Health impact of US military service in a large population-based military cohort: findings of the Millennium Cohort Study, 2001-2008

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Combat-intense, lengthy, and multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan have characterized the new millennium. The US military's all-volunteer force has never been better trained and technologically equipped to engage enemy combatants in multiple theaters of operations. Nonetheless, concerns over potential lasting effects of deployment on long-term health continue to mount and are yet to be elucidated. This report outlines how findings from the first 7 years of the Millennium Cohort Study have helped to address health concerns related to military service including deployments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Millennium Cohort Study was designed in the late 1990s to address veteran and public concerns for the first time using prospectively collected health and behavioral data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over 150 000 active-duty, reserve, and National Guard personnel from all service branches have enrolled, and more than 70% of the first 2 enrollment panels submitted at least 1 follow-up survey. Approximately half of the Cohort has deployed in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The Millennium Cohort Study is providing prospective data that will guide public health policymakers for years to come by exploring associations between military exposures and important health outcomes. Strategic studies aim to identify, reduce, and prevent adverse health outcomes that may be associated with military service, including those related to deployment.</p

Canopy light heterogeneity drives leaf anatomical, eco-physiological, and photosynthetic changes in olive trees grown in a high-density plantation

15 p., 8 fig., 2 tab. Available online 26 October 2014. The definitive version is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11120-014-0052-2In the field, leaves may face very different light intensities within the tree canopy. Leaves usually respond with light-induced morphological and photosynthetic changes, in a phenomenon known as phenotypic plasticity. Canopy light distribution, leaf anatomy, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, and pigment composition were investigated in an olive (Olea europaea, cvs. Arbequina and Arbosana) orchard planted with a high-density system (1,250 trees ha−1). Sampling was made from three canopy zones: a lower canopy (2 m). Light interception decreased significantly in the lower canopy when compared to the central and top ones. Leaf angle increased and photosynthetic rates and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) decreased significantly and progressively from the upper canopy to the central and the lower canopies. The largest leaf areas were found in the lower canopy, especially in the cultivar Arbequina. The palisade and spongy parenchyma were reduced in thickness in the lower canopy when compared to the upper one, in the former due to a decrease in the number of cell layers from three to two (clearly distinguishable in the light and fluorescence microscopy images). In both cultivars, the concentration of violaxanthin-cycle pigments and β-carotene was higher in the upper than in the lower canopy. Furthermore, the de-epoxidized forms zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin increased significantly in those leaves from the upper canopy, in parallel to the NPQ increases. In conclusion, olive leaves react with morphological and photosynthetic changes to within-crown light gradients. These results strengthen the idea of olive trees as “modular organisms” that adjust the modules morphology and physiology in response to light intensity.This work was supported by the Spanish Agency of International Cooperation for Development (AECID) Project AP/040397/11 and the Aragón Government (A03 Research Group)Peer reviewe