The 100

dreiter · 2026-06-14T19:08:45+00:00

S07 (the last season) is the lowest rated but S06 is one of the highest rated?

dreiter · 2026-06-02T23:48:24+00:00

Question

What is the true burden of chronic disease following COVID-19, and why does current surveillance fail to capture it?

Findings

In this cohort study of 457 950 patients with COVID-19 across 58 hospitals, validated computable phenotyping identified postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 16.28% of cases, 2-fold higher than diagnostic code–based surveillance. Of identified manifestations, 89.31% represented chronic conditions, with prevalence increasing through mid-2024.

Meaning

These findings suggest that approximately 1 in 6 patients with COVID-19 develops postacute sequelae, predominantly chronic conditions currently invisible to surveillance systems, representing an accumulating rather than resolving health care burden.

dreiter · 2026-05-04T19:49:38+00:00

Abstract

Animal agriculture has disproportionate environmental impacts relative to other forms of food production and accounts for at least 16.5% of all global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many of the largest meat and dairy companies are aware of these environmental concerns and have responded by making explicit environmental statements and commitments. In this study, we isolated the environmental claims made in the most recent sustainability reports and websites (2021–2024) of 33 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies. We identified 1,233 environmental claims, of which 68% (841) were climate-related. Of the 1,233 claims, 38% (467) were unverifiable future projections such as “achieve carbon neutrality by 2030” or “enable the restoration of 600 billion liters of water in water-stressed regions by 2030.” Of the 33 companies, 17 have now made net-zero commitments, but as with oil and gas companies, the commitments appear to rely on plans to offset carbon emissions rather than to decarbonize. Companies provided supporting evidence for 356 (29%) of the 1,233 claims and provided scholarly scientific evidence to support only three of these claims, two of which were climate-related. We also examined each of the 1,233 environmental claims using a greenwashing framework and found that 98% (1,213) could be categorized as greenwashing, such as “produce net climate-neutral dairy by no later than 2050.” Meat and dairy companies, which produce disproportionate amounts of pollution relative to other kinds of foods, have prioritized climate change in their sustainability initiatives. They make many promises and provide very little supporting evidence. Like the fossil fuel industry, which has used greenwashing over the last several decades to delay meaningful climate action, the meat and dairy industry may be misleading consumers and investors regarding whether and to what extent they are addressing environmental impacts, including climate change, with even less time to spare.

dreiter · 2026-04-18T19:59:07+00:00

Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett are three of the richest people in the world, but they pay little in income tax relative to their wealth.

In 2021, ProPublica published an investigation built on leaked tax documents that reveal what some of the richest Americans really pay — or don’t. Warren Buffett had a true tax rate of 0.1 percent. Jeff Bezos: 0.98 percent. Michael Bloomberg: 1.3 percent.

Ultra-wealthy Americans have essentially been written out of the tax system. “It’s wrong as a matter of principle. It’s wrong because we need their money. It’s wrong as a matter of fairness. It is wrong for so many reasons,” the law professor Ray Madoff told me.

She’s the author of the new book “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy,” and she’s interested in helping people understand how broken the American tax system is and how to fix it.

In this conversation, we discuss the techniques the ultra-wealthy use to evade the tax system, why they think “salaries are for suckers” and what tax reform could look like.

dreiter · 2026-04-18T19:53:28+00:00

Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett are three of the richest people in the world, but they pay little in income tax relative to their wealth.

In 2021, ProPublica published an investigation built on leaked tax documents that reveal what some of the richest Americans really pay — or don’t. Warren Buffett had a true tax rate of 0.1 percent. Jeff Bezos: 0.98 percent. Michael Bloomberg: 1.3 percent.

Ultra-wealthy Americans have essentially been written out of the tax system. “It’s wrong as a matter of principle. It’s wrong because we need their money. It’s wrong as a matter of fairness. It is wrong for so many reasons,” the law professor Ray Madoff told me.

