bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measurement of Deuterium Oxide by Infrared Spectroscopy and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry for Quantifying Daily Milk Intake in Breastfed Infants and Maternal Body Fat
Authors: Caire Graciela , de la Barca Ana María Calderón , Bolaños Adriana Verónica , Valencia Mauro E. , Coward Andy W. , Salazar Gabriela , Casanueva Esther
Published: November 2018

Measurements of deuterium oxide concentrations (DOC) in saliva by infrared spectroscopy (IRS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) were compared for the calculation of infants’ milk intake and maternal body fat. Deuterium oxide (30g) was given to the mother. DOC by IRS and IRMS were 340 ± 209 and 345 ± 202 ppm. The mean difference between both methods (4.62 ± 76.3) was not different from zero (p = .57). Bland and Altman analysis showed no significant overall bias (r = 0.10; p = .33), but dispersion within the limits of agreement. The mean milk intake in the infants’ by IRS and IRMS were 624 ± 296 g/day and 634 ± 327 g/day (p = .642) and the mothers’ mean body fat were 31.3 ± 12% and 31.5 ± 13% (p = .755). The results appear to be the same for milk intake and body fat by the two methods and no evidence of bias was found.
Activable Enriched Stable Isotope Iron-58 for Monitoring Absorption Rate of Juvenile Athletes for Iron: A Case Study
Authors: Qian Qinfang , Chai Zhifang , Feng Weiyu , Chen Jidi , Zhang Peiqun , Pan Jianxiang
Published: November 2018

Activable enriched stable isotopes can play a unique role in studies of nutritional status, metabolism, absorption rates, and bioavailability of minerals. As a practical example, eight juvenile athletes were selected to test the absorption rates of iron during training and non-training periods by enriched stable isotope of Fe-58 (enriched degree: 51.1%) via activation analysis Fe-58 (n,γ) Fe-59 of the collected feces samples. The results indicated that the average iron absorption rates of the juvenile athletes with and without training are 9.1 ± 2.8 and 11.9 ± 4.7%, respectively, which implies that the long-term endurance training with high intensity makes the iron absorption rate of athletes lower. In the meantime, the comparison of the activable enriched isotope technique with atomic absorption spectrometry was performed, which showed that the former was better than the latter in reliability and sensitivity. It is because this nuclear method can distinguish the exogenous and endogenous iron in the samples, but not for non-nuclear methods.
Selenium Determination in Whole Human Blood by Radiochemical Neutron Activation Analysis: Preliminary Results in Argentina
Authors: Hevia Sonia Edith , de Portela María Luz Pita Martín , Resnizky Sara Manuela
Published: November 2018

In Argentina there are no values regarding the content selenium in food or its effect on nutritional status. Neutron activation analysis and a radiochemical separation scheme for selenium has been adjusted for blood samples from healthy adult individuals. Fasting whole blood was collected, lyophilized, packed, and irradiated in a nuclear reactor. Selenium was determined by a radiochemical separation. The method was validated using certified reference materials. The selenium concentrations (mean value ± SD) from five pools and from 22 individual samples were 0.070 ± 0.020 μg/ml and 0.071 ± 0.014 μg/ml, respectively, ranging between 0.047 to 0.105 μg/ml. These preliminary results show values close to those published for the population living in areas with adequate selenium intake, but lower values than those published for the USA population. However, it will be necessary to carry out nutritional status studies in other areas of Argentina, taking into account the geographic and topographic diversity of the country.
Energy Requirements and Body Composition in Stable Pediatric Intensive Care Patients Receiving Ventilatory Support
Authors: Wells Jonathan C. K. , Mok Quen , Johnson Andrew W. , Lanigan Julie A. , Fewtrell Mary S.
Published: November 2018

Energy requirements of pediatric intensive-care patients are unknown due to the difficulty of measuring total energy expenditure in free-living conditions. We investigated energy expenditure and body composition in stable pediatric intensive-care patients receiving long-term ventilatory support. Total energy expenditure and total body water were measured in 10 such patients using the doubly-labeled water method. The patients had significantly lower energy expenditure than healthy children of the same age. Relative to length, fat-free mass deposition was significantly lower, and fat deposition was significantly greater, than in healthy subjects. In general, total energy requirements of these patients are significantly reduced as compared to healthy children, which can be attributed to their lower activity levels and their reduced muscle mass. Although they gain weight similar to healthy children, their weight gain is disproportionately higher in fat. However, one patient with myofibromatosis contradicted this general pattern.
Application of Isotope Dilution Technique in Vitamin A Nutrition
Authors: Wasantwisut Emorn
Published: November 2018

