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PubMed2006

Effects of exposure to the water-soluble fraction of crude oil on the swimming performance and the metabolic and ionic recovery postexercise in Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi).

The swimming performance and recovery from exercise were determined in juvenile Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) following exposure to the water-soluble fraction (WSF) of North Slope crude oil for more than eight weeks. Total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations (mean +/- standard error) at the beginning of exposures were as follows: control, 0.2 +/- 0.1 microg/L; low, 9.6 +/- 2.5 microg/L; medium, 40.7 +/- 6.9 microg/L; and high, 120.2 +/- 11.4 microg/L. Biological availability of hydrocarbons was confirmed by a significant induction of hepatic cytochrome P450 content and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity. Critical swimming speed (Ucrit) was significantly reduced in fish exposed to the highest concentration of WSF for 96 h (11% +/- 3.7% reduction) and at the two highest concentrations at four weeks (16% +/- 3.6% and 29% +/- 5.4% reductions) and eight weeks (11% +/- 3.8% and 40% +/- 5.7% reductions). Mortality occurred in all groups 24 h following Ucrit swim trials, with significantly higher mortalities observed in fish exposed to WSF in a concentration- and time-dependent manner (maximum mortality of 72.2% +/- 5.5% in the eight-week, high-exposure group). Burst swimming alone resulted in increased plasma cortisol, lactate, Na+, and Cl- concentrations and decreased muscle glycogen levels that returned to baseline values by 24 h. An interpretation of the effect of WSF exposure on postexercise metabolic recovery was complicated by pre-exercise alterations in several parameters. The time courses and magnitudes of several key postexercise parameters, including plasma cortisol, lactate, and muscle glycogen, were significantly altered by exposure to WSE The present study clearly shows that hydrocarbon exposure can reduce the swimming ability of fish and their ability to recover from exhaustive exercise.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Sensitization and habituation of the swimming behavior in ascidian larvae to light.

Ascidian larvae of Ciona intestinalis change their photic behavior during the course of development. Newly hatched larvae show no response to a light stimulus at any intensity. At 4 hr after hatching, larvae were induced to start to swimming upon the cessation of illumination, and to stop swimming upon the onset of illumination. At a weaker light intensity (5.0 x 10(-3) J/m (2).s), the larvae showed similar responses to either a single stimulus or repeated stimuli of onset and cessation of light until 10 hr after hatching. At a stronger light intensity (3.2 x 10(-1) J/m(2).s), when the stimulus was repeated, they showed sensitization and habituation of the swimming response. At 3 hr after hatching the larvae failed to show any response to an initial stimulus at any intensity of light, but after several repeated stimuli (sensitization) they showed a swimming response at light intensities above 4.0 x 10(-2) J/m (2).s. At 5 hr and with intensity above 1.0 x 10 (-2) J/m(2).s, the larvae showed photoresponses to the first stimulus, but after several repetitions the larvae failed to stop swimming upon the onset of light (habituation). A repeated series of stimuli at stronger intensities of light caused greater habituation; this habituation was retained for about 1 min. Since the larval central nervous system in Ciona is comprised of only about 100 neurons, learning behavior in ascidian larvae should provide insights for a minimal mechanism of memory in vertebrates.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1992

Mood alteration with yoga and swimming: aerobic exercise may not be necessary.

The mood benefits of Hatha yoga and swimming, two activities that differ greatly in aerobic training benefits, were examined. College students (N = 87) in two swimming classes, a yoga class, and a lecture-control class completed mood and personality inventories before and after class on three occasions. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that both yoga participants (n = 22) and swimmers (n = 37) reported greater decreases in scores on Anget, Confusion, Tension, and Depression than did the control students (n = 28). The consistent mood benefits of yoga supported our earlier observation that the exercise need not be aerobic to be associated with mood enhancement. However, underlying and causal mechanisms remain uncertain. Among the men, the acute decreases in Tension, Fatigue, and Anger after yoga were significantly greater than those after swimming. Yoga may be even more beneficial than swimming for men who personally select to participate. The women reported fairly similar mood benefits after swimming and yoga. It seems that aerobic exercise may not be necessary to facilitate the mood benefits. Also, students with greater mood changes attended class more regularly than those who reported fewer psychological benefits. Maximizing the immediate psychological benefits of exercise might be one way to encourage adults to be physically active.