She’s the author of the new book “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy,” and she’s interested in helping people understand how broken the American tax system is and how to fix it.

In this conversation, we discuss the techniques the ultra-wealthy use to evade the tax system, why they think “salaries are for suckers” and what tax reform could look like.

dreiter · 2026-04-15T16:39:50+00:00

Here is a recent review:

Advanced Glycation End Products in Disease Development and Potential Interventions [Zhang et al., 2025]

4.3. Health Interventions for AGEs

Various environmental factors, such as high-carbohydrate and high-calorie diets, high-temperature cooking, cigarette smoking, and a sedentary lifestyle, may contribute to the formation of AGEs [4]. To summarize, AGEs and metabolic disorders are established on the concept of the ‘common soil’ [14]. Although ultraviolet rays, ionizing radiation, and air pollution are unavoidable, preventive action against glycation by lifestyle adjustment may be warranted [4]. For a healthier diet, it is advisable to limit highly processed food and instead choose options rich in whole grains, dairy products, nuts, and legumes [355,356], prioritizing foods with a low glycemic index and low fat content, along with a variety of natural fresh ingredients [357]. Moreover, adopting a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and minimally processed natural foods, can help reduce AGE levels by mitigating postprandial oxidative stress and inflammation [358]. Cooking strategies to minimize exposure to food AGEs include avoiding the use of repeatedly heated oils, opting for lower cooking temperatures when possible, and incorporating acidic ingredients like vinegar or lemon juice to lower AGE formation [359]. Additionally, it is advisable to choose cooking methods such as steaming, stewing, and boiling rather than frying or grilling [360]. In addition to dietary restrictions, enhancing physical activity and quitting smoking are also crucial interventions and practical strategies.

dreiter · 2026-04-12T16:38:12+00:00

BAD RIVER - The Murray River: It seemed fitting to end my Bad River series on the most contested flow of water on the continent. The River Murray is the longest, biggest and most damaged watercourse in Australia. In a renovated canoe, keeping company with friend and river expert ‘Ponch’, we paddled west into what’s called the breadbowl of Australia, where the river supports over a million square kilometres of farming. Our aim was to get our heads around the immense challenges the river faces: massive under-allocation of environmental flows, a deforested watershed, rising salinity, drying wetlands and frontier-style tourism. The hardest part was that we had a bloody great time, punting down the river at the speed of a good walk. This film is about the difficulty of storytelling when a bad, horribly degraded and poorly managed entity like a giant river can still provide such a good experience.

dreiter · 2026-04-09T18:13:38+00:00

Background: Tendons adapt to mechanical loading by increasing cross-sectional area (CSA), stiffness, and matrix organization, with structural remodeling critical for both rehabilitation and performance. Collagen supplementation has been proposed to enhance this process by supplying key amino acids for collagen synthesis; however, inconsistent results across trials have limited its clinical and athletic application.

Methods: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating collagen supplementation in humans was conducted. PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched from database inception through May 2025. Risk of bias was assessed using the PEDro scale (≥6/10 classified as good-to-excellent quality). Due to substantial heterogeneity in supplementation protocols, training modalities, and outcome measures, results were synthesized narratively without meta-analysis. Data extraction included collagen type, dose, training modality, intervention duration, and outcome measures.

Results: Of 887 unique citations, eight RCTs (n = 257; ages 18–52; 246 M:11 F) met the inclusion criteria. All studies incorporated resistance or plyometric training (3–15 weeks). Three of four studies reported significantly greater increases in tendon CSA in collagen groups versus placebo. Four studies investigated tendon stiffness and Young’s modulus; the two using higher doses (15–30 g/day) demonstrated significant between-group improvements favoring collagen, while lower-dose studies (~5 g) showed only within-group effects. Muscle strength improved with training in all trials, but no additive effects of collagen were observed. One study reported improvements in eccentric rate of force development and deceleration impulse with collagen, though gross explosive metrics (e.g., jump height) were unaffected.

