Supplementation with a Polyphenol-Rich Extract, TensLess® , Attenuates Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness and Improves Muscle Recovery from Damages After Eccentric Exercise.

High-intensity exercises are known to provoke delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Delayed onset muscle soreness typically occurs within the first 24 h, peaks between 24 and 72 h, and can last as long as 5-7 days post-exercise. Delayed onset muscle soreness is a multifactorial process involving both mechanical and biochemical components, associated with clinical features that may limit range of motion, and athletes seek for effective recovery strategies to optimize future training sessions. TensLess® is a food supplement developed to help manage post-exercise recovery. The supplement has been investigated on 13 recreationally active athletes of both sex, during a randomized, double-blind, and crossover clinical investigation, including a 3-week washout period. The clinical investigation was based on the study of TensLess® effects for DOMS management and on the reduction of associated muscle damages following an eccentric exercise protocol. Supplementation with TensLess® induced significant decrease in DOMS perception (-33%; p = 0.008) as of the first 24 h; this was significantly correlated with a lowered release of muscle damage-associated biomarkers, namely myoglobin, creatinine, and creatine kinase, for the whole length of the recovery period. Taken together, these positive results clearly indicate that post-exercise supplementation with TensLess® may preserve myocytes and reduce soreness following eccentric exercise-induced damages, and, accordingly, significantly shorten muscle recovery.Actividad Física y Deport

Honey, a Gift from Nature to Health and Beauty: A Review

Benefits of honey are contributed by the composition of its elements such as glucose, fructose, glucose oxidase, vitamins and phenolic compounds. For health, honey can be used to treat wounds due to the antibacterial activity conferred by the hydrogen peroxide produced by glucose oxidase in honey. Anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, deodorizing and tissue regeneration activities in honey also help in the wound healing process. It can also be an alternative sweetener for diabetic patients to ensure compliance to a healthy diet. Moreover, honey exerts several effects such as lowering low density lipids and increasing high density lipids, thus reducing risk of atherosclerosis. In terms of beauty, honey can be used on skin and hair. It moisturizes skin through its natural humectant properties contributed by high contents of fructose and glucose. Honey treats acne on the skin due to its antibacterial activity, anti-inflammatory action and tissue repair. The hair can benefit from honey in such a way that the hair has abundance, and becomes easier to comb. However, there have not been as many studies regarding the use of honey in skin in comparison to its use for health. Therefore, future studies on honey could research its use, action and benefits in both cosmetics and dermatology

Assessment of the stress corrosion cracking of prestressing tendons by acoustic emission in high alkaline medium

International audienc

Detection of stress corrosion cracking of high-strength steel used in prestressed concrete structures by acoustic emission technique

International audienceThe stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of high-strength steel used in prestressed concrete structures was studied by acoustic emission technique (AE). A simulated concrete pore (SCP) solution at high-alkaline (pH 12) contaminated by sulphate, chloride, and thiocyanate ions was used. The evolution of the acoustic activity recorded during the tests shows the presence of several stages related respectively to cracks initiation due to the local corrosion imposed by corrosives species, cracks propagation and steel failure. Microscopic examinations pointed out that the wires exhibited a brittle fracture mode. The cracking was found to propagate in the transgranular mode. The role of corrosives species and hydrogen in the rupture mechanism of high-strength steel was also investigated. This study shows promising results for an potential use in situ of AE for real-time health monitoring of eutectoid steel cables used in prestressed concrete structures

Development and validation of sensitivity and uncertainty calculations using the 3D neutron transport code CRONOS2 at an industrial scale

International audienceEvaluating uncertainties on reactivity is a major issue for conception of nuclear reactors. These uncertainties mainly come from the lack of knowledge on nuclear and technological data. The common method for the propagation of the nuclear data uncertainties consists in using the Standard Perturbation Theory to calculate reactivity sensitivity to the desire nuclear data. In such a method, sensitivities are combined with a priori nuclear data covariance matrices, such as the COMAC set developed by CEA. In this study, COMAC nuclear data uncertainties have been propagated on the BEAVRS benchmark using a classical two-step APOLLO2/CRONOS2 scheme. A procedure implementing Standard Perturbation Theory has been created using the 3D neutron transport code CRONOS2 in order to allow a full-core uncertainty propagation with 4 groups industrial scheme. CRONOS2 sensitivities are compared to sensitivities calculated by the IFP method in Monte Carlo codes. For the purpose of the tests, dedicated covariance matrices have been created by condensation from 49 to 4 groups of the COMAC matrix. In conclusion, RONOS2 sensitivities are greed with the sensitivities calculated by the IFP method, which validates the calculation procedure. In addition, reactivity uncertainty calculated by this method is close to values found for this type of reactor. Finally, the calculation method allows computing ensitivities quickly with a good accurate

Defects Detection and Identification in Adhesively Bonded Joints between CFRP Laminate and Reinforced Concrete Beam Using Acousto-Ultrasonic Technique

Adhesively bonded composite reinforcements have been increasingly used in civil engineering since the 1980s. They depend on the effective transfer of forces throughout the adhesive joint that may be affected by defects or damages. It is therefore necessary to provide methods to detect and/or identify these defects present in the bonded joints without affecting their future use. This should be carried out through nondestructive methods (NDT) and should be able to discriminate the different types of defects that may be encountered. The acousto-ultrasonic technique shows good potential to answer to this challenge, as illustrated in recent studies led on small-scale model samples. In this paper, we assess the robustness of this methodology on larger scale samples using reinforced concrete beams (RC beam), that is a mandatory step prior to on-site applications. A mono-parametric analysis allows the detection of all types of defects using a simple criterion set. For the identification, it was necessary to conduct a data-driven strategy by means of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a random forest (RF) method used from extracted parameters

Defects Detection and Identification in Adhesively Bonded Joints between CFRP Laminate and Reinforced Concrete Beam Using Acousto-Ultrasonic Technique

Adhesively bonded composite reinforcements have been increasingly used in civil engineering since the 1980s. They depend on the effective transfer of forces throughout the adhesive joint that may be affected by defects or damages. It is therefore necessary to provide methods to detect and/or identify these defects present in the bonded joints without affecting their future use. This should be carried out through nondestructive methods (NDT) and should be able to discriminate the different types of defects that may be encountered. The acousto-ultrasonic technique shows good potential to answer to this challenge, as illustrated in recent studies led on small-scale model samples. In this paper, we assess the robustness of this methodology on larger scale samples using reinforced concrete beams (RC beam), that is a mandatory step prior to on-site applications. A mono-parametric analysis allows the detection of all types of defects using a simple criterion set. For the identification, it was necessary to conduct a data-driven strategy by means of a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a random forest (RF) method used from extracted parameters