T2 Relaxation Time in Men and Women Following Eccentric Elbow Flexor Exercise

Previous research suggests that estrogen exhibits a protective effect on skeletal muscle and may help curb the effects of induced damage. Eccentric (ECC) exercise has been shown to provide the greatest levels of exercise induced muscle damage (EIMD) and with indirect markers of muscle damage including decreases in strength, increased inflammation, and higher magnitudes of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Studies have shown that elevations of the T2 relaxation times of activated muscles coincide with these other indirect measures of muscle damage. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a high intensity ECC elbow flexor exercise in both a group of males and females on T2 relaxation time and coinciding indirect measures of muscle damage to determine if sex provided any differences in results. No significant differences were found in T2 times within or between groups in the 3 regions of interest except for the brachialis measures in the female group (81.9% increase) and average measures of the male group (38.6% increase) from baseline to 72 hours post protocol. These findings coincided with no significant relative differences in cross-sectional area (CSA) (14.5%; 32.6%), strength (-33.6%; -15.2%), or pain measures in males and females respectively from baseline to 72 hours post protocol. The main finding of this study was that following high intensity ECC exercise, estrogen did not provide evidence of a protective effect on skeletal muscle. T2 relaxation time may not be an adequate direct measure of muscle damage. The size of the groups in this study, especially the females, could potentially have resulted in low statistical power therefore affecting the significance of the results

The Resource Amendment (Section 92A) and the Political Economy of Canadian Federalism

The 1982 resource amendment to the Constitution, section 92A, purports to alter the balance of federal-provincial legislative powers in relation to natural resources. Section 92A was enacted into the Constitution largely as a result of the federal-provincial resource conflicts of the 1970\u27s and early 1980\u27s; conflicts in which the chief antagonists were the federal government and the governments of the Western provinces. In this article, the authors discuss the development of section 92A from its roots in the conflicts of the 1970\u27s, and explore section 92A\u27s possible legal, political and economic effects on the inter-governmental framework for managing Canadian resources and on the resolution of any future federal-provincial conflicts over resources

Constitutional Change and the Private Sector: The Case of the Resource Amendment

The 1982 resource amendment to the Constitution, section 92A, has been analysed primarily from the perspective of its impact on intergovernmental relations in the formation of resource policies Yet the fundamental, constitutional \u27rules of the game\u27 may also affect the ongoing relationship between governments and private-sector resource participants In this article, the authors discuss how section 92A might affect that relationship in terms both of the policy-making process and of the substance of the resultant policie

The Resource Amendment (Section 92A) and the Political Economy of Canadian Federalism

The 1982 resource amendment to the Constitution, section 92A, purports to alter the balance of federal-provincial legislative powers in relation to natural resources. Section 92A was enacted into the Constitution largely as a result of the federal-provincial resource conflicts of the 1970\u27s and early 1980\u27s; conflicts in which the chief antagonists were the federal government and the governments of the Western provinces. In this article, the authors discuss the development of section 92A from its roots in the conflicts of the 1970\u27s, and explore section 92A\u27s possible legal, political and economic effects on the inter-governmental framework for managing Canadian resources and on the resolution of any future federal-provincial conflicts over resources

Trends in protected area representation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in five tropical countries

In late 2020, governments will set the next decade of conservation targets under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Setting new targets requires understanding how well national protected area (PA) networks are spatially representing important areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services. We analyzed the representation of biodiversity priority areas (BPAs), forests, forest carbon stocks, non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and freshwater ecosystem services (FES) within terrestrial PA systems in Cambodia, Guyana, Liberia, Madagascar, and Suriname in 2003 and 2017. Four of the countries (all except Suriname) expanded their terrestrial PA networks during the study period. In all five countries, we found that PAs represented BPAs, forests, and forest carbon stocks relatively well, based on their size. PAs did not represent NTFPs and FES particularly well, except in Cambodia where FES were well represented. Countries that expanded PA networks during the study period also increased representation of forests, BPAs, and ES; in Cambodia and Madagascar these increases were substantial. Representation could be improved across all five countries, however, indicating that additional efforts are needed to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem benefits to people in these countries

