Combined speed endurance and endurance exercise amplify the exercise-induced PGC-1α and PDK4 mRNA response in trained human muscle

The aim of this study was to investigate the mRNA response related to mitochondrial biogenesis, metabolism, angiogenesis, and myogenesis in trained human skeletal muscle to speed endurance exercise (S), endurance exercise (E), and speed endurance followed by endurance exercise (S + E). Seventeen trained male subjects (maximum oxygen uptake (VO(2)‐max): 57.2 ± 3.7 (mean ± SD) mL·min(−1)·kg(−1)) performed S (6 × 30 sec all‐out), E (60 min ~60% VO(2)‐max), and S + E on a cycle ergometer on separate occasions. Muscle biopsies were obtained at rest and 1, 2, and 3 h after the speed endurance exercise (S and S + E) and at rest, 0, 1, and 2 h after exercise in E. In S and S + E, muscle peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor‐γ coactivator‐1 (PGC‐1α) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase‐4 (PDK4) mRNA were higher (P < 0.05) 2 and 3 h after speed endurance exercise than at rest. Muscle PGC‐1α and PDK4 mRNA levels were higher (P < 0.05) after exercise in S + E than in S and E, and higher (P < 0.05) in S than in E after exercise. In S and S + E, muscle vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA was higher (P < 0.05) 1 (S only), 2 and 3 h after speed endurance exercise than at rest. In S + E, muscle regulatory factor‐4 and muscle heme oxygenase‐1 mRNA were higher (P < 0.05) 1, 2, and 3 h after speed endurance exercise than at rest. In S, muscle hexokinase II mRNA was higher (P < 0.05) 2 and 3 h after speed endurance exercise than at rest and higher (P < 0.05) than in E after exercise. These findings suggest that in trained subjects, speed endurance exercise provides a stimulus for muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, substrate regulation, and angiogenesis that is not evident with endurance exercise. These responses are reinforced when speed endurance exercise is followed by endurance exercise

Similar improvements in 5-km performance and maximal oxygen uptake with submaximal and maximal 10-20-30 training in runners, but increase in muscle oxidative phosphorylation occur only with maximal effort training

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine whether 10-20-30 training (consecutive 1-min intervals consisting of 30 s at low-speed, 20 s at moderate-speed, and 10 s at high-speed), performed with submaximal effort during the 10-s high-speed runs, would lead to improved performance as well as increased maximum oxygen uptake (VO2-max) and muscle oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). In addition, to examine to what extent the effects would compare to 10-20-30 running conducted with maximal effort. Design: Nineteen males were randomly assigned to 10-20-30 running performed with either submaximal (SUBMAX; n = 11) or maximal (MAX; n = 8) effort, which was conducted three times/week for 6 weeks (intervention; INT). Before and after INT, subjects completed a 5-km running test and a VO2-max test, and a biopsy was obtained from m. vastus lateralis. Results: After compared to before INT, SUBMAX and MAX improved (p < 0.05) 5-km performance by 3.0% (20.8 ± 0.4 (means±SE) vs. 21.5 ± 0.4 min) and 2.3% (21.2 ± 0.4 vs. 21.6 ± 0.4 min), respectively, and VO2-max was ~7% higher (p < 0.01) in both SUBMAX (57.0 ± 1.3 vs. 53.5 ± 1.1 mL/min/kg) and MAX (57.8 ± 1.2 vs. 53.7 ± 0.9 mL/min/kg), with no difference in the changes between groups. In SUBMAX, muscle OXPHOS was unchanged, whereas in MAX, muscle OXPHOS subunits (I-IV) and total OXPHOS (5.5 ± 0.3 vs 4.7 ± 0.3 A.U.) were 9%–29% higher (p < 0.05) after compared to before INT. Conclusion: Conducting 10-20-30 training with a non-maximal effort during the 10-s high-speed runs is as efficient in improving 5-km performance and VO2-max as maximal effort exercise, whereas increase in muscle OXPHOS occur only when the 10-s high-speed runs are performed with maximal effort.Danish Ministry of Culture and Team Danmark, the Danish elite sports organization

SkiROS:A four tiered architecture for task-level programming of industrial mobile manipulators

During the last decades, the methods for intuitive task level programming of robots have become a fundamental point of interest for industrial application. The paper in hand presents SkiROS (Skill-based Robot Operating System) a novel software architecture based on the skills paradigm. The skill paradigm has already been used and tested within the FP7 project TAPAS, and we are going to use it in several new FP7 projects (CARLOS, STAMINA, ACAT). It facilitates task-level programming of mobile manipulators by providing the robot with a set of movement primitives, skills and tasks. This hierarchy brings many advantages, where the most relevant is the separation of control in the layers of hardware abstraction(proxy), multi-sensory control(primitive), object-level abstraction (skill) and planning (task). The definition and the clear division in different abstraction levels allows the implementation of a flexible, highly modular system for the development of cognitive robot tasks

An advanced glycation endproduct (AGE)-rich diet promotes accumulation of AGEs in Achilles tendon

Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) accumulate in long‐lived tissue proteins like collagen in bone and tendon causing modification of the biomechanical properties. This has been hypothesized to raise the risk of orthopedic injury such as bone fractures and tendon ruptures. We evaluated the relationship between AGE content in the diet and accumulation of AGEs in weight‐bearing animal Achilles tendon. Two groups of mice (C57BL/6Ntac) were fed with either high‐fat diet low in AGEs high‐fat diet (HFD) (n = 14) or normal diet high in AGEs (ND) (n = 11). AGE content in ND was six to 50‐fold higher than HFD. The mice were sacrificed at week 40 and Achilles and tail tendons were carefully excised to compare weight and nonweight‐bearing tendons. The amount of the AGEs carboxymethyllysine (CML), methylglyoxal‐derived hydroimidazolone (MG‐H1) and carboxyethyllysine (CEL) in Achilles and tail tendon was measured using ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC‐MS/MS) and pentosidine with high‐pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescent detection. AGEs in Achilles tendon were higher than in tail tendon for CML (P < 0.0001), CEL (P < 0.0001), MG‐H1 and pentosidine (for both ND and HFD) (P < 0.0001). The AGE‐rich diet (ND) resulted in an increase in CML (P < 0.0001), MG‐H1 (P < 0.001) and pentosidine (P < 0.0001) but not CEL, in Achilles and tail tendon. This is the first study to provide evidence for AGE accumulation in injury‐prone, weight‐bearing Achilles tendon associated with intake of an AGE‐rich diet. This indicates that food‐derived AGEs may alter tendon properties and the development of tendon injuries