Affect↗
PubMed1996

A multidisciplinary investigation of the relation of state sport confidence with preference and velocity of swimming starts.

This study investigated the relations of state sport confidence with preference of swimming start, i.e., pike or flat, and vertical velocity for male and female NCAA Division I swimmers. Ten male and 10 female swimmers who had a minimum of five years competitive swimming experience participated. Men generated greater vertical velocity on both the pike and flat starts. Analyses of variance indicated a relationship foc gender with the most confident swimming start and vertical velocity for the pike and flat starts. In addition, a significant interaction between gender, preferred swimming start, and most confident swimming start was found. Discriminant function analysis using gender as the grouping variable and the dependent variables of vertical velocity and state sport confidence indicated that gender was an indicator of swimmers' performance and state sport confidence on the pike and flat starts.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1994

Swimming test for evaluating vestibular function in guinea pigs.

A swimming test was used to evaluate vestibular function in guinea pigs. We first observed tracings of the swimming patterns of 20 healthy guinea pigs to establish the normal range. Then the same test was used in a group of 49 guinea pigs with endolymphatic hydrops induced by immunologic techniques. They did not show spontaneous nystagmus or body deviation while walking, but a total of 20 out of 49 animals displayed abnormal swimming patterns, with 8 swimming clockwise and 4 counterclockwise. This swimming test is easily able to detect mild vestibular dysfunction in guinea pigs, and can be repeated, so that we consider it useful for examining vestibular function in these animals.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Contralateral rotatory bias in the free-swimming test after unilateral hemispherectomy in adult Swiss mice.

In the free-swimming rotatory test mice spend most of the time swimming close to the wall of the container attempting to escape from an aversive test situation. The attraction to the wall may suggest that turning behavior in the free-swimming test reflects the existence of intrinsic sensory asymmetries, which determine preferential attention adhesion to one side. In order to test this hypothesis, we investigated the rotatory swimming behavior of mice submitted to a unilateral hemispherectomy at adulthood, a condition of extreme sensory asymmetry. Fifteen days after surgery procedures, each mouse was tested for 5 min on 3 different days. We found that the hemispherectomized mice had a significant strong bias to turn in the direction contralateral to their lesion. These data could be explained considering that, in attempting to escape from the test situation, animals bring the recipient wall into their intact sensory field and, as a consequence, set the direction of locomotion. Thus, the free-swimming test may be useful to investigate sensory asymmetries during an aversive test situation.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Winter swimming improves general well-being.

OBJECTIVES: This study deals with the effects of regular winter swimming on the mood of the swimmers. METHODS: Profile of Mood State (POMS) and OIRE questionnaires were completed before (October) and after (January) the four-month winter swimming period. RESULTS: In the beginning, there were no significant differences in the mood states and subjective feelings between the swimmers and the controls. The swimmers had more diseases (about 50%) diagnosed by a physician. Tension, fatigue, memory and mood negative state points in the swimmers significantly decreased with the duration of the swimming period. After four months, the swimmers felt themselves to be more energetic, active and brisk than the controls. Vigour-activity scores were significantly greater (p < 0.05). All swimmers who suffered from rheumatism, fibromyalgia, or asthma, reported that winter swimming had relieved pains. CONCLUSION: Improvement of general well-being is thus a benefit induced by regular winter swimming.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Water maze swim path analysis based on tracking coordinates.

In the Morris water maze, a task widely used to study spatial learning and memory in laboratory rodents, several parameters are employed to estimate cognitive abilities of animals by analyzing their swim path characteristics. An isolated view based on any one of these parameters is not always satisfactory, so multivariate procedures (factor analyses) are used to weight the parameters in context with the others. This method sheds light on some subtle differences in experimental animals' spatial memories or strategies. However, this approach has some subjective problems, because the definition of the parameters depends on the experimenter's opinion of appropriate measures; therefore, we suggest a bottom-up rather than a top-down analysis of swim paths by means of spatial coordinates. In the present study, swim paths were normalized to 100-element vectors and then subjected to a principal components analysis. Swim paths could be sufficiently described in terms of only three components, each of which accounted for specific characteristics of the trajectories. We found significant differences in swim path patterns between test groups of rats that could not be discriminated via standard water maze parameters. Thus, the components can be related to different aspects of spatial cognition not detectable by commonly used parameters.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Swimming-exercise increases the capacity of perfused rat liver to produce urea from ammonia and L-glutamine.

