Effects of A Short-term Cardio Tai Chi Program on Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Hemodynamic Parameters in Sedentary Adults: A Pilot Study

This study evaluates the effects of a short-term Cardio Tai Chi program on the cardiorespiratory fitness and hemodynamic parameters in sedentary adults. Thirty-one sedentary participants (age: 58 ± 9 years, body mass: 63 ± 12 kg) were subjected to an exercise program during 10 sessions over a 10-day period within 2 weeks. The Cardio Tai Chi program consisted in a series of three to five intervals lasting 90 s each at ∼70% maximal heart rate separated by 2-min of low-intensity recovery. Primary outcome measures were cardiorespiratory fitness (peak oxygen uptake, V˙O2peak) assessed by the Rockport walking test and resting hemodynamic parameters (systolic, diastolic, mean, and pulse pressures). We observed a significant difference of means on post-pre V˙O2peak [4.5 ml/kg/min, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.1 to 5.8, p = 0.004], systolic blood pressure (-5.5 mmHg, 95% CI:-7.3 to -3.8, p = 0.010) and pulse pressure (-3.7 mmHg, 95% CI: -5.2 to -2.3, p = 0.028). No significant differences were observed for diastolic pressure (−1.8 mmHg, 95% CI: -2.6 to -1.0, p = 0.226), mean blood pressure (2.5 mmHg, 95% CI: 1.4 to 3.6, p = 0.302), or resting heart rate (-0.9 beat/min, 95% CI: -2.0 to 0.1, p = 0.631). Our findings suggest that engaging in a short-term Cardio Tai Chi program can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and hemodynamic parameters in sedentary adults

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead