Category Archives: Physiology

Physiology

Policing the Bodies of Women Athletes Is Nothing New – JSTOR Daily

In 1891, Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball. A year later, physical education teacher Senda Berenson Abbott of Smith College decided to adapt the game for the nineteenth-century woman, complete with a set of modified rules. Each player was confined to a small zone on the court. She was not allowed to bounce the ball more than three times. Otherwise, she might risk overexerting herselfor potentially dislodging her uterus.

Anxiety about female exercise is at least a century old in the United States, writes historian Martha Verbrugge. The early twentieth century saw the emergence of a new culture of active womanhood. Organized sports flourished in blue-collar industries, nonwhite communities, and some Black colleges and training schools. Schools introduced mandatory physical education. Upper- and middle-class white women regularly took part in non-competitive mixed-gender recreation.

During this time, there was also a growing interest in the science of exercise. Researchers from the fields of physiology, biomechanics, clinical medicine, and physical educationwhom Verbrugge refers to as body expertsanalyzed physical activity and applied that knowledge in everyday settings. Without pause, Verbrugge writes, these experts assumed that sex was a relevant factor, even the primary one, in the relationships between anatomy, physiology, movement, and skill, as well as an individuals attitudes during play or competition.

And, in the grand tradition of scientific essentialism, these experts immediately homed in on the uterus. Body experts regarded reproductive systems as the most salient difference between males and females, Verbrugge writes. But they struggled to reach consensus, as every frantic report of menstrual dysfunction, miscarriage and even sterility attributed to exercise and sports was countered by equally fervent claims that physical activity during menstruation was safe, even beneficial, and that athletic women experienced normal pregnancies.

In the early 1900s, intense exercise was thought to put young women at risk of infertility. Physical education teachers taught young girls to be active within the limits of their fragile form. No teacher doubted that strenuous exercise during menstruation was risky, writes Verbrugge. Or, conversely, that a womans period limited her physical vitality and skill.

The latter half of the twentieth century saw a fitness and sports boom in the United States. The science of fitness had become a veritable cottage industry. Specialists warned about new health problems associated with exercise and training. In the 1980s and 90s, concerns about menstrual irregularities, like athletic amenorrhoea, escalated sharply. The roster of suspect activities and high-risk females now included skiers, rowers, fencers, volleyball players, and even occasional joggers, writes Verbrugge.

These new anxieties also extended to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as non-reproductive health, writes Verbrugge. Scientists observed the co-morbidity of eating disorders, premature osteoporosis and amenorrhoea among young athletes. In 1992, the American College of Sports Medicine labeled these three conditions the Female Athlete Triad.

Even during the 2020 Olympics, the most gender-balanced games in history, the bodies of elite athletes were still subject to intense scrutiny (especially the bodies of Black women athletes). One might assume that doubts about female exercise persisted because scientific analysis remained ambiguous or incomplete, writes Verbrugge. In reality, she argues, these concerns are rooted more in cultural developments than in biomedical discoveries.

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By: H. Grace Shymanski

Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 114, No. 1 (March 2018), pp. 39-59

Indiana University Press

By: Martha H. Verbrugge

Health and History, Vol. 4, No. 1 (2002), pp. 52-72

Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine, Inc

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Policing the Bodies of Women Athletes Is Nothing New - JSTOR Daily

Physiology

Expert in reproductive physiology becomes newest TTU SVM faculty Member – KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com

LUBBOCK, Texas (PRESS RELEASE) The following is a press release from Texas Tech University:

ForJohn Gibbons, growing up in a military family and moving from place to place is etched in his memories. However, it was his familys summer vacations away from military activities that changed his life forever.

During those visits to East Texas, where his uncle raised beef cattle, Gibbons first gained experience in animal agriculture that would spark his interest in animal science.

That spark eventually turned into three decades of distinguished academic research, and the development of novel reproductive techniques and protocols across six different continents. He now brings his expertise and knowledge to the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo (SVM) as an associate professor of reproductive physiology. In this role, he will continue what he enjoys the most, training graduate and veterinary students, and watching them develop into successful scholars and veterinarians.

I am excited to be involved with the inaugural class of theTexas Tech UniversitySchool of Veterinary Medicine, Gibbons said. I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of the team here at Texas Tech, which has an obvious and dedicated interest in veterinary education and research that will benefit the people of Texas and beyond.

Reproductive physiology is so vitally important for our animal industries, saidGuy Loneragan, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. Whether it be horses, pigs or cattle, everything starts with reproduction. Advances in reproductive physiology help add to the sustainability and resiliency of so many producers. But discoveries can also directly benefit society by helping families who may be struggling to have children. The students of our School, whether they be focused on becoming a veterinarian or earning a Ph.D., will benefit so very much from Dr. Gibbons. We are thrilled he is part of this wonderful program.

