Breakfast omission reduces subsequent resistance exercise performance

Although much research has examined the influence of morning carbohydrate intake (i.e., breakfast) on endurance performance, little is known about its effects on performance in resistance-type exercise. Sixteen resistance-trained men (age 23 ± 4 years, body mass 77.56 ± 7.13 kg, and height 1.75 ± 0.04 m) who regularly (≥3 day/wk) consumed breakfast completed this study. After assessment of 10 repetition maximum (10RM) and familiarization process, subjects completed 2 randomized trials. After an overnight fast, subjects consumed either a typical breakfast meal (containing 1.5 g of carbohydrate/kg; breakfast consumption [BC]) or a water-only breakfast (breakfast omission [BO]). Two hours later, subjects performed 4 sets to failure of back squat and bench press at 90% of their 10RM. Sensations of hunger, fullness, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption were collected before, as well as immediately, 1 hour and 2 hours after BC/BO using 100-mm visual analogue scales. Total repetitions completed were lower during BO for both back squat (BO: 58 ± 11 repetitions; BC: 68 ± 14 repetitions; effect size [ES] = 0.98; p < 0.001) and bench press (BO: 38 ± 5 repetitions; BC: 40 ± 5 repetitions; ES = 1.06; p < 0.001). Fullness was greater, whereas hunger, desire to eat, and prospective food consumption were lower after a meal for BC compared with BO (p < 0.001). The results of this study demonstrate that omission of a pre-exercise breakfast might impair resistance exercise performance in habitual breakfast consumers. Therefore, consumption of a high-carbohydrate meal before resistance exercise might be a prudent strategy to help maximize performanc

Starving your performance? Reduced pre-exercise hunger increases resistance exercise performance

Background: Pre-exercise food intake enhances exercise performance due, in part, to the provision of exogenous carbohydrate. Food intake also suppresses hunger, but the specific influence of hunger on exercise performance has not been investigated. This study aimed to manipulate hunger by altering pre-exercise meal viscosity to examine whether hunger influences performance. Methods: Sixteen resistance-trained males completed 2 experimental trials ingesting either high viscosity semisolid (SEM) and low viscosity liquid (LIQ) carbohydrate-containing meals 2 hours before performing 4 sets of back squat (85 [22] kg) and bench press (68 [13] kg) to failure at 90% 10-repetition maximum. Subjective hunger/fullness as well as plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin, ghrelin, and peptide tyrosine–tyrosine were measured before and periodically after the meal. Repetitions completed in sets were used to determine exercise performance. Results: This study demonstrates that exercise performance in back squat was increased in the SEM trial concomitant to a reduction in hunger. Therefore, this study provides novel data that suggest that exercise performance might be influenced by hunger, at least for resistance exercise

Viscous placebo and carbohydrate breakfasts similarly decrease appetite and increase resistance exercise performance compared to a control breakfast in trained males

Given the common view that pre-exercise nutrition/breakfast is important for performance, the present study investigated whether breakfast influences resistance exercise performance via a physiological or psychological effect. Twenty-two resistance trained, breakfast-consuming men completed three experimental trials, consuming water-only (WAT), or semi-solid breakfasts containing 0 g/kg (PLA) or 1.5 g/kg (CHO) maltodextrin. PLA and CHO meals contained xanthan gum and low-energy flavouring (~29 kcal) and subjects were told both ‘contained energy’. Two hours post-meal, subjects completed 4 sets of back squat and bench press to failure at 90% 10 repetition maximum. Blood samples were taken pre-meal, 45 min and 105 min post-meal to measure serum/plasma glucose, insulin, ghrelin, GLP-1 and PYY concentrations. Subjective hunger/fullness were also measured. Total back squat repetitions were greater in CHO (44 (SD 10) repetitions) and PLA (43 ± 10 repetitions) than WAT (38 (SD 10) repetitions; P < 0.001). Total bench press repetitions were similar between trials (WAT 37 (SD 7) repetitions; CHO 39 ± 7 repetitions; PLA 38 (SD 7) repetitions; P = 0.130). Performance was similar between CHO and PLA trials. Hunger was suppressed and fullness increased similarly in PLA and CHO, relative to WAT (P < 0.001). During CHO, plasma glucose was elevated at 45 min (P < 0.05), whilst serum insulin was elevated (P < 0.05) and plasma ghrelin supressed at 45 and 105 min (P < 0.05). These results suggest that breakfast/pre-exercise nutrition enhances resistance exercise performance via a psychological effect, although a potential mediating role of hunger cannot be discounted

