Swimming or drowning? Can Iceland show the world how to commercialise a gene pool?
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Does swimming decrease the incidence of otitis media?
To determine the influence of swimming on the incidence of otitis media in children, the authors designed a case control survey involving 32 children, aged 1 to 4 years, who were participating in swimming classes. Thirty control subjects were matched for age, race, and sex. The participants were pooled from the general pediatrics clinic and toddler swimming classes in Nassau County, New York. Parents completed a questionnaire gathering data over a 12-week study period during the winter months. Information was gathered regarding demographics, number of ear infections, history and frequency of swimming during the study period, presence of head submersion, day care center attendance, allergies, chronic medical conditions, otolaryngology consultations, ear surgery, and air travel. Forty-three percent of nonswimmers compared with 19% of swimmers had one or more ear infections during the study period (P < .02). The remaining factors surveyed did not differ significantly between groups. A review of the literature yielded two studies suggesting that swimming may have a beneficial effect on eustachian tube function and may indirectly decrease the occurrence of otitis media. Based on these findings, the authors conclude that there appears to be no basis to the commonly held belief that swimming may induce or exacerbate otitis media. In fact, the converse may be true.
Case-Control Studies↗
How do cormorants counter buoyancy during submerged swimming?
Buoyancy is a de-stabilizing force for diving cormorants that forage at shallow depths. Having to counter this force increases the cost of transport underwater. Cormorants are known to be less buoyant than most water birds but are still highly buoyant (rho= approximately 0.8 kg m(-3)) due to their adaptations for aerial flight. Nevertheless, cormorants are known to dive at a wide range of depths, including shallow dives where buoyancy is maximal. We analyzed the kinematics of underwater swimming of the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) in a shallow pool to discover and evaluate the mechanisms countering buoyancy while swimming horizontally. The birds maintained a very uniform cyclic paddling pattern. Throughout this cycle, synchronized tilting of the body, controlled by the tail, resulted in only slight vertical drifts of the center of mass around the average swimming path. We suggest that this tilting behavior serves two purposes: (1) the elongated bodies and the long tails of cormorants, tilted at a negative angle of attack relative to the swimming direction, generate downward directed hydrodynamic lift to resist buoyancy and (2) during the propulsive phase, the motion of the feet has a significant vertical component, generating a vertical component of thrust downward, which further helps to offset buoyancy. The added cost of the drag resulting from this tilting behavior may be reduced by the fact that the birds use a burst-and-glide pattern while swimming.
Animals↗
Water escape performance of adult RCS dystrophic and congenic rats: a functional and histomorphometric study.
The dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat undergoes photoreceptor degeneration due to a hereditary defect in the retinal pigment epithelium. The congenic rat remains unaffected. Although the retinal degeneration is well characterized, few functional studies of this strain are available. We wished to compare the visual function of congenic and dystrophic RCS rats using a water escape paradigm that tested their ability to find a submersed, randomly placed platform using a light source as a clue. Three different behavioral experiments were sequentially performed on all animals: Experiment 1--The Light and Platform test measured the time to swim from the center of the pool to a platform located under a light clue. Each animal was given 10 trials. Experiment 2--The No Light with Platform test was performed as above except no light clue was used. Experiment 3--The Light and No Platform test was performed with a light clue but without a platform. The animal was allowed to swim for 2 min. All trials were videotaped. After the final experiment, the animals were sacrificed and a histomorphometric analysis of their retinas were performed. Expt. 1--The time to find the platform using light as a clue was greater for the dystrophic than for the congenic rats. Expt. 2--In the absence of light clue, there was no significant difference in performance between the congenic and dystrophic animals. Expt. 3--In the absence of a platform, a significantly greater amount of time was spent in the area indicated by the light clue by the congenic animals as compared to the dystrophic. Morphometric analysis revealed a mean number of 133 photoreceptor nuclear profiles/90 microns of retina for congenic rats as compared to 0.14 for dystrophic rats. This simplified version of the Morris water maze permits quantitative evaluation of visually-guided behavior in an important model of retinal degeneration.
Animals↗
Interferon and neutralizing antibody in sera of exercised mice with coxsackievirus B-3 myocarditis.
