The effects of dietary protein on physical performance and body composition in middle age and older people having type II diabetes mellitus: a randomized pilot study.

Purpose: Protein supplementation has been proposed as an effective dietary strategy for maintaining or increasing skeletal muscle mass and improving physical performance in middle-aged and older adults. Diabetes mellitus exacerbates muscle mass loss, leading to many older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) experiencing sarcopenia, and vice versa. Our objective was to assess the impact of increased dietary protein intake on muscle mass, strength, physical performance, and the progression of T2DM in middle-aged and older adults diagnosed with this condition.

Impact of glossopharyngeal insufflation and complete exhalation on breath-hold performance and physiological parameters in elite skin divers.

Purpose: This study examined the physiological responses of ten elite divers to normal breathing (BHn), glossopharyngeal inhalation (BHi), and complete exhalation (BHe) prior to five maximal breath-hold (BH) efforts.

Methods: Breath-hold time (BHT), hemological variables, mean arterial pressure (MAP), other hemodynamic indices, and diaphragmatic activity (DA) were recorded. During BHs, phases were identified as easy-going (EPh: minimal DA), struggling (SPh: increased DA), PhI (MAP transition), PhII (MAP stabilization), and PhIII (steep MAP increase).

Arterial blood pressure regulation during prolonged isometric exercise in artistic gymnastic athletes compared to controls.

Background: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the baroreflex sensitivity alterations in regulating arterial blood pressure during prolonged isometric exercise at different intensities in elite artistic gymnastic athletes compared to non-athletes.

Methods: Fourteen young males participated in the study; 7 international level artistic gymnastics athletes and 7 physically active students inexperienced to isometric or resistance training. On two occasions, both groups performed 3 minutes of isometric handgrip exercise either at 30% or 50% of maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), in a randomized order.

On the mechanisms of stress-induced human spleen contraction: training for a higher blood oxygen-carrying capacity.

Despite its comparatively limited size in humans, spleen has been shown able to expel red-blood cells in the circulation and thus augment blood oxygen-carrying capacity under certain physiologic conditions. In the present state-of-the-art review, the short- and long-term regulation of spleen volume will be discussed. With regards to the physiological mechanism underlying spleen contraction, sympathetic activation stands as the prime contributor to the response.

Habitual Nocturnal Sleep, Napping Behavior, and Recovery Following Training and Competition in Elite Water Polo: Sex-Related Effects.

Purpose: To examine nocturnal sleep patterns, napping behaviors, and subjective wellness responses of elite water polo players within an in-season week and to identify whether sleeping patterns differ between men and women.

Methods: Sleep characteristics of 10 male and 17 female professional water polo players were objectively assessed during 1 week of the in-season period, including 5 training days, 1 match day, and 1 day of rest. Internal load (rating of perceived exertion × duration of training or match) was assessed 30 minutes posttraining or postmatch, and the total quality of recovery was recorded every morning.

The Effect of Chronic Dietary Protein Manipulation on Amino Acids' Profile and Position Sense in the Elderly Suffering from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Dietary protein with adequate essential amino acids effectively stimulates protein synthesis and improves muscle mass. Musculoskeletal disorders in lower or upper limbs are not uncommon among patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, this study primarily examines the effects of chronic dietary protein manipulation on amino acids' profile and position sense in the elderly suffering from T2DM.

Vaccination coverage of primary care providers against seasonal influenza, tetanus, pneumococcal pneumonia and herpes zoster: A cross-sectional study in Greece.

Introduction: Primary care providers' (PCPs) compliance to self-immunization is important for their protection and the protection of their colleagues and patients and has been associated with the coverage of the general public. In this study, we aim to investigate the vaccination coverage of PCPs.

Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among physicians, nurses and pharmacists employed in public or private primary care settings in Greece.

Physiological responses during static apnoea efforts in elite and novice breath-hold divers before and after two weeks of dry apnoea training.

This study examined the effect of breath-hold (BH) training on apnoeic performance in novice BH divers (NBH:n = 10) and compared them with data from elite BH divers (EBH:n = 11). Both groups performed 5-maximal BHs (PRE). The NBH group repeated this protocol after two weeks of BH training (POST).

The Effect of Skeletal Muscle Oxygenation on Hemodynamics, Cerebral Oxygenation and Activation, and Exercise Performance during Incremental Exercise to Exhaustion in Male Cyclists.

This study aimed to elucidate whether muscle blood flow restriction during maximal exercise is associated with alterations in hemodynamics, cerebral oxygenation, cerebral activation, and deterioration of exercise performance in male participants. Thirteen healthy males, cyclists (age 33 ± 2 yrs., body mass: 78.

Effects of Concurrent High-Intensity and Strength Training on Muscle Power and Aerobic Performance in Young Soccer Players during the Pre-Season.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate two different intervention programs applied during a 4-week pre-season period. Twenty-nine players participated in this study and were divided into two groups. One group (Ball, = 12, age: 17.

Cross-adaptation between heat and hypoxia: mechanistic insights into aerobic exercise performance.

Acclima(tiza)tion to heat or hypoxia enhances work capacity in hot and hypoxic environmental conditions, respectively; an acclimation response is considered to be mediated by stimuli-specific molecular/systemic adaptations and potentially facilitated by the addition of exercise sessions. Promising findings at the cellular level provided the impetus for recent studies investigating whether acclimation to one stressor will ultimately facilitate whole body performance when exercise is undertaken in a different environmental condition. The present critical Mini-Review examines the theory of cross-adaptation between heat and hypoxia with particular reference to the determinants of aerobic performance.

