Saturday, November 9, 2019
In what ways do Leonardo and Bazarov act as catalysts inchanging family structure in the texts Blood Wedding and Fathers and Sons?
In this essay, I will be focussing on the characters of Leonardo and Bazarov, in their respective texts, and how they act as catalysts in changing family structure, so that by the end of the text, the family unit is different from what it was in the beginning. I will also analyse their characters and examine their impact on the plots of the two texts, and their role in plot development. In particular, I will analyse the character's words, and the tone of voice in which they speak; this will help in analysing their specific character traits. This analysis will help me in understanding their impact on character and plot development, which leads to them acting as catalysts in changing their respective family structures. It should be noted that while the text Fathers and Sons features many families that are important to the plot, I will be specifically looking at Bazarov's impact on Arcady's family; as well as the impact on his own family. In the text Blood Wedding, I will be looking at Leonardo's impact on his family and on the Bridegroom's family. In the text Fathers and Sons, when Nicholas is waiting for Arcady, we see him as a very happy person as he eagerly anticipates the arrival of his son. However, when Arcady introduces Bazarov, we notice a change in Nicholas's character. He appears to be withdrawn, and he does not converse as openly with Arcady as he would normally. There is one incident when Bazarov offers Arcady a cigar, Arcady accepts it and when he lights it, Nicholas turns his head away. This foreshadows that the introduction of Bazarov, to the Kisranov family, will cause a gap between Nicholas and Arcady. Similarly in the text Blood Wedding, the text opens with a conversation between Mother and Bridegroom. The conversation leads to the topic of knives that involves the Felix family of which Leonardo is a member. The topic of knives foreshadows the violence and bloodshed that is to arise. The mention of the name Leonardo Felix leads to a small dispute between the Mother and the Bridegroom. Though the dispute is small, it hints of the trouble that Leonardo is likely to cause. In the text Fathers and Sons, when Bazarov has left with Arcady to go freshen up, Paul talks to Nicholas about Bazarov. We get the impression that Paul does not like Bazarov very much. Even though it may not be Bazarov's fault directly, we can see that his presence causes some tension in the family; it causes some change in Paul's mood. As we can see from the following quotation, Paul does not focus on welcoming Arcady, but he focuses on criticizing Bazarov. ââ¬Å"Is he staying with us?â⬠â⬠¦ ââ¬Å"That hairy creature?â⬠â⬠The use of the words ââ¬Å"Hairy creatureâ⬠are spoken with a tone of contempt thus creating an overall sense of tension and hostility. In the text Blood Wedding tone is also important for example when the Neighbour and Mother are talking, the Mother finds out that the Bride had a relationship with Leonardo. At the mention of the name Felix, the mother flares up in anger. It's not Leonardo's fault that he is a Felix but the fact that he is a Felix causes great anger in the Mother and a drastic change in her mood. The mother does not ââ¬Ëwelcome' the marriage with complete love and affection, but instead with hostility and animosity. In the text Blood Wedding there is a section where Leonardo, Wife and Mother-in-law are having a conversation. In this particular conversation the girl comes in and tells them what the Bridegroom is buying for the Bride. Leonardo is very rude and unpleasant. ââ¬Å"What do we careâ⬠ââ¬Å"Did I ask for your opinion? ââ¬Å"Leave me aloneâ⬠ââ¬Å"Why can't you just shut up?â⬠These are four of his lines in that particular scene. As we can see his words are very harsh, and he employs a very defensive tone, by the use of questions. He ignores his wife's pleas and just storms out of the house without a word to where he is going. It seems that Leonardo does not really care about his family at all. This indicates that Leonardo's family is breaking down; we can see abrasive feelings between Leonardo and mother-in-law. However, change is not always negative. In the text Fathers and Sons, Bazarov changes Arcady's family structure in a positive way. Bazarov persuades Arcady to accept an invitation meant for Nicholas. Arcady accepted and he went with Bazarov into town. While the two were having lunch at Eudoxia Kukshin's residence, she mentioned a name; Madame Odintzov. Bazarov was interested in Madame Odintzov, as she was described as very attractive; and Sitnikov said that he would introduce Bazarov and Arcady to Madame Odintzov. It is at Madame Odintzov's abode where Arcady met Katya, whom he ends up marrying. ââ¬Å"â⬠¦it was noticeable that Nicholas Petrovich had already become devotedly attached to her.â⬠We can see that Katya has ââ¬Ëfitted-in' with the Petrovich family. So we can therefore say that Bazarov is indirectly responsible for Arcady's marriage to Katya, hence changing Arcady's family. In the text Blood Wedding; after the bride and bridegroom have left for the wedding, only Leonardo and his wife remain. They have a conversation that shows distance between Leonardo his wife. Wife wants to go to the church by cart and Leonardo wants to go by horse. They have a short argument that is clearly symbolic of the unhappy, troubled marriage between the two of them. ââ¬Å"WIFE: And I have no intention of going to a wedding without my husband. I can't take much more of this. LEORNADO: That makes two of us. WIFE: Why do you look at me like that? As though you had a dagger in each eye.