Kiwi forego vison in the guidance of their nocturnal activities

We propose that the Kiwi visual system has undergone adaptive regression evolution driven by the trade-off between the relatively low rate of gain of visual information that is possible at low light levels, and the metabolic costs of extracting that information

High Dietary Fat Intake is not Associated with High Levels of Circulating Lipoproteins or Total Cholesterol

The objective of this study was to determine the association between dietary intake of fats, waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI), and blood lipoproteins and total cholesterol (TC) using food frequency data in one group of apparently healthy, urban African American women and their daughters (n = 110). Subjects were fasted when blood was drawn, waist and hip circumferences and body weight and height were measured, and WHR and BMI were calculated. Average daily total fat intakes were 91.46 g and 77.83 g for mothers and daughters, respectively, but average LDL levels of 104.4 g/L and 103.1 g/L were low compared to the NIH cutoff point for normal LDL of less than 130 g/L. The data support the recent findings that race may exert an independent effect on the relationship between high dietary fat intakes and blood lipid values in that high dietary fat intakes were not significantly correlated with high levels of circulating lipids for these relatively young African American females

The impact of engagement in sport on graduate employability: implications for higher education policy and practice

This paper analyses the impact of engagement in sport on graduate employability using a triangulation of views from three key stakeholder groups. Primary research was conducted with 5,838 graduates, 112 employers and 13 university senior executives as part of a mixed methods approach. The research found that engagement in sport was viewed as a sound investment from the perspectives of all three groups, with examples highlighting how sport provided 'added value' beyond subject-specific qualifications. This finding was particularly prominent where graduates demonstrated experience of voluntary roles through the leadership and management of sport, and could articulate how this had a positive impact on the development of additional employability attributes. We argue that there are important implications for Higher Education policy, sports policy, universities, employers and students. For students, employability can be enhanced through participation and volunteering in sport, which is shown to be a good investment in terms of both skill development and future earnings. For employers, when recruiting graduates, a history of sport participation (inclusive of voluntary experience) may be a good indicator of candidates with desirable traits for employment. For universities, meeting their customers' demand for sport with sufficient supply through strategic investment is an important consideration of their offer

Will the NHS continue to function in an influenza pandemic? A survey of healthcare workers in the West Midlands, UK

If UK healthcare services are to respond effectively to pandemic influenza, levels of absenteeism amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) must be minimised. Current estimates of the likelihood that HCWs will continue to attend work during a pandemic are subject to scientific and predictive uncertainty, yet an informed evidence base is needed if contingency plans addressing the issues of HCW absenteeism are to be prepared