PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-07-31DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3030028
Pavel Alexandrov, Maria Pupikina, Zabava Adaeva, E. Sitnikova
{"title":"The Difference between Male and Female Rats in Terms of Freezing and Aversive Ultrasonic Vocalization in an Active Avoidance Test","authors":"Pavel Alexandrov, Maria Pupikina, Zabava Adaeva, E. Sitnikova","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3030028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3030028","url":null,"abstract":"We examined sex differences in behavioral responses to fear-related learning through ultrasonic vocalization. Adult male and female rats of two inbred rat strains (WAG/Rij rats with genetic predisposition absence epilepsy, n = 25; and the minor substrain NEW with non-epileptic phenotype, n = 32) were examined in the two-way active avoidance task (50 trials). Three behavioral responses were defined: successful learning, unsuccessful learning, and freezing (motionless behavior). We found that males were more likely to experience freezing (40%) than females (3.7%). Females performed significantly better than males: 93% of females showed “successful learning”, while only 43.2% of males did. Long-lasting 22 kHz ultrasonic calls, so-called aversive ultrasonic vocalizations aUSVs, were recorded in 26% of females (only successful learners) and in 50% of males. The density of aUSVs in females was lower than in males. WAG/Rij males performed much poorer than the NEW males. In general, males, in contrast to females, showed significantly poorer avoidance learning, more frequently experienced freezing, and produced more aversive USVs. Males thus experienced a negative emotional state, rather than exhibiting poor cognitive abilities. Perhaps, WAG/Rij rats and a minor NEW substrain showed an increased emotionally in fear-related tasks, because they are prone to emotional disorders or emotional exhaustion. Sex differences in freezing and in aUSVs might result from the poorly understood neuromodulatory effects of the cholinergic system.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42262383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-06-29DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3030027
Peter J. Angell, S. Marwood
{"title":"Effect of Ischemic Preconditioning (IPC) on Recovery of Exercise Performance Following a Bout of Exercise to Volitional Exhaustion","authors":"Peter J. Angell, S. Marwood","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3030027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3030027","url":null,"abstract":"The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) on the recovery of exercise performance following maximal, incremental exercise. A total of 13 healthy males volunteered to participate, undertaking three experimental trials involving a constant work-rate bout of severe intensity exercise undertaken to the limit of tolerance that was preceded by a 40-min recovery period consequent to a maximal, incremental exercise test. During the recovery period, participants underwent IPC at 220 mmHg, sham IPC (SHAM; 20 mmHg), and passive rest (CON). Exercise tolerance time was higher following IPC as compared to SHAM and CON {199 ± 36 (CON) vs. 203 ± 35 (SHAM) vs. 219 ± 34 (IPC), p = 0.03}. This effect was accompanied by a tendency toward an augmented increase in blood lactate from rest to exercise in IPC compared to SHAM and CON (p = 0.08). There was no effect of IPC on oxygen uptake kinetics or muscle oxygenation as indicated via near-infrared spectroscopy. IPC may therefore have the capacity to augment recovery from prior maximal exercise, but this does not appear to be due to enhancements to oxygen uptake kinetics or muscle oxygenation.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47482970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-06-08DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020026
V. Zilidou, P. Bamidis
{"title":"Effects of Engaging Older Adults in Technology-Based Dance Programs","authors":"V. Zilidou, P. Bamidis","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020026","url":null,"abstract":"Functionality is a crucial aspect of aging that is vital to one’s health and well-being. Older adults often struggle with mobility issues, which increases their risk of injury from falls and other problems. Dancing has the potential to be a physically stimulating activity that may be tailored to older individuals’ ages, physical conditions, and cultural preferences. The study aimed to determine whether dancing programs can improve older adults’ physical and mental health by using technology. Sixty women were divided into two groups at random: a dance group (N = 33; mean age 62.24) and a dance group using technology (N = 27, mean age 67.37). The intervention lasted six months and was performed twice a week for 75-min sessions. Dances were chosen from all over Greece. Participants’ physical and cognitive status was evaluated before and after the intervention. The results show that the dance group improved balance (p = 0.001), lower body strength (p = 0.006) and aerobic capacity (p = 0.006), while the dance group with the use of technology shower greater improvement in the same tests (p = 0.002, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.0001). Both groups improved on walking balance and danger of falling (p < 0.0001). Depression (p = 0.007) and sociability (p = 0.001) significantly improved in the dance group. Dance, an enjoyable activity, contributes to the well-being of older adults by maintaining their physical status and functional capacity at acceptable levels.