The Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Explosive Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review

Dietary nitrate supplementation is evidenced to induce physiological effects on skeletal muscle function in fast-twitch muscle fibers and may enhance high-intensity exercise performance. An important component of sport-specific skills is the ability to perform explosive movements; however, it is unclear if nitrate supplementation can impact explosive efforts. We examined the existing evidence to determine whether nitrate supplementation improves explosive efforts lasting ≤ 6 s. PubMed, Scopus and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) were searched for articles using the following search strategy: (nitrate OR nitrite OR beetroot) AND (supplement OR supplementation) AND (explosive OR power OR high intensity OR high-intensity OR sprint* OR “athletic performance”). Out of 810 studies, 18 were eligible according to inclusion criteria. Results showed that 4 of the 10 sprint-type studies observed improved sprint time, power output, and total work in cycling or running, whereas 4 of the 10 resistance-based exercise studies observed improvements to power and velocity of free-weight bench press as well as isokinetic knee extension and flexion at certain angular velocities. These results suggest that nitrate potentially improves explosive exercise performance, but further work is required to clarify the factors influencing the efficacy of nitrate in different exercise modalities.

Type studies on two Paxillus species (Paxillaceae, Boletales) described from China

Types and recently collected samples of two Paxillus species namely P. rhytidophyllus and P. yunnanensis, originally described from southwestern China, were critically restudied based on morphology and molecular phylogenetic data of DNA sequences from the large subunit of the nuclear ribosomal RNA (nrLSU), the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS), and the translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α). The results showed that these two species belong to Boletinellus and Tricholomopsis, respectively. Thus, two new combinations, Boletinellus rhytidophyllus and Tricholomopsis yunnanensis are proposed. Boletinellus rhytidophyllus is characterized by a deeply decurrent and shallow hymenophore which is poroid-lamellate to alveolate, slightly thick-walled (0.6–1 μm) basidiospores, occasionally 2- to 4-spored basidia, rare or infrequent hymenial cystidia, and a trichodermal pileipellis. Tricholomopsis yunnanensis is characterized by a convex pileus densely covered by red-violet to red-brown fibrillose squamules, a yellowish stipe sparsely covered with red to red-brown fibrillose squamules, subglobose to broadly ellipsoid basidiospores, prominent large cheilocystidia measuring 60–195 × 11–39 μm, and a palisadic pileipellis. New descriptions and line drawings of these two species and their comparisons with allied taxa are presented.

Type studies and fourteen new North American species of Cortinarius section Anomali reveal high continental species diversity

Section Anomali is a species-rich group in North America belonging to Cortinarius, the most diverse genus in the Agaricales. This study is based on extensive morphological investigations and molecular methods using 191 nrDNA ITS sequence data and recovered 43 phylogenetic species from which 14 are described here as new to science. We sequenced ten type materials which belonged to eight species. The synonymy of C. caesiellus with C. albidipes and C. copakensis with C. albocyaneus is proposed here. The North American occurrence of four species (C. albocyaneus, C. anomalus, C. caninus, and C. tabularis), so far known only from Europe, was confirmed. Thirteen species were not formally described here due to lack of relevant information. An identification key to the known Anomali species in North America is provided.

Food Insecurity, Nutritional Inequality, and Maternal–Child Health: A Role for Biocultural Scholarship in Filling Knowledge Gaps

Food insecurity, a significant contributor to nutritional inequality, disproportionately affects women and children in low- and middle-income countries. The magnitude of the problem has inspired research on its impacts on health, especially on nutritional status and, more recently, mental well-being. Current research is dominated by surveillance-type studies that emphasize access, one of food security's four dimensions. Findings are inconclusive regarding the association between food insecurity and women and children's nutritional status, but some evidence indicates that it is a key contributor to mental distress in women. To understand these inconsistent findings, we emphasize the need for research on the strategies that people use to cope with inadequate access to food. We contend that biocultural approaches that recognize the importance of local contexts and the role of broader political-economic factors in shaping them are well suited for addressing current knowledge gaps.

Impact of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: an integrative review

The present study aims to demonstrate the results of the impact of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through secondary sources available in the literature. A literature review was carried out with the descriptors "Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease" OR "NAFLD" AND "Bariatric Surgery"; “Doença Hepática Gordurosa não Alcoólica” OR “DHGNA” AND “Cirurgia Bariátrica” in the databases: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, through the Virtual Health Library, and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (Medline), through PubMed. Cohort-type studies addressing the effects of bariatric surgery on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease published in the last 5 years were included in the review. Thirty-one studies were identified, of which 10 were excluded for not performing postoperative evaluation and 8 were excluded for not containing the methodological criteria, totaling 13 studies. The current literature presents data suggestive of the association between bariatric surgery and the regression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, however, the studies observed present wide variations in methodological applications and samples with heterogeneous profiles, which makes it difficult to generalize the results. More studies are needed so that it is possible to document with greater evidence and reproducibility the action of different types of bariatric surgery on the rate of this liver disease regression.

