Exercise Model Research Articles

Ramadan fasting and exercise combination therapy: A novel approach for osteoporosis prevention in ovariectomized rats.

Osteoporosis is a chronic bone metabolic disease that affects millions of people worldwide, particularly the elderly and postmenopausal women. It is characterized by weakened bones, increasing the risk of fractures and leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The goal of the current study is to examine the reported osteo-preservative effects of exercise and/or fasting in the Ramadan fasting model (RFM) in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. The experimental intervention started 1month following the ovariectomy procedure and consisted of five 15-min exercise sessions per week at 18-25m/min and/or an approximately 13-h fast from sunrise to sunset (6:00 AM-19:00 PM). Serum bone metabolism biomarker levels were measured, and mineral concentrations in femoral ashed bones and digested serum were determined. Additionally, serum bone alkaline phosphatase (b-ALP), parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, calcitonin, and vitamin D3 concentrations were measured using the competitive enzyme immunoassay technique. Calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus showed a notable decrease in mineral concentration among OVX rat femurs compared with the combination group (OVX + RFM + E) and control groups. In addition, homeostasis of serum concentrations of calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus was observed to increase in the OVX + RFM + E group rather than in the OVX group without intervention when compared with a control group. Furthermore, fasting and exercise, either alone or concurrently with ovariectomy, induced a non-significant elevation in osteocalcin, parathyroid hormone, and vitamin D3, whereas b-ALP and calcitonin increased significantly compared with those in control rats. The combination of the Ramadan fasting model and moderate intensity exercises among OVX rats manifested advantageous effects in bone biomarkers compared with OVX rats without intervention. This could be recommended as a lifestyle modification that is protective against osteoporosis, especially in the context of depleted estrogen hormone after menopause.

Voluntary wheel-running exercise improvement of anxiety or depressive symptoms in different models of depression.

The effects of voluntary wheel-running exercise in different rodent models of depression remain unclear, and further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these effects. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to evaluate the currently available findings on whether voluntary wheel-running exercise can alleviate depressive symptoms in five different rodent models of depression. The findings of the comprehensive meta-analysis imply that engaging in voluntary wheel-running exercise has a beneficial effect on alleviating depressive symptoms in rodent models that simulate depression. While further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms and limitations of this intervention future research should aim to conduct larger. Well-designed studies that use standardized protocols and outcome measures. This would help to reduce heterogeneity between studies and improve the overall quality of the evidence base. Additionally, studies should explore the potential mechanisms of action of voluntary wheel-running exercise in treating depression, such as changes in neurotransmitter levels, neuroplasticity, and inflammation. The results suggest that it may hold promise as an adjunctive therapy for depression.

Modeling of the effect of gradation and compaction characteristics on the california bearing ratio of granular materials for subbase and landfill liner construction

The California bearing ratio (CBR) of a granular materials are influence by the soil particle distribution indices such as D10, D30, D50, and D60 and also the compaction properties such as the maximum dry density (MDD) and the optimum moisture content (OMC). For this reason, the particle packing and compactibility of the soil play a big role in the design and construction of subbases and landfills. In this research paper, experimental data entries have been collected reflecting the CBR behavior of granular soil used to construct landfill and subbase. The database was utilized in the ratio of 78–22% to predict the CBR behavior considering the artificial neural network (ANN), the evolutionary polynomial regression (EPR), the genetic programming (GP), Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), Random Forest (RF) and the response surface methodology (RSM) intelligent learning and symbolic abilities. The relative importance values for each input parameter were carried out, which indicated that the (CBR) value depends mainly on the average particle size (D30, 50 & 60). They showed a combined influence index of 66% of the considered parameters in the model exercise. This further shows the importance and structural influence of the particles within the D50 and D60 range in a granular material consistency in the design and construction purposes. Performance indices were also used to study the ability of the models. The ANN model showed the best performance with accuracy of 88%, then GP, EPR and RF with almost the same accuracies of 85% and lastly the XGBoost with accuracy of 81%. Also, the RSM produced an R2 of 0.9464 with a p-value of less than 0.0001. These values show that the ANN produced the decisive model with the superior performance indices in the forecast of CBR of granular material used as subbase and waste compacted earth liner material. The results further show that optimal performance of the CBR depended on D50 and D60 for the design of subgrade, subbase, and liner purposes and also during the performance monitoring phase of the constructed flexible pavement foundations and compacted earth liners.

