Aerobic Work Research Articles

The Effect of Cardiac Rehabilitation on the Serum Lipid Profile in Patients with Hypertension: an Integrative Review

This review examines data from modern scientific periodicals on various approaches to physical rehabilitation using aerobic work inpatients with common diseases preceding severe cardiovascular pathologies, namely, with dyslipidemia and arterial hypertension.Dyslipidemia in patients is determined by the indicators of the blood serum lipid profile, which reflects disturbances in metabolicprocesses in the systems and organs of the body. The aim of the integrative review was to identify and bring together already knownphysical rehabilitation parameters that need to be considered in order to achieve maximum benefit in normalizing blood pressureand blood lipid profile. The randomized controlled trials and meta-analyzes review search was conducted in the electronic biomedicalresearch databases: MEDLINE (PubMed), eLibrary, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, and Cochrane. As a result of the analysis, the following parameters amenable to modification were identified: exercise intensity (low, medium, high),determined by the percentage of the maximum heart rate or the performed work severity subjective assessment; aerobic trainingtechniques (high-intensity interval training, uniform medium-intensity training); external factors (ambient temperature during training)influencing the physiological adaptations of the body (hyperthermia, lipolysis – secretion of free fatty acids) of the study participant;a type of exercise according to the amount of skeletal muscle body mass involved (muscles of the upper and muscles of the lowerextremities); the optimal amount of aerobic physical activity, expressed in terms of caloric expenditure per week; the duration of thephysical rehabilitation period (from 3 months); the initial level of the blood lipid profile markers before therapy; an increased bodymass index of patients due to an excess of the fat component; adherence to a healthy lifestyle (quitting smoking, limiting alcohol). Inconclusion, all previously reflected parameters need to be considered when modeling the physical rehabilitation protocol, as well asin the future randomized controlled trials.

Power Output and Efficiency During Supine, Recumbent, and Upright Cycle Ergometry.

Recumbent and supine cycling are common exercise modes in rehabilitation and clinical settings but the influence of postures on work efficiency is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare metabolic and ventilatory efficiency during upright, recumbent, and supine postures. Potential differences should be assessed for suitable diagnostics and for prescriptions of training that probably is performed in alternative postures. Eighteen healthy subjects (age: 47.2 ± 18.4 years; 10 female, 8 male) participated in the study and each completed three incremental cycle ergometer tests until exhaustion in upright, recumbent (40°), and supine positions. Gas exchange, heart rate (HR), and lactate concentrations were analyzed and efficiency was calculated subsequently. Testing sessions were performed in random order within a 2-week period. Upright cycling resulted in significantly higher peak values [power output, oxygen uptake (Vo2), HR] as well as performance at lactate and ventilatory thresholds in comparison to recumbent or supine positions. Vco2/Vo2 slope and ventilatory efficiency (VE/Vco2 slope) were not affected by posture. Aerobic work efficiency (Vo2/P slope) and gross efficiency (GE) differed significantly between postures. Hereby, GE was lowest in supine cycling, particularly obvious in a mainly aerobic condition at 70 Watt [Median 11.6 (IQR 10.9–13.3) vs. recumbent: 15.9 (IQR 15.6–18.3) and upright: 17.4 (IQR 15.1–18.3)]. Peak power as well as GE and work efficiency values are influenced by cycling position, reinforcing the importance of adjusting test results for training prescriptions. Surprisingly, ventilatory efficiency was not affected in this study and therefore does not seem to falsify test results for pulmonary diagnostics.

Face Cooling During Swimming Training in Tropical Condition.