Weanling ICR albino Swiss mice were inoculated ip with 1.9 x 10(4) PFU of coxsackievirus B-3 (Nancy) and subsequently forced to swim vigorously daily in a preheated pool (33 degrees). Viremias and virus in hearts of exercised mice were respectively 75 x 1000 x greater than in infected, but not exercised mice. At 24 hr after inoculation, pooled serum from mice that had been swum had no circulating interferon, while infected but not swum mice had interferon activity at a dilution of 1:10. At 72 hr after infection, circulating interferon disappeared from infected (not swum) mice, but continued to be present in high titers through the sixth day in sucklings forced to swim. Interferon was first detected in the hearts of both groups at 48 hr. Quantities in both infected groups were generally similar. Neutralizing antibodies were found in these baby mice on the 13th day of infection and were 16 x greater in nurslings that were not exercised. Measures of corticosterone taken at 4 PM daily were similar in infected, infected-swum, and uninfected mice.
Animals↗
Experience affects exercise-induced changes in catecholamines, glucose, and FFA.
The interference of the experimental conditions on the exercise-induced alterations in plasma catecholamines, plasma free fatty acids, and glucose and insulin concentrations was investigated in rats. Exercise consisted of strenuous swimming against a countercurrent (0.22 m/s) for 15 min in a pool with water of 33 degrees C. Before, during, and after swimming, blood samples were taken through a permanent heart catheter. The blood component levels in rats that were confronted with exercise for the very first time were compared with the levels in rats that were well accustomed to the exercise conditions. The very first time rats swam caused an enhanced release of epinephrine from the adrenal medulla and a reduced output of norepinephrine from the sympathetic nerve endings. Furthermore, in the first time swim group, blood glucose levels were higher and plasma free fatty acid concentrations were lower compared with the well-accustomed animals. There were no differences in plasma insulin concentrations. It is concluded that the experimental conditions may interfere considerably with the hormonal and metabolic response to exercise. Furthermore the results reinforce the idea that the two parts of the sympathoadrenal system are functionally and metabolically dissociated.
Animals↗
Prevention of childhood drowning accidents.
The data from the Brisban Drowning Study have been analysed in this article to provide guidelines for preventive strategies. The separate causal links comprising the drowning chain have been identified, and quantitative scores have been assigned to the three identifiable groups of causative factors--environmental, parent-related and victim-related. The identifiable causes of child drowning are absence of a safety barrier or fence around the water hazard, non-supervision of a child, a parental "vulnerable period", an inadequate safety barrier, and tempting objects in or on the water. Effective environmental control can be achieved only through legislation. The complementary role of a public educational thrust in discussed. Increasing the tempo of "drownproofing* and of teaching children to swim will help, but the expected reduction in deaths and near-deaths from this strategy alone cannot yet be assessed. Compulsory first aid training for pool owners is required. Costs of implementing a total drowning preventive programme are presented.
Age Factors↗
[Examination of the growth of pathogenic organisms on the elastic joints made of plastic material in swimming baths (author's transl)].
Roughly three months after a swimming bath had been put into operation a growth was observed on the permanently elastic joints made of plastic material at the bottom of the pool. Samples were taken and examined and bacteria, fungi, green algae as well as many monocellular organisms were found. The repeated identification of a pathogenic dermatophyte and of P. aeruginosa was of hygienic significance.
Chlorophyta↗
Capsiate, a nonpungent capsaicin analog, increases endurance swimming capacity of mice by stimulation of vanilloid receptors.
We investigated the effect of capsiate, a nonpungent natural capsaicin analog, on the swimming capacity of mice in an adjustable-current water pool. Male BALB/c mice orally given capsiate (10 mg/kg) were able to keep swimming longer before exhaustion than the control mice. After 30 min of swimming, the residual glycogen in the gastrocnemius muscle was higher, the serum free fatty acid concentration tended to be higher, and the serum lactic acid concentration was significantly lower in the capsiate-administered mice. The value for the respiratory exchange ratio of the capsiate group was significantly lower during both resting and treadmill running. These physiological differences were abolished by administering the vanilloid receptor antagonist, capsazepin (0.17 mmol/kg, i.p.). The mice were not averse to the capsiate solution during a 4-h two-bottle choice test. These results suggest that the oral administration of capsiate enhanced fat oxidation and spared carbohydrate utilization, and consequently increased the endurance swimming capacity of the mice via stimulation of their vanilloid receptors. Practical application of capsiate is expected.
