Effects of chronotype and time of day on mood responses to CrossFit training

Morningness-eveningness, time of day, and physical exercises have been shown to influence mood states. This study aimed to test whether impact of physical exercise on mood depends on time of day and chronotype. Ninety-four participants (age 32 ± 6 years; 34% females; weekly training volume 4 ± 1 hours) filled the Composite Scale of Morningness and reported their current mood using the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist before and after a 60-min long CrossFit training session which took part in the morning (beginning at 6:30 or 7:45) or in the evening (beginning at 19:30 or 20:45). In this quasi-experiment the measurements were taken by the occasion of the participants’ usual training, in their preferred hours. There were only a few evening-types in the studied sample, while morning and intermediate chronotypes were over-represented. Participation in CrossFit training resulted in mood improvement consisting of increase in energetic arousal (η² = 0.29) and hedonic tone (η² = 0.47) and reduction of tense arousal (η² = 0.14), all significant at p = 0.001. Furthermore, CrossFit training during morning hours boosted mood in the intermediate/evening chronotype group to the levels observed in morning chronotypes (η² = 0.29, p < 0.05, for the three-way interaction effect). We conclude that participation in intense physical exercise, such as CrossFit training, may allow compensation for the negative effects of non-optimal time of day on experienced moods, particularly in the case of neither/evening-types.     

普罗布考联合家庭心脏康复训练对冠心病患者射血分数、血脂的影响分析

目的 探讨普罗布考联合家庭康复训练对冠心病患者射血分数及血脂水平的影响.方法 选择2018年6月 ～2020年6月我院收治的冠心病患者110例,按随机数字表法分成对照组和实验组,对照组给予瑞舒伐他汀治疗,实验组在对照组的基础上联合应用普罗布考及家庭康复训练.对两组患者治疗前及治疗后3个月的心功能指标、血脂水平进行检测比...     

野化培训大熊猫幼仔的食性转换

本文以2010—2020年15只母兽带仔野化培训的大熊猫幼仔为研究对象,基于红外视频监控系统观察和音频颈圈解译获得的行为资料、GPS颈圈跟踪定位采集的粪样数据,分析了野化培训大熊猫幼仔的行为发育进程和食性转换特征。结果表明：随着野化培训大熊猫幼仔的生长发育,与觅食和警戒相关的行为得到充分发育,且具有较强的时间关联性,包括食乳、爬行、走动、玩耍物品、爬树、咬玩竹子、饮水和采食竹子等。8～10月龄的大熊猫幼仔开始取食竹子,其发育性食性转换过程划分为3个阶段：食乳期(1～7月龄)、食母乳—食竹子转换期(8～28月龄)和食竹期(29～39月龄),其中转换期细分为关键期(8～18月龄)和过渡期(19～28月龄)。从统计检验来看,不同食性阶段间差异显著;过渡期的大熊猫幼仔可离开母兽独立生活,此阶段大熊猫幼仔食物组分比例与食竹期相比无显著差异。野化培训大熊猫幼仔的季节性食性转换规律与带仔母兽和野生大熊猫具有相似的格局,即春季主要取食竹笋,夏、秋季则以嫩竹茎和竹叶为食,冬季采食竹叶与竹茎。     

Vascular redox imbalance in rats submitted to chronic exercise

Exercise training has been used for treatment/prevention of many cardiovascular diseases, but the mechanisms need to be clarified. Thus, our aim was to compare oxidative stress parameters between rats submitted to a swimming training and sedentary rats (control). Twelve male rats were divided into two groups: control and exercise training. The exercise training had daily 1 h swimming sessions for 8 weeks and a load (5% of its body mass) was placed in rat's tail. Thereafter the animals were killed, aorta and heart were surgically removed and blood was collected. Body mass gain, thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS), carbonyl content, total reactive antioxidant potential (TRAP), total antioxidant reactivity (TAR), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and catalase (CAT) activity were evaluted. The trained rats showed a lower body mass gain and no modifications on heart. An increased SOD activity was observed on aorta after the training, but no changes were seen for CAT activity, which led to an increased SOD/CAT ratio. The arterial TBARS was also increased for trained rats. The decrease in TRAP in exercise training was the single modification on plasma. Our findings suggest that the increased SOD activity could play a role in vascular adaptations to exercise training. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in plasma taurine levels after different endurance events