The aim of this study was to test the effect of face cooling with cold water (1.2 ± 0.7°C) vs. face cooling with neutral water (28.0 ± 3.0°C) during high-intensity swimming training on both the core temperature (Tco) and thermal perceptions in internationally ranked long-distance swimmers (5 men’s and 3 women’s) during 2 randomized swimming sessions. After a standardized warm-up of 1,200 m, the athletes performed a standardized training session that consisted of 2,000 m (5 × 400 m; start every 5’15”) at a best velocity then 600 m of aerobic work. Heart rate (HR) was continuously monitored during 5 × 400 m, whereas Tco, thermal comfort (TC), and thermal sensation (TS) were measured before and after each 400 m. Before and after each 400 m, the swimmers were asked to flow 200 mL of cold water (1.2°C) or neutral (22°C) water packaged in standardized bottles on their face. The swimmers were asked don’t drink during exercise. The velocity was significantly different between cold water and neutral water (p < 0.004 – 71.58 m.min–1 ± 2.32 and 70.52 m.min–1 ± 1.73, respectively). The Tco was increased by ±0.5°C at race pace, under both face cooling conditions with no significant difference. No significant changes were noted in mean HR (i.e., 115 ± 9 and 114 ± 15 bpm for NW and CW, respectively). TC was higher with Cold Cooling than Neutral Cooling and TS was lower with Cold cooling compared with Neutral cooling. The changes in perceptual parameters caused by face cooling with cold water reflect the psychological impact on the physical parameters. The mean velocity was less important with face cooling whereas the heat rate and Tco were the same in the both conditions. The mechanism leading to these results seems to involve brain integration of signals from physiological and psychological sources.

Evaluation of the repeatability and reliability of the cross-training specific Fight Gone Bad workout and its relation to aerobic fitness

Cross-training is a high-intensity functional training (HIFT) with multiple workout modalities. Despite the increasing number of studies in HIFT, there is still no validated test to measure its specific performance. It would also be advisable to determine whether selected cross-training workouts can implement a stimulus corresponding to maximize aerobic work. For these reasons, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the repeatability and reliability of Fight Gone Bad (FGB) workout and to assess its relationship with aerobic fitness. Twenty-one cross-training participants (9 females) finished the study protocol which included three two-day measurement sessions separated by 10 days. During each session, participants had their body composition measured, and they performed two exercise tests. The first test was an incremental cycling test to measure aerobic fitness, and the second was a cross-training specific FGB workout performed the next day. Reliability and repeatability were calculated from the three measurements. The total FGB Score (FGBTOTAL) showed excellent reliability (ICC 0.9, SEM 6%). Moreover, FGBTOTAL was strongly correlated with aerobic fitness (i.e., time to exhaustion (Texh, R2 = 0.72), maximal workload (Wmax, R2 = 0.69), time to gas exchange threshold (TGET, R2 = 0.68), and peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak, R2 = 0.59). We also found that agreement between standardized FGB and standardized aerobic performance indices such as Texh, VO2peak, Wmax, maximum heart rate, TGET, and workload at gas exchange threshold was high by the Bland–Altman method. In conclusion, FGB is a reliable test that can be used in order to measure changes in cross-training performance caused by an intervention. Moreover, FGB is strongly correlated to aerobic fitness.

Effects of aerobic exercise induced oxidative stress on energy regulatory hormones of irisin and nesfatin-1 in healthy females

Objectives: Exercise is an important tool to stimulate oxidative stress and metabolic demands. We intended to evaluate impact of aerobic exercise on oxidative stress parameters and their relationships between irisin and nesfatin-1 levels. Material and Method: Total of ten healthy sedentary female subjects exercise for a 30 min of aerobic running exercise work intensity corresponded to associated their anaerobic threshold. Venous blood samples were taken before and at the end of the exercise. Serum irisin nesfatin-1 and TAS and TOS levels were analyzed using ELISA methods. Results: Exercise caused increase of irisin (11%) and nesfatin-1 (12%) levels. During exercise a decrease in TAS (-11%) and increased in TOS (29%) levels were observed. There was a significant correlation between changes of irisin and TAS levels (R=-0.67594, p=0.03). Conclusion: Consequently, exercise induced skeletal muscle activity may cause increase in oxidative stress, irisin and nesfatin-1 levels. Irisin hormone may be a secreted against to increased exercise-induced increased oxidative stress muscle activity.