Animals↗
Clinical effects of complex spa therapy on patients with steroid-dependent intractable asthma (SDIA).
The clinical effects of spa therapy (swimming training in a hot spring pool+inhalation of iodine salt solution+fango therapy) were examined in 52 patients with steroid-dependent intractable asthma (SDIA). Clinical effects were found in 36 of the 52 (69.2%) patients with SDIA. The efficacy was higher in the patients between the ages of 41 and 50 (87.5%) and between 51 and 60 (84.2%) than in those in the other age groups. Regarding clinical asthma types, the efficacy of spa therapy was higher in patients with type Ia-2 (83.4%), type Ib (77.8%) and type II (80.0%) than in those with type Ia-1 (54.2%). Efficacy seemed to be related to airway inflammation: the proportion of neutrophils and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was higher in patients with marked and moderate improvement compared with those with slight and no improvement. Ventilatory function was improved by complex spa therapy. %MMF and %V25 values increased by more than 20% after therapy in patients with type Ia-2, Ib and II asthma. Bronchial hyperreactivity to methacholine was suppressed after therapy. Any decreased function of the adrenocortical glands expressed by low serum cortisol levels improved after therapy, accompanied by a reduction in the dose of glucocorticoids necessary to control asthma attacks.
Adrenal Cortex↗
Complexities in ETS-domain transcription factor function and regulation: lessons from the TCF (ternary complex factor) subfamily. The Colworth Medal Lecture.
The ETS-domain transcription factor family can be divided into a series of subfamilies. Elk-1 represents the founding member of the ternary complex factor (TCF) subfamily. By focusing on the TCF subfamily, we can demonstrate the complexities that exist in the function and regulation of ETS-domain transcription factors. This article focuses on Elk-1 in detail and summarizes the functions of other TCFs. The key themes covered include the domain structure of the TCFs, the mechanisms of complex formation with serum response factor, regulation of TCFs by mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, and transcriptional regulatory properties of the TCFs. Finally, the emerging role of the TCFs in vivo is discussed. A picture is developing indicating that, while these proteins exhibit significant sequence and functional conservation, key differences in their structure and regulation are being identified which may relate to unique functions of these proteins in vivo.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Dissociation of hippocampal and striatal contributions to spatial navigation in the water maze.
Two experiments were conducted to compare the effects of fornix/fimbria and caudate-putamen lesions in Long-Evans hooded rats (Rattus norvegicus) trained on two water maze tasks that differed in the type of spatial localization required for optimum solution. In Experiment 1, the lesioned rats and surgical controls were trained on the standard place task in the water maze (Morris, 1981) and given two postacquisition tests (a platform removal probe and platform relocation test). In Experiment 2, rats with similar lesions and control rats were trained on a modified cue navigation task. Fornix/fimbria lesions impaired a late stage of place task acquisition but did not impair acquisition of the cue task. Caudate-putamen lesions resulted in a severe place acquisition impairment and a transient cue acquisition impairment, both of which were characterized by an initial tendency to swim near the wall of the pool. Post-hoc analyses of the direction and angles of departure from the start points suggested that rats with fornix/fimbria lesions used non-allocentric spatial strategies to solve the place task. These rats also demonstrated a significantly weakened spatial bias for the former training quadrant on the platform removal probe and reduced flexibility in navigating to a novel platform location on the platform relocation test. In contrast, rats with caudate-putamen lesions showed a significant spatial bias for the former training quadrant but failed to cross the exact location within the quadrant where the platform was formerly positioned. The results suggest that the hippocampus mediates the allocentric spatial component of the water maze place task while the dorsomedial striatum may play an important role in the acquisition of the procedural aspects of both place and cue versions of the task.
Animals↗
Does cleansing of frozen-thawed bull semen before assessment provide samples that relate better to potential fertility?