The isotope dilution technique involving deuterated retinol has been developed to quantitatively estimate total body reserves of vitamin A in humans. The technique provided good estimates in comparison to hepatic vitamin A concentrations in Bangladeshi surgical patients. Kinetic studies in the United States, Bangladesh, and Guatemala indicated the mean equilibration time of 17 to 20 days irrespective of the size of hepatic reserves. Due to the controversy surrounding the efficacy of a carotene-rich diet on improvement of vitamin A status, the isotope dilution technique was proposed to pursue this research question further (IAEA's coordinated research program). In the Philippines, schoolchildren with low serum retinol concentrations showed significant improvement in total body vitamin A stores following intake of carotene-rich foods (orange fruits and vegetables), using a three-day deuterated-retinol-dilution procedure. When Chinese kindergarten children were fed green and yellow vegetables during the winter, their total body vitamin A stores were sustained as compared to a steady decline of vitamin A stores in the control children. Likewise, daily consumption of purified beta-carotene or a diet rich in provitamin A carotenoids were shown to prevent a loss in total body vitamin A stores among Thai lactating women during the rice-planting season. These studies demonstrate potentials of the isotope dilution technique to evaluate the impact of provitamin A carotenoid intervention programs.
Dietary Intake of Essential Minor and Trace Elements from Asian Diets
Authors: Iyengar G. Venkatesh , Kawamura Hisao , Parr Robert M. , Miah Farin K. , Wang Ji-xian , Dang Harminder S. , Djojosubroto Harjojoto , Cho Seung-Yeon , Akher Perveen , Natera Erlinda S. , Nguy Mong Sinh
Published: November 2018

In view of the limited data available from the Asian region on the daily intake of nutritionally essential trace elements, a study was taken up, as part of a coordinated research project of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to estimate the daily dietary intake and organ content of some selected trace elements of importance in radiation protection, and also in nutrition. Nine Asian countries—Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Philippines, and Vietnam—which represented more than 50% of the world's population, participated in this study. Analysis of about 700 diet samples was carried out for four minor (calcium, potassium, magnesium, and sodium) and eight trace (chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, iodine, manganese, selenium, and zinc) elements using nuclear and other sensitive analytical methods employing neutron activation analysis (NAA), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) techniques. These samples consisted of the total cooked diet, market basket, duplicate diets, and 225 staple foods. Emphasis was placed on the quality assurance and harmonization of the sampling techniques to ensure quality data. Significant inter- and intra-country variations in daily dietary intake of various trace elements were observed. The maximum inter-country variation was observed for iodine intake (factor of more than 45), being highest for Japan and lowest for Pakistan. For iron, an important trace element, the variation between the intakes was by a factor of four being lowest for Vietnam and highest for Pakistan.
Isotope Ratios of Trace Elements in Samples from Human Nutrition Studies Determined by TIMS and ICP-MS: Precision and Accuracy Compared
Authors: Turnlund Judith R. , Keyes William R.
Published: November 2018

Stable isotopes are used with increasing frequency to trace the metabolic fate of minerals in human nutrition studies. The precision of the analytical methods used must be sufficient to permit reliable measurement of low enrichments and the accuracy should permit comparisons between studies. Two methods most frequently used today are thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This study was conducted to compare the two methods. Multiple natural samples of copper, zinc, molybdenum, and magnesium were analyzed by both methods to compare their internal and external precision. Samples with a range of isotopic enrichments that were collected from human studies or prepared from standards were analyzed to compare their accuracy. TIMS was more precise and accurate than ICP-MS. However, the cost, ease, and speed of analysis were better for ICP-MS. Therefore, for most purposes, ICP-MS is the method of choice, but when the highest degrees of precision and accuracy are required and when enrichments are very low, TIMS is the method of choice.
Bioavailability of Iron from Micro-Encapsulated Iron Sprinkle Supplement
Authors: Liyanage Chandrani , Zlotkin Stanley
Published: November 2018