Prior to joining the SVM, Gibbons spent the last three years as an associate and assistant professor of physiology at the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine and was on joint appointment in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. He was heavily involved in the program at DeBusk by being part of many service activities such as a faculty adviser to the Anesthesia Club and co-director for Boehringer Ingelheim Summer Scholars Program at Lincoln Memorial. He also was Lincoln Memorials representative for both the International Embryo Transfer Society and American Embryo Transfer Association in 2019.

Currently, Gibbons is collaborating individually with undergraduate and graduate students at Lincoln Memorial, the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine and the National Foundation for Fertility Research on several different research projects.

Gibbons earned his bachelors degree in animal science from Texas A&M University in 1988 and, in 1989, found himself working as a laboratory technician for Granada, a cattle embryo transfer and cloning company in Marquez, Texas. While there, he realized a desire to focus his research on the reproductive anatomy and physiology of cattle and develop reproductive techniques.

As his research developed, he earned his masters degree in dairy science at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University in 1994 and his doctorate in endocrinology-reproductive physiology program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998.

Gibbons is a member of the American Embryo Transfer Association, International Embryo Technologies Society and American Society of Animal Sciences.

I have had the pleasure of working with John at a previous university. He is very student-focused, always willing to help, and a great researcher, saidJohn Dascanio, senior associate dean for academic and student affairs. Dr. Gibbons has a research focus in bovine reproduction working with oocytes and embryos. His work will bring together many partners in industry and local agriculture to improve reproductive efficiency.

Gibbons joins a growing and vibrant team of faculty and staff at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Additional team members will continue to be added as the school prepares to welcome its inaugural class.

Thanks to the generosity of Amarillo and communities across Texas, and the commitment of legislators from around the state, the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo was established in 2018. In March 2021, the school was granted the all-important status of Provisional Accreditation, from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education (COE) and is set to welcome its first class of students in August.

The School of Veterinary Medicine will recruit and select students with a passion to serve rural and regional communities. Its curriculum is focused on the competencies and skills necessary for success in practice types that support these communities. Texas Techs innovative and cost-efficient model partners with the wider community of veterinary practices across the state to provide clinical, real-world experiential learning.

(Press release from Texas Tech University)

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Expert in reproductive physiology becomes newest TTU SVM faculty Member - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com

Physiology

Vale Roger Short – The Science Show – ABC News

After studying veterinary science at Bristol University, Roger completed a Masters in genetics at the University of Wisconsin as a Fulbright Scholar and then his PhD at Cambridge. He remained at Cambridge until 1972 when he was appointed Director of the Medical Research Council Unit of Reproductive Biology and honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh. In 1982 Roger moved to Australia to take up a personal Chair as Professor of Reproductive Biology at the Department of Physiology at Monash University. Roger's interest in the growing global impact of HIV/AIDS, saw him seconded to the World Health Organization (Geneva) in 1989. In 1995 Roger left Monash and joined the Department of Obstetrics at the University of Melbourne. In 2006 Roger was made an Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Melbourne University, where he continued to teach and conduct research for many years.

Roger received many prizes and awards in recognition of this work throughout his career, including Honorary Doctorates of Science from Guelph (Canada), Edinburgh and Bristol. He was awarded scientific medals from the Zoological Society of London (1969) and the Society for Endocrinology (1970). Roger was made a Fellow of the Royal Society (1974), the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1974) and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (1976). He also received honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (1991) and Foreign Membership of the Royal Society of Sciences of Uppsala (1993). Roger received the Marshall Medal of the Society for Reproduction and Fertility (UK) (1995) and the Carl G Hartman Award from the Society for the Study of Reproduction (USA) (1995). He also received a Centenary medal (2001) and was made a member of the Order of Australia (2004).

Roger spoke to Robyn Williams at length in a program replayed recently. Professor Roger Short, reproductive biologist The Science Show 15th May 2021

SpeakerRoger Short

PresenterRobyn Williams

ProducerDavid Fisher

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Vale Roger Short - The Science Show - ABC News

Physiology

Resistance training helps in burning fat? Here’s what a new study says – Hindustan Times

Findings from a new University of Kentucky College of Medicine and College of Health Sciences study add to growing evidence that resistance exercise has unique benefits for fat loss.

The Department of Physiology and Centre for Muscle Biology study published in the FASEB Journal found that resistance-like exercise regulates fat cell metabolism at a molecular level.

The study results in mice and humans show that in response to mechanical loading, muscle cells release particles called extracellular vesicles that give fat cells instructions to enter fat-burning mode.