Activité physique dans l’arthrose

Physical activity is defined as movement of the body resulting from muscle contraction and inducing energy expenditure. It can be adapted to a person's health status and have the objective of maintaining or improving health status. The link between sedentary lifestyle and the severity of symptoms in osteoarthritis is now well established, making adapted physical activity (APA) a first-line targeted treatment in osteoarthritis, in order to fight against the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, regardless of the phenotype or stage of the disease. The latest recommendations from EULAR, ACR and OARSI place APA, in the form of structured exercise programs for muscle strengthening, joint mobility, proprioception and aerobic work, as the core treatment for people with osteoarthritis. The benefits of APA in reducing pain and activity limitations, in the short, mid and long terms, in osteoarthritis, especially of the lower limbs, has been demonstrated in high-level clinical trials and meta-analyses, with effect-sizes comparable to those observed with pharmacological treatments. In clinical practice, the prescription of APA in people with osteoarthritis should still be encouraged. Particular attention should also be paid to patients’ adherence at long term.

Does over a century of aerobic phage work provide a solid framework for the study of phages in the gut?

Bacterial viruses (bacteriophages, phages) of the gut have increasingly become a focus in microbiome studies, with an understanding that they are likely key players in health and disease. However, characterization of the virome remains largely based on bioinformatic approaches, with the impact of these viromes inferred based on a century of knowledge from aerobic phage work. Studying the phages infecting anaerobes is difficult, as they are often technically demanding to isolate and propagate. In this review, we primarily discuss the phages infecting three well-studied anaerobes in the gut: Bifidobacterium, Clostridia and Bacteroides, with a particular focus on the challenges in isolating and characterizing these phages. We contrast the lessons learned from these to other anaerobic work on phages infecting facultative anaerobes of the gut: Enterococcus and Lactobacillus. Phages from the gut do appear to adhere to the lessons learned from aerobic work, but the additional challenges of working on them has required ingenious new approaches to enable their study. This, in turn, has uncovered remarkable biology likely underpinning phage-host relationships in many stable environments.

Knowledge and Practices of Back Care, Experience in Colombian Children.

Early back care has become the preventive strategy to mitigate bad postural habits and musculoskeletal alterations that trigger inadequate postural patterns in the body schema. The objective was to determine the knowledge and practice of back care in first-grade school children after applying an educational intervention for back care. Quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-tests in a sample of 71 first grade school students. Knowledge and practices for back care were evaluated before and after of the intervention. During 5 weeks, a program of education for back care was developed in the intervention group, formed by concepts about anatomy, physiology, alterations of the spine, adoption of appropriate postures and movements in school life and the execution of adequate movements learned. Simultaneously, physical exercises based on aerobic work, strengthening and stretching the back muscles were carried out with the children in the control group. A linear regression model and a two-level hierarchical model were applied to estimate the effect of the intervention. After the execution of the back care education program, a better score was found in the knowledge and practice questionnaire, which was different between the intervention group and the control group (1.72 95% CI 1.21-2.24). The development of an education program generated a change in the score of the questionnaire on knowledge of back care in the intervnetion group, which suggests the implementation of these strategies in the school context during early childhood, contributing to the prevention of back disorders and deficiencies

