International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: beta-alanine

Position statement: The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) provides an objective and critical review of the mechanisms and use of beta-alanine supplementation. Based on the current available literature, the conclusions of the ISSN are as follows: 1) Four weeks of beta-alanine supplementation (4–6 g daily) significantly augments muscle carnosine concentrations, thereby acting as an intracellular pH buffer; 2) Beta-alanine supplementation currently appears to be safe in healthy populations at recommended doses; 3) The only reported side effect is paraesthesia (tingling), but studies indicate this can be attenuated by using divided lower doses (1.6 g) or using a sustained-release formula; 4) Daily supplementation with 4 to 6 g of beta-alanine for at least 2 to 4 weeks has been shown to improve exercise performance, with more pronounced effects in open end-point tasks/time trials lasting 1 to 4 min in duration; 5) Beta-alanine attenuates neuromuscular fatigue, particularly in older subjects, and preliminary evidence indicates that beta-alanine may improve tactical performance; 6) Combining beta-alanine with other single or multi-ingredient supplements may be advantageous when supplementation of beta-alanine is high enough (4–6 g daily) and long enough (minimum 4 weeks); 7) More research is needed to determine the effects of beta-alanine on strength, endurance performance beyond 25 min in duration, and other health-related benefits associated with carnosine

Climatic and biotic influences on the distributions of Calliphora augur and Calliphora dubia (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Calliphora augur (Fabricius) and Calliphora dubia (Macquart) are two widespread and endemic Australian blowflies of applied importance. In order to better understand the biology of these species, this study used historical, field and laboratory data to determine and interpret their distributions. Locality records from insect collections and the literature were used to determine the known distributions of each species. The resultant maps were partially verified with field trapping data for each species. Calliphora augur was found to dominate in the east of Australia, while C. dubia dominates in the west. Comparative laboratory and field experiments were also used to derive parameters defining the distributions of these two closely related species, particularly in relation to temperature and moisture. Calliphora dubia had a greater tolerance for dry stress and high temperatures than C. augur, although maggots of both species displayed similar developmental temperature preferences. No difference was seen between species in the impact of low temperatures on the development of maggots through to the pupal stage. The greater ability of C. dubia to tolerate adverse environmental conditions is most likely linked to the shared evolutionary history of both species, in which increased aridity in central Australia is proposed to have triggered speciation by separating ancestral populations: C. dubia evolved in the hot, dry conditions in the west of Australia, while C. augur evolved in the cooler, moist environment of the east. Improved understanding of the influences on the distributions of these common Australian blowflies will assist in the further study of their application to agriculture and forensic science

Cluster randomized test-negative design (CR-TND) trials: a novel and efficient method to assess the efficacy of community level dengue interventions

Cluster randomized trials are the gold standard for assessing efficacy of community-level interventions, such as vector control strategies against dengue. We describe a novel cluster randomized trial methodology with a test-negative design, which offers advantages over traditional approaches. It utilizes outcome-based sampling of patients presenting with a syndrome consistent with the disease of interest, who are subsequently classified as test-positive cases or test-negative controls on the basis of diagnostic testing. We use simulations of a cluster trial to demonstrate validity of efficacy estimates under the test-negative approach. This demonstrates that, provided study arms are balanced for both test-negative and test-positive illness at baseline and that other test-negative design assumptions are met, the efficacy estimates closely match true efficacy. We also briefly discuss analytical considerations for an odds ratio-based effect estimate arising from clustered data, and outline potential approaches to analysis. We conclude that application of the test-negative design to certain cluster randomized trials could increase their efficiency and ease of implementation

Transient and Microscale Deformations and Strains Measured under Exogenous Loading by Noninvasive Magnetic Resonance

Characterization of spatiotemporal deformation dynamics and material properties requires non-destructive methods to visualize mechanics of materials and biological tissues. Displacement-encoded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a noninvasive and non-destructive technique used to quantify deformation and strains. However, the techniques are not yet applicable to a broad range of materials and load-bearing tissues. In this paper, we visualize transient and internal material deformation through the novel synchrony of external mechanical loading with rapid displacement-encoded MRI. We achieved deformation measurements in silicone gel materials with a spatial resolution of 100 µm and a temporal resolution (of 2.25 ms), set by the repetition time (TR) of the rapid MRI acquisition. Displacement and strain precisions after smoothing were 11 µm and 0.1%, respectively, approaching cellular length scales. Short (1/2 TR) echo times enabled visualization of in situ deformation in a human tibiofemoral joint, inclusive of multiple variable T2 biomaterials. Moreover, the MRI acquisitions achieved a fivefold improvement in imaging time over previous technology, setting the stage for mechanical imaging in vivo. Our results provide a general approach for noninvasive and non-destructive measurement, at high spatial and temporal resolution, of the dynamic mechanical response of a broad range of load-bearing materials and biological tissues

Patient acceptability of larval therapy for leg ulcer treatment: a randomised survey to inform the sample size calculation of a randomised trial

