Background/Aims: Little is known about whether lifestyle plus exercise intervention improves obesity, metabolic syndrome markers, and circulating adiponectin concentrations in obese girls. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of a 12-week lifestyle plus exercise intervention on adiponectin and metabolic syndrome markers in Korean obese adolescents. Methods: A total of 44 obese adolescent girls (13–15 years old), who were recruited from a local middle school via a flyer or a school newsletter, were randomized to a lifestyle plus exercise intervention group (LIFE+EX, n = 22) or control (CON, n = 22). The LIFE+EX group participated in 12 weeks of lifestyle plus exercise intervention, while the CON group maintained their lifestyle as usual. Body composition, metabolic syndrome markers, and adiponectin were measured prior to and after the intervention program. Results: Following the 12-week lifestyle plus exercise intervention, group analyses showed significant time × group interactions in changed scores in several of the metabolic syndrome markers such that the LIFE+EX group had significantly greater improvements in body composition including body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio than the CON group. Similarly, the LIFE+EX group had significantly greater reductions in SBP, TC, LDLC, TG, TC/HDLC, glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, CRP, and leptin than the CON group, while there were no significant time × group or time or group differences in DBP, HDLC, HbA1c, and adiponectin. Conclusion: The current findings suggest that lifestyle plus exercise intervention may be an effective means to improve several variables in the health hazards of obesity in Korean adolescent girls, with no change in circulating adiponectin.

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and calibration of a piezoelectric polymer-based sensorized microgripper. Electro discharge machining technology is employed to fabricate the superelastic alloy-based microgripper. It was experimentally tested to show the improvement of mechanical performance. For integration of force sensor in the microgripper, the sensor design based on the piezoelectric polymer polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) film and fabrication process are presented. The calibration and performance test of the force sensorintegrated microgripper are experimentally carried out. The force sensor-integrated microgripper is applied to fine alignment tasks of micro opto-electrical components. Experimental results show that it can successfully provide force feedback to the operator through the haptic device and play a main role in preventing damage of assembly parts by adjusting the teaching command.

The current findings suggest that treadmill running provides a nonpharmacological means to combat cognitive declines due to AD pathology.

[Purpose]The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise training on a high fat diet (HFD)-induced fatty liver and its metabolic complications in C57BL/6 mice.[Methods]Mice at 5-month old (n = 30) were randomly assigned to standard chow (SC + CON, n = 10) and high-fat diet (HFD, n = 20), and they were subjected to SC and HFD, respectively, for 23-week. After 15-week of HFD, mice in the HFD group were further assigned to HFD (HFD + CON, n = 10) or exercise training (HFD + EX, n = 10) groups. The HFD + EX mice were subjected to aerobic treadmill running during the last 8-week of the 23-week HFD course. Outcomes included hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, and expression of genes involved in mitochondrial function and/or fatty oxidation as well as de novo lipogenesis and/or triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis.[Results]Treadmill running ameliorated impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance secondary to the HFD. The beneficial effects of treadmill running were associated with enhanced molecular markers of mitochondrial function and/or fatty acids oxidation (i.e., PPARα and CPT1a mRNAs, pAMPK/AMPK, pACC, and SIRT1 protein) as well as suppressed expression of de novo lipogenesis and/or TAG synthesis (i.e., SREBP1c, lipin1 and FAS mRNAs) in the liver.[Conclusion]The current findings suggest that aerobic exercise training is an effective and non-pharmacological means to combat fatty liver and its metabolic complications in HFD-induced obese mice.

The current findings suggest that VIT is an alternative way of exercise training to combat hepatic steatosis associated with an obese and impaired glucose tolerance phenotype.

[Purpose]The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of 12-week walking exercise on abdominal fat, insulin resistance and serum cytokines in obese women.[Methods]Following baseline measurements, obese women (N = 20) who met obesity criterion of BMI at 25 kg/m2 or greater were randomly assigned to the control (n = 10) or exercise groups (n = 10). Women assigned to the exercise group participated in a walking exercise (with an intensity of 50-60% of predetermined VO2max, a frequency of 3 days per week and duration of 50-70 minutes targeting 400 kcal of energy expenditure per session) for 12 weeks, while women assigned to the control group maintained their sedentary lifestyle. After the 12-week walking intervention, post-test measurements were conducted using the same procedure as the baseline measurement. Analyses of variance with repeated measures were used to evaluate any significant time by group interactions for the measured variables.[Results]With respect to body fat parameters, significant time-by-group interactions were found in the abdominal subcutaneous (p = < 0.001) and visceral adipose tissues (p = 0.011). The exercise group had significant reductions in both subcutaneous and visceral adiposity, and the control group had no significant changes in those parameters. Similarly, there were significant time by group interactions in fasting glucose (p = 0.008), HOMA-IR (p = 0.029), serum TNF-α (p = 0.027), and IL-6 (p = 0.048) such that the exercise group had significant reductions in those parameters, with no such significant changes found in the control group. The exercise group also had a significant increase in serum adiponectin (p = 0.002), whereas the control group had no significant change in the parameter.[Conclusion]In summary, the current findings suggest that walking exercise can provide a safe and effective lifestyle strategy against abdominal obesity and serum insulin resistance markers in obese women.

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Background: Exercise promotes brain health and improves cognitive functioning in the elderly, while 40-Hz light flickering through the visual cortex reduces amyloid beta (Aβ) by stabilizing gamma oscillation. We examined whether exercise was associated with hippocampus-mediated improvement in cognitive functioning in the 3xTg-Alzheimer's disease (3xTg-AD) murine model following exposure to 40-Hz light flickering and exercise. Methods: We subjected 12-month-old 3xTg-AD mice to exercise and 40-Hz light flickering for 3 months to investigate spatial learning, memory, long-term memory, Aβ levels, tau levels, mitochondrial functioning including Ca 2+ retention and H 2 O 2 emission, apoptosis, and neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Results: Treatments had a positive effect; however, the combination of exercise and 40-Hz light flickering exposure was most effective in reducing Aβ and tau levels. Reducing Aβ and tau levels by combination of exercise and 40-Hz light flickering improves Ca 2+ homeostasis and reactive oxygen species such as H 2 O 2 in mitochondria and apoptosis including bax, bcl-2, cytochrome c, and cleaved caspase-3 and cell death, cell differentiation, and neurogenesis in the 3xTg-AD model of the hippocampus, resulting in improving cognitive impairment such as spatial learning, memory and long term memory. Conclusion: Our results show that exercising in a 40-Hz light flickering environment may improve cognitive functioning by reducing Aβ and tau levels, thereby enhancing mitochondrial function and neuroplasticity.