Barriers and enablers to measuring resting metabolic rate in the high-performance sporting system: A qualitative exploratory study.

Measurements of resting metabolic rate (RMR) may be undertaken for dietary planning purposes or to assess for low energy availability (LEA). This study investigated barriers and enablers to measuring RMR in real-world, high-performance sport environments. Twelve interviews were conducted with technicians ( = 6 dietitians,  = 6 physiologists) employed across six National Institute Networks, two National Sporting Organisations and one professional sporting code.

Effects of 24-Hour Diet- or Exercise-Induced Energy Availability Manipulations on Substrate Utilization and Performance.

Purpose: To examine sex-based differences in substrate oxidation, postprandial metabolism, and performance in response to 24-hour manipulations in energy availability (EA), induced by manipulations to energy intake (EI) or exercise energy expenditure (EEE).

Methods: In a Latin Square design, 20 endurance athletes (10 females using monophasic oral contraceptives and 10 males) undertook five trials, each comprising three consecutive days. Day one was a standardized period of high EA; EA was then manipulated on day two; post-intervention testing occurred on day three.

Antimicrobial resistant Enterobacterales of clinical importance in mute swans.

Urban water environments, including canals, harbours and estuaries are susceptible to contamination with antimicrobials and drug-resistant bacteria through domestic and industrial wastewater discharges and storm water overflows. There is potential for wildlife using these waters to acquire and transmit drug-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) of clinical importance. This study aimed to assess clinically important drug-resistant bacteria in urban waterfowl, particularly mute swans.

Brief Report: Genital Microbiome, Inflammation, and Tenofovir Levels in Transgender Men and Cisgender Women Taking Oral PrEP.

Background: Little is known about the efficacy of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or what biologic factors may influence HIV transmission in transgender men (TGM). In this study, we sought to explore the effect of testosterone on the vaginal microbiome, cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) tenofovir concentrations, and levels of CVF inflammatory markers in TGM on PrEP.

Methods: Cervicovaginal fluid was collected from 13 TGM (7 using testosterone) and 32 cisgender women (CGW) on PrEP.

Fibre: The Forgotten Carbohydrate in Sports Nutrition Recommendations.

Although dietary guidelines concerning carbohydrate intake for athletes are well established, these do not include recommendations for daily fibre intake. However, there are many scenarios in sports nutrition in which common practice involves the manipulation of fibre intake to address gastrointestinal comfort around exercise, or acute or chronic goals around the management of body mass or composition. The effect of fibre intake in overall health is also important, particularly in combination with other dietary considerations such as the elevated protein requirements in this population.

Actuation-Mediated Compression of a Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel by Soft Robotics to Control Release of Therapeutic Proteins.

Therapeutic proteins, the fastest growing class of pharmaceuticals, are subject to rapid proteolytic degradation in vivo, rendering them inactive. Sophisticated drug delivery systems that maintain protein stability, prolong therapeutic effects, and reduce administration frequency are urgently required. Herein, a mechanoresponsive hydrogel is developed contained within a soft robotic drug delivery (SRDD) device.

Hepatocellular carcinoma risk scores for non-viral liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk prediction models may provide a more personalised approach to surveillance for HCC among patients with cirrhosis. This systematic review aims to summarise the performance of HCC prediction models in patients with non-viral chronic liver disease.

Method: The study was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD42022370078) and reported in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.

The effect of alcohol on subsequent sleep in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Alcohol is commonly consumed prior to bedtime with the belief that it facilitates sleep. This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the impact of alcohol on the characteristics of night-time sleep, with the intent to identify the influence of the dose and timing of alcohol intake. A systematic search of the literature identified 27 studies for inclusion in the analysis.

Exploring how children and adolescents talk about coping strategies relating to loneliness using reflexive thematic analysis: a qualitative study.

Introduction: The prevailing view is that loneliness predominantly affects older adults. However, awareness of high rates of loneliness among younger populations is growing, prompting a call for interventions. The current study aimed to listen to the voices of young people regarding how they cope with loneliness, gaining a better understanding of how to then develop tailored interventions.

Free water elimination tractometry for aging brains.

Tractometry of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) non-invasively quantifies tissue properties of brain connections. It is widely used in aging studies but could be less reliable in aging brains due to increased white matter free water. We demonstrate that computational free water elimination (FWE) increases reliability and accuracy of tractometry in a large (n = 339) cohort of older adults (66 - 103 y.

What's (Not) in Your Supplement? An Energy and Macronutrient Analysis of Commercially Available Carbohydrate Gels.

Carbohydrate (CHO) gels are a staple among endurance athletes. When ingested during competition, CHO gels can improve endurance performance by acting as an external energy substrate, sparing endogenous glycogen, mitigating the risk of hypoglycemia, and engaging the central nervous system via receptors in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract. However, published studies and a growing number of anecdotal reports have raised concerns about possible energy and macronutrient deficiencies in several products.

Mechanistic insights from a pilot exploratory study of the dynamic proteomic changes during plasma exchange in patients with acute liver failure.

Background & Aims: Therapeutic plasma exchange (PEX) has shown potential in improving transplant-free survival in acute liver failure (ALF) however the mechanism of action is not understood. This exploratory study aimed to elucidate the circulating proteomic changes associated with PEX in ALF to provide insight into mechanisms underlying the benefit of this therapy.