To improve the iron status of infants an effort was made to increase the iron content of complementary foods by adding 12.5 mg of elemental iron to the meal in the form of micro-encapsulated ferrous fumarate coated with a lipid. The contents of the packet were sprinkled directly on to infant foods. Relative absorption of iron from this supplement was determined in a prospective randomized study with 39 infants (mean age 33.6 ± 5.2 weeks) with initial hemoglobin values greater than 100 g/L. They were fed two complementary foods (rice-based and wheat-based) in which the supplement labeled with stable isotopes of iron 57Fe and 58 Fe was incorporated. The erythrocyte iron incorporation was measured in the blood by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrophotometry. The incorporation of iron was significantly higher 11.9% p < .001 and 13.3% p < .001 and no difference was observed with the type of cereal in complementary foods. The use of ferrous fumarate sprinkles has proved to be efficacious in increasing the available iron intake of the infants.
Maternal Smoking Effects on Infant Growth
Authors: del Rocio Berlanga María , Salazar Gabriela , Garcia Carola , Hernandez Jimmy
Published: November 2018

The influence of maternal smoking the nutrient content of breastmilk and impact on infant longitudinal growth rate is unknown. From birth, 23 smoking (S), (7.1 ± 4.4 cigarettes/day) and 23 non-smoking (NS) mother-infant pairs were followed. The breastmilk volume by deuterium dilution, zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) in breastmilk and hair by atomic absorption (AAS) and cotinine levels by radio-immuno-analysis (RIA) were evaluated. Birthweight was similar in contrast to height, and infants grew normally. Height and height-for-age (ZHA) were significantly lower in S infants and weight-for-height (ZWH) was higher in S infants in the third month, caused by slower height growth. Cotinine was 19 times greater in the S mothers and six times higher in their infants, as compared to NS group. Breastmilk volume was 743 ± 119 g/day (S) and 742 ± 111 g/day (NS), with no difference in zinc, copper, iron contents, except for cadmium (Cd). In infant's hair, all minerals were higher in the S group. Smoking affected infant's height during breastfeeding, attributed to an eventual impaired bioavailability of essential nutrients.
Using Stable Isotopes to Assess the Bioavailability of Minerals in Food Fortification Programs
Authors: Abrams S. A. , Griffin I. J. , Herman S.
Published: November 2018

The fortification of various types of food with minerals is often undertaken without consideration of either their bioavailability or the potential nutrient-nutrient interactions resulting from their use. Stable isotopes provide a safe and accessible method of resolving these issues by providing the proper evidence in each case. They must be conducted according to strict safety and ethical guidelines and may be readily conducted in a field setting. Clinical studies in children enable researchers, policymakers, and food manufacturers to obtain the data necessary to determine the best way to fortify specific foods and beverages, in order to optimally enhance the nutritional health of growing children. We have shown the utility of this approach in studies in both developing countries and in the United States.
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis of Minor and Trace Elements in Food in the Russian Region that Suffered from the Chernobyl Disaster
Authors: Zaichick Vladimir
Published: November 2018

The control of food quality, using the analysis of essential and toxic element contents, assumes an urgent importance within the regions that suffered from the Chernobyl disaster. Instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to study contents of 17 chemical elements (calcium, chlorine, cobalt, chromium, cesium, iron, mercury, potassium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, rubidium, antimony, scandium, selenium, strontium, and zinc) in foods within the south and southwest territories of the Kaluga Region that was exposed to radionuclide contamination. The radionuclide contamination ranges up to 15 Ci/km2 there. Flesh and meat products, dairy products, bread, vegetables, legumes, roots, fruits, and mushrooms were analyzed. The concentration of essential and toxic elements in the different foods were in the normal ranges.
Estimation of Daily Micronutrient Intake of Filipinos
Authors: Natera Erlinda , Trinidad Trinidad , Valdez Divina , Kawamura Hisao , Palad Lorna , Shiraishi Kunio
Published: November 2018

The Fourth National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute conducted in 1993 showed an increasing prevalence of micronutrient-related diseases in various age groups. Hence, the daily diet consumed by the average Filipino was examined for its nutrient content.