Constitutional Change and the Private Sector: The Case of the Resource Amendment

The 1982 resource amendment to the Constitution, section 92A, has been analysed primarily from the perspective of its impact on intergovernmental relations in the formation of resource policies Yet the fundamental, constitutional \u27rules of the game\u27 may also affect the ongoing relationship between governments and private-sector resource participants In this article, the authors discuss how section 92A might affect that relationship in terms both of the policy-making process and of the substance of the resultant policie

New data on the Early Villafranchian fauna from Vialette (Haute-Loire, France) based on the collection of the Crozatier Museum (Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire, France)

Vialette (3.14 Ma), like Senèze, Chilhac, Sainzelles, Ceyssaguet or Soleilhac, is one of the historical sites located in Haute-Loire (France). The lacustrine sediments of Vialette are the result of a dammed lake formed by a basalt flow above Oligocene layers, and show a geological setting typical for this area, where many localities are connected with maar structures that have allowed intra-crateric lacustrine deposits to accumulate. Based on previous studies and this work, a faunal list of 17 species of large mammals has been established. Eight species, typical of this time period and well known, occur in the collection of the Crozatier Museum of Le Puy-en-Velay: Pliocrocuta perrieri, Lynx issiodorensis, Mammut borsoni, Anancus arvernensis, Stephanorhinus jeanvireti, Tapirus arvernensis, ‘Cervus’ pardinensis and Croizetoceros ramosus. The presence of Gazella cf. G. borbonica is newly established, in addition to which the oldest known occurrences of Canis sp., cf. Eucladoceros sp. and of the genus Equus in Western Europe are also described. These are the new data which pushed back the age of the arrival of the genus Equus, cf. Eucladoceros and Canis in Western Europe. Five taxa are not found in the Crozatier collection: Primates indet., Agriotherium sp., Ursus gr. minimus-thibetanus, Bovidae middle-sized (?Pliotragus ardei or ?Gallogoral meneghinii), ?Procapreolus cf. cusanus

Post-anaesthesia pulmonary complications after use of muscle relaxants (POPULAR): a multicentre, prospective observational study

Background: Results from retrospective studies suggest that use of neuromuscular blocking agents during general anaesthesia might be linked to postoperative pulmonary complications. We therefore aimed to assess whether the use of neuromuscular blocking agents is associated with postoperative pulmonary complications. Methods: We did a multicentre, prospective observational cohort study. Patients were recruited from 211 hospitals in 28 European countries. We included patients (aged ≥18 years) who received general anaesthesia for any in-hospital procedure except cardiac surgery. Patient characteristics, surgical and anaesthetic details, and chart review at discharge were prospectively collected over 2 weeks. Additionally, each patient underwent postoperative physical examination within 3 days of surgery to check for adverse pulmonary events. The study outcome was the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications from the end of surgery up to postoperative day 28. Logistic regression analyses were adjusted for surgical factors and patients' preoperative physical status, providing adjusted odds ratios (ORadj) and adjusted absolute risk reduction (ARRadj). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01865513. Findings: Between June 16, 2014, and April 29, 2015, data from 22 803 patients were collected. The use of neuromuscular blocking agents was associated with an increased incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients who had undergone general anaesthesia (1658 [7·6%] of 21 694); ORadj 1·86, 95% CI 1·53–2·26; ARRadj −4·4%, 95% CI −5·5 to −3·2). Only 2·3% of high-risk surgical patients and those with adverse respiratory profiles were anaesthetised without neuromuscular blocking agents. The use of neuromuscular monitoring (ORadj 1·31, 95% CI 1·15–1·49; ARRadj −2·6%, 95% CI −3·9 to −1·4) and the administration of reversal agents (1·23, 1·07–1·41; −1·9%, −3·2 to −0·7) were not associated with a decreased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Neither the choice of sugammadex instead of neostigmine for reversal (ORadj 1·03, 95% CI 0·85–1·25; ARRadj −0·3%, 95% CI −2·4 to 1·5) nor extubation at a train-of-four ratio of 0·9 or more (1·03, 0·82–1·31; −0·4%, −3·5 to 2·2) was associated with better pulmonary outcomes. Interpretation: We showed that the use of neuromuscular blocking drugs in general anaesthesia is associated with an increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Anaesthetists must balance the potential benefits of neuromuscular blockade against the increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Funding: European Society of Anaesthesiology