CEHD News Kinesiology

College of Education and Human Development wordmark.

CEHD News Kinesiology

APAL research team to publish in Ecological Psychology

January 30, 2015

apalA paper,  “Subjective reports and postural performance among older adult passengers on a sea voyage,” has been accepted for publication in Ecological Psychology.  Justin Munafo, a graduate assistant in the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL) is the lead author, while APAL director and professor  Thomas Stoffregen, Ph.D., professor Michael Wade, and University of Nebraska-Omaha professor Nicholas Stergiou are co-authors.

The full citation is as follows:

Munafo, J., Wade, M. G., Stergiou, N., & Stoffregen, T. A. (In press). “Subjective reports and postural performance among older adult passengers on a sea voyage.” Ecological Psychology.

Kane quoted in Grand Forks Herald article on domestic violence awareness in upcoming Super Bowl

January 30, 2015

Mary Jo KaneDr. Mary Jo Kane, director of the Tucker Center and professor in the School of Kinesiology, is quoted in the Grand Forks Herald article, “U.S. activists keep domestic violence in Super Bowl spotlight,” exploring the differences between men and women’s 2014 regular season game viewership trends.

 

Inoue receives grant-in-aid for research on charity sport in Cambodia

January 22, 2015

Assistant professor Yuhei Inoue,  Ph.D., was awarded a Grant-in-Aid (GIA) worth nearly $22,000 from the University of Minnesota’s Office of the Vice President for Research. For the grant, Inoue will visit Cambodia twice over then next year as he assesses the social impact of the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon, a small-scale annual charity sport event held in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Inoue to publish article about youth development and self-determined motivation

January 21, 2015

Assistant professor Yuhei Inoue,  Ph.D., will publish an article in Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.

The article, “Relationships between self-determined motivation and developmental outcomes in sports-based positive youth development,” analyzes data based on participants of a youth running program. Inoue and his colleagues found that participants with a higher self-determination toward running reported positive attitudes toward a healthy lifestyle. The results also revealed that those same participants reported lower engagement in threatening behavior and higher general self-efficacy.

The full citation is as follows:

Inoue, Y., Wegner, C., Jordan, J.S., & Funk, D.C. (in press). Relationships between self-determined motivation and developmental outcomes in sport-based positive youth development. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology.

PAEL researchers publish article on children’s characteristics to predict physical activity levels

January 21, 2015

GaoZ-prefPhysical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL) researchers published an article in Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior. The article examines how certain characteristics such as satisfaction for physical activity in children predict their overall physical activity levels during physical education.

Dr. Zan Gao, assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and director of the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab , and Zachary Pope, Ph.D student and PAEL research assistant, were co-authors on the publication.

Click here to read more.

Weiss receives 2014 President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Science Board’s Honor Award

January 20, 2015

WeissM-2014bMaureen Weiss, professor of kinesiology, has been selected to receive the 2014 President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Science Board’s Honor Award. The Science Honor Award is given each year “to an academic or research professional that has significantly contributed to the advancement and promotion of the science of physical activity and/or nutrition.”

Dr. Weiss is recognized as someone whose work has furthered the science of youth development through sport and physical activity.

The mission of the President’s Council is to engage, educate, and empower all Americans to adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and good nutrition, and the Science Board includes elected scholars who have made significant contributions to the research and science of physical activity, health, sports, and nutrition.

Van Iterson to present at American Thoracic Society International Conference

January 16, 2015

Erik_VanIterson_headshotErik Van Iterson, a doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology,  has been accepted to give two talks at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Denver, CO., this spring. The co-investigators on these talks include Dr. Sarah Baker and Dr. Courtney Wheatley of the Mayo Clinic, and Dr. Wayne Morgan from the University of Arizona.

The title of these two talks are:

  • “Genetic Variation in ΔF508 CFTR Influences Cardiac Power and Stroke Work in Cystic Fibrosis Patients”
  • “The Capacity for Gas Transfer Within Lungs Does Not Influence the Relationship Between Oxygen Uptake and Cardiac Hemodynamics During Exercise in Cystic Fibrosis Patients”

Van Iterson is advised by under the assistant professor Eric Snyder, Ph.D., director of the Clinical Exercise Physiology Laboratory.

