Time-efficient and computer-guided sprint interval exercise training for improving health in the workplace: a randomised mixed-methods feasibility study in office-based employees

Exercise training is a powerful strategy to prevent and combat cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, although the integrative nature of the training-induced adaptations is not completely understood. We show that chronic blockade of histamine H1/H2 receptors led to marked impairments of microvascular and mitochondrial adaptations to interval training in humans. Consequently, functional adaptations in exercise capacity, whole-body glycemic control, and vascular function were blunted. Furthermore, the sustained elevation of muscle perfusion after acute interval exercise was severely reduced when H1/H2 receptors were pharmaceutically blocked. Our work suggests that histamine H1/H2 receptors are important transducers of the integrative exercise training response in humans, potentially related to regulation of optimal post-exercise muscle perfusion. These findings add to our understanding of how skeletal muscle and the cardiovascular system adapt to exercise training, knowledge that will help us further unravel and develop the exercise-is-medicine concept.

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Reamed intramedullary nailing versus circular frame external fixation for segmental tibial fractures (STIFF-F): a mixed methods feasibility study

Pilot and Feasibility Studies ◽

10.1186/s40814-021-00821-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Caroline B. Hing ◽

Elizabeth Tutton ◽

Toby O. Smith ◽

Molly Glaze ◽

Jamie R. Stokes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

External Fixation ◽

Intramedullary Nailing ◽

Feasibility Study ◽

Online Survey ◽

Tibial Fracture ◽

Tibial Fractures ◽

Circular Frame ◽

Pilot Rct ◽

Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background Segmental tibial fractures are fractures in two or more areas of the tibial diaphysis resulting in a separate intercalary segment of the bone. Surgical fixation is recommended for patients with segmental tibial fractures as non-operative treatment outcomes are poor. The most common surgical interventions are intramedullary nailing (IMN) and circular frame external fixation (CFEF), but evidence about which is better is of poor quality. An adequately powered randomised controlled trial (RCT) to determine optimum treatment is required. STIFF-F aimed to assess the feasibility of a multicentre RCT comparing IMN with CFEF for segmental tibial fracture. Methods STIFF-F was a mixed-methods feasibility study comprising a pilot RCT conducted at six UK Major Trauma Centres, qualitative interviews drawing on Phenomenology and an online survey of rehabilitation. The primary outcome was recruitment rate. Patients, 16 years and over, with a segmental tibial fracture (open or closed) deemed suitable for IMN or CFEF were eligible to participate. Randomisation was stratified by site using random permuted blocks of varying sizes. Participant or assessor blinding was not possible. Interviews were undertaken with patients about their experience of injury, treatment, recovery and participation. Staff were interviewed to identify contextual factors affecting trial processes, their experience of recruitment and the treatment pathway. An online survey was developed to understand the rehabilitation context of the treatments. Results Eleven patients were screened and three recruited to the pilot RCT. Nineteen staff and four patients participated in interviews, and 11 physiotherapists responded to the survey. This study found the following: (i) segmental tibial fractures were rarer than anticipated, (ii) the complexity of the injury, study setup times and surgeon treatment preferences impeded recruitment, (iii) recovery from a segmental tibial fracture is challenging, and rehabilitation protocols are inconsistent and (iv) despite the difficulty recruiting, staff valued this research question and strived to find a way forward. Conclusion The proposed multicentre RCT comparing IMN with CFEF is not feasible. This study highlighted the difficulty of recruiting patients to an RCT of a complex rare injury over a short time period. Trial registration The study was registered with the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trials Number Registry: ISRCTN11229660

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Higher mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation following intermittent versus continuous endurance exercise training

Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology ◽

10.1139/y98-094 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 76 (9) ◽

pp. 891-894 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

P D Chilibeck ◽

G J Bell ◽

R P Farrar ◽

T P Martin

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acid ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Fatty Acid Oxidation ◽

