Is your idea of a balanced diet chocolate in both hands? If so, you may be onto something — at least as far as your brain is concerned, according to a recent review published in Frontiers in Nutrition. Cocoa beans, it found, are a rich source of flavanols, a class of compounds that has neuroprotective effects.
Italian researchers studied available literature on the effects of cocoa flavanols on the brain — what happens to your brain in the hours immediately following eating cocoa, and what happens when you eat a cocoa flavanol enriched diet for a prolonged period of time.
They discovered that most randomized controlled trials found that cocoa flavanols had a beneficial effect on cognitive performance. Participants showed enhancements in working memory performance and improved visual information processing after having had cocoa flavanols.
For women, eating cocoa after a night of total sleep deprivation actually counteracted the cognitive impairment that such a night brings about. The results are promising for people who suffer from chronic sleep deprivation or work shifts.
The effects of relatively long-term ingestion of cocoa flavanols, ranging from five days to three months, has generally been investigated in elderly individuals. For them, cognitive performance was improved by a daily intake of cocoa flavanols.
In the elderly, factors such as attention, processing speed, working memory, and verbal fluency were greatly affected, and were most pronounced in older adults with mild cognitive impairments.
“This result suggests the potential of cocoa flavanols to protect cognition in vulnerable populations over time by improving cognitive performance,” said authors Valentina Socci and Michele Ferrara from the University of L’Aquila in Italy.
“If you look at the underlying mechanism, the cocoa flavanols have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health and can increase cerebral blood volume in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus,” they said. “This structure is particularly affected by aging and therefore the potential source of age-related memory decline in humans.”
So should we eat chocolate every day to improve our brains? “Regular intake of cocoa and chocolate could indeed provide beneficial effects on cognitive functioning over time,” said the authors.
“There are, however, potential side effects of eating cocoa and chocolate,” they warned. “Those are generally linked to the caloric value of chocolate, some inherent chemical compounds of the cocoa plant such as caffeine and theobromine, and a variety of additives we add to chocolate such as sugar or milk.”
Nonetheless, the scientists practice their results: “Dark chocolate is a rich source of flavanols. So we always eat some dark chocolate. Every day.”
Recent studies have found that chocolate has additional benefits. British researchers found that magnesium, an essential nutrient found in dark chocolate, helps cells keep track of the natural cycles of day and night.
Need an energy boost? Dark chocolate containing at least 60 percent cacao beans can enhance your energy levels in the afternoon. Volunteers at the University of Northern Arizona University ate dark chocolate or a placebo product, then did thinking and memory activities while undergoing EKGs of their brains. Those who ate the chocolate were more alert.
IRVING, Texas – Anthony Rotich (Cross Country) was announced as one of the 14 recipients of the Jim Castaneda Postgraduate Scholarship Award, announced by the league office on Tuesday afternoon.
The conference annually awards the $4,000 Postgraduate Scholarships to graduates as selected by the C-USA Faculty Athletics Representatives and approved by the Board of Directors.
Rotich, a civil engineer major and mathematics minor, graduated from UTEP as a three-time C-USA All-American honoree and a four-time C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll recipient. The Kenya native was a four-time NCAA Champion and an 11-time Mountain Region Athlete of the Year. He was named the 2014 C-USA Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Rotich is applying to UTEP’s College of Engineering – Construction Management.
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UTEP softball head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk announced the addition of pitcher Kira McKechnie on Wednesday. …
Emmanuel Korir, Michael Saruni and Mickael Hanany qualified to the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation) World Championships over the weekend.
Running in Nairobi, Kenya, Korir qualified to the 800m final with a time of 1:45.50 in the first heat, Saruni followed with a time of 1:46.10 in the second. In the men’s final, Korir (1:43.86) notched the crown and Saruni took third with a personal best of 1:44.61.
The All-Americans garnered a spot on the Kenya national team which heads to London, England to compete at the World Championships on August 5-8.
Also making his way to London will be former UTEP track and field star Mickael Hanany (France). Hanany took gold at the 2017 Euro Superleague with a leap over 2.26m (7-5) in the high jump. The seven time All-American will compete in his fourth IAAF World Championship.
