A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Whole Blood Long-Chain ω-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Its Relationship with Dietary Intake, Body Composition, and Measures of Strength and Power in Collegiate Athletes.

ObjectiveLong-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC ω-3 PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have received widespread interest from the athletic community for their potential roles in physical performance and recovery. The purpose of this cross-sectional analysis was to evaluate the dietary intake and whole blood ω-3 PUFAs and their relationship with body composition, strength, and power in collegiate athletes.MethodThirty-six athletes completed a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan for body composition analysis (n = 35), ω-3 PUFAs food frequency questionnaire (n = 27), provided dried blood spot samples (n = 30) to quantify the Omega-3 Index (O3I) and total ω-3 PUFAs content, handgrip strength (n = 17), and countermovement jump (n = 26) testing.ResultsThe mean daily intake of LC ω-3 PUFAs and O3I was 140 mg and 4.6% ± 0.96, respectively, for all athletes. Dietary LC ω-3 PUFAs were positively correlated with the O3I (r = 0.635, p < .01), whole blood EPA (r = 0.778, p < .01), and DHA (r = 0.515, p < .01). Dietary LC ω-3 PUFA intake, whole blood EPA (%), and the EPA:AA ratio was positively associated with HGS (p < .05). Dietary or blood LC ω-3 PUFAs were not correlated with any other measures.Conclusions:Collegiate athletes consume low amounts of LC ω-3 PUFAs and have sub-optimal O3I status. Sports dietitians should encourage the intake of fatty fish and educate athletes about ω-3 PUFAs potential role on performance- and recovery-based outcomes.

Neoprene Knee Sleeves of Varying Tightness Augment Barbell Squat One Repetition Maximum Performance Without Improving Other Indices of Muscular Strength, Power, or Endurance.

ABSTRACT: Machek, SB, Cardaci, TD, Wilburn, DT, Cholewinski, MC, Latt, SL, Harris, DR, and Willoughby, DS. Neoprene knee sleeves of varying tightness augment barbell squat one repetition maximum performance without improving other indices of muscular strength, power, or endurance. J Strength Cond Res 35(2S): S6-S15, 2021-Neoprene knee sleeves are commonly used by powerlifters and recreational users but are heavily under-researched. Furthermore, no data exist on whether knee sleeves of varying compressive tightness impact muscular performance similar to commonly used knee wraps, which are both generally effective and more so when increasingly constrictive. Fifteen resistance trained, knee sleeve naive, recreational weight lifting men (22.1 ± 4.1 years; 177.5 ± 5.9 cm; 87.8 ± 7.8 kg) visited the laboratory on 3 separate occasions one week apart, assigned in a randomized, crossover, and counterbalanced fashion to either a minimally supportive control sleeve (CS) condition, a manufacturer-recommended sizing neoprene knee sleeve ("normal" sleeve; NS), or a one size smaller (than NS) neoprene knee sleeve (tighter sleeve [TS]). On each visit, subjects sequentially completed vertical jump (countermovement and squat jumps for both peak and mean power), one repetition maximum (1RM) barbell squat, and GymAware assessments (peak power, peak velocity, and dip) at 90% (reported) and 100% (tested) 1RM as well as one-leg extension (1RM, repetitions to failure, and total volume load at 75% 1RM) tests. All data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance at p < 0.05. Analysis revealed a significant condition effect on barbell squat 1RM (p = 0.003; η2 = 0.339), whereby both NS (p = 0.044; 166 ± 24 kg) and TS (p = 0.019; 166 ± 21 kg) outperformed CS (161 ± 22 kg), with no difference between neoprene sleeves. Conversely, no other tested parameters differed between knee sleeve conditions (p ≥ 0.05). The present results demonstrate that neoprene knee sleeves may function independent of tightness, relative to recommended sizing and ultimately unlike knee wraps. Furthermore, the singular benefits observed on barbell squat maximal strength potentially suggests an exercise-specific benefit yet to be fully elucidated.

Computational Study of Methane Activation on γ-Al2O3.

The C-H activation of methane remains a longstanding challenge in the chemical industry. Metal oxides are attractive catalysts for the C-H activation of methane due to their surface Lewis acid-base properties. In this work, we applied density functional theory calculations to investigate the C-H activation mechanism of methane on various sites of low-index facets of γ-Al2O3. The feasibility of C-H activation on different metal-oxygen (acid-base) site pairs was assessed through two potential mechanisms, namely, the radical and polar. The effect of surface hydroxylation on C-H activation was also investigated to examine the activity of γ-Al2O3 under realistic catalytic surface conditions (hydration). On the basis of our calculations, it was demonstrated that the C-H activation barriers for polar pathways are significantly lower than those of the radical pathways on γ-Al2O3. We showed that the electronic structure (s- and p-band center) for unoccupied and occupied bands can be used to probe site-dependent Lewis acidity and basicity and the associated catalytic behavior. We identified the dissociated H2 binding and final state energy as C-H activation energy descriptors for the preferred polar pathway. Finally, we developed structure-activity relationships for the C-H activation of methane on γ-Al2O3 that account for surface Lewis acid-base properties and can be utilized to accelerate the discovery of catalysts for methane (and shale gas) upgrade.