Endurance Exercise ◽

High Intensity ◽

Treadmill Running ◽

Acid Oxidation ◽

Interval Exercise ◽

Endurance Exercise Training ◽

Mitochondrial Fatty Acid

It has been well documented that skeletal muscle fatty acid oxidation can be elevated by continuous endurance exercise training. However, it remains questionable whether similar adaptations can be induced with intermittent interval exercise training. This study was undertaken to directly compare the rates of fatty acid oxidation in isolated subsarcolemmal (SS) and intermyofibrillar (IMF) mitochondria following these different exercise training regimes. Mitochondria were isolated from the gastrocnemius-plantaris muscles of male Sprague-Dawley rats following exercise training 6 days per week for 12 weeks. Exercise training consisted of either continuous, submaximal, endurance treadmill running (n = 10) or intermittent, high intensity, interval running (n = 10). Both modes of training enhanced the oxidation of palmityl-carnitine-malate in both mitochondrial populations (p < 0.05). However, the increase associated with the intermittent, high intensity exercise training was significantly greater than that achieved with the continuous exercise training (p < 0.05). Also, the increases associated with the IMF mitochondria were greater than the SS mitochondria (p < 0.05). These data suggest that high intensity, intermittent interval exercise training is more effective for stimulation of fatty acid oxidation than continuous submaximal exercise training and that this adaptation occurs preferentially within IMF mitochondria.Key words: muscle, subsarcolemmal mitochondria, intermyofibrillar mitochondria.

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Cardiac rehabilitation for people with sub-acute, mild to moderate stroke: results from a mixed methods feasibility study

Physiotherapy ◽

10.1016/j.physio.2020.03.131 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 107 ◽

pp. e94

Author(s):

N. Clague-Baker ◽

T. Robinson ◽

C. Gillies ◽

S. Drewry ◽

A. Hagenberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽

Feasibility Study

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Medication Adherence Reminder System for Virtual Home Assistants: Mixed Methods Evaluative Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.27327 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Cynthia F. Corbett ◽

Elizabeth M. Combs ◽

Peyton S. Chandarana ◽

Isabel Stringfellow ◽

Karen Worthy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mixed Methods ◽

Medication Adherence ◽

Feasibility Study ◽

Global Public Health ◽

Constructive Feedback ◽

The Past ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Mcnemar’S Test ◽

Medication Reminder ◽

Mcnemar's Test

BACKGROUND Medication non-adherence is a global public health challenge that results in sub-optimal health outcomes and increases healthcare costs. Forgetting to take medicines is one of the most common reasons for unintentional non-adherence. Research findings indicate that voice-activated virtual home assistants (VHAs), such as Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, may be useful in promoting medication adherence. OBJECTIVE Create a medication adherence app (skill) for Amazon Echo devices and measure the use, usability, and usefulness of that skill. METHODS A single-group mixed methods cohort feasibility study was conducted with females who took oral contraceptives (n=25). Participants were undergraduate students (mean age = 21.8, SD 6.2) at an urban university in the Southeast United States. Participants were given an Amazon Echo Dot with MedBuddy, a new medication reminder skill for Echo devices created by our team, attached to their study account, which they used for 60 days. Participants self-reported baseline and post-study medication adherence. MedBuddy use was objectively evaluated by tracking the participants’ interaction with MedBuddy through Amazon Alexa. The usability and usefulness of MedBuddy were evaluated through a post-study interview with participants responding to both quantitative and qualitative questions. RESULTS Participants’ interactions with MedBuddy, as tracked through Amazon Alexa, only occurred on half of the study days (mean of 50.97, SD 29.5). Compared to baseline, at study end participants reported missing their medication less in the past one and six months (χ 2 = .884 and .420 respectively, McNemar’s test p < .001 for both). However, there was no significant difference in participants’ reported adherence to consistently taking medication within the same two-hour time frame each day the past one or six months at the end of the study compared to baseline (χ 2 = 3.544 and 5.526 respectively, McNemar’s test p = .63 and p = .13 respectively). Overall feedback about usability was positive, and participants provided constructive feedback about features of the skill that could be improved. Participants’ evaluation of the usefulness of Medbuddy was overwhelmingly positive. Most participants (65.2%, n=15) said they would continue to use MedBuddy as a medication reminder in the future if provided the opportunity and the majority (91.3%, n=21) said they would recommend it to others. MedBuddy features that participants enjoyed were an external prompt separate from their phone, being able to hear the reminder prompt from a separate room, multiple reminders, and verbal responses as prompts. CONCLUSIONS The results of this feasibility study indicate the MedBuddy medication reminder skill may be useful in promoting medication adherence, but the skill could benefit from further usability enhancements.

