Background: Diabetes increases the risk of hypertension and orthostatic hypotension and raises the risk of cardiovascular death during heat waves and high pollution episodes.Objective: We examined whether short-term exposures to air pollution (fine particles, ozone) and heat resulted in perturbation of arterial blood pressure (BP) in persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: We conducted a panel study in 70 subjects with T2DM, measuring BP by automated oscillometric sphygmomanometer and pulse wave analysis every 2 weeks on up to five occasions (355 repeated measures). Hourly central site measurements of fine particles, ozone, and meteorology were conducted. We applied linear mixed models with random participant intercepts to investigate the association of fine particles, ozone, and ambient temperature with systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial BP in a multipollutant model, controlling for season, meteorological variables, and subject characteristics.Results: An interquartile increase in ambient fine particle mass [particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5)] and in the traffic component black carbon in the previous 5 days (3.54 and 0.25 μg/m3, respectively) predicted increases of 1.4 mmHg [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0, 2.9 mmHg] and 2.2 mmHg (95% CI: 0.4, 4.0 mmHg) in systolic BP (SBP) at the population geometric mean, respectively. In contrast, an interquartile increase in the 5-day mean of ozone (13.3 ppb) was associated with a 5.2 mmHg (95% CI: –8.6, –1.8 mmHg) decrease in SBP. Higher temperatures were associated with a marginal decrease in BP.Conclusions: In subjects with T2DM, PM was associated with increased BP, and ozone was associated with decreased BP. These effects may be clinically important in patients with already compromised autoregulatory function.

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Symptoms referable to the subclavian vessels or lowermost cord of the brachial plexus are frequently seen following repeated or prolonged hyperabduction of the arms. The sites of compression are thought to be the point at which these neurovascular structures emerge from beneath the pectoralis minor tendon and the interval between the clavicle and the first rib. Five patients presenting the hyperabduction syndrome have been subjected to pectoralis minor tenotomy and anterior scalenotomy with a good result in four cases, indicating the potential value of the procedure in this particular shoulder girdle syndrome.

This article considers the relationship between the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, as defined in International Humanitarian Law, and human rights. It contextualises this by acknowledging the social role of archaeology as developed by the World Archaeological Congress. The article uses the author's personal experience of working with the UK Ministry of Defence to attempt to protect cultural property in Iraq to illustrate the failure of the military, and its political masters, to understand the importance of cultural property and argues that there needs to be a closer relationship between the military and cultural heritage experts if the human rights of those caught up in conflict are to be ensured.