High-Intensity Interval Aerobic Work for Strength Athletes with Arterial Hypertension: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hypertension is often diagnosed in strength athletes of heavyweight categories. A study was made to assess how high-intensity aerobic work affects the body composition, blood pressure (BP), oxidative capacity, and working muscle hypertrophy and strength in strength athletes with arterial hypertension. Examination and physical rehabilitation were performed in 55 hypertensive heavyweight strength athletes comparable in age, gender, and main clinical manifestations. The athletes were randomized into two groups, a test group (n = 35) and a control group (n = 20). The test-group athletes trained on a bicycle ergometer according to a high-intensity interval protocol 3 times a week for 120 days, and the control-group athletes trained according to their conventional power protocol 3 times a week for 120 days. The study methods included interrogation, physical examination, triplicate BP measurement, bioimpedance analysis with calculation of body composition indices, ergospirometry, measurement of the oxygenation level of muscle tissue, ultrasonographic measurements of the anatomical cross-sectional area (CSA) of the quadriceps femoris, evaluation of the maximal voluntary contraction strength of the quadriceps femoris, and methods of mathematical statistics. After 120 days of training, the athletes of the test group displayed a 72% decrease in oxygenation, an increase in power and working time at the level of maximum oxygen consumption, and an increase in quadriceps femoris CSA. BP decreased significantly in the group: systolic BP (SBP), by 4.7% and diastolic BP (DBP), by 5.6%. The physical rehabilitation protocol developed for strength athletes makes it possible to effectively and safely affect the body composition, hypertrophy, oxidative capacity of working muscles, and BP.

Positional differences in some physiological parameters obtained by the incremental field endurance test among elite handball players

The purpose of the study was to assess assumed differences in some physiological parameters, obtained by an incremental intermittent running field test 30–15IFT, among elite handball players to get an insight into the specifics of aerobic capacity profiles of players in different playing positions. Twenty-four elite male handball players were tested using the Cosmed K4 portable telemetry system. The following parameters were analysed: running velocity, heart rate, oxygen uptake, relative oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation breath-by-breath, at the three points—lactate threshold (LT), onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA), and at the peak velocity achieved on the test (v30–15IFT). Additionally, blood lactate concentration was analysed at v30–15IFT. The players were divided in three groups based on their playing positions: eight backcourt players, eight wing players and eight pivot players. In terms of both the statistically significant and non-significant differences, the wings achieved slightly different results in comparison to the backcourt players and pivots. The wings reached a statistically significant higher velocity at the LT than the players of the other two groups and a significantly higher velocity than the pivots at the OBLA. At all the three points, wings presented the highest HR values, meaning they can operate at higher intensities still within the aerobic work zone. This would probably allow wing players to longer persist in handball game.

Effects of artificial CO2-rich cold-water immersion on repeated-cycling work efficiency

ABSTRACT We investigated the acute effects of cold-water immersion (20°C) with higher CO2 concentration (CCWI) following a high-intensity Wingate anaerobic exercise test (WAnT) on subjects’ sublingual temperature (Tsub), blood lactate ([La]b), heart rate (HR), and aerobic cycling work efficiency (WE) compared to cold tap-water immersion (20°C; CWI) and passive recovery (PAS). Fifteen subjects completed three testing sessions at 1-week intervals. Each trial consisted of a first WE and WAnT, and a 20-min recovery intervention (randomized: CCWI, CWI, and PAS) before repeating a second WE and WAnT. The WE was measured by the metabolic demand during 50% V.O2max exercise. HR, Tsub, and [La]b were recorded throughout the testing sessions. There was a significant decline in the WE from 1st bout to 2nd bout at each recovery intervention. The WAnT was also significantly reduced at 2nd bout. Significantly reduced [La]b was achieved at CCWI compared to PAS, but not to the CWI. Likewise, the reduction in HR following immersion was the largest at CCWI compared to the other conditions. These findings indicate that CCWI is an effective intervention for maintaining repeated cycling work efficiency, which might be associated with reduced [La]b and HR.

