Background: Resistance exercise training is widely used by general and athletic populations to increase skeletal muscle hypertrophy, power and strength. Endogenous sex hormones influence various bodily functions, including possibly exercise performance, and may influence adaptive changes in response to exercise training. Hormonal contraceptive (HC) use modulates the profile of endogenous sex hormones, and therefore, there is increasing interest in the impact, if any, of HC use on adaptive responses to resistance exercise training. Objective: Our aim is to provide a quantitative synthesis of the effect of HC use on skeletal muscle hypertrophy, power and strength adaptations in response to resistance exercise training. Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted on experimental studies which directly compared skeletal muscle hypertrophy, power and strength adaptations following resistance exercise training in hormonal contraceptive users and non-users conducted before July 2023. The search using the online databases PUBMED, SPORTDiscus, Web of Science, Embase and other supplementary search strategies yielded 4669 articles, with 8 articles (54 effects and 325 participants) meeting the inclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the “Tool for the assessment of study quality and reporting in exercise”. Results: All included studies investigated the influence of oral contraceptive pills (OCP), with no study including participants using other forms of HC. The articles were analysed using a meta-analytic multilevel maximum likelihood estimator model. The results indicate that OCP use does not have a significant effect on hypertrophy [0.01, 95% confidence interval (CI) [− 0.11, 0.13], t = 0.14, p = 0.90), power (− 0.04, 95% CI [− 0.93, 0.84], t = − 0.29, p = 0.80) or strength (0.10, 95% CI [− 0.08, 0.28], t = 1.48, p = 0.20). Discussion: Based on the present analysis, there is no evidence-based rationale to advocate for or against the use of OCPs in females partaking in resistance exercise training to increase hypertrophy, power and/or strength. Rather, an individualised approach considering an individual’s response to OCPs, their reasons for use and menstrual cycle history may be more appropriate. Registration: The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (ID number and hyperlink: CRD42022365677).

Background: In Australia, temporary visa holders are ineligible for Medicare and subsidised antiretroviral drugs. Additionally, HIV testing is not mandatory for visas unless applicants seek work in the health sector. We sought to understand the impact of HIV and issues of access and adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people holding temporary visas and permanent residents. Methods: Data were gathered from interviews with 22 participants. Information concerning medication adherence, side effects, CD4 T-cell count, viral load and rate of response to generic drugs were collected. Results: The mean age was 33.4 years (±s.d. = 6.0), 21 out of 22 were from HIV-prevalent areas in East Africa and Asia, 14 out of 22 were on temporary visas, 12 were ineligible for Medicare, 14 out of 22 were diagnosed during health screening, 19 out of 22 risk exposures were in country of origin, 8 out of 17 were taking generic ART at an average cost of $180 per month, adherence was excellent and self-reported side-effects were relatively infrequent. Participants applying for visa continuations and permanent residency were fearful, believing their HIV serostatus would prejudice their applications. Patients cited belief in ART efficacy, were motivated to maintain therapy and were anxious about lack of access to treatment in their countries of origin. Conclusion: Adherence to antiretroviral drugs in Medicare-ineligible HIV-infected individuals is excellent despite limited access to treatment. The threat of visa non-renewal and the likely failure of applications for permanent residency result in considerable anxiety and confidentiality concerns.

In this report harmonised epidemiological indicators are proposed for food‐borne biological hazards to public health that are related to bovine animals and meat thereof and that can be addressed within meat inspection. These hazards include Salmonella, pathogenicverocytotoxin‐producing Escherichia coli, Cysticercus (Taenia saginata) and mycobacteria. An epidemiological indicator is defined as the prevalence or the concentration of the hazard at a certain stage of the food chain or an indirect measure of the hazard that correlates with the human health risk caused by the hazard. The indicators can be used by the European Commission and the Member States to consider when adaptations to meat inspection methods may be required, and to carry out risk analysis to support such decisions. It is foreseen that the indicators will be used in the bovine carcase meat safety assurance system outlined in the EFSA Scientific Opinion, particularly to help categorise farms/herds and slaughterhouses according to the risk related to the hazards as well as setting appropriate specific hazard‐based targets in/on bovine carcases and, when appropriate, in bovine farms/herds. Depending on the purpose and the epidemiological situation risk managers should decide on the most appropriate indicator(s) to use, either alone or in combination, at national, regional, slaughterhouse or farm/herd level. It is recommended that risk managers should define the harmonised requirements for controlled husbandry conditions of farms, and the requirements for food chain information. Member States are invited to organise training regarding the implementation of the indicators and the reporting of data generated by the implementation in accordance with Directive 2003/99/EC. The proposed indicators should be regularly reviewed in the light of new information and the data generated by their implementation.

Fish-derived proteins, particularly fish protein hydrolysates (FPH), offer potential as high-quality sources of dietary protein, whilst enhancing economic and environmental sustainability. This study investigated the impact of a blue whiting-derived protein hydrolysate (BWPH) on aminoacidaemia in vivo and skeletal muscle anabolism in vitro compared with whey protein isolate (WPI) and an isonitrogenous, non-essential amino acid (NEAA) control (0.33 g·kg⁻¹·body mass⁻¹) in an ex vivo, in vitro experimental design. Blood was obtained from seven healthy older adults (two males, five females; age: 72 ± 5 years, body mass index: 24.9 ± 1.6 kg·m²) in three separate trials in a randomised, counterbalanced, double-blind design. C2C12 myotubes were treated with ex vivo human serum-conditioned media (20%) for 4 h. Anabolic signalling (phosphorylation of mTOR, p70S6K, and 4E-BP1) and puromycin incorporation were determined by immunoblotting. Although BWPH and WPI both induced postprandial essential aminoacidaemia in older adults above the NEAA control, peak and area under the curve (AUC) leucine and essential amino acids were more pronounced following WPI ingestion. Insulin was elevated above baseline in WPI and BWPH only, a finding reinforced by higher peak and AUC values compared with NEAA. Muscle protein synthesis, as measured by puromycin incorporation, was greater after incubation with WPI-fed serum compared with fasted serum (P = 0.042), and delta change was greater in WPI (P = 0.028) and BWPH (P = 0.030) compared with NEAA. Myotube hypertrophy was greater in WPI and BWPH compared with NEAA (both P = 0.045), but was similar between bioactive conditions (P = 0.853). Taken together, these preliminary findings demonstrate the anabolic potential of BWPH in vivo and ex vivo, thus providing justification for larger studies in older adults using gold-standard measures of acute and chronic MPS in vivo.

There is a paucity of studies describing the physical match demands of elite international women’s rugby union, which limits coaches’ ability to effectively prepare players for the physical demands required to compete at the elite level. Global positioning system technologies were used to measure the physical match demands of 53 international female rugby union players during three consecutive Women’s Six Nations Championships (2020–2022), resulting in 260 individual match performances. Mixed-linear modelling was used to investigate differences in physical match demands between positions. Significant effects (p < 0.05) of the position were observed for all variables, with the exception of relative distances (m.min⁻¹) at velocities of 1.01–3.00 m·s⁻¹ (p = 0.094) and 3.01–5.00 m·s⁻¹ (p = 0.216). This study provides valuable data on the physical match demands of elite international women’s rugby union match play that may aid practitioners in the physical preparation of players to compete at this level. Training methodologies for elite-level female rugby union players should consider the unique demands across positional groups with specific considerations of high-velocity running and collision frequency.