BACKGROUND: A trial was commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness of larval therapy to debride and heal sloughy and necrotic venous leg ulcers. Larval therapy in the trial was to be delivered in either loose or bagged form. Researchers were concerned that resistance to larval therapy may threaten the feasibility of the trial. Additionally there was concern that the use of larval therapy may require a larger effect size in time to healing than originally proposed by the investigators. METHODS: To formally evaluate patient preferences a survey using two randomly allocated, nurse administered questionnaires was undertaken. Patients were randomised to receive one of the two following questionnaires (i) preferences between loose larvae and standard treatment (hydrogel) or (ii) patient preferences between bagged larvae and standard therapy (hydrogel). The study was undertaken in a Vascular Clinic, in an Outpatients Department of a large teaching hospital in the North of England. The sample consisted of 35 people aged 18 years and above with at least one leg ulcer of venous or mixed (venous and arterial) aetiology. RESULTS: Approximately 25% of participants would not consider the use of larval therapy as an acceptable treatment option for leg ulcers, regardless of the method of containment. For the patients that would consider the use of larval therapy, different preferences in healing times required to use the therapy were observed depending upon the method of containment. The median response of those participants questioned about bagged larvae found that they would be willing to use this therapy even if they were equally able to achieve healing with the use of hydrogel by 20 weeks. For those participants questioned about the use of loose larvae complete healing would have to have taken place over 17 weeks for them to choose larvae as their preferred option rather than hydrogel. This difference was not significant (p = 0.075). CONCLUSION: We found no evidence of widespread resistance to the utilisation of larval therapy from patients regardless of the method of larval therapy containment. These methods have the potential to inform sample size calculations where there are concerns of patient acceptability

Disease prevention versus data privacy : using landcover maps to inform spatial epidemic models

The availability of epidemiological data in the early stages of an outbreak of an infectious disease is vital for modelers to make accurate predictions regarding the likely spread of disease and preferred intervention strategies. However, in some countries, the necessary demographic data are only available at an aggregate scale. We investigated the ability of models of livestock infectious diseases to predict epidemic spread and obtain optimal control policies in the event of imperfect, aggregated data. Taking a geographic information approach, we used land cover data to predict UK farm locations and investigated the influence of using these synthetic location data sets upon epidemiological predictions in the event of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. When broadly classified land cover data were used to create synthetic farm locations, model predictions deviated significantly from those simulated on true data. However, when more resolved subclass land use data were used, moderate to highly accurate predictions of epidemic size, duration and optimal vaccination and ring culling strategies were obtained. This suggests that a geographic information approach may be useful where individual farm-level data are not available, to allow predictive analyses to be carried out regarding the likely spread of disease. This method can also be used for contingency planning in collaboration with policy makers to determine preferred control strategies in the event of a future outbreak of infectious disease in livestock

Outdoor, Indoor, and Personal Exposure to VOCs in Children

We measured volatile organic compound (VOC) exposures in multiple locations for a diverse population of children who attended two inner-city schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fifteen common VOCs were measured at four locations: outdoors (O), indoors at school (S), indoors at home (H), and in personal samples (P). Concentrations of most VOCs followed the general pattern O ≈ S < P ≤ H across the measured microenvironments. The S and O environments had the smallest and H the largest influence on personal exposure to most compounds. A time-weighted model of P exposure using all measured microenvironments and time–activity data provided little additional explanatory power beyond that provided by using the H measurement alone. Although H and P concentrations of most VOCs measured in this study were similar to or lower than levels measured in recent personal monitoring studies of adults and children in the United States, p-dichlorobenzene was the notable exception to this pattern, with upper-bound exposures more than 100 times greater than those found in other studies of children. Median and upper-bound H and P exposures were well above health benchmarks for several compounds, so outdoor measurements likely underestimate long-term health risks from children’s exposure to these compounds

Using Simulation Models to Evaluate Ape Nest Survey Techniques

BACKGROUND: Conservationists frequently use nest count surveys to estimate great ape population densities, yet the accuracy and precision of the resulting estimates are difficult to assess. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used mathematical simulations to model nest building behavior in an orangutan population to compare the quality of the population size estimates produced by two of the commonly used nest count methods, the 'marked recount method' and the 'matrix method.' We found that when observers missed even small proportions of nests in the first survey, the marked recount method produced large overestimates of the population size. Regardless of observer reliability, the matrix method produced substantial overestimates of the population size when surveying effort was low. With high observer reliability, both methods required surveying approximately 0.26% of the study area (0.26 km(2) out of 100 km(2) in this simulation) to achieve an accurate estimate of population size; at or above this sampling effort both methods produced estimates within 33% of the true population size 50% of the time. Both methods showed diminishing returns at survey efforts above 0.26% of the study area. The use of published nest decay estimates derived from other sites resulted in widely varying population size estimates that spanned nearly an entire order of magnitude. The marked recount method proved much better at detecting population declines, detecting 5% declines nearly 80% of the time even in the first year of decline. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results highlight the fact that neither nest surveying method produces highly reliable population size estimates with any reasonable surveying effort, though either method could be used to obtain a gross population size estimate in an area. Conservation managers should determine if the quality of these estimates are worth the money and effort required to produce them, and should generally limit surveying effort to 0.26% of the study area, unless specific management goals require more intensive sampling. Using site- and time- specific nest decay rates (or the marked recount method) are essential for accurate population size estimation. Marked recount survey methods with sufficient sampling effort hold promise for detecting population declines