The importance of gut microbiota in health and disease is being highlighted by numerous research groups worldwide. Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of heart disease and stroke, is responsible for about 50% of all cardiovascular deaths. Recently, gut dysbiosis has been identified as a remarkable factor to be considered in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). In this review, we briefly discuss how external factors such as dietary and physical activity habits influence host-microbiota and atherogenesis, the potential mechanisms of the influence of gut microbiota in host blood pressure and the alterations in the prevalence of those bacterial genera affecting vascular tone and the development of hypertension. We will also be examining the microbiota as a therapeutic target in the prevention of CVDs and the beneficial mechanisms of probiotic administration related to cardiovascular risks. All these new insights might lead to novel analysis and CVD therapeutics based on the microbiota.

Physical activity, exercise, or physical fitness are being studied as helpful nonpharmacological therapies to reduce signaling pathways related to inflammation. Studies describing changes in intestinal microbiota have stated that physical activity could increase the microbial variance and enhance the ratio of Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes, and both actions could neutralize the obesity progression and diminish body weight. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the literature describing the relationship between physical activity profiles and gut microbiota and in obesity and some associated comorbidities. Promoting physical activity could support as a treatment to maintain the gut microbiota composition or to restore the balance toward an improvement of dysbiosis in obesity; however, these mechanisms need to be studied in more detail. The opportunity to control the microbiota by physical activity to improve health results and decrease obesity and related comorbidities is very attractive. Nevertheless, several incompletely answered questions need to be addressed before this strategy can be implemented.

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a 10-week active recess programme in school setting on physical fitness, school aptitudes, creativity and cognitive flexibility in children. A total of 114 children (age range = 8–12 years old, 47.3% girls) participated in this study. The students were randomly assigned to two groups, experimental group (EG) and control group (CG). The EG performed a programme of physical exercise at moderate to vigorous intensity with cognitive engagement for 10 weeks, three times a week. Physical fitness, school aptitudes, creativity, and cognitive flexibility were tested. Non-significant differences were found in physical fitness (both pre-test and post-test) between groups. The EG experienced significant improvements in all school aptitudes, creativity and cognitive flexibility (TMT test). In addition, the EG showed greater increase (p<0.05) than the CG in all variables of school aptitudes (p<0.01), creativity (p<0.001) and cognitive flexibility (p<0.05). Significant correlation between ∆ TMT-B and ∆ $\stackrel{.}{V}$O₂max (r=-0.289, p=0.031) was found. In conclusion, active recess based on high intensity training can be a proper tool to improve some cognitive skills, such as school aptitudes, creativity, and cognitive flexibility.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasing cause of chronic liver illness associated with obesity and metabolic disorders, such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, or type 2 diabetes mellitus. A more severe type of NAFLD, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), is considered an ongoing global health threat and dramatically increases the risks of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Several reports have demonstrated that liver steatosis is associated with the elevation of certain clinical and biochemical markers but with low predictive potential. In addition, current imaging methods are inaccurate and inadequate for quantification of liver steatosis and do not distinguish clearly between the microvesicular and the macrovesicular types. On the other hand, an unhealthy status usually presents an altered gut microbiota, associated with the loss of its functions. Indeed, NAFLD pathophysiology has been linked to lower microbial diversity and a weakened intestinal barrier, exposing the host to bacterial components and stimulating pathways of immune defense and inflammation via toll-like receptor signaling. Moreover, this activation of inflammation in hepatocytes induces progression from simple steatosis to NASH. In the present review, we aim to: (a) summarize studies on both human and animals addressed to determine the impact of alterations in gut microbiota in NASH; (b) evaluate the potential role of such alterations as biomarkers for prognosis and diagnosis of this disorder; and (c) discuss the involvement of microbiota in the current treatment for NAFLD/NASH (i.e., bariatric surgery, physical exercise and lifestyle, diet, probiotics and prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation).

Objective Several working groups (eg, miners, flight crews and soldiers) are subjected to chronic intermittent hypoxic exposure. The cardiovascular implications have been studied but not systematically reviewed with focus on possible negative health implications. The aim of the present review was to systematically evaluate the hypothesis that intermittent hypoxic exposure causes cardiovascular stress detrimental to health in workers. Design Systematic review. Data sources Electronic database search of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science up to April 2020. Eligibility criteria Studies of workers ≥18 years repeatedly subjected to months to years of irregular intermittent hypoxia, lasting from a few hours (eg, flight crews), one or a few days (eg, soldiers), or several days to weeks (eg, miners working at high altitude), written in English and evaluating the effect of intermittent hypoxia on cardiovascular disease were included. Animal studies, books, book chapters, personal communication and abstracts were excluded. The primary outcome measure was changes in standardised mortality ratio. Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool. Results 119 articles were identified initially, 31 of which met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 17 were retrospective cohort mortality studies (irregular short-term intermittent hypoxia), and 14 studies were observational (long-term intermittent hypoxia). The population of irregular short-term intermittent hypoxia users (flight crew) showed a lower mortality by cardiovascular disease. Long-term intermittent hypoxia over several years such as in miners or soldiers may produce increased levels of cardiac disorders (12 studies), though this is probably confounded by factors such as obesity and socioeconomic status. Conclusion This systematic narrative review found that cardiovascular disease mortality in flight crews is lower than average, whereas miners and soldiers exposed to intermittent hypoxia experience increased risks of cardiovascular diseases. The impact of socioeconomic status and lifestyle appears of importance. PROSPERO registry number CRD42020171301.

We aimed to test whether high-intensity high-volume training (HIHVT) swimming would induce more robust signaling than sprint interval training (SIT) swimming within the m. triceps brachii due to lower metabolic and oxidation. Nine well-trained swimmers performed the two training procedures on separate randomized days. Muscle biopsies from m. triceps brachii and blood samples were collected at three different time points: a) before the intervention (pre), b) immediately after the swimming procedures (post) and c) after 3 h of rest (3 h). Hydroperoxides, creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were quantified from blood samples, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) and the AMPK^pTHR172/AMPK ratio were quantified by Western blot analysis. PGC-1α, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), superoxide-dismutase 2 (SOD2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA levels were also quantified. SIT induced a higher release of LDH (p < 0.01 at all time points) and CK (p < 0.01 at post) than HIHVT, but neither SIT nor HIHVT altered systemic hydroperoxides. Additionally, neither SIRT3 nor SOD2 mRNA levels increased, while PGC-1α transcription increased at 3 h after SIT (p < 0.01) and after HIHVT (p < 0.001). However, PGC-1α protein was higher after HIHVT than after SIT (p < 0.05). Moreover, the AMPK^pTHR172/AMPK ratio increased at post after SIT (p < 0.05), whereas this effect was delayed after HIHVT as it increased after 3 h (p < 0.05). In addition, VEGF transcription was higher in response to HIHVT (p < 0.05). In conclusion, SIT induces higher muscular stress than HIHVT without increasing systemic oxidation. In addition, HIHVT may induce more robust oxidative adaptations through PGC-1α and AMPK.