Comparison of intermittent fasting and voluntary wheel running on physical and cognitive abilities in high-fat diet-induced obese rats.

Regular physical activity is a proven routine for weight management in addressing obesity. Another method that has gained attention for its health benefits is intermittent fasting (IF). Physical and cognitive abilities while on these routines are poorly understood in the obese population. Sixty-five male Sprague Dawley rats at 7 weeks of age were subjected to diet-induced obesity by feeding a high-fat diet (HFD) or a standard diet (SD) for 8 weeks, after which behavioral testing was performed to detect any changes in physical and cognitive abilities. Rats from the HFD-fed (now considered obese) and SD-fed groups were then subjected to IF (18-hour fast and 6-hour feeding daily), voluntary wheel running (VWR), or control conditions for 3 weeks before repeating the same behavioral testing protocol. IF resulted in less weight gain (p<0.05) and elevated ketone levels (p<0.05) in both SD and HFD-fed groups. IF improved physical activity when compared to VWR and control animals in both SD and HFD-fed groups (p<0.05) while the VWR group in the SD-fed rats exhibited less physical fatigue compared to IF and controls (p<0.05). Additionally, elevated ketone levels were weakly correlated with decreased physical (p<0.0001) and exploratory behavior (p<0.01). These results suggest that IF is more effective than VWR in HFD and SD-fed rats in minimizing weight gain and retaining physical activity, and ketones may play a part in establishing the reported physical benefits. Exploration of physiological mechanisms between ketones, diet, and exercise will help fight obesity and many associated diseases.

Flipped teaching transition to online teaching by STEM educators during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 necessitated online teaching (OT) during the second half of the spring 2020 semester. The perceptions of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) faculty of OT at a two-year (2-YI) and a four-year (4-YI) institution were examined during this sudden switchover. One group of educators had received flipped teaching (FT) training (FTEs, n = 23), whereas the other group was practicing traditional teaching (TTEs, n = 18). There were two cohorts of FTEs: cohort 1 were implementing FT for the third time in their classrooms, and cohort 2 had started for the first time. The survey results suggested that FTEs were more confident with OT than TTEs (P < 0.05). It was interesting to note that 62.5% of the FTEs, whether they were from cohort 1 or cohort 2, chose an asynchronous approach, whereas 37.5% delivered synchronous OT during the sudden transition. It was found that FT experience helped cohort 1 adjust to OT compared with cohort 2. Overall, these results suggest that FTEs were confident and their resources for FT eased the transition to OT.NEW & NOTEWORTHY COVID-19 necessitated online teaching (OT). The perceptions of STEM faculty of OT at two-year and four-year institutions were examined. One group had received flipped teaching (FT) training (FTEs), whereas the others practiced traditional teaching (TTEs). Among two cohorts of FTEs, cohort 1 had been practicing FT but not cohort 2. FTEs were more confident with OT than TTEs. FT experience helped cohort 1 adjust to OT more than cohort 2. Overall, FT eased the transition to OT.