Differences in Physiological Signals Due to Age and Exercise Habits of Subjects during Cycling Exercise.

Numerous studies indicated the physical benefits of regular exercise, but the neurophysiological mechanisms of regular exercise in elders were less investigated. We aimed to compare changes in brain activity during exercise in elderly people and in young adults with and without regular exercise habits. A total of 36 healthy young adults (M/F:18/18) and 35 healthy elderly adults (M/F:20/15) participated in this study. According to exercise habits, each age group were classified into regular and occasional exerciser groups. ECG, EEG, and EMG signals were recorded using V-AMP with a 1-kHz sampling rate. The participants were instructed to perform three 5-min bicycle rides with different exercise loads. The EEG spectral power of elders who exercised regularly revealed the strongest positive correlation with their exercise intensity by using Pearson correlation analysis. The results demonstrate that exercise-induced significant cortical activation in the elderly participants who exercised regularly, and most of the p-values are less than 0.001. No significant correlation was observed between spectral power and exercise intensity in the elders who exercised occasionally. The young participants who exercised regularly had greater cardiac and neurobiological efficiency. Our results may provide a new exercise therapy reference for adult groups with different exercise habits, especially for the elders.

[Characterization of Pollutant Wash-off in the Urban Stormwater].

To understand the pollution character of urban road runoff, the concentrations of TSS, EC, N and P in the ring road runoff of Beijing from June to September 2013 were evaluated, the correlations among pollutants were examined, and the load of TSS, N and P were estimated. Result showed that the small particulates in the range of 1-10 µm consisted of 60% TSS in the road runoff. Totally 89 percent of the nitrogen (N) was dissolved phase state in the road runoff, 80 percent of the phosphorus (P) was particular phase state in the road runoff. Based on the characteristics of correlations between EC, TSS and TN, TP, EC and TSS were the surrogate indexes of pollution degree assessment for the dissolved N and particulate P in the urban road runoff, respectively. Based on our results, the SS, N and P year load per unit area in Beijing ring road runoff were 16 725.69, 1777.91 and 24.23 mg x (m2 x a)(-1), respectively. Our findings described the polutant wash off character in urban road runoff, which provide a scientific basis for management of nonpoint pollution in a city and an alternative method for controlling pollution.

The role of amino acids in the long-distance transport of La and Y in the xylem sap of tomato.

This study focuses on the role of amino acids in xylem sap of tomato grown in hydroponics in a medium supplemented with a series of concentration of La and Y. Eighteen amino acids in xylem saps were identified and measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The main amino acids in xylem sap samples of the tomato are histidine, tryptophan, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid. The concentration of glutamic acid in xylem sap significantly increased in the La and Y treatment compared to the control. By analyzing the correlation between concentrations of amino acids and concentrations of La and Y in the xylem saps, we considered that the glutamic acid in xylem saps seemed to participate in the long-distance La and Y translocation processes, and histidine did not relate to xylem La and Y transport of tomato. The role of other amino acids which was excreted by tomato has not been demonstrated in the long-distance transport of La and Y in the xylem.