The present study estimated, in vitro, the influence of two cleansing methods on sperm parameters post-thaw and their relation to the fertility of the frozen-thawed semen after AI. Frozen semen from six 1-year-old Swedish Red and White dairy bulls with a range in fertility (as 56d-Non-Return Rates, i.e., 56d-NRR) of 62.2-70.7% among batches was tested, using three batches of semen per bull. From each batch, individual straws were analyzed immediately after thawing (PT, control) or pooled and subjected to a swim-up procedure (SU) or washing by centrifugation/re-suspension (W) prior to in vitro assessments. Subjective and computerized measurements of sperm motility and of concentration, morphology, and membrane integrity were recorded. SU provided spermatozoa with significantly better motility, acrosome-, midpiece- and tail morphology and membrane integrity compared to either control or W treatment. Significant, albeit low, correlations among single sperm parameters and NRR were found (after PT for tail abnormalities (r = 0.49) and average path velocity, VAP (r = 0.47), after SU for total sperm motility with CASA (r = 0.50) and after W only for non-linear motility (r = -0.69)). SU of frozen-thawed bull semen is a simple preparation procedure that selects for sperm motility and membrane integrity, essential parameters for fertilization. It helps in vitro assessment of the semen and provides a significant, although low, relationship to the fertility of the assayed semen.
Animals↗
Altered cardiac function and minimal cardiac damage during prolonged exercise.
PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to examine markers of cardiac function and cardiac damage during a simulated half-ironman triathlon in highly trained athletes. METHODS: Nine highly trained male triathletes volunteered for the study (mean +/- SD; age: 33 +/- 3 yr; height: 1.8 +/- 0.1 m; body mass: 77.7 +/- 3.2 kg). The subjects completed a half-ironman triathlon; 1.9-km swim in an indoor 20-m pool, followed by a laboratory-based 90-km cycle and 21.1-km run. Venous blood samples were drawn and echocardiographic assessment completed before the start of exercise, immediately after each stage, and 24 h postexercise. Serum was analyzed for total creatine kinase activity (CK), creatine kinase isoenzyme MB(mass) (CK-MB(mass)), and cardiac troponin T (cTnT). Left ventricular systolic (stroke volume, and systolic blood pressure/end systolic volume ratio (SBP/ESV)) and diastolic (ratio of early [E] to late [A], ventricular filling E:A) measurements were derived from echocardiographic assessment. RESULTS: The mean completion time of the half-ironman triathlon was 301 +/- 28 min. Left ventricular contractility (SBP/ESV) was significantly reduced after the half-ironman triathlon (P < 0.05). A significant reduction in E:A was observed after the run phase of the half-ironman triathlon (P < 0.05). Significant increases in CK and CK-MB(mass) were observed during and after the half-ironman triathlon (P < 0.05), and cTnT was elevated in four subjects over the course of the half-ironman triathlon. CONCLUSIONS: The physiologic stress imposed by the half-ironman triathlon resulted in a reduced left ventricular contractility and altered diastolic filling, coupled with minimal cardiac damage in a number of highly trained male triathletes. The mechanisms behind such altered cardiac function and cardiac damage after prolonged exercise are yet to be elucidated.
Adult↗
Parallel information processing in the dorsal striatum: relation to hippocampal function.
We investigated the effects of localized medial and lateral CPu lesions and fornix/fimbria lesions on responses to a local cue and to behavior based on cognitive-spatial information in the water maze. Rats were trained concurrently on the cue (visible platform) and spatial (submerged platform) components of the task, followed by a test in which responses to the two types of information were dissociated by a measure of competing response tendencies. Bilateral lesions of lateral CPu did not affect acquisition of either cue or spatial responding but produced a preference for the spatial response on the competition test. Bilateral lesions of the medial CPu retarded but did not prevent learning both components and produced a preference for the cue response on the competition test. The latter effect was accompanied by increased thigmotaxis (swimming in the periphery of the pool), primarily during the early acquisition trials, which was attributed to an impaired ability to respond to learned spatial information. Fornix/fimbria lesions prevented spatial but not cue learning and produced a preference for the cue response on the competition test. Asymmetric lesions (unilateral hippocampus and contralateral medial CPu) produced mild retardation of acquisition of both the cue and spatial tasks and a preference for the cue response on the competition test. These findings dissociate the functions of the lateral and medial CPu and suggest that the hippocampus and medial CPu may be parts of a system that promotes responding based on learned cognitive-spatial information, particularly in competitive cue-place response situations.
Analysis of Variance↗
A partial agonist at strychnine-insensitive glycine sites facilitates spatial learning in aged rats.