Methods: Consecutive patients admitted with ALF between June 2019 and August 2020 were enrolled.

Dose response effects of theacrine on cognitive performance and subsequent sleep.

Psychostimulants can be employed as a countermeasure to cognitive declines resulting from insufficient sleep. Although caffeine is the most consumed psychostimulant, consumption can cause adverse side-effects, including sleep disturbance. Therefore, there is interest in identifying alternative supplements that improve cognitive performance without compromising subsequent sleep.

Summary of the 2024 Professionals in Nutrition for Exercise and Sport "10 Questions/10 Experts" Session-Hot Topics for the Paris Olympic Games.

This article provides a recap of the 10 Questions/10 Experts session at the 2024 American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. Each of the speakers considered the validity of common "myths," while providing evidence-based opinions to support, or, bust, myths addressing the following questions: (1) Would 100 g/hr of carbohydrate be advisable for the Olympic Cycling Road race? (2) Is there an advantage in the marathon of ingesting bicarbonate as a hydrogel product? (3) Can genotyping be used to individualize caffeine supplementation in football? (4) Should low fluid consumers drink more to improve 1,500-m track performance? (5) Do urinary markers of dehydration predict poor basketball performance? (6) Do placebo effects influence 10-km track performance? (7) Should combat athletes make weight using glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists? (8) Would crushed ice ingestion help tennis umpires make better decisions in the heat? (9) Are collagen supplements useful to reduce tendon and ligament injuries in volleyball? and (10) Should female athletes plan their training and diet according to their menstrual cycle? This article describes the content of each of the presentations including the most important outcomes and conclusions drawn by the presenters.

Complementary, integrative, and standard rehabilitative therapies in a military population with chronic predominantly musculoskeletal pain: a pragmatic clinical trial with SMART design.

There is growing acceptance for combining complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies with standard rehabilitative care (SRC) for chronic pain management, yet little evidence on the best sequence of therapies. We investigated whether starting with CIH therapies or SRC is more effective in reducing pain impact. Participants were 280 service members with predominantly (88%) musculoskeletal chronic pain referred to an interdisciplinary pain management center who were randomized to a twice weekly program of either CIH therapies (n = 140) or SRC (n = 140) for the 3-week first stage of treatment.

Scalable solutions for global health: the SalivaDirect model.

The COVID-19 pandemic caught the world unprepared. Large-scale testing efforts were urgently needed, and diagnostic strategies had to rapidly evolve in response to unprecedented worldwide demand. However, the rollout of diagnostic testing and screening for SARS-CoV-2 was often impeded by logistical challenges, including regulatory delays, workforce shortages, laboratory bottlenecks, and supply chain disruptions.

Liver transplantation for critically ill patients with acute on chronic liver failure: a prospective national programme of waitlist prioritisation.

Background: Acute on Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF) complicates chronic liver disease (CLD) combining rapidly progressive hepatic with extra-hepatic multiple organ failure and high short-term mortality. Effective therapeutic options are very limited, and liver transplantation (LT) seldom utilised through concerns of high recipient mortality and resource use. Retrospective reports suggest recent outcomes may have improved, but use of LT for ACLF has not been prospectively assessed.

Percutaneous Repair of Chronic Aortic Pseudoaneurysm: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Aortic pseudoaneurysm (AP) is a late complication of aortic repair that, without intervention, carries a high mortality rate. Surgical repair has significant in-hospital mortality and high health care costs. Endovascular stent grafting use is currently limited to branch-free aortic segments or the use of complex fenestrated devices.

CT/MRI LI-RADS 2024 Update: Treatment Response Assessment.

With the rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma, there has been increasing use of local-regional therapy (LRT) to downstage or bridge to transplant, for definitive treatment, and for palliation. The CT/MRI Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) Treatment Response Assessment (TRA) algorithm provides guidance for step-by-step tumor assessment after LRT and standardized reporting. Current evidence suggests that the algorithm performs well in the assessment of tumor response to arterial embolic and loco-ablative therapies and fair when assessing response to radiation-based therapies, with limited data to validate the latter.

Real-time experiences of racism and stress in association with postpartum weight retention: A longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study.

Racial inequities in postpartum weight have been documented with limited studies on the influences of racism and other forms of discrimination. In a prospective longitudinal study applying ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and ambulatory assessment of weight, we measured the association between discrimination, stress and postpartum weight change. The Postpartum Mothers Mobile Study (PMOMS) is a cohort of 313 pregnant and birthing individuals who were followed during their second and third trimester through 1 year postpartum.

Fatigue and Sleep-related Impairment as Predictors of the Effect of Nonpharmacological Therapies for Active duty Service Members With Chronic Pain: A Secondary Analysis of a Pragmatic Randomized Clinical Trial.

Introduction: First-line treatments for chronic pain include selected complementary and integrative health therapies, including spinal manipulation, acupuncture, yoga, and massage; and standard rehabilitative care, including physical and occupational therapies. This study aimed to uncover critical factors that contribute to pain impact and the effectiveness of complementary and integrative health therapies and standard rehabilitative care among people with chronic pain, with a focus on the role of sleep-related impairment.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a pragmatic randomized clinical trial of 280 U.