Caffeine and Sprint Performance in Habitual and Caffeine Naive Participants

Caffeine is thought to provide ergogenic benefits during endurance performance. However, there is limited research on the effects of caffeine on anaerobic sports performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 6 mg·kg-1 of caffeine on repeated sprint performance. The sample included active college students (N = 18), classified as habitual caffeine or caffeine naïve users. Participants completed a 12 x 30-m sprint test with 35 s rest intervals between sprints. Ratings of Perceived Exertion were collected every 3rd sprint. Height and body mass were measured and participants accommodated to the sprint test on Day 1. Participants were randomly assigned to the placebo or caffeine condition on Day 2 and the treatment was reversed on Day 3. Caffeine was ingested in a sports drink 1 h prior to performing the sprints. Caffeine produced a significantly faster best sprint time compared to the placebo trial, F (1, 17) = 7.38, MSE = .02, H-F p = .02. However, no significant difference was found between caffeine supplementation and placebo on time to complete the total sprint test. Additionally, no significant difference was found in sprint times with caffeine supplementation by sex or between caffeine-naïve and habitual caffeine users. Finally, a significantly higher average RPE was found with caffeine supplementation as compared to the placebo, t (1, 17) = 2.92, d = .38, p = .01. Caffeine has the potential to enhance sprint performance however, further research with women and habitual caffeine consumers is needed

Acute Effects of Static and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Stretching on Agility Performance in Elite Youth Soccer Players

Int J Exerc Sci 5(2) : 97-105, 2012. A warm-up is an important part of preparation for a soccer match. Stretching is typically part of the warm-up however, debate exists as to the most appropriate type of stretching to perform. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of static and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching on soccer-specific agility performance in 14 male elite, premier league youth soccer players. Participants completed 4 trials of the Balsom agility test while dribbling a soccer ball. Height, age, and body mass were collected in trial 1 and participants were accommodated to the agility test during trials 1 and 2. Trials 3 and 4 were the static and PNF treatment trials that were administered after a standardized warm-up (control) in a randomized and counterbalanced manner. There were no significant differences between the difference scores of the static and PNF stretching conditions, P = .66. Furthermore, no significant differences were found between the control and stretching trials for static stretching, P = .15 or between the control and stretching trials for PNF stretching, P = .58. Neither mode of stretching significantly affected agility performance. More research is needed to determine the chronic effects of PNF stretching on agility performance

Mental disorder and the outcome of HIV/AIDS in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a systematic review of the literature to examine the interrelationship between mental health and treatment outcomes in low-income and middle-income settings; to update the work of Collins et al. (2006). DESIGN: Systematic review of peer-reviewed articles that examined one of the following: the effects of mental disorders (including cognitive impairment) upon engagement with treatment and/or adherence; their influence upon HIV-related clinical outcomes; and the impact of interventions for mental disorder. METHODS: Articles about mental health and HIV/AIDS were included if they were published after 2005 and addressed one of the areas of interest described above. Systematic methods were used for searching, screening, and data extraction. Studies employing quantitative measures of exposures and outcomes wherein all participants had a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS were included. RESULTS: This review found ample and moderately consistent evidence that adverse mental health and alcohol consumption are associated with reduced adherence. Variation in measurement and the relative paucity of work meant that interpretation of studies examining engagement with care and other clinical outcomes was difficult. Evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of mental health interventions in low-income and middle-income settings was very limited. CONCLUSION: This review suggests that psychosocial factors, namely, depression and alcohol may have adverse effects upon HIV-related outcomes. However, further large, high-quality studies examining outcomes other than adherence are needed. There is also an urgent need for randomized controlled trials of interventions for mental disorder and a need to investigate their impact upon HIV-related outcomes

Effectiveness of combining feedback about lung age or exhaled carbon monoxide levels with Very Brief Advice (VBA) and support for smoking cessation in primary care compared to giving VBA and support alone – protocol for a randomized controlled trial within the Breathe Well research program

INTRODUCTION: In 2015, smoking prevalence in Republic of Macedonia was 36% in men and 21% in women We aim to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two methods of motivating smokers to quit smoking compared with very brief advice (VBA) alone. Тo date, there are no studies investigating smoking cessation treatment in Republic of Macedonia. METHODS/DESIGN: RCT with process evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis within 31 general practices in Republic of Macedonia recruiting smokers currently smoking >10 cigarettes per day, aged >35 years, attending primary care practices for any reason, regardless of motivation to quit smoking. Respondents will be randomized into one of three groups: (1) VBA and assessment and communication of lung age; (2) VBA and additional assessment and communication of exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) levels; or (3) control group – VBA. All participants who attempt to quit smoking will be offered behavioral support based on the UK standard program for smoking cessation. Primary outcome: Proportion of smokers who are quit at 4 weeks (7-day point prevalence, confirmed by salivary cotinine level). Secondary outcomes: Proportion who have attempted to quit smoking or have quit smoking, a proportion that has reduced the number of cigarettes and motivation to quit smoking; cost-effectiveness analysis calculating cost per quality-adjusted life year. We will evaluate the fidelity to the intervention and will explore patients’ and GPs’ experience and the acceptability of the study intervention by interview. DISCUSSION: The study will evaluate the effectiveness of combining feedback about lung age or exhaled CO levels with VBA and support for smoking cessation in primary care compared to giving VBA and support alone. It will explore how willing primary care physicians are to perform such interventions and the acceptability and effectiveness of such interventions to patients in Republic of Macedonia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study is registered on the ISRCTN registry (ISRCTN54228638)