â⬠The wife says that she can't take much more of this, this signifying the marriage. Why can't she take more of her marriage? It is because of Leonardo. He has not been shown to be a very attentive husband, as depicted by his choice of words. The wife can't take much more of the marriage and Leonardo replies by saying that he feels the same. We would expect the husband in a marriage to counter the wife when she feels this way, however Leonardo just agrees with his wife. The fact that he can't take much more of the marriage shows that he wants to break free of the bonds of marriage. This is an implication of things to come later on in the text. Leonardo is implying that he wants a divorce or another wife, and by doing so he is proceeding to change his family structure. The metaphor used by the Wife (dagger in each eye) goes only to emphasise the distance and hostility felt by Wife from Leonardo as well as foreshadowing the violent conclusion of the play. Leonardo is still in love with Bride, and the wife is all that stands between him and the Bride. Thus he looks at the Wife in such a way that she might leave him alone. At the end of the text, Leonardo does achieve what he wanted; freedom to do as he pleases without worrying about the rules of society. However, this freedom came at a great price to Leonardo ââ¬â his life. And it is through his death that he changed his family structure. Similarly in the text Fathers and Sons, Bazarov's death inadvertently changes his own family structure. After his first visit home, he leaves too soon; we see this has an impact on his parents, they are saddened and depressed. Bazarov's death finished the change; he was the centre of their life and now he is gone; it is no longer a family, just a husband and wife. His parents as shown when Arcady and Bazarov first visit Bazarov's home were once very lively and full of energy, and very excited and joyful. However, after his death (towards the end of the last paragraph of the text), we see Bazarov's parents as being very quiet and withdrawn. They no longer have that motivation (their son) to live. All they want to do is linger by his grave reminiscing over the memories they have of him as is shown by the quote: ââ¬Å"â⬠¦unable to tear themselves away from this spot where they feel themselves so close to their son and their memories of himâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ The use of hyperbole goes to show the extreme love that Bazarov's parents had for him and the extent to which their lives have changed now that he is gone. So in conclusion, we see that Leonardo and Bazarov do act as catalysts in changing family structure in their respective texts. Although they cannot strictly be called catalysts because they do not remain unchanged; their presence in the respective texts does have an impact on the characters, as well as the plot.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Expansion of England and the Civil War essays
Expansion of England and the Civil War essays Just as the atmosphere builds its energy over long areas of land and water, slowly accumulating potential energy, so was the expansion of England during the reins of James I, and Charles I. Then through years of expansion and change the storm of civil war challenged the Ancient Constitution. James I dressed in his dagger proof doublet began his rule of England with motivation and a positive attitude. He said I have entered the promised Land... But soon after he came into power, his poor financial condition, and his inability to adjust to English ways rather than those of Scotland, where perpetual hindrances to him. James regarded his ability to delegate authority as his strength, this worked well for him in Scotland, but the climate of English politics proved this a limitation to him. And his appointment of appealing young men to important position continually set him at odds with other powers that be. The huge debt left him by Elizabeth kept him continually in search of methods to finance his extravagance. During the time of Frances, boasting of revenues totaling around three million pounds, James was forced to make due with a million livres or less. This, in conjunction with nearly double inflationary figures of 1603, declining subsidies from parliament, and marginal rents from crown lands, perpetuated stress on the entire construct of the English political system. Another even more powerful force towards expansion was the looking outward of English businessmen and political figures to the colonial areas of India, the Americas, Barbados, and closer to home Ireland. Things changed in England, no more could ships be built with English timber and importation was a must. Spices where necessary to cover the rankness of putrid foods of the time. Tobacco was becoming addictive to mainland English, and a continuing rise in population was creating a demand for importation of food supplies. In 1599, the original ...