Evaluating the impact of industrial wastes on the compressive strength of concrete using closed-form machine learning algorithms

Industrial wastes have found great use in the built environment due to the role they play in the sustainable infrastructure development especially in green concrete production. In this research investigation, the impact of wastes from the industry on the compressive strength of concrete incorporating fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF) as additional components alongside traditional concrete mixes has been studied through the application of machine learning (ML). A green concrete database comprising 330 concrete mix data points has been collected and modelled to estimate the unconfined compressive strength behaviour. Considering the concerning environmental ramifications associated with concrete production and its utilization in construction activities, there is a pressing need to perform predictive model exercise. Furthermore, given the prevalent reliance of concrete production professionals on laboratory experiments, it is imperative to propose smart equations aimed at diminishing this dependency. These equations should be applicable for use in the design, construction, and performance assessment of concrete infrastructure, thereby reflecting the multi-objective nature of this research endeavour. It has been proposed by previous research works that the addition of FA and SF in concrete has a reduction impact on the environmental influence indicators due to reduced cement use. The artificial neural network (ANN) and the M5P models were applied in this exercise to predict the compressive strength of FA- and SF-mixed concrete also considering the impact of water reducing agent in the concrete. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to determine the impact of the concrete components on the strength of the concrete. At the end, closed-form equations were proposed by the ANN and M5P with performance indices which outperformed previous models conducted on the same database size. The result of the sensitivity analysis showed that FA is most impactful of all the studied components thereby emphasizing the importance of adding industrial wastes in concrete production for improved mechanical properties and reduced carbon footprint in the concrete construction activities. Also, the M5P and ANN models with R2 of 0.99 showed a potential for use as decisive models to predict the compressive strength of FA- and SF-mixed concrete.

Program Reach and Motivational Correlates of Exercise Behavior among Program Participants with Visual Impairment

ABSTRACT Introduction Adults with visual impairments (VI) experience unique barriers to exercise. Targeted exercise programming can eliminate barriers, but little is known about who engages in such programs. This cross-sectional study a) describes program reach and motivational correlates of exercise behavior among members of specialized exercise programs offered to adults with VI; b) examines demographic, psychological, and behavioral differences according to VI severity; and c) assesses the interrelationships between motivational characteristics and exercise behavior. Methods Data for program participants were provided to researchers by the partnered organization with participant consent. A total of 118 participants also completed a post-program survey on motivational characteristics and exercise behavior. Reach was assessed with descriptive statistics. T-tests and chi-squared tests were used to analyze respondent representativeness compared to the population of program participants (demographically) and normative values (motivationally). Analysis of variance examined differences according to VI severity. Pearson’s correlations and multiple regression assessed strength and independence of relationships between motivational variables and exercise. Results Programs attracted mostly equivalent groups of individuals across gender and varying severity of VI. Survey respondents were representative of program participants but were significantly more approach motivated and less avoidance motivated than published norms, and mostly exhibited autonomous forms of motivational regulation for exercise. Differences according to VI severity were not significant. Relationships between approach motivation and exercise were no longer significant when modeled with motivational regulation for exercise. Identified regulation was the lone significant predictor of exercise in the multivariate model. Conclusion This study presents a novel understanding of the demographic and motivational reach of specialized programming for adults with VI, as well as the motivational correlates of exercise behavior among existing program participants. Motivational characteristics were related to exercise behavior in a way that was consistent with theory, such that contextualized motivational regulation demonstrated stronger associations with exercise behavior than motivational dispositions.

