Seven subjects (1 woman) performed an incremental isotonic test on a Kin-Com isokinetic apparatus to determine their maximal oxygen consumption during bilateral knee extensions (Vo(2 sp)). A multisensor thermal probe was inserted into the left vastus medialis (middiaphysis) under ultrasound guidance. The deepest sensor (tip) was located approximately 10 mm from the femur and deep femoral artery (T(mu 10)), with additional sensors located 15 (T(mu 25)) and 30 mm (T(mu 40)) from the tip. Esophageal temperature (T(es)) was measured as an index of core temperature. Subjects rested in an upright seated position for 60 min in an ambient condition of 22 degrees C. They then performed 15 min of isolated bilateral knee extensions (60% of Vo(2 sp)) on a Kin-Com, followed by 60 min of recovery. Resting T(es) was 36.80 degrees C, whereas T(mu 10), T(mu 25), and T(mu 40) were 36.14, 35.86, and 35.01 degrees C, respectively. Exercise resulted in a T(es) increase of 0.55 degrees C above preexercise resting, whereas muscle temperature of the exercising leg increased by 2.00, 2.37, and 3.20 degrees C for T(mu 10), T(mu 25), and T(mu 40), respectively. Postexercise T(es) showed a rapid decrease followed by a prolonged sustained elevation approximately 0.3 degrees C above resting. Muscle temperature decreased gradually over the course of recovery, with values remaining significantly elevated by 0.92, 1.05, and 1.77 degrees C for T(mu 10), T(mu 25), and T(mu 40), respectively, at end of recovery (P < 0.05). These results suggest that the transfer of residual heat from previously active musculature may contribute to the sustained elevation in postexercise T(es).

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of 1) passive (assisted pedaling), 2) active (loadless pedaling), and 3) inactive (motionless) recovery modes on mean arterial pressure (MAP), skin blood flow (SkBF), and sweating during recovery after 15 min of dynamic exercise. It was hypothesized that an active recovery mode would be most effective in attenuating the fall in MAP, SkBF, and sweating during exercise recovery. Six male subjects performed 15 min of cycle ergometer exercise at 70% of their predetermined peak oxygen consumption followed by 15 min of 1) active, 2) passive, or 3) inactive recovery. Mean skin temperature (T(sk)), esophageal temperature (T(es)), SkBF, sweating, cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), total peripheral resistance (TPR), and MAP were recorded at baseline, end exercise, and 2, 5, 8, 12, and 15 min postexercise. Cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) was calculated as the ratio of laser-Doppler blood flow to MAP. In the active and passive recovery modes, CVC, sweat rate, MAP, CO, and SV remained elevated over inactive values (P < 0.05). The passive mode was equally as effective as the active mode in maintaining CO, SV, MAP, CVC, and sweat rate above inactive recovery. Sweat rate was different among all modes after 8 min of recovery (P < 0.05). TPR during active recovery remained significantly lower than during recovery in the passive and inactive modes (P < 0.05). No differences in either T(es) or T(sk) were observed among conditions. Given that MAP was higher during passive and active recovery modes than during inactive recovery suggests differences in CVC may be due to differences in baroreceptor unloading and not factors attributed to central command. However, differences in sweat rate may be influenced by factors such as central command and mechanoreceptor stimulation.