A total of 19 regional diet samples were collected and analyzed for phosphorous, iron, zinc, magnesium, manganese, calcium, potassium, and sodium by using inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Iodine was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Benchmark data for the abovementioned micronutrients showed decreased intake values as compared to the recommended dietary allowance established in 1989. The information will be useful in assessing the existing nutritional status so that appropriate nutrient interventions can possibly be put in place.
United Nations University Programmes
Authors: Scrimshaw Nevin S.
Published: November 2018

The role of the UN University lies in fostering the research needed to fill pressing gaps in knowledge, in providing appropriate advanced training, in helping to build effective and relevant institutions, and in disseminating useful knowledge. Relevant institutions of higher learning and research are a global necessity in order to inform, train, and motivate individuals who can contribute effectively to the solutions of the “pressing global problems of human survival, development’ end welfare”. The University's World Hunger Programme seeks to assist the development of such institutions in the developing countries where they are so urgently needed.
Economic Aspects of Agriculture and Nutrition: A Nigerian Case Study
Authors: Olayide S. O. , Olayemi J. K.
Published: November 2018

This has been an overview, in economic terms, of the state of food and nutrition in Nigeria. It is confined to Nigeria for the obvious reason that one can best speak within the limits of his own experience. Nevertheless, what obtains in Nigeria is similar to what obtains in a number of other developing countries of Africa.

Broadly speaking, it may not be true to say that most Nigerians are grossly undernourished or malnourished, but most of the population has always hovered around the minimum level of adequate nutrient intake. Furthermore, projected food supplies and demands indicate that the situation is not likely to improve much if the current trends continue.

In general, the four main variables that influence the existing low rate of growth in food supply are: (11 the growing scarcity of traditional farm inputs, including the increasing man-land ratio, stagnant production technology, and low use of modern farm inputs; (2) marketing and price constraints; (3) profit constraints; and (4), organizational constraints. On the demand side, the variables are: (1) high income growth rate; (2) poor income distribution; (3) high consumer prices; and (4), socio-cultural factors.

Instead of discussing solutions in terms of strategies for increasing food production and rationalizing food demand per se, this paper has discussed strategies for enhancing quantitative and qualitative food balance. By implication, these are strategies for, in time, ensuring quantitative and qualitative nutritional balance among nutrient sources, and among segments of the population. Because the ultimate objective of a nutrition policy is the welfare of the greatest proportion of the population, the long-term goal for the nation should be the reduction of the number of underfed or overfed people in the population, and the increase in the number of people who obtain optimum nutrition. The extreme of over-nutrition is as bad as the other extreme of undernutrition.
Comparison of Nutriwards and Nutrihuts in the Northern Mindanao Region (Region X) of the Republic of the Philippines
Authors: Lamptey Peter R. , Florencio Cecilia , Picar Beatriz
Published: November 2018

Patients admitted to nutrihuts stayed longer and had a lower mortality rate during confinement than those admitted to nutriwards. There was a significant improvement in nutritional status during confinement in both nutriwards and nutrihuts and after discharge. The relapse rate was 23 per cent. The mortality rate after discharge in all institutions was 12.4 per cent, with patients of nutriwards having a mortality 12 times higher than that of patients discharged from nutrihuts.
The Effect of Urbanization and Western Foods on Infant and Maternal Nutrition in the South Pacific
Authors: Lambert Julian
Published: November 2018

Throughout the Pacific region, infant and maternal nutrition has been adversely affected by urbanization and the introduction of new foods. However, the process of urbanization is probably irreversible, at least for the foreseeable future, and few of us would deny the convenience of many imported foods. What is needed is to select the best of the foods that have been introduced and the most appropriate technology, and to preserve the best aspects of traditional life. For this the general public must be well informed. Therefore, a Pacific-wide nutrition education programme is required, tailored to meet the needs of each country, making fullest possible use of the mass media.