Engaging stakeholders to level up COPD care in LMICs:lessons learned from the "Breathe Well" programme in Brazil, China, Georgia, and North Macedonia

BACKGROUND: Effective stakeholder engagement in health research is increasingly being recognised and promoted as an important pathway to closing the gap between knowledge production and its use in health systems. However, little is known about its process and impacts, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. This opinion piece draws on the stakeholder engagement experiences from a global health research programme on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) led by clinician researchers in Brazil, China, Georgia and North Macedonia, and presents the process, outcomes and lessons learned.MAIN BODY: Each country team was supported with an overarching engagement protocol and mentored to develop a tailored plan. Patient involvement in research was previously limited in all countries, requiring intensive efforts through personal communication, meetings, advisory groups and social media. Accredited training programmes were effective incentives for participation from healthcare providers; and aligning research findings with competing policy priorities enabled interest and dialogue with decision-makers. The COVID-19 pandemic severely limited possibilities for planned engagement, although remote methods were used where possible. Planned and persistent engagement contributed to shared knowledge and commitment to change, including raised patient and public awareness about COPD, improved skills and practice of healthcare providers, increased interest and support from clinical leaders, and dialogue for integrating COPD services into national policy and practice.CONCLUSION: Stakeholder engagement enabled relevant local actors to produce and utilise knowledge for small wins such as improving day-to-day practice and for long-term goals of equitable access to COPD care. For it to be successful and sustained, stakeholder engagement needs to be valued and integrated throughout the research and knowledge generation process, complete with dedicated resources, contextualised and flexible planning, and commitment.</p

A critical assessment of Mus musculus gene function prediction using integrated genomic evidence

Background: Several years after sequencing the human genome and the mouse genome, much remains to be discovered about the functions of most human and mouse genes. Computational prediction of gene function promises to help focus limited experimental resources on the most likely hypotheses. Several algorithms using diverse genomic data have been applied to this task in model organisms; however, the performance of such approaches in mammals has not yet been evaluated. Results: In this study, a standardized collection of mouse functional genomic data was assembled; nine bioinformatics teams used this data set to independently train classifiers and generate predictions of function, as defined by Gene Ontology (GO) terms, for 21,603 mouse genes; and the best performing submissions were combined in a single set of predictions. We identified strengths and weaknesses of current functional genomic data sets and compared the performance of function prediction algorithms. This analysis inferred functions for 76% of mouse genes, including 5,000 currently uncharacterized genes. At a recall rate of 20%, a unified set of predictions averaged 41% precision, with 26% of GO terms achieving a precision better than 90%. Conclusion: We performed a systematic evaluation of diverse, independently developed computational approaches for predicting gene function from heterogeneous data sources in mammals. The results show that currently available data for mammals allows predictions with both breadth and accuracy. Importantly, many highly novel predictions emerge for the 38% of mouse genes that remain uncharacterized

MHC class I–specific antibody binding to nonhematopoietic cells drives complement activation to induce transfusion-related acute lung injury in mice

In a manner partially independent of activating Fcγ receptors, antibody-mediated production of complement component C5a and recruitment of macrophages elicit transfusion-related acute lung injury in mice

The neotropical reforestation hotspots : a biophysical and socioeconomic typology of contemporary forest expansion

Tropical reforestation is a significant component of global environmental change that is far less understood than tropical deforestation, despite having apparently increased widely in scale during recent decades. The regional contexts defining such reforestation have not been well described. They are likely to differ significantly from the geographical profiles outlined by site-specific observations that predominate in the literature. In response, this article determines the distribution, extent, and defining contexts of apparently spontaneous reforestation. It delineates regional ‘hotspots’ of significant net reforestation across Latin America and the Caribbean and defines a typology of these hotspots with reference to the biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics that unite and distinguish amongst them. Fifteen regional hotspots were identified on the basis of spatial criteria pertaining to the area, distribution, and rate of reforestation 2001–2014, observed using a custom continental MODIS satellite land-cover classification. Collectively, these hotspots cover 11% of Latin America and the Caribbean and they include 167,667.7 km2 of new forests. Comparisons with other remotely sensed estimates of reforestation indicate that these hotspots contain a significant amount of tropical reforestation, continentally and pantropically. The extent of reforestation as a proportion of its hotspot was relatively invariable (3–14%) given large disparities in hotspot areas and contexts. An ordination analysis defined a typology of five clusters, distinguished largely by their topographical roughness and related aspects of agro-ecological marginality, climate, population trends, and degree of urbanization: ‘Urban lowlands’, ‘Mountainous populated areas’, ‘Rural highlands’, ‘Rural humid lands’ and ‘Rural dry lands’. The typology highlights that a range of distinct, even oppositional regional biophysical, demographic, and agricultural contexts have equally given rise to significant, regional net reforestation, urging a concomitant diversification of forest transition science