Exercise and Nutrition Strategies for Combating Sarcopenia and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Older Adults.

Medical and technology development have drastically the improved quality of life and, consequently, life expectancy. Nevertheless, the more people who enter the third-age, the more geriatric syndromes expand in the elderly. Sarcopenia and Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are common diseases among the elderly and the literature has extensively studied these two diseases separately.

Meta-Analysis of Carbohydrate Solution Intake during Prolonged Exercise in Adults: From the Last 45+ Years' Perspective.

Carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation during prolonged exercise postpones fatigue. However, the optimum administration timing, dosage, type of CHO intake, and possible interaction of the ergogenic effect with athletes' cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are not clear. Ninety-six studies (from relevant databases based on predefined eligibility criteria) were selected for meta-analysis to investigate the acute effect of ≤20% CHO solutions on prolonged exercise performance.

Acute L-Citrulline Supplementation Increases Nitric Oxide Bioavailability but Not Inspiratory Muscle Oxygenation and Respiratory Performance.

The present study aimed to investigate whether acute L-citrulline supplementation would affect inspiratory muscle oxygenation and respiratory performance. Twelve healthy males received 6 g of L-citrulline or placebo in a double-blind crossover design. Pulmonary function (i.

Skeletal muscle and cerebral oxygenation levels during and after submaximal concentric and eccentric isokinetic exercise.

The aim was to investigate the potential differences in muscle (vastus lateralis) and cerebral (prefrontal cortex) oxygenation levels as well as in the number of repetitions and total work output between isokinetic eccentric and concentric exercise at a moderate relative intensity until exhaustion. Ten recreationally active young men underwent two isokinetic exercise sessions either concentric or eccentric, one on each randomly selected leg. The protocols were performed at 60°/s and an intensity corresponding to 60% of the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) of each contraction type.

The Effects of High-Intensity Interval Exercise on Skeletal Muscle and Cerebral Oxygenation during Cycling and Isokinetic Concentric and Eccentric Exercise.

The aim of the present study was to study the effects of cycling and pure concentric and pure eccentric high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) on skeletal muscle (i.e., vastus lateralis) and cerebral oxygenation.

Five repeated maximal efforts of apneas increase the time to exhaustion in subsequent high-intensity exercise.

Ten subjects were tested on a cycle ergometer to exhaustion with intensity corresponding to 150 % of their peak power output (TF150) under three conditions [C: base line measurement; PRE: after five repeated breath hold maneuvers (BH); and POST: after 5BH, preceded by two weeks of BH training]. Respiratory and blood measurements were carried out. Upon cessation of 5BH, subjects compared to C condition started TF150 with reduced arterialized blood pH (C:7.

Resilience of the Hellenic navy seals assessed by heart rate variability during cognitive tasks.

Objectives: The interaction between high physical performance under extreme conditions in military and the simultaneous control of the cognitive executive functioning has been a subject of research in literature for the past few decades. Stroop test and Heart-rate variability (HRV), have been verified valuable clinical tools for the assessment of cerebral and autonomic/ cardiovascular stress responses respectively.

Methods: Thirty-four subjects were enrolled in this study.

Assessment of Resilience of the Hellenic Navy Seals by Electrodermal Activity during Cognitive Tasks.

Stress resilience plays a key role in task performance during emergencies, especially in occupations like military special forces, with a routine consisting of unexpected events. Nevertheless, reliable and applicable measurements of resilience in predicting task performance in stressful conditions are still researched. This study aimed to explore the stress response in the Hellenic Navy SEALs (HN-SEALs), using a cognitive-physiological approach.

The effect of prolonged intense physical exercise of special forces volunteers on their plasma protein denaturation profile examined by differential scanning calorimetry.

The human blood plasma proteome profile has been an area of intensive investigation and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has come forward as a novel tool in analyzing plasma heat capacity changes to monitor various physiological responses in health and disease. This study used DSC to assess potential alterations in the plasma heat capacity profile of albumin and globulins during extremely demanding physical exercise. We monitored the changes in denaturation profiles of those plasma proteins for five consecutive days of an extraordinary exercise training schedule in 14 young male Special Forces volunteers, as well as after a 30-day recovery period.

Dietary Cysteine Intake is Associated with Blood Glutathione Levels and Isometric Strength.

Glutathione is the most abundant cellular antioxidant and regulates redox homeostasis. Healthy individuals with certain antioxidant inadequacies/deficiencies exhibit impairments in physiological functions. The aim was to investigate whether low levels of dietary cysteine intake are associated with a) lower erythrocyte glutathione, b) increased plasma F-isoprostanes, and c) impaired muscle function.

Second Ventilatory Threshold Assessed by Heart Rate Variability in a Multiple Shuttle Run Test.

Many studies have focused on heart rate variability in association with ventilatory thresholds. The purpose of the current study was to consider the ECG-derived respiration and the high frequency product of heart rate variability as applicable methods to assess the second ventilatory threshold (VT). Fifteen healthy young soccer players participated in the study.

Priming exercise increases Wingate cycling peak power output.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of priming exercise on Wingate performance and fatigue.

Methods: Twelve recreationally active young male volunteers participated in the study (age: 25 ± 5 years; weight: 75.0 ± 7.