Effects of treadmill exercise on endoplasmic reticulum protein folding and endoplasmic reticulum-associated protein degradation pathways in APP/PS1 mice

A hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the disruption of protein homeostasis (proteostasis), manifested by the misfolding and aggregation of proteins. Molecular chaperones and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein degradation (ERAD) pathway in the ER are essential for correct protein folding and degradation of misfolded proteins respectively, thus contributing to the maintenance of proteostasis. The present study aimed to investigate whether the beneficial effects of exercise in an AD mice model is associated with changes in ER protein folding and ERAD. APP/PS1 transgenic and wild-type mice were subjected to treadmill exercise for three months. The levels of molecular chaperones, specifically protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) and heat shock proteins (HSPs), as well as ERAD-associated molecules were analyzed in the hippocampus. The result revealed a decrease in mRNA levels of PDIA2, PDIA3, PDIA4, PDIA5, PDIA6, HSPA1B, HSPA8, HSP90B1, DNAJB2, CRYAB, and CNX, an increase in mRNA levels of HSPA5 and HSPH1, an increase in protein levels of HERPUD1, and a decrease in protein levels of VCP in APP/PS1 mice. However, following a 3-month treadmill exercise regimen, an increase in mRNA levels of PDIA2, PDIA4, PDIA6, HSPA1A, HSPA8, HSP90AB1, and DNAJB2, as well as an increase in protein levels of VCP and DERL2, and a decrease in protein levels of HERPUD1 were noted. Overall, our findings indicate that disruptions in hippocampal ER protein folding and ERAD pathways may be implicated in AD, with exercise serving as a regulator of these pathways.

Quantitatively Predicting Effects of Exercise on Pharmacokinetics of Drugs Using a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model.

Exercise significantly alters human physiological functions, such as increasing cardiac output and muscle blood flow and decreasing glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and liver blood flow, thereby altering the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of drugs. In this study, we aimed to establish a database of human physiological parameters during exercise and to construct equations for the relationship between changes in each physiological parameter and exercise intensity, including cardiac output, organ blood flow (e.g., muscle blood flow and kidney blood flow), oxygen uptake, plasma pH and GFR, etc. The polynomial equation P = ΣaiHRi was used for illustrating the relationship between the physiological parameters (P) and heart rate (HR), which served as an index of exercise intensity. The pharmacokinetics of midazolam, quinidine, digoxin, and lidocaine during exercise were predicted by a whole-body physiologically based pharmacokinetic (WB-PBPK) model and the developed database of physiological parameters following administration to 100 virtual subjects. The WB-PBPK model simulation results showed that most of the observed plasma drug concentrations fell within the 5th-95th percentiles of the simulations, and the estimated peak concentrations (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC) of drugs were also within 0.5-2.0 folds of observations. Sensitivity analysis showed that exercise intensity, exercise duration, medication time, and alterations in physiological parameters significantly affected drug pharmacokinetics and the net effect depending on drug characteristics and exercise conditions. In conclusion, the pharmacokinetics of drugs during exercise could be quantitatively predicted using the developed WB-PBPK model and database of physiological parameters. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study simulated real-time changes of human physiological parameters during exercise in the WB-PBPK model and comprehensively investigated pharmacokinetic changes during exercise following oral and intravenous administration. Furthermore, the factors affecting pharmacokinetics during exercise were also revealed.

Serum proteomic profiling of physical activity reveals CD300LG as a novel exerkine with a potential causal link to glucose homeostasis

Background:Physical activity has been associated with preventing the development of type 2 diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, our understanding of the precise molecular mechanisms underlying these effects remains incomplete and good biomarkers to objectively assess physical activity are lacking.Methods:We analyzed 3072 serum proteins in 26 men, normal weight or overweight, undergoing 12 weeks of a combined strength and endurance exercise intervention. We estimated insulin sensitivity with hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp, maximum oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and used MRI/MRS to evaluate body composition and organ fat depots. Muscle and subcutaneous adipose tissue biopsies were used for mRNA sequencing. Additional association analyses were performed in samples from up to 47,747 individuals in the UK Biobank, as well as using two-sample Mendelian randomization and mice models.Results:Following 12 weeks of exercise intervention, we observed significant changes in 283 serum proteins. Notably, 66 of these proteins were elevated in overweight men and positively associated with liver fat before the exercise regimen, but were normalized after exercise. Furthermore, for 19.7 and 12.1% of the exercise-responsive proteins, corresponding changes in mRNA expression levels in muscle and fat, respectively, were shown. The protein CD300LG displayed consistent alterations in blood, muscle, and fat. Serum CD300LG exhibited positive associations with insulin sensitivity, and to angiogenesis-related gene expression in both muscle and fat. Furthermore, serum CD300LG was positively associated with physical activity and negatively associated with glucose levels in the UK Biobank. In this sample, the association between serum CD300LG and physical activity was significantly stronger in men than in women. Mendelian randomization analysis suggested potential causal relationships between levels of serum CD300LG and fasting glucose, 2 hr glucose after an oral glucose tolerance test, and HbA1c. Additionally, Cd300lg responded to exercise in a mouse model, and we observed signs of impaired glucose tolerance in male, but not female, Cd300lg knockout mice.Conclusions:Our study identified several novel proteins in serum whose levels change in response to prolonged exercise and were significantly associated with body composition, liver fat, and glucose homeostasis. Serum CD300LG increased with physical activity and is a potential causal link to improved glucose levels. CD300LG may be a promising exercise biomarker and a therapeutic target in type 2 diabetes.Funding:South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, Simon Fougners Fund, Diabetesforbundet, Johan Selmer Kvanes’ legat til forskning og bekjempelse av sukkersyke. The UK Biobank resource reference 53641. Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant (APP2017942). Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Award (DE220101226). Research Council of Norway (Project grant: 325640 and Mobility grant: 287198). The Medical Student Research Program at the University of Oslo. Novo Nordisk Fonden Excellence Emerging Grant in Endocrinology and Metabolism 2023 (NNF23OC0082123).Clinical trial number:clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01803568.