Extracellular vesicles were initially understood as a way for cells to selectively eliminate proteins, lipids and RNA. Recently, scientists discovered that they also play a role in intercellular communication.

The study adds a new dimension to how skeletal muscle communicates with other tissues by using extracellular vesicles, says John McCarthy, Ph.D., study author and associate professor in the UK Department of Physiology.

"To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of how weight training initiates metabolic adaptations in fat tissue, which is crucial for determining whole-body metabolic outcomes," McCarthy said. "The ability of resistance exercise-induced extracellular vesicles to improve fat metabolism has significant clinical implications."

McCarthy's research team was led by post-doc Ivan Vechetti, now at the University of Nebraska, in collaboration with the Center for Muscle Biology, directed by Joseph Hamburg Endowed Professor Charlotte Peterson, Ph.D.

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Resistance training helps in burning fat? Here's what a new study says - Hindustan Times

Physiology

LI knife-thrower cut path from teacher, preacher and pool hall owner – Newsday

Job jokes fly fast and furiously when youre a professional knife thrower. "He aims to miss!" is the most common zinger.

David Adamovich, 74, a gleaming star of the impalement arts a term for hurling knives near, not at, a human target has heard that one before.

The Great Throwdini, as Adamovich calls himself on stage, has told it, too.

"It goes with the territory," said the Freeport resident who was 50 when he discovered, to his surprise and delight, his near-superpower knack for knives.

By then hed already received a doctorate in education from Teachers College at Columbia University and taught graduate classes in exercise physiology at schools including LIU Post. Hed also pursued emergency medicine management and dipped into theology.

"Its a clich, but David is like an onion," according to Dix Hills magician TJ Tana, 28, who has shared a bill with Throw and become a friend. "He has so many layers."

"People say Im a Renaissance man," said Adamovich, whose onstage banter, like a LinkedIn bio, deftly tells his story.

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Heres his spiel: "My name is Rev. Dr. David Adamovich, a retired professor with a doctorate in exercise physiology, a paramedic, a professionally trained chef, an ordained minister and in my spare time I throw knives. My friends call me Throw."

Adamovich smiled while reciting that on a Sunday afternoon in his backyard overlooking Woodcleft Canal. He chills out here chatting with his eclectic group of friends and fishing for striped bass.

The spacious deck is as colorful as he is. A Wheel of Death, a wooden spinning disk painted red and white thats used in his act, occupies one space.

A life-size cow sculpture bows toward his boat gently bobbing in the canal. Adamovich saw the bovine wonder in a shop in the Hamptons and had to have it; he custom-colorized it in red, gold and black.

Across the way an airy gazebo surrounded by benches that seat 30 is where he performs weddings. "Ive done thousands," he insisted, adding that hed performed one days earlier.

After getting laid off from managing a medical practice in his late 40s, "I did the most logical thing," he said. "I opened a pool hall Docs Billiard Emporium in Bay Shore."

"One night a customer came in with a throwing knife," said Adamovich, who took to it instantly. "Nine months later," he added, "I was winning world championships."

And breaking records now more than a few dozen of them, by his count. "Competitions pay you in bragging rights, not big cash prizes," he said. In the early 2000s, after five years in the national competition circuit, he carved a path into performing.

At Adamovichs request, "Wild West" performer Chris McDaniel, a former East Hampton resident now living in New Orleans, showed him the ropes about putting together a show.

McDaniel shared videotapes of notable names in the impalement arts. "A couple of weeks later, David sent me a videotape of him throwing knives at a knife board with a volunteer standing in front of it," McDaniel told Newsday. "He was doing everything he had seen in the tapes. His skill is incredible.

"Hes very calm, and thats worked well for him," McDaniel said. "I helped him map out the basics of what to say in his act."

For the most part, Throw lets his sharp instruments knives, axes, machetes, tomahawks do the talking. "Chriss advice was to be myself," said Adamovich, whose first performing gig was in 2002. It was a small art space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Hes fuzzy on the name of the place, but he recalls what he wore a black tuxedo, his go-to costume ever since. "Ive worn a tux and tails since my first day of performing," Adamovich said.

He added that years of teaching had prepared him for being in front of an audience, whether in a club, sideshow, a theater or on TV.

On Aug. 5, 2002, after a recommendation by McDaniel, Adamovich debuted at "Monday Night Magic," a long-running off-Broadway production. Since then he has performed in it 85 more times, most recently just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Im hopeful hell be back," said Michael Chaut, founding producer of the magic showcase currently set to reopen on Sept. 20 at the Players Theater in Manhattan. "Hes got sheer and amazing skill. Hes also a go-getter."