The Nigerian trails will take place on July 7-8.
For more information on UTEP track and field, follow the Miners on Twitter (@UTEPTrack) and on Instagram (uteptrack).
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UTEP softball head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk announced the addition of pitcher Kira McKechnie on Wednesday. …
UTEP softball head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk announced the addition of pitcher Kira McKechnie on Wednesday. McKechnie played her first two years at Fresno State and will have two years of eligibility with the Miners.
McKechnie will join fellow transfer pitcher Julia Wright, and UTEP sophomore hurlers Devyn Cretz and Allie Johnson for the 2018 season.
“We are excited to have Kira on our roster for the upcoming season,” Echo-Hawk said. “It is always nice to add some depth to your pitching staff.”
McKechnie, a native of Sacramento, Calif., made a relief appearance in the circle during the 2017 campaign against San Diego and recorded a strikeout. In 2016, McKechnie made a pair of appearances in the circle, throwing 1.1 innings, while allowing two hits and no runs.
McKechnie attended Christian Brothers High School and was a dual-sport athlete. She was a four-year letterwinner in both softball and basketball. McKechnie was voted softball team captain in 2015 and capped her senior year with multiple accolades, which includes Sacramento Bee’s 2015 All-Metro first team, Cal-Hi first team All-State, CAL All-Optimist All-Star team, MaxPreps first team All-State and Cal-Hi D3 Athlete of Honor.
She was named Female Athlete of the Year by Character Combine, Bee Preps Show and MaxPreps Christian Brothers, while earning the Credit Union Athlete of the Week in 2015.
During her senior season, McKechnie hit .462 with 40 RBI, 11 doubles, a triple and eight home runs. She added 18 runs and was walked nine times. In the circle, McKechnie (12-7) fashioned a 1.95 ERA and recorded 195 Ks 140 innings (23 starts/25 appearances).
McKechnie has competed for the California Breeze (2005-09), Capital City Comets (2009-12), Nor Cal Patriots (2012-14) and Central Cal Dirt Dogs (2014-15). She also attended the 2012 OnDeck Elite Futures Camp and 2013 Colorado Sparkler All-Star/All-American game.
UTEP’s freshman Emmanuel Korir had a phenomenal year and was awarded the Conference USA Athlete of the Year, announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.
Opening up the 2016-17 season, Korir clocked a world record 600m at the New Mexico Cherry and Silver meet with at time of 1:14.97. It was his first time ever running on a 200m banked track. At the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships, the freshman captured his first title in the 800m running a time of 1:47.48.
During the outdoor season the Kenyan native ran a school record time of 44.67 in the 400m at the UTEP Invitational. Seven days later Korir clocked 1:43.73 in the 800m at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge. He is just on of three athletes in the world to run sub-1:44 and sub-44 in the 800m and 400m respectively.
At the C-USA Outdoor Championships Korir claimed the 400m title (44.53) and set the meet record at the NCAA West Region Preliminaries in the 800m with a time of 1:45.88. The mid-distance runner won his second NCAA title in the 800m (1:45.03) at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Korir was named the USTFCCCA (U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) Athlete of the Week twice during the indoor season, garnered four C-USA Athlete of the Week awards and made The Bowerman Watch List three times during the season.
He joins a list of Miners who have been named C-USA Athlete of the Year:
Anthony Rotich (2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15/ Track and Cross Country)
Camilla Carrera (2011-12/Softball)
Blessing Okagbare (2009-10/Track and Field)
For more information on UTEP track and field, follow the Miners on Twitter (@UTEPTrack) and on Instagram (uteptrack).
UTEP led all Conference USA athletic programs in the final 2016-17 Division I Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, released this week.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup measures performance in NCAA Championship competition. The Miners scored a total of 242.5 points for a no. 83 national finish. The second-highest rated program in C-USA was Middle Tennessee with 217.5 points (91st), while Rice scored 142.5 points to rank 121st.
A total of 293 Division I athletic programs were ranked.