Experience-dependent grooming microstructure alterations and gastrointestinal dysfunction in the SAPAP3 knockout mouse model of compulsive behaviour

BackgroundCompulsive- and anxiety-like behaviour can be efficiently modelled in SAPAP3 knockout (KO) mice, a preclinical model of relevance to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Although there is emerging evidence in the clinical literature of gastrointestinal dysfunction in OCD, no previous studies have investigated gut function in preclinical models of relevance to OCD. Similarly, the effects of voluntary exercise (EX) or environmental enrichment (EE) have not yet been explored in this context. MethodWe comprehensively phenotyped the SAPAP3 KO mouse model, including the assessment of grooming microstructure, anxiety- and depressive-like behaviour, and gastrointestinal function. Mice were exposed to either standard housing (SH), exercise (EX, provided by giving mice access to running wheels), or environmental enrichment (EE) for 4 weeks to investigate the effects of enriched housing conditions in this animal model relevant to OCD. FindingsOur study is the first to assess grooming microstructure, perseverative locomotor activity, and gastrointestinal function in SAPAP3 KO mice. We are also the first to report a sexually dimorphic effect of grooming in young-adult SAPAP3 KO mice; along with changes to grooming patterning and indicators of gut dysfunction, which occurred in the absence of gut dysbiosis in this model. Overall, we found no beneficial effects of voluntary exercise or environmental enrichment interventions in this mouse model; and unexpectedly, we revealed a deleterious effect of wheel-running exercise on grooming behaviour. We suspect that the detrimental effects of experimental housing in our study may be indicative of off-target effects of stress—a conclusion that warrants further investigation into the effects of chronic stress in this preclinical model of compulsive behaviour.

NADPH mimics the antidepressant effects of exercise in a chronic unpredictable stress rat model

Exercise is known to be an effective intervention for depression. NADPH has been demonstrated to have neuroprotective effects in our previous studies. This study aimed to investigate if NADPH has antidepressant effects and can mimic the effects of exercise in a chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) rat model. CUS rats underwent an 8-week swimming exercise (30 min/d, 5d/w) or were intraperitoneally administered 4 mg/kg or 8 mg/kg NADPH. The open field test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSFT), and forced swimming test (FST) were used to examine the antidepressant-like behaviors of the rats. Exercise, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg NADPH similarly reduced anxiety, as demonstrated by the number of fecal pellets. Meanwhile, exercise and 8 mg/kg NADPH significantly increased locomotion activity in the OFT. Exercise, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg NADPH effectively reversed CUS-induced anhedonia in rats in the SPT. Exercise, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg NADPH had no impact on appetite of depressed rats; however, 8 mg/kg NADPH increased the rats’ exploratory activity in the NSFT. Exercise, 4 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg NADPH significantly reduced the immobility time of CUS model rats, while exercise and 8 mg/kg NADPH postponed the early CUS-induced "immobility" in the FST. These results demonstrated that NADPH has similar antidepressant-like effects to exercise in CUS-induced depression model rats and is a potential exercise-mimicking antidepressant.