Kinesiology doctoral candidate to publish research conducted at sea

January 14, 2015

A paper,  “Human gait at sea while walking fore-aft versus athwart,” has been accepted for publication in Aviation Medicine & Human Performance.  Doctoral candidate Eric Haaland  is the first author on the paper. The research was conducted aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson during a cruise from Honolulu to Seattle.

Haaland, a graduate student researcher in the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory (APAL), is advised by Dr. Thomas A. Stoffregen, professor of Kinesiology and director of APAL.

The full citation is as follows:

Haaland, E., Kaipust, J., Wang, Y., Stergiou, N., Stoffregen, T. A. (In press). Human gait at sea while walking fore-aft versus athwart. Aviation Medicine and Human Performance.

Doctoral research to be published in British sports science journal

January 13, 2015

Dr. Khaled Alsharji’s (Ph.D., ’14) dissertation research will be published in the Journal of Sports Sciences, a publication of  the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

Alsharji’s dissertation, “Perceptual Training Effects on Anticipation of Direct & Deceptive 7-Meter Throws in Handball,” examined the effectiveness of perceptual training on the performance of team handball goalkeepers when anticipating the direction of “direct” 7-m throws as well as “deceptive” 7-m throws. The results of the study suggest that perceptual training can improve the goalkeepers’ performance not only when anticipating direct, but also when anticipating deceptive throws. The study confirms that while anticipating deception in handball is a challenging task for goalkeepers, task-specific perceptual training can minimize its effect and improve performance.

Professor Michael Wade, Ph.D., was Alsharji’s advisor and is co-author of the article. Alsharji is currently an assistant professor  in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Science in the College of Basic Education at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training

Ostrem to publish in ultrasound journal

January 13, 2015

OstremJ-prefJoe Ostrem, doctoral student in the School of Kinesiology, is the lead author of an article to be published in the Journal of Clinical Ultrasound. The article, “Presence of a High Flow-Mediated Constriction Phenomenon Prior to Flow-Mediated Dilation in Normal Weight, Overweight and Obese Children and Adolescents, ” describes a new method of assessing examining vascular function using ultrasound imaging. The authors reported that approximately 67% of children and adolescents measured demonstrated high flow-mediated constriction during reactive hyperemia (increase of blood flow). These children demonstrating this phenomenon had a greater body mass index and had a greater degree of vascular dysfunction than those children who did not demonstrate this affect.

Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, along with School of Kinesiology alumni Nick Evanoff, M.S., and Aaron Kelly, Ph.D., are co-authors on the article.

Postdoc from Germany to join HSCL to research on Parkinson’s disease

January 13, 2015
Juergen
Dr. Carmen Krewer, a movement science researcher from Germany, will join the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory (HSCL) in early February. She is the recipient of a highly competitive postdoctoral fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Science Foundation) with Dr. Juergen Konczak, director of the HSCL, being the international sponsor.
Dr. Krewer is a staff scientist in a large neurorehabilitation clinic. Her project here at the lab will focus on sensorimotor training for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Dengel publishes in the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer

January 13, 2015

Donald R. Dengel, Ph.D., professor of kinesiology and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, is a co-author on an article published in the February 2015 edition of the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer. “Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Childhood Cancer Survivors” examines physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood cancer survivors and their siblings. The authors reported that high levels of physical activity in childhood cancer survivors resulted in an improved cardiovascular profile, consisting primarily of lower fat mass and greater lean mass, similar to that observed in controls. This suggests that interventions directed to increase physical activity in childhood cancer survivors may reduce the risk of future cardiovascular disease.