Monday, November 4, 2019
Micro economics individual project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Micro economics individual project - Essay Example This article published in New York Times on October 13, 2011 is titled as ââ¬Å"Auto Bailout Done, Obama Looks for Paybackâ⬠and has been written by Jeff Zelney.1 Though this article discusses mostly the political side of the Obama Administration and its plans to win the next election however, it critically links as to this has important economic implications too. After 2007ââ¬â¢s recession, two industries were badly affected i.e. the financial services sector as well as the auto industry. US government offered bail out plan to some of the largest automakers in the country in order to make the industry survive the current wave of economic depression. Most notable beneficiaries of the Federal funding included General Motors as well as Chrysler. By allowing these organizations to have equity support, government actually attempted to correct the demand and supply balance within the auto industry. After receiving support from the government, auto sector responded through downsizing, cutting costs as well as improving their processes. It has been mentioned that the auto industry specially the bigger players in the market are responding to the situation and are slowly coming out of the recessionary conditions. This article therefore clearly mentions that with the help of the government intervention, industry survived one of the most difficult periods in its history. This article therefore clearly establishes the conditions in two different periods and how the government intervention can actually help organizations to correct the supply and demand mechanics within a free market economy. In order to reduce the market anomalies as well as lessen the impact of externalities, it is important that the government must intervene in the market. The timely intervention of the government in the market affairs therefore can gradually help the markets to
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Apollo 1 launch catastrophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Apollo 1 launch catastrophy - Essay Example One of the disasters that cost three men their lives was the catastrophe that occurred on the launch pad of Apollo I. Ironically, the accident occurred not in an actual space launch but in a simulation launch on Friday, January 27, 1967. Three astronauts, Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee, were on board the spacecraft, 012, by 13:00 they were seated on the couched in the spacecraft after their preparations were complete Everything leading up to the launch simulation had gone well. There had only been short delays due to the communications systems, but according to the astronauts and the technical crew the other systems had been faultless. All 1000 crew members, as well as the three astronauts, had been preparing for months, and the process was anticipated to go smoothly. The system and the spacecraft were in excellent condition. The knowledge and familiarity of the crew and the astronauts with the spacecraft was faultless. Only one other problem (apart from the communica tions systems) was anticipated: the environmental system had been faulty but was by then in good repair. One of the astronauts, Grissom, did report, though, that as they entered the capsule, a strange smell, like sour milk could be sensed. The astronauts were sealed into the capsule, and their biomedical sensors, communications systems, and the environmental control systems were checked.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
The process of measuring and comparing service utilization Essay
The process of measuring and comparing service utilization - Essay Example The findings of the research indicate that most community mental health programs do not possess the relevant resources to build or buy the types of systems that would help to record notes about clients and the activities that they participate in (Dewa, Horgan, Russell & Keates, 2001). This means that it was difficult to have timely, consistent and accessible information for all community support and services which make it difficult to conduct the evaluations. The research does not provide adequate statistical data. Instead, most of the data provided is descriptive. Nevertheless, the findings have practical significance because of the value it has for program evaluation purposes and administrative purposes in terms of making key decisions on prioritization, planning and staffing needs (Dewa, Horgan, Russell & Keates, 2001).The authors considered all the relevant studies in the sense that they included information from previous researches and contributions from different authors in to the study in form of a background study. The consideration of the studies helped the researchers gain an understanding of the current states of affairs as they relate to the topic of study pointing out that most studies have not given it importance. The authors have discussed all the relevant limitations because they included a section on the challenges that they encountered and a table showing this. The conclusions are justified based on the results presented because the authors provide a conclusion.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Gender Differences in Computer-Mediated Communications Essay Example for Free
