Individual response to different forms of resistance training in school-aged boys

The aim of this study was to examine individual responses to different forms of resistance training on measures of jumping and sprinting performance in school-aged boys. Eighty boys were categorized into two maturity groups (pre- or post-PHV) and randomly assigned to a plyometric training, resistance training, combined training, or control group. Intervention groups participated in training twice weekly for six weeks, with measures of acceleration, maximal running velocity, squat jump height and reactive strength index collected pre and post intervention. In the pre-PHV cohort, plyometric training and combined training resulted in significantly more positive responders than the other two groups in both sprint variables (standardized residual values > 1.96). In the post-PHV cohort, significantly more positive responders for acceleration and squat jump height resulted from traditional strength training and combined training groups, compared with other groups. Conversely, plyometric training and combined training resulted in a significantly greater number of positive responders than the other two groups for maximal velocity and reactive strength index. Control participants rarely demonstrated meaningful changes in performance over the six-week period. Irrespective of maturation, it would appear that combined training provides the greatest opportunity for most individuals to make short-term improvements in jump and sprint performance. Taking maturation into account, our data show that a plyometric training stimulus is important for individuals in the pre-PHV stage of development, whether as a standalone method or in combination with traditional strength training, when attempting to improve jumping and sprinting ability. However, individuals in the post-PHV stage require a more specific training stimulus depending on the performance variable that is being targeted for improvement

Antibacterial activity of Thymoquinone, an active principle of Nigella sativa and its potency to prevent bacterial biofilm formation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Thymoquinone is an active principle of <it>Nigella sativa </it>seed known as "Habbah Al-Sauda" in Arabic countries and "Sinouj" in Tunisia. Bacterial biofilms tend to exhibit significant tolerance to antimicrobials drugs during infections.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The antibacterial activity of Thymoquinone (TQ) and its biofilm inhibition potencies were investigated on 11 human pathogenic bacteria. The growth and development of the biofilm were assessed using the crystal violet (CV) and the 2, 3-bis [2-methyloxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl]-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) reduction assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TQ exhibited a significant bactericidal activity against the majority of the tested bacteria (MICs values ranged from 8 to 32 μg/ml) especially Gram positive cocci (<it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>ATCC 25923 and <it>Staphylococcus epidermidis </it>CIP 106510). Crystal violet assay demonstrated that the minimum biofilm inhibition concentration (BIC50) was reached with 22 and 60 μg/ml for <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>ATCC 25923 and <it>Staphylococcus epidermidis </it>CIP 106510 respectively. In addition our data revealed that cells oxidative activity was influenced by TQ supplementation. In the same way, TQ prevented cell adhesion to glass slides surface.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ability of TQ to prevent biofilm formation warrants further investigation to explore its use as bioactive substances with antibiofilm potential.</p

In vitro activities of natural products against oral Candida isolates from denture wearers

Background: Candida-associated denture stomatitis is a frequent infectious disease. Treatment of this oral condition is difficult because failures and recurrences are common. The aim of this study was to test the in vitro antifungal activity of pure constituents of essentials oils. -- Methods: Eight terpenic derivatives (carvacrol, farnesol, geraniol, linalool, menthol, menthone, terpinen-4-ol, and aterpineol), a phenylpropanoid (eugenol), a phenethyl alcohol (tyrosol) and fluconazole were evaluated against 38 Candida isolated from denture-wearers and 10 collection Candida strains by the CLSI M27-A3 broth microdilution method. -- Results: Almost all the tested compounds showed antifungal activity with MIC ranges of 0.03-0.25% for eugenol and linalool, 0.03-0.12% for geraniol, 0.06-0.5% for menthol, a-terpineol and terpinen-4-ol, 0.03-0.5% for carvacrol, and 0.06-4% for menthone. These compounds, with the exception of farnesol, menthone and tyrosol, showed important in vitro activities against the fluconazole-resistant and susceptible-dose dependent Candida isolates. -- Conclusions: Carvacrol, eugenol, geraniol, linalool and terpinen-4-ol were very active in vitro against oral Candida isolates. Their fungistatic and fungicidal activities might convert them into promising alternatives for the topic treatment of oral candidiasis and denture stomatitis.Funding: this work has been funded in part by projects GIC07 123-IT-222-07 (Departamento de Educacion, Universidades e Investigacion, Gobierno Vasco), S-PR09UN01 and S-PR10UN03 (Saiotek 2009 and 2010, Departamento de Industria, Comercio y Turismo, Gobierno Vasco)