Summary The sulphonated amino acid taurine increased significantly in the plasma of trained athletes after three endurance exercises of different duration and intensity, a 90 min run on a treadmill at 75% of an individual's VO₂ peak, a Marathon, 42.2km and a 100km run, by 19%, 77% and 36%, respectively. Such results indicated that the speed at which the exercise is per formed, referred to as the intensity, rather than the duration of the exercise, correlated with the elevated taurine levels possibly indicating its release from muscle fibres. The plasma amino acid pool decreased significantly in relationship with the duration of the exercise, caused by their utilisation for glucogenesis. The possible sources of the increased plasma taurine are discussed.     

Effect of acute and chronic exercise on plasma amino acids and prolactin concentrations and on [3H]ketanserin binding to serotonin2A receptors on human platelets

The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) has been shown to modulate various physiological and psychological functions such as fatigue. Altered regulation of the serotonergic system has been suggested to play a role in response to exercise stress. In the present study, the influence was investigated of acute endurance exercise and short-term increase in the amount of training on the concentrations of the 5-HT precursor tryptophan (TRP), of prolactin (PRL) and of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) in the blood, as well as on the binding of [3H]ketanserin to the serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) receptors on platelets. Nine healthy endurance-trained men were tested the day before (I) and after (II) a 9-day training programme. Samples of venous blood were drawn after an overnight fast and following 5 h of cycling. Fasted and post-exercise plasma concentrations of free TRP, BCAA and free TRP:BCAA ratio did not differ between I and II. A significant decrease of plasma BCAA (P < 0.01) and significant augmentations of plasma free TRP, free TRP:BCAA ratio and PRL (P < 0.01) were found post-exercise. The increase in plasma PRL was smaller in II compared with I. Acute endurance exercise reduced the density of platelet 5-HT2A receptor [3H]ketanserin binding sites at I and II (P < 0.05). The basal density of the binding sites and the affinity of [3H]ketanserin for these binding sites were unaffected by an increase in the amount of training. The present results support the hypothesis that acute endurance exercise may increase 5-HT availability. This was reflected in the periphery by increased concentration of the 5-HT precursor free TRP, by increased plasma PRL concentration, and by a reduction of 5-HT2A receptors on platelets. It remains to be resolved whether these alterations in the periphery occur in parallel with an increase in the availability of 5-HT in the brain.     

Effect of endurance training on the phospholipid content of skeletal muscles in the rat

Only few data are available on the effect of training on phospholipid metabolism in skeletal muscles. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of 6 weeks of endurance training on the content of particular phospholipid fractions and on the incorporation of blood-borne [14C]-palmitic acid into the phospholipids in different skeletal muscles (white and red sections of the gastrocnemius, the soleus and the diaphragm) of the rat. Lipids were extracted from the muscles and separated using thin-layer chromatography into the following fractions: sphingomyelin, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, cardiolipin and neutral lipids (this fraction being composed mostly of triacylglycerols). It was found that training did not affect the content of any phospholipid fraction in soleus muscle. It increased the content of sphingomyelin in white gastrocnemius muscle, cardiolipin and phosphatidylethanolamine in red gastrocnemius muscle and phosphatidylinositol in white gastrocnemius muscle and diaphragm. The total phospholipid content in red gastrocnemius muscle of the trained group was higher than in the control group. Training reduced the specific activity of sphingomyelin and cardiolipin in all muscles, phosphatidylcholine in soleus, red, and white gastrocnemius muscles, phosphatidylserine in all muscles, phosphatidylinositol in all except the soleus muscle, and phosphatidylethanolamine in hindleg muscles, but not in the diaphragm compared to the corresponding values in the sedentary group. It was concluded that endurance training affects skeletal muscle phospholipid content and the rate of incorporation of the blood-borne [14C]palmitic acid into the phospholipid moieties.     

