Caffeine ingestion does not alter performance during a 100-km cycling time-trial performance

This study analyzed the effect of caffeine ingestion on performance during a repeated-measures, 100-km, laboratory cycling time trial that included bouts of 1- and 4-km high intensity epochs (HIE). Eight highly trained cyclists participated in 3 separate trials - placebo ingestion before exercise with a placebo carbohydrate solution and placebo tablets during exercise (Pl), or placebo ingestion before exercise with a 7% carbohydrate drink and placebo tablets during exercise (Cho), or caffeine tablet ingestion before and during exercise with 7% carbohydrate (Caf). Placebo (twice) or 6 mg · kg-1 caffeine was ingested 60 min prior to starting 1 of the 3 cycling trials, during which subjects ingested either additional placebos or a caffeine maintenance dose of 0.33 mg · kg-1 every 15 min to trial completion. The 100-km time trial consisted of five 1-km HIE after 10, 32, 52, 72, and 99 km, as well as four 4-km HIE after 20, 40, 60, and 80 km. Subjects were instructed to complete the time trial and all HIE as fast as possible. Plasma (caffeine) was significantly higher during Caf (0.43 ± 0.56 and 1.11 ± 1.78 mM pre vs. post Pl; and 47.32 ± 12.01 and 72.43 ± 29.08 mM pre vs. post Caf). Average power, HIE time to completion, and 100-km time to completion were not different between trials. Mean heart rates during both the 1-km HIE (184.0 ± 9.8 Caf; 177.0 ± 5.8 Pl; 177.4 ± 8.9 Cho) and 4-km HIE (181.7 ± 5.7 Caf; 174.3 ± 7.2 Pl; 175.6 ± 7.6 Cho;p less than .05) was higher in Caf than in the other groups. No significant differences were found between groups for either EMG amplitude (IEMG) or mean power frequency spectrum (MPFS). IEMG activity and performance were not different between groups but were both higher in the 1-km HIE, indicating the absence of peripheral fatigue and the presence of a centrally-regulated pacing strategy that is not altered by caffeine ingestion. Caffeine may be without ergogenic benefit during endurance exercise in which the athlete begins exercise with a defined, predetermined goal measured as speed or distance

Expression of the HPV16E7 Oncoprotein by Thymic Epithelium is Accompanied by Disrupted T Cell Maturation and a Failure of the Thymus to Involute with Age

Transgenic mice expressing the E7 protein of HPV16 from the keratin 14 promoter demonstrate increasing thymic hypertrophy with age. This hypertrophy is associated with increased absolute numbers of all thymocyte types, and with increased cortical and medullary cellularity. In the thymic medulla, increased compartmentalization of the major thymic stromal cell types and expansion of thymic epithelial cell population is observed. Neither an increased rate of immature thymocyte division nor a decreased rate of immature thymocyte death was able to account for the observed hypertrophy

The oral microbiome of denture wearers is influenced by natural dentition

Objectives: The composition of dental plaque has been well defined, whereas currently there is limited understanding of the composition of denture plaque and how it directly influences denture related stomatitis (DS). The aims of this study were to compare the microbiomes of denture wearers, and to understand the implications of these towards inter-kingdom and host-pathogen interactions within the oral cavity. Methods: Swab samples were obtained from 123 participants wearing either a complete or partial denture; the bacterial composition of each sample was determined using bar-coded illumina MiSeq sequencing of the bacterial hypervariable V4 region of 16S rDNA. Sequencing data processing was undertaken using QIIME, clustered in Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) and assigned to taxonomy. The dentures were sonicated to remove the microbial flora residing on the prosthesis, sonicate was then cultured using diagnostic colorex Candida media. Samples of unstimulated saliva were obtained and antimicrobial peptides (AMP) levels were measured by ELISA. Results: We have shown that dental and denture plaques are significantly distinct both in composition and diversity and that the oral microbiome composition of a denture wearer is variable and is influenced by the location within the mouth. Dentures and mucosa were predominantly made up of Bacilli and Actinobacteria. Moreover, the presence of natural teeth has a significant impact on the overall microbial composition, when compared to the fully edentulous. Furthermore, increasing levels of Candida spp. positively correlate with Lactobacillus spp. AMPs were quantified, though showed no specific correlations. Conclusions: This is the first study to provide a detailed understanding of the oral microbiome of denture wearers and has provided evidence that DS development is more complex than simply a candidal infection. Both fungal and bacterial kingdoms clearly play a role in defining the progression of DS, though we were unable to show a defined role for AMPs

Charged Chiral Fermions from M5-Branes

We study M5-branes wrapped on a multi-centred Taub-NUT space. Reducing to String Theory on the circle fibration leads to D4-branes intersecting with D6-branes. D-braneology shows that there are additional charged chiral fermions from the open strings which stretch between the D4-branes and D6-branes. From the M-theory point of view the appearance of these charged states is mysterious as the M5-branes are wrapped on a smooth manifold. In this paper we show how these states arise in the M5-brane worldvolume theory and argue that are governed by a WZWN-like model where the topological term is five-dimensional.Comment: A reference to an equation number was correcte

Boundary Conditions for Interacting Membranes

We investigate supersymmetric boundary conditions in both the Bagger-Lambert and the ABJM theories of interacting membranes. We find boundary conditions associated to the fivebrane, the ninebrane and the M-theory wave. For the ABJM theory we are able to understand the enhancement of supersymmetry to produce the (4,4) supersymmetry of the self-dual string. We also include supersymmetric boundary conditions on the gauge fields that cancel the classical gauge anomaly of the Chern-Simons terms.Comment: 36 pages, latex, v2 minor typos correcte

1966

Proper Watering by Earl P. Grey (page 1) Soil Structure and Plant Feeding for Trees and Shrubs on the Golf Course by William Teece (2) Power Golf Carts: A Blessing or a Curse by David Dunlavey (3) A Comparison by Paul White (3) Trees on a Golf Course by Oliver Leech (5) Turf Management Majors Want a Golf Team by Richard Rossiter (6) Class Will of \u2766 (7)Famous Last Words from 1966 (8) Turf Heating with Electric Cables by J.R. Barrett, Jr. and W.H. Daniel (A-1) Poa Annua Restriction by C. F. Kerr and W.H. Daniel (A-9) Phosphorus by Marvin H. Ferguson (A-14) Role of Potassium in Turf Grass management by R. E. Wagner (A-16) Role of Minor Elements in Turfgrass Management by Alexander Radko (A-22) Rhizoctonia Brown patch and Pythium Diseas by Malcolm C. Shurtleff (A-27) Sclerotinia Dollar Spot and Snow Mold by Noel Jackson (A-32) Fusarium Blight - Disease of Turf Grasses by George A. Bean (A-35) Observing the Weather - Old and New Techniques by Robert C. Copeland (A-39) Water Supply by Allan Grieve Jr. (A-41) Establishment and Maintenance of Campus Turf by William A. Lambert (A-51) Athletic Field Management by J. T. Williams (A-56

Rationale and recommendations on decolonising the pedagogy and curriculum of the Law School at the University of Exeter

This report outlines the rationale behind and recommendations on the steps that need to be taken towards decolonising the Law School's pedagogy and curriculum. The reason is that we see decolonisation as not something that can be achieved but as an ongoing process. It concludes a two-year process of research and discussions involving a joint effort between staff and students. A rationale for a change in approach to both pedagogy and curriculum is presented together with recommendations and practical examples of how this might be achieved in modular teaching in the Law School

Ablative therapy for people with localised prostate cancer : a systematic review and economic evaluation

The research reported in this issue of the journal was funded by the HTA programme as project number 10/136/01. The contractual start date was in April 2012. The draft report began editorial review in October 2013 and was accepted for publication in April 2014. The authors have been wholly responsible for all data collection, analysis and interpretation, and for writing up their work. The HTA editors and publisher have tried to ensure the accuracy of the authors’ report and would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments on the draft document. However, they do not accept liability for damages or losses arising from material published in this report. Acknowledgements We thank l the people recruited from the local UCAN for providing valuable consumer insight and advice through their participation as members of the project focus group: - Mark Emberton (Professor of Interventional Oncology), Damian Greene (consultant urologist), Axel Heidenreich (Professor and Director of Department of Urology), Christoph von Klot (specialist in brachytherapy), Roger Kockelbergh (BAUS chairman and Clinical Director of Urology) and Axel Merserburger (Deputy Clinical Director of Urology and Urologic Oncology) for providing their clinical expertise as members of the project advisory group - Edgar Paez (consultant urologist) and Gill Lawrence (Head of Radiotherapy Physics) for providing a list of staff time by grade and specialty involved in EBRT - Debbie Bennett (Radiotherapy Service Manager) for providing estimates for the expected number of uses for EBRT - Ian Pedley (clinical director/clinical oncologist) and Gill Lawrence for providing a list of all resource inputs relevant to brachytherapy - Steve Locks (Consultant Clinical Scientist in Radiotherapy) for providing a list of reusable equipment and consumables used during brachytherapy, along with their unit costs - Sue Asterling (urology research nurse) and Mark Kelly (Acting Divisional General Manager – Theatres) for providing a list of all resource inputs relevant to cryotherapy - Lara Kemp for providing secretarial support. The Health Services Research Unit is core funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty