Tattoos among professional football players in the 2018-2019 Spanish La Liga season

Introduction: Data regarding tattoos among football players are limited. We investigated the prevalence and characteristics of tattoos among elite players over a full season in the Spanish La Liga. We assessed whether tattoos had any impact on the performance and behavior of players and teams on the pitch. Materials and methods: Demographic (age, geographic origin, position), performance (goal-scoring) and disciplinary data (yellow/red cards received) for 476 players and overall team statistics over the 2018-2019 season were analyzed according to the presence of visible tattoos (head and neck, upper arms, lower limbs) for each player. Results: Of the 472 players analyzed, 160 (36%) had visible tattoos (upper limbs, 99%; lower limbs, 18.5%; head and neck, 12%), most of which were in black ink (83%). Players from South and Central America had the highest prevalence of visible tattoos (50%) and significantly more head and neck tattoos than Europeans (19% vs. 10% P = 0.02). Tattoos were not significantly related to players' age or position. The mean number of goals scored was higher in the tattooed player group (2.7 +/- 4.6 goals vs. 1.9 +/- 3.3; P = 0.013). There was a correlation between having tattoos and number of goals (Spearman rho 0.103, P = 0.034). Tattooed players were more likely to have received >= 1 yellow card (91% vs. 83.5%, P = 0.03). There was no difference regarding red cards received (15 vs. 14%, P > 0.05). The mean number of yellow cards was higher among players with tattoos than those without (4.4 +/- 3.2 vs. 3.6 +/- 3.2; P = 0.01). However, the proportion of tattooed players in a team did not influence the overall team outcomes. The results were no longer significant when we included only players taking part in at least in 22 matches. Conclusion: Among footballers in La Liga, 36% had visible tattoos, with individual variations attributable to differences in geographic, social, cultural and religious background. Having tattoos was associated with certain aspects of individual performance and discipline. The question whether this factor should be taken into consideration by players' agents and team managers remains open. (c) 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Lymphangiogenesis Linked to VEGF-C from Tumor-Associated Macrophages: Accomplices to Metastasis by Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma?

During wound healing, dermal macrophages secrete lymphangiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C, and lymphatic vessels transport cytokines and cells to draining lymph nodes. In this issue, Moussai et al. show that macrophages in peritumoral nonlesional skin near squamous cell carcinoma secrete prolymphangiogenic VEGF-C. Their study suggests how tumor-associated macrophages and neolymphatic vessels may coordinate metastasis starting early in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Crisis management during anaesthesia: water intoxication

© 2005 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.Background: Irrigation of closed body spaces may lead to substantial perioperative fluid and electrolyte shifts. A syndrome occurring during transurethral resection of prostate (TURP), and a similar syndrome described in women undergoing transcervical endometrial ablation (TCEA) are both characterised by a spectrum of symptoms which may range from asymptomatic hyponatraemia to convulsions, coma, and death. Such potentially serious consequences require prompt recognition and appropriate management of this "water intoxication" syndrome. Objectives: To examine the role of a previously described core algorithm "COVER ABCD–A SWIFT CHECK", supplemented by a specific sub-algorithm for water intoxication, in the management of this syndrome occurring in association with anaesthesia. Methods: The potential performance of this structured approach for each of the relevant incidents among the first 4000 reported to the Australian Incident Monitoring Study (AIMS) was compared with the actual management as reported by the anaesthetists involved. Results: From the first 4000 incidents reported to AIMS, 10 reports of water intoxication were identified, two from endometrial ablations under general anaesthesia and eight from male urological procedures under spinal anaesthesia. The "core" crisis management algorithm detected a problem in seven cases; however, it was deficient in dealing with neurological presentations. Diagnosis of the cause of the incident would have required a specific water intoxication sub-algorithm in eight cases and a hypotension algorithm in a further two cases. Corrective strategies also required a specific sub-algorithm in eight cases, while the hypotension and cardiac arrest sub-algorithms were required in conjunction with the water intoxication sub-algorithm in the remaining two.M T Kluger, S M Szekely, R J Singleton, S C Help

Vacuum polarization and plasma oscillations

We evidence the existence of plasma oscillations of electrons-positron pairs created by the vacuum polarization in an uniform electric field with E < Ec. Our general treatment, encompassing also the traditional, well studied case of E > Ec, shows the existence in both cases of a maximum Lorentz factor acquired by electrons and positrons and allows determination of the a maximal length of oscillation. We quantitatively estimate how plasma oscillations reduce the rate of pair creation and increase the time scale of the pair production. These results are particularly relevant in view of the experimental progress in approaching the field strengths E < Ec.Comment: to appear in Phys. Lett.

Pair creation: back-reactions and damping

We solve the quantum Vlasov equation for fermions and bosons, incorporating spontaneous pair creation in the presence of back-reactions and collisions. Pair creation is initiated by an external impulse field and the source term is non-Markovian. A simultaneous solution of Maxwell's equation in the presence of feedback yields an internal current and electric field that exhibit plasma oscillations with a period tau_pl. Allowing for collisions, these oscillations are damped on a time-scale, tau_r, determined by the collision frequency. Plasma oscillations cannot affect the early stages of the formation of a quark-gluon plasma unless tau_r >> tau_pl and tau_pl approx. 1/Lambda_QCD approx 1 fm/c.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure, REVTEX, epsfig.st

Dileptons from Disoriented Chiral Condensates

Disoriented chiral condensates or long wavelength pionic oscillations and their interaction with the thermal environment can be a significant source of dileptons. We calculate the yield of such dilepton production within the linear sigma model, both in a quantal mean-field treatment and in a semi-classical approximation. We then illustrate the basic features of the dilepton spectrum in a schematic model. We find that dilepton yield with invariant mass near and below $2m_{\pi}$ due to the soft pion modes can be up to two orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding equilibrium yield.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, uses epsf-styl