While Adamovich, whos self-taught in knife-throwing, makes tossing blades that land within inches of a person look easy-peasy, its perilous doings.

"My partner said, Make sure you get a copy of his insurance," recalled Chaut. Adamovich assured that hes covered by required liability insurance.

A memorable appearance came in 2007, when Adamovich made the cut in the early rounds of Season 2 of "Americas Got Talent." Before being eliminated, he was christened a "dangerous creepy reverend" by judge Piers Morgan.

"The judges were trying to make fun of me," said Adamovich. "Thats their style. I took it in stride."

Throwdinis flesh-and-blood targets have taken minor mishaps in stride over the years. "Ive never hit someone in the sense of impaling them, but I have scraped them on the arm or the leg," he said.

Lynn Wheat, 37, confirmed that. "Thereve been scrapes," she said. "The worst is when the knife hits a knot and doesn't actually stick into the board. Thats when it'll bounce down. It can land between my toes."

Wheat recalled meeting Adamovich when she was managing the theater scene shop at Hofstra University. She needed an expert to create a knife illusion for a stage production and sought him out. They became a couple. Wheat, whose work as a technical director for corporate events dried up amid the pandemic, has lived with Adamovich for 10 years. She is also one of his targets.

"Throwdini Centrale" is the nickname for the third floor of their home, where the dcor is best described as Contemporary Knives Out.

Walls here are crammed with photographs from past performances, a poster for "Girl on the Bridge," a film about a knife thrower, plus cherished certificates and awards.

Adamovich has won a Merlin Award, an Oscar in the world of magic, which is among his proudest achievements. He holds a Guinness World Record for the most knives 102 of them thrown in 2007 around a human target in one minute. He later beat that record and threw 144 in 60 seconds, as certified by Record Holders Republic.

Adamovich called hurling knives "a source of intermittent income." Like many performers, he was sidelined by the pandemic for a year and a half. Last November in Los Angeles he shot an episode of "Game of Talents," a TV guessing game that aired on Fox in May.

When host Wayne Brady exclaimed, "David, show us your talent," Throw obliged. Last month, he wowed the crowd at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. "I was thrilled to do it," said Adamovich, who spent his childhood in Brooklyn and Queens before moving to Long Island as an adult.

In "Throwdini Centrale," reached by climbing a ladder from a second-floor bedroom, Adamovich eyeballed a 6-by-4-foot pine impalement board stippled with gouges from where knives have stuck.

His signature diamond-headed blades, which he maintains to keep sharp and are marked with a telltale "TGT," measure 14 inches long and weigh 12 ounces. Replicas made by Western Trade Props sell for $44 apiece.

Wheat backed up to the board, centered herself, raised an arm Statue of Liberty-style, smiled and froze. Adamovich tossed knives around her. She never flinched. He never paused.

Wheat rotated 90 degrees, then pursed a drinking straw with a frilly end facing out tight between her lips. In a flash, Adamovich chucked a blade and nipped off the frill. His aim was true.

"Im never afraid. Its exciting," Wheat said. "I trust him completely, and he trusts himself."

Adamovichs wish for his 75th birthday in December? Performing as The Great Throwdini.

"Its just a natural skill for me," he said. And thats no joke.

By Joe Dziemianowicz Special to Newsday

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LI knife-thrower cut path from teacher, preacher and pool hall owner - Newsday

Physiology

Rep. Katko Announces Over $600K in Federal Funding for SUNY Upstate Medical University to Support Research on Dementia – Congressman John Katko

SYRACUSE, NY U.S. Rep. John Katko (NY-24)today announced $682,211 in federal funds will be distributed to SUNY Upstate Medical University to support research on one of the leading forms of dementia.

SUNY Upstate Medical University has adedicated team of researchersworking to advance treatments and cures for neurological disorders. The new funds SUNY Upstate received are available through the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a division of the National Institute of Health (NIH), and will allow SUNY Upstate to continue important research on neurological disorders. Since coming to Congress, Rep. Katko has successfully advocated for additional funding for the NIH, and most recently urged the House Appropriations Committee to authorize over $46 billion for the NIH in fiscal year 2022.

Im proud to announce SUNY Upstate Medical University will be receiving over $600,000 in federal funding from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to support research on one of the leading forms of dementia,said Rep. Katko. Having witnessed my father develop and ultimately pass away from Alzheimers, I understand the physical, financial, and emotional burden dementia can have on those who suffer, their caretakers, and their families. In Congress Ive consistently supported efforts to robustly fund the NIH, which provides critical federal funding to support the development of the next generation of treatment and cures. Im glad this new funding will be used to help the dedicated neurology research team at SUNY Upstate continue their work to prevent, diagnose, and treat neurological disorders.

