Low Back Pain in Cycling. Are There Differences between Road and Mountain Biking?

Low back pain (LBP) is known to affect cyclists. This study aimed to describe perceived lumbar dysfunction and compare the pain sensation in recreational cyclists who practice road and mountain biking. Forty males were randomly assigned to carry out a 3-h road cycling (RC) and mountain biking (MTB) time trial (TT) at submaximal intensity.

Insights into life after sport for Spanish Olympians: Gender and career path perspectives.

The aims of this study were: i) to examine if Dual Career (DC) pathways are independent of gender, ii) to evaluate whether those athletes who followed a DC experienced less difficulty in their integration into the labor force than the athletes devoted entirely to sport regardless of gender, as well as iii) to analyze whether the type of career path chosen was related with the current labor status, and if differences exist between men and women athletes. A quantitative, cross-sectional, and descriptive study was used based on an ad hoc questionnaire. Two-hundred and twenty-eight retired Olympic athletes completed a questionnaire.

Telomere Length in Elite Athletes.

Unlabelled: Growing evidence suggests that regular moderate-intensity physical activity is associated with an attenuation of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening. However, more controversy exists regarding higher exercise loads such as those imposed by elite-sport participation.

Methods: The authors investigated LTL differences between young elite athletes (n = 61, 54% men, age [mean ± SD] 27.

ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D gene variants influence performance in elite sprinters: a multi-cohort study.

Background: To date, studies investigating the association between ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D gene variants and elite sprint/power performance have been limited by small cohorts from mixed sport disciplines, without quantitative measures of performance.

Aim: To examine the association between these variants and sprint time in elite athletes.

Methods: We collected a total of 555 best personal 100-, 200-, and 400-m times of 346 elite sprinters in a large cohort of elite Caucasian or African origin sprinters from 10 different countries.

No Evidence of a Common DNA Variant Profile Specific to World Class Endurance Athletes.

There are strong genetic components to cardiorespiratory fitness and its response to exercise training. It would be useful to understand the differences in the genomic profile of highly trained endurance athletes of world class caliber and sedentary controls. An international consortium (GAMES) was established in order to compare elite endurance athletes and ethnicity-matched controls in a case-control study design.

Effect of drug precursor in cell uptake and cytotoxicity of redox-responsive camptothecin nanomedicines.

Novel redox-responsive nanomedicines have been synthesized by conjugating camptothecin prodrugs ((pyridine-2-yldisulfanil)alkyl carbonate derivatives) to hybrid porous silica nanoparticles through disulfide bond. After disulfide reduction, camptothecin may be released by an intramolecular cyclization mechanism or by carbonate bond hydrolysis. Samples have been characterized by physico-chemical techniques, and stability and drug release in PBS and human serum have been determined.

Gait-cycle characteristics and running economy in elite Eritrean and European runners.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine whether biomechanical characteristics such as ground-contact time, swing time, and stride length and frequency contribute to the exceptional running economy of East African runners.

Methods: Seventeen elite long-distance runners (9 Eritrean, 8 European) performed an incremental maximal running test and 3 submaximal running bouts at 17, 19, and 21 km/h. During the tests, gas-exchange parameters were measured to determine maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and running economy (RE).

Acyl coenzyme A synthetase long-chain 1 (ACSL1) gene polymorphism (rs6552828) and elite endurance athletic status: a replication study.

The aim of this study was to determine the association between the rs6552828 polymorphism in acyl coenzyme A synthetase (ACSL1) and elite endurance athletic status. We studied 82 Caucasian (Spanish) World/Olympic-class endurance male athletes, and a group of sex and ethnically matched healthy young adults (controls, n=197). The analyses were replicated in a cohort of a different ethnic origin (Chinese of the Han ethnic group), composed of elite endurance athletes (runners) [cases, n=241 (128 male)] and healthy sedentary adults [controls, n=504 (267 male)].

Multifunctional hybrid materials for combined photo and chemotherapy of cancer.

Combined chemo and photothermal therapy in in vitro testing has been achieved by means of multifunctional nanoparticles formed by plasmonic gold nanoclusters with a protecting shell of porous silica that contains an antitumor drug. We propose a therapeutic nanoplatform that associates the optical activity of small gold nanoparticles aggregates with the cytotoxic activity of 20(S)-camptothecin simultaneously released for the efficient destruction of cancer cells. For this purpose, a method was used for the controlled assembly of gold nanoparticles into stable clusters with a tailored absorption cross-section in the vis/NIR spectrum, which involves aggregation in alkaline medium of 15 nm diameter gold colloids protected with a thin silica layer.

Surface-modified silica nanoparticles for tumor-targeted delivery of camptothecin and its biological evaluation.

Here we report the design, synthesis and biological evaluation of surface-modified silica nanoparticles (SNP) for the delivery of camptothecin (CPT). Drug has been covalently linked to the nanoparticle through an ester bond with the 20-hydroxy moiety, in order to stabilize its lactone ring and to avoid unspecific release of the drug. The obtained material is highly stable in plasma, with low release of the cargo at physiological pH.

The C allele of the AGT Met235Thr polymorphism is associated with power sports performance.

Whether the Met235Thr (rs699) variation in the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, encoding a threonine instead of a methionine in codon 235 of the mature protein, is associated with athletic performance remains to be elucidated. We compared the genotype and allele frequencies for the AGT Met235Thr variation (rs699) in 119 nonathletic controls, 100 world-class endurance athletes (professional cyclists, Olympic-class runners), and 63 power athletes (top-level jumpers, throwers, sprinters). Participants were all males and from the same descent (Caucasian) for > or =3 generations.

World-class performance in lightweight rowing: is it genetically influenced? A comparison with cyclists, runners and non-athletes.

In this study, genotype frequencies of several polymorphisms that are candidates to influence sports performance (ie, ACTN3 R577X, ACE ID, PPARGC1A Gly482Ser, AMPD1 C34T, CKMM 985bp/1170bp and GDF8 (myostatin) K153R) were compared in 123 nonathletic controls, 50 professional cyclists, 52 Olympic-class runners and 39 world-class rowers (medallists in world championships, lightweight category). Significant differences in genotype distributions among the groups were not found except for the ACE gene, that is, lower (p<0.05) proportion of II in rowers (10.