Some of the changes that have already occurred are not necessarily irreversible. In Papua New Guinea the Government passed legislation in 1977 removing infant feeding bottles and nipples from general sale, allowing them to be available only on prescription. This legislation, coupled with a campaign to promote breast-feeding, led to a reduction in the percentage of bottle-fed infants in Port Moresby from 35 per cent in 1975 to 12 per cent in 1979 (10). Over the same period, the number of cases of diarrhoea in infants less than six months of age seen each year at Port Moresby General Hospital dropped from 83 to 28.

In Micronesia a campaign to replace imported soft drinks with coconuts resulted in a drop of over 50 per cent in such imports (11). In Fiji, a Feed Fiji First-campaign, through the use of radio programmes, newspaper articles, the sale of T-shirts, and a nation-wide school garden contest, has succeeded in reviving interest in traditional crops.

The superiority of breast-milk and many other traditional foods compared to imported foods is self-evident to those who know the facts. Consumer education must therefore be the main goal. Military records from New Caledonia and Tahiti show that in 1905 the average height of Polynesians recruited into the armed forces was 4 cm greater than that of Europeans. BY 1950 there was no difference, and by 1970 the Europeans were taller than the Polynesians. Apparently our grandparents could teach us a lot about good nutrition!
Hunger, Technology, and Society
Authors: Kadiata Mbiyangandu
Published: November 2018

The quantity of cyanide present in the leaves after traditional cooking of cassava does not constitute a danger for the consumer, but research is being pursued to eliminate all of the cyanide.
Nutritional Status and Age at Secondary Sterility in Rural Bangladesh
Authors: Kabir M. , Karim A.
Published: November 2018

This paper suggests that there may be an inverse relationship between age at menopause and nutritional status, as determined by anthropometry, in poorly nourished populations.
Realistic Approaches to World Hunger: How can they be Sustained?
Authors: Timmer C. Peter
Published: November 2018

Realistic approaches to world hunger

The three papers that follow were presented as the opening lectures of a symposium held at Harvard University in the spring of 1984, sponsored jointly by the Overseas Development Network, Inc. (ODD), and its Harvard affiliate chapter, the Harvard-Radcliffe International Development Forum. Entitled “Realistic Approaches to World Hunger,” the symposium brought together more than 20 speakers and 300 participants to discuss a wide range of development issues.

ODN is a collaborative network of student groups and concerned citizens who are interested in responding constructively to the problems of world hunger and poverty. Its three main programmes focus on linking campus groups with development projects overseas, educating people in the United States about international development, and acting as a clearinghouse for development opportunities in the United States and abroad.

ODN is unique in that it uses the energy and commitment of students to educate the broader public, as well as the students themselves, about the complexities and challenges facing developing countries.

For more information, write to ODN, PO Box 1430, Cambridge, Mass. 02138 USA.
Nutritional Deficiency Disorders
Authors: Stanbury John B.
Published: November 2018

Endemic goitre continues to be a major public health problem in many of the developing countries. Probably a quarter of the world's population is at risk. In many endemias, especially those of India and central Africa, the disease and its accompanying disorders are responsible for serious disability and contribute to economic and social backwardness. While mild endemic goitre constitutes no particular disadvantage, when moderately severe or severe, the larger goitres may be a serious burden to the medical care system, and the attendant cretinism and lesser degrees of neuromuscular and intellectual impairment are surely important iodine deficiency disease is readily preventable by measures that are cost effective. Low viability of the disorder on the one hand and governmental inattention on the other are responsible for continued high prevalence rates. While there is ample information to support immediate implementation of prophylactic programmes in regions of endemic iodine deficiency disease, there remain interesting questions for research, the answers to some of which at least might affect the design and execution of prophylactic programmes and would certainly advance our understanding of iodine deficiency disease.
Household-Level Food Production
Authors: Niñez Vera
Published: November 2018

The articles in this issue discuss a household-level food production strategy which is as old as human civilization and plant domestication itself: the household garden. Shown to have been of crucial importance to a large proportion of the population in recent world history [3], the home garden still has a promising future in the struggle against world hunger and malnutrition as one of the “last frontiers” for increasing world food production.
Urban Agriculture: Who Cultivates and why? a Case-Study of Lusaka, Zambia
Authors: Sanyal Bishwapriya
Published: November 2018

Contrary to the official view that rejects urban cultivation as an irrational activity by a small group of recent migrants who have yet to be integrated into the urban environment, urban agriculture is an innovative response by a majority of the urban poor, who are fully entrenched in an urban economy that currently lacks the capacity to provide them with sufficient real income.