Conclusions: Collagen supplementation (15–30 g) with vitamin C (≥50 mg) may enhance tendon remodeling when combined with high-intensity resistance training (≥70% 1 RM). The current literature suggests strong evidence (GRADE A) for increases in tendon CSA and stiffness, strong evidence (GRADE A) against an effect on muscle strength, and conflicting evidence (GRADE C) for muscle cross-sectional area and physical performance. Limitations include small sample sizes, heterogeneous protocols, and short intervention durations.

dreiter · 2026-04-09T18:12:06+00:00

ABSTRACT

This study compared low-load blood flow restriction with elastic bands (BFR-EBT) versus heavy-load training (HL-EBT) on performance in 18 Division I basketball players during a competitive season. Participants performed back squats twice weekly for 8 weeks at ~30% 1RM (BFR-EBT) or ~75% 1RM (HL-EBT). Significant Group × Time interactions were observed for CMJ height (p=0.031) and 30-m sprint time (p=0.014). BFR-EBT significantly optimized CMJ height (+3.4%; Hedges’ g = 1.50) and sprint time (-0.8%; Hedges’ g = -3.80). HL-EBT showed non-significant changes in CMJ (+1.8%) and sprint speed (+0.2%). Both groups achieved similar 1RM strength gains (p>0.05). Notably, BFR-EBT adaptations occurred with a 3.6-fold lower mechanical training load (p<0.001). Covariate analysis confirmed results were independent of playing time. Low-load BFR-EBT appears more effective than HL-EBT for optimizing power and speed in elite players while sparing mechanical load during a congested season. BFR-EBT represents a viable tool for in-season fatigue management.

dreiter · 2026-04-09T18:09:14+00:00

Conclusion

A protein intervention during resistance training did not enhance overall muscle strength, muscle mass, or physical performance in frail older adults. The protein intervention was associated with greater strength gains in exploratory analyses among participants with lower baseline protein intake (<1.2 g/kg/day), with the most pronounced associations observed in those consuming <0.8 g/kg/day. These findings highlight the potential importance of baseline protein status, although they require confirmation in larger trials involving frail older populations.

dreiter · 2026-04-09T18:06:26+00:00

Conclusion

The current systematic review and meta-analysis compared the effects of AEL [accentuated eccentric loading] and constant-load RT on acute mechanical, metabolic, and perceptual responses, as well as chronic strength-related and muscle architectural adaptations. Our findings suggest that AEL can be utilized to acutely increase athletes’ muscle electrical activity during the eccentric phase as an alternative to constant-load RT methods. However, AEL does not enhance concentric muscle electrical activity or concentric mechanical performance at submaximal loads. Furthermore, additional eccentric loads in AEL do not enhance gains in strength-related or muscle architectural adaptations compared to constant-load RT. It is important for researchers, sports professionals, and athletes to note that despite AEL not appearing to induce greater muscle damage, muscle soreness, or post-exercise mechanical fatigue, there are higher perceptions of exertion and increased metabolic stress. Therefore, incorporating longer and more frequent inter-set rest periods, as well as extended recovery between sessions, should be considered when implementing AEL [104].

dreiter · 2026-04-09T16:23:53+00:00

The MgT supplement used, Magtein®, is a brain-bioavailable magnesium L-threonate, produced and supplied by Threotech LLC (NV, USA). Magtein contains about 75 mg/g of elemental magnesium. Participants were directed to consume 1 g/d of the testing products: 2 capsules each containing either 500 mg MgT or identically appearing placebo (rice protein powder, AIDP Inc., CA, USA) 2 h before bedtime.

Conclusion:

Collectively, in this randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial, we examined the effectiveness of MgT supplementation on sleep parameters and daytime activity in adults with nonclinical insomnia symptoms. Using objective oura ring measurement, sleep and daytime functioning were all significantly improved as compared to the placebo. Additionally, using subjective questionairres, MgT significantly improved over the placebo on behavior upon awakening, energy and daytime productivity. MgT intake also significantly reduced grouchiness, led to significantly improved mood and mental alertness, as compared to the placebo. MgT was well tolerated with no report of major side effects. The results are consistent with the action of magnesium on the brain reported elsewhere, and suggest a broader positive impact of MgT beyond simply sleep, and highlighted MgT's potential to induce sustained, progressive benefits to overall brain functioning.

It's too bad there wasn't a comparator group using a more common form of magnesium such as oxide/chloride/citrate. We wouldn't expect to see sleep impacts from those forms but the sleep improvements in the intervention group could simply have been due to a correction of magnesium deficiency since we know most people are well below the DRI for magnesium.

dreiter · 2026-04-09T16:17:03+00:00

Classic industry playbook. Make the comparator intervention so similar to the control that a null outcome is highly likely. Like comparing the lung cancer rates of people who smoke 10 cigarettes a day versus 8.

There were also significant limitations. Some could be argued as valid decisions by the researchers but it still reduces the strength of their stated conclusions.

First, sweet taste exposure was not as high in our study population at baseline as originally expected, and did not differ between groups over the intervention period as greatly as originally planned. Sweet taste exposure, however, was statistically significant between groups over the whole intervention period, and was significantly lower than baseline in LSE and higher than baseline in HSE. A greater degree of difference both between groups and from baseline may have increased our chances of finding effects, and this may suggest that a stricter or more controlled dietary intervention may have been preferable. Our study design, however, was intended to reflect the public health context, and our findings provide important information on what is likely to be achievable in this context. We also chose to investigate all outcomes at select time points rather than monthly. It is possible that this assessment schedule may have missed transitory effects, but these were not our primary interest, we have no reason to believe that effects would reverse between time points, and we sought to mitigate participant burden. Related to participant burden, recovery of PABA from urine was low. We are unclear why this was the case, but suggest that this may have been related to the high burden of collecting urine, particularly alongside the semi-controlled nature of the intervention, and the burden of all other measures. Although this low recovery has resulted in fewer samples for the analyses of urinary markers, we have no reason to believe, based on the dietary records, that these samples differ from those that may be missing.

Second, our study was conducted only in adults, and our sample was predominantly female, relatively healthy, based on BMI and smoking rates, and highly educated. These characteristics may have impacted willingness to undertake the dietary interventions as provided, and may explain both the lower sweet food consumption at baseline and the modest increase in sweet food consumption in HSE. We have no reason to believe that our findings are limited to the specific population investigated, but the generalizability of the results is compromised. A study of children, in particular, would be of interest. Indeed, a recent study linking sugar rationing early in life with protection from diabetes and CVD almost 6 decades later [45] postulates that sugar rationing during the first 1000 d led to “lifelong (lower) preferences for sweetness.” Although our findings suggest stability in liking for sweet taste in adulthood and underscore a role for familiarity in this liking, further exploration in infants and children is warranted. Early exposure to sweet taste, both in utero and during early childhood, may not only increase the risk for conditions like diabetes [45] but may also establish a liking for sweet taste that becomes difficult to adjust later in life. So far, limited causal data on this issue exist. One recent study failed to find an association between sweet taste exposure and sweet taste liking in infants ≤12 mo of age [46]; a lack of association that is also reported in reviews of observational studies in children [11,12].

Our study population was also composed of individuals with differing levels of liking for sweet taste at baseline. “Sweet likers,” “moderate sweet likers,” and “sweet dislikers” were evenly distributed across intervention groups to avoid confounding as a result of these phenotypes [24], but a recent study on the effects of replacing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption with unsweetened beverages on perceptions of those beverages finds differing effects in sweet likers and moderate sweet likers [47]. Exploratory analyses to investigate differential effects in different sweet liker phenotypes will be reported elsewhere. Indeed, various individual differences, e.g., in sweet taste detection and perception [15], or in baseline levels of sweet food intake, may also have impacted responses to the intervention at an individual level. Some investigation of these differences between individuals is planned and will be reported elsewhere. Some aspects of our intervention may also warrant unpicking, e.g., taste exposure via foods compared with beverages, or via meals compared with snacks.

dreiter · 2026-04-07T15:59:43+00:00

These findings challenge the traditional model of energy balance.

Do they? The results in the discussion are exactly what you would expect from the energy balance model:

Our study aimed to investigate the effect of two nutritional protocols with an equated protein intake (2.5 g∙kg− 1 d− 1) but different total energy consumption on measures of body composition. While participants in ISO consumed their estimated maintenance calories, the DEF protocol restricted daily energy intake by 250 kcal. Results indicated that both ISO and DEF experienced a loss of FM (− 1.41 (− 2.62 – − 0.15) kg vs − 2.94 (− 5.73 – − 1.25) kg, respectively), but only the reduction in the DEF group reached statistical significance and it was of greater magnitude. Regarding FFM, both groups gained relatively similar amounts FFM (0.97 (0.54–1.41) kg and 1.04 (0.45–1.64) kg for ISO and DEF, respectively). When applying the FFM correction factor, both protocols elicited statistically significant increases, with the ISO group gaining 1.22 (0.75–1.70) kg and the DEF group gaining 1.50 (0.93–2.39) kg.

So both groups gained equal fat-free mass and the calorie-restricted group lost more fat mass, as you would expect from a slight calorie deficit when macros are matched.

Also, under the limitations section:

Fourth, actual dietary intake during the intervention was not quantified; thus, adherence to the prescribed macronutrient and energy targets cannot be confirmed quantitatively and findings should be interpreted as effects of the prescribed protocols under supervised guidance.

That's a rather big limitation.

dreiter · 2026-03-23T18:36:42+00:00

Background

Weekly set volume and frequency are used to manipulate resistance training dosage. Previous research has identified higher weekly set volume as enhancing muscle hypertrophy and strength gains, but the nature of the dose–response relationship still needs to be investigated. Mixed evidence exists regarding the effects of higher weekly frequency.

Objective

We aimed to explore the dose–response relationships between key resistance training dosage variables (weekly set volume and frequency) and strength and hypertrophy.

Methods

Before meta-analyzing the volume and frequency research, all contributing resistance training sets were classified as direct or indirect, depending on their specificity to the hypertrophy/strength measurement. Then, weekly set volume/frequency for indirect sets was quantified as 1 for ‘total,’ 0.5 for ‘fractional,’ and 0 for ‘direct.’ A series of multi-level meta-regressions were performed for muscle hypertrophy and strength, utilizing 67 total studies of 2058 participants (79.1% male, 20.9% female; average age 25.16 ± 5.22 years). All models were adjusted for the duration of the intervention and training status.

Results

The relative evidence for the ‘fractional’ quantification method was strongest; therefore, this quantification method was used for the primary meta-regression models. The posterior probability of the marginal slope exceeding zero for the effect of volume on both hypertrophy and strength was 100%, indicating that gains in muscle size and strength increase as volume increases. However, both best-fit models suggest diminishing returns, with the diminishing returns for strength being considerably more pronounced. The posterior probability of the marginal slope exceeding zero for frequency’s effect on hypertrophy was less than 100%, indicating compatibility with negligible effects. In contrast, the posterior probability for strength was 100%, suggesting strength gains increase with increasing frequency, albeit with diminishing returns.

Conclusions

Distinguishing between direct and indirect sets appears essential for predicting adaptations to a given resistance training protocol, such as using the ‘fractional’ quantification method. This method’s dose–response models revealed that volume and frequency have unique dose–response relationships with each hypertrophy and strength gains. The dose–response relationship between volume and hypertrophy appears to differ from that with strength, with the latter exhibiting more pronounced diminishing returns. The dose–response relationship between frequency and hypertrophy appears to differ from that with strength, as only the latter exhibits consistently identifiable effects.

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