Adjunctive therapy with an oral H2S donor provides additional therapeutic benefit beyond SGLT2 inhibition in cardiometabolic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) have emerged as a potent therapy for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a well-studied cardioprotective agent, could be beneficial in HFpEF. SGLT2i monotherapy and combination therapy involving an SGLT2i and H2S donor in two preclinical models of cardiometabolic HFpEF was investigated. Nine-week-old C57BL/6N mice received L-NAME and a 60% high fat diet for five weeks. Mice were then randomized to either control, SGLT2i monotherapy or SGLT2i and H2S donor, SG1002, for five additional weeks. Ten-week-old ZSF1 obese rats were randomized to control, SGLT2i or SGLT2i and SG1002 for 8 weeks. SG1002 monotherapy was investigated in additional animals. Cardiac function (echocardiography and haemodynamics), exercise capacity, glucose handling and multiorgan pathology were monitored during experimental protocols. SGLT2i treatment improved E/e' ratio and treadmill exercise in both models. Combination therapy afforded increases in cardiovascular sulphur bioavailability that coincided with improved left end-diastolic function (E/e' ratio), exercise capacity, metabolic state, cardiorenal fibrosis, and hepatic steatosis. Follow-up studies with SG1002 monotherapy revealed improvements in diastolic function, exercise capacity and multiorgan histopathology. SGLT2i monotherapy remediated pathological complications exhibited by two well-established HFpEF models. Adjunctive H2S therapy resulted in further improvements of cardiometabolic perturbations beyond SGLT2i monotherapy. Follow-up SG1002 monotherapy studies inferred an improved phenotype with combination therapy beyond either monotherapy. These data demonstrate the differing effects of SGLT2i and H2S therapy while also revealing the superior efficacy of the combination therapy in cardiometabolic HFpEF.

Swimming exercise alleviates pathological bone features in curdlan-injected SKG mice by inducing irisin expression

This study assessed the therapeutic potential of swimming exercise in the curdlan-injected SKG mouse model and investigated the modulatory effects of irisin on inflammation. Curdlan-injected SKG were randomly assigned to either a home-cage group or a swimming group for 6 weeks. Changes in clinical arthritis scores and ankle thickness were measured weekly. Post-swimming program, mice were anesthetized for collection of vastus lateralis muscle and blood, which was followed by histological analysis, micro-CT imaging of the ankle joints, and the measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines and irisin levels. Additionally, curdlan-injected SKG mice were intravenously injected with recombinant irisin protein and observed. Finally, serum levels of irisin in healthy control and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patient groups were measured by ELISA. The swimming group of curdlan-injected SKG mice exhibited significant improvements in arthritis and enthesitis compared to the home-cage group. In particular, micro-CT and histological analyses revealed a notable reduction in pathological bone features in the swimming group compared to the home-cage group. Muscle endurance was also enhanced in the swimming group compared to the home-cage group, as determined by the wire-hanging test. Intriguingly, irisin levels not only were statistically increased in the swimming group but, also, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 levels were decreased. Additionally, injection of irisin protein slightly attenuated both arthritis and enthesitis in curdlan-injected SKG mice. Meanwhile, irisin serum levels were declined in AS patients. Overall, we found that swimming exercise attenuated pathological bone features in an AS animal model, potentially mediated by increased irisin serum levels with associated anti-inflammatory effects.

The Effect of Back up Exercise and Core Stability Exercise on The Strength of the Strike Muscles of Ps Sekongkang Soccer Players Reviewed from Balance

