Your purchase of one of these "snazzy" shirts (or mug!) will help support Vasculata, webinars, meetings, courses and travel awards.

Purchase a short sleeve tee, a long sleeve tee, a hoodie or a mug at  https://teespring.com/vascular-biology-t-shirt.  Shirts are available in a few colors.  Buy some for your whole lab! Shirts start at $21.99.

If you are attending Vascular Biology 2018 - choose to pick up your shirt and/or mug onsite and save on shipping fees.

Place your order by September 26 for pick-up at
Vascular Biology in Newport

Congratulations to Alexander Keller, University of Virginia and Cini Mathew John, University of Calgary.  They are recipients of NAVBO Travel Awards to the 11th World Congress for Microcircuation.

Julian Kirchherr, assistant professor of Sustainable Business and Innovation Studies at Utrecht University, has published The Lean PhD: Radically Improve the Efficiency, Quality and Impact of Your Research, which "...fundamentally challenges the way in which PhDs are currently pursued" and "...applies lean methodologies - which have been embraced by start-ups - to the doctoral research process," according to the publisher's promotional materials. A review in the Chronicle of Higher Education recounts the author's emphasis on the value of getting thoughts down on paper in "good enough" form, then seeking feedback that informs revision or even radical changes of direction. Gathering feedback, notes the Chronicle,  "...can serve both to help sharpen arguments and analysis, but also to evade a common pitfall of dissertation preparation: grinding, often crippling isolation."

If you have news to share with your colleagues, send it to [email protected].

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an alert in July calling attention to reports linking canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with consumption of "exotic" diets rich in peas, lentils, other legume seeds, or potatoes. Large and giant breed dogs, including Great Danes, Boxers, and Newfoundlands, are prone to DCM, while it is less common in small and medium breed dogs. However, the cases that have been reported to the FDA have included breeds not typically genetically predisposed to the disease. The condition is linked to a deficiency in taurine, an essential dietary amino acid for dogs. Chicken and beef are high in taurine, but ingredients found in some grain-free foods have little or none.

Revisions to the Common Rule, a set of regulations shaping federally-funded human subjects, take effect early next year. The modifications aim to strengthen protections for study participants and streamline administrative requirements for investigators. Consent forms are a principal focus of improvement, with the goal of providing candidate subjects with needed information to grant consent that is truly informed. Moreover, it must be made clear when and if an individual's clinical research results will be shared with subjects. Compliance with most changes is expected by January 21, 2019, but an additional year is allowed to adapt to the unified IRB requirements applied to multi-institutional studies.

A letter published last year in the  Journal of the American College of Cardiology notes that premature vascular aging and hypertension may be more prevalent in children conceived with assisted reproductive technology (ART). Flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery was reduced in adolescents conceived via ART. Occurrence of arterial hypertension (>130/80 mmHg) was 6-fold higher in the ART group. Although the study population was small, the number potentially affected is large: 2-5% of children born in developed countries were conceived with the help of ART, and such individuals total 6 million worldwide.  This may also be of interest.