Gender Differences in Computer-Mediated Communications Essay ââ¬Å"On the Internet, no body knows youââ¬â¢re a dog. â⬠Herring (2003, p. 205) mentioned this caption of a cartoon bearing published in the New Yorker (July 1993). May be in this age with the internet evolution itââ¬â¢s hard to know itââ¬â¢s a dog, but what about distinguishing userââ¬â¢s gender in computer-mediated communication (CMC) is it easy or not. This essay tries to shade the light on some of these gender differences in computer-mediated communication (CMC). This essay gives an idea about computer-mediated communication (CMC) modes and the gap between CMC expectations and the fact that there are gender differences in CMC. Then it gives an idea about gender differences in traditional communication followed by exploring gender differences in CMC. First, itââ¬â¢s important to have an idea about CMC different modes. According to Herring (2003, p. 205), ââ¬Å"computer mediated communication (CMC) comprises a variety of interactive socio-technical modesâ⬠. She gave some examples of these modes such as: e-mail, discussion lists and newsgroups, chat, MUDs (Multi-User Dimensions) and MOOs (MUD, Object Oriented), IM (Instant Messaging). Dalampan (2006) classifies CMC modes into: synchronous and asynchronous (Figure. 1). The synchronous mode requires communication in real-time. However, the synchronous mode doesnââ¬â¢t require interlocutors to be online at the same time. (p. 59) According to Dalampan (2006), the field of computer-mediated communication (CMC) continues to generate interest from sociolinguists who are concerned with whether the traditional gender differences in face-to-face interaction are carried over into online discourse (p. 59). The problem that all studies tried to investigate is the gap between earlier high expectations for CMC concerning providing an environment that creates equity and the fact that gender differences still existed even in CMC environment. Li (2006) saw that many educators and researchers had high hopes for CMC, believing that it provided more equal access to information and communication and would ultimately lead to greater equity. Also, Hendry (2001, p. 3) mentioned that earlier research in computer-mediated communication (CMC) found that CMC promoted social equity. She explains that this could be due to predictions by many researchers that CMC would democratize communication and mitigate gender differences. Despite these claims that the relative anonymous communication on the Internet would break down traditional gender binaries, research has identified gender differences in computer-mediated discourse, similar to differences observed in spoken discourse. (Herring, 2006) In order to determine whether the language used by males and females in computer-mediated communication (CMC) reveal gender related differences or not, many studies were conducted. However, according to Li (2006) research findings concerning gender differences in CMC are mixed. However, this essay will explore some of these gender differences in CMC in some related studies. Linguists have long recognized gender as a factor that may affect personââ¬â¢s linguistic productions (Baron, 2005, p. 8). ââ¬Å"Sociolinguists have written extensively about stylistic differences they have observed between males and females in spoken and written languageâ⬠(p. 4). Based on these previous studies, Baron (2005) mentioned some gender linguistic differences such as: females tend to use more politeness indicators than males, whereas males more frequently interrupt woman than vice versa; in general, women tend to use language as a tool for facilitating social interaction, whereas males are more prone to use language for conveying information; on average, womenââ¬â¢s speech reflects standard phonological, lexical, and grammatical patterns more than menââ¬â¢s does (p. 8). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has attracted more and more researchersââ¬â¢ attention as a due to the dramatic increase in the use of the Internet in recent years (Li, 2005, p. 382). According to Baron (2003) linguists and other scientists have been studying CMC for we over a decade (p. 4). The essay now will give some examples for gender differences in CMC. Herring (2006, p. 4) reported a tendency for women to be more polite, supportive, emotionally expressive, and less verbose than men in online public forums. Conversely, men are more likely to insult, challenge, express sarcasm, use profanity, and send long messages. Also, Baron (2003) listed some gender differences such as women tend to use more affective markers, more hedges, more politeness markers, and more tag questions. However, men are likely to use more referential language, more profanity, and fewer personal pronouns than women. (p. 9) A study conducted by Li (2006) showed that gender is a considerable factor in the context of mathematics and sciences learning using CMC. Concerning gender communication patterns, findings show males students are more likely to present their opinions and explanations, but less likely to make specific suggestions; whereas female students tend to ask for a lot of information, but are less likely to provide explanations or opinions. Also, female students tend to initiate conversations, while male students are more likely to enter the dialogue at later stages and respond to previous discussions. Li (2006) presented a meta analysis for some studies in gender differences in CMC. Her analysis provided answers for three main questions: first one, what are gender differences in usersââ¬â¢ communication patterns in CMC? Results show that on average, female users had a significantly higher frequency of collaborative instances using CMC than males. Also, females had a significantly higher frequency of challenging others and were more personal oriented. Males, on the other hand, used more authoritative statements. Second one, to what extent do male and female differ in their interaction pattern in CMC? Results indicated that, on average, there was a small but significant gender effect on usersââ¬â¢ participation pattern, male users had a significantly higher frequency of posting messages or having longer access to the Internet than female users, also, male users have better access to CMC environments. Third question, who would enjoy CMC environment, males or females? Results showed that, on average, there was a moderate but significant gender effect on usersââ¬â¢ enjoyment of CMC. Male users enjoyed