Creatine Supplementation Improves Muscular Performance without Additional Impact on the Cardiovascular System in Trained Women

Creatine monohydrate supplementation in females is largely under-represented in the literature, and their potentially differential hemodynamic responses are unknown. Methods: Twenty-eight resistance-trained women (25.5 ± 6.1 years, 59.7 ± 6.3 kg, 163 ± 5 cm) were randomly assigned to the supplement creatine monohydrate (CRE; 5 g creatine monohydrate + 5 g dextrose) or placebo (PLA; 10 g dextrose) four times per day for 7 days in a double-blind fashion. Each subject subsequently completed resistance training sessions (3 × week) for four weeks with four sets to muscular failure of both half-squat and leg press exercises. The change in body mass (BM), exercise repetition number (REP), rated perceived exertion (RPE), and cardiovascular variables were assessed (sessions 1, 6, and 12). Statistical analyses were performed at a significance level of p ≤ 0.05. Results: Analyses revealed a significant CRE-specific BM increase (p = 0.013), as well as significantly greater half-squat (p = 0.006) and leg press (p = 0.017) REP per set versus PLA. Additionally, CRE demonstrated significantly lower relative RPE values at session 12 compared with previous sessions. Any significant main or interaction effects were observed for the studied cardiovascular variable. Conclusions: The present data substantiate the creatine’s efficacy to improve muscular performance in females while demonstrating the safety of combined creatine monohydrate supplementation and resistance training on cardiovascular parameters

Understanding the Effects of Training on Underwater Undulatory Swimming Performance and Kinematics

In swimming, the underwater phase after the start and turn comprises gliding and dolphin kicking, with the latter also known as underwater undulatory swimming (UUS). Swimming performance is highly dependent on the underwater phase; therefore, understanding the training effects in UUS and underwater gliding can be critical for swimmers and coaches. Further, the development of technique in young swimmers can lead to exponential benefits in an athlete’s career. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a training protocol on UUS and underwater gliding performance and kinematics in young swimmers. Seventeen age group swimmers (boys = 10, girls = 7) performed maximal UUS and underwater gliding efforts before and after a seven-week training protocol. Time to reach 10 m; intra-cyclic mean, peak, and minimum velocities; and gliding performance improved significantly after the training protocol. The UUS performance improvement was mostly produced by an improvement of the upbeat execution, together with a likely reduction of swimmers’ hydrodynamic drag. Despite the changes in UUS and gliding, performance was also likely influenced by growth. The findings from this study highlight kinematic variables that can be used to understand and quantify changes in UUS and gliding performance

Engineering a novel self-powering electrochemical biosensor

This paper records the efforts of a multi-disciplinary team of undergraduate students from Glasgow University to collectively design and carry out a 10 week project in Synthetic Biology as part of the international Genetic Engineered Machine competition (iGEM). The aim of the project was to design and build a self-powering electrochemical biosensor called ‘ElectrEcoBlu’. The novelty of this engineered machine lies in coupling a biosensor with a microbial fuel cell to transduce a pollution input into an easily measurable electrical output signal. The device consists of two components; the sensor element which is modular, allowing for customisation to detect a range of input signals as required, and the universal reporter element which is responsible for generating an electrical signal as an output. The genetic components produce pyocyanin, a competitive electron mediator for microbial fuel cells, thus enabling the generation of an electrical current in the presence of target chemical pollutants. The pollutants tested in our implementation were toluene and salicylate. ElectrEcoBlu is expected to drive forward the development of a new generation of biosensors. Our approach exploited a range of state-of-the-art modelling techniques in a unified framework of qualitative, stochastic and continuous approaches to support the design and guide the construction of this novel biological machine. This work shows that integrating engineering techniques with scientific methodologies can provide new insights into genetic regulation and can be considered as a reference framework for the development of biochemical systems in synthetic biology

The effects of traditional, superset, and tri-set resistance training structures on perceived intensity and physiological responses.

PURPOSE: Investigate the acute and short-term (i.e., 24 h) effects of traditional (TRAD), superset (SS), and tri-set (TRI) resistance training protocols on perceptions of intensity and physiological responses. METHODS: Fourteen male participants completed a familiarisation session and three resistance training protocols (i.e., TRAD, SS, and TRI) in a randomised-crossover design. Rating of perceived exertion, lactate concentration ([Lac]), creatine kinase concentration ([CK]), countermovement jump (CMJ), testosterone, and cortisol concentrations was measured pre, immediately, and 24-h post the resistance training sessions with magnitude-based inferences assessing changes/differences within/between protocols. RESULTS: TRI reported possible to almost certainly greater efficiency and rate of perceived exertion, although session perceived load was very likely lower. SS and TRI had very likely to almost certainly greater lactate responses during the protocols, with changes in [CK] being very likely and likely increased at 24 h, respectively. At 24-h post-training, CMJ variables in the TRAD protocol had returned to baseline; however, SS and TRI were still possibly to likely reduced. Possible increases in testosterone immediately post SS and TRI protocols were reported, with SS showing possible increases at 24-h post-training. TRAD and SS showed almost certain and likely decreases in cortisol immediately post, respectively, with TRAD reporting likely decreases at 24-h post-training. CONCLUSIONS: SS and TRI can enhance training efficiency and reduce training time. However, acute and short-term physiological responses differ between protocols. Athletes can utilise SS and TRI resistance training, but may require additional recovery post-training to minimise effects of fatigue

Acute effects of antagonist stretching on jump height, torque, and electromyography of agonist musculature

Although there has been substantial research on the acute effects of static stretching on subsequent force and power development, the outcome after stretching of the antagonist musculature has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of static stretching of antagonist musculature on multiple strength and power measures. Sixteen trained men were tested for vertical jump height and isokinetic peak torque production during knee extension at 60°.s−1 (SlowKE) and 300°.s−1 (FastKE). Electromyography was recorded for the vastus lateralis and the biceps femoris muscles during isokinetic knee extension. Subjects performed these tests in a randomized counterbalanced order with and without prior stretching of the antagonist musculature. Paired samples t-tests indicated significantly greater torque production during the FastKE when preceded by stretching of the antagonist musculature vs. the nonstretch trial (102.2 vs. 93.5 N.m; p = 0.032). For SlowKE, torque production was not significantly different between the trials (176.7 vs. 162.9 N.m; p = 0.086). Vertical jump height (59.8 vs. 58.6 cm; p = 0.011) and power (8571 vs. 8487 W; p = 0.005) were significantly higher after the stretching trial vs. the nonstretching trial. Electromyography responses were similar between the trials. These results suggest that static stretching of the antagonist hamstrings before high-speed isokinetic knee extension increases the torque production. Furthermore, stretching the hip flexors (emphasis on single-joint hip flexors) and dorsiflexors, the antagonists of the hip extensors and plantarflexors, may enhance jump height and power, although the effect sizes were small