Characteristics of optimum falls prevention exercise programmes for community-dwelling older adults using the FITT principle

peer-reviewedThis review aims to identify the optimal exercise intervention characteristics for falls prevention among community-dwelling adults aged 60 years and over. Articles for inclusion were sourced by searching the Academic Search Premier, AMED, Biomedical Reference Collection: Expanded, CINAHL Plus, MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus databases with the key words ‘falls’, ‘prevention’, ‘exercise’ and ‘community’ and via reference lists of relevant articles. Only articles of level 1 or level 2 evidence (Howick et al. 2011) were included. Other inclusion criteria included recording falls incidence as an outcome measure, examining a community-dwelling population aged 60 years or over and implementing exercise as a single intervention in at least one group. Exercise programme characteristics from 31 articles were examined according to their frequency, intensity, time and type and their effects on falls incidence were reviewed. Exercising for a minimum of 1 h/week for at least 40 h over the course of an intervention is required to successfully reduce falls incidence. The optimal exercise frequency is three times per week, but the optimal duration per bout remains unclear. Specific balance training of sufficiently challenging intensity is a vital programme component, and strength training is most effective when combined with balance training. Flexibility and endurance training may also be included as part of a comprehensive programme. A combination of group and individual home exercise may be most effective for preventing falls and promoting exercise adherence

Long Distance Dispersal and Connectivity in Amphi-Atlantic Corals at Regional and Basin Scales

Among Atlantic scleractinian corals, species diversity is highest in the Caribbean, but low diversity and high endemism are observed in various peripheral populations in central and eastern Atlantic islands and along the coasts of Brazil and West Africa. The degree of connectivity between these distantly separated populations is of interest because it provides insight into processes at both evolutionary and ecological time scales, such as speciation, recruitment dynamics and the persistence of coral populations. To assess connectivity in broadly distributed coral species of the Atlantic, DNA sequence data from two nuclear markers were obtained for six coral species spanning their distributional ranges. At basin-wide scales, significant differentiation was generally observed among populations in the Caribbean, Brazil and West Africa. Concordance of patterns in connectivity among co-distributed taxa indicates that extrinsic barriers, such as the Amazon freshwater plume or long stretches of open ocean, restrict dispersal of coral larvae from region to region. Within regions, dispersal ability appears to be influenced by aspects of reproduction and life history. Two broadcasting species, Siderastrea siderea and Montastraea cavernosa, were able to maintain gene flow among populations separated by as much as 1,200 km along the coast of Brazil. In contrast, brooding species, such as Favia gravida and Siderastrea radians, had more restricted gene flow along the Brazilian coast

Efeito da oferta dietética de proteína sobre o ganho muscular, balanço nitrogenado e cinética da 15N-glicina de atletas em treinamento de musculação Effect of the dietary protein intake on the muscular gain, nitrogen balance and 15N-glycine kinetics of athletes in resistance training

O efeito da oferta crescente de proteína sobre o ganho muscular, balanço nitrogenado e cinética da 15N-glicina de atletas de musculação foi estudado em seis jovens saudáveis, praticantes de treinamento com pesos (> 2 anos), sem uso de anabolizantes e concordes com os princípios éticos da pesquisa. Todos receberam adequações dietéticas (0,88g de proteína/kg/dia) pré-experimento de 2 semanas (D1) após o que se ofereceu, por idêntico período, dieta contendo 1,5g de proteína/kg de peso corporal/dia com 30kcal/g de proteína (dieta D2). A seguir receberam, nas próximas 2 semanas, a dieta D3, contendo 2,5g de proteína/kg de peso corporal/dia e 30 kcal/g proteína. As avaliações antropométricas, alimentares, biquímicas, balanço nitrogenado (BN) e cinética com 15N-glicina foram realizadas no início do estudo, pós D1 (M0) e no último dia das dietas D2 (M1) e D3 (M2). Ao final do estudo (4 semanas) houve aumento significativo na massa muscular (1,63±0,9kg), sem diferença entre D2 e D3. O BN acompanhou o consumo protéico/energético (M0 = -7,8g/dia; M1 = 5,6g/dia e M2 = 16,6g/dia) e a síntese protéica acompanhou o BN, com significância estatística (p<0,05) em relação ao basal (M0) mas semelhante entre D2 e D3 (M1 = 49,8±12,2g N/dia e M2 = 52,5±14,0g N/dia) e sem alteração significativa do catabolismo. Assim, os dados de BN e cinética da 15N-glicina indicam que a ingestão protéica recomendável para esses atletas é superior ao preconizado para sedentários (0,88g/kg) e inferior a 2,5g/kg de peso, sendo no caso, 1,5g de proteína/kg de peso/dia com ajuste do consumo energético para 30 kcal/g de proteína.<br>The effect of increased protein intake on the muscle mass gain, nitrogen balance and 15N-glycine kinetics was studied in six young, healthy subjects practitioners of strength training (> 2 years), without use of anabolic steroids and in agreement with the ethical principles of the research. All athletes received adequate diet (0.88g protein/kg/day) during 2 weeks prior the study (D1), and thereafter with diet providing 1.5g of protein/kg/day and 30kcal/g of protein (D2 diet) for the subsequent 2 weeks. Later on, they all received diet with 2.5g of protein/kg/day (D3 diet) and 30 kcal/g protein for the last two weeks. Body composition, food intake, blood biochemistry, nitrogen balance (NB) and 15N-glycine kinetics were determined at the beginning, after D1 (M0) and in the last days of the D2 (M1) and D3 (M2). The results showed at the end of the study (4 weeks) significant increase in muscle mass (1.63±0.9kg), without difference between D2 and D3. The NB followed the protein/energy consumption (M0 = -7.8g/day; M1 = 5.6g/day and D3 = 16.6g/day), the protein synthesis followed the NB, with M0 < (M1=M2) (M1 = 49.8±12.2g N/day and M2 = 52.5±14.0g N/day). Protein catabolism rate was similarly kept among diets. Thus, the results of the NB and 15N-glycine kinetics indicate that the recommended protein intake for these athletes is higher than the one for sedentary adults (0.88g/kg) and lower than 2.5g/kg, around 1.5g of protein/kg/day, with adjustment of the energy consumption to 30 kcal/g of protein