We designed this study to determine whether the capacity of the liver to uptake ammonia and produce urea was affected by exercise (swimming at 24 degrees C with a 2.5% extra body-weight load). For this purpose, livers from sedentary rats at rest were perfused with a buffer containing increasing concentration of NH4Cl. The maximal hepatic capacity to produce urea was found at an NH4Cl concentration of 0.25 mM. Based on this finding all experiments with livers obtained from rats subject to swimming exercise were also carried out with a NH4Cl concentration of 0.25 mM. Thus, employing this concentration of ammonia, livers from sedentary and endurance trained rats, (for a period of 11 days ), that had either been resting or had been subjected to swimming exercise for 5 min or until exhaustion, were perfused in situ and ammonia uptake and urea production were measured. Clearly, both parameters were increased by exercise. However, these changes were not affected by swimming training. In addition, we demonstrate that the effect of an acute exercise on hepatic metabolism is not restricted to ammonia metabolism since livers from sedentary rats which had been subjected to swimming exercise for 5 min or until exhaustion showed higher urea production from L-glutamine. Our results also suggest that part of the changes in ureogenesis induced by exercise is mediated by cortisol (increased ammonia uptake) and part of the changes is mediated by glucagon (urea production).

Ammonia↗
PubMed1978

[Pseudomonas aeruginosa in swimming pool waters (author's transl)].

During the year 1977 we examined 2226 samples of swimming pool waters for colony counts, Escherichia coli and coliforms according to the German standards for drinking water. In addition, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated out from 180 of those samples. This microorganism was found in 4.7% of samples from public municipal swimming pools, in 4.1% from swimming pools in schools, in 13.1% from swimming pools in hotels, boarding-houses, hydropathic establishments, sanatoria, blocks of flats and private dwellings as well as in 38% (!) from swimming pools in hospitals. P. aeruginosa could rarely be isolated together with E. coli or coliforms. However, it was often found in samples, which were faultless according to the bacteriological standards for drinking water. Its necessity as an additional important hygienic parameter will be discussed.

Germany, West↗
PubMed2000

Sensory modification of leech swimming: rhythmic activity of ventral stretch receptors can change intersegmental phase relationships.

For segmented animals to generate optimal locomotory movements, appropriate phase relationships between segmental oscillators are crucial. Using swimming leeches, we have investigated the role of sensory input in establishing such relationships. We found that the stretch receptors associated with ventral longitudinal muscles encode the information of muscle contraction during swimming via membrane potential oscillations, with amplitudes of up to 10 mV at our recording site. We subsequently modified the activity of ventral stretch receptors (VSRs) by injecting rhythmic current at different phases of the swim cycle and determined intersegmental phase lags by comparing the delay between the discharges of serially homologous motoneurons in three adjacent segments of isolated nerve cords. When no current was injected, the phase lag between neighboring segments was 8.6 +/- 0.8 degrees (mean +/- SEM; n = 20), with large phase variations from cycle to cycle, between different episodes, and between different preparations. When the phase of stretch receptor activity was set to 90-150 degrees by current injection, the phase of the motoneuron activity in the ganglion was consistently retarded by approximately 5 degrees. It was advanced by approximately 5 degrees when the VSR phase was set to 240-300 degrees. Therefore, the rhythmic activity of the ventral stretch receptor generated during swimming can change intersegmental phase lags of leech ganglia in a phase-dependent manner. These stretch receptors may set the optimal intersegmental phases during swimming movement in intact leeches.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Swim performance decrement over middle life.