Quantitative data on training new world primates to urinate

This study assessed the effectiveness of operant conditioning in training three species of captive callitrichid primates (Leontopithecus rosalia, Callithrix geoffroyi, and Saguinus imperator) to urinate on demand. There were three goals to the study: 1) to develop a system for quantitatively assessing positive reinforcement training; 2) to ascertain whether or not positive reinforcement techniques can be used to train callitrichid monkeys to urinate on demand, and if so, how many training sessions are required; and 3) to determine the effect on urination behavior of the trainer entering the cage to collect a urine sample. Positive reinforcement with a continuous reinforcement schedule was used to capture a natural behavior: urination. Training sessions (30 min each) were conducted at dawn thrice weekly during five consecutive phases: habituation, control, training (animals were rewarded for urinating), maintenance (animals had reached a defined training criteria and continued to be rewarded for urinating), and collection (animals were rewarded for urinating, and the trainer entered the cage to collect the sample). The numbers of 30-min training sessions required to train the three monkey species (L. rosalia, C. geoffroyi, and S. imperator) were five, six, and eight, respectively. For the three species, the mean number of urinations per animal was significantly greater during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. However, the three species differed significantly in the manner in which the rates of urination changed across the five phases. A higher proportion of subjects urinated during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. Latency to first urination varied significantly across the five phases, with significantly reduced latencies to urinate during the training, maintenance, and collection phases compared to the control phase. The entry of the trainer into the cage to collect the urine sample did not appear to alter urination behavior. We demonstrate that operant conditioning techniques, which typically incur minimal cost, time investment, and disturbance, can be used to increase the quantity of urine samples collected for physiological analysis, the proportion of animals that urinate, and the speed of sample collection.     

The influence of training on chemosensory event-related potentials and interactions between the olfactory and trigeminal systems

It is not possible to accurately predict the perceptual response to odorants and odorant mixtures without understanding patterns of suppression and facilitation that result from interactions between the olfactory and trigeminal systems. The current study extends previous findings by exploring the effect of intensive training on the interaction between these systems and also by using a different mixed chemosensory stimulus to examine whether the principles established in earlier studies generalize to different odorants. Stimuli were chosen so as to selectively activate the olfactory (H2S) and trigeminal (CO2) nerves. In addition, linalool was included as a stimulus that activated both systems. Thirty-five participants (19 men, 16 women) rated the intensity of each stimulus when presented both alone and in binary mixtures (linalool + H2S, and linalool + CO2). Chemosensory event-related potentials were obtained from three recording positions. Analysis of intensity ratings showed that linalool was significantly less intense than the other stimuli when presented alone. In binary mixtures, H2S was strongly suppressed by linalool. One week of intensive odor training produced significant and specific reductions in the intensity of linalool and H2S, both alone and in their mixture. Training with a different odor (champignol) had no effect. Chemosensory event-related potential data confirmed previous findings showing changes in topographical distribution that reflected the degree of trigeminal activity. Binary mixtures generally produced larger amplitudes than single stimuli. Latencies clearly differentiated between the three single stimuli and the binary mixtures. Changes were observed in event-related potentials that reflected those obtained for intensity ratings in that they were observed for linalool and H2S in the linalool trained group only. The amplitude of the late 'endogenous' component (P3) was significantly decreased for these odors at frontal recording sites. In summary, strong and specific training effects were observed in intensity ratings for participants trained with the test odor (linalool), but not for those trained with a different odor. This was supported by a significant decrease of amplitudes of the event-related potentials at frontal recording sites following training with the test odor only     

Group Training with Healthy Computing Practices to Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI): A Preliminary Study

This pilot study investigated whether group training, in which participants become role models and coaches, would reduce discomfort as compared to a nontreatment Control Group. Sixteen experimental participants participated in 6 weekly 2-hr group sessions of a Healthy Computing program whereas 12 control participants received no training. None of the participants reported symptoms to their supervisors nor were they receiving medical treatment for repetitive strain injury prior to the program. The program included training in ergonomic principles, psychophysiological awareness and control, sEMG practice at the workstation, and coaching coworkers. Using two-tailed t tests to analyze the data, the Experimental Group reported (1) a significant overall reduction in most body symptoms as compared to the Control Group and (2) a significant increase in positive work-style habits, such as taking breaks at the computer, as compared to the Control Group. This study suggests that employees could possibly improve health and work style patterns based on a holistic training program delivered in a group format followed by individual practice.