The Miners scored their points from men’s indoor track & field (50 points), men’s outdoor track & field (50 points), women’s outdoor track & field (50 points), men’s cross country (45 points), women’s indoor track & field (25 points) and men’s golf (22.5 points).
The UTEP men’s track & field team finished tied for 22nd at the NCAA Indoor Meet and tied for 23rd at NCAA Outdoors. Women’s track & field tied for 47th at NCAA Indoors and tied for 21st at NCAA Outdoors. Men’s cross country took 29th place at NCAAs. Men’s golf reached NCAA Regionals as a team for the first time since 2004.
The Learfield Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 20 sports in Division I — 10 men’s and 10 women’s.
The Miners Hockey Club has announced they will open the 2017-18 season on the road against Texas A&M on September 29, 2017 at the Spirit Ice Arena. This matchup kicks off conference play for the new season.
The Miners and Aggies opened up their season last year in College Station. The first game saw the two teams trade goals back and forth and ended up going into overtime. Neither team scored in OT, however the Miners were able to win the game 7-6 in a shootout.
The following night, the Miners and Aggies were back at it. Again both teams didn’t have issues scoring early. However, the Aggies outscored the Miners to win 5-3.
Opening up the second half of the season, the Miners and Aggies faced off in El Paso. The first game once again saw the Miners come out strong. They took the first game 6-3. However, they couldn’t get the home sweep against the Aggies. The Aggies would win 2-1.
“We are starting our conference play against one of the strongest teams. It’s no secret A&M has had a strong club for several years. Although we have only played them a handful of times, the games are always exciting and something our team looks forward too.” commented Coach Herman.
Last season, the Miners finished 1st in the South Division and the Aggies were a close 2nd. During the TCHC tournament, the teams were in opposite brackets for a potential matchup for the championship. However, the Aggies were upset by UT in overtime the opening game.
The Miners went on to win the TCHC Championship by defeating the DBU Patriots by a score of 6-0.
Both teams will look to build on their success from last season as the TCHC enters it’s second year.
The Miners Hockey Club has announced they will open the�2017-18 season on the road against Texas A&M on September 29, 2017 at the Spirit Ice Arena. This matchup kicks off conference play for the new season.
The Miners and Aggies opened up their season last year in College Station. The first game saw the two teams trade goals back and forth and ended up going into overtime. Neither team scored in OT, however the Miners were able to win the game 7-6 in a shootout.
The following night, the Miners and Aggies were back at it. Again both teams didn�t have issues scoring early. However, the Aggies outscored the Miners to win 5-3.
Opening up the second half of the season, the Miners and Aggies faced off in El Paso. The first game once again saw the Miners come out strong. They took the first game 6-3. However, they couldn�t get the home sweep against the Aggies. The Aggies would win 2-1.
�We are starting our conference play against one of the strongest teams. It�s no secret A&M has had a strong club for several years. Although we have only played them a handful of times, the games are always exciting and something our team looks forward too.� commented Coach Herman.
Last season, the Miners finished 1st in the South Division and the Aggies were a close 2nd. During the TCHC tournament, the teams were in opposite brackets for a potential matchup for the championship. However, the Aggies were upset by UT in overtime the opening game.
The Miners went on to win the TCHC Championship by defeating the DBU Patriots by a score of 6-0.
Both teams will look to build on their success from last season as the TCHC enters it�s second year.
Why do they deploy in some instances and not others?
The module monitors various vehicle systems and contains a threshold for deployment; in simpler terms, this usually means the collision must meet specific settings to deploy an airbag. The idea is exactly the same while the system of every automobile brand is specifically different from the next.
If the collision, as computed by the module, is intense enough, it’ll deploy the appropriate airbag(s). The module has the final say when an airbag is deployed, this is software & hardware dependent.
The module can understand, through onboard accelerometers, changes in the vehicles direction and speed. The module constantly calculates these changes and when it “sees” a switch beyond preset thresholds it begins to track, quite tightly, the fluctuations (this is called algorithm enablement). If it establishes that the changes meet the standards for airbag deployment, it’ll deploy the appropriate airbag(s).
