Cardiac autonomic nervous activity during different sleep stages in individuals with spinal cord injury: The influence of physical training.

OBJECTIVE: The present study assessed the influence of physical training on cardiac autonomic activity in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) during different sleep stages. METHODS: Twenty-six volunteers were allocated into three groups: 9 sedentary individuals without SCI (control, CON); 8 sedentary tetraplegic individuals with chronic SCI (SED-SCI); 9 physically trained tetraplegic individuals with chronic SCI (TR-SCI). All participants underwent nocturnal polysomnography to monitor sleep stages: wakefulness, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (N1, N2, and N3 stages), and REM sleep. The electrocardiography data obtained during this exam were extracted to analyze the heart rate variability (HRV). RESULTS: Sleep stages influenced HRV in the time [RR interval and root mean square of successive RR interval differences (RMSSD)] and frequency [low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) powers and LF-to-HF ratio] domains (P < 0.05). SED-SCI individuals showed unchanged HRV compared to CON (P > 0.05). When comparing the TR-SCI and SED-SCI groups, no significant differences in HRV were reported in the time domain (P > 0.05). However, in the frequency domain, more accentuated HF power was observed in TR-SCI than in SED-SCI individuals during the N2 and N3 stages and REM sleep (P < 0.05). Moreover, TR-SCI had higher HF power than CON during the N3 stage (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: TR-SCI individuals have greater HF power, indicative of parasympathetic modulation, than sedentary (injured or not injured) individuals during different sleep stages. Therefore, enhanced parasympathetic activity induced by physical training may improve cardiac autonomic modulation during sleep in individuals with chronic SCI.

Total Testosterone and Cortisol During Wheelchair Rugby Training in Athletes With Cervical Spinal Cord Injury.

CONTEXT: Hormonal assessment in the sport context is important to monitor the physiological adaptations of athletes. However, Paralympic athletes, especially with cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI), may have different hormonal responses than nondisabled athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the blood concentrations of total testosterone (TT) and cortisol (C) during acute (one training session) and chronic (1 and 2 month) training of athletes with CSCI in wheelchair rugby (WCR). DESIGN: Longitudinal and observational study. METHODS: Eight high-performance athletes with CSCI (31 [3.9] y; 75.6 [15.8] kg; 22.9 [4.2] kg/m2 body mass index; 6.2 [2] y of experience in sport) were evaluated at 3 different intervals (evaluations 1, 2, and 3 [E1, E2, and E3]) over 2 months of training. TT and C blood were evaluated before (pre) and after (post) the training sessions at each training moment, as well as the training load through the ratings of perceived exertion. RESULTS: Athletes with CSCI had low TT concentrations. In acute training sessions, at E3, C decreases after the training session, unlike the TT/C ratio, which increased after the session. Regarding hormonal changes during chronic training at the end of the training period, unlike C, which increased. The training load (arbitrary units) decreased in E3 when compared with the other evaluation moments. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that in chronic training, TT concentrations decreased, while C increased at the end of the 2 months of training. These results may indicate that training volume was high throughout training and that a reduction in training volume could benefit athletes. On the other hand, in the acute training session with reduced training load, a decrease in C was observed after the training session. This indicates that athletes may be well recovered in this training session. Therefore, we suggest acute and long-term hormonal assessment for athletes with CSCI as a strategy to monitor anabolic/catabolic hormonal status during WCR training.

Evaluation of Nutritional Supplementation with Palm Oil in High-Gravity Beer Production.

BACKGROUND: The use of nutritional supplementation of the brewer's wort can be an interesting option to increase cell viability and yeast fermentability. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effects of the variables wort concentration and nutritional supplementation with palm oil in the production of beer in high-density wort. METHODS: The process effects were evaluated through the central composite rotational design of type 22 associated with the Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The fermentations were carried out using the commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast, lager type, at 15°C. RESULTS: The mathematical models and RSM obtained were an efficienct strategy to determine the optimum fermentation point for the ethanol volumetric productivity (wort concentration of 20.90 °P and palm oil content of 0.19 % v/v) and for the apparent degree of fermentation (wort concentration of 16.90 °P and palm oil content of 0.22% v/v). There was a good correlation between the experimental values observed and predicted by the model, indicating that the fit of the model was satisfactory and it can be inferred that the increase of the wort concentration and the nutritional supplementation with the palm oil reached an ethanol volumetric productivity of 0.55 g/L.h and an apparent degree of fermentation of 50.20 %. CONCLUSION: Therefore, it can be concluded that our study demonstrates that nutritional supplementation with palm oil is an alternative and promising option for the breweries to increase productivity. There are recent patents also suggesting the advantages of using alternative nutritional supplements in beverage production.

Toxicidade de extratos de Piper nigrum, piperina e piperamidas para o diplópodo Orthoporus fuscipes em condições de laboratório / Toxicity of extracts from Piper nigrum, piperine and piperamides to the millipede Orthoporus fuscipes under laboratory conditions

The toxicity of an ethanolic extract of black pepper (Piper nigrum), of piperine and of the synthetic amides adamantylpiperamide, sopentylpiperamide and diisopropylpiperamide was evaluated using the millipede Orthoporus fuscipes. For the experiments, the test organism was exposed to a diet of wheat bran and sugar (9:1) supplemented with the test substance in solution and mortality was monitored over a period of 17 days. Mortality was 100 percent for 0.3 g of the ethanolic extract of black pepper fruits and for diisopropylpiperamide after 4 and 14 days of exposure, respectively. Piperine at a concentration of 0.3 g resulted in 70 percent mortality after 4 days and remained at this rate until the end of the exposure period. Thus, among the compounds tested the ethanolic extract of black pepper fruit was the most effective and most promising for the control of Orthoporus fuscipes populations since it promoted a higher rate of mortality of the test organism within a shorter period of exposure.

A toxicidade do extrato etanólico da pimenta-do-reino (Piper nigrum), da piperina e amidas sintéticas: adamantilpiperamida, isopentilpiperamida e diisopropilpiperamida foi avaliada para o diplópodo Orthoporus fuscipes. Os experimentos consistiram na exposição dos organismos-teste a uma dieta de farelo de trigo e açúcar (9:1) a qual foi adicionada a substância teste em solução observando-se a mortalidade por um período de 17 dias. Verificou-se na dose contendo 0,3 g do extrato etanólico de frutos da pimenta-do-reino e da diisopropilpiperamida, 100 por cento de mortalidade após 04 e 14 dias de exposição, respectivamente. A piperina na concentração de 0,3 g causou 70 por cento de mortalidade após 4 dias, mantendo-se até o final do período de exposição. Dessa forma, dentre os compostos testados, o extrato etanólico do fruto da pimenta-do-reino foi considerado o mais eficiente e promissor no controle de populações de Orthoporus fuscipes, pois foi o que promoveu maior porcentagem de exposição.