Mass of brain, liver, and kidneys was measured by MRI and mass of heart was estimated by echocardiography. Normal levels of thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine: T-3) were confirmed in all subjects prior to the analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the influence of FFM, fat mass (FM), T-3, and mass of organs on

variance of REE. Average body weight and FFM were 81.2 +/- 11.3 kg and 67.7 +/- 7.4 kg, respectively. The relative contributions of liver, kidneys, and heart to REE were consistent regardless of FFM, while the REE of brain was negatively correlated with FFM (r=-0.672, p<0.001). Only FFM and T-3 were found to be independent factors influencing REE. These results suggest that a steady contribution of internal organs other than the brain

Selleck ABT737 is the major reason for the consistency of the REE/FFM ratio in male power athletes.”
“The ecological Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor and evolutionary consequences of variation in behaviour between individuals are well studied, yet the causes of such variation remain poorly understood. Parents can generally exert a great deal of influence on the early life of their offspring, so one possibility is that the mode of parental investment determines subsequent offspring behaviours. In birds, hatching asynchrony occurs when females begin incubation prior to clutch completion, and the subsequent hatching regime creates phenotypic disparities between early and late-hatched offspring. By experimentally manipulating hatching patterns in zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, we examined the influence of hatching asynchrony on subsequent exploratory behaviour during SC79 ic50 adulthood. Late-hatched birds from asynchronous broods explored the novel environment more than their siblings which hatched earlier or came from synchronous broods, although

there were no differences in exploratory behaviour towards a novel object. Additionally, females were bolder towards a novel object than were males, independently of hatching regime, but there were no sex differences in exploration of the novel environment. Our results support the idea that both hatching asynchrony and sex have previously underappreciated influences on offspring behaviours, and highlight the importance of variation in parental investment in generating and maintaining behavioural variation. (C) 2012 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Single leg loading tests are used clinically to examine balance and loading strategies in individuals with lower limb pain. Interpretation of these tests is through pain responses and comparisons with the asymptomatic leg. The purpose of this study was to examine normal differences in trunk and pelvic movement between legs during the single leg stand, single leg squat, hip hitch and hip drop tests, and to compare observational and quantitative assessments of trunk movement during the single leg squat test.