No effect of 24 h severe energy restriction on appetite regulation and ad libitum energy intake in overweight and obese males

Background/Objectives: Long-term success of weight loss diets might depend on how the appetite regulatory system responds to energy restriction (ER). This study determined the effect of 24 h severe ER on subjective and hormonal appetite regulation, subsequent ad libitum energy intake and metabolism. Subjects/Methods: In randomised order, eight overweight or obese males consumed a 24 h diet containing either 100% (12105 (1174 kJ; energy balance; EB) or 25% (3039 (295) kJ; ER) of estimated daily energy requirements (EER). An individualised standard breakfast containing 25% of EER (3216 (341) kJ) was consumed the following morning and resting energy expenditure, substrate utilisation and plasma concentrations of acylated ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-17–36), glucose-dependant insulinotropic peptide (GIP1–42), glucose, insulin and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were determined for 4 h after breakfast. Ad libitum energy intake was assessed in the laboratory on day 2 and via food records on day 3. Subjective appetite was assessed throughout. Results: Energy intake was not different between trials for day 2 (EB: 14946 (1272) kJ; ER: 15251 (2114) kJ; P=0.623), day 3 (EB: 10580 (2457) kJ; 10812 (4357) kJ; P=0.832) or day 2 and 3 combined (P=0.693). Subjective appetite was increased during ER on day 1 (P0.381). Acylated ghrelin, GLP-17–36 and insulin were not different between trials (P>0.104). Post-breakfast area under the curve (AUC) for NEFA (P<0.05) and GIP1–42 (P<0.01) were greater during ER compared with EB. Fat oxidation was greater (P<0.01) and carbohydrate oxidation was lower (P<0.01) during ER, but energy expenditure was not different between trials (P=0.158). Conclusions: These results suggest that 24 h severe ER does not affect appetite regulation or energy intake in the subsequent 48 h. This style of dieting may be conducive to maintenance of a negative EB by limiting compensatory eating behaviour, and therefore may assist with weight loss

In Vitro and In Vivo Investigation of the Efficacy of Arylimidamide DB1831 and Its Mesylated Salt Form - DB1965 - against Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

Chagas disease is caused by infection with the intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. At present, nifurtimox and benznidazole, both compounds developed empirically over four decades ago, represent the chemotherapeutic arsenal for treating this highly neglected disease. However, both drugs present variable efficacy depending on the geographical area and the occurrence of natural resistance, and are poorly effective against the later chronic stage. As a part of a search for new therapeutic opportunities to treat chagasic patients, pre-clinical studies were performed to characterize the activity of a novel arylimidamide (AIA - DB1831 (hydrochloride salt) and DB1965 (mesylate salt)) against T.cruzi. These AIAs displayed a high trypanocidal effect in vitro against both relevant forms in mammalian hosts, exhibiting a high selectivity index and a very high efficacy (IC50 value/48 h of 5–40 nM) against intracellular parasites. DB1965 shows high activity in vivo in acute experimental models (mouse) of T.cruzi, showing a similar effect to benznidazole (Bz) when compared under a scheme of 10 daily consecutive doses with 12.5 mg/kg. Although no parasitological cure was observed after treating with 20 daily consecutive doses, a combined dosage of DB1965 (5 mg/kg) with Bz (50 mg/kg) resulted in parasitaemia clearance and 100% animal survival. In summary, our present data confirmed that aryimidamides represent promising new chemical entities against T.cruzi in therapeutic schemes using the AIA alone or in combination with other drugs, like benznidazole

Analysis of sexual phenotype and prezygotic fertility in natural populations of Fucus spiralis, F. vesiculosus (Fucaceae, Phaeophyceae) and their putative hybrids

In the genus Fucus, the character dioecy/hermaphroditism has undergone multiple state changes and hybridization is possible between taxa with contrasting mating systems, e.g. between the dioecious Fucus vesiculosus and the hermaphrodite F. spiralis. In the context of mating system evolution, we evaluated the potential consequences of hybridization by studying the variation in sexual phenotype and prezygotic fertility. Firstly, as a result of hybridization between the two sexual systems, gender variation may arise depending on the relative importance of genes with large versus small phenotypic effects. We thus qualitatively examined the extent of gender variation within and among individual hybrids in comparison with both parental species. Secondly, if hybridization breaks up co-adapted gene complexes, hybrid fertility may be reduced in comparison with both parental species. Therefore, we also quantified male and female prezygotic fertility in parental species and their hybrids in order to test for reduction in hybrid fitness. A total of 89 sexually mature individuals (20 F. spiralis, 40 F. vesiculosus, 10 hermaphrodite hybrids and 19 dioecious hybrids) were sampled in two geographically distant regions (France and Portugal) and six conceptacles per individual were observed. Within-individual variation was very restricted qualitatively – only one hybrid carried a conceptacle with a different sexual phenotype from the five others – as well as quantitatively. This suggests a simple genetic system for sex determination involving a few genes with major effects. In addition, analyses showed no significant decrease in hybrid fertility compared with parental species. Moreover, hybrids exhibited all sexual phenotypes, suggesting several generations of hybridization and backcrossing and, therefore, that hybrids are reproductively successful. Finally, the occurrence of sterile paraphyses in female and hermaphrodite individuals was interpreted as a relic of male function and suggests that, as in higher plants, evolution from hermaphroditism to dioecy may be the most parsimonious pathway

Antarctic Marine Biodiversity – What Do We Know About the Distribution of Life in the Southern Ocean?

The remote and hostile Southern Ocean is home to a diverse and rich community of life that thrives in an environment dominated by glaciations and strong currents. Marine biological studies in the region date back to the nineteenth century, but despite this long history of research, relatively little is known about the complex interactions between the highly seasonal physical environment and the species that inhabit the Southern Ocean. Oceanographically, the Southern Ocean is a major driver of global ocean circulation and plays a vital role in interacting with the deep water circulation in each of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The Census of Antarctic Marine Life and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research Marine Biodiversity Information Network (SCAR-MarBIN) have strived to coordinate and unify the available scientific expertise and biodiversity data to improve our understanding of Southern Ocean biodiversity. Taxonomic lists for all marine species have been compiled to form the Register of Antarctic Marine Species, which currently includes over 8,200 species. SCAR-MarBIN has brought together over 1 million distribution records for Southern Ocean species, forming a baseline against which future change can be judged. The sample locations and numbers of known species from different regions were mapped and the depth distributions of benthic samples plotted. Our knowledge of the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean is largely determined by the relative inaccessibility of the region. Benthic sampling is largely restricted to the shelf; little is known about the fauna of the deep sea. The location of scientific bases heavily influences the distribution pattern of sample and observation data, and the logistical supply routes are the focus of much of the at-sea and pelagic work. Taxa such as mollusks and echinoderms are well represented within existing datasets with high numbers of georeferenced records. Other taxa, including the species-rich nematodes, are represented by just a handful of digital records

Acute increase of alpha-synuclein inhibits synaptic vesicle recycling evoked during intense stimulation

This work was supported by grants from the NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke RO1 NS078165 (to J.R.M.), the Morton Cure Paralysis Fund (to J.R.M.), and the Branfman Family Foundation (to J.M.G.) and by a Dorothea Bennett graduate fellowship (to D.J.B.)