No abstract

Kogure, GS, Silva, RC, Miranda-Furtado, CL, Ribeiro, VB, Pedroso, DCC, Melo, AS, Ferriani, RA, and Reis, RMd. Hyperandrogenism enhances muscle strength after progressive resistance training, independent of body composition, in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. J Strength Cond Res 32(9): 2651-2660, 2018-The effects of resistance exercise on muscle strength, body composition, and increase in cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle (hypertrophy) were evaluated in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This case-control study included 45 PCOS and 52 non-PCOS women, with age between 18-37 years and body mass index of 18-39.9 kg·m. Subjects performed a program of progressive resistance training (PRT), 3 times per week for 4 months. Biochemical characteristics were measured before and after PRT. Muscle strength evaluated by 1 maximum repetition test and body composition and hypertrophy indicator, evaluated by anthropometry, were measured at baseline, at 8 weeks, and at 16 weeks after PRT. Progressive resistance training produced an increase in maximum strength (bench press, p = 0.04; leg extension, p = 0.04) in the PCOS group; however, no changes were observed in body composition between groups. Concentration of testosterone decreased in both PCOS and non-PCOS groups (p < 0.01, both) after PRT, as well as glycemia (PCOS, p = 0.01; non-PCOS, p = 0.02) and body fat percentage (p < 0.01, both). An increase in hypertrophy indicators, lean body mass (LBM), and maximum strength on all exercises was observed in both PCOS and non-PCOS groups (p < 0.01). This training protocol promoted increases in muscle strength in PCOS women, and improved hyperandrogenism and body composition by decreasing body fat and increasing LBM and muscle strength in both PCOS and non-PCOS groups. Therefore, it is suggested that resistance exercise programs could promote health and fitness in women of reproductive age, especially functional capacity of strength those with PCOS.

No abstract

Asthma allergic disease is caused by airway chronic inflammation. Some intracellular signaling pathways, such as MAPK and STAT3-SOCS3, are involved in the control of airway inflammation in asthma. The flavonoid sakuranetin demonstrated an anti-inflammatory effect in different asthma models. Our aim was to clarify how sakuranetin treatment affects MAPK and STAT3-SOCS3 pathways in a murine experimental asthma model. Mice were submitted to an asthma ovalbumin-induction protocol and were treated with vehicle, sakuranetin, or dexamethasone. We assayed the inflammatory profile, mucus production, and serum antibody, STAT3-SOCS3, and MAPK levels in the lungs. Morphological alterations were also evaluated in the liver. LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were used to evaluate the effects of sakuranetin on nitric oxide (NO) and cytokine production. In vivo, sakuranetin treatment reduced serum IgE levels, lung inflammation (eosinophils, neutrophils, and Th2/Th17 cytokines), and respiratory epithelial mucus production in ovalbumin-sensitized animals. Considering possible mechanisms, sakuranetin inhibits the activation of ERK1/2, JNK, p38, and STAT3 in the lungs. No alterations were found in the liver for treated animals. Sakuranetin did not modify in vitro cell viability in RAW 264.7 and reduced NO release and gene expression of IL-1β and IL-6 induced by LPS in these cells. In conclusion, our data showed that the inhibitory effects of sakuranetin on eosinophilic lung inflammation can be due to the inhibition of Th2 and Th17 cytokines and the inhibition of MAPK and STAT3 pathways, reinforcing the idea that sakuranetin can be considered a relevant candidate for the treatment of inflammatory allergic airway disease.

The purpose of this study was to compare and correlate the effect of age group, sex, depth of water immersion, and the heart rate (HR) assessed out of the water on the HR behavior in individuals subjected to head-out water immersion. A total of 395 healthy individuals of both sexes, aged between 07 and 75 years, underwent vertical head-out water immersion. Heart rate was assessed out of the water in the supine and orthostatic (OHR) positions and at immersion depths corresponding to the ankle, knee, hip, umbilicus, xiphoid process, acromion, neck, and also the neck with the arms out of the water. The formula (ΔHR = OHR - HR immersion depth) was used to calculate the reduction in HR at each immersion depth. No age-based or sex-based differences in HR were found. The greater the depth of the water, the greater was the decrease in HR (p < 0.05); however, no differences were found between the HR values obtained below the depth corresponding to the umbilicus. Similarly, there was a significant relationship between OHR and ΔHR measured at levels below the depth corresponding to the umbilicus (e.g., xiphoid process level: r = 0.62; p < 0.05). Therefore, this study suggests to appropriately prescribe the intensity of water-based exercise intensity performed during vertical immersion: OHR should be measured before the individual entering the aquatic environment; ΔHR should be measured according to the depth at which exercise is to be performed, and we suggest an adaptation to Karvonen's HRmax prediction formula (predicted HRmax: 220 - age - ΔHR) to prescribe and control the intensity of the exercise performed during vertical immersion.

Identifying the factors that influence the body image of body builders is important for understanding this construct. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between body image and age, socioeconomic status, and place of residence of body builders from two cities in Brazil. A cross-sectional study of 301 body builders with an average age of 25.2 yr. (SD = 3.5) was carried out. The Muscle Silhouette Measure scale was used, in which the discrepancy between current and desired silhouette was examined. Older body builders showed greater discrepancy between current and desired silhouette, reflecting their desire for a more muscular body.

Division of labor is one of the most striking features in the evolution of eusociality. Juvenile hormone (JH) mediates reproductive status and aggression among nestmates in primitively eusocial Hymenoptera (species without morphologically distinct castes). In highly social species it has apparently lost its gonadotropic role and primarily regulates the division of labor in the worker caste. Polybia occidentalis, a Neotropical swarm-founding wasp, is an ideal model to understand how JH levels mirror social context and reproductive opportunities because of the absence of a clear morphological caste dimorphism. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that JH influences division of labor, ovary activation and cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of workers. Our observations confirmed that JH analog (methoprene) and precocene affected the cuticular chemical profile associated with the age polyethism. Also, methoprene and precocene-I influenced differently ovarian activation of treated females (individuals treated with methoprene expressed more activated ovaries while precocene treatment did not have significant effect). These results suggest that different hormonal levels induce a differential expression in the cuticular chemical profiles associated with the workers’ age polyethism, which may be essential for keeping the social cohesion among workers throughout their lives in the colony. Furthermore, JH is likely to play a gonadotropic role in P. occidentalis. JH has apparently undergone certain modifications in social Hymenoptera, presenting multifaceted functions in different species.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an important public health problem. The present work investigated whether dehydrodieugenol B treatment, a compound isolated from Brazilian plant Nectandra leucantha (Lauraceae), modulates experimental ALI and compared the observed effects to eugenol. Effects of dehydrodieugenol B in vitro in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were evaluated. The lung and systemic inflammatory profile, lung function, and possible mechanisms involved in BALB/C male mice (6–8 weeks) with ALI induced by LPS instillation (5 mg/kg) was assayed. Dehydrodieugenol B did not affect the cell viability and inhibited the increase in NO release and IL-1β and IL-6 gene expression induced by LPS. In vivo, both compounds reduced lung edema, inflammatory cells, and the IL-6 and IL-1 β levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, as well as reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and those positive to iNOS, MMP-9, and TIMP-1, and reduced the collagen content and the 8-isoprostane expression in lung tissue. Eugenol and dehydrodieugenol B also inhibited the phosphorylation of Jc-Jun-NH2 terminal Kinase (JNK), a signaling protein involved in the MAPKinase pathway. There was no effect of these compounds in lung function. Therefore, eugenol and dehydrodieugenol B ameliorates several features of experimental ALI and could be considered as a pharmacological tool to ameliorate acute lung inflammation.