Though insufficient income is a primary reason, it is not the only factor affecting a household's decisions regarding cultivation. Low-income households consider urban cultivation as a form of long-term investment that requires a minimum threshold of predictability of return on the investment. To be sure of this return, most households must decide to live in the city on a permanent basis and gain access to land, which usually requires seven to eleven years of urban residence.

Once the decision to invest is made, variations in the pattern of cultivation among households result from relative differences in access to land and the need to maximize the return on domestic labour time, the opportunity costs of which vary with household income. Variations in the pattern of crops between plots and rainy-season gardens also occur as a result of rational decisions by households to maximize the return on land at two different locations.

The policy implications of these findings are at least threefold. First, since urban cultivation allows urban workers to survive with insufficient monetary income, not only should the harassment of cultivators be stopped but efforts should be made to encourage cultivation, particularly since the opportunities for these workers to increase their monetary income, at least in the short term, are minimal. Second, one sure way of encouraging cultivation is to provide assurance to low-income households regarding the return on their investment. This would involve ensuring that they have access to land through the granting of legal titles, either for renting, leasing, or owning land. Third, there is scope for further increases in the productivity of rainy-season gardens, for instance by providing better access to the peripheral areas and taking some measures to reduce the theft of produce.

To be sure, bringing about changes in official attitudes towards urban cultivation and formulating new policies to encourage it are not easy tasks. There are interested social groups who benefit from the rising price of urban land, and they are bound to object to policies which will not contribute to property inflation. It is hoped that this article will at least help explode some of the myths about urban cultivation that are currently used to legitimize the arguments of these interests.
Feeding from the Family Pot for Prevention of Malnutrition
Authors: Walia B. N. S. , Gambhir S. K. , Kumar D. , Bhatia S. P. S.
Published: November 2018

The following article on the use of foods from the “family pot” for the rehabilitation of malnourished children supports the conviction of many health workers that, in principle, this is the most practical approach to the prevention of malnutrition among pre-school children, even in impoverished families The small shifts in food distribution within the family that are required with this approach are of negligible significance for the other family members, but of critical importance for the young child. The problem in the past has been the lack of a means of persuading a mother of the need to feed her child more, particularly when she is already breast-feeding. This obstacle can be overcome if the mother can monitor the chid's growth and learn that a failure to gain weight from one weighing time to another means that more food is necessary. If there is evidence of disease, medical attention may also be indicated.

Of course, the implementation of this approach is subject to cultural variation in the suitability of foods being used by the other members of the family. For reasons which include high fibre content, strong seasoning, and low nutrient density, some foods will not be appropriate for infants and young children. Also, the phrase “family pot” may well apply to some cultures, but in others there is no single pot, but rather a variety of foods, some of which are always suitable for the young child. If cultural variations are taken into account, the concept advanced by this article should be universally applicable.
Seasonality in Health and Nutrition on a Guatemalan Coffee Plantation
Authors: Valverde V. , Delgado H. , Flores R. , Sibrián R.
Published: November 2018

This study, which focuses on a plantation, as well as the study by Bidinger et al., which concerns a village, failed to find the marked seasonal changes in food consumption reported for many other parts of the world. It would be a serious mistake to consider that these studies contradict in any way the findings of those who report seasonal variations They are published, however, as a reminder that generalizations cannot be used to predict specific cases and that, conversely, great caution must be used in generalizing from specific cases. The characteristics of the sites in both studies offer adequate explanation of why they did not fit the expected pattern of seasonal variation despite distinct rainy and dry seasons and harvest and non-harvest periods. It should be noted, however, that both Valverde et al. and Bidinger et al. did observe the anticipated marked seasonal differences in morbidity from diarrhoeal and other infectious diseases.
Food and Nutrition Policy
Authors: Bowonder B. , Dasgupta B. , Gupta S. , Prasad S.
Published: November 2018