1-Aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid (ACPC) is a high affinity ligand at strychnine-insensitive glycine sites of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) channels and exhibits partial agonist properties in both biochemical and electrophysiological measures. While ACPC was reported active in animal models used to evaluate potential antidepressants and anxiolytics, its effects on learning and memory are unknown. In the present study we investigated the effects of ACPC on spatial learning in the Morris water maze. On a schedule of 12 learning trials, one trial per day, mature male Wistar rats (3 months of age) rapidly acquired the task. Electroconvulsive shocks applied after each of the learning trials markedly inhibited the consolidation of spatial memory. Administration of either a muscarinic agonist, arecoline (1 mg/kg) or ACPC (250 or 400 mg/kg) 20 min before each of the learning trials did not affect the acquisition of spatial learning. Aged (16 months old) male Wistar rats demonstrated difficulties in the acquisition of spatial learning task. In these subjects, ACPC administered 20 min before each of the learning trials at a dose of 400, but not 250 mg/kg, facilitated the acquisition of spatial memory as indicated on trials 3-5. ACPC did not affect the strength of spatial memory as assessed at the end of conditioning, by measuring swimming behavior of rats in the pool with platform removed. It is suggested that ACPC may alleviate learning deficits observed in the elderly.
Age Factors↗
[Psychological investigation on spa therapy in patients with bronchial asthma].
To evaluate the effects of complex spa therapy (swimming training in a hot spring pool + fango therapy + inhalation of iodine salt solution) on psychological factors, three psychological examinations; CMI (Cornell Medical Index), SDS (Self-Rating Depression Scale) and CAI (Comprehensive Asthma Inventory); were given 25 patients with bronchial asthma (10 male, 15 female, mean age 60 years), and the results of these examinations were compared before and after spa therapy. 1. Physical symptoms, respiratory system and CIJ symptoms by CMI were significantly improved after spa therapy, however the improvement of psychical symptoms was not significant. 2. In SDS, 11 of 25 patients showed more than 40 points, indicating depressive state. The number of such patients decreased from 11 to 2 and the mean SDS score significantly improved from 38.7 to 34.2 after spa therapy. 3. Conditioning, suggestion, fear of expectation, frustration, flight into illness, negative attitudes towards prognosis, and decreased motivation towards therapy by CAI were significantly reduced after spa therapy, with the reduction in negative attitudes towards prognosis and decreased motivation towards therapy being relatively large. Furthermore, CAI score, which is the average of the categories in CAI, was also significantly decreased from 37.9 to 28.4 after spa therapy. These results suggested that complex spa therapy improves psychological factors in patients with bronchial asthma.
Aged↗
Sperm preparation affects reactivity of monoclonal antibodies.
The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) patterns of extracts prepared from thrice-washed human sperm were compared with extracts of swim-up and non-rise sperm. For sperm extraction sodium deoxycholate (DOC), octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (NP-40), dithiothreitol (DTT), lithium 3,5-diiodosalicylate (LIS), or 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethylammonio]-1-propane sulfonate (CHAPS) were used. A pellet of pooled thrice-washed semen was divided and extracted with these detergents. Similar gel electrophoresis profiles, as revealed by silver staining, were observed with the LIS, DOC, NP-40 and CHAPS extracts, whereas DTT extracts lacked the 150 and 200 kDa bands. Different thrice-washed semen pools varied in their protein pattern, probably due to the presence of sloughed germinal cells, white blood cells and sloughed cells from the reproductive tract. Swim-up sperm extracts had a different protein profile from that of thrice-washed pools but pools of swim-up sperm had a more constant protein pattern than those of thrice-washed semen pellets. Monoclonal antisperm antibodies did not always recognize antigens of the same molecular weights in western blots when extracts of swim-up sperm versus thrice-washed sperm were compared. In immunoblot studies with monoclonals (produced against thrice-washed sperm, cloned five times, reactive by ELISA and sperm function tests), 4/12 reacted with 0.3% NP-40 extracts of thrice-washed sperm and 5/12 with 0.3% NP-40 extract of swim-up sperm. These findings suggest that definition of antigens by monoclonal antisperm antibodies will be influenced by the nature of sperm extract employed.
Antibodies, Monoclonal↗