Immediate effect of high-intensity exercise on brain-derived neurotrophic factor in healthy young adults:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background Although brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF)has been identified as a molecular biomarker of the neurophysiological effects induced by exercise,the acute effects of high-intensity exercise(HIE)on BDNF levels are inconclusive.This study aims to estimate the immediate effects of HIE on BDNF levels in healthy young adults.Methods A systematic search was conducted in the MEDLINE,Scopus,Cochrane CENTRAL,and SPORTDiscuss databases up to December 2020.Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)and non-RCTs reporting pre-post changes in serum or plasma BDNF after an acute intervention of HIE compared to a control condition were included.Pooled effect sizes(p-ESs)and 95%confidence intervals(95%CIs)were calculated for RCTs using a random effects model with Stata/SE(Version 15.0;StataCorp.,College Station,TX,USA).The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed.PROPERO registration number:CRD42020221047.Results A total of 22 studies with 552 individuals(age range:20-31 years;59.1%male)were included.The meta-analysis included 10 RCTs that reported valid outcome data.Higher BDNF levels were observed when HIE interventions were compared with non-exercise(p-ES=0.55,95%CI:0.12-0.98;I^(2)=25.7%;n=4 studies)and light-intensity exercise(p-ES=0.78,95%CI:0.15-1.40;I^(2)=52.4%;n=3 studies)but not moderate-intensity exercise(p-ES=0.93,95%CI:-0.16 to 2.02;I^(2)=88.5%;n=4 studies)conditions.Conclusion In comparison to non-exercise or light-intensity exercises,an immediate increase in BDNF levels may occur when young adults perform HIE.Given the benefits obtained maximizing circulating BDNF when performing HIE and its potential effects on brain health,our findings suggest that HIE could be recommended by clinicians as a useful exercise strategy to healthy adults.

Rabies outbreak in Brazil: first case series in children from an indigenous village

BackgroundHuman rabies outbreak transmitted by bats continues to be a relevant public health problem not only in the Amazon region. The disease has affected one of the areas with the greatest poverty in southeastern Brazil, a region inhabited by the Maxakali indigenous people.Case presentationWe describe four cases of rabies among indigenous children that occurred in the indigenous village of Pradinho, municipality of Bertópolis, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cases were notified between April and May 2022, all of whom died on average eight days after the first symptoms. All cases were observed in rural residents under 12 years of age. The probable form of exposure was through bat bites. The predominant symptoms were prostration, fever, dyspnea, sialorrhea, tachycardia, and altered level of consciousness. Half of the cases underwent late and/or incomplete post-exposure rabies prophylaxis, however, the other half underwent pre-exposure rabies prophylaxis, with only one case completing the scheme and another undergoing the adapted Milwaukee Protocol (Recife Protocol). All cases ended in death.ConclusionsThis was the first rabies outbreak among indigenous people in Brazil. Among the manifested clinical forms in the series, there was a disease atypical presentation in at least one case. We suggest active surveillance and an intercultural educational campaign to prevent new cases.

Disaster Journalism in Print Media:Analysis of the Top 10 Hydrogeomorphological Disaster Events in Portugal,1865–2015

Disaster communication guidelines emphasize that journalists should be aware of past major disasters and draw lessons from the coverage of those events.The press is an important source for the evolution of historical disaster and risk research paradigms over time.This study explored the top 10 damaging hydrogeomorphological events in Portugal selected from the disaster database,which includes events that caused human damages(fatalities,injured,missing,evacuated,and displaced)reported over a period of 151years(1865–2015)by the Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias(DN).News analysis was guided by the news protocol.The analysis of the news published in DN enabled us to identify textual marks that present interconnections in the journalistic coverage and produce discursive standards for these disasters.The textual marks were associated with the hazard and risk paradigms.The discursive standards of DN did not clearly reflect the ruptures in the hazard paradigms.As a rule,the journalistic reports contributed to the naturalization of disasters and the gap in public understanding of risks,by presenting an approach focused on relief actions—ignoring social issues,vulnerability,and population resilience—reducing the discourse of preparedness for future disasters.