Objective: To investigate the effects of surgical versus non-operative treatment on the physical function and safety of patients with lumbar disc herniation. Data sources: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from initiation to 15 May 2017. Methods: Randomized controlled trials that evaluated surgical versus non-operative treatment for patients with lumbar disc herniation were selected. The primary outcomes were pain and side-effects. Secondary outcomes were function and health-related quality of life. A random effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference with 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 19 articles that involved 2272 participants met the inclusion criteria. Compared with non-operative treatment, surgical treatment was more effective in lowering pain (short term: mean difference = −0.94, 95% confidence interval = −1.87 to −0.00; midterm: mean difference = −1.59, 95% confidence interval = −2.24 to −9.94), improving function (midterm: mean difference = −7.84, 95% confidence interval = −14.00 to −1.68; long term: mean difference = −12.21, 95% confidence interval = −23.90 to −0.52) and quality of life. The 36-item Short-Form Health Survey for physical functions (short term: mean difference = 6.25, 95% confidence interval = 0.43 to 12.08) and bodily pain (short term: mean difference = 5.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.40 to 10.45) was also utilized. No significant difference was observed in adverse events (mean difference = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.28 to 2.38). Conclusion: Low-quality evidence suggested that surgical treatment is more effective than non-operative treatment in improving physical functions; no significant difference was observed in adverse events. No firm recommendation can be made due to instability of the summarized data.

The objective of this study was to examine the associations between parental support for physical activity (PA) and levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among Chinese school children. Study participants were 81,857 school-aged children (aged 9-17 years; mean age = 13 years; 49.0% boys) and their parents or guardians who took part in the 2016 Physical Activity and Fitness in China-The Youth Study project. The independent variables included various forms of parental support for PA ascertained through a survey completed by parents or guardians. The dependent variable was the children's average MVPA in minutes per day by self-report. Structure equation modeling was used to examine the associations between parental support for PA and children's MVPA minutes. The overall mean for MVPA participation time for the child participants was 48.82 ± 28.71 min/day. Significant associations between various forms of parental support and MVPA among children were found. Parental encouragement, accompanying, financial support, involvement, and role modeling for PA were positively associated with a high level of student MVPA participation. Parental PA knowledge-sharing was not associated with MVPA. The patterns of the associations were similar across sex, residence locale (i.e., urban and rural), and school grades (primary, junior middle, and junior high schools). Findings from this study suggest that, among Chinese school children, parental support for PA is important in promoting and facilitating children's participation in MVPA.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that NADPH oxidase mediating the ROS production is the major pathway for ROS generation in neutrophils during exercise. NADPH oxidase, as a target can modulate oxidative damage induced by overtraining, which can be value to the prevention of exercise-induced immunosuppression.

Aerobic exercise has been confirmed to improve endothelial function (EF). However, the effect of resistance exercise (RE) on EF remains controversial. We conducted this systematic review and meta-analysis on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to determine the effect of RE and its intensities on EF. We searched Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Wiley Online Library, and included 15 articles (17 trials) for the synthesis. Overall, RE intervention significantly improved flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in brachial artery (SMD = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.47, 1.05; p < 0.00001), which represents improved EF. Meta-regression showed that the RE intensity was correlated with changes in FMD (Coef. = −0.274, T = −2.18, p = 0.045). We found both intensities of RE improved FMD, but the effect size for the low- to moderate-intensity (30–70%1RM) was bigger (SMD = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.60, 1.43; p < 0.0001) than for the high-intensity (≥70%1RM; SMD = 0.48; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.74; p = 0.005). We further noticed that RE had a beneficial effect (SMD = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.13, 1.09; p = 0.01) on the brachial artery baseline diameter at rest (BAD_rest), and the age variable was correlated with the changes in BAD_rest after RE (Coef. = −0.032, T = −2.33, p = 0.038). Young individuals (<40 years) presented with a bigger effect size for BAD_rest (SMD = 1.23; 95% CI: 0.30, 2.15; p = 0.009), while middle-aged to elderly (≥40 years) were not responsive to RE (SMD = 0.07; 95% CI: −0.28, 0.42; p = 0.70). Based on our findings, we conclude that RE intervention can improve the EF, and low- to moderate-intensity is more effective than high-intensity.

PurposeA randomized, controlled trial was conducted to determine whether a 6-week low calorie diet and aerobic exercise intervention could alter metabolic syndrome (MetS) risk factors in pre-pubescent obese Chinese children.MethodsThe subjects were randomized into diet and exercise (DE) and control (C) groups. The DE group ingested 1600–2000 kcal/day adjusted to each participant's basal metabolic rate, and engaged in high-volume aerobic exercise (6 days/week, twice daily, for 3 h per session) for 6 weeks. A total of 215 obese children between the ages of 11 and 13 years were recruited into the study, with 167 subjects (DE, n = 95; C, n = 72) completing all phases. Pre- and post-study measures included body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, body fat percentage, blood pressure and other MetS-related markers from fasting blood samples (serum cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and glucose).ResultsCompared to controls, the DE subjects experienced significantly reduced levels for all outcome markers (p < 0.05), except for fasting blood glucose in boys (p = 0.09).ConclusionAn intensive, 6-week diet and exercise intervention had favorable effects in altering MetS risk factors in obese Chinese children aged 11 to 13

BackgroundAlthough emerging evidence points to benefits from Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) in improving immune system function, its effects on cellular immune responses remain under-studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of TCC training on cellular immunity in non-small cell lung cancer patients.MethodsA 2-group randomized trial design in which post-surgical, non-small cell lung cancer survivors were randomly assigned to a TCC training group (n = 16) or a control group (n = 16). The participants in the TCC group completed a 16-week intervention. The main immune response outcome measures assayed included the ratio of T-helper cells/T-suppressor cells (CD4+:CD8+ ratio) and complement regulatory proteins status (CRPs; CD55 and CD59). Using repeated measures ANOVA, the data were analyzed for the participants who completed the study (n = 27).ResultsAt 16 weeks, the TCC participants showed a significantly lower increment in the expression of CD55 (p < 0.05) as compared to the control group. No significant between-group differences were found in the CD4+:CD8+ ratio or CD59 expression. There were also no significant correlations among the changes in CRPs or T lymphocyte subpopulations, either.ConclusionA 16-week TCC intervention caused no alterations in CD4+:CD8+ ratio, but significantly attenuated CD55 expression among post-surgical non-small cell lung cancer survivors