Symptom Free: Will the Law Strike a Knockout Blow on Concussion in Rugby

As the Six Nations rugby tournament approaches its half way stage, the usual media chatter on who might win go on to win the championship has been substituted by concern over a number of high profile, concussion-related injuries.

Increasing fruit and vegetable intake has no effect on retinal vessel caliber in adults at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Retinal vessel abnormalities are associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. To date, there are no trials investigating the effect of dietary factors on the retinal microvasculature. This study examined the dose response effect of fruit and vegetable (FV) intake on retinal vessel caliber in overweight adults at high CVD risk.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Following a 4 week washout period, participants were randomized to consume either 2 or 4 or 7 portions of FV daily for 12 weeks. Retinal vessel caliber was measured at baseline and post-intervention. A total of 62 participants completed the study. Self-reported FV intake indicated good compliance with the intervention, with serum concentrations of zeaxanthin and lutein increasing significantly across the groups in a dose-dependent manner (P for trend < 0.05). There were no significant changes in body composition, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure or fasting blood lipid profiles in response to the FV intervention. Increasing age was a significant determinant of wider retinal venules (P = 0.004) whereas baseline systolic blood pressure was a significant determinant of narrower retinal arterioles (P = 0.03). Overall, there was no evidence of any short-term dose-response effect of FV intake on retinal vessel caliber (CRAE (P = 0.92) or CRVE (P = 0.42)).

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated no effect of increasing FV intake on retinal vessel caliber in overweight adults at high risk of developing primary CVD.

Autonomous COLREGs Compliant Ship Navigation, Using BridgeSimulators and an Unmanned Vessel

This paper presents an approach to COLREGs compliant ship navigation. A system architecture is proposed, which will be implemented and tested on two platforms: networked bridge simulators and at sea trials using an autonomous unmanned surface vessel. Attention is paid to collision avoidance software and its risk mitigation.

Charter vessel licenses

Each year the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources publishes a summary of the laws and regulations of commercial fishing in the state. This publication provides the license requirements, definitions, restrictions, and laws and regulations for the licensing of charter boats.

Genesis of the brecciated rocks from mid atlantic ridge hydrothermal systems : Lucky Strike (37º50’N) and Menez Gwen (37º50’N)

Tese de doutoramento, Geologia (Metalogenia), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2014

Winston Churchill and the General Strike

Exploring the myths and legends which surround Churchill's role in the 1926 General Strike this places his involvement in the events of that year within the context of his views of sympathy strikes from before the Great War. The continuing importance of these views is shown to explain the marked contrasts between Churchill's approach to the General Strike in May 1926 and his efforts to find a way to resolve the coal dispute which dragged on throughout the year.

Liprin (beta)1 is highly expressed in lymphatic vasculature and is important for lymphatic vessel integrity.

The lymphatic vasculature is important for the regulation of tissue fluid homeostasis, immune response, and lipid absorption, and the development of in vitro models should allow for a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating lymphatic vascular growth, repair, and function. Here we report isolation and characterization of lymphatic endothelial cells from human intestine and show that intestinal lymphatic endothelial cells have a related but distinct gene expression profile from human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells. Furthermore, we identify liprin beta1, a member of the family of LAR transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase-interacting proteins, as highly expressed in intestinal lymphatic endothelial cells in vitro and lymphatic vasculature in vivo, and show that it plays an important role in the maintenance of lymphatic vessel integrity in Xenopus tadpoles.

Utilisation de la coronarographie en Suisse: une étude de population. [The use of coronary vessel radiography in Switzerland: a population study].

All patients having undergone a coronarography during 1984 have been surveyed in Switzerland. This retrospective study has used existing data in the 13 centers practicing this diagnostic procedure. 4921 coronarographies were carried out in 1984, amongst 4359 patients. In terms of population-based rates, the national figures are 77 procedures/100,000 residents, and 68 patients/100,000 residents. Female rates are one fourth of the male rates (27/100,000 versus 112/100,000). For both sexes, the highest utilization rates are for the age groups 60-64. Swiss figures are relatively low when compared with other developed countries. However, patterns of utilization are very different within the country: according to the Canton of residence of the patient, the utilization rates (standardized for age and sex) vary from 8/100,000 to 160/100,000. There is a distinct gradient from south-west to north-east, which closely corresponds to the distribution of centers practicing the procedure. More intriguing is the fact that cardiovascular mortality shows an inverse geographical gradient, with the highest mortality in Cantons having the lowest rate of coronarography. Various reasons for the observed variations are discussed, in relation with differences in supply of diagnostic and therapeutic equipments, but also in relation with various patterns of demand related to differential morbidity rates and/or differential patterns of clinical decision.