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Introduction: Ischemia-Reperfusion (I/R) damage is one of the major challenges in cardiothoracic surgeries and in a pathological manner, is identified by exacerbated damage signals resulted from blood supply restriction and subsequent flow restoration and re‑oxygenation. I/R damage includes cellular dysfunction and death, impairing tissue and organ function. Inflammation and oxidative stress are known to underlie either ischemia or reperfusion, leaded by HIF, TNF-α, NF-κB, IL-6 and ROS formation. However, the available approaches to prevent I/R damage has been unsuccessful so far. As agonists of peroxisome-proliferation activation receptor (PPAR) are described as transcription factors related to anti-inflammatory factors, we proposed to observe the effects of novel dual agonist, GQ-11, in I/R-related damage., Methods: Male, Wistar rats, 60 days age and 305 g body weight average were treated with vehicle, pioglitazone or GQ-11 (20 mg/kg) for 7 consecutive days and were submitted to aorta clamping for 30 min followed by 3 h of reperfusion. 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F-FDG), an analog of glucose associated with inflammation when accumulated, was observed in liver and bowel by positron emission tomography (PET)., Results: GQ-11 decreased 18 F-FDG uptake in liver and bowel when compared to vehicle and pioglitazone. The treatment also modulated inflammatory markers IL-10, TGF-β, IL-6, IL1-β, TNFα, and CCL-2, besides antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, GPx and SOD., Conclusion: Inflammation and oxidative stress showed to be important processes to be regulated in I/R in order to prevent exacerbated responses that leads to cell/tissue dysfunction and death. PPAR agonists - including GQ-11 - might be promising agents in a strategy to avoid tissue dysfunction and death after cardiothoracic surgeries., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Context: Many people claim winter sea bathing gives them energy and health. According to the psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology (PNEI) paradigm, the stress response elicited by cold water immersion could indeed induce several beneficial psychophysical alterations., Objective: To determine the effects of winter sea bathing on psychological wellbeing, stress and immune markers., Design: A cross-sectional study., Participants: 228 people, between 19 and 88 years, including 107 winter sea bathers and 121 controls., Main Outcome Measures: A battery of questionnaires was administered to assess sociodemographic characteristics, self-perception of mental and physical heath, the number, duration and intensity of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs) in the last year, and Big Five personality traits. 17 winter sea bathers and 15 controls (mean age 67 years) were further examined to evaluate physiological health, underwent one ear-nose-throat (ENT) examination, and provided saliva samples for measurements of biological markers (cortisol, sIgA, IL-1β, IL-6)., Results: Winter sea bathing was associated with lower levels of self-reported stress and higher wellbeing. The ENT examinations did not reveal signs of URTIs in winter sea bathers, who exhibited significantly higher levels of salivary sIgA compared to controls. Neither salivary IL-1β nor cortisol levels were significantly different between the two groups., Conclusions: Winter sea bathers (even the elderly) had a perception of higher wellbeing and reported better health: thus, they appeared to take advantage of potential distress (cold water exposure) to improve their health., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)