http://hdl.handle.net/1903/2784 2013-05-23T01:21:39Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13810 Title: Alterations in the myogenic capacity of satellite cells in a mouse model of ALS Authors: English, Samuel A Abstract: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that results in pervasive muscle wasting, paralysis, and ultimately death. Recent research efforts have been made to characterize skeletal muscle in the disease, with some evidence suggesting that the tissue may contribute to ALS pathogenesis. Therefore this study was undertaken to continue to describe ALS skeletal muscle, specifically a population of skeletal muscle-specific stem cells known as satellite cells that play a role in regeneration following injury. Satellite cells were isolated and cultured from mutant mice (SOD1 G93A) that recapitulate the disease, assessed for the capacity to differentiate and proliferate, and compared to age-matched control cultures. SOD1 G93A cultures exhibited decreased expression of transcription factors associated with differentiation (i.e. MyoD and myogenin) compared to control cultures, as well as a reduced ability to proliferate in vitro. These results indicate that the satellite cell population in a mouse model of ALS displays dysfunctional myogenic capacity in vitro, and thus may contribute to the atrophic pathology seen in the disease. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13602 Title: Postcolonial Play: Encounters with Sport and Physical Culture in Contemporary India Authors: Maddox, Callie Elizabeth Abstract: Drawing upon the idea that India and the West are "tethered geographies" (Reddy, 2006), this dissertation project explores how the ongoing and dialogic relationship between contemporary India and the West is represented, experienced, and contested in and through the realms of sport and physical culture. With escalating rates of economic growth, a rapidly expanding middle class, and increasing international political clout, India is emerging as a global power while simultaneously defining itself as a postcolonial nation against, and in tandem with, the West. Utilizing a fluid theoretical vocabulary (Andrews, 2008) and employing mixed qualitative research methods that include participant observation and interviews, I examine how various sites of physical culture serve as points of meaningful exchange between India and the West. This project presents a necessarily partial and contingent understanding of the chosen sites, tempered by considerable reflexivity and self-awareness, as my own Self is intricately enmeshed in this work. The four distinct, yet related, empirical studies that comprise this project thus focus on the following: 1) the embodiment of gendered nationalism and male power as manifested by the Cheer Queens, a cheerleading squad supporting the Pune Warriors cricket team in the Indian Premier League, and the Great Khali, a professional wrestler from India who performs internationally for World Wrestling Entertainment; 2) the city of Delhi's efforts to (re)create itself as a "world class" metropolis by hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games that resulted in spatial exclusion and the magnification of social inequalities; 3) changing body ideals amongst the young Indian middle class influenced by Western fitness practices and neoliberal discourses of healthism; 4) perceptions of authenticity held by Western tourists traveling to India to study Ashtanga yoga that reject the syncretic evolution of yoga and contribute to a construction of Otherness that continues to mark India and Indians as exotic, primitive, and poor. Also included is an "interlude" chapter centered on my personal experiences as a white, Western woman navigating the complexities of daily life in India and questioning the place of my own body within a context of fear, harassment, and assault. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13046 Title: REDUCTIONS IN ESTROGENIC FUNCTION LEAD TO METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION IN ADIPOSE TISSUE AND SKELETAL MUSCLE. Authors: Wohlers, Lindsay Abstract: This dissertation research is comprised of three studies which investigated the effects of reduced ovarian hormones induced by surgical ovariectomy (OVX) on metabolic parameters in adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Reduced ovarian function is associated with changes in body composition that result in increased risk for development of the metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. It is hypothesized that ovarian hormones protect women from the development of metabolic disease by significantly influencing the metabolic phenotype of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Study #1 examined the efficacy of voluntary wheel running or 17beta-estradiol supplementation as interventions to ameliorate the detrimental effects of OVX on adipose tissue. OVX resulted in significant increases in visceral fat mass and basal lipolysis that 17beta-estradiol delivery completely attenuated compared to the control (SHAM) mice. Wheel running in the OVX mice completely attenuated increased circulating glucose levels and partially attenuated increased visceral fat mass, but failed to prevent changes in lipolytic function. Study #2 determined that cellular regulation of lipolysis in visceral adipose tissue during an acute exercise bout was impaired in the OVX compared to the SHAM group. In the final study, it was determined that adipose tissue expansion following OVX was mediated by adipocyte hypertrophy as measured by significant increases in adipocyte size. Using a novel co-culture approach containing isolated single skeletal muscle fibers and adult adipocytes the interactive effects of OVX and adipocyte exposure on skeletal muscle metabolic function were investigated. Both control and co-cultured skeletal muscle fibers from OVX animals displayed impaired insulin-stimulated glucose uptake coupled with impaired insulin signaling compared to SHAM fibers. Co-culture with adipocytes attenuated insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in SHAM fibers when adipocytes were of visceral, but not subcutaneous origin and this effect was independent of intramuscular lipid content. Collectively, these studies provide unique insight into cellular alterations in metabolic regulation that may contribute to metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance in women when ovarian hormone levels are reduced. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/1903/13037 Title: Making the Cut: Psychological Momentum on the PGA Tour Authors: Savage, Kyle John Abstract: ABSTRACT Title of Document: MAKING THE CUT: PSYCHOLOGICAL MOMENTUM ON THE PGA TOUR Kyle Savage, PhD, 2012 Directed By: Professor Seppo E. Iso-Ahola, Kinesiology Psychological Momentum on the PGA Tour was investigated. Psychological Momentum is theorized to be a force that arises from early success in an athletic competition that provides an advantage to the participant. It is defined as "an added or gained psychological power that changes a person's view of himself or others." The present research sought to determine whether early success in golf translated into Psychological Momentum and led to further success upon the golf course. This research proposed that differences among golfers at the elite level cannot be explained by customary statistical variables and is theorized to be psychological in nature. The research was conducted on two levels, in two studies. The first study addressed the presence of Psychological Momentum from week to week, between tournaments, over the course of the PGA Tour season. Cuts made, Top 10, Top 20, and Top 30 finishes were examined to determine if non-random patterns existed. The data supported the construct of Psychological Momentum indicating non-random patterns of successive outcomes for "cuts made," "Top 10 finishes," "Top 20 finishes," and "Top 30 finishes. Discussion focuses on post-hoc analyses of the data grouped into quintiles in order to discern where the differences may exist. The second study addressed Psychological Momentum within tournaments. Each tournament throughout the season was examined to determine how first round performance affected making the cut. Tournaments also were analyzed from round to round to determine how each round affected subsequent rounds, and within each round to determine how nine-hole totals affected subsequent nine-hole totals. Both gross scores and adjusted scores were analyzed. The data revealed mixed results regarding the presence of Psychological Momentum within tournaments. There was strong support for the theory evidenced by first round influence (early success) upon subsequent rounds, as well as its influence upon making the cut. The data were mixed when comparing nine-hole totals within rounds and between rounds. Discussion focuses on the evidence supporting the theory and possible explanations for the data that do not. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z