Evaluating lower limits of body fat percentage in athletes using DXA.

Body fat percentage (BF%) is routinely measured in athletes to monitor training and dietary interventions. Dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is widely considered the gold standard body composition measurement technique, but DXA BF% values measure consistently higher than other techniques. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to determine the lowest DXA-estimated whole-body fat mass in free-living athletes with unrestricted access to food.

Pandemic-Induced Reductions on Swim Training Volume and Performance in Collegiate Swimmers.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant training disruptions during the 2020-2021 season, due to lockdowns, quarantines, and strict adherence to the pandemic protocols. The main purpose of this study was to determine how the pandemic training restrictions affected training volume and performance in one collegiate swim team. Cumulative training volume data across a 28-week season were compared between a pandemic (2020-2021) versus non-pandemic (2019-2020) season.

Ophthalmic Administration of a DNA Plasmid Harboring the Murine Tph2 Gene: Evidence of Recombinant Tph2-FLAG in Brain Structures.

Tryptophan hydroxylase-type 2 (Tph2) is the first rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of serotonin (5-HT) in the brain. The ophthalmic administration (Op-Ad) is a non-invasive method that allows delivering genetic vehicles through the eye and reaches the brain. Here, the murine Tph2 gene was cloned in a non-viral vector (pIRES-hrGFP-1a), generating pIRES-hrGFP-1a-Tph2, plus the FLAG-tag.