Acute beetroot juice supplementation does not attenuate knee extensor exercise muscle fatigue in a healthy young population.

PURPOSE: The effect of acute nitrate supplementation on muscle fatigue is largely unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of acute nitrate supplementation on muscle fatigue. METHODS: Thirty-five recreationally active subjects consumed 140 ml of beetroot (BR) juice (nitrate: 8 mmol·d-1) or placebo (PL) 12 and 2.5 hours before two exercise sessions. Peak torque was measured during 50 repetitions, at maximal effort, and during concentric knee extensions at 90°·s-1. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded pre- and post-exercise. RESULTS: Peak torque, maximum work, rate of fatigue, and rate of work fatigue were similar between the BR and PL conditions. Post-exercise diastolic BP (BR: 67.2 ± 9.8 vs. PL: 64.5 ± 7.9 mmHg, p < 0.05) and mean arterial pressure (BR: 91.6 ± 9.3 vs. PL: 88.8 ± 8.2 mmHg, p < 0.05) were higher with BR supplementation. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the acute intake of BR juice had no effect on knee extensor muscle strength or fatigue but increased BP in a healthy recreationally active population.

Evaluation of current feeding practices in the critically ill: A retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, malnutrition is an important issue in the care of the critically ill which is associated with increased costs of care and poor patient outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the current state of enteral nutrition in the critically ill in the U.S. in comparison to international practices. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY/DESIGN: A retrospective chart audit was performed utilising a 10% random sample of patients admitted to the Pulmonary Medicine Service at an academic medical center in the U.S. from 1/1/11 to 12/31/11. A total of 69 charts were audited. OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcome measures included time to initiation of feeds, prescribed versus received protein and energy on day three, prokinetic use and markers of nutritional status. RESULTS: Delayed time to feeding, greater than 48hours after ICU admission, was present in 66.7% of the sample. On day three only 9% of the sample was receiving 80% or more of the prescribed protein or energy. These findings are similar to those found internationally. CONCLUSION: Critically ill patients continue to experience delays in enteral feeding initiation and are frequently not meeting nutrition targets. Interventions aimed at improving nutrition delivery in the intensive care unit should be a focus of quality care both in the U.S. and internationally.

Taxonomic assessment of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Chelydridae: Macrochelys), with the description of two new species from the southeastern United States.

The Alligator Snapping Turtle, Macrochelys temminckii, is a large, aquatic turtle limited to river systems that drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Previous molecular analyses using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggested that Macrochelys exhibits significant genetic variation across its range that includes three distinct genetic assemblages (western, central, and eastern = Suwannee). However, no taxonomic revision or morphological analyses have been conducted previously. In this study, we test previous hypotheses of distinct geographic assemblages by examining morphology, reanalyzing phylogeographic genetic structure, and estimating divergence dating among lineages in a coalescent framework using Bayesian inference. We reviewed the fossil record and discuss phylogeographic and taxonomic implications of the existence of three distinct evolutionary lineages. We measured cranial (n=145) and post-cranial (n=104) material on field-captured individuals and museum specimens. We analyzed 420 base pairs (bp) of mitochondrial DNA sequence data for 158 Macrochelys. We examined fossil Macrochelys from ca. 15-16 million years ago (Ma) to the present to better assess historical distributions and evaluate named fossil taxa. The morphological and molecular data both indicate significant geographical variation and suggest three species-level breaks among genetic lineages that correspond to previously hypothesized genetic assemblages. The holotype of Macrochelys temminckii is from the western lineage. Therefore, we describe two new species as Macrochelys apalachicolae sp. nov. from the central lineage and Macrochelys suwanniensis sp. nov. from the eastern lineage (Suwannee River drainage). Our estimates of divergence times suggest that the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of M. temminckii (western) and M. apalachicolae (central) existed 3.2-8.9 Ma during the late Miocene to late Pliocene, whereas M. temminckii-M. apalachicolae and M. suwanniensis last shared a MRCA 5.5-13.4 Ma during the mid-Miocene to early Pliocene. Examination of fossil material revealed that the fossil taxon M. floridana is actually a large Chelydra. Our taxonomic revision of Macrochelys has conservation and management implications in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.