The new funding for SUNY Upstate will specifically support research by Wei-Dong Yao, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and, Neuroscience and Physiology. Yao is researching frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the leading dementia most prevalent before age 65 and the most common form of dementia after Alzheimers disease.

Yaos study represents the first attempt to investigate the role of a new disease gene in FTD pathogenesis. The proposed studies are fundamentally important and highly significant because they have the potential to uncover novel pathogenic mechanisms and treatment strategies for FTD and related neurodegenerative diseases.

I am grateful for the support of the NIH in funding this important study, said Professor Yao.I also want to thank U.S. Rep. Katko for continuing to push for additional federal funding into treatments for neurological disorders. This additional funding is important to continue important research into diseases of today.

Yao is an Empire Scholar and joined Upstate from Harvard University in 2014 through the SUNYs Empire Innovation Program.

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Rep. Katko Announces Over $600K in Federal Funding for SUNY Upstate Medical University to Support Research on Dementia - Congressman John Katko

Physiology

Study identifies molecule that stimulates muscle-building – University of Illinois News

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. In a randomized control study of 10 healthy young men, researchers compared how consuming the single amino acid leucine or its two-molecule equivalent, dileucine, influenced muscle-building and breakdown. They found that dileucine boosts the metabolic processes that drive muscle growth 42% more than free leucine does.

They report their findings in the Journal of Applied Physiology.

Leucine, isoleucine and valine all are branched-chain amino acids, famous among body builders and health enthusiasts for their purported muscle-enhancing benefits. Like other amino acids, they are the building blocks of proteins. But leucine also acts as a signaling molecule that triggers muscle-building pathways in cells, said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign kinesiology and community health professor Nicholas Burd, who led the new research with kinesiology graduate student Kevin Paulussen.

Digestion breaks the chemical bonds between the amino acids that make up proteins, resulting in a stew of shorter molecules, including free amino acids and dipeptides. Previous studies have suggested that the small intestine absorbs dipeptides like dileucine more rapidly than their single-molecule counterparts, Burd said.

But few studies have examined whether dileucine in the diet makes it into the blood as a dipeptide or is first broken down into two leucine molecules, he said. And no studies have examined its effects on acute muscle-building and breakdown. Burds laboratory is one of a small number of research facilities set up to study muscle protein metabolism in human participants.

Graphic by Diana Yates

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For the new study, participants came to the lab after a 12-hour fast and were infused with stable isotopes, chemical probes that allow researchers to track the process of muscle protein synthesis and breakdown. Then biopsies of muscle tissue were taken from the upper leg.

After that, we fed them either 2 grams of leucine or 2 grams of dileucine, Burd said. And we studied their muscle-remodeling response for three hours. This was a double-blind study, meaning that the data were coded to prevent participants and researchers from knowing who received leucine or dileucine in the initial phases of the study. Three more muscle biopsies were taken, at 30, 60 and 180 minutes after participants ingested the leucine or dileucine.

We found that leucine got into the blood more quickly when participants consumed dileucine than if they had just free leucine, Burd said. That means that some of that dileucine is getting hydrolyzed, or cut up, before it gets into the bloodstream. But we also saw that dileucine was getting into the bloodstream intact.

The next question was whether dileucine had any effect on muscle-building processes, he said.

So, we looked at pathways that signal the muscle-building process, including protein breakdown as part of the remodeling process. And we found no difference in protein breakdown between the leucine alone and the dileucine condition, Burd said. But on the protein synthesis side, we saw that dileucine turns up the muscle-building process more than leucine does.

Those who consumed dileucine had 42% more synthesis of new muscle proteins than those who ingested only leucine.

To put that in perspective, exercise alone can cause a 100-150% increase in the muscle-building response, Burd said.

The researchers also showed that animal-based proteins are the best source of dileucine in the diet. But Burd does not think people should start ingesting large amounts of animal protein or taking dileucine supplements to enhance their muscle metabolism. The study is only a first step toward understanding how the body uses dipeptides, and focusing on a single nutrient doesnt provide a perspective on how the overall diet and eating pattern impacts muscle growth, he said.

We dont yet know the mechanism by which dileucine works, Burd said. This is just a first attempt to understand how these types of peptides are playing a role in human physiology.

Ingenious Ingredients, L.P. supported this research.

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Study identifies molecule that stimulates muscle-building - University of Illinois News

Physiology

More than 800 Fall 2021 SRJC classes will be in-person – The Oak Leaf

Santa Rosa Junior College will offer 806 inperson sections this Fall 2021 semester after offering about 100 in spring, according to SRJC President Dr. Frank Chong.