Swim records data from the U.S. Masters swim program afforded a chance to estimate the decline in swim performance over middle life. Men's records data indicated a falloff in swim performance of slightly less than one percent per year over the ages of 27.5 to 57.5 years. Men's decline in freestyle performance was seen to be essentially the same, regardless of varying oxygen requirements secondary to the distance swum. Men's decline in swim performance for the breaststroke and backstroke events was nearly that of the freestyle. Falloff in men's performance in the butterfly stroke rose to 1.47 percent per year. Women's times showed a decline between 20 to 50 percent greater than that seen for the men. Previous findings of athletes' decrease in pulmonary function over middle age closely parallel the observed decrease in Masters swimmers' records--approximately one percent per year.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Swimming ability in three Costa Rican dry forest rodents.

We investigated the swimming abilities of three Costa Rican dry forest rodents (Coues' rice rat. Oryzomys couesi, hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, and spiny pocket mouse, Liomys salvini) associated with a large marsh, Laguna Palo Verde, using 90 s swim trials in a plastic container. Swimming ability was evaluated by observing the use of limbs and tail in the water, inclination to the surface, and diving and floating behavior. Rice rats could float, swim and dive, suggesting that they can exploit surface and underwater resources. Cotton rats swam at the water's surface, but were less skilled swimmers than rice rats. Spiny pocket mice tired quickly and had difficulty staying at the water's surface. Results suggest that differential swimming ability is related to the distribution of the three sympatric species within the marsh and adjacent forest habitats.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of taper on swim power, stroke distance, and performance.

Competitive swimmers progressively reduce training volume or "taper" prior to an important competition in an effort to improve performance capabilities. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effects of taper upon factors associated with swim performance. Twelve intercollegiate swimmers were tested before and after taper in preparation for their season-ending meet. Power during a tethered sprint swim increased significantly (P < 0.05) by approximately 5% with taper. No significant changes occurred in distance per stroke, oxygen consumption, and post-exercise blood lactate level during a 182.9-m submaximal swim with taper. Five swimmers were additionally tested after shaving exposed body hair upon completion of taper. Swim power did not increase further with hair removal. In contrast, shaving significantly increased distance per stroke (P < 0.05) by approximately 5%. These data indicate that reduced training specifically improves swim power; however, removing exposed body hair after taper may additionally enhance performance capabilities by increasing distance per stroke.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Functional role of test cells in swimming larvae of Ascidia malaca: ultrastructural and cytochemical investigations.

The functional role played by test cells in larvae of various ascidian species consists in depositing sub-microscopic structures known as ornaments and/or proteoglycan substances on the larval test surface. According to the data reported in the literature, the deposition of ornaments together with proteoglycan substances on the larval test would render the latter hydrophilic and thus allow the larva to swim being immersed in water. Ornament deposition on the larval test does not occur in all the ascidian species. Ultrastructural investigations made on larvae belonging to the Cionidae and Ascididae families, for instance, have failed to evidence the presence of ornaments on the test. For these ascidian families it has been hypothesized that in swimming larvae test cells secrete an amorphous substance that would allow them to adhere to the larval test. In order to ascertain the functional role played by test cells in swimming larvae of the Ascididae family, the presently reported ultrastructural and cytochemical investigations have been made on larvae of Ascidia malaca. Besides suggesting that test cells, tightly adherent to the test surface, present an amoeboidic behaviour, the ultrastructural investigations have evidenced that these cells are still metabolically active. Their cytoplasm, characterized by the presence of a Golgi apparatus actively involved in synthesis, is almost entirely filled with very large granules; some of them gradually empty their contents turning into vacuoles containing scarce residues of electrondense particles. The present ultrastructural observations support the hypothesis that the adhesion of test cells on the larval test could be very likely eased by the secretion of substances synthesized by the Golgi and released through pseudopodes which test cells then wedge into the test. The cytochemical investigations were based on a reaction (fixation in glutaraldehyde-tannic acid) which evidences the presence, at the ultrastructural level, of proteoglycan substances such as glycosaminoglycans (Singley and Solursh, 1980). The reaction has given positive results in test cell granules undergoing emptying, on the outer membrane of the same cells, and on the outer cuticular layer C1 of the larval test. The present investigations, besides confirming the absence of ornament deposition on the test surface by test cells of Ascidia malaca swimming larvae, have evidenced that the secretion products deposited on the larval test surface by test cells consist of glycosaminoglycans, i.e. proteoglycan substances. In agreement with the data reported in the literature, it is hypothesized that the deposition of glycosaminoglycans on the surface of Ascidia malaca larval test makes the larval tunic hydrophilic and thus the larva is able to swim being immersed in water.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Studies of neonatal and juvenile neuromuscular locomotor development of C57BL/6/Bkl, 129SvEv/Bkl and F1 hybrid mice in swim tests.

