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Objetivo: Caracterizar la práctica y migración de actividad física (AF) en personas activas durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Diseño: Estudio observacional transversal de una encuesta latinoamericana. Escenario: Se aplicó una encuesta online en formato Google Forms entre junio a agosto de 2020 a través de las redes sociales. La encuesta consistió en características generales, del encierro y relacionadas con la AF. Sujetos: Participaron 2134 personas (33,6% hombres), edad media 30,7 ±9,2 años), 95,2% con educación superior, 74% normopeso, 60,8% confinamiento voluntario y 39,2% obligatorio. Resultados: Pre-pandemia hombres realizaban 217,92, y las mujeres 199,78 min/semana, post-pandemia los hombres bajaron a 168.34 y las mujeres a 176.70 min/semana. Los hombres pre pandemia tuvieron una mayor proporción de cumplimiento de la recomendación OMS (77,3% vs 69,4%, p = 0,001). Con respecto a las migraciones del tipo de AF en hombres se observó una reducción de actividades al aire libre, deportes de equipos y aumento de AF el hogar, en mujeres se observa una disminución de actividades al aire libre y deportes en equipos y un aumento en la práctica de clases de fitness, yoga y AF en el hogar. Finalmente, al asociar el cumplimiento de la AF durante el confinamiento esta se asocia a ser mujer y a mayores semanas de confinamiento. Conclusión: Las personas físicamente activas, durante el confinamiento, disminuyeron los minutos de AF, migran a actividades dentro del hogar, mientras que el cumplimiento de la AF se asocia con ser mujer y mayor número de semanas de cuarentena. Abstract. Purpose: The study aims to characterize the practice and migration of physical activity in active people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional observational study of a Latin American survey. Setting: An online survey in Google Forms format was applied between June and July 2020 through social networks. The survey consisted of general characteristics, characteristics of confinement, and characteristics related to physical activity. Subjects: 2134 people participated (33.6% male, the mean age was 30.7 ± 9.2 years), 95.2% with higher education, 74% were normal weight, 60.8% in voluntary lockdown, and 39.2% mandatory lockdown. Results: Pre-pandemic men did 217.92 min/week, and women 199.78 min/week; post-pandemic men declined to 168.34 min/week, and women to 176.70 min/week. Men pre-pandemic, had a higher proportion of compliance the WHO recommendation (77.3% vs 64.9% p =0.001). Regarding, physical activity migrations, men decreased in outside activities, team sports and increase in home physical activity, in women decreased in outside activities, team sports and an increased in fitness classes, yoga and home physical activity. Finally, when associating compliance with physical activity during confinement, it is associated with being a woman and with long weeks of confinement. Conclusion: The physically active people, despite the confinements, remain like this in the four countries evaluated; only changes are observed in the type of physical activity and the frequency of weekly sessions, not affecting their physical condition levels according to self-report.

International audience; Indentation is a standard, widely used technique in mechanical assays and theoretical analysis. It unveils the fundamental modes of deformation and predicts the response of the material under more complex loads. Here we present an experimental setup for testing thin-film materials by studying the lateral indentation of a narrow opening cut into a film, triggering a cascade of buckling events. The force response F is dominated by bending and stretching effects for small displacements and slowly varies with indenter displacement $F\sim d^{2/5}$ , to finally reach a wrinkled state that results in a robust nonlinear asymptotic relation, $F\sim d^4$. Experiments with films of various thicknesses and material properties, and numerical simulations confirm our analysis and help to define an order parameter that accounts for the different response regimes observed in experiments and simulations.

The superiority of many natural surfaces at resisting soft, sticky biofoulants have inspired the integration of dynamic topography with mechanical instability to promote self-cleaning artificial surfaces. The physics behind this novel mechanism is currently limited to elastic biofoulants where surface energy, bending stiffness and topographical wavelength are key factors. However, the viscoelastic nature of many biofoulants causes a complex interplay between these factors with time-dependent characteristics such as material softening and loading rate. Here, we enrich the current elastic theory of topographic de-adhesion using analytical and finite-element models to elucidate the nonlinear, time-dependent interaction of three physical, dimensionless parameters: biofoulant’s stiffness reduction, the product of relaxation time and loading rate, and the critical strain for short-term elastic de-adhesion. Theoretical predictions, in good agreement with numerical simulations, provide insight into tuning these control parameters to optimize surface renewal via topographic de-adhesion in the viscoelastic regime.