Predicting Coral Species Richness: The Effect of Input Variables, Diversity and Scale

Coral reefs are facing a biodiversity crisis due to increasing human impacts, consequently, one third of reef-building corals have an elevated risk of extinction. Logistic challenges prevent broad-scale species-level monitoring of hard corals; hence it has become critical that effective proxy indicators of species richness are established. This study tests how accurately three potential proxy indicators (generic richness on belt transects, generic richness on point-intercept transects and percent live hard coral cover on point-intercept transects) predict coral species richness at three different locations and two analytical scales. Generic richness (measured on a belt transect) was found to be the most effective predictor variable, with significant positive linear relationships across locations and scales. Percent live hard coral cover consistently performed poorly as anindicator of coral species richness. This study advances the practical framework for optimizing coral reef monitoring programs and empirically demonstrates that generic richness offers an effective way to predict coral species richness with a moderate level of precision. While the accuracy of species richness estimates will decrease in communities dominated byspecies-rich genera (e.g. Acropora), generic richness provides a useful measure of phylogenetic diversity and incorporating this metric into monitoring programs will increase the likelihood that changes in coral species diversity can be detected

The glutathione redox system is essential to prevent ferroptosis caused by impaired lipid metabolism in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Oncogene. 2018 Oct;37(40):5435-5450. doi: 10.1038/s41388-018-0315-z. Epub 2018 Jun 5. Non-commercial use onlyThis study was funded by Cancer Research UK, the German Research Foundation (FOR2314) and the German Cancer Aid (111917)

Risk factors for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica persistence in broiler-chicken flocks on Reunion Island

International audienceThis study was conducted to identify the main risk factors for Salmonella spp. persistence in broiler flocks in Reunion Island. Seventy broiler farms were surveyed from March 2016 to June 2018. Samples of fresh droppings were collected using gauze socks, and a questionnaire was completed with the farmers. Persistence was defined as an infection with the same serovar before and after cleaning and disinfection (C/D) of poultry houses. Salmonella spp. was found to persist on 27% of the farms. Cleaning concrete surrounding areas (OR ¼ 0.23) and disinfecting silos (OR ¼ 0.17) reduced the risk of pathogen persistence. An analysis of infections of pests found in the vicinity of the farms confirmed their role in the persistence of Salmonella spp. Fifteen percent of the pests were infected and the presence of mealworms in poultry litter (OR ¼ 6.69) was found to increase the risk of Salmonella spp. persistence. We conclude that improved cleaning-disinfection, sanitary preventive measures and pest control in the poultry sector are needed to avoid the persistence of Salmonella spp. on broiler farms

Seasonality, abundance, and fifteen-year trend in green turtle nesting activity at Itsamia, Moheli, Comoros

International audienceNesting green turtles Chelonia mydas were studied at Moheli Island, Union of Comoros, southwestern Indian Ocean (SWIO). Five contiguous beaches near Itsamia village, in the southeastern part of the island, were monitored daily for nesting activity from January 1999 to June 2007 and irregularly between August 2009 and December 2014; nesting success was recorded from 2000 to 2006. Nesting occurred year-round and peaked in the austral winter, from March through August, with the highest values in May. During the 7 yr period when nesting success was recorded, 63 164 successful nestings were reported, and the total was 69 630 when estimates of missing data were included. The average rate of nesting success was 0.49 (SD = 0.04, n =7). Using the estimate of 3.03 successful nestings per female per season, the estimated number of nesting females per year varied from 924 in 2000 to 5827 in 2005. There was marked growth in nesting activity over the beginning of the study period, as indicated by seasonal decomposition of time series by loess and generalized additive mixed model analyses, with an increase of 226% from 1999 to 2006 and evidently a leveling off of nesters between 2007 and 2014. The Itsamia beaches have one of the largest nesting populations, with a higher rate of increase than any other site in the SWIO. Long-term protection of the beaches and offshore waters by the Itsamia community, despite several years of intense exploitation by outsiders, is reasoned to be the primary explanation for these remarkable figures