The Effects of Moderate and High-Intensity Interval Training in Cardiac Rehabilitation of Bodybuilders with Arterial Hypertension: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Athletes of power sports, often appear to us as a model of a beautiful and healthy body, but the health of the cardiovascular system ofthese athletes has long falls under the gaze of cardiologists and sport physicians. Purpose of the study. A comparative analysis of the influence of a uniform and high-intensity aerobic exercise on blood pressure lowering power sports athletes with hypertension. Research Methods. The study involved 83 representatives of power sports (bodybuilding) with arterial hypertension. The average age of male athletes was 31.2 ± 4.5 years, and the body mass index was 32.4 ± 2.8 kg/m 2. To achieve this goal, the following methods were used: examination, interrogation, triple measurement of blood pressure, ergospirometry and methods of mathematical statistics. Athletes were randomized into three groups: interval training group (n = 33), uniform training (n = 30) and control group (n = 20). For 120 days (3 times a week), the athletes of the main groups performed various aerobic work programs, and the control group athletes trained according to their traditional strength protocol. Results. After 120 days of physical rehabilitation, a similar, significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure occurred in themain intervention groups. A decrease in blood pressure in the control group was not statistically significant. Conclusions. Despite the similar benefits in cardio-rehabilitation interval work required 38% less time, which can significantly affect adherence to a non-specific for this sport activity and screening of participant’s lengthy rehabilitation.

Supervised Physical Therapy and Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis-A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Objective: to find the most up-to-date evidence of the effectiveness and safety of supervised physical therapy in polymyositis/dermatomyositis patients. Methods: a systematic review of the literature in the main scientific databases was carried out. We searched for randomized controlled trials concerning supervised physical therapy and polymyositis/dermatomyositis. The PICOS method was used for the formulation of the clinical query. Methodological quality and the level of evidence of the included studies were assessed using the modified Jadad scale and the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence guide, respectively. Results: a total of 2591 articles were found. By applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, six randomized controlled clinical trials were admitted to the final phase of the review. The compared approaches concerned supervised exercise programs based on strategies of muscle strengthening or aerobic work. Following these exercises, an increase in the maximum rate of oxygen consumption, a decrease in creatine phosphokinase levels, an enhancement in the patient’s aerobic performance and an improvement in the quality of life indexes were registered. The methodological quality of the included studies ranged from 3 to 4.5. All the studies were classified as presenting an evidence level of 2b. Conclusions: supervised physical therapy in polymyositis/dermatomyositis is an effective, safe and free-of-contraindications tool to be used both in the acute and in the established phases of the pathology. However, further and higher-quality studies are necessary to confirm those findings, to clarify the timing of exercise delivery and to guide the choice towards different types of muscle contraction exercises.

A Brief Talk on Using Computer Aided Technology to Analyze the Feasibility of Introducing Ball Game in the Physical Education Courses of Applied Universities

On October 25, 2016, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Outline for the “Healthy China 2030” Plan”, which stated that the implementation of the Youth Sports Promotion Program, the cultivation of young people’s sports hobbies, and the basic realization of adolescents’ mastery of more than one sport. This paper uses computer-aided technology to conduct an empirical study on the influence of Dutch sports on the physical quality of college students through literature research, experimental methods and other research methods. The results show that: Ball sports can effectively improve the body’s physical quality, especially the ability of women to run fast in short-term speed, aerobic work ability and ventilator function.

Normative Values for Cardiopulmonary Exercise Stress Testing Using Ramp Cycle Ergometry in Children and Adolescents

To provide sex, age, and race specific reference values for ramp cycle ergometer cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) in children in the US. Retrospective review was conducted of all cardiopulmonary CPET data from our Exercise Physiology Laboratory on healthy children and adolescents (6-18years) with body mass index between the 5th and 95th percentiles and structurally normal hearts who performed a ramp cycle ergometry stress test between 1999 and 2015. Twenty-eight exercise variables were included: peak oxygen consumption, oxygen consumption at ventilatory anaerobic threshold, peak work rate, resting and peak heart rate and blood pressure, resting pulmonary function testing, and ventilatory responses to progressive exercise using breath-by-breath gas exchange. Owing to the nonlinear association between CPET results and age, fractional polynomials were used in the mixed-effects regression models to describe the sex- and age-specific normative values with 95% CIs, after adjusting for race and body mass index. We analyzed data on 1829 children (average age, 13.6±2.6years; 52% male). After 12years of age, males generally had higher peak values for aerobic capacity and work rate. There were progressive increases with age for both sexes in resting pulmonary function and ventilatory response to exercise, peak aerobic and work rate, and oxygen pulse. Notably, there was an age-related decrease in ventilatory equivalents of oxygen and carbon dioxide at the ventilatory anaerobic threshold. Future research using prospective, inclusive, and statistically planned cohorts with standardized laboratory approaches and confirmed interoperability should be considered as a focus for validating normative pediatric CPET values in the future.

