max, and LDH negatively with O₂ max. These correlations were not significant in the WTR group possibly because of the adaptations produced by training in this group. Multiple regression analysis was used to elucidate the best combination of variables to explain the variance in O₂ max. The best model consisted of the sum of relative activities of oxidative muscle enzymes (CytOx, SDH, HADH, CS), muscle LDH activity, body fat content (% F) and lean body mass. This model explained 69% of the variance in O₂ max; and of the individual variables % F was of utmost importance.     

高压氧抑制一氧化氮生成改善缺血性脑细胞凋亡

目的探讨高压氧对脑缺血再灌流脑皮层一氧化氮(NO)生成的影响及其对脑细胞的保护作用。方法采用沙土鼠双侧颈总动脉夹闭30min再灌流模型。用电化学及免疫细胞化学方法检测脑皮层一氧化氮生成、一氧化氮合酶(NOS)表达及神经细胞凋亡。结果缺血再灌流期沙土鼠脑皮层中NO的含量显著增加，3型NOS均有表达，缺血再灌流第2d，iNOS的表达最为明显，同时NO的生成达到高峰。缺血再灌流第1、2、3d，沙土鼠脑皮层均可见凋亡细胞，以第2、3d更为明显。高压氧暴露能明显抑制iNOS表达，减少NO生成，减轻神经细胞凋亡。结论高压氧能抑制沙土鼠脑缺血再灌流期脑皮层NO生成，减轻神经细胞凋亡，从而起到脑保护作用。