Jay, O, Gariépy LM, Reardon FD, Webb P, Ducharme MB, Ramsay T, Kenny GP. A three-compartment thermometry model for the improved estimation of changes in body heat content. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 292: R167-R175, 2007. First published August 24, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00338.2006.-The aim of this study was to use whole body calorimetry to directly measure the change in body heat content (⌬Hb) during steady-state exercise and compare these values with those estimated using thermometry. The thermometry models tested were the traditional twocompartment model of "core" and "shell" temperatures, and a threecompartment model of "core," "muscle," and "shell" temperatures; with individual compartments within each model weighted for their relative influence upon ⌬Hb by coefficients subject to a nonnegative and a sum-to-one constraint. Fifty-two participants performed 90 min of moderate-intensity exercise (40% of V O2 peak) on a cycle ergometer in the Snellen air calorimeter, at regulated air temperatures of 24°C or 30°C and a relative humidity of either 30% or 60%. The "core" compartment was represented by temperatures measured in the esophagus (Tes), rectum (Tre), and aural canal (Tau), while the "muscle" compartment was represented by regional muscle temperature measured in the vastus lateralis (Tvl), triceps brachii (Ttb), and upper trapezius (Tut). The "shell" compartment was represented by the weighted mean of 12 skin temperatures (T sk). The whole body calorimetry data were used to derive optimally fitting two-and three-compartment thermometry models. The traditional two-compartment model was found to be statistically biased, systematically underestimating ⌬Hb by 15.5% (SD 31.3) at 24°C and by 35.5% (SD 21.9) at 30°C. The three-compartment model showed no such bias, yielding a more precise estimate of ⌬Hb as evidenced by a mean estimation error of 1.1% (SD 29.5) at 24°C and 5.4% (SD 30.0) at 30°C with an adjusted R 2 of 0.48 and 0.51, respectively. It is concluded that a major source of error in the estimation of ⌬Hb using the traditional two-compartment thermometry model is the lack of an expression independently representing the heat storage in muscle during exercise. body heat storage; calorimetry; muscle temperature; thermoregulation THE DERIVATION OF THE CHANGE in body heat content (⌬H b ) is of fundamental importance to the physiologist assessing the exposure of the human body to environmental conditions that result in thermal imbalance. In theory, the measurement of body heat exchange using simultaneous measures of direct and indirect calorimetry is the only method whereby ⌬H b can be directly determined. Thus the difference between metabolic heat production using the stoichiometric relationship of the products and reactants of oxidative metabolism (indirect calorimetry) and the total heat lost from the body can be used to estimate ⌬H b . By definition, ⌬H b is the product of the change of the mean temperature of the tissues of the body (⌬T b ), the total body mass (b m ), and the average sp...

Changes in mean body temperature (DeltaT(b)) estimated by the traditional two-compartment model of "core" and "shell" temperatures and an adjusted two-compartment model incorporating a correction factor were compared with values derived by whole body calorimetry. Sixty participants (31 men, 29 women) cycled at 40% of peak O(2) consumption for 60 or 90 min in the Snellen calorimeter at 24 or 30 degrees C. The core compartment was represented by esophageal, rectal (T(re)), and aural canal temperature, and the shell compartment was represented by a 12-point mean skin temperature (T(sk)). Using T(re) and conventional core-to-shell weightings (X) of 0.66, 0.79, and 0.90, mean DeltaT(b) estimation error (with 95% confidence interval limits in parentheses) for the traditional model was -95.2% (-83.0, -107.3) to -76.6% (-72.8, -80.5) after 10 min and -47.2% (-40.9, -53.5) to -22.6% (-14.5, -30.7) after 90 min. Using T(re), X = 0.80, and a correction factor (X(0)) of 0.40, mean DeltaT(b) estimation error for the adjusted model was +9.5% (+16.9, +2.1) to -0.3% (+11.9, -12.5) after 10 min and +15.0% (+27.2, +2.8) to -13.7% (-4.2, -23.3) after 90 min. Quadratic analyses of calorimetry DeltaT(b) data was subsequently used to derive best-fitting values of X for both models and X(0) for the adjusted model for each measure of core temperature. The most accurate model at any time point or condition only accounted for 20% of the variation observed in DeltaT(b) for the traditional model and 56% for the adjusted model. In conclusion, throughout exercise the estimation of DeltaT(b) using any measure of core temperature together with mean skin temperature irrespective of weighting is inaccurate even with a correction factor customized for the specific conditions.

We confirm a rapid reduction in postexercise whole-body heat dissipation by evaporation despite elevated core temperatures. Consequently, only 53% of the heat stored during 60 min of exercise was dissipated after 60 min of recovery, with the majority of residual heat stored in muscle tissue.