Reliability of Tethered Swimming Evaluation in Age Group Swimmers

The aim of the present study was to examine the reliability of tethered swimming in the evaluation of age group swimmers. The sample was composed of 8 male national level swimmers with at least 4 years of experience in competitive swimming. Each swimmer performed two 30 second maximal intensity tethered swimming tests, on separate days. Individual force-time curves were registered to assess maximum force, mean force and the mean impulse of force. Both consistency and reliability were very strong, with Cronbach’s Alpha values ranging from 0.970 to 0.995. All the applied metrics presented a very high agreement between tests, with the mean impulse of force presenting the highest. These results indicate that tethered swimming can be used to evaluate age group swimmers. Furthermore, better comprehension of the swimmers ability to effectively exert force in the water can be obtained using the impulse of force. Key words: swimming, training and testing, propulsive force, front crawl.

Distribution and expression of leptin in major salivary glands of a hyperleptinemia animal model

Saliva production is mainly regulated by the autonomic nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic); however studies indicate a possible hormonal influence on the control of salivary secretion. This study aims to assess if the induction of increased levels of circulating leptin influence the immunohistochemical expression of leptin at the level of major salivary glands in Wistar rats. It was found that the expression, in qualitative terms, of leptin has been positive, being more evident in submandibular and sublingual glands, either in the acini or ducts. However, through this technique, no obvious differences between groups could be observed. The results suggest that circulating leptin levels may not affect the expression of this hormone in the major salivary glands.