A history of concussions is associated with symptoms of common mental disorders in former male professional athletes across a range of sports

Objective: Recent reports suggest that exposure to repetitive concussions in sports is associated with an increased risk of symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression, sleep disturbance or substance abuse/dependence (typically referred as symptoms of common mental disorders[CMD]) and of later development of neurodegenerative disease, in particular chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between sports career-related concussions and the subsequent occurrence of symptoms of CMD among former male professional athletes retired from football (soccer), ice hockey and rugby (union). Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were performed on baseline electronic questionnaires from three prospective cohort studies among former male professional athletes retired from football (soccer), ice hockey and rugby (union). The number of confirmed concussions was examined through a single question, while symptoms of distress, anxiety and depression, sleep disturbance and adverse alcohol use were assessed using validated questionnaires. Results: From 1,957 former professional athletes contacted, a total of 576 (29%) completed the questionnaire. Of these, 23% had not incurred a concussion during their career, 34% had two or three, 18% four or five, and 11% six or more concussions. The number of sports career-related concussions was a predictor for all outcome measures (β = 0.072–0.109; P ≤ 0.040). Specifically, former professional athletes who reported a history of four or five concussions were approximately 1.5 times more likely to report symptoms of CMD, rising to a two- to five-fold increase in those reporting a history of six or more sports career-related concussions. Conclusions: These data demonstrate an association between exposure to sports concussion and subsequent risk of symptoms of CMD in former professional athletes across a range of contact sports. Further work to explore the association between sports concussion and symptoms of CMD is required; in the meanwhile, strategies for effective risk reduction and improved management appear indicated

One-dimensional fluids with second nearest-neighbor interactions

As is well known, one-dimensional systems with interactions restricted to first nearest neighbors admit a full analytically exact statistical-mechanical solution. This is essentially due to the fact that the knowledge of the first nearest-neighbor probability distribution function, $p_1(r)$, is enough to determine the structural and thermodynamic properties of the system. On the other hand, if the interaction between second nearest-neighbor particles is turned on, the analytically exact solution is lost. Not only the knowledge of $p_1(r)$ is not sufficient anymore, but even its determination becomes a complex many-body problem. In this work we systematically explore different approximate solutions for one-dimensional second nearest-neighbor fluid models. We apply those approximations to the square-well and the attractive two-step pair potentials and compare them with Monte Carlo simulations, finding an excellent agreement.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures; v2: more references adde

Tunesiens Wahl setzt ein Zeichen, eine Wende ist sie nicht: Nach der Parlamentswahl blockiert der Konflikt um Staats- und Gesellschaftsmodell weiterhin Institutionen und Reformen

Die Parlamentswahl vom 26. Oktober zeigt, dass viele Wähler ein islamistisches Staatsmodell für Tunesien ablehnen. Sie verdeutlicht auch, wie zersplittert und zerstritten die Befürworter eines säkularen Modells sind, obwohl ihre Zusammenarbeit mehr denn je notwendig wäre, um Reformen umzusetzen und einen modernen, am Staatsbürgerkonzept ausgerichteten Staat aufzubauen. Europa sollte eine Konsensfindung zwischen den Säkularen unterstützen, damit Tunesien international zukunftsfähig bleibt

The Diversity of Ancestral Rices

<div><p>(A) Long, thin-grained rice with purple hull.</p> <p>(B) Round-grained rice with white hull.</p> <p>(C) Panicles of golden-hulled rice (foreground) and purple-leafed rice (background).</p> <p>(D) Tall, weedy rice with pale leaves and silver hulls.</p></div

Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines Where Traditional Landraces Have Been Grown for Thousands of Years

<p>Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines Where Traditional Landraces Have Been Grown for Thousands of Years</p

Al responsive unigenes by RNA-seq expression pattern.

<p>Up (+) and down (-) unigenes have large expression differences between the control and Al treatments; NS, expression change between treatments is small (padj>0.05, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0124424#sec002" target="_blank">methods</a>). In parentheses the number of unigenes with a described function is followed by the number with unknown function.</p><p>Al responsive unigenes by RNA-seq expression pattern.</p

Polyploid-0.3.2_Public

R scripts used for clustering and genotype calling of MassArray data

PGE_genotype_data

PGE_genotype_dat

<i>De Novo</i> Transcriptome Assembly and Identification of Gene Candidates for Rapid Evolution of Soil Al Tolerance in <i>Anthoxanthum odoratum</i> at the Long-Term Park Grass Experiment

<div><p>Studies of adaptation in the wild grass <i>Anthoxanthum odoratum</i> at the Park Grass Experiment (PGE) provided one of the earliest examples of rapid evolution in plants. <i>Anthoxanthum</i> has become locally adapted to differences in soil Al toxicity, which have developed there due to soil acidification from long-term experimental fertilizer treatments. In this study, we used transcriptome sequencing to identify Al stress responsive genes in <i>Anthoxanhum</i> and identify candidates among them for further molecular study of rapid Al tolerance evolution at the PGE. We examined the Al content of <i>Anthoxanthum</i> tissues and conducted RNA-sequencing of root tips, the primary site of Al induced damage. We found that despite its high tolerance <i>Anthoxanthum</i> is not an Al accumulating species. Genes similar to those involved in organic acid exudation (<i>TaALMT1</i>, <i>ZmMATE)</i>, cell wall modification (<i>OsSTAR1</i>), and internal Al detoxification (<i>OsNRAT1</i>) in cultivated grasses were responsive to Al exposure. Expression of a large suite of novel loci was also triggered by early exposure to Al stress in roots. Three-hundred forty five transcripts were significantly more up- or down-regulated in tolerant vs. sensitive <i>Anthoxanthum</i> genotypes, providing important targets for future study of rapid evolution at the PGE.</p></div

Tiller_phenotypes

Tiller hydroponic assay measurement