more CMC environments than their female counterparts. According to Bernard (1998), males tend to dominate group discussions, even when they are in the minority. They even tend to generate more aggressive and often caustic interactions to the extent that they often marginalize female communications to the point of being excluded from the CM interactions. Savicki and Kelley (2000, p. 817) examined whether men and women communicate differently using CMC. They found that gender composition of the groups is the variable that has the strongest relationship to communication style. Results found that women in small task group developed a significantly different style of communication than men did using CMC with other men. They explained that women in female-only groups were able to overcome the limitations of the text-only format of CMC with self-disclosure, use of ââ¬Å"Iâ⬠statements and through directly addressing their message to other group members. On the other hand, they found that men in male-only groups ignored the sociomotional aspects of group functioning and were more likely to engage in a collective monologue approach to discussion with the addition of mild flaming. Men in MO groups were less satisfied with the CMC experience and showed lower levels of group development. (p. 817) Herring (2003) (Baron, 2005, p. 15) found that on many-to-many asynchronous CMC mode (listservs and newsgroups), males tended to be more adversarial and to write longer messages than females, whereas females tended to be more supportive in their postings with shorter messages and more apologizes than males. On the other hand on synchronous many-to-many CMC mode (chat and social MUDs and MOOs), males were more aggressive and insulting, whereas female had more aligned and supportive discourse. By studying IM conversations of college students, Baron (2005) concluded that there are significant gender differences in IM conversations. She found that male-male conversations tend to be shorter and have more of a spoken character, while female-female conversations tend to be longer and have more of a written character. Males use more contractions than do females. (p. 14) On the other side, Dalampan (2006) added the context factor or dimension he concluded that males and females language use seems to be influenced more by the context of use than their gender this may be because both males and females in his sample were scholars so they were acting like scholars not as males and females. He also concluded that despite the claims of previous research that females used more linguistic qualifiers, hedges, and personal pronouns, the associations were not found to be strong. (p. 65) Another study conducted by Abdul Kadir and Din (2006) shows that there are no significant gender differences in CMC learning mode orientation and learning style. (p. 50) At the end, however research findings may appear to be mixed but findings showed that computer-mediated communication (CMC) couldnââ¬â¢t eliminate gender differences as expected after all it is another communication environment. These gender differences are somehow similar to gender differences in spoken and written language. Some findings didnââ¬â¢t show significant gender differences this could be due to other factors such as the presence of the instructor in the Dalampan (2006) study. Also, findings were different depending on CMC mode either being synchronous/asynchronous or one-to-one/one-to-many. References Abdul Kadir, R. Din, R. (2006). Computer Mediated Communication: A motivational strategy toward diverse learning style. Journal Pendidikan, 31, pp. 41-51. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://pkukmweb. ukm. my/~penerbit/jurnal_pdf/jpend31_03. pdf Baron, N. S. (2003). Instant Messaging by American College Students: A case study in computer-mediated communication. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. american. edu/tesol/Baron-SeeYouOnlineCorrected64. pdf Baron, N. S. (2005). See You Online: Gender issues in college student use of instant messaging. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. american. edu/tesol/Baron-SeeYouOnlineCorrected64. pdf Bernard, M. L. (1998). Gender Interaction Differences Using Computer-Mediated Communication: Can the Internet serve as a status equalizer?. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://psychology. wichita. edu/mbernard/articles/GenderInternet. html Dalampan, A. E. (2006). Gender Issues in Computer-Mediated Communications. TESL working paper, 4 (2). Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://web1. hpu. edu/images/GraduateStudies/TESL_WPS/10Dalampan_Gender_a17241. pdf Hendry, J. (2001). E-gender or Agenda: Are women getting what they want?. ANZMAC 2001. Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://smib. vuw. ac. nz:8081/WWW/ANZMAC2001/anzmac/AUTHORS/pdfs/Hendry. pdf Herring, S. C. Paolillo, I. C. (2006). Gender and Genre Variation in Weblogs. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 10(4). Retrieved March 16, 2008 from http://www. blogninja. com/jslx. pdf Herring, S. C. (2003). Gender and Power in Online Communication. In: J. Holmes and M. Meyerhoff (Eds. ), The Handbook of Language and G
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise
Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes from Exercise Induced Change in Gene Expression of Mitochondrial Enzymes as a Result of Intense Exercise Abstract Exercise-induced changes in gene expression of mitochondrial enzymes has become a leading target for sports medicine research. Previous indirect testing of delayed-onset muscle soreness and changes in rotation of motion do not provide a sufficient explanation of the induced changes to the genome (Hubal, et al., 2010). Biomarker testing has allowed for detecting levels of proteins within a sample. Blood and serum levels, taken before and after exercise, have been analyzed and tested for changes in protein activity. Calf-raises show an increase in creatine kinase (CK) and aldolase (ALD) activities (Kanda, et al., 2014). MicroRNA arrays along with telomere extension mRNA arrays and quantitative real-time PCR on RNA taken from white blood cells have shown to down-regulate telomeric repeat binding factor 2 (Chilton, et al., 2014). Biochemical testing at the genomic level will provide a better understanding of the long-term effects of intense exercise. Knowing these high-intensity induced gene expressions in mitochondrial DNA aids in knowing what causes diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis. Introduction Centuries ago staying physically fit was accentual to stay alive. Those that were not fit were not able to kill prey and therefore would be less likely to survive. In todayââ¬â¢s world, being physically fit is not a necessity, but rather something that many people strive for to live a healthy lifestyle. Living an active life lowers the chance of many diseases, such as kidney and Alzheimerââ¬â¢s, and cancers, such as colon and breast. It is therefore crucial to understand the biochemistry behind exercise as a helpful preventative measure for health problems. When exercising, the body is put through tasks that disrupt homeostasis. The body wants to eliminate wide spread deviants of homeostasis. However, after and during exercise the body needs more oxygen and energy to be able to complete the tasks one is putting on the body. These demands, the increase in affinity for oxygen and energy, require metabolic responses that disrupt homeostasis. To test these metabolic responses, many scientists use biomarker testing on whole blood and serum samples rather than pieces of skeletal muscle. Biomarkers are used to measure the presence of a physiological state. These markers have biological properties that measure the blood and serum. There are many different changes in the mitochondrial genome during and immediately following exercise. This paper will focus on an overview of some endurance training biomarkers, but will mainly focus on high intensity exercise and the induced gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. It is important to study the effects of exercise on gene expression to know at what levels of various genes, like lactate dehydrogenase, aldose, etc., come dangerous to human health as to prevention diseases such as Rhadomyolysis (Heled, et al., 2005). Proliferator-activated Receptors association with Exercise-Induced Mitochondrial Biogenesis Transcriptional cofactors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PGC) regulate gene expression (Lin, et al., 2005). PGC-1a regulates gene expression in the mitochondrial genome. This coactivator interacts with other proteins to regulate contraction. Overexpression of PGC-1a results in an increase in mitochondrial gene function (Lin, et al., 2002). Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and nitrogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) all have important signaling that help regulate PGC-1a (Hawley, et al., 2010). Calcium is important for energy due to its role in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Contractions of skeletal muscle are dependent on high levels of calcium. The calcium then binds to troponin, which moves the myosin fibers resulting in muscle contractions. Calcium also plays a major role in calcium-calmodulin-dependent kinases. Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent kinase 2 (CaMKII) activation increases the transport of glucose in skeletal muscle (Rose, A. and Hargreaves, M., 2003). AMPK and MAPks activate PGC-1a, Figure 1, by phosphorylating transcription factors myocyte enhancer factor 2 and ATF-2, respectively (McGee and Hargreaves, 2010). Figure 1. Schematic of the Major Signaling Pathways Involved in the Control of Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy and Mitochondrial Biogenesis (Hawley, et al., 2010). The right side of this figure shows the correlation of the AMPK, CAMK, SIRT1, MAPK pathways that effect PGC-1a which regulates mitochondrial biogenesis. Another inhibitor of PGC-1a is a deactelyase silent mating type-information regulation 2 homolg 1 (SIRT1) (HIgashida, et al., 2013). Since SIRT1 is NADà ¢Ã à º-dependent, Figure 1, changes in concentration of NADà ¢Ã à º change the SIRT1 activity in the cell (Gurd, 2011). Many studies have shown that the protein content of SIRT1 and the activity are independent, and that because of that it is thought that the SIRT1 activity is what subsidizes to PGC-1a activity (Gurd 2011). Test For Correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. The following experiment was performed by Chabi and coworkers to examine SIRT1ââ¬â¢s role in muscle during muscle use (Chabi, et al., 2009). Rats were placed into a control group and a running group. The running group were able to run on a loaded wheel. Weight was added to the wheel during weeks one through four, but maintained a 200 g weight from weeks five through eight. The plantaris (PL) and soleus (SOL) muscles were taken as well as the tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) for analysis. Once the proteins were extracted, the SIRT1 activity and deacetylase was found by fluorescence. A cycling assay was used to determine the NAD nucleotides. Immunoblotting was done to test expression of PGC-1a, cytochrome c, SIRT1 and GAPDH. SIRT1 expression showed to be the highest in the liver and slow-twitch muscle while PGC-1a immunoreactivity was highest in the heart muscle. This experiment did not show a correlation between SIRT1 and PGC-1a expression, like the scientists hoped, but it did bring up the question if SIRT1 activity is altered by acute exercise instead of high-intensity. Eccentric Exercise and Muscle Damage Markers The following was performed by Kazue Kanda and coworkers to see if eccentric exercise affects muscle damage markers (Kanda, et al., 2014). Participates in this study each performed right