An article by Mogens Jul in volume 1, number 3, of the Food and Nutrition Bulletin (1979) indicated benefits for the poor from the Amul Dairy Development Scheme in Gujarat State, India; and an update by the same author was published in volume 7, number 2. However, there have continued to be doubts. This article has been accepted because it provides direct data to confirm the suggestions of the earlier articles. It leaves no doubt that well-designed and implemented dairy operations of this type can benefit medium-size as we/l as large farms, and also improve the income and diet of landless labourers.
Unicef-Cornell Colloquium on Care and Nutrition of the Young Child - Overview
Authors: Latham Michael C.
Published: November 2018

The three underlying causes of malnutrition in children are inadequate food, inadequate health, and inadequate care. Of these three, inadequate care has been the feast investigated Actions to ensure adequate care of children include the protection of good caring practices in a society; support for mother and families to help them maintain good caring practices when these are threatened or otherwise difficult; and promotion of those caring practices likely to improve the nutrition and health of children. Three actions in favour of good care include service delivery, capacity-building, and empowerment. These can operate at different levels in society and may be interdependent. In this Colloquium, special attention was addressed to young children, and how care may influence their nutrition.
Breastfeeding as the Foundation of Care
Authors: Armstrong Helen C.
Published: November 2018

Breastfeeding, which unites food, health, and care, enhances the child's abilities to elicit good care through superior attachment, rhythmic synchrony, and vision and brain development. Parental responsiveness is increased by bonding, child spacing, and time with the baby Breastfeeding and other forms of care for nutrition share the aspects of interaction, cultural mediation, erosion of traditions, endemic misinformation, small-scale decision-making, and vulnerability to institutional mismanagement. Breastfeeding differs in requiring continuity of the caretaker and in facing social and profit-motivated opposition. Research is needed on adequate care for siblings, effective help for high-risk infants, improved duration, and nutrition of both mother and child in the second year of breastfeeding Despite effective strategies, such as the baby-friendly hospital initiative and community support groups, the challenge remains to move from motivating women to ensuring access to practical and confidence-building support.
Child-Feeding and Appetite: What Can Programmes Do?
Authors: Bentley Margaret E. , Black Maureen M. , Hurtado Elena
Published: November 2018

Feeding is an ideal context in which to examine the interaction between biological development and cultural variability in international efforts to promote children's survival and health. The transition from liquid to semisolid and solid feeding is a major developmental milestone that occurs in the first year of life. Appetite is a central component in the decision making process used by caregivers to determine when and how much to feed their infants. Anecdotal, qualitative, and dietary consumption data provide evidence that both illness-related and chronic anorexia is an important problem among infants and young children in developing countries. For example, nutrition programme personnel have noted that children simply do not appear to be hungry or to eat all that is offered to them, even if they are clearly undernourished. Following the UNICEF triple-A framework, this paper describes programme strategies to improve child-feeding and appetite.
Psychosocial Aspects of Care and Nutrition
Authors: Engle Patrice L. , Ricciuti Henry N.
Published: November 2018

The quality of psychosocial care provided the young child is reflected in the caregiver's responsiveness, warmth and affection, involvement with the child, and encouragement of autonomy and exploration. First, research was examined linking the quality of psychosocial care to a child's development of mental abilities, and to his or her growth and nutrition status. There is considerable correlational evidence and some experimental evidence for this linkage. Second, the barriers to adequate psychosocial care were explored, including maternal beliefs and confidence, stress and depression, social support, and autonomy and control of resources. Third, a number of strategies to enhance psychosocial care as a mechanism for increasing the child's nutrition status are described, at the level of the child, the caregiver, the child-caregiver relationship, and the community. All of the work was interpreted in terms of an interactive or transactional model of child development.
Care, Caregiving, and Caregivers
Authors: Van Esterik Penny
Published: November 2018

Research and common knowledge maintain that women are the primary caregivers of children and thus are crucial to explaining care. Yet most conceptual paradigms guiding the analysis of care allow little room for examining who is caring for the caregiver. A consideration of care must include a deconstruction of what constitutes care, the process of caregiving that influences child survival, the way caring acts are divided in a society, and how such acts are integrated into a matrix of other supportive activities. This paper reviews the meaning of care cross-culturally and the context in which care takes place, and focuses on child care and child-feeