Publications

From Movement to METs: A Validation of ActTrust® for Energy Expenditure Estimation and Physical Activity Classification in Young Adults

Article
indirect calorimetry
accelerometer
activity intensity

Physical activity (PA) is recognised for providing several health benefits in humans, mainly preventing and controlling chronic non-communicable diseases. However estimating PA is a challenging and expensive task. An alternative would be to devise a model to estimate PA using actigraphy devices calibrated from an initially validated model. This has been previously done to a number of devices, including ActiGraph® GT3X+. In this study we aimed at validating ActTrust® against the widely used GT3X+ and comparing activity counts to metabolic equivalents (METs) derived from indirect calorimetry during treadmill walking and running. Fifty-six young adults (34 men, 22 women) participated in controlled effort exercises including light, moderate, vigorous, and very vigorous activity intensities. We developed a general linear model to estimate energy expenditure (EE) from movement count of combinations of GT3X+ and ActTrust devices placed at hip or wrist. We then estimated cut-off points for each intensity range. Our results showed correlations between treadmill speed, METs, and movement counts across all devices and placements combinations. Our proposed model performed well with balanced accuracies above 0.77 for all intensity ranges and over 0.9 for light and moderate activity. This is the first study to model estimate and validate PA intensity thresholds on ActTrust® devices. Our findings support the use of ActTrust® devices in PA estimation as a low complexity and cost approach to allow 24-hour assessments of EE.

May 21, 2025
Elias dos Santos Batista, Stephania Ruth Basilio Gomes, Ayrton Bruno de Morais Ferreira, Lucas G. S. França, John Fontenele Araújo, Arnaldo Luis Mortatti, Mário A. Leocadio-Miguel

Heritability of sleep architecture based on home polysomnography

Article
heritability
sleep
PSG

This study assessed the heritability of polysomnography sleep measures in 648 participants from the Baependi Heart Study in Brazil. It found that genetic factors influence total sleep time, non-REM sleep stages (especially N3), and the apnea-hypopnea index, but not REM sleep. These findings support the feasibility of future genetic studies on sleep traits.

Dec 29, 2024
Mário A. Leocadio-Miguel, Tâmara P Taporoski, Felipe Beijamini, Francieli S Ruiz, Andrea RVR Horimoto, Alexandre C Pereira, Kristen L Knutson, Malcolm von Schantz

Cycling reduces the entropy of neuronal activity in the human adult cortex

Article
entropy
cortical activity
EEG

This study used recurrence entropy to assess brain complexity (BC) in EEG signals during rest and cycling in 24 healthy adults. Results showed lower entropy during cycling, suggesting that repetitive movement reduces brain complexity due to continuous sensory feedback and streamlined sensorimotor processing.

Oct 2, 2024
Iara Beatriz Silva Ferré, Gilberto Corso, Gustavo Zampier dos Santos Lima, Sergio Roberto Lopes, Mario André Leocadio-Miguel, Lucas G. S. França, Thiago de Lima Prado, John Fontenele Araújo

Neonatal brain dynamic functional connectivity in term and preterm infants and its association with early childhood neurodevelopment

Article
brain
MRI
dynamics

This study examines dynamic functional connectivity in newborns using fMRI, revealing six transient brain connectivity states present at birth. It finds that preterm infants exhibit atypical connectivity patterns, which are linked to social, sensory, and repetitive behaviors at 18 months, suggesting early neurodevelopmental differences.

Feb 8, 2024
Lucas G. S. França, Judit Ciarrusta, Oliver Gale-Grant, Sunniva Fenn-Moltu, Sean Fitzgibbon, Andrew Chew, Shona Falconer, Ralica Dimitrova, Lucilio Cordero-Grande, Anthony N. Price, Emer Hughes, Jonathan O’Muircheartaigh, Eugene Duff, Jetro J. Tuulari, Gustavo Deco, Serena J. Counsell, Joseph V. Hajnal, Chiara Nosarti, Tomoki Arichi, A. David Edwards, Grainne McAlonan, Dafnis Batalle

Hemodialysis-induced chronodisruption and chronotype distribution in patients with chronic kidney disease

Article
hemodialisis
sleep

This study examined circadian rhythm disruptions in 165 hemodialysis patients, finding that 40.6% experienced hemodialysis-induced chronodisruption (HIC). A morning chronotype was more prevalent in CKD patients than in the general population. HIC and chronotype were linked to quality of life but not sleep quality, highlighting potential implications for patient well-being.

Feb 1, 2024
Patrícia Pereira Nunes, Caroline Meneses Resende, Ellen Dayanne Barros Silva, Deryc Cleyner Piones Bastos, Max Luiz Mendes Ramires Filho, Mário A. Leocadio-Miguel, Mario Pedrazzoli, Manoel Alves Sobreira-Neto, Tiago Gomes de Andrade, Lívia Leite Góes Gitaí, Flávio Teles

Use of sleep quality questionary and cortisol awakening response as complementary tools for the evaluation of major depression progression

Article
cortisol
sleep
major depression

This study examined the relationship between sleep quality and cortisol awakening response (CAR) across major depression severity. Patients with treatment-resistant depression had poorer sleep and a blunted CAR, while those with mild depression showed worse sleep but an elevated CAR compared to healthy controls. Sleep quality, particularly sleep medication use and sleep efficiency, was a strong predictor of depression severity, highlighting its clinical relevance for assessing and managing major depressive disorder.

Feb 1, 2024
Lucas Henrique Sousa Freitas Torres, Ysla Kallena Macedo Medeiros, Geovan Menezes de Sousa, Hector Quinones Vargas, Ana Cecília de Menezes Galvão, Raíssa Nóbrega de Almeida, Mário A. Leocadio-Miguel, Bruno Lobão-Soares, Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dráulio Barros de Araujo, Nicole Leite Galvão-Coelho

Blue light exposure-dependent improvement in robustness of circadian rest-activity rhythm in aged rats

Article
aging
SCN
Rest-activity rhythm

This study investigated the effects of blue light therapy on circadian rhythms in aging rats. Exposure to blue light for 14 days improved locomotor rhythmicity, increasing amplitude, robustness, and phase advance while enhancing rest-phase consolidation. However, these benefits required continuous exposure. The findings suggest that blue light may help mitigate age-related circadian dysfunctions, though further research is needed to understand the underlying neural mechanisms.

Oct 4, 2023
Eryck Holmes A. Silva, Nelyane Nayara M. Santana, Narita Renata M. Seixas, Lyzandro Lucas F. Bezerra, Maria Milena O. Silva, Sâmarah F. Santos, Jeferson S. Cavalcante, Mário A. Leocadio-Miguel, Rovena Clara Engelberth
No matching items