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Objectives: In this study, the effects of short-duration high-intensity exercise and long-duration exercise on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) levels were compared., Methods: Twelve male amateur cyclists performed 1- and 6-h cycling trials. In both exercise trials, hs-cTnT was assessed at rest, immediately postexercise and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h postexercise. Additionally, hs-cTnT levels were assessed every hour during the 6-h trial., Results: Exercise resulted in an increase in hs-cTnT levels in all subjects. Circulating hs-cTnT levels increased in both exercise trials (p < 0.001), with higher peak values occurring after the 1-h trial compared with those of the 6-h trial (p = 0.023). The upper reference limit (URL) exceeded 83 % of the participants in the 1-h trial and 42 % of the participants in the 6-h trial. There was substantial individual variability in peak hs-cTnT in both trials. Values of hs-cTnT were greater after exercise than during exercise for the 6-h trial. For both exercise trials, the maximum postexercise hs-cTnT values correlated with the %HR MAX (r = 0.906 for the 1-h trial, r = 0.735 for the 6-h trial). For the 1-h trial, the maximum postexercise hs-cTnT values were observed at 3 h in all subjects. No significant difference in the hs-cTnT values was observed for the 6-h trial during the first 12 h postexercise., Conclusions: Our results demonstrated greater hs-cTnT levels in young male participants after a 1-h cycling trial than after a 6-h cycling trial, despite a substantially greater energy expenditure and total external work completed in the 6-h trial. Postexercise hs-cTnT values are associated with relative exercise intensity., Competing Interests: Declaration of interest statement The authors declare no competing interests. The study was conducted following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Aragón., (Copyright © 2024 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study examined the impact of incorporating pull-up exercises into the training routines of competitive swimmers on their performance outcomes. Eight swimmers (average age 21 ± 6.7 years, height 178 ± 5.3 cm, body mass 73 ± 7.0 kg) were selected and participated in a 10-week intervention, during which pull-up exercises were added to their regular strength training sessions. Performance was evaluated through tests measuring the sprint start speed and 50-meter freestyle swim times before and after the intervention. Statistical analyses showed significant improvements in swimming explosive strength, as measured by a 15-meter time trial (p = 0.014). In addition, resistance to explosive strength, as indicated by total time in a 50-meter time trial, improved significantly (p = 0.008), particularly in the first 25 meters (p = 0.014), although not in the second 25 meters (p = 0.078). These findings highlight the critical role of upper body strength and power in enhancing swimming performance, especially in sprint events. In conclusion, incorporating pull-up exercises into training regimens appears promising for improving upper body strength and power among swimmers. Future research should address the study's limitations by using larger, more homogeneous samples and more rigorously controlling variables such as age, gender, and training schedules. These efforts could provide clearer insights into the effectiveness of pull-up exercises in optimizing swimming performance, particularly in sprint disciplines., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Comité de Ética de la Investigación de la Comunidad de Aragón (CEICA, Research Ethics Committee of the Community of Aragon) Aragón issued approval no. PI23-161. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Pardo-Atarés et al.)

Introduction: Human cerebral organoids (hCOs) derived from pluripotent stem cells are very promising for the study of neurodevelopment and the investigation of the healthy or diseased brain. To help establish hCOs as a powerful research model, it is essential to perform the morphological characterization of their cellular components in depth., Methods: In this study, we analyzed the cell types consisting of hCOs after culturing for 45 days using immunofluorescence and reverse transcriptase qualitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays. We also analyzed their subcellular morphological characteristics by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)., Results: Our results show the development of proliferative zones to be remarkably similar to those found in human brain development with cells having a polarized structure surrounding a central cavity with tight junctions and cilia. In addition, we describe the presence of immature and mature migrating neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and microglia-like cells., Discussion: The ultrastructural characterization presented in this study provides valuable information on the structural development and morphology of the hCO, and this information is of general interest for future research on the mechanisms that alter the cell structure or function of hCOs., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Mateos-Martínez, Coronel, Sachse, González-Sastre, Maeso, Rodriguez, Terrón, López-Alonso and Liste.)

Conventional strength training and core exercises are commonly prescribed to improve cycling performance. Although previous studies have explored the utility of strength training in various cycling populations, this intervention has never been compared to core exercises. Thirty-six trained road cyclists were divided into three groups of 12 participants that performed either no strength training, conventional strength training, or core exercises, in all cases together with their regular cycling training during a 12-week period. Peak power outputs (POs) across different durations (five seconds, 60 seconds, five minutes, and 20 minutes) were recorded before and after the intervention. The results of the present study showed higher increases in relative PO with conventional strength training when compared to core training and no strength training for all measured durations: five-second Δ = 1.25 W/kg vs 0.47 W/kg and -0.17 W/kg; 60-second (Δ = 0.51 W/kg vs 0.13 W/kg and 0.02 W/kg; five-minute Δ = 0.22 W/kg vs 0.06 W/kg and 0.05 W/kg; and 20-minute Δ = 0.22 W/kg vs 0.07 W/kg and 0.06 W/kg. According to the data obtained in this study, conventional strength training is superior to core exercises, and no strength training was performed by trained road cyclists. Accordingly, it is recommended that this population incorporates strength training during their regular weekly workouts., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2024, Sitko et al.)

Human cerebral organoids (hCOs) offer the possibility of deepening the knowledge of human brain development, as well as the pathologies that affect it. The method developed here describes the efficient generation of hCOs by going directly from two-dimensional (2D) pluripotent stem cell (PSC) cultures to three-dimensional (3D) neuroepithelial tissue, avoiding dissociation and aggregation steps. This has been achieved by subjecting 2D cultures, from the beginning of the neural induction step, to dual-SMAD inhibition in combination with CHIR99021. This is a simple and reproducible protocol in which the hCOs generated develop properly presenting proliferative ventricular zones (VZs) formed by neural precursor and radial glia (RG) that differentiate to give rise to mature neurons and glial cells. The hCOs present additional cell types such as oligodendrocyte precursors, astrocytes, microglia-like cells, and endothelial-like cells. This new approach could help to overcome some of the existing limitations in the field of organoid biotechnology, facilitating its execution in any laboratory setting., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)