Remote, Whole-Body Interval Training Improves Muscular Endurance and Cardiac Autonomic Control in Young Adults.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an exercise modality acknowledged to maintain physical fitness with more engagement in an active lifestyle compared with other traditional exercise models. Nevertheless, its effects on cardiac control and physical performance in an online-guided setting are not yet clarified. The present work assessed physical fitness and heart rate variability (HRV) before and after an online, home-based HIIT program in college-age students while pandemic lockdowns were in effect. Twenty university students (age: 21.9 ± 2.4 years.) that were solely enrolled in online classes were distributed into three groups: control-CON-(n = 6), 14 min of HIIT-HIIT-14-(n = 8), and 21 min of HIIT-HIIT-21-(n = 6). A maximal push-up test was employed to assess muscular endurance and performance, and resting HRV signals were collected with wireless heart rate monitors and were processed in Kubios HRV Std. (Kubios Oy, Finland). There was an increase in total push-up capacity compared to CON (p < 0.05 HIIT-21 vs. CON; p < 0.001 HIIT-14 vs. CON) after 8 weeks. A significant interaction was observed in high-frequency and low-frequency spectra ratios after the HIIT-21 intervention (p < 0.05). The current work demonstrated that either short- or mid-volume online, whole-body HIIT improves muscle strength, whereas mid-volume HIIT (HIIT-21) was the only intervention that developed a sympathovagal adaptation. This study showed promising results on muscular endurance and cardiac autonomic modulation through whole-body HIIT practice at home.

Unhealthy Dieting During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opinion Regarding the Harmful Effects on Brain Health.

Since 2020, the world has been suffering from a pandemic that has affected thousands of people regardless of socio-economic conditions, forcing the population to adopt different strategies to prevent and control the advance of the disease, one of which is social distancing. Even though social distancing is a safe strategy to reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is also the cause of a rising sedentary behavior. This behavior develops an excess of fat tissue that leads to metabolic and inflammatory disruption related to chronic diseases and mental health disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and sleep issues. Furthermore, the adoption of dietary patterns involving the consumption of ultra-processed foods, higher in fats and sugars, and the reduction of fresh and healthy foods may play a role in the progress of the disease. In this perspective, we will discuss how an unhealthy diet can affect brain function and, consequently, be a risk factor for mental health diseases.

The effects of interval training on peripheral brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of the current meta-analysis was to determine the effects of acute and chronic interval training (IT) on serum and plasma BDNF concentrations in healthy young adults. A literature search was performed using six databases until February 2020. The TESTEX scale was used to assess the quality of studies. Effect sizes (ES) were computed and two-tailed α values < 0.05 and non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were considered statistically significant. Heterogeneity, inconsistency (I2), and small-study effects using the Luis Furuya-Kanamori (LFK) index were examined. Fifteen studies (n = 277 participants, age = 24 ± 3 years) were included. The overall effects of IT on circulating BDNF concentrations were moderate and significant (ES = 0.62, 95% CI 0.00, 1.24, heterogeneous (p < 0.001), highly inconsistent (I2 = 90%), and with major asymmetry (LFK index = 2.76). The acute effect of IT on peripheral BDNF levels was large and significant (ES = 1.10, 95% CI 0.07, 2.14), heterogeneous (p < 0.001), highly inconsistent (I2 = 92%), and with major asymmetry (LFK index = 3.34). The chronic effect of IT on circulating BDNF was large and significant (ES = 0.93, 95% CI 0.40, 1.46), heterogeneous (p < 0.001), with moderate inconsistency (I2 = 70%), and minor asymmetry (LFK index = 1.21). Acute and chronic IT elicited a moderate increase in serum and plasma BDNF concentrations in a healthy young population.

Enhanced Degradation of Pesticide Dichlorophen by Laccase Immobilized on Nanoporous Materials: A Cytotoxic and Molecular Simulation Investigation.

Use of pesticides is usually related to overproduction of crops in order to overcome worldwide demand of food and alimentary safety. Nevertheless, pesticides are environmental persistent molecules, such as the organochlorine pesticides, which are often found in undesired places. In this work, we show that a hybrid nanomaterial (laccase-MSU-F) readily oxidizes the pesticide dichlorophen, reducing its acute genotoxicity and apoptotic effects. In order to predict chronic alterations related to endocrine disruption, we compared the calculated affinity of dichlorophen oxidized subproducts to steroid hormone nuclear receptors (NRs), using molecular simulation methods. We found a reduction in theoretical affinity of subproducts of oxidized dichlorophen for the ligand-binding pocket of NRs (∼5 kcal/mol), likewise of changes in binding modes, that suggests a reduction in binding events (RMSD values < 10 Å).