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49475374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-06-08DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020025
J. Hildebrandt
{"title":"Ecology Meets Physiology: Phenotypic Plasticity and the Ability of Animals to Adjust to Changing Environmental Conditions","authors":"J. Hildebrandt","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020025","url":null,"abstract":"Hyperplasia and hypertrophy, or their counterparts hypoplasia and hypotrophy, are elements of the adjustment of organ size and function in animals according to their needs under altered environmental conditions. As such processes are costly in terms of energy and biomaterials, it is assumed that they are beneficial for the survival of the individual. The ability of animals to perform such adjustments and the limitations in the scope of the adjustments are considered to be adaptive genetic traits which enable individual animals to survive regularly occurring changes in the environmental conditions in their habitats as long as such changes stay within critical limits. The restructuring of mono-functional glands in ducklings, which serve the animals in getting rid of excess amounts of ingested salt from the body, is presented as an example of complex plastic changes in organ structure. Phenotypic adjustments in these salt glands encompass both reversible processes, when environmental conditions switch back to the original state (‘phenotypic elasticity’), and irreversible ones (‘phenotypic plasticity’ in the narrow sense). As more information on genomes or transcriptomes of non-model animal species becomes available, we will better understand the biological significance of such phenotypic adjustments in animals in their natural environments and the underlying molecular mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47157034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-05-22DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020024
Anzhella V. Rumyantseva, Sergei A. Chekrygin, E. O. Vidyagina
{"title":"Interrelation of the Radial Increment of Trees with Various Factors","authors":"Anzhella V. Rumyantseva, Sergei A. Chekrygin, E. O. Vidyagina","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020024","url":null,"abstract":"Radial increment objectively reflects the quality of the assimilation apparatus of a woody plant. Its features indicate the influence of various anthropogenic, biotic and abiotic factors as well as the stability of the plant under stress. The aim of this study was to survey the long-term dynamics of the radial growth of six tree species: Betula pendula, Ulmus glabra, Quercus robur, Tilia cordata, Picea abies and Pinus silvestris, depending on the impact of creating a reservoir and the fluctuations of the water level in it. Additionally, another aim was to determine whether there is a dependence between the annual radial increment of these tree species and the change in the temperature factor during the growing season. We studied cores of trees growing in a park on the coast of the Sheksna river, the level of which is regulated by the water level in the Rybinsk Reservoir and changes along with it. This research presents the dynamics of the annual radial growth of Betula pendula over 59 years, Ulmus glabra over 50 years, Quercus robur over 59 years, Tilia cordata over 82 years, Picea abies over 128 years and Pinus silvestris over 125 years. The average annual radial growth decreases in the series Ulmus glabra > Betula pendula, Quercus robur > Tilia cordata > Picea abies > Pinus silvestris. The radial increase does not correlate with the annual water level in the Rybinsk Reservoir. However, years with extreme minimum and maximum reservoir filling affect the radial growth of Quercus robur (r = 0.56) and Tilia cordata (r = 0.52). It was found that after the creation of the reservoir, the radial increment of Picea abies was significantly reduced by 1.10 mm. The clearest dependence of ring width index was obtained for Picea abies on temperature in May (r = −0.30 at p ≤ 0.05) and for Pinus sylvestris on temperature in July (r = −0.25 at p ≤ 0.05). Similarly, a weak correlation of ring width index with temperature in some months was noted for deciduous trees. Picea abies is notable for its particular display of moderate inverse correlation to the radial growths of other trees.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44998213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-05-12DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020023