Pups from the strains 129SvEv/Bkl and C57BL/6/Bkl and F1 hybrids of these were subjected to an analysis of the development of swimming pattern (from the day of birth until 21 days old) to study the neuromuscular development of neonatal and juvenile mice of common laboratory strains in gene modification programmes. Swimming as a parameter of scrutiny was chosen because it requires total coordination of the body's muscles, and we found that the gradual change from a neonatal to an adult swimming pattern can be scored objectively. Five different parameters were scored: the position of the head in the water, the use of front legs, the use of hind legs, the use of the tail and whether or not the animals could maintain a straight course in the water or not. Each parameter could be objectively scored as 0 (neonatal), 1 (juvenile) or 2 (adult) level of development. Both the F1 hybrids C57BL/6/Bklmale x 129SvEv/Bklfemale and 129SvEv/Bklmale x C57BL/6/Bkfemale were fully developed swimmers after only 13 to 14 days, respectively, while it took until 19 or 20 days for the mice of the pure strains to develop an adult swimming pattern. The study also revealed some major differences in swimming pattern between the two strains. The 129SvEv/Bkl maintained a horizontal position in the water and were strong swimmers, whereas the C57BL/6/Bkl mice consistently exhibited a startle reaction when first introduced to the water, maintained a more vertical position in the water and tired easily.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Applicability of the new law of State and Regional Agreement on management of swimming pools].

The Authors carried out a survey on private and public managers of 80 Italian swimming pools to evaluate the hygienic aspects and safety of the swimming pools. Participants were submitted to a set of questions about the modifications recently brought to the Act on management of the swimming pools during 2003. The study showed a poor knowledge about the hygienic-safety parameters, in particular of chlorine doses, range of temperature and frequency of daily turnover of the swimming pool water. The respect of chemical-physical parameters is necessary not only to assure an adequate microbial control of the water, but also to reduce the production of irritant and potentially toxic substances. The Authors pointed out the need of greater attention to hygienic aspects in order to reduce health risks, deriving from an uncorrected application of the laws, and to provide a greater comfort to the users of swimming pools.

Chlorine↗
PubMed2005

Study of the environmental health aspects of swimming pools in Alexandria City.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of public as well as private swimming pools in recent years. This is because the general public is now much more health and fitness-oriented, and swimming is thought by many to be the perfect form of exercise. Assessment of the environmental and health aspects of some of Alexandria swimming pools was carried out through the present study. All the recorded temperatures during the present study agreed with the Infectious Diseases Regulations. As regards turbidity, although the annual mean values of most pools had shown compliance with the allowable limit of the decree, there were many violations of the limit values in some individual results recorded during the different months. Most of the residual chlorine results recorded at the different pools during the different months showed that the operators were adding the Cl2 in a haphazard way. The low pH values could be attributed to the addition of slug doses of Cl2 which hydrolyze, producing high concentrations of hydrochloric and hydrochlorous acids. The high incidence of recorded itching and redness of the eyes followed by ear infections was attributed to the exposure to excess chlorine, and to the presence of pathogenic microorganisms. As regards the awareness and practice to pool hygienic instructions, the low percentage of swimmers using head caps during swimming (30.1%) was mainly comprised of females. It could be concluded that the majority of the users followed some of the hygienic instructions, like showering, washing the feet before entering the pool, and wearing bathing suites instead of private clothes. The frequencies of health problems observed among users were related to many factors, like age, marital status, occupation, frequency, and duration of use of the swimming pool.

Egypt↗