The remaining 1,635 sections will take place online, some with mandatory synchronous Zoom meetings and others independently paced.

Classes begin on Aug. 17. Check the list of important deadlines and the schedule of classes for more information.

SRJC published a detailed plan for safely returning to campus amidst the ongoing pandemic. Most student services will continue to operate remotely or on campus by appointment only.

COVID-19 vaccines are strongly recommended but are not required for students, faculty or staff. Students can make an appointment with the Student Health Center to receive a free vaccine.

Sections with in-person components include classes from health sciences and public safety, which were previously offered on-campus during the pandemic, as well as classes from a wider variety of departments listed in a recent college press release:

Art, history, English, math, career education, agriculture and natural resources, communications, culinary, biological sciences, anatomy, physiology, administration of justice, microbiology, chemistry, music, theatre arts, physics, floristry, horticulture, auto tech, machine tech, welding, counseling, kinesiology/dance, astronomy, anthropology, animal health, business administration and sociology.

Seats are widely available and our faculty are ready to meet students in whatever way best suits their needs, said Dr. Jane Saldaa-Talley, vice president of Academic Affairs, in the press release.

Other COVID-19 safety plans include mandatory indoor masking regardless of vaccination status, daily symptom checks, limited in-person class sizes, frequent disinfection of shared spaces and improved air filtration.

Dr. Chong said about 50 safety monitors, mostly students, will help guide people through new protocols, such as signing in before entering a building for contact tracing and completing symptom checks.

Were trying to create a safe campus and were doing everything the Centers for Disease Control has advised in order to open safely, Dr. Chong said.

People need to realize were over COVID, but COVIDs not over us. We thought the light was at the end of the tunnel; now the tunnel seems like its been a little elongated, he said.

Dr. Chong asks students to be patient with SRJC and encourages everyone to lead with kindness.

Know the people at the JC care deeply about providing educational opportunities, but we cant be so-called COVID-proof. It would be less than honest to say if you come to campus youre not going to get COVID, he said. The best way [to prevent that], based on science, is to get vaccinated.

Students taking classes in-person or online can attend Virtual Welcome Week Aug. 1223 featuring workshops about transferring, financial aid, health services and how to get involved on campus. There will be a free food giveaway featuring Shone Farm produce from 911 a.m. Aug. 23 at the Santa Rosa Campuss Emeritus parking lot.

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More than 800 Fall 2021 SRJC classes will be in-person - The Oak Leaf

Physiology

WVU Today | WVU researcher develops copper-infused mask for hospitality and tourism industry – WVU Today

Adrea Welsh, WVU Hospitality Innovation and Technology Lab student, tests the efficacy of the Hygenmask, developed by Ajay Aluri of the Chambers College of Business and Economics. Karen Woodfork, of the WVU Center for Inhalation Toxicology, oversees the technology. (WVU Photo/Brian Persinger)

Employees manning the frontlines of customer service, whether behind the hotel front desk or the restaurant counter, come face-to-face with folks from all walks of life for hours on end.

With the delta variant on the rise, the lambda variant taking hold and an upswing in COVID-19 cases, the hospitality business is seeing staffing issues as people weigh their personal safety against their employment as the pandemic rages on.

Masking up is one safe precaution. But its also an uncomfortable gesture, as some masks may inflict wear and tear on the face or not provide an adequate level of protection for the worker, explained Ajay Aluri, founding director of the Hospitality Innovation and Technology Lab at West Virginia University.

As a native of India, where copper is king and touted for its antimicrobial properties, Aluri thought, Why not make a safer, more comfortable mask infused with copper when using for a longer period of time?

Copper has a special place in the culture and tradition of India, said Aluri, also associate professor of hospitality and tourism management in the Chambers College of Business and Economics. People wear copper bracelets and use copper utensils for cooking. And theres a notion, from the COVID standpoint, that copper is antimicrobial.

From the HIT Lab was born Hygenmask, a three-layered facemask containing a copper-infused nano-coated fabric, a sustainable bamboo fabric and an ePTFE (a biomaterial) filter. Wearers also dont have to worry about elf ears since the masks lack ear loops. Elastic head loops go over the head and can be tightened for a customized fit.

WVU HIT Lab is a platform for both industry and academia to come together to solve the problems of the hospitality and tourism industry. Before Hygenmask, Aluri and his students created Hygenkey, a copper touch tool with antiviral and antibacterial qualities, in response to the pandemic in 2020.

The mask is ideally for people who are always at the front desk or talking to people six to eight hours at a time, whether in restaurants, resorts, airports, or any hospitality and tourism industry, Aluri said. Some of these masks out there, if you wear them for a long time, it can be really rough on your skin. So we strived to make it more hygienic and sustainable from a fabric standpoint.

