An 8-week combined exercise program benefits body composition, especially lean mass, and positively affects isokinetic strength and CVD risk factors. Therefore, increasing lean mass and strength by continuously participating in a combined exercise program may be an effective treatment for preventing and improving CVD in older women.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to examine whether exergames could help children reach the recommendations for PA and cardiorespiratory fitness regarding exercise intensity. Differences in perceived physical exertion, EE, VO2, and HR between normal weight (NW) and overweight (OW) children participating in exergames were also examined. Methods: Twenty-one children (age: 10.45 ± 0.88) were assessed for EE, VO2 and HR during rest, in a maximal treadmill test, and while playing different exergames. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) (category range: 0 to 10) were also measured during exergaming. Three types of exergames were examined: running, table tennis, and dancing. These games were either performed on a Chinese game console, I-Dong, or another well-developed Western game console (Sony PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii). Results: Exergaming resulted in EE (kcal/min) from 2.05–5.14, VO2 (mL/kg/min) from 9.98–25.54, and HR (beats per minute) from 98.05–149.66. Children reported RPE ranging from 1.29 to 5.29. The Chinese exergame, I-Dong Running, was the only game in which children reached a moderate intensity and met the recommended minimum VO2reserve (50%) for cardiorespiratory fitness. Conclusion: Exergames could provide alternative opportunities to enhance children’s physical activity. They could be used as light-to-moderate PA, and with exergames, children can even reach the recommended intensity for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory fitness.

Differences in the characteristics of the culture conditions can influence the multiplication rate of Plasmodium falciparum. The Petri dish method is one of the most popular methods of cultivating this parasite. In many previous studies, ideal culture conditions of the Petri dish method were achieved by using erythrocytes collected from blood that had been stored for at least 2 weeks, with daily changes of the medium. In the present study, we studied the multiplication rate of P. falciparum in cultures containing erythrocytes of various ages together with changing the medium at various intervals of time. Our results strongly suggest that the rate of in vitro multiplication of P. falciparum was higher in freshly collected erythrocytes than in aged erythrocytes regardless of the anticoagulant and that when the parasitemia is lower than 8% with a hematocrit of 5%, the medium change interval can be as long as 48 hr without a great reduction in the rate of multiplication.

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