A fresh outlook on the smooth-spored species of Inocybe: type studies and 18 new species

On the basis of detailed morphological and molecular investigation, eighteen new species of Inocybe (I. alberichiana, I. beatifica, I. bellidiana, I. clandestina, I. drenthensis, I. dryadiana, I. gaiana, I. ghibliana, I. grusiana, I. knautiana, I. lampetiana, I. oetziana, I. orionis, I. plurabellae, I. rivierana, I. scolopacis, I. sitibunda and I. tiburtina) are described. All of them are smooth-spored, and most of them are pruinose only in the apical part of the stipe. The new species are compared to 40 type specimens, all of which are described here and for several of which (partial) ITS sequences have been generated. For eight species, epi-, lecto- or neotypes were selected, among these are I. geophylla, I. glabripes and I. tigrina. Based on these studies, we suggest twelve synonymies, i.e. that I. clarkii is synonymous with I. sindonia, I. conformata with I. cincinnata, I. elegans with I. griseolilacina, I. fuscidula with I. glabripes, I. griseotarda with I. psammobrunnea, I. obscurella with I. obscuroides, I. obscuromellea with I. semifulva, I. patibilis and I. tigrinella with I. tigrina, I. petroselinolens with I. tenuicystidiata and I. rubidofracta with I. pseudorubens and I. subporospora is synonymized with I. tjallingiorum. All of the new species are supported by phylogenetic analyses. Among the previously described species accepted here, sixteen are represented by types in the phylogenetic analyses and ten by own collections morphologically corresponding to the type. In summary, we here verify or provide morphological concepts associated with molecular data for 44 smooth-spored species of Inocybe.

Digging Up the Roots: Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Disentanglements in Corticiaceae s.s. (Corticiales, Basidiomycota) and Evolution of Nutritional Modes

Corticiaceae is one of the traditional families of the Agaricomycetes and served for a long time as a convenient placement for basidiomycetes with a resupinate, corticioid form of fruiting body. Molecular studies have helped to assign many corticioid fungi to diverse families and orders; however, Corticiaceae still lacks a phylogenetic characterization and modern circumscription. Here, we provide the first comprehensive phylogenetic and taxonomic revision of the family Corticiaceae based on extensive type studies and sequences of nLSU, ITS, IGS, nSSU, and mtSSU regions. Our analyses support the recognition of ten monophyletic genera in the Corticiaceae, and show that nutritional mode is not a robust basis for generic delimitations in the family. The genus Mycobernardia and the species Corticium thailandicum, Erythricium vernum, and Marchandiomyces allantosporus are described as new to science, and five new combinations are proposed. Moreover, ancestral character state reconstruction revealed that saprotrophy is the plesiomorphic nutritional mode in the Corticiaceae, while several transitions have occurred to diverse nutritional modes in this family. Identification keys are provided to the genera in Corticiaceae s.s. as well as to the species in Corticium, Erythricium, Laetisaria, and Marchandiomyces.

A tutorial on capturing mental representations through drawing and crowd-sourced scoring

When we draw, we are depicting a rich mental representation reflecting a memory, percept, schema, imagination, or feeling. In spite of the abundance of data created by drawings, drawings are rarely used as an output measure in the field of psychology, due to concerns about their large variance and their difficulty of quantification. However, recent work leveraging pen-tracking, computer vision, and online crowd-sourcing has revealed new ways to capture and objectively quantify drawings, to answer a wide range of questions across fields of psychology. Here, I present a tutorial on modern methods for drawing experiments, ranging from how to quantify pen-and-paper type studies, up to how to administer a fully closed-loop online experiment. I go through the concrete steps of designing a drawing experiment, recording drawings, and objectively quantifying them through online crowd-sourcing and computer vision methods. Included with this tutorial are code examples at different levels of complexity and tutorials designed to teach basic lessons about web architecture and be useful regardless of skill level. I also discuss key methodological points of consideration, and provide a series of potential jumping points for drawing studies across fields in psychology. I hope this tutorial will arm more researchers with the skills to capture these naturalistic snapshots of a mental image.

A tutorial on capturing mental representations through drawing and crowd-sourced scoring

When we draw, we are depicting a rich mental representation reflecting a memory, percept, schema, imagination, or feeling. In spite of the abundance of data created by drawings, drawings are rarely used as an output measure in the field of psychology, due to concerns about their large variance and their difficulty of quantification. However, recent work leveraging pen-tracking, computer vision, and online crowd-sourcing has revealed new ways to capture and objectively quantify drawings, to answer a wide range of questions across fields of psychology. Here, I present a tutorial on modern methods for drawing experiments, ranging from how to quantify pen-and-paper type studies, up to how to administer a fully closed-loop online experiment. I go through the concrete steps of designing a drawing experiment, recording drawings, and objectively quantifying them through online crowd-sourcing and computer vision methods. Included with this tutorial are code examples at different levels of complexity and tutorials designed to teach basic lessons about web architecture and be useful regardless of skill level. I also discuss key methodological points of consideration, and provide a series of potential jumping points for drawing studies across fields in psychology and neuroscience. I hope this tutorial will arm more researchers with the skills to capture these naturalistic snapshots of a mental image.

How Celebrity Endorsement Influences Consumer’s Purchase Intention of Fashion Products on Instagram

This purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement in marketing fashion products on social media in Indonesia. This study examines five attributes: familiarity, congruity, physical appearance, trustworthiness, and expertise. Research was conducted using the quantitative method with analytic observation and cross-sectional studies. Data obtained were managed descriptively and analytically using SPSS with multiple regression analysis. The result of our regression analysis showed three attributes that positively impact consumer’s purchase intention; familiarity with the celebrity, trustworthiness of the celebrity; and the expertise of the celebrity in giving recommendation. This quantitative study was conducted with a small number of samples, using a specific celebrity and product type. Studies using different celebrities and product categories may have different outcomes. Therefore, we cannot generalized the result of this study given the said limitation. This research was conducted to help management choose the right marketing tool and the best celebrity based on the result of this study to help management meet their marketing strategy objectives.