Many vehicles also have failsafe sensors mounted in the car that are designed as a secondary mechanical and/or diagnostic triggering system. These detectors are mounted under the radiator, when crushed or damaged, they force an airbag deployment, generally on the vehicle’s front.
People also often ask whether the vehicle detects if a chair is occupied, in order to deploy an airbag. The driver�s seat is obvious, beyond this, the front passenger seat has a pressure sensor in it which can tell when a predetermined amount of weight is on it, and the rest of the seats use the seatbelt latch (vehicle specific). When you’re driving a vehicle, the module also monitors the status of the pressure sensors and seatbelts, it then uses this data to make the best choice possible about which airbags to deploy and when.
Collision Report Explanations and What to Expect
I’m frequently asked about a specialists report, but the most frequent subset questions are on the lack of aid for findings from the report. Since it is of private & professional interest I have chosen to tackle this question.
“I got this collision pro’s report but there does not seem to be any explanation for his findings, is this normal?”
Yes and No. Yes, this occurs; no, it’s not standard. All professional disciplines of post primary education are based in criteria that were scholarly & accredited.
Collison reconstruction specialists are no different. While not necessary part of an graduate or undergraduate curriculum, the training and instruction they have is based on exactly the identical licensed & scholarly training and education – because of the correlation, the exact same standard ought to be applied to collision reconstruction professionals. Scholarly research relies on procedures of peer reviewed and investigation, testing, and scrutiny before being approved.
When an expert offers an opinion without saying supporting scholarly documentation it’s not useless, but rather it stands alone; it’s simply his opinion. Conversely, as soon as an expert offers and opinion with proper supporting documentation that was scholarly, expertise, all the work, and research is provided with his opinion.
Additional and Minimal Costs in Auto Accidents
Often times an appraisal for repairs is used to justify “low speed” by citing minimum costs. There are a few points regarding so the question is These to consider:
Is the recorded price on the appraisal an accurate reflection of damage?
The long answer begins with understanding who did the assessment and what is there background? Normally, appraisers are trained by the insurer — as such, decreasing the costs and expenses of repair is at the interests of the insurance company. Secondly, a vehicle is not disassembled to learn if there is any damage, especially in low speed collisions by most appraisers.
The next issue is when replacement parts are required where do they come from? Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) components cost considerably more than Equal or Like Quality (ELQ) components, like ELQ components are the preferred choice of insurance businesses. It would cost the industry millions more when making repairs to use OEM parts as opposed to ELQ parts. Along this exact same line, paint’s quality also varies. Paint manufacturers provide paint systems that are very durable and will meet with the OEM specifications paints they also offer more economically tightly or paint which is not quite as durable color matched to the first, and as anticipated, it costs less.
The last problem to discuss is occupation downtime. The longer there is a vehicle in for repairs the more it costs the insurance provider in fees. While a shop can, and will, have a minimum quantity of time to fix the vehicle the insurance company is going to maintain them on this time frame and constantly press to be completed. This drive can make an environment where the repair facility will sacrifice quality of workmanship to finish for a profit margin that is much better.
The above factors greatly dictate the final amount making it overly subjective for a trusted stage to confirm the threshold of harm; in different terms, using “low cost” as a justification for no harm is not appropriate as no causality relationship is different. If a breakdown of the repair invoice is supplied, you efficiently show the bias towards reducing the cost of the repair and can objectively cost the repair components.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Additional Topics: Weakened Ligaments After Whiplash
Whiplash is a commonly reported injury after an individual has been involved in an automobile accident. During an auto accident, the sheer force of the impact often causes the head and neck of the victim to jerk abruptly, back-and-forth, causing damage to the complex structures surrounding the cervical spine. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized to help decrease the symptoms of whiplash.
In the last two writings we explored how low speed collisions can have substantial energy transfers with minimal (if any) damage. Here we will discuss the myth of “no damage = no injury” from a vehicle appearance / design point of view and how it relates to injury in a collision.