Effects of Eight Interval Training Sessions in Hypoxia on Anaerobic, Aerobic, and High Intensity Work Capacity in Endurance Cyclists.

Aim: This study aimed to determine if eight sessions of supramaximal but steady-state, set duration interval training in hypoxia enhanced measured anaerobic capacity and work performed during high intensity exercise. High Alt Med Biol. 21:370-377, 2020. Materials and Methods: Eighteen cyclists (V̇O2peak: 57 ± 7 ml·kg-1·min-1) were pair-matched for anaerobic capacity determined by maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) and allocated to a 4-week interval training in hypoxia (IHT; FiO2 = 14.7% ± 0.5%, n = 9) or interval training in normoxia (NORM; FiO2 = 20.6% ± 0.3%, n = 9). Cyclists completed twice weekly interval training (8 × 1 minutes: ∼120% V̇O2peak, 5 minutes recovery: ∼50% V̇O2peak) in addition to their habitual training. Before and after the intervention, a constant work rate supramaximal time to fatigue and a graded exercise test were used to determine changes in anaerobic capacity/supramaximal work performed and aerobic capacity/peak aerobic power output, respectively. Results: No interaction or main effects were observed. Using indirect calorimetry, anaerobic capacity was not significantly different in either group pre- to postintervention using MAOD (IHT: 4% ± 15%; NORM: -5% ± 12%) or gross efficiency methods (IHT: 7% ± 14%; NORM: -2% ± 9%), and VO2peak was unchanged (IHT: 1% ± 6%; NORM: 1% ± 4%). However, within-group analysis shows that supramaximal work performed improved with IHT (14% ± 13%; p = 0.02; d = 0.42) but not NORM (1% ± 22%), and peak aerobic power output increased with IHT (5% ± 7%; p = 0.04; d = 0.32) but not NORM (2% ± 4%). Conclusion: Steady-state, set duration supramaximal interval training in hypoxia appears to provide a small beneficial effect on work capacity during supramaximal and high intensity exercise.

Estimation of the aerobic capacity by step test in the workers of a tile factory in Yazd in 2017

Introduction: Estimation of the maximum aerobic capacity to find a physiological fitness between worker and the work is of great importance. The purpose of this study was to estimate the highest aerobic capacity and physical work capacity of tile and ceramic workers. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 90 workers were randomly selected from tile and ceramic workers in Yazd. A questionnaire consisting of two parts was used as data collection tool. The first part of the questionnaire included demographic characteristics completed by the interview. In the second part, parameters including height, weight, BMI and heart rate were inserted in the questionnaire. The Queen step test was used to measure the maximum aerobic capacity. The data were analyzed by SPSS software using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman,s test. Results: The maximum aerobic capacity in tile and ceramic workers was estimated to be 3.60±.0.03 L/m. The results showed that aerobic capacity was significantly correlated with weight and body mass index. Also, there was no significant relationship between aerobic capacity, smoking and exercise, and education, but there was a significant relationship between gob title and aerobic capacity. Conclusion: Weight, BMI and type of occupation affect the aerobic capacity of workers.

Nеw tесhniquеs for physiсal rеhabilitation of powеr sports athlеtеs with artеrial hypеrtеnsion: a randomizеd сontrollеd trial

Essential hypertension is a frequent diagnosis in power sports athletes, heavy weight categories. The aim of the study: To evaluate the impact of high-intensity aerobic work on blood pressure and oxidative abilities of hypertensive athletes of power sports, heavy weight categories. Rеsеarсh mеthods: Examination and physical rehabilitation were conducted in 55 hypertensive representatives of power sports, heavy weight categories comparable in age, sex and main clinical manifestations. Athletes were randomized into two groups: the main group (n=35) and the control group (n=20). Athletes of the main group were trained for 180 days (3 times a week) on an ergometer using a high-intensity interval protocol, while the control group participants were trained for 180 days (3 times a week) using their traditional power protocol. The tasks were performed using the following methods: examination, polling, gasometric analysis, triple blood pressure measurement, muscle tissue oxygenation level measurement and mathematical statistics methods. Rеsults: After 180 days of physical rehabilitation, the participants in the main group had a 148% reduction in oxygen oxygenation, an increase in capacity and working time at maximum oxygen consumption, and a reliable decrease in blood pressure: systolic blood pressure by 8.0%, diastolic blood pressure by 10.8%. Сonсlusion: Our protocol for physical rehabilitation of power sports athletes allows us to effectively and safely influence the oxidative capacity of working muscles and blood pressure.

Using aerobic exercise to evaluate sub-lethal tolerance of acute warming in fishes

ABSTRACTWe investigated whether fatigue from sustained aerobic swimming provides a sub-lethal endpoint to define tolerance of acute warming in fishes, as an alternative to loss of equilibrium (LOE) during a critical thermal maximum (CTmax) protocol. Two species were studied, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). Each fish underwent an incremental swim test to determine gait transition speed (UGT), where it first engaged the unsteady anaerobic swimming mode that preceded fatigue. After suitable recovery, each fish was exercised at 85% of their own UGT and warmed 1°C every 30 min, to identify the temperature at which they fatigued, denoted as CTswim. Fish were also submitted to a standard CTmax, warming at the same rate as CTswim, under static conditions until LOE. All individuals fatigued in CTswim, at a mean temperature approximately 2°C lower than their CTmax. Therefore, if exposed to acute warming in the wild, the ability to perform aerobic metabolic work would be constrained at temperatures significantly below those that directly threatened survival. The collapse in performance at CTswim was preceded by a gait transition qualitatively indistinguishable from that during the incremental swim test. This suggests that fatigue in CTswim was linked to an inability to meet the tissue oxygen demands of exercise plus warming. This is consistent with the oxygen and capacity limited thermal tolerance (OCLTT) hypothesis, regarding the mechanism underlying tolerance of warming in fishes. Overall, fatigue at CTswim provides an ecologically relevant sub-lethal threshold that is more sensitive to extreme events than LOE at CTmax.

Is the 12 minute-walk/run test a predictive index of cognitive fitness in young healthy individuals? A pilot study on aerobic capacity and working memory in a real-life scenario

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between a field test assessing aerobic capacity (namely, the 12 minute-walk/run test, 12m-WRT) and the performance of students of distinct school-grade levels at two different working memory (WM)-related tasks. Forty participants (21 males, 19 females, mean age 19.18 ± 6.18 years, range 10-24) have been assessed using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) as WM measures, and a walk/run test of 12 minutes to indirectly measure the aerobic capacity (VO2max). We found significant correlations between VO2max and PASAT and between VO2max and SDMT. Two different trends were identified in relation to the individual level of formal education. In particular, aerobic fitness showed higher predictive values on WM performance when investigated with PASAT in primary and secondary school students, whilst increasing predictive values of physical condition on SDMT’s scores were observed with the progressing of students’ school career, reaching maximal values in university students. No significant correlations were observed between age and the cognitive tests, nor between age and VO2max.The present findings suggest that the 12m-WRT is associated with WM performance, showing different correlation with PASAT and SDMT according to the school-grade level. This might be due to the different effects that aerobic fitness has on specific neural substrates during development and opens avenues to research new tools able to monitor the health of the brain in young subjects.