Effects of creatine supplementation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in sedentary healthy males undergoing aerobic training

Recent findings have indicated that creatine supplementation may affect glucose metabolism. This study aimed to examine the effects of creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, on glucose tolerance in sedentary healthy male. Subjects (n = 22) were randomly divided in two groups and were allocated to receive treatment with either creatine (CT) (similar to 10g .day over three months) or placebo (PT) (dextrose). Administration of treatments was double blind. Both groups underwent moderate aerobic training. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed and both fasting plasma insulin and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index were assessed at the start, and after four, eight and twelve weeks. CT demonstrated significant decrease in OGTT area under the curve compared to PT (P = 0.034). There were no differences between groups or over time in fasting insulin or HOMA. The results suggest that creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, can improve glucose tolerance but does not affect insulin sensitivity, and may warrant further investigation with diabetic subjects

Strategies to Prevent Sarcopenia in the Aging Process: Role of Protein Intake and Exercise

Sarcopenia is one of the main issues associated with the process of aging. Characterized by muscle mass loss, it is triggered by several conditions, including sedentary habits and negative net protein balance. According to World Health Organization, it is expected a 38% increase in older individuals by 2025. Therefore, it is noteworthy to establish recommendations to prevent sarcopenia and several events and comorbidities associated with this health issue condition. In this review, we discuss the role of these factors, prevention strategies, and recommendations, with a focus on protein intake and exercise

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the dat

Addition of nitrogen had no effect on yield and quality of apples in an high density orchard carrying a dwarf rootstock A adição de nitrogênio não afetou o rendimento e a qualidade de maçãs em pomar com alta densidade e porta-enxerto anão

The effect of N addition on apple yield and quality may vary according to the tree vigor. Apple trees developed over vigorous rootstocks had shown no response to N application in Brazil. In this study it was evaluated the effect of N addition to the soil on yield and quality of &#180;Royal Gala&#180; apples grafted on a dwarf rootstock (M.9). The orchard was planted in 1995 (2,857 trees ha&#45;1) on an Oxisol containing 40 g kg&#45;1 of organic matter and pH 6.0. The experiment was carried out from 1998 up to 2005. Treatments consisted of rates of N (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha&#45;1 year&#45;1 from 1998 to 2001, and respectively 0, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha&#45;1 afterwards), all broadcasted within the tree row in two equal splits, at bud break and after harvest, as ammonium sulfate. Addition of N to the soil had no effect on fruit yield over the six years regardless of the applied rate. Averaged across treatments and years, fruit yield was 52.3 t ha&#45;1. Nitrogen in the leaves (average of 24 g kg&#45;1) or in the fruits (average of 346 mg kg&#45;1) as well as some attributes related to fruit quality (color, firmness, acidity, soluble solids, physiological disorders) were unaffected by N addition. Some plant parameters related to tree vigor, however, grew higher with the increase on N rate. Thus, it is not necessary to apply N to deep Brazilian soils containing high organic matter in order to assure good fruit quality and yield on high&#45;density orchards carrying dwarf rootstocks probably because the N required for tree growth and fruit production is supplied from soil organic matter decay.<br>O efeito da adição de N ao solo no rendimento e na qualidade de maçãs pode variar em função do vigor das plantas. Experimentos conduzidos no Brasil com macieiras cultivadas sobre porta&#45;enxertos vigorosos não têm apresentado aumento no rendimento de frutos pela aplicação de N. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar o efeito da aplicação de N no rendimento e na qualidade de frutos de macieira cultivada em alta densidade sobre porta&#45;enxerto anão (M.9). O pomar com a cultivar Royal Gala foi plantado em 1995, na densidade de 2.857 plantas ha&#45;1, em um Latossolo Bruno com 40 g kg&#45;1 de matéria orgânica e pH 6,0. O experimento foi implantado em 1998 e foi encerrado em 2005. Os tratamentos consistiram da aplicação anual de 0; 50; 100 e 150 kg ha&#45;1 de N de 1998 até 2001 e de, respectivamente, 0; 100; 200 e 300 kg ha&#45;1 de N a partir da safra 2002&#45;2003. Metade de cada dose foi aplicada no início da brotação, e o restante após a colheita, sempre na forma de sulfato de amônio. A aplicação de N ao solo não influenciou no rendimento de frutos em nenhuma das seis safras, independentemente da dose. Na média das doses e dos anos, o rendimento foi de 52,3 t ha&#45;1. A adição de N também não afetou a concentração de N nas folhas (média de 24 g kg&#45;1) e nos frutos (media de 346 mg kg&#45;1), nem tampouco os atributos relacionados com a qualidade dos frutos (cor da epiderme, firmeza da polpa, acidez, sólidos solúveis, desordens fisiológicas). Alguns atributos relacionados com o vigor das plantas, entretanto, aumentaram com o aumento da dose de N. Portanto, em solos profundos do Sul do Brasil, com alto teor de matéria orgânica, não é necessário aplicar N para obter altas produtividades e frutos de boa qualidade em pomares de 'Royal Gala' contendo porta&#45;enxerto anão (M.9) e alta densidade de plantas, provavelmente porque a necessidade das árvores é suprida pelo N oriundo da decomposição orgânica