So as to get into this subject, we need a little history lesson first. With vehicle style being the topic of focus, the industry exploded after World War II. The jet age influenced bumpers, headlights and taillight’s fins. Something else happened too, for the first time in the automobile’s history, vehicles were more than “around town” horse-less buggies; the power of their engines and speeds potential dawned a whole new arena — security. In the 1960’s vehicle aesthetics began to compromise with safety. Automotive designers started to consider topics like; occupant restraints structural integrity, and crash worthiness.
The industry faced slow growth and change into the 1980’s, each revision or change did bring with it progress and progress but not enough at any one time to be a huge leap forward. The changes which were necessary, were too experimental, too cost prohibitive, or just too market risky. Then in the 1980’s a revolution in business started to take hold — the computer. The personal computer allowed for design changes to be done with efficiency. Once plugged in and switched on the days spend calculating double function and variables became complicated than a few clicks.
The computer made it possible for car manufacturers to reduce years of conventional design and research practices into only a month or two and at the same time it allowed for much more cost effective experimentation and new process development.
No Vehicle Damage Doesn’t Guarantee No Injuries
Now that We’ve completed history 101 let Us discuss the topic of Stage – “no damage = no injury”
Vehicle layout, as an approach or concept, has undergone a considerable overhaul in recent years. The change has influenced the use of bumper covers. The long standing tradition in design is to make them of a alloy and to put the outside or separate from the body. (Consider all those classics in “American Graffiti”). The bumper was designed to function as a compliment to the vehicle’s appearance. The safety perspective was non-existent with respect as they were no longer than a sacrificial lamb to save the body.
In the early 1970’s federal mandates designed to make vehicles safer forced the producers to engineer larger and much more structurally sound designs. The most noted changes where the moving of bumper away from the body itself to an essential part of the car’s body. This “afterthought” look borrowed from the truck world was the standard until the late 1980’s. Three things changed in the 1980’s: First, bumpers began to move to behind urethane bumper covers in usage.
This gave a look to vehicles and assisted with aerodynamics. Because aesthetics were no more part of the equation, bumpers became stronger and included the use of energy absorbing material between the bumper structure and the bumper cover. Finally, automotive paints had also advanced, including the ability to resist cracking & flaking, and paint had become elastic.
These changes also had another positive side effect; because of the elastic properties of urethane and the paint, minor collisions, even those which damaged the bumper behind them, no longer seemed as serious. Often times a bumper cover needed more than some paint and prep, where past designs necessitated changing the bumper.
The largest change between older design and the new one, is the inherent elasticity of the new bumper covers. These covers can, and do, rebound into the design they have been formed in and the use of paint that is elastic means the paint is likely to rebound as well. The assessment of speed from damage is currently poorer while signs of impact are evident. Obviously when a steel bumper is distorted it remains that way leaving no room for underestimation.
Notice how we have not discussed these design changes have gained energy transfer; and this isn’t any mistake. There are no groundbreaking points. Changes in vehicle design is not going to ease violation of laws of physics. All these design changes is make the energy transfer in a low speed crash less costly and less apparent.
Evaluating Vehicle Damage
However, there are Just demonstrable measures that can be taken to assess the effects of energy transfer in no apparent damage collisions:
Remove the cover of the bumper and inspect the materials below the “skin” of the bumper for internal damage
Check the angle of the passenger seat. The factory at a angle and when the occupant is thrown backwards, often the seat angle changes rendering evidence of force transfer sets seats
Have the swivel tested with a laser apparatus most repair shops use to make sure the frame of the car is “plumb.” Even a 1-degree variation will be evident and often the chassis gets distorted and that requires energy transfer.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .�
Additional Topics: Weakened Ligaments After Whiplash
Whiplash is a commonly reported injury after an individual has been involved in an automobile accident. During an auto accident, the sheer force of the impact often causes the head and neck of the victim to jerk abruptly, back-and-forth, causing damage to the complex structures surrounding the cervical spine. Chiropractic care is a safe and effective, alternative treatment option utilized to help decrease the symptoms of whiplash.
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