Physical activity during childhood and adolescence favors brain development and cognitive functioning, particularly the executive functions. This study aimed to assess potential associations between anthropometric parameters, physical activity, physical fitness, and executive functions among elementary school children returning to school after the COVID-19 lockdown in Chile. School-age male and female participants (n = 90; age, 10–12 years) participated in the study. To determine the association between variables, a multivariable linear regression analysis was performed. Higher fat-related anthropometric indexes were associated with lower working memory, cognitive flexibility, planning, and attention (r = −0.55 to −0.22; p = 0.031 to

There is a close relationship between the development of complex motor skills and executive functions during childhood. This study aimed to analyze the differences in different dimensions of executive functions in children practicing an open-skill sport (handball) and a closed-skill sport (athletics) and controls who did not participate in sports activities after a 12-week intervention period. School-aged male and female subjects (n = 90; mean ± standard deviation = 11.45 ± 0.68 years) participated in a non-randomized controlled study. Data analysis was performed using the STATA V.15 statistical software. The athletics intervention promoted semantic fluency (p = 0.007), whereas handball increased inhibition (p = 0.034). Additionally, physical activity improved in both intervention groups (p = < 0.001), whereas sprint performance improved in the handball group following intervention (p = 0.008), lower body muscular power improved in athletics (p = 0.04), and evidence of improvement in upper body muscular strength was noted in handball (p = 0.037). In turn, an increase in the Physical Activity Questionnaire for older Children score showed an association with the Standard Ten scores of executive functions. In conclusion, compared to controls, both athletics and handball induced meaningful improvements in physical activity and executive functions. However, sport-specific adaptations were noted after athletics (i.e., semantic fluency and lower body muscular power) and handball (i.e., inhibition, sprint, and upper-body muscular strength).

Executive function is among the most affected cognitive dimensions in depression. Physical exercise may improve executive function (e.g., working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility), although this is without consensus on adults with depression. Through this systematic review, we aim to elucidate the effects of physical exercise programs on executive functions in adults with depression. The literature search was performed in four relevant electronic databases, combining keywords and medical subject headings, from inception until September 2022. Controlled interventions, involving adults with depression, and reporting working memory, inhibition, and/or cognitive flexibility pre-post-intervention data, were considered includable. Results from meta-analyses included effect size (ES, i.e., Hedges’ g) values reported with 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs), with p set at ≤0.05. Seven studies were included, including 202 men and 457 women (age: 21.0–51.2 years; mild–moderate depression). For working memory, a small favoring effect was observed in the experimental groups compared with controls (ES = 0.33, 95%CI = 0.04–0.61; p = 0.026; I2 = 64.9%). For inhibition, physical exercise had a small favoring non-significant effect compared with controls (ES = 0.28, 95%CI = −0.17–0.74; p = 0.222; I2 = 72.4%). Compared with the control group, physical exercise had a trivial effect on cognitive flexibility (ES = 0.09, 95%CI = −0.21–0.39; p = 0.554; I2 = 68.4%). In conclusion, physical exercise interventions may improve working memory behavioral measures in adults with mild-to-moderate depression when compared with active and passive control conditions. However, the reduced number of available high-quality studies precludes more lucid conclusions.

Physical exercise is a low-cost and easy-to-implement therapeutic option proposed to reduce the negative effect of depression on the executive function cognitive dimension, including working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. Although a considerable amount of scientific literature on the topic is currently available, the effects of physical exercise interventions on the executive functions in adults with depression remain unclear. The aim of this review protocol is to synthesize the effects of physical exercise interventions on executive functions in adults with depression. Databases including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO will be searched for studies by combining keywords and different medical subject headings to identify and evaluate the relevant studies from inception up to September 2022. This study will consider longitudinal studies (duration, ≥3 weeks) with a minimum of one experimental group and pre- and post-intervention measurements involving adults with depression aged 18–65 years. Studies will be included if these reported ≥1 measures of executive function, including dimensions of working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale will be used to assess the methodological quality of studies. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model will be used for meta-analyses, with effect size (ES, i.e., Hedges’ g) values reported with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs), and p ≤ 0.05 will indicate statistical significance. The ES values will be calculated for working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility in the experimental and control groups before and after the intervention program. Our results can help professionals and stakeholders in making better evidence-based decisions regarding the implementation of physical exercise programs in adults with depression and providing relevant information to facilitate the functional performance of this population in complex daily tasks where executive functions are essential. No ethical approval is required for this study. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022358339.

Exercise programs of moderate-to-vigorous intensity have been shown to improve the cognitive performance of older people. However, the specific effects of sports-based exercise programs on cognitive performance, particularly executive functions, remain unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to clarify the effects of sports-based exercise programs on executive functions in older adults using a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature. A systematic review was conducted between 1 March and 1 July 2022, to look for published scientific evidence that analyzed different sports programs that may have affected executive function in healthy older adults. Longitudinal studies, which assessed the effects of sports interventions on healthy older adults, were identified through a systematic search of the four principal electronic databases: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCO. A total of nine studies with a total of 398 subjects met the inclusion criteria and were classified based on one or more of the following categories: working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was performed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software to facilitate the analysis of the studies. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. In terms of working memory, a small but positive significant effect was noted for the intervention group compared to the control group (effect size (ES) = 0.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.04–0.67; p = 0.029; I2 = 36.7%); in terms of inhibition, the intervention had a small favoring but no significant effect compared to the control group (ES = 0.20, 95% CI = −0.42–0.84; p = 0.517; I2 = 78.8%); and in terms of cognitive flexibility, the intervention had a small favoring but no significant effect compared to the control group (ES = 0.39, 95% CI = −0.11–0.89; p = 0.131; I2 = 75.5%). Our findings suggest that healthy older adults should be encouraged to participate in sports to improve their working memory; however, more studies are required in this area to reach more robust conclusions. This systematic review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (registration number: CRD42022284788).