calf-raises on a force plate to add 0.5 Hz to each lift. With 3 min for rest, forty repetitions for 10 sets were completed with half of their weight along with the added force. Immediately following these muscle contractions, the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and soleus were measured for tenderness using a FP meter. The meter rated based on a visual analogue scale from no pain to extremely sore. The ankle was tested for range of motion (ROM) along the dosiflexion position (-20 ) to the plantar flexion position (15). Both of tenderness of the calf and the ROM was tested at 24 h increments until 168 h after the repetitive muscle contractions. After 72 h the tenderness of the right calf increased significantly (p Subsequently, samples from the blood and urine were taken both before and at various times after the exercise. Various proteins, creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), aldolase (ALD) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were tested from the serum. An Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to test for fatty acid-binding proteins (FABP). The activities of CK and AST increased significantly post 72 h. The activities of ALT and ALD also increased for each sample, however, it was not significant. LDH activity had a significant increase at 96 h after exercise, but not really before. The results for ALD did correlate with the tenderness of the medial gastrocnemius at the 72 h mark and could suggest that ALD might be a better muscle damage indicator because the other proteins tested did not correlate with tenderness. The ELISA testing on FABP resulted in no detectable changes. This experiment used two methods of testing muscle damage and had correlated results for ALD. Exercise-Induced biochemical changes in Quadriceps and Gastrocnemius in Mice The following was performed by L. Toti and coworkers to see the changes in blood lactate as well as mitochondrial enzymes as a result of two different exercises; intense activity with recovery periods and moderate activity with no recovery periods (Toti, et al., 2013). Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry were used to assess the two muscle groups, the quadriceps and gastrocnemius, to see expression of enzymes correlated with oxidative metabolism. Mice were divided into three different groups based on similar maximal velocities. Mice with higher maximal velocities partaked in the intense activity: running at 90% for 2 min followed by 1 min of recovery. The mice with lower mamximal velocities partaked in continuous running at 60% velocity. Data was collected for 40 sessions, where each mouse ran a distance of 1000 meters. Blood samples were taken at sessions 1, 20 and 40. Blood lactate was tested and showed a decrease in both groups by session 40, with the higher-velocity group measuring significantly lower than the lower-velocity group. Immunochemistry testing resulted in an increase in response for the high-velocity mice for both the quadriceps and the gastrocnemius. This experiment showed that high-intensity training impacted the biochemistry more so than the low-velocity training. MicroRNA Expression and Telomere-Associated Genes After Acute Exercise The following was performed by W. Chilton and coworkers to see mechanisms the correlation between white blood cell (WBC) telomere length and exercise (Chiltion, et al., 2014). Participants in this study ran on a treadmill for 30 min at 80% of maximum oxygen uptake. Blood samples were taken before and immediately following the running as well as an hour post-running. MicroRNA expression arrays that could measure a whole genome, were used on the samples. TERT mRNA expression levels were then tested by qPCR. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) mRNA and Sirtuin-6 (SIRT6) were two of the genes tested. This experiment was able to show supporting evidence that the transcriptional regulation of key telomeric genes can be affected by exercise. TERT mRNA was upregulated as well as the SIRT6. The qPCR testing on TERT and SIRT6 showed the increase in binding miRNA. Chilton did express that the increases in both the SIRT6 and the TERT mRNAs could have been upregulations from the extra-telomeric pathways instead of just the telomeric roles since there was no definitive way to differentiate between the two in this experiment. It is important to understand exerciseââ¬â¢s effects on telomeres and its corresponding proteins to gain an insight on how physical health improves telomere homeostasis, keeping the telomeres from getting too short and the cell dying. Chemokine Polymorphisms Association with Skeletal Muscle Damage The following experiment was performed by M. Hubal and coworkers to see if chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine receptor 2 (CCR 2) are associated with biomarkers after exercising (Hubal, et al., 2010). CCL2 is important because it recruits necessary items, such as memory T cells, dendritic cells, and monocytes, to inflammation sites in injured tissue. CCR2, the receptor molecule for CCL2, mediates with calcium mobilization. It is suggested that CCL2 and CCR3 play major roles in the repair of skeletal muscle damage. Participants performed two, 25 contractions, sets of elbow flexor muscle contractions in the non-dominant arm. It was crucial that the participants had constant maximal effort and stayed hydrated the 10 days following the exercise. Blood samples were taken and sent for genotyping. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) known to influence the level of CCL2 proteins were analyzed using PCR. There were four SNPs from CCL2 and three from CCR2 that should high phenotype associations. The minor allele found in the SNPs was correlated with an increase in damage. This study was able to show that variations of the CCL2 and CCR2 genes are related to muscle damage markers caused by exercise. Molecular and Metabolic Changes of High-intensity Interval Training The following experiment was performed by J. Little and coworkers to assess the molecular and metabolic changes of high-intensity interval training (Little, et al., 2010). Participants performed six cycling training sessions over the course of two weeks. Each session consisted of approximately 30 min of high intensity intervals. By the last sessions, the subjects were completing 12 intervals of 60 s high-intensity cycling followed by 75 s low intensity for recovery. Biopsies from the leg were taken before and after the two week training. The muscle lysates were taken for Western blotting and enzyme activity testing. Western blotting was used to test for glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), PGC-1a, and SIRT1while the mitochondrial enzyme activity was tested on cytochrome c oxidase (COX). The subjects improved in both time and power, about 10%, for cycling during the two week training session. COX activity increased by 29%. PGC-1a increased by approximately 24%, however, the protein itself was did not have any genetic changes. GLUT4 content increased by 119%, while SIRT1 increased by approximately 56%. This experiment showed some changes, due to exercise, in regulators that are important in mitochondrial biogenesis. Conclusion There are many induced changes in the mitochondrial genome during and after exercise. These changes occur to help maintain cell homeostasis while the body is being put through stress during intense exercise. Blood and serum samples along with tissue extractions have provided a way to examine these changes and see how one is correlated with another (Figure 1). PGC-1a helps muscle contractions by regulating gene expression in mitochondria biogenesis. However, PGC-1a has many cofactors helping it. CaMKII, AMPK, and MAPKs all help in providing energy to the skeletal muscles by impacting the activation of PGC-1a. Although SIRT1 deactelyation inhibits PGC-1a, it still impacts the biochemistry of the body during workouts due to deactelyation. LDH activity was shown to increase hours after high-intensity exercise because LDH it is released as pyruvate is converted into lactate. ALD, which converts sugar into energy, was found to be a good indicator because in the calf-raises experiment the results from the biomarker testing as well as the tenderness testing correlated with each other. CCL2 and CCR2 were found to have changes in SNPs that corresponded to the high-intensity exercise and most likely aide in the recruiting of the memory T cells and dendritic cells to the injured tissue. High-intensity exercise, without time for recovery, would keep the body maintained at a stressful state of trying to bring it back to homeostasis. As proven in the calf-raise experiment, LDH levels decreased as the participants were able to come accustom to the exercises. The bodies were no longer in shock. If the bodies were did not become accustom, or the body was not given any time for recovery, the chances of obtaining diseases such as Rhabdomyolysis increases. Future experiments need to focus on what levels of these regulators will become dangerous. Research should be down to further understand the relationship between SIRT1 and PGC-1a. References Chabi, B., Adhihetty, P.J., Oââ¬â¢Leary, M.F., Menzies, K.J., and Hood, D. (2009) Relationship between sirt1 expression and mitochondrial proteins during conditions of chronic muscle use and diuse. J. Appl. Physiol. 107(6):1730-1735. Chilton, W., Marques, F., West, J., Kannourakis, G., Berzins, S., Oââ¬â¢Briend, B., and Charchar, F. (2014) Acute Exercise Leads to Regulation of Telomere-Associated Genes and MicroRNA Expression in Immune Cells. PLoS ONE. 9, 1-13. Gurd, B. (2011) Deacetylation of PGC-1a by SIRT1: importance for skeletal muscle function and exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. App. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 36:589-597. Hawley, J., Hargreaves, M., Joyner, M., and Zierath, J. (2010) Integrative Biology of Exercise. Cell 159, 738-749. Heled., Y., Zarian., A., Moran., D., and Hadad, E. (2005) Exercise induced rhabdomyolysis ââ¬â characteristics, mechanisms and treatment. Harefuah 144(1):34-8. Hubal, M., Devaney, J., Hoffman, E., Zambraski, E., Gordish-Dressman, H., Kerns, A., Larking, J., Adham, K., Patel, R., and Clarkson, P. (2010) CCL2 and CCR2 polymorphisms are associated with markers of exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage. J of App Physicol 108(6), 1651-1658. Kanda, K., Sugama, K., Sakuma, J., Kawakami, Y., and Suzuki, K. (2014) Evaluation of serum leaking enzymes and investigation into new biomarkers for exercise-induced muscle damage Exerc Immunol Rev. 20, 39-54. Lin, J., Wu, H., Tarr, P., Zhang, C., Wu, Z., Boss, O., Michael, L., Puigserver, P., Isotani, E., Olson, E., Lowell, B., Bassel-Duby, R., and Spiegelman, B. (2002). Transcriptional co-activator PGC-1 alpha drives the formation of slow-twitch muscle fibres. Nature 418, 797-801. Lin, J., Handschin, C., and Spiegelman, B. (2005). Metabolic control through the PGC-1 family of transcription coactivators. Cell. Metab. 1, 361-370. Little, J.P., Safdar, A., Wilkin, G.P., Tarnopolsky, M.A., and Gibala, M.J. (2010) A practical model of low-volume high intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. J. Physiol. 588(6):1011-1022. McGee, S., Hargreaves, M. (2010). AMPK-mediated regulation of transcription in skeletal muscle. Clin. Sci. 118, 258-263. Rose, A.J., and Hargreaves, M. (2003). Exercise increases -calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II activity in human skeletal muscle. J. Physiol. 265, E380-E391. Toti, L., Bartalucci, A., Ferrucci, M., Fulceri, F., Lazzeri, G., Lenzi, P., Soldani, P., Gobbi, P., La Torre, A., and Gesi, M. (2013) High-intensity exercise training induces morphological and biochemical changes in skeletal muscles. Biol Sport 30(4), 301-309. Alissa Christian
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