Search results for "thermoregulation"
showing 10 items of 29 documents
Allometries of maximum growth rate versus body mass at maximum growth indicate that non-avian dinosaurs had growth rates typical of fast growing ecto…
2014
We tested if growth rates of recent taxa are unequivocally separated between endotherms and ectotherms, and compared these to dinosaurian growth rates. We therefore performed linear regression analyses on the log-transformed maximum growth rate against log-transformed body mass at maximum growth for extant altricial birds, precocial birds, eutherians, marsupials, reptiles, fishes and dinosaurs. Regression models of precocial birds (and fishes) strongly differed from Case's study (1978), which is often used to compare dinosaurian growth rates to those of extant vertebrates. For all taxonomic groups, the slope of 0.75 expected from the Metabolic Theory of Ecology was statistically supported. …
The effects of cold and glucagon on lipolysis, glycogenolysis and oxygen consumption in young chicks.
1973
Abstract 1. 1. To study the possible role of glucagon in avian thermoregulation the effects of cold exposure and glucagon on lipolysis, glycogenolysis and oxygen consumption were measured in young chicks. 2. 2. Cold exposure (+10°C) and glucagon injection (0·3 mg/kg, i.p. at +30°C) both caused a marked increase in the plasma FFA and a decrease in the liver glycogen content. 3. 3. It is suggested that glucagon possibly acts in the avian thermoregulation by producing at least lipolysis and glycogenolysis during cold exposure.
Chronic and Acute Effects on Skin Temperature from a Sport Consisting of Repetitive Impacts from Hitting a Ball with the Hands.
2022
Valencian handball consists in hitting the ball with the hands and it may contribute to injury development on the hands. This study aimed to analyze skin temperature asymmetries and recovery after a cold stress test (CST) in professional players of Valencian handball before and after a competition. Thirteen professional athletes and a control group of ten physically active participants were measured. For both groups, infrared images were taken at the baseline condition; later they underwent a thermal stress test (pressing for 2 min with the palm of the hand on a metal plate) and then recovery images were taken. In athletes, the images were also taken after their competition. Athletes at bas…
Assessment of a mattress with phase change materials using a thermal and perception test
2017
Abstract Mattresses composed by phase change materials (PCMs) may improve the thermoregulation of the human body. The aim of the study was to analyse the thermoregulatory efficiency of a PCMs and a conventional mattresses via the evaluation of the skin temperature, thermal comfort and thermal perception. Twenty participants lay on a PCMs and a conventional mattress for 20 min in each mattress on the same day. Skin temperature of the back of the participants and temperature of the sheet of the mattresses were measured before and immediately after lying on each mattress. Thermal comfort and thermal perception were also reported during the last minute of the lying test. The PCMs mattress resul…
To quiver or to shiver: increased melanization benefits thermoregulation, but reduces warning signal efficacy in the wood tiger moth
2013
Melanin production is often considered costly, yet beneficial for thermoregulation. Studies of variation in melanization and the opposing selective forces that underlie its variability contribute greatly to understanding natural selection. We investigated whether melanization benefits are traded off with predation risk to promote observed local and geographical variation in the warning signal of adult male wood tiger moths ( Parasemia plantaginis ). Warning signal variation is predicted to reduce survival in aposematic species. However, in P. plantaginis , male hindwings are either yellow or white in Europe, and show continuous variation in melanized markings that cover 20 to 90 per cent o…
Effects of the cycling workload on core and local skin temperatures
2016
[EN] Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine the influence of cycling workload on the variation of core and skin temperature of the different body regions, and the relationship between both temperature variables. Method: Fourteen cyclists performed two 45-min cycling tests at 35% and 50% of peak power output on different days. The cadence was constant in both tests (90 rpm). Core temperature was measured continuously throughout the test and local skin temperature was recorded before, immediately after and 10 min after finishing the cycling test. Differences in variation of the core and skin temperature and in the effort perception and body mass loss due to different cycling workload …
Adding a cooling vest during cycling improves performance in warm and humid conditions
2012
It is known that warm and humid environment reduces human physical performance. The present study examined whether the use of an ice-vest in such conditions can improve cycling performance. Seven participants cycled with consecutive, non-stop, 10-minute cycles of nine minutes at 60% of their (V) over dot O-2 max punctuated by a one-minute sprint at 80% (V) over dot O-2 max. The cycling protocol was continuously repeated until exhaustion. The protocol was performed with the ice-vest (ICE), worn after 30 min of cycling, and without the ice-vest throughout the protocol (CON). Ventilatory and thermal responses were continuously recorded. Electromyographic (EMG) signals from four muscles of the …
DISTRIBUTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MELANISM IN GRASS SNAKES FROM ITALY
2022
In snakes, melanism can improve thermoregulation efficiency, reproductive success and provide additional protection to internal organs from solar radiation. For these reasons, such conditions could be beneficial for animals living in both cold and warm environments. For widely distributed species of grass snake (genus Natrix), several single encounters of melanic individuals are reported in the literature. In the period 2015-2021 a significant number of unpublished observations of melanic Natrix helvetica and N. natrix were collected on the Italian territory and integrated with bibliographic data. The present work illustrates the chromatic variation within melanic individuals and investigat…
Isotopic ordering in eggshells reflects body temperatures and suggests differing thermophysiology in two Cretaceous dinosaurs
2015
International audience; Our understanding of the evolutionary transitions leading to the modern endothermic state of birds and mammals is incomplete, partly because tools available to study the thermo-physiology of extinct vertebrates are limited. Here we show that clumped isotope analysis of eggshells can be used to determine body temperatures of females during periods of ovulation. Late Cretaceous titanosaurid eggshells yield temperatures similar to large modern endo-therms. In contrast, oviraptorid eggshells yield temperatures lower than most modern endotherms but B6 °C higher than co-occurring abiogenic carbonates, implying that this taxon did not have thermoregulation comparable to mod…
Effect of perspiration on skin temperature measurements by infrared thermography and contact thermometry during aerobic cycling
2015
[EN] The aim of the present study was to compare infrared thermography and thermal contact sensors for measuring skin temperature during cycling in a moderate environment. Fourteen cyclists performed a 45-mM cycling test at 50% of peak power output. Skin temperatures were simultaneously recorded by infrared thermography and thermal contact sensors before and immediately after cycling activity as well as after 10 min cooling-down, representing different skin wetness and blood perfusion states. Additionally, surface temperature during well controlled dry and wet heat exchange (avoiding thermoregulatory responses) using a hot plate system was assessed by infrared thermography and thermal conta…