Pratik P. Dhavan, V. R. Sonawane, Abhinava K. Mishra
{"title":"Investigating the Effectiveness of Plant-Mediated Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles as Larvicidal Agents against the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti","authors":"Pratik P. Dhavan, V. R. Sonawane, Abhinava K. Mishra","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020023","url":null,"abstract":"Aedes aegypti mosquito is responsible for the transmission of some of the most serious vector-borne diseases affecting humans, including dengue fever, chikungunya, and Zika. The only effective method for minimizing their transmission is vector control. In this work, an environmentally friendly method for synthesizing cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) is highlighted, and the larvicidal activity against Ae. aegypti was studied. This method uses the aqueous extract of Bruguiera cylindrica leaves (BL) as an oxidizer and stabilizing agent. UV–Vis spectroscopy presented a distinctive absorbance band at 303 nm for CeO2 NPs with a band gap of 3.17 eV. The functional groups from the plant extract connected to CeO2 NPs were identified by FT-IR analysis, while X-ray diffraction revealed the cubic fluorite orientation of CeO2 NPs. Zeta potential revealed a surface charge of −20.7 mV on NPs. The formation of CeO2 NPs was confirmed by an energy dispersive spectral analysis, and TEM and DLS revealed an average diameter of 40–60 nm. The LC50 of synthesized CeO2 against Ae. aegypti fourth instar larvae was reported to be 46.28 μg/mL in 24 h. Acetylcholinesterase (47%) and glutathione S-transferase (13.51%) activity were significantly decreased in Ae. aegypti larvae exposed to synthesized CeO2 NPs versus the control larvae. All these findings propose the potential for using B. cylindrica leaves-synthesized CeO2 NPs as an efficient substitute for insecticides in the management of mosquitoes.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47658219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-05-10DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020022
Athanasios G. Gakis, T. Nomikos, A. Philippou, Smaragdi Antonopoulou
{"title":"The Involvement of Lipid Mediators in the Mechanisms of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage","authors":"Athanasios G. Gakis, T. Nomikos, A. Philippou, Smaragdi Antonopoulou","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020022","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020022","url":null,"abstract":"Lipid mediators are a class of signaling molecules that play important roles in various physiological processes, including inflammation, blood pressure regulation, and energy metabolism. Exercise has been shown to affect the production and metabolism of several types of lipid mediators, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, sphingolipids, platelet-activating factors and endocannabinoids. Eicosanoids, which include prostaglandins and leukotrienes, are involved in the regulation of inflammation and immune function. Endocannabinoids, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, are involved in the regulation of pain, mood, and appetite. Pro-resolving lipid mediators are involved in the resolution of inflammation. Sphingolipids have a role in the function of skeletal muscle during and after exercise. There are many studies that have examined the effects of exercise on the production and release of these and other lipid mediators. Some of these studies have focused on the effects of exercise on inflammation and immune function, while others have examined the effects on muscle function and metabolism. However, much less is known about their involvement in the phenomenon of exercise-induced muscle damage that follows after intense or unaccustomed exercise.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48758636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-05-09DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020021
Maria Zisi, I. Stavridis, G. Bogdanis, G. Terzis, G. Paradisis
{"title":"The Acute Effects of Plyometric Exercises on Sprint Performance and Kinematics","authors":"Maria Zisi, I. Stavridis, G. Bogdanis, G. Terzis, G. Paradisis","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020021","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Post-activation potentiation refers to the acute and temporary enhancement of performance in explosive movements after performing a conditioning activity, such as plyometrics. The current study aimed to investigate the acute effects of horizontal leg bounding on 30 m acceleration performance, 5 m split times, and sprint kinematics (step frequency and length, flight and contact time). Methods: Fourteen young sprinters, nine females and five males, performed two experimental conditions and one control condition in randomized and crossover orders. The experimental conditions included 3 × 10 repetitions of alternate-leg