One of Aluris partners recommended a sustainable bamboo fabric, which offers a smooth feel but still fits tight around the face, he said.

But you dont have to take his word for it. Aluri reached across campus to ask scientists with the WVU School of Medicines Center for Inhalation Toxicology (iTOX) to test the product. Since the onset of the pandemic, the Center has been at the forefront of testing all sorts of masks from N95 alternatives to WVU gaiters to the Singers Mask to double masks.

The Center found that Aluris mask blocked up to 93% of droplets being respired.

The Hygenmask offers good protection to its users, said Timothy R. Nurkiewicz, director of the Center and E.J. Van Liere Endowed Professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Combined with physical distancing, good HVAC, limiting time in a crowd and limiting the crowd size, the mask should afford the users some confidence.

Researchers conducted fit testing, which evaluates how well a mask protects the person wearing the mask. A score of 100 is necessary to pass a N95 mask. Gaiters and saggy disposable masks typically score a one.

Aluris mask ranged from six-to -15 on the study participants.

Those numbers are substantially better than what you would find with your average cloth masks, which usually gets a fit factor of two, said Karen Woodfork, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology who was part of the research team.

People send us all kinds of masks and most of them get ones or twos, Nurkiewicz said. When we saw Ajays mask scoring in that range, that tells you theres a bit of protection there.

Nurkiewiczs lab did not test the copper properties of the mask.

Perhaps theres no better way to test a product than actually using it.

Aluri donned the mask during a 14-hour flight to India.

Im only taking it down when Im eating or drinking, Aluri said. I had no marks on my face and Hygenmask was quite comfortable.

Most of all, Nurkiewicz and his team believe that Aluris mask accomplishes its purpose and will be of benefit to its target audience those who serve the public day-to-day.

The mask sits away from your mouth enough so you can articulate better, Nurkiewicz said. Also, in terms of regular breathing, you will labor more with a mask that sits right on your lips. Theres some space there, making it more comfortable and making the wearer more likely to keep it on for a longer period of time.

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Physiology

Defining Physiologys Upper Limits and Again Winning the Tour de France – CU Anschutz Today

First of all, congratulations on an incredible accomplishment your top cyclist winning his second Tour de France.

It was a great victory. This year we were not the underdog anymore. Its too bad (Primoz) Roglic (last years second-place General Classification finisher) had a bad crash and had to quit the race. It was unfortunate because otherwise it would have been better (duel-wise between the two top-rated Slovenians). He crashed in the first week.

We did all the homework for the Tour de France in Sestriere, which is in the Italian Alps. I told the team the first day of pre-training camp, Guys, lets take this seriously. Lets focus, because we have never been in this situation. We have never had to defend a Tour de France, and since the very last day of last years Tour, everybody has tried to figure out how to beat Tadej. Everybodys guns are loaded to shoot at us this year. Be ready for that.

Our strategy was to try to control the race as best as we could, and that was the most stressful part to put together that block of riders. Out of 29 riders we have on the team, to select that block of seven who could help Tadej do the job. Ineos Grenadiers would be the team to bring the race. They have a very strong roster, and they are signing from other teams their leaders, so its difficult to compete as a block against Ineos. But we were able to put a good block together, and yeah, it worked out.

Yeah, it was a coincidence (laughs). It was the last time trial, and that was when we kind of said, OK, boom, now we won the Tour, and we celebrated. Also, that is an area of the world with some of the best wines some are $3,000 a bottle. Im crazy about wine, so that area was very special because of Tadej, because of the wine and because of my last name (laughs).

He has an amazing recovery capacity. Each stage of the Tour is like (playing) about three soccer games, or five American football games. So, imagine playing five games for 21 days in a row. By day 10, many players would be gone, right? Only the best, the fittest ones, will make it to day seven, 10 and so on. This is how fit these cyclists are. Their (physiologic) machinery is some of the best you will ever find in humans. These athletes and marathon runners, but probably more so cyclists, because they have to recover between stages.

And while everybody might start (a stage) at 100%, some people finish at 60% because they go lower and lower and lower. And maybe Tadej finishes at 80%, so that 20% extra at the end is what makes one of his parameters. Contenders at the Tour all recover well. But at the same time, you also have other physiological capabilities which are the ability to clear lactate, to have very good mitochondrial function. You need to have a very economical and efficient engine, but its both the recovery capacity and the ability to go at a very hard pace without utilizing a lot of energy.

