Acute Effects of Dietary Nitrate on Exercise Tolerance, Muscle Oxygenation, and Cardiovascular Function in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease.

Previous studies have used supplements to increase dietary nitrate intake in clinical populations. Little is known about whether effects can also be induced through vegetable consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the impact of dietary nitrate, through nitrate-rich vegetables (NRV) and beetroot juice (BRJ) supplementation, on plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations, exercise tolerance, muscle oxygenation, and cardiovascular function in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Increasing Nitrate-Rich Vegetable Intake Lowers Ambulatory Blood Pressure in (pre)Hypertensive Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A 12-Wk Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that increasing dietary nitrate intake may be an effective approach to improve cardiovascular health. However, the effects of a prolonged elevation of nitrate intake through an increase in vegetable consumption are understudied.

Objective: Our primary aim was to determine the impact of 12 wk of increased daily consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables or nitrate supplementation on blood pressure (BP) in (pre)hypertensive middle-aged and older adults.

Higher Levels of Physical Activity Are Associated with Greater Fruit and Vegetable intake in Older Adults.

Objective: High levels of physical activity (PA) and optimal nutrition independently improve healthy aging, but few data are available about how PA may influence food preferences in older populations. Therefore, the aim of our study was to establish if there is an association between habitual PA and intake of nutrient-dense foods (i.e.

A Nitrate-Rich Vegetable Intervention Elevates Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite Concentrations and Reduces Blood Pressure in Healthy Young Adults.

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that increasing dietary nitrate intake may be an effective approach to reduce blood pressure. Beetroot juice is often used to supplement dietary nitrate, whereas nitrate intake levels from habitual diet are low. An increase in the habitual intake of nitrate-rich vegetables may represent an alternative to nitrate supplementation.

Increasing vegetable intake to obtain the health promoting and ergogenic effects of dietary nitrate.

Increased consumption of dietary nitrate increases plasma nitrate and nitrite concentrations, and has been shown to elicit cardio-protective effects and improve exercise performance. Nitrate consumption in the habitual diet is mainly dependent on nitrate-rich vegetables, such as green leafy and root vegetables, with total vegetable consumption accounting for approximately 50-85% of our daily nitrate intake. Whereas 'supplementation' with dietary nitrate in research studies has mainly been accomplished through the use of (concentrated) nitrate-rich beetroot juice, dietary strategies focusing on increased intake of nitrate-rich vegetables may represent a similarly effective alternative for increasing dietary nitrate intake and, as such, obtaining the associated cardiovascular health and ergogenic benefits.

Seasonal Variation in Vitamin D Status in Elite Athletes: A Longitudinal Study.

Studies monitoring vitamin D status in athletes are seldom conducted for a period of 12 months or longer, thereby lacking insight into seasonal fluctuations. The objective of the current study was to identify seasonal changes in total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration throughout the year. Fifty-two, mainly Caucasian athletes with a sufficient 25(OH)D concentration (>75 nmol/L) in June were included in this study.

Microvolt T-wave alternans and the selective use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators for primary prevention: a cost-effectiveness study.

Objectives: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are an effective but expensive treatment for the prevention of sudden cardiac deaths in patients with severe left-ventricular dysfunction. Recent studies suggest that microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) predicts mortality and severe arrhythmic events in this population. However, the impact of MTWA on ICD cost-effectiveness is unknown.

Microvolt T-wave alternans as a predictor of mortality and severe arrhythmias in patients with left-ventricular dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Studies have demonstrated that the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) is effective for the primary prevention of arrhythmic events but due to imposing costs, there remains a need to identify which patients will derive the greatest benefit. Microvolt T-wave alternans (MTWA) has been proposed to assist in this stratification.

Methods: We systematically searched the literature using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Current Contents, the Cochrane Library, INAHTA, and the Web of Science to identify all primary prevention randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies with at least 12 months of follow-up examining MTWA as a predictor of mortality and severe arrhythmic events in patients with severe left-ventricular dysfunction.

Optimum synthetic-aperture imaging of extended astronomical objects.

In optical aperture-synthesis imaging of stellar objects, different beam combination strategies are used and proposed. Coaxial Michelson interferometers are very common and a homothetic multiaxial interferometer is recently realized in the Large Binocular Telescope. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the working principles of two new approaches: densified pupil imaging and wide field-of-view (FOV) coaxial imaging using a staircase-shaped mirror.