ncarbone's blog

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the major health complications found in people with diabetes across the globe. The many causes and symptoms of neuropathy have been widely studied, but the best way to improve preexisting neuropathy or prevent neuropathy from happening has yet to be found. One method of both preventing and improving diabetic neuropathy that has been studied is exercise. Studies have found positive effects of various forms of exercise on different types of patients with diabetes. Previous studies have attempted to identify the role and potential benefit of exercise in diabetic neuropathy. To better delineate the benefit of exercise in type 1 diabetes we propose to conduct a 3-month study comparing the effects of aerobic vs. resistance exercise on neuropathy

Anaerobic metabolism has vast effects on the body during exercise. At 90-100% oxygen consumption the body burns mostly carbohydrates and very little fat. This is why extreme anaerobic exercises are not recommended for burning fat. Fat is primarily burned at about 20% oxygen consumption. As movement and exercise intensity increases the body’s core and peripheral systems go through very different changes. The core systems stay consistent while the peripheral system is compromised. Blood pH stays at 7.4 until about 90% oxygen consumption. Ventilation steadily increases with oxygen consumption linearly until about 80% where it rises rapidly. Venous oxygen tends to decrease gradually as oxygen consumption increases while arterial oxygen stays consistent the entire time. The distribution of oxygen also changes when exercising. At rest a vast majority of the blood goes to the brain and the kidneys. Meanwhile during activity 85% of the blood supply goes to skeletal muscles.

Energy metabolism in animals is typically calculated in three different ways. The first way is to quantify the difference between the energy value of all food consumed and energy value from waste. This assumes no change in the physiology of the animal and is typically only accurate across long periods of time. The second method for calculating metabolism is to quantify the total heat production of animals compared to the food that they consume. This method is considered very accurate but is very complex and difficult to calculate. The last method is the most commonly practiced method in the field. This third method measures the oxygen levels in oxidation processes and assumes no anaerobic metabolism. This method is generally considered to be very accurate and the source of energy (fat, protein, or carbohydrates) is not of importance. It also assumes that the amount of heat generated per liter of oxygen during metabolism is consistent.

The purpose of writing a methods section of any scientific paper is to describe to the reader the goals, and questions of the research and inform the reader of what was done in order to try and answer the questions or hypotheses. The description of the experiment and the analysis along with is should be able to be replicated by the reader. The methods of this research paper will be looking at the interspecific relationship of Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks around the UMass campus pond. Geese and ducks are commonly found in the same environments as each other which leads to their interspecific relationship. Both species feed on similar resources (grass) and inhabit the same areas. They can often be seen congregating together on and around the pond. This allows for easy access to capture their everyday interactions. This factors into my decision in choosing this interaction. It will be easily obtainable for someone to go and replicate the methods used and will have no trouble finding this interaction. The only major factors that could prohibit the replication of the methods are weather and time of day. The species typically are not out on the campus pond at night time and while it is precipitating.

In order to accurately compare the effects of resistance vs. aerobic exercise, the two exercises would need to be equivalent in terms of caloric expenditure. Aerobic exercises include: walking, jogging, stationary biking, treadmill, and stair climbing. Resistance exercises include free weight lifting and resistance bands. In a study done by Mueller et al a weight bearing (aerobic) vs non-weight bearing (resistance) exercise group performed an exercise intervention in which the non-weight bearing group saw better A1C levels following the study. Additionally, no patients in the non-weight bearing group reported feeling “worse” after the intervention. According to the standards of medical care, weight bearing exercises are not considered to be safe for patients with developed diabetic neuropathy. Balance training has also helped show improvements in the risk of falling in DPN patients which may be a sign of improved nerve function (Xi Pan and Jiao-Jiao Bai). In general the ADA recommends 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day for 5 days a week in order to lower blood glucose.

Triglycerides are also proposed to have an impact on the development of neuropathy. It has been hypothesized and studied that triglycerides and obesity correlate with diabetic neuropathy independent of glucose control. Smith and Singleton found that obesity and triglycerides were related to small axon loss whereas hyperglycemia was related to large fiber loss indicating that hypertriglyceridemia and obesity have an independent effect on peripheral neuropathy. Wiggin et al performed a double-blind placebo clinical trial which showed a correlation between elevated triglycerides and loss of sural nerve myelinated fiber density in diabetics with mild to moderate neuropathy.

Some further factors or ideas to consider include replacing a daily sedentary time with very light activity has been proposed to improve glucose and lipid metabolism, but does not greatly impact caloric expenditure. Also 1 hour of moderate daily physical exercise has not been shown to compensate for the negative effects of inactivity further implicating that replacing sedentary time with light activity may be beneficial. Exercise may also directly improve nerve function without the need to change metabolic syndrome. Also Trigylcerides may have a critical impact in affecting loss of small axons and nerve fiber density. A1C levels may also be linked to large fiber loss.

After observing the two figures side by side I noticed a few differences in the construction and the making of the figures. Figure 1 (the figure on the left-hand side) has photos in which the objects appear larger and have an overall better-quality image compared to those in figure 2. This could possibly be because figure 1 was created using a more advanced camera device and the camera could have been zoomed in more or taken from a closer angle. Figure 1 is also much brighter and more yellow colored than figure two potentially due to the lighting that was used when capturing the images. As far as the construction of putting the figures together, the orientation of the figures are different. Figure 1 is aligned horizontally meanwhile figure 2 is aligned vertically. I would infer that this is because no instructions were given on how the figures should be oriented. Lastly the font to label the images as well as the border used around the images are different. Once again I would infer that either not details of what font or border to use were provided or a different software may have been used to create the figures.

Based upon the temperature and precipitation patterns I predict that biome 1 is a temperate shrubland/woodland biome. Temperate shrubland/woodland areas are distinct in that they have an obvious drought season in the summer months. The precipitation drops from about 110-130mm in the non-summer months to around 20mm from June-August. This is very similar to the temperate shrubland/woodland biosphere that we would encounter in Spain. Also, the temperature pattern of this biosphere closely resembles that of a typical temperate shrubland/woodland area. Temperature stays relatively consistent but sees a slight increase in the summer. This increase in temperature occurs at the same time that we see a drought season. This relationship between precipitation and temperature during the summer is characterized as an asynchrony which is a key component to temperate shrubland/woodland biomes. The average annual temperatures and precipitation counts are similar to those of Gerona Spain. This unknown biome has an average annual temperature of 13 degrees Celsius and a total annual precipitation of 1,024mm. Compared to the data of Gerona Spain which sees an average annual temperature of 16.7 degrees Celsius and a total annual precipitation of 747mm. The last observation that sticks out in regards to temperature or precipitation is the significant spike in precipitation during the month of October. Gerona Spain has a very similar spike during the same month.

Fish exhibit many different ways of breathing through their gills. One of these ways is called pumping ventilation. Through ventilation the organism remains still but actively moves the gills continuously in order to pass water through. Other fish will move around constantly to pass water through their gills but won’t actually move their gills. This is called Ram ventilation and is seen in sharks and tuna. Squid and octopus ventilate their gills by taking water into their mantle cavities. By ejecting water though siphons they provide their gills with oxygen and propel themselves for locomotion at the same time. Overall fish gills allow for high oxygenation levels. Water leaving the gills loses 80-90% of initial oxygen content in fish. Mammals remove only 25% of oxygen present in lung air and crabs enable only 7-23%. Gills have filaments lined with lamella that help with respiration. However, when taken out of water these lamella stick together and prohibit the organism from respiring.