No, we didnt do that this year at the Tour because the logistics have been difficult. We (Angelo DAlessandro, PhD, Travis Nemkov, PhD, and San Milln) are developing the first metabolomics platform in the world of sports. Were very close to the finish line. We learned a lot from last year, but from this year also. We did a training camp and at another race, so we looked at more parameters, and all of it keeps telling us the same story: Tadejs recovery capacity and mitochondrial function are spectacular, at a whole different level. He has an ability to burn fat and use fuels very efficiently.

Its like the 23andMe or the DNA test kits you can buy in the supermarket and do yourself and send through the mail to a laboratory. In a few days you get the whole report. This (platform) would be for metabolomics, which is more precise than genetics. Genetics is the science of probability, and metabolomics is the science of reality.

Genetics is the science of probability, and metabolomics is the science of reality. Inigo San Millan

In genetic testing, especially for sports, the accuracy might be less than 20%. A few years ago, athletes would get these genetic tests and they showed, Oh, youre not a good sprinter or Youre not a good climber or You dont have much strength or power. Thats only because a few genes showed that, but you can improve the signal, the expression, of those genes through training, through nutrition, through recovery, through the right psychology. This is where you can transform a normal athlete into a very good athlete. And this is what we capture through metabolomics.

Genes are transcribed into proteins, and proteins into multiple biological actions. So, the genes are the very first step of the journey, but by no means do they mean an athlete is going to become something. Thats why the accuracy is less than 20%, whereas in metabolomics its, Hey, this is who you are right now, and now we know how you can improve.

This is what were developing. Its a platform where someone can send a blood sample put on a small card before and after exercise, and we can then give them those metabolomic parameters.

Yes, exactly, so we know the upper levels of human physiology and metabolic health.

It was really bad. And 10 or 15 kilometers later, there was another bad crash, and I forget in which of them Tadej received a minor cut. It didnt affect him much.

We have patterns or signatures at the research level we call them signatures and this is what we see as who you are now. With this, we can help athletes to improve. At the same time and this is our ultimate goal we want to take this into the fitness, wellness and even the clinical space. Because with the lessons we have learned from these athletes, we can understand the many pathologies people are having at the metabolic level, as athletes are the absolute gold standard of metabolic health.

For example, people with Type 2 diabetes are at the opposite metabolic pole of someone like Pogaar. They dont burn fat very well at all, they dont burn glucose. They have very poor mitochondrial function, and they have inflammation, whereas Pogaar is completely the opposite. This is something Ive been pushing at the university for years, since I arrived, using elite athletes as the gold standard.

I think some people are finally understanding this concept that, yes, you cannot understand imperfection if you dont first understand perfection. In my modest opinion, the best way to understand a faulty metabolism, like people with Type 2 diabetes, is to in the first place understand how does a perfect metabolism work? And who do you go to to understand that? You dont go to the sedentary people who, until recently, have been the gold standard. Thats not the best population to go to (for study). You need to go to the elite athletes.

To our advantage we have access to these populations which most scientists dont have access to. So, we are very lucky to have this unique population to be able to understand what perfection is. And now we know better how to get there and how bad imperfection is. So, we can use all of these technologies for diagnoses and also therapeutics down the road for people with chronic diseases.

Absolutely. For someone his age, hes amazing. It seems like youre dealing with a 30-plus-year-old professional athlete who has been a professional for 10 or 15 years. Its unbelievable. And also, how calm he is. He doesnt feel so much the stress of the competition as others. Some great athletes have amazing physiological capabilities, but they cant sleep well the day before an event, or they have anxiety and are nervous the day of the competition, and they cant give their 100%. Its not uncommon at all and its too bad, because some of them could have been incredible athletes. But I guess thats what it takes to be a big, big champion to have all these qualities together.

So far, nobody in (cycling) history has done what Tadej has done at this age. The best rider ever is Eddy Merckx and Tadej has done more than what Merckx had done at his age. So this is the unusual and special thing about Tadej.

From the Tour he went to Tokyo for the Summer Olympics where took the bronze medal in the road race, and he was the one who broke the entire race. Also, we have an American from the UAE team at the Olympics, too, Brandon McNulty, who I also personally coach. He was in the Tour with Tadej. Brandon can be one of the best time trialists in the world. He placed sixth in the road race in Tokyo and was the best finish of an American cyclist since 2012.

Regarding Tadej, absolutely, a third Tour win in a row is the goal. You always want to win and keep breaking records. We are already thinking about next year, how we can keep improving. We still have some margin for improvement, but the other (teams) do, too. As were speaking, theyre trying to figure out how to do things better for next year. This is why next year it will be harder than this year for sure. We better be prepared and not sleep on our laurels.

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Defining Physiologys Upper Limits and Again Winning the Tour de France - CU Anschutz Today