Increasing consumer interest in fermented products has driven the emergence of a number of novel foods including shelf-stable sourdough pasta. This study comprehensively examined the impact of fermentation on the microbial composition of the culture, pasta, its subsequent effects on glycemic responses and gut microbiota in overweight men and women (>25 kg/m2) compared to a conventional, non-fermented pasta. Two, randomized crossover trials were performed. Study A examined acute feeding responses to each product wherein fasted participants completed a meal tolerance test comprised of 75 g of conventional or sourdough pasta to examine glycemic responses. Results showed enhanced gastric emptying with sourdough, but no difference in overall blood glucose, insulin or satiety hormone responses between the treatments. Study B consisted of three standard oral glucose tolerance tests as well as fecal collection for sequencing at baseline and following each pasta intervention (150 g or 2 serving/d for 5 days) followed by a 2-week washout period. Results showed no differential impact of either pasta treatment on glucose tolerance. Analysis of fecal bacterial and fungal (mycobiome) microbiota showed no change at the individual species or genus levels. However, fungi were adaptive following chronic pasta consumption with decreases in alpha diversity of fungi following sourdough, but not conventional pasta. This was accompanied by reductions in total fecal short chain fatty acid concentrations. In conclusion, sourdough fermentation did not change the overall glycemic properties of the pasta, incretin responses or bacterial gut microbiota, but appears to impact microbiome fungal community structure with chronic consumption.

This study investigated whether a lower effective [Hb], induced by carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation, reduces the peak oxygen uptake ( VO 2 peak ) and the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) and whether training status explains individual variation in these impairments. Healthy young participants completed two ramp incremental tests (n = 20, 10 female) and two trials at MLSS (n = 16, eight female) following CO rebreathe tests and sham procedures (SHAM) in random orders. All fitness variables were normalized to fat-free mass (FFM) to account for sex-related differences in body composition, and males and females were matched for aerobic fitness. The VO 2 peak (mean (SD): −4.2 (3.7)%), peak power output (PPO) (−3.3 (2.2)%) and respiratory compensation point (RCP) (−6.3 (4.5)%) were reduced in CO compared with SHAM (P < 0.001 for all), but the gas exchange threshold (−3.3 (7.1)%) was not (P = 0.077).Decreases in VO 2 peak (r = −0.45; P = 0.047) and PPO (r = −0.49; P = 0.029) in CO were correlated with baseline aerobic fitness. Compared to SHAM, physiological and perceptual indicators of exercise-related stress were exacerbated by CO while cycling at MLSS. Notably, the mean blood lactate concentration ([La]) increased (i.e., Δ[La] >1.0 mM) between 10 min (5.5 (1.4) mM) and 30 min (6.8 (1.3) mM; P = 0.026) in CO, with 9/16 participants classified as unstable. These unstable participants had a higher VO 2 peak (66.2 (8.5) vs. 56.4 (8.8) ml kg FFM −1 min −1 , P = 0.042) and VO 2 at MLSS (55.8 (7.0) vs. 44.3 (7.0) ml kg FFM −1 min −1 , P = 0.006) compared to the stable group.In conclusion, a reduced O 2 -carrying capacity decreased maximal and submaximal exercise performance, with higher aerobic fitness associated with greater impairments in both.

Background: The Belgian Red Cross provides first aid at 50 events with an attendance of more than 10,000 people every year. Since 2006, every patient encounter gets logged in a database called MedTRIS. The MedTRIS database contains more than 150,000 patient encounters. Methods: The triage category of a patient is recorded upon entering the first aid post. Four categories are used: without treatment, first aid, medical condition and medical emergency. A "medical emergency" requires immediate attention of a physician, a "medical condition/case" can wait. Other patient's characteristics, such as type of injury and type of event, are also recorded. All recorded information was coded for analysis in SPSS©. Results: 162.611 patient encounters are recorded in the MedTRIS database. 16.989 (10,5%) patients needed medical attention. 1080 (0,8% of total patient encounters) of these patients presented as a medical emergency. In the "medical condition/case" triage category the most prevalent type of injury was of the miscellaneous kind. This category represents-among others-urological and gynecological problems, eye abrasions and patients with chronic conditions. It is worth noting that some of the patients in the miscellaneous category probably belong in one of the other, more specific categories. Other types of injuries such as skin lesions, traumas and intoxications were roughly equally represented. However, in the "medical emergency" category, intoxications were more than three times as common as other type of injuries. Conclusion: True medical emergencies remain infrequent. An on-site physician needs to be capable to treat a multitude of different conditions. However, it is important to note that a medical emergency often concerns an intoxicated patient. Therefore, extra training in this specific type of injury is advisable.