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Cycling is widely regarded as a healthy and sustainable transport option in urban environments. However, there is an emergent need to understand how cycling in countries like Brazil, can be encouraged and supported, particularly among different sections of the population. This study investigates social-psychological antecedents of cycling within the Brazilian context using a large-scale dataset to verify the appropriateness of a model based on the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (e-TPB). In-person interviews were conducted with people living in three large Brazilian cities – Brasília (n=1107), Florianópolis (n=1084), and Porto Alegre (n=1105) using a questionnaire including nine items from the e-TPB to measure attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioural control, intention, cycling behaviour, and habit. Multigroup analysis verified the model fit and invariance in structural weights by gender. Age and gender were revealed to be the only sociodemographic variables with significant influence on the components’ mean scores, with gender exhibiting the strongest influence. We concluded that the e-TPB allows us to explain cycling behaviour among this sample of the Brazilian population and that it is particularly sensitive to (a) other people's influence (b) personal habit (c) perceived behavioural control (d) belief in the ability to change one’s behaviour. Women were less likely to cycle and were less likely to be influenced by social-psychological components that could encourage this type of activity. Thus, we conclude that understanding the social and cognitive determinants of cycling can help to design more targeted policies for different sections of society.

There is evidence about the effects of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) alone and combined with a static magnetic field (PBMT-sMF) on skeletal muscle fatigue, physical performance and post-exercise recovery in different types of exercise protocols and sports activity. However, the effects of PBMT-sMF to improve the subsequent performance after a first set of exercises are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of PBMT-sMF, applied between two sets of exercises, on the subsequent physical performance. A randomized, crossover, triple-blinded (assessors, therapist, and volunteers), placebo-controlled trial was carried out. Healthy non-athlete male volunteers were randomized and treated with a single application of PBMT-sMF and placebo between two sets of an exercise protocol performed on isokinetic dynamometer. The order of interventions was randomized. The primary outcome was fatigue index and the secondary outcomes were total work, peak work, and blood lactate levels. Twelve volunteers were randomized and analyzed to each sequence. PBMT-sMF decreased the fatigue index compared to the placebo PBMT-sMF at second set of the exercise protocol (MD = -6.08, 95% CI -10.49 to -1.68). In addition, PBMT-sMF decreased the blood lactate levels post-intervention, and after the second set of the exercise protocol compared to placebo (p<0.05). There was no difference between PBMT-sMF and placebo in the remaining outcomes tested. Volunteers did not report adverse events. Our results suggest that PBMT-sMF is able to decrease skeletal muscle fatigue, accelerating post-exercise recovery and, consequently, increasing subsequent physical performance when applied between two sets of exercises.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a major public health problem. It is the leading cause of death and disability, especially among children and young adults. The neurobiology basis underlying TBI pathophysiology remains to be fully revealed. Over the past years, emerging evidence has supported the hypothesis that TBI is an inflammatory based condition, paving the way for the development of potential therapeutic targets. There is no treatment capable to prevent or minimize TBIassociated outcomes. Therefore, the search for effective therapies is a priority goal. In this context, animal models have become valuable tools to study molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in TBI pathogenesis as well as novel treatments. Herein, we discuss therapeutic strategies to treat TBI focused on immunomodulatory and/or anti-inflammatory approaches in the pre-clinical setting.

Context: Skeletal muscle fatigue and exercise performance are novel areas of research and clinical application in the photobiomodulation field, and positive outcomes have been reported in several studies; however, the optimal measures have not been fully established.Objective: To assess the acute effect of photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) combining superpulsed lasers (low-level laser therapy) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on muscle performance during a progressive cardiopulmonary treadmill exercise test.Design: Crossover study.Setting: Laboratory.Patients or Other Participants: Twenty untrained male volunteers (age 26.0 ± 6.0 years, height 175.0 ± 10.0 cm, mass 74.8 ± 10.9 kg).Intervention(s): Participants received PBMT with either combined superpulsed lasers and LED (active PBMT) or placebo at session 1 and the other treatment at session 2. All participants completed a cardiopulmonary test on a treadmill after each treatment. For active PBMT, we performed the irradiation at 17 sites on each lower limb (9 on the quadriceps, 6 on the hamstrings, and 2 on the gastrocnemius muscles), using a cluster with 12 diodes (four 905-nm superpulsed laser diodes with an average power of 0.3125 mW, peak power of 12.5 W for each diode, and frequency of 250 Hz; four 875-nm infrared LED diodes with an average power of 17.5 mW; and four 640-nm red LED diodes with an average power of 15 mW) and delivering a dose of 30 J per site.Main Outcome Measure(s): Distance covered, time until exhaustion, pulmonary ventilation, and dyspnea score.Results: The distance covered (1.96 ± 0.30 versus 1.84 ± 0.40 km, t19 2.119, P< .001) and time until exhaustion on the cardiopulmonary test (780.2 ± 91.0 versus 742.1 ± 94.0 seconds, t19 3.028, P< .001) was greater after active PBMT than after placebo. Pulmonary ventilation was greater (76.4 ± 21.9 versus 74.3 ± 19.8 L/min, t19 0.180, P .004) and the score for dyspnea was lower (3.0 interquartile range 0.5–9.0 versus 4.0 0.0–9.0, U 184.000, P< .001) after active PBMT than after placebo.Conclusions: The combination of lasers and LEDs increased the time, distance, and pulmonary ventilation and decreased the score of dyspnea during a cardiopulmonary test.