Eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage dissociates the lactate and gas exchange thresholds

We tested the hypothesis that exercise-induced muscle damage would increase the ventilatory (V(E)) response to incremental/ramp cycle exercise (lower the gas exchange threshold) without altering the blood lactate profile, thereby dissociating the gas exchange and lactate thresholds. Ten physically active men completed maximal incremental cycle tests before (pre) and 48 h after (post) performing eccentric exercise comprising 100 squats. Pulmonary gas exchange was measured breath-by-breath and fingertip blood sampled at 1-min intervals for determination of blood lactate concentration. The gas exchange threshold occurred at a lower work rate (pre: 136 ± 27 W; post: 105 ± 19 W; P < 0.05) and oxygen uptake (VO(2)) (pre: 1.58 ± 0.26 litres · min(-1); post: 1.41 ± 0.14 litres · min(-1); P < 0.05) after eccentric exercise. However, the lactate threshold occurred at a similar work rate (pre: 161 ± 19 W; post: 158 ± 22 W; P > 0.05) and VO(2) (pre: 1.90 ± 0.20 litres · min(-1); post: 1.88 ± 0.15 litres · min(-1); P > 0.05) after eccentric exercise. These findings demonstrate that exercise-induced muscle damage dissociates the V(E) response to incremental/ramp exercise from the blood lactate response, indicating that V(E) may be controlled by additional or altered neurogenic stimuli following eccentric exercise. Thus, due consideration of prior eccentric exercise should be made when using the gas exchange threshold to provide a non-invasive estimation of the lactate threshold.     

Oral Language and Reading in Bilingual Children

This article examines the question: Do lexical, syntactic, fluency, and discourse measures of oral language collected under narrative conditions predict reading achievement both within and across languages for bilingual children? More than 1,500 Spanish–English bilingual children attending kindergarten–third grade participated. Oral narratives were collected in each language along with measures of Passage Comprehension and Word Reading Efficiency. Results indicate that measures of oral language in Spanish predict reading scores in Spanish and that measures of oral language skill in English predict reading scores in English. Cross‐language comparisons revealed that English oral language measures predicted Spanish reading scores and Spanish oral language measures predicted English reading scores beyond the variance accounted for by grade. Results indicate that Spanish and English oral language skills contribute to reading within and across languages.     

Grades or Scores: Predicting Future College Mathematics Peflormance

Do men and women with similar admissions test scores earn similar grades in mathematics? What factors may explain underprediction for women? Do men and women differ in persistence in mathematics study?     

Evaluating Qualitative Inquiry in Technical and Scientific Communication: Toward a Practical and Dialogic Validity

In this article, we argue that one important criterion for evaluating qualitative studies of technical and scientific communication is whether we find our accounts meaningful and capable of redirecting our scholarly and professional practices. As a means of improving our understanding of the situations and practices we study, we address how to engage in our research in ways that not only are self-reflexive and dialogic, but that also solicit and use our participants' perspectives and authority—even when they may differ from our own.     

Ten Years Later: A Joint Library Evolves

In 2003, a unique joint library was created. A partnership between the San Jose Public Library system and San Jose State University, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library serves a city population of more than a million and a campus population of over 30,000 students. With different patrons and different missions, bringing the two library cultures and functions together presented many challenges, but the library today is a vital, innovative space for learning. In the ten years since its opening, however, the cost savings envisioned when the library was created have not been realized. Also, the partnership originally presented in the library's organizational structure has undergone alterations. This restructuring was driven by changes in funding, staffing, and patron needs. Despite this organizational evolution, the King Library still provides a richer resource to its communities than either partner could have provided alone and can serve as a model to other communities considering the creation of a joint library.