Background: The Italian government promoted social distancing, in which the suspension of any social event, suspension of all activities practiced in gyms, sports centers and their closure was ordered. The social distancing in the school environment and the use of strategies to limit viral infection are not very compatible with group motor activity and team sports. The aim of this study is to verify the effectiveness of a CrossFit program in order to mitigate the deficits in fitness caused by COVID-19 prevention measures and to evaluate the effects on self-efficacy in a group of young adolescents. Methodsː 30 healthy participants were randomly allocated into an intervention group (IG) that performed the 8 weeks CrossFit training program or control group (CG). Physical fitness tests (i.e., Squat, push-up, lunge, and 20 m run) and psychological measures Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy scale (RESE) were performed at baseline and after 8 weeks. Resultsː After 8 weeks, the intervention group showed significant improvements for all fitness tests (p < 0.0001). Additionally, higher scores for the RESE negative and positive (p < 0.0001) scales were found in the intervention group. No statistical differences were found in the control group except for the push up test. Conclusionsː the 8-week CrossFit intervention program could positively affect the general physical well-being and improve the emotional perceived self-efficacy in healthy adolescents.

We aimed to investigate the correlation between serum and salivary concentrations of steroid hormones and IgA, and the variation in concentrations of these biomarkers, across a soccer competitive season in a sample of players playing for an Italian major League team. Thirty-five elite male soccer players were recruited and assessed for salivary hormones (cortisol, testosterone, T/C‰ and DHEA-S) and IgA at three different time-points: (t1) after the pre-season period and 16 official matches played; (t2) after a winter break and three official matches played; (t3) 2 days after the final match of the championship and 19 matches played. Players were also tested for blood biomarkers (ser-C, ser-T, ser-T/C‰, ser-IgA, ACTH) at two detection times (t1 and t3). Blood samples were collected immediately after saliva sampling. The Spearman’s rank correlation was used to explore the correlation between blood and salivary concentrations of cortisol, free testosterone and IgA in the different time points. One-way ANOVA and permutation test were performed to explore changes by time of hormones and IgA concentrations over the competitive season. We documented a positive correlation between serum and saliva concentrations for Cortisol at t1 (+58.2%; p-value = 0.002) and t3 (+54.2%; p-value = 0.018) and for Testosterone at t1 (+42.0%; p-value = 0.033). Moreover, a positive variation was documented across the season (D = t3–t1) for Cortisol (D = +6.83; SEM = ±2.70; Var% = +37.6; p-value = 0.032), Testosterone (D = +0.33; SEM = ±0.07; Var% = +27.3; p-value = 0.002) and DHEA-S (D = +44.48; SEM = ±18.54; Var% = +82.0; p-value = 0.042), while a decrease of sal-T/C ratio and no variation in salivary IgA concentrations were reported. In conclusion, our findings support for experimental use of saliva samples to monitor steroid hormones modifications in professional soccer players across a competitive season.

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IntroductIonAn excessive caloric intake and a low physical activity have as consequence the development of obesity, which, in turn, may lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (1,2). In obese subjects, compared to normal weight subjects, it has been shown a lengthening of corrected QT (QTc) and QT dispersion (QTd) (3,4), parameters related to an increased incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in various pathologies (5-10).Interest has grown, recently, in new electrocardiographic parameters, as indirect indexes of ventricular repolarization; in particular the Tpeak-Tend (Tpe) interval, its dispersion (Tpe-d), and the relationship between Tpe interval and QT interval (Tpe/QT ratio) showed to be valid markers of arrhythmic vulnerability in coronary heart disease, in Brugada syndrome, in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and in long QT syndrome (11)(12)(13)(14)(15).The aforementioned parameters have not yet been evaluated in overweight/obese subjects. The aim of this study was to verify their potential alteration in obesity without associated comorbid conditions. Methods and ProceduresA total of 120 subjects were studied, divided into two groups. The first group was composed of 60 healthy, athletic subjects with normal weight (BMI ≤24.9 kg/m 2 ). They worked out at the gym three times a week for more than 60 min, engaging in aerobic and anerobic activities. The second group was composed of 60 sedentary, overweight (BMI between 25 and 29.9 kg/m 2 ) and obese subjects (BMI ≥30 kg/m 2 ). The first group comprised 21 women and 39 men with the following characteristics: BMI between 19 and 24 kg/m 2 , mean BMI 22.0 ± 2.0 kg/m 2 , aged 14-64 years, mean age 32 ± 13.59 years. The second group comprised 22 women and 38 men, 34 overweight and 26 obese subjects with the following characteristics: BMI between 26 and 55 kg/m 2 , mean BMI 30.7 ± 5.7 kg/m 2 , aged 14-64 years, mean age 38 ± 14.49 years. The subjects with a normal weight were recruited from the Division of Sports Medicine at Palermo University Hospital, the overweight and obese subjects came from a primary prevention ambulatory clinic. Nobody had a personal history of heart disease, hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes, renal failure, hepatic or thyroid diseases. No one had a family history of long QT syndrome, electrolyte disorders

Thyroid cancer (TC) represents the most common malignancy of the endocrine system, with an increased incidence across continents attributable to both improvement of diagnostic procedures and environmental factors. Among the modifiable risk factors, insulin resistance might influence the development of TC. A relationship between circadian clock machinery disfunction and TC has recently been proposed. The circadian clock machinery comprises a set of rhythmically expressed genes responsible for circadian rhythms. Perturbation of this system contributes to the development of pathological states such as cancer. Several clock genes have been found deregulated upon thyroid nodule malignant transformation. The molecular mechanisms linking circadian clock disruption and TC are still unknown but could include insulin resistance. Circadian misalignment occurring during shift work, jet lag, high fat food intake, is associated with increased insulin resistance. This metabolic alteration, in turn, is associated with a well-known risk factor for TC i.e., hyperthyrotropinemia, which could also be induced by sleep disturbances. In this review, we describe the mechanisms controlling the circadian clock function and its involvement in the cell cycle, stemness and cancer. Moreover, we discuss the evidence supporting the link between circadian clockwork disruption and TC development/progression, highlighting its potential implications for TC prevention, diagnosis and therapy.