ATLANTIC MAMMAL TRAITS: a data set of morphological traits of mammals in the Atlantic Forest of South America

Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Ecol, Inst Biociencias, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Catarina, Ctr Ciencias Biol, Dept Ecol & Zool, Florianopolis, SC, Brazil|Caipora Cooperat, Florianopolis, SC, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservac Biodiversidade, Lab Ecol Aplicada Conservacao, Ilheus, BA, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, CMARF, Ilheus, BA, BrazilUniv Brasilia, Dept Ecol, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Ecol Vertebrados, Brasilia, DF, BrazilUniv Fed Santa Maria, Dept Ecol & Evolut, Santa Maria, RS, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Espirito Santo, Ctr Ciencias Humanas & Nat, Dept Ciencias Biol, Vitoria, ES, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Biol Geral, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Mato Grosso de Sul, Inst Biociencias, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilUniv Fed Parana, Dept Zool, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Fed Parana, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservcao, Curitiba, Parana, BrazilUniv Estado Rio de Janeiro, Dept Ecol, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Extremo Sul Catarinense, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Ambientais, Criciuma, SC, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, ESALQ, Dept Ciencias Biol, Piracicaba, SP, BrazilUniv Nacl Misiones, CONICET, Inst Biol Subtrop, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaAsociac Civil Ctr Invest Bosque Atlantico, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaFIOCRUZ Amazonas, Inst Leonidas & Maria Deane, Manaus, Amazonas, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Dept Zootecnia, Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilField Museum Nat Hist, Integrated Res Ctr, Chicago, IL 60605 USAUniv Fed Pernambuco, Ctr Biociencias, Dept Zool, Lab Ciencia Aplicada Conservacao Biodiversidade, Recife, PE, BrazilInst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade, Ctr Nacl Pesquisa & Conservacao Mamiferos Carnivo, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Vale Rio dos Sinos, Sao Leopoldo, RS, BrazilUniv Reg Cariri, Dept Biol, Lab Ecol Mamiferos, Crato, CE, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Dept Ecol, Lab Vertebrados, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Federal Mato Grosso do Sul, Programa Posgrad Ecol & Conservacao, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilIPE, Nazare Paulista, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Programa Posgrad Zool, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Estado Minas Gerais, Dept Ciencias Biol, Ibirite, MG, BrazilPREA, Programa Educ Ambiental, Juiz De Fora, MG, BrazilChinese Acad Sci, Inst Zool, Key Lab Zool Systemat and Evolut, Beijing, Peoples R ChinaMinist Salud Nacion, Inst Nacl Med Trop INMeT, Puerto Iguazu, Misiones, ArgentinaUniv Fed Vicosa, Dept Engn Florestal, Vicosa, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Goias, Inst Biociencias, Jatai, Go, BrazilInst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade ICMB, Ctr Nacl Pesquisa & Conservacao Primatas Brasilei, Joao Pessoa, PB, BrazilCtr Rescate Fauna Silvestre Guira Oga, Puerto Iguazu, ArgentinaFdn Hist Nat Felix de Azara, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaProjeto Carnivoros Iguacu, Foz Do Iguacu, PR, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Med Vet Prevent & Reprod Anim, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet Jaboticabal, Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Integracao Latinoamer, Inst Latinoamer Ciencias Vida & Nat, Foz Do Iguacu, PR, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Diadema, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Paraiba, Dept Sistemat & Ecol, Lab Mamiferos, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilIUCN Peccary Specialist Grp, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilWWF Brazil, Campo Grande, MS, BrazilChicago State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Chicago, IL USAUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Nucleo Ecol & Desenvolvimento Socioambiental Maca, Macae, RJ, BrazilUniv Vila Velha, Programa Posgrad Ecol Ecossistemas, Vila Velha, ES, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Vertebrados, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Bahia, Programa Posgrad Ecol, Salvador, BA, BrazilUniv Fed Paraiba, Dept Sistemat & Ecol, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Biol Zool, Lab Mamiferos, Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Ciencias Ambientais, Diadema, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc