169 research outputs found
Acute and Chronic Effects of a High-Intensity Interval Training Shock Microcycle on Cell-Free DNA: A Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textAbstract Background This study aimed to evaluate acute and chronic exercise-induced changes in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) concentrations during a 7-day high-intensity interval training (HIIT) shock microcycle in trained endurance athletes. Thirty-five participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a HIIT-only group (HSM), a HIIT plus low-intensity training group (HSM + LIT), and a control group maintaining regular training. The intervention included 10 HIIT sessions (5 × 4 min at 90–95% maximum heart rate) over 7 days, with HSM + LIT completing an additional 30 min of low-intensity training after each session. Physiological exercise testing (PET) was conducted at baseline, 3-, 7-, and 14-days post-intervention. On days 2 and 7 during the intervention, HIIT sessions were supervised in both morning and afternoon, and venous blood samples were collected at rest, immediately post-exercise, and 30 min post-exercise to measure cfDNA for 90 and 222 bp fragments. Correlations between cfDNA and physiological exercise variables such as peak power output (PPO), running velocity at lactate threshold (LT), and VO₂max were analyzed. Results cfDNA90 (10.4-fold, p < 0.001) and cfDNA222 (12.4-fold, p < 0.001) increased significantly after PET. In addition, cfDNA90 (17.1-fold, p < 0.001) and cfDNA222 (20.2-fold, p < 0.001) increased after HIIT, both remaining significantly elevated 30 min post-HIIT (both p < 0.001). cfDNA90 concentrations were higher in afternoon (22.4-fold) compared to morning HIIT sessions (17.2-fold, p < 0.001). A significant interaction effect was found between group and measurement point for cfDNA90 (p < 0.001) and cfDNA222 (p < 0.001), with higher concentrations in HSM + LIT compared to HSM 30 min post-HIIT. cfDNA90 showed moderate correlations with PPO (r = 0.48, p < 0.001), LT (r = 0.36, p < 0.001) and VO₂max (r = 0.30, p = 0.01). cfDNA222 correlated moderately with VO₂max (r = 0.34, p = 0.001) and slightly with PPO (r = 0.21, p = 0.05). No chronic changes in cfDNA were observed throughout the study period. Conclusions cfDNA is a reliable marker for detecting acute exercise-induced stress. However, the potential of cfDNA for detecting chronic adaptations in short-term, high-intensity interval training settings, such as a HIIT shock cycle, appears limited thus far. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05067426. Registered 05 October 2021—Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05067426 . Graphical AbstractKey Points Acute increases in cfDNA concentrations were observed after physiological exercise testing and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). No chronic cfDNA changes were observed during and after a HIIT shock microcycle. Acute increases in cfDNA concentrations correlated with physiological exercise variables e.g. peak power output, running velocity at lactate threshold and VO2max during acute exercise. Higher increases in cfDNA were found after HIIT compared to physiological exercise testing. Higher increases in cfDNA were found after HIIT in the afternoon compared to morning. Higher increases in cfDNA were observed in males compared to females
Investigation of the Sympathetic Regulation in Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: Results of an RCT.
No full textSports-related pain and injury is directly linked to tissue inflammation, thus involving the autonomic nervous system (ANS). In the present experimental study, we disable the sympathetic part of the ANS by applying a stellate ganglion block (SGB) in an experimental model of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) of the biceps muscle. We included 45 healthy participants (female 11, male 34, age 24.16 ± 6.67 years [range 18-53], BMI 23.22 ± 2.09 kg/m2) who were equally randomized to receive either (i) an SGB prior to exercise-induced DOMS (preventive), (ii) sham intervention in addition to DOMS (control/sham), or (iii) SGB after the induction of DOMS (rehabilitative). The aim of the study was to determine whether and to what extent sympathetically maintained pain (SMP) is involved in DOMS processing. Focusing on the muscular area with the greatest eccentric load (biceps distal fifth), a significant time × group interaction on the pressure pain threshold was observed between preventive SGB and sham (p = 0.034). There was a significant effect on pain at motion (p = 0.048), with post hoc statistical difference at 48 h (preventive SGB Δ1.09 ± 0.82 cm VAS vs. sham Δ2.05 ± 1.51 cm VAS; p = 0.04). DOMS mediated an increase in venous cfDNA -as a potential molecular/inflammatory marker of DOMS- within the first 24 h after eccentric exercise (time effect p = 0.018), with a peak at 20 and 60 min. After 60 min, cfDNA levels were significantly decreased comparing preventive SGB to sham (unpaired t-test p = 0.008). At both times, 20 and 60 min, cfDNA significantly correlated with observed changes in PPT. The 20-min increase was more sensitive, as it tended toward significance at 48 h (r = 0.44; p = 0.1) and predicted the early decrease of PPT following preventive stellate blocks at 24 h (r = 0.53; p = 0.04). Our study reveals the broad impact of the ANS on DOMS and exercise-induced pain. For the first time, we have obtained insights into the sympathetic regulation of pain and inflammation following exercise overload. As this study is of a translational pilot character, further research is encouraged to confirm and specify our observations
Multimodal Web-Based Telerehabilitation for Patients With Post–COVID-19 Condition: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textBackgroundPatients with post–COVID-19 condition (PCC) experience persistent, long-term health consequences following SARS-CoV-2 infection, including fatigue, hyperventilation, cognitive impairment, and limitations in daily activities. There is emerging evidence suggesting that exercise and respiratory therapy–based telerehabilitation is safe and could potentially improve physical capacity while reducing health care costs.
ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the superiority of a multimodal, symptom-titrated telerehabilitation program over standard care in patients with PCC who are severely affected, using the highest oxygen uptake rate (VO2peak [mL/min/kg]) achieved during the cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production slope (VE/VCO2 [full slope]) as primary outcomes. In addition, this study seeks to provide novel insights into the clinical and physiological adaptations associated with PCC, informing future rehabilitation strategies.
MethodsThis prospective, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial was approved by the Rhineland-Palatinate Medical Association ethics committee. All procedures comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. This study comprises 3 examination time points, which include patient-reported outcomes, clinical assessments, and a CPET. It is structured into an 8-week intervention phase followed by an 8-week follow-up phase. Following baseline assessment, patients will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group (IG) or the control group (CG). During the intervention phase, IG participants will receive a web-based, multimodal, symptom-titrated telerehabilitation program consisting of sports medicine consultations, weekly teleconsultations, a structured pacing approach, and exercise and respiratory therapy. In contrast, CG participants will receive treatment as usual, which includes a single sports medicine consultation on healthy habits and a self-directed pacing approach for managing symptoms and daily activities. During the follow-up phase, IG participants will continue training independently without teleconsultations, whereas CG participants will undergo the same telerehabilitation intervention as the IG. A follow-up assessment will be conducted for both groups to evaluate long-term effects. This study adheres to the SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) guidelines and follows the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template.
ResultsRecruitment began in August 2023 and was extended until March 2025. As of March 2025, 80 participants have been recruited, and data analysis is ongoing. Final results are expected by December 2025, with a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data anticipated by July 2025.
ConclusionsThis study is the first randomized controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of multimodal and symptom-titrated telerehabilitation in patients with PCC who are severely affected. The integration of various objective diagnostic systems will provide valuable insights into emerging postviral fatigue syndromes, supporting the development of CPET-based diagnostics, personalized rehabilitation strategies, and future research on long-term telerehabilitation effectiveness. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, professional networks, and patient advocacy groups to ensure scientific, clinical, and public impact.
Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00032394; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00032394
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/6504
Platelets, endothelial cells and leukocytes contribute to the exercise-triggered release of extracellular vesicles into the circulation
No full textPhysical activity initiates a wide range of multi-systemic adaptations that promote mental and physical health. Recent work demonstrated that exercise triggers the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) into the circulation, possibly contributing to exercise-associated adaptive systemic signalling. Circulating EVs comprise a heterogeneous collection of different EV-subclasses released from various cell types. So far, a comprehensive picture of the parental and target cell types, EV-subpopulation diversity and functional properties of EVs released during exercise (ExerVs) is lacking. Here, we performed a detailed EV-phenotyping analysis to explore the cellular origin and potential subtypes of ExerVs.Healthy male athletes were subjected to an incremental cycling test until exhaustion and blood was drawn before, during, and immediately after the test. Analysis of total blood plasma by EV Array suggested endothelial and leukocyte characteristics of ExerVs. We further purified ExerVs from plasma by size exclusion chromatography as well as CD9-, CD63- or CD81-immunobead isolation to examine ExerV-subclass dynamics. EV-marker analysis demonstrated increasing EV-levels during cycling exercise, with highest levels at peak exercise in all EV-subclasses analysed. Phenotyping of ExerVs using a multiplexed flow-cytometry platform revealed a pattern of cell surface markers associated with ExerVs and identified lymphocytes (CD4, CD8), monocytes (CD14), platelets (CD41, CD42, CD62P), endothelial cells (CD105, CD146) and antigen presenting cells (MHC-II) as ExerV-parental cells. We conclude that multiple cell types associated with the circulatory system contribute to a pool of heterogeneous ExerVs, which may be involved in exercise-related signalling mechanisms and tissue crosstalk
Response to Roundtable Comments
No full textIn her response, Neuberger elaborates and extends a few of her key arguments as discussed by Brandenberger,
Kleiman, Petrone, Platt, and Tsivian. She focuses on questions involving Eisenstein’s exceptionality,
the general reception of Ivan the Terrible, Stalin’s response to the film and its homoeroticism, and fundamental
questions about Eisenstein’s interpretation of Ivan and his reign, its application to the present and to all rulers.
She clarifies fundamental questions about Eisenstein’s conception of dialectics, and shows his commitment to
dialectics as something more than more than binary conflict. Eisenstein not only saw all phenomena as “unities
of opposites”, but contrasted the dialectical contradictory with a unitary definitive, giving us neither a simpler
dualism nor a permanent state of contradiction. The categorical doesn’t cancel out the contested (or vice versa):
together the categorical and the contested create another level of complexity, making it possible to see Ivan the
Terrible as a film that repeatedly poses questions about power, violence, and human perception, and a film that is
a radical critique of Stalinism and Soviet ideology. The author underlines, that in This Thing of Darkness she tried
to show that the search for “meaning” in Eisenstein (and in my reading of Eisenstein) was no simple path toward
a definitive truth, but is something like the way we experience films: seeing, hearing, intuiting, sensing, learning,
feeling, wondering, learning a little more, and eventually thinking through what we have seen and experienced in
order to make it meaningful for us
Erratum to:Multidrug efflux pumps: structure, function and regulation (Nature Reviews Microbiology, (2018), 16, 9, (523-539), 10.1038/s41579-018-0048-6)
No full textIn the version of this Review originally published, the author contributions of co-author Arthur Neuberger were incorrectly listed. The author contributions should have appeared as ‘D.D., X.W.-K., A.N., H.W.v.V., K.M.P., L.J.V.P. and B.F.L. researched data for the article, made substantial contributions to discussions of the content, wrote the article, and reviewed and edited the manuscript before submission’. This has now been corrected in all versions of the Review. The authors apologize to readers for this error.</p
Genetische Tests im Sport: Können wir schon empirische Evidenz von empirischem Nonsens unterscheiden?
No full textFostering effective mathematics teaching: professional coaching and teachers' instructional practices and beliefs
No full textTwo decades ago the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics challenged the mathematics education community to promulgate a comprehensive set of learning goals for K-12 students that would guide mathematics curriculum, teaching, and assessment for the future. One consequence was an emphasis on professional development of teachers. Accordingly, in 2003, New York Cityʼs public schools started a math coaching program, whereby math education experts worked closely with math teachers for an extended period of time in the teachersʼ schools. This program became an opportunity for important research regarding the effectiveness of coaching This study describes the collaboration between one coach and one teacher in the implementation of the coaching system. The researcher observed and videotaped a lesson and the subsequent debriefing between the teacher and coach; and interviewed the teacher, coach, and principal. The benefit to the classroom teacher was supported by analysis of the data. The teacher reported that, for the first time, math was “fun,” she was more confident, and more class time was devoted to mathematics. The teacher paid closer attention to student work, reflected on her own practice, grouped students more beneficially, encouraged them to interact, and to make their thinking public. She did not view answers as just right or wrong, but rather as part of a process of making sense of ideas. The data suggest: 1. The teacher reported that some of her beliefs about math teaching had changed due to the coaching process. 2. Teacher practices mirrored teacher beliefs. There are signs that the coaching is influencing the teacherʼs practice. 3. The coach helped the teacher learn mathematics and pay attention to the math learning of her students. 4. The teacher is in a state of transition in many of her emerging beliefs, suggesting that some of them are fragile. While results of the study are promising, further research is recommended to examine long term effects of coaching with more teachers and coaches over several cycles.Ed.D.Includes abstractIncludes bibliogrqphical referencesby James A. Neuberge
- …