horizontal bounding or 3 × 5 repetitions of single-leg horizontal bounding for each leg. Active recovery was performed in the control condition. A 30 m sprint test was executed before and 5 min after each condition. Results: Sprint times at 5 m (p = 0.014) and 10 m (p = 0.041) were improved after performing alternate-leg horizontal bounding. Additionally, an increase in running velocity (p = 0.017) and step frequency (p = 0.028) was observed in the 0–5 m segment of the sprint. Sprint performance and kinematics showed no significant differences after performing single-leg horizontal bounding. Conclusions: Alternate-leg horizontal bounding, which is a sprint-specific exercise that emphasizes a horizontal impulse, can be used effectively to improve performance in the initial phase of sprint acceleration.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49196322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-04-28DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020020
Jan Knobloch, Sarah Gößeler, Laura I. R. Fuchs, J. Fuss, Montserrat Torres-Oliva, Christian Müller, J. Hildebrandt
{"title":"The Ins and Outs of Urea: Identification of Putative DUR3-like Urea Transporters in the Oligohaline Nerite Snail Theodoxus fluviatilis and Their Expression under Changing Salinities","authors":"Jan Knobloch, Sarah Gößeler, Laura I. R. Fuchs, J. Fuss, Montserrat Torres-Oliva, Christian Müller, J. Hildebrandt","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020020","url":null,"abstract":"Theodoxus fluviatilis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Gastropoda: Neritidae) is an oligohaline aquatic gastropod that inhabits most of Europe and adjacent areas of Asia. Two different ecotypes can be distinguished: One in freshwater (FW) and another along the Baltic Sea coast in brackish water habitats (BW). Individuals of either ecotype use free amino acids and urea as organic osmolytes to adjust body fluid osmolality to the external medium; however, the BW ecotype is able to accumulate them in larger quantities. The use of urea as an organic osmolyte in aquatic gastropods such as T. fluviatilis has only recently been initially described and raised the question of how urea transport between body fluids and the environment is balanced. Upon examining transcriptome and preliminary genome sequence data of T. fluviatilis, we identified putative homologues of DUR3 genes, which code for urea transporters (UTs) in other organisms. In this study, we provide evidence for the presence of four different subtypes of DUR3-like UTs that belong to two distinct families. Two of the UT subtypes were subject to qRT-PCR analyses to investigate differences in mRNA expression during the acclimation of individuals of both ecotypes to different salinities. Our results indicate that only BW animals regulate DUR3 gene expression in the context of osmoregulation.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43744555","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
PhysiologiaPub Date : 2023-04-27DOI: 10.3390/physiologia3020019
M. Ludewig, K. Götz, Claudia S. Romero-Oliva, Patricia Landaverde, F. Chmielewski
{"title":"Response of Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) to Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Food Sources in Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) and Honeybees (Apis mellifera)","authors":"M. Ludewig, K. Götz, Claudia S. Romero-Oliva, Patricia Landaverde, F. Chmielewski","doi":"10.3390/physiologia3020019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3020019","url":null,"abstract":"The conception of “floral strips” is a strategy to provide more and different food sources for pollinators. The impact of “homogeneous” Phacelia tanacetifolia (“Phacelia”) and “heterogeneous” (flower mix) food sources on the enzyme activity of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) and honeybees (Apis mellifera) under urban conditions has not been reported. Organisms responding to challenging environmental conditions are known to exhibit increases in oxidative stress parameters which in turn affect both physiological and metabolic parameters. A field study was conducted in Berlin-Dahlem, Germany, using the response of the “marker” enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) on food sources for assessment. SOD data is also shown from the wild bee Megachile rotundata (Fabricius 1787), obtained from three different locations in the federal state Brandenburg, Germany. The results demonstrate that the enzyme activity of SOD significantly increased in bumblebees visiting the flower mix compared to the Phacelia. The experimental approach had individual effects at the level of the species, bumblebees and honeybees, respectively. The activity of the biomarker SOD could be successfully used to assess the effects of the compositions of homogeneous and heterogeneous flower fields.","PeriodicalId":93484,"journal":{"name":"Physiologia","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41637964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}