Konczak publishes with College of Veterinary Medicine colleagues

January 13, 2015
Juergen
As part of an interdisciplinary collaboration with the University of Minnesota Leatherdale Equine Center, Dr. Juergen Konczak,  director of the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, has published a paper on the neuropathological mechanism of an equine movement disorder called “shivers.” The cause of the disease was unknown until post-mortem analysis of affected horses showed, for the first time, that selective degeneration of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum is present in these horses. Dr. Stephanie Valberg from the College of Veterinary Medicine is the lead author of the paper. Dr. Anibal Armien was the neuropathologist on the team. The publication will appear in a future edition of the journal Veterinary Pathology.
Avian Influenza

PAEL researchers publish article on integrating exergaming in schools

January 8, 2015

Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab (PAEL) researchers published an article, “Integration of active video games in extracurricular activity at schools,” in the journal Teaching, Research, and Media in Kinesiology. The article introduced types of active video games and discussed the health benefits and ways to integrate these games into after-school physical activity program.

Doctoral students Jung Eun (June) Lee was the first author and Zachary Pope, also a Ph.D student, was a co-author. Zan Gao, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of Physical Activity Epidemiology Laboratory, was the corresponding author.

HSCL researchers to publish review in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience

January 8, 2015

Researchers from the Human Sensorimotor Control Lab, led by postdoctoral researcher Joshua Aman, Ph.D., conducted a systematic review,  of over 1200 articles on how well body awareness (the proprioceptive sense) can be trained in patients with neurological disorders such as stroke or dystonia. The comprehensive review provides converging evidence that proprioceptive training can yield meaningful improvements in sensory and motor function in these patient populations. The paper will be appear in Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, which has a 2.9 impact factor.

Lupinek to publish in the Journal of Sports Media

January 5, 2015

LupinekJoshua-2013Joshua Lupinek, a doctoral candidate in the School of Kinesiology, has co-authored an article in-press within the Journal of Sports Media. The article, “Craving the scoop: An examination of highly identified fans’ utilization of subscription based college recruiting networks,” examined the peculiar indulgences sought and obtained by highly identified fans through the paid use of online college recruiting networks. The findings of this study demonstrate the value of segmented information; recruiting’s impact on collective self-identity; and how utilization of interactive features of these online sites provides a strong sense of community, while also allowing for vicarious participation within the scope of new media. Lead author of this article is Michael Mudrick, a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut.

Lupinek is working towards his Ph.D., with an emphasis in sport management. He is advised by Dr. Stephen Ross.

Human Sensorimotor Control Lab provides new insights into incurable voice disorder

December 30, 2014

JuergenSpasmodic dysphonia is a voice disorder that currently has no cure. As part of a project funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers in the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, directed by Prof. Juergen Konczak, examined the sense of body awareness (proprioception) in adults with spasmodic dysphonia.

Specifically, researchers assessed the ability of patients to sense the position of their arm in space. The results indicated that impaired limb proprioception is a common feature of spasmodic dysphonia. While the motor impairment is restricted to the voice, the sensory impairment also affects non-symptomatic body parts. The findings will appear in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Voice.

Kinesiology Ph.D. graduate publishes in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

December 30, 2014

DengelD-2005Tyler Bosch, Ph.D. (2014),  is the lead author of an article recently published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. The article, “Abdominal Body Composition Differences in NFL Football Players,” examined visceral fat mass as well as other measures of abdominal body composition in National Football League players before the start of the season. The results of the study suggest that as players get larger, there is more total fat than total lean mass accumulation, and more fat is distributed to the abdominal region. The research article was part of Dr. Bosch’s doctoral dissertation.  Dr. Donald Dengel, kinesiology professor and director of the Laboratory of Integrative Human Physiology, is the senior author and was Dr. Bosch’s doctoral adviser.

Ji publishes in two scientific journals

December 22, 2014

Li Li JiDr. Li Li Ji, director of the School of Kinesiology, has recently published online articles in Gerontology and Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.

“Role of PGC-1α in Sarcopenia: Etiology and Potential Intervention – A Mini-Review” by Li Li Ji and Chounghun Kang will appear in an upcoming online edition of Gerontology. Dr. Kang, the co-author, is a post-doctoral associate working with Dr. Ji in the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science.

“Exercise-Induced Neuroprotection of Hippocampus in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice via Upregulation of Mitochondrial 8-Oxoguanine DNA Glycosylase”  by Hai Bo, Weimin Kang, Ning Jiang, Xun Wang, Li Li Ji, and Yong Zhang was published in the November 2014 edition of Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity and is currently available online.