Treadmill walking differently affects body composition and metabolic parameters of female rats from normal or small litters

This work assessed whether walking affects bodily development and metabolic parameters of female rats raised in small litters (three pups, group S) or control litters (nine pups, group C). After weaning, some of the rats had five sessions per week of a 30-min treadmill walking (CE and SE), while the others remained sedentary (CS and SS) until the age of 120 days. Exercise caused a reduction of body weight (CS/CE = 1.18), Lee index (CS/CE = 1.04), fasting blood glucose (CS/CE = 1.35), mesenteric (CS/CE = 1.23), and ovarian fat (CS/CE = 1.33) in CE, but only glucose was decreased in SE (SS/SE = 1.16). The diameter of adipocytes decreased to a half in the small-litter groups. Exercise increased subcutaneous (CS/CE = 0.88 and SS/SE = 0.71), but decreased retroperitoneal adipocytes (CS/CE = 1.2 and SS/SE = 1.3). Litter size reduction had little impact on females at the age of 120 days, but the light physical activity seemed insufficient to counteract all the effects of lactational overfeeding. On the other hand, pups from exercised mothers had a decrease in their biometric and glycemic indexes, demonstrating the transgenerational action of regular, although light, exercise

Comparative Study of the Long-Term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Nutritional Practices Among International Elite and Sub-Elite Athletes: A Sample of 1420 Participants from 14 Countries

Background Although several studies have shown that the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown has had negative impacts on mental health and eating behaviors among the general population and athletes, few studies have examined the long-term effects on elite and sub-elite athletes. The present study aimed to investigate the long-term impact of COVID-19 lockdown on mental health and eating behaviors in elite versus sub-elite athletes two years into the pandemic. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted between March and April 2022, involving athletes from 14 countries, using a convenient non-probabilistic and snowball sampling method. A total of 1420 athletes (24.5 ± 7.9 years old, 569 elites, 35% women, and 851 sub-elites, 45% women) completed an online survey-based questionnaire. The questionnaire included a sociodemographic survey, information about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale—21 Items (DASS-21) for mental health assessment, and the Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants (REAP-S) for assessing eating behavior. Results The results showed that compared to sub-elite athletes, elite athletes had lower scores on the DASS-21 (p = .001) and its subscales of depression (p = .003), anxiety (p = .007), and stress (p < .001), as well as a lower REAP-S score indicating lower diet quality (p = .013). Conclusion In conclusion, two years into the pandemic, elite athletes were likelier to have better mental health profiles than sub-elite athletes but surprisingly had lower diet quality. Key Points Elite athletes had better mental health profiles compared to sub-elite athletes, with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress. Elite athletes reported greater psychological support and perceived themselves as more financially secure during the pandemic than sub-elite athletes do. Elite athletes were more likely to have poor eating habits compared to sub-elite athletes

A next-generation liquid xenon observatory for dark matter and neutrino physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for weakly interacting massive particles, while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector

JuDFTteam/JuKKR: v3.6

The Jülich KKR codes containing: voronoi construction, bulk crystals and interfaces, impurities, magnetic susceptibilities, Fermi surface, impurity scattering, Boltzmann transpor

Microstructure and functionality of a uniquely graded super duplex stainless steel designed by a novel arc heat treatment method

A novel arc heat treatment technique was applied to design a uniquely graded super duplex stainless steel (SDSS), by subjecting a single sample to a steady state temperature gradient for 10 h. A new experimental approach was used to map precipitation in microstructure, covering aging temperatures of up to 1430 °C. The microstructure was characterized and functionality was evaluated via hardness mapping. Nitrogen depletion adjacent to the fusion boundary depressed the upper temperature limit for austenite formation and influenced the phase balance above 980 °C. Austenite/ferrite boundaries deviating from Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship (OR) were preferred locations for precipitation of σ at 630–1000 °C, χ at 560–1000 °C, Cr2N at 600–900 °C and R between 550 °C and 700 °C. Precipitate morphology changed with decreasing temperature; from blocky to coral-shaped for σ, from discrete blocky to elongated particles for χ, and from polygonal to disc-shaped for R. Thermodynamic calculations of phase equilibria largely agreed with observations above 750 °C when considering nitrogen loss. Formation of intermetallic phases and 475 °C-embrittlement resulted in increased hardness. A schematic diagram, correlating information about phase contents, morphologies and hardness, as a function of exposure temperature, is introduced for evaluation of functionality of microstructures.  Funding details: VINNOVA; Funding details: 2016-02834; Funding details: 20140130; Funding text: The financial support from the KK-foundation for the research school SiCoMaP ( 20140130 ) and the DUWELTOOL project ( 2016-02834 ) funded by Vinnova is acknowledged.</p