Explore the vast range of titles available.

Purpose We compared the effects of suspension training (ST) with traditional resistance training (TRT) on muscle mass, strength and functional performance in older adults. Methods Forty-two untrained older adults were randomized in TRT, ST (both performed 3 sets of whole body exercises to muscle failure) or control group (CON). Muscle thickness (MT) of biceps brachii (MT BB ) and vastus lateralis (MT VL ), maximal dynamic strength test (1RM) for biceps curl (1RM BC ) and leg extension exercises (1RM LE ), and functional performance tests (chair stand [CS], timed up and go [TUG] and maximal gait speed [MGS]) were performed before and after 12 weeks of training. Results MT BB increased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT 23.35%; ST 21.56%). MT VL increased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT 13.03%; ST 14.07%). 1RM BC increased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT 16.06%; ST 14.33%). 1RM LE increased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT 14.89%; ST 18.06%). MGS increased significantly and similarly for all groups (TRT 6.26%; ST 5.99%; CON 2.87%). CS decreased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT − 20.80%; ST − 15.73%). TUG decreased significantly and similarly for all training groups (TRT − 8.66%; ST − 9.16%). Conclusion Suspension training (ST) promotes similar muscle mass, strength and functional performance improvements compared to TRT in older adults.

Background The objective of this study was to compare the effects of silicone-ring Roux-en-Y gastric bypass carried out by laparoscopy versus that accomplished by laparotomy on pulmonary function. Methods A total of 26 women (body mass index (BMI) 35–49 kg/m 2 ) were studied candidates for silicone-ring Roux-en-Y gastric bypass carried out by laparoscopy (LG; n  = 13) and laparotomy (or open surgery (OG); n  = 13). Smokers, patients having lung disease, and those unable to carry out the tests properly were excluded. The physical therapy was standardized for both the groups. Respiratory evaluation was carried out during the preoperative period and on the second postoperative day by using spirometry and other tests that evaluated respiratory muscle strength and diaphragmatic mobility. Pain was evaluated by the visual analog scale on the second postoperative day. The statistical analysis was carried out with parametric or nonparametric tests, depending on the distribution of variables, considering p  < 0.05 as statistically significant. Results Patients were similar with respect to age, BMI, and waist-to-hip ratio. A decrease in all variables was observed for both the groups in the postoperative period, although this decrease was less pronounced in the LG group. Pain intensity was also lower in the LG group. The length of hospital stay was 2 days, and there were no pulmonary complications. Conclusion As there were no differences in the incidence of pulmonary complications and the length of hospital stay between the groups, the results showed that silicone-ring Roux-en-Y gastric bypass carried out by laparoscopy caused less pain and impairment of pulmonary function in the postoperative period.

Background Bariatric surgery is the gold standard treatment for morbid obesity, but little is known about its effects on resting energy expenditure. Method Twenty-one women underwent anthropometric and resting energy expenditure (REE) measurements before and 3 months after bariatric surgery using the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) technique developed by Capella. Results The patients experienced a significant reduction in body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). The cardiopulmonary variables oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide output, non-protein respiratory quotient, and heart rate all decreased, whereas oxygen pulse did not change significantly. Absolute REE showed a significant reduction 3 months postoperatively (2006.7 ± 376.4 kcal/day to 1763.3 ± 310.5 kcal/day), but no significant difference was found compared with REE relative to body weight (0.71 ± 0.15 kcal kg −1 h −1 to 0.75 ± 0.12 kcal kg −1 h −1 ) or as percent of Harris-Benedict predicted REE (106.2 ± 21.0% to 103.3 ± 15.1%). Conclusion In this study, bariatric surgery using the RYGBP technique (Capella) led to a significant decrease of body weight that decreased resting energy expenditure proportional to this weight loss, and to an increase in the utilization of fat as an energy substrate. It can be concluded that after 3 months, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery may provide significant metabolic benefits to morbidly obese women.

Cesar, MC, Borin, JP, Gonelli, PRG, Simões, RA, Souza, TMF, and Montebelo, MIL. The effect of local muscle endurance training on cardiorespiratory capacity in young women. J Strength Cond Res 23(6)1637-1643, 2009-The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of local muscle endurance training on maximal oxygen uptake and ventilatory threshold in young women. Nineteen untrained women, ranging in age from 18 to 26 years, were included in the study and assigned to two groupsthe control group (n = 10), and the resistance training group (n = 9). The following variables were obtained at baseline and after 12 weeksbody mass; maximal oxygen uptake, maximal heart rate, maximal oxygen pulse, oxygen uptake at the ventilatory threshold, heart rate at the ventilatory threshold, and oxygen pulse at the ventilatory threshold assessed by cardiopulmonary exercise testing on treadmill; 1-repetition maximum (RM) tests in bench press, latissimus pull down, military press, lying barbell extension, standing barbell curls, leg press, knee extension, and hamstring curl. The training group underwent resistance strength training. Loading during training followed the concept of maximum repetitions. Each session was defined as the performance of three sets of 15RM with a 60-second rest between sets and exercises. No significant changes were observed in the control group before and after 12 weeks (p > 0.05). All 1RM tests increased after training (p ≤ 0.01) in the training group, but no significant change was observed in body mass (p > 0.05). Cardiopulmonary variables showed no significant differences before and after resistance training (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that the local muscle endurance training realized produces no improvement in cardiorespiratory capacity in young women.

The control of immunological alterations becomes important during in-season training, as a result of increased incidence of infectious diseases, and may assist in avoiding interruptions to training due to illness. The aim of the present study was to evaluate 28 weeks of chronic immune modulations in female volleyball athletes. The sample was composed of twelve athletes aged 19.47 ± 2.49 years, height 1.78 ± 0.08 cm, and body mass 66.77 ± 7.8 kg. Leukocytes, individual immune cell count, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α plasma cytokines were measured during the competitive period. Results revealed that immune variables were correlated with symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections and training-load indicators, indicating a possible marker of immune status. There was a statistically significant increase in total leukocytes, neutrophils, and monocyte count, a decrease in lymphocytes, and an increase in upper respiratory tract infection symptoms, with no change in IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α. Correlations between subjective levels of tiredness, total leukocyte count, and neutrophils with upper respiratory tract infection symptoms were observed. In conclusion, these correlations can represent important tools to access the immune status of an athlete during long training periods, preventing a possible immunosuppressive status.

Vertical jumping is fundamental in many sports, as it can influence athlete performance. It is also considered an indirect method to evaluate lower limb muscle power in sports or in physically active subjects. The aim of this study was to compare two methods of vertical jump evaluation, the vertical impulse test and jump with laser sensor instrument. In total, 23 track and field athletes were evaluated, aged 14 to 16 years, members of a training program of a sport project based in Piracicaba - SP. The subjects were submitted to two different vertical jump evaluation procedures, vertical impulse test and jump with laser sensor instrument, both without counter movement and without upper limb swing. Descriptive data analysis was performed. To verify the normality of the population, the Shapiro-Wilk test was applied, and when normality was confirmed, the Student's t-test was applied, and Pearson's correlation to analyze the correlation between the methods. The vertical impulse test presented mean values of 36.84 ± 6.49 and the jump with the laser sensor instrument 31 ± 5.66. The mean difference between the methods was 5.84 cm. The correlation between the methods was positive and high, r = 0.80, indicating regularity in the performance between the methods. It was concluded that when compared, the vertical impulse test presents higher values than the laser sensor instrument; however, both methods were demonstrated to be viable to evaluate vertical jump performance, provided that the chosen test is standardized.

Saliva is a promising non-invasive alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis, yet its longitudinal performance remains underexplored. This longitudinal study evaluated saliva’s diagnostic accuracy against NPS in 72 symptomatic individuals across six visits (July 2021–May 2022), analyzing 285 paired RT-qPCR samples in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Using NPS as the reference standard, saliva demonstrated high specificity (96.6%; 95% CI 92.9–98.7%), substantial agreement (91.6%; κ = 0.78; 95% CI 70–86% ; P  < 0.001), and variable sensitivity (69.2% overall; 95% CI 57.2–79.5%), ranging from 40% during mid-phase infection (visit 3) to 82% during early infection (visit 1). Cycle threshold (Ct) values revealed slightly higher viral loads in NPS (mean Ct = 26.75) than in saliva (mean Ct = 28.75), with a mean difference of 0.79 cycles. Discordant results (8.4%) revealed saliva’s utility in detecting late-stage infections missed by NPS. No significant associations were found between diagnostic agreement and participant characteristics or Ct values. In conclusion, our longitudinal data demonstrate that saliva testing achieves 69.2% sensitivity (ranging from 40 to 82% across infection phases), 96.6% specificity, and 91.6% overall agreement with NPS. The 8.4% discordant results included 1.7% of cases where saliva-detected infections were missed by NPS, highlighting its complementary value in late-stage monitoring. These results, coupled with saliva’s stability over time, support its implementation as a scalable, cost-effective diagnostic tool—particularly in resource-limited settings—where its high specificity makes it particularly valuable for rule-out testing despite temporal variations in sensitivity.

In the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the need arose to investigate potential complications associated with SARS-CoV-2, including the risk of stroke. Objective This study aimed to verify the association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the risk of stroke on the basis of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to assess the inclusion of the virus as a new risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases. Methods A metaumbrella study was conducted, which included 34 systematic reviews, of which 4 were selected for the final analysis on the basis of methodological quality and consistency. The analysis aggregated the results of 70 primary studies, considering different stroke subtypes and outcomes associated with COVID-19. Study heterogeneity was assessed via the I 2 index, and significance bias was verified via Egger’s test. Results COVID-19 severity was significantly associated with an increased risk of stroke (eOR = 2.48; 95% CI: 1.55–3.95), particularly ischemic stroke (eOR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.11–2.80) and hemorrhagic stroke (eOR = 3.86; 95% CI: 1.79–8.33). Additionally, patients with cerebrovascular comorbidities had higher mortality (eOR = 2.48; 95% CI: 2.48–19.63), as did those who had previously suffered a stroke (eOR = 6.08; 95% CI: 3.73–9.91). Conclusion The association between SARS-CoV-2 and stroke incidence was consistent and significant, suggesting that COVID-19 should be considered a new risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases. However, the high heterogeneity among the studies analyzed reinforces the need for further research to consolidate this relationship.

This experiment evaluated the effects of a nose flap (NF) device and bovine-appeasing substance (BAS) administration on the growth, temperament, immune response, and pasture behavior of calves during weaning. A total of 24 Nellore calves were used in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The factors were the use of an NF or not (NoNF) for 14 d before weaning and the administration of BASs or not (NoBAS) at weaning (d 0). NF vs. NoNF reduced (p ≤ 0.01) the average daily gain (ADG; d −7 to 84; −0.289 vs. 0.378 ± 0.13 kg/d) and the time ruminating but increased (p ≤ 0.05) the exit score from the chute (d 14 and 28) and the time grazing. BAS vs. NoBAS administration increased (p ≤ 0.02) the ADG (d 14 to 84; 0.487 vs. −0.08 ± 0.10 kg/d) and the time grazing, reduced (p < 0.01) the time ruminating, and tended to decrease (p ≤ 0.10) the exit score (d 7, 14 and 28) and the time vocalizing. Treatments did not affect (p ≥ 0.35) serum rabies titer concentration. Thus, the use of NFs reduced growth and increased stress after weaning, while BAS administration increased growth and decreased stress after weaning, altering behavior but not the immune system. According to the results of this experiment, the use of BASs but not NFs is recommended to alleviate weaning stress in beef calves.