@article{PrieskeDalagerLooksetal.2021,
  author    = {Prieske, Olaf and Dalager, Tina and Looks, Vanessa and Golle, Kathleen and Granacher, Urs},
  title     = {Physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance in the young and middle-aged workforce with primarily physical versus mental work demands},
  series = {Journal of public health : from theory to practice : official organ of the Deutscher Verband f{\"u}r Gesundheitswissenschaften Public Health e.V. (DVGPH)},
  volume    = {29},
  journal   = {Journal of public health : from theory to practice : official organ of the Deutscher Verband f{\"u}r Gesundheitswissenschaften Public Health e.V. (DVGPH)},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Berlin ; Heidelberg},
  issn      = {2198-1833},
  doi       = {10.1007/s10389-019-01099-9},
  pages     = {75 -- 84},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Aim The purpose of this study was to examine physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance and their associations in young and middle-aged workers with primarily physical versus mental work demands. Subjects and methods Healthy young and middle-aged workers (73 men, age = 33 +/- 7 years; 75 women, age = 35 +/- 9 years) were recruited from German small-to-medium-sized enterprises (< 250 employees) and classified into groups with primarily mental (MD) or physical demands (PD) at work. Participants were tested for cardiorespiratory fitness, trunk flexor/extensor muscular endurance, handgrip strength, balance, leg muscle power, perceived stress, cognitive performance, and work ability. Results Ninety-four workers were allocated to the MD (53\% females) and 54 to the PD (46\% females) groups. The MD group showed significantly better balance, trunk extensor muscular endurance, and cognitive performance (p < 0.035, 0.35 <= d <= 0.55) and less stress compared with the PD group (p < 0.023, d = 0.38). Group-specific Spearman rank correlation analysis (r(S)) revealed significant small-to-medium-sized correlations between physical fitness and cognitive performance (- 0.205 <= r(S) <= 0.434) in the MD and PD groups. Significant small-to-medium-sized correlations were found for physical fitness and stress/work ability (0.211 <= r(S) <= 0.301) in the MD group only. Further, associations of trunk extensor muscular endurance and work ability were significantly higher in the MD group (r(S) = 0.240) compared with the PD group (r(S) = - 0.141; z = 2.16, p = 0.031). Conclusions MD workers showed better physical fitness measures (balance, trunk extensor muscular endurance) and cognitive performance and lower levels of perceived stress compared with PD workers. Small-to-medium-sized associations between physical fitness and psycho-cognitive performance measures indicate that gains in physical fitness may at least partly contribute to psycho-cognitive performance and/or vice versa, particularly in MD workers.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PalmaVeraReyerLanghammeretal.2022,
  author    = {Palma-Vera, Sergio E. and Reyer, Henry and Langhammer, Martina and Reinsch, Norbert and Derezanin, Lorena and Fickel, J{\"o}rns and Qanbari, Saber and Weitzel, Joachim M. and Franzenburg, Soeren and Hemmrich-Stanisak, Georg and Sch{\"o}n, Jennifer},
  title     = {Genomic characterization of the world's longest selection experiment in mouse reveals the complexity of polygenic traits},
  series = {BMC Biology},
  volume    = {20},
  journal   = {BMC Biology},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {BMC},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {1741-7007},
  doi       = {10.1186/s12915-022-01248-9},
  pages     = {20},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Background Long-term selection experiments are a powerful tool to understand the genetic background of complex traits. The longest of such experiments has been conducted in the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), generating extreme mouse lines with increased fertility, body mass, protein mass and endurance. For >140 generations, these lines have been maintained alongside an unselected control line, representing a valuable resource for understanding the genetic basis of polygenic traits. However, their history and genomes have not been reported in a comprehensive manner yet. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide a summary of the breeding history and phenotypic traits of these lines along with their genomic characteristics. We further attempt to decipher the effects of the observed line-specific patterns of genetic variation on each of the selected traits. Results Over the course of >140 generations, selection on the control line has given rise to two extremely fertile lines (>20 pups per litter each), two giant growth lines (one lean, one obese) and one long-distance running line. Whole genome sequencing analysis on 25 animals per line revealed line-specific patterns of genetic variation among lines, as well as high levels of homozygosity within lines. This high degree of distinctiveness results from the combined effects of long-term continuous selection, genetic drift, population bottleneck and isolation. Detection of line-specific patterns of genetic differentiation and structural variation revealed multiple candidate genes behind the improvement of the selected traits. Conclusions The genomes of the Dummerstorf trait-selected mouse lines display distinct patterns of genomic variation harbouring multiple trait-relevant genes. Low levels of within-line genetic diversity indicate that many of the beneficial alleles have arrived to fixation alongside with neutral alleles. This study represents the first step in deciphering the influence of selection and neutral evolutionary forces on the genomes of these extreme mouse lines and depicts the genetic complexity underlying polygenic traits.},
  language  = {en}
}