Publications by authors named "Justus Hallam"

Vaccination is an effective public health measure, yet vaccine efficacy varies across different populations. Adjuvants improve vaccine efficacy but often increase reactogenicity. An unconventional behavioral "adjuvant" is physical exercise at the time of vaccination.

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Background: Individuals participating in exercise beyond their level of fitness may be at higher risk for exercise-induced muscle damage, however the impact of training status on muscle damage development is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to measure skeletal muscle damage and soreness after five days of high and low intensity exercise in previously trained and untrained individuals.

Methods: Eighteen males and females (9 trained and 9 untrained) completed five consecutive days of high intensity (HI) exercise and five consecutive days of low intensity (LI) exercise.

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Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine whether sleep quality is associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) or worsened mental health.

Methods: Self-reported sleep quality, 35 inflammatory factors, CVD risk factors, personal stress, police operational and organizational stress, social support, depressive symptoms, and health-related quality of life were compared among a cohort of officers.

Results: Of 379 officers, 39% and 27% had poor and borderline sleep quality.

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Plant alkaloids are found in foods, beverages, and supplements consumed by athletes for daily nutrition, performance enhancement, and immune function improvement. This paper examined possible immunomodulatory roles of alkaloids in exercise contexts, with a focus on human studies. Four representative groups were scrutinized: (a) caffeine (guaranine, mateine); (b) theophylline and its isomers, theobromine and paraxanthine; (c) ginger alkaloids including gingerols and shogaol; and (d) ephedra alkaloids such as ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

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The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate current immunological and clinical literature regarding the effects of herbal preparations on athlete immune function. First, we review rates of herbal supplement use by athletes. Second, we use ginseng (Panax ginseng) and coneflower (Echinacea spp.

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The purpose of this multidisciplinary investigation was to characterize cytokine production by human blood mononuclear cells after 2 contrasting exercise bouts (a maximal graded oxygen consumption [VO(2)max] test and 90 min of cycling at 85% of ventilatory threshold [VT]) when stimulated in vitro with extracts from bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis), or solvent vehicle controls. Blood was sampled pre- and post-exercise. Production of TNF, IL-1beta, and IL-10 were measured at 24, 48, and 72 h, respectively.

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