The importance of using infrared thermography (IRT) to assess skin temperature (t) is increasing in clinical settings. Recently, its use has been increasing in sports and exercise medicine; however, no consensus guideline exists to address the methods for collecting data in such situations. The aim of this study was to develop a checklist for the collection of t using IRT in sports and exercise medicine. We carried out a Delphi study to set a checklist based on consensus agreement from leading experts in the field. Panelists (n = 24) representing the areas of sport science (n = 8; 33%), physiology (n = 7; 29%), physiotherapy (n = 3; 13%) and medicine (n = 6; 25%), from 13 different countries completed the Delphi process. An initial list of 16 points was proposed which was rated and commented on by panelists in three rounds of anonymous surveys following a standard Delphi procedure. The panel reached consensus on 15 items which encompassed the participants' demographic information, camera/room or environment setup and recording/analysis of t using IRT. The results of the Delphi produced the checklist entitled "Thermographic Imaging in Sports and Exercise Medicine (TISEM)" which is a proposal to standardize the collection and analysis of t data using IRT. It is intended that the TISEM can also be applied to evaluate bias in thermographic studies and to guide practitioners in the use of this technique.

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This study aimed at evaluating the thermographic changes associated with localized exercise in young and elderly subjects. An exercise protocol using 1 kg load was applied during 3 min to the knee flexors of 14 elderly (67 +/- 5 years) and 15 young (23 +/- 2 years) healthy subjects. The posterior thigh's skin temperature of the exercised limb and contralateral limb were measured by infrared thermography on pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise, and during the 10-min period post-exercise. Difference (p < 0.01) between elderly and young subjects was observed on pre-exercise temperature. Although differences were not observed between pre-exercise and immediately post-exercise temperature in the exercised limb, thermographic profile displayed heat concentration in exercised areas for both groups. Temperature reduction was only observed for the young group on the 10-min post-exercise (p < 0.05) in the exercised limb (30.7 +/- 1.7 to 30.3 +/- 1.5 degrees C). In contrast, there was a temperature reduction post-exercise (p < 0.01) in the contralateral limb for both groups. These results present new evidences that elderly and young subjects display similar capacity of heat production; however, the elderly subjects presented a lower resting temperature and slower heat dissipation. This work contributes to improve the understanding about temperature changes in elderly subjects and may present implications to the sports and rehabilitation programs.

The self-aggregation, surface properties and foamability of the catanionic surfactant mixture cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/sodium octyl sulfonate (SOSo) have been investigated to obtain insight on the relation between bulk nanostructures, surfactant packing, and foam stability and aging. Light microscopy, SANS, cryo-TEM, DLS, surface tension, rheometry and direct photography were used to characterize mixtures with varying CTAB molar fraction, x. In the bulk, self-assembly is richer in the excess CTAB region than in the excess SOSo one. Starting from neat CTAB micelles and on addition of anionic surfactant, there is a change from small ellipsoidal micelles (1 < x ≤ 0.80) to large rodlike micelles (0.65 ≤ x ≤ 0.55) and then to vesicles (0 < x ≤ 0.50), with coexistence regions in between; SOSo-rich mixtures are thus dominated by vesicles. High size polydispersity for the micelles and vesicles is an intrinsic feature of this system. Foam stability is concomitantly impacted by x. SOSo is a small mobile molecule and so it disrupts foam stability, irrespective of the presence of vesicles. Foams are thus only stable in the CTAB-rich regions, and SANS shows that the shape of micelles and vesicles is unchanged inside the foam. Foam drainage is thereby mostly controlled by the presence of the elongated micelles through the solution viscosity, whereas coarsening is influenced by dense surfactant packing at the gas-liquid interfaces.

Purpose To examine whether two consecutive soccer matches would affect skin temperature (t sk) measured via infrared thermography (IRT) in under-20 (U-20) soccer athletes, as well as verify whether the t sk changes would be different between regions of interest. Methods A cross sectional study. Ten under-20 soccer athletes [age 19.0 ± 1.0 years; height 181.3 ± 6.6 cm; body fat percentage (BF%) 9.0 ± 1.8%, body surface area 1.9 m 2 and _ VO 2max 56.4 ± 3.2 ml min-1 kg-1 ]. Skin thermal responses obtained by IRT and creatine kinase concentration (CK) were evaluated in response to two soccer matches with 3 days of recovery between each match. Results The t sk increased (%1.0°C) 24 h after the first match in all studied regions of interest (ROIs), returning to near pre-match values 48 h after the first match. However, after playing the second match, the t sk increased even more (%1.5°C) 24 h after in all the considered ROIs, not returning to pre-match values 48 h after. Regarding CK analysis, its course during the experiment was similar to t sk , with high values 24 h after (first match 763.8 ± 294.5 U/ L; second match 784.1 ± 298.8 U/L) and recovering 48 h after (first match 526.4 ± 289.7 U/L; second match 672.2 ± 285.0 U/L) both matches. However, when the two matches are compared, CK showed a higher value 48 h after the second match in comparison to first match (P = 0.002). The t sk and CK were moderately correlated in all ROIs analyzed, with higher correlation in the anterior right leg (r = 0.425) and anterior left leg (r = 0.428). Conclusion The t sk of lower limbs as well as CK markedly change in response to two consecutive matches separated by an interval of 3 days. There is indication of the highest inflammatory response after the second match, which was preceded by just a 3-day recovery. In addition, a general increase was obtained in thighs and legs in anterior and posterior views.

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