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Motivators and barriers for participation in aquatic and land-based exercise training programs for people with stable heart failure: A mixed methods approach

Heart & Lung ◽

10.1016/j.hrtlng.2018.11.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 287-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Julie A Adsett ◽

Norman R Morris ◽

Suzanne S Kuys ◽

Jennifer D Paratz ◽

Alison M Mudge

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Training Programs ◽

Mixed Methods Approach

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A mixed-methods feasibility study of the Home Parenting Education and Support Program for families at risk of child maltreatment and recurrence in Australia

Child Abuse & Neglect ◽

10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105356 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 122 ◽

pp. 105356

Author(s):

Rebecca Giallo ◽

Holly Rominov ◽

Catherine Fisher ◽

Andi Jones ◽

Kirsty Evans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Mixed Methods ◽

Child Maltreatment ◽

Feasibility Study ◽

Support Program ◽

Parenting Education

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Chronic exercise training prevents coronary artery stiffening in aortic-banded miniswine: role of perivascular adipose-derived advanced glycation end products

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00146.2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 127 (3) ◽

pp. 816-827 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

An Ouyang ◽

T. Dylan Olver ◽

Craig A. Emter ◽

Bradley S. Fleenor

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Exercise Training ◽

Arterial Stiffness ◽

Advanced Glycation End Products ◽

Advanced Glycation ◽

Interval Exercise ◽

Glycation End Products ◽

End Products ◽

Artery Stiffness

Heart failure (HF) is associated with increased large conduit artery stiffness and afterload resulting in stiffening of the coronary arteries. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) and advanced glycation end products (AGE) both promote arterial stiffness, yet the mechanisms by which coronary PVAT promotes arterial stiffness and the efficacy of exercise to prevent coronary stiffness are unknown. We hypothesized that both chronic continuous and interval exercise training would prevent coronary PVAT-mediated AGE secretion and arterial stiffness. Yucatan miniature swine were divided into four groups: control-sedentary (CON), aortic banded sedentary-heart failure (HF), aortic banded HF-continuous exercise trained (HF+CONT), and aortic banded HF-interval exercise trained (HF+IT). The left circumflex and right coronary arteries underwent ex vivo mechanical testing, and arterial AGE, elastin, and collagen were assessed. Coronary elastin elastic modulus (EEM) and elastin protein were lower and AGE was increased with HF compared with CON, which was prevented by both HF+CONT and HF+IT. Mouse aortic segments treated with swine coronary PVAT conditioned medium had lower EEM and elastin content and greater AGE secretion and arterial AGE accumulation in HF compared with CON, which was prevented by both HF+CONT and HF+IT. Aminoguanidine (AMG), an AGE inhibitor, prevented the reduction in EEM, arterial elastin content, and AGE accumulation in mouse aortic segments treated with PVAT conditioned medium in the HF group. Our data demonstrate efficacy for chronic continuous and interval exercise to prevent coronary artery stiffness via inhibition of PVAT-derived AGE secretion in a preclinical miniswine model of pressure overload-induced HF. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our findings show that chronic continuous and interval exercise training regimens prevent coronary artery stiffness associated with inhibition of perivascular adipose tissue-derived advanced glycation end products in a translational pressure overload-induced heart failure model potentially providing an effective therapeutic option for heart failure patients.

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