Back Up and Core Stability Exercise are two models that can be used by trainers to increase Togok Muscle Strength. This study aims to find out: (1) the difference in the effect between Back Up and Core Stability Exercise on Togok Muscle Strength; (2) the difference in the effect between athletes who have high and low balance on the Togok Muscle Strength of soccer athletes; (3) Interaction between Back Up Training Model and Core Stability Exercise as well as high and low balance of Togok Muscle Strength of soccer athletes. This type of research is experimental research using a 2x2 factorial design. The population in this study was 38 PS Sekongkang football athletes. The sample in this study amounted to 20 people who were then carried out ordinally pairing to divide each group. The instrument used is to measure strength, namely Back and Leg Dynamometer while balance uses a Modified Bass Test. The data analysis technique used is ANOVA two way. The results showed that: (1) there was a significant difference in the effect between Back Up and Core Stability Exercise on Togok Muscle Strength, as evidenced by a p significance value of 0.001 and an F value of 17.600. Since the significance value of p is 0.001 < 0.05, it means that H0 is rejected. (2) there is a significant difference in the effect on high and low balance ability on the Togok Muscle Strength of football athletes, as evidenced by the results that the significance value of p is 0.000 and the value of F is 5.309. Since the significance value of p is 0.000 < 0.05, it means that H0 is rejected. (3) There is a significant interaction between Back Up training and Core Stability Exercise on the Togok Muscle Strength of soccer players, as evidenced by the results of a significance value of p of 0.002 and an F value of 21.327. Because the significance value of p is 0.002 < 0.05, Ho is rejected. So from the results of the study, it can be concluded that the back up training model and core stability exercise have a significant impact on the results of the shock strength in order to have maximum performance.

The improvement effect of exercise on rats with chronic stress-induced depression-like behavior: a discussion based on the kynurenine pathway.

To observe the effects of 4 weeks of voluntary wheel running on depressive-like behavior in a rat chronic stress-induced depression model to explore the anti-depressive mechanism of exercise. In this observational study, 36 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control, stress model, and stress exercise groups (12 rats/group). The control group received no intervention, and the stress model and stress exercise group rats underwent chronic mild unpredictable stress and isolation. The stress exercise group rats also underwent 4 weeks of voluntary wheel running. Behavioral changes and hippocampal protein and mRNA expression levels were detected. Voluntary wheel running significantly increased horizontal and vertical movements, sucrose intake, and the sucrose preference percentage and reduced immobility time in the forced swimming test in depression model rats. The hippocampal tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and quinolinic acid levels were significantly decreased, while the IL-4, IL-10, and kynurenic acid levels were significantly increased. Kynurenine-3-monooxygenase and 3-hydroxyanthranilate-3, 4-dioxygenase mRNA levels were downregulated, and kynurenine aminotransferase mRNA was upregulated. Voluntary wheel running improved depressive-like behavior in depression model rats. The mechanism may be related to a kynurenine pathway metabolite level imbalance, which has neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects, caused by long-term voluntary wheel running.

Forecasting the rheological state properties of self-compacting concrete mixes using the response surface methodology technique for sustainable structural concreting.

It is structurally pertinent to understudy the important roles the self-compacting concrete (SCC) yield stress and plastic viscosity play in maintaining the rheological state of the concrete to flow. It is also important to understand that different concrete mixes with varying proportions of fine to coarse aggregate ratio and their nominal sizes produce different and corresponding flow- and fill-abilities, which are functions of the yield stress/plastic viscosity state conditions of the studied concrete. These factors have necessitated the development of regression models, which propose optimal rheological state behavior of SCC to ensure a more sustainable concreting. In this research paper on forecasting the rheological state properties of self-compacting concrete (SCC) mixes by using the response surface methodology (RSM) technique, the influence of nominal sizes of the coarse aggregate has been studied in the concrete mixes, which produced experimental mix entries. A total of eighty-four (84) concrete mixes were collected, sorted and split into training and validation sets to model the plastic viscosity and the yield stress of the SCC. In the field applications, the influence of the sampling sizes on the rheological properties of the concrete cannot be overstretched due to the importance of flow consistency in SCC in order to achieve effective workability. The RSM is a symbolic regression analysis which has proven to exercise the capacity to propose highly performable engineering relationships. At the end of the model exercise, it was found that the RSM proposed a closed-form parametric relationship between the outputs (plastic viscosity and yield stress) and the studied independent variables (the concrete components). This expression can be applied in the design and production of SCC with performance accuracies of above 95% and 90%, respectively. Also, the RSM produced graphical prediction of the plastic viscosity and yield stress at the optimized state conditions with respect to the measured variables, which could be useful in monitoring the performance of the concrete in practice and its overtime assessment. Generally, the production of SCC for field applications are justified by the components in this study and experimental entries beyond which the parametric relations and their accuracies are to be reverified.

Implication changes of serum adiponectin in chronic Moderate aerobic and resistant pattern of exercise in male albino rat model of Alzheimer

Implication changes of serum adiponectin in chronic Moderate aerobic and resistant pattern of exercise in male albino rat model of Alzheimer

Macroprudential policy with earnings-based borrowing constraints

A large literature has studied optimal regulatory policy in macroeconomic models with asset-based collateral constraints. A common conclusion is that agents ‘over-borrow’ and optimal policy reduces debt positions through taxes. The reason is that agents do not internalize the effects of their choices on asset prices. However, recent empirical evidence shows that firms primarily borrow against their earnings rather than their assets. This paper studies optimal macroprudential policy with earnings-based borrowing constraints, both in closed and open economies. We reach the opposite conclusion to the previous literature. Agents ‘over-save’ (and ‘under-borrow’) relative to the social optimum, as they do not internalize changes in wages, which in turn affect firms’ earnings. A numerical model exercise demonstrates that incorrectly rolling out a tax policy derived under the assumption of asset-based constraints in an economy where firms actually borrow based on earnings leads to a consumption equivalent welfare loss of up to 2.55%. Optimal macroprudential policy thus critically depends on the specific form of financial constraints.

Apelin regulates skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise in a high-intensity interval training model.

Plasma apelin levels are reduced in aging and muscle wasting conditions. We aimed to investigate the significance of apelin signaling in cardiac and skeletal muscle responses to physiological stress. Apelin knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to high-intensity interval training (HIIT) by treadmill running. The effects of apelin on energy metabolism were studied in primary mouse skeletal muscle myotubes and cardiomyocytes. Apelin increased mitochondrial ATP production and mitochondrial coupling efficiency in myotubes and promoted the expression of mitochondrial genes both in primary myotubes and cardiomyocytes. HIIT induced mild concentric cardiac hypertrophy in WT mice, whereas eccentric growth was observed in the left ventricles of apelin KO mice. HIIT did not affect myofiber size in skeletal muscles of WT mice but decreased the myofiber size in apelin KO mice. The decrease in myofiber size resulted from a fiber type switch toward smaller slow-twitch type I fibers. The increased proportion of slow-twitch type I fibers in apelin KO mice was associated with upregulation of myosin heavy chain slow isoform expression, accompanied with upregulated expression of genes related to fatty acid transport and downregulated expression of genes related to glucose metabolism. Mechanistically, skeletal muscles of apelin KO mice showed defective induction of insulin-like growth factor-1 signaling in response to HIIT. In conclusion, apelin is required for proper skeletal and cardiac muscle adaptation to high-intensity exercise. Promoting apelinergic signaling may have benefits in aging- or disease-related muscle wasting conditions.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Apelin levels decline with age. This study demonstrates that in trained mice, apelin deficiency results in a switch from fast type II myofibers to slow oxidative type I myofibers. This is associated with a concomitant change in gene expression profile toward fatty acid utilization, indicating an aged-muscle phenotype in exercised apelin-deficient mice. These data are of importance in the design of exercise programs for aging individuals and could offer therapeutic target to maintain muscle mass.

Voluntary exercise preserves visual function and reduces inflammatory response in an adult mouse model of autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa

Whole-body physical exercise has been shown to promote retinal structure and function preservation in animal models of retinal degeneration. It is currently unknown how exercise modulates retinal inflammatory responses. In this study, we investigated cytokine alterations associated with retinal neuroprotection induced by voluntary running wheel exercise in a retinal degeneration mouse model of class B1 autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, I307N Rho. I307N Rho mice undergo rod photoreceptor degeneration when exposed to bright light (induced). Our data show, active induced mice exhibited significant preservation of retinal and visual function compared to inactive induced mice after 4 weeks of exercise. Retinal cytokine expression revealed significant reductions of proinflammatory chemokines, keratinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) and interferon gamma inducible protein-10 (IP-10) expression in active groups compared to inactive groups. Through immunofluorescence, we found KC and IP-10 labeling localized to retinal vasculature marker, collagen IV. These data show that whole-body exercise lowers specific retinal cytokine expression associated with retinal vasculature. Future studies should determine whether suppression of inflammatory responses is requisite for exercise-induced retinal protection.

The Possible Role of Vitamin D Supplementation and Exercise in A Rat Model Of Epilepsy Disease

The Possible Role of Vitamin D Supplementation and Exercise in A Rat Model Of Epilepsy Disease