Dietary nitrate does not modify blood pressure and cardiac output at rest and during exercise in older adults: a randomised cross-over study.

Dietary nitrate (NO3-) supplementation has been associated with improved vascular and metabolic health. We conducted a double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled RCT to investigate the effects of 7-d consumption of beetroot juice compared with placebo on (1) blood pressure (BP) measured in resting conditions and during exercise, (2) cardiac and peripheral vascular function and (3) biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and endothelial integrity. Twenty non-smoking healthy participants aged 60-75 years and BMI 20.0-29.9 kg/m2 were recruited. Measurement was conducted before and after each 7-d intervention period. Consumption of NO3- had no effect on resting systolic and diastolic BP. NO3- consumption did not improve indexes of central and peripheral cardiac function responses during cardiopulmonary exercise testing. Dietary NO3- supplementation did not modify biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress and endothelial integrity. This study does not support the short-term benefits of dietary NO3- supplementation on physiological and biochemical markers of vascular health in older healthy adults.

Combined active and passive heat exposure induced heat acclimation in a soccer referee before 2014 FIFA World Cup.

INTRODUCTION: The 2014 FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil, where the climatic conditions presented a significant thermoregulatory and perceptual challenge to those unfamiliar with the heat and humidity. CASE PRESENTATION: This case report documents the adaptation induced by a novel mixed methods (isothermic and passive) heat acclimation (HA) regime for a northern European professional soccer match official prior to the tournament. The intervention involved 13 HA sessions over an 18 day period comprising five isothermic HA sessions whereby intermittent running was used to target and maintain tympanic temperature (Tytemp) at 38 °C for 90 min, and seven passive HA sessions of 48 °C water bathing for 30 min. The athlete performed a heat stress test (HST) (35 min running at four incremental intensities in 30 °C) and a repeated high-intensity running test (as many 30 s self-paced efforts as possible, to a maximum of 20, with 30 s passive recovery) before and after the intervention. The mixed methods HA regime increased plasma volume (+7.1 %), and sweat loss (+0.9 L h(-1)), reduced exercising Tytemp (-0.6 °C), and mean body temperature (-0.5 °C). High-intensity running performance improved after HA (+29 %), as did the perception of thermal comfort during exercise (-0.3 units). CONCLUSION: This data evidences the effectiveness of a practical, mixed methods HA strategy, remotely implemented around training and competition, at inducing the heat acclimation phenotype in a high-level soccer match official.

The establishment of a 3D breast photography service in medical illustration.

This paper aims to describe the development of a 3D breast photography service managed by the Medical Illustration Department, in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Northern Ireland. Dedicated 3D breast photography equipment was installed in Medical Illustration for 18 months. Women were referred for a variety of indications including pre- and post-surgical assessment. A dedicated 3D breast photography protocol was developed locally and this requires further refinement to allow reproducibility in other centres. There are image/data artefacts associated with this technology and special techniques are required to reduce these. Specialist software is necessary for clinicians and scientists to use 3D breast photography data in surgical planning and measurement of surgical outcome.

Information-processing correlates of reported sexual abuse in eating-disordered and comparison women.

A history of sexual abuse during childhood or adulthood is reported by a large number of eating-disordered and nonclinical women. However, the cognitive consequences of such abuse are not fully understood. An adaptation of the Stroop test is described, examining information-processing correlates of reported sexual abuse and of clinicians' judgments of the relevance of that abuse to the formulation of cases. Words related to sexual abuse impaired color-naming in eating-disordered and comparison women who reported a history of such abuse. This Stroop interference effect was greater in those eating-disordered women where the abuse was judged to be relevant to their psychopathology. It was also associated with the characteristics of the abuse (use of force, identity of abuser, time since the abuse). Finally, the Stroop interference effect was associated with the degree of bulimic psychopathology in the eating-disordered women who reported abuse. In particular, the frequency of binging was significantly greater in those eating-disordered women who had reported abuse, but that difference was a product of the correlation of the two variables with the degree of information processing bias. A two-stage model of cognitive reaction to sexual abuse is proposed, integrating these effects with the existing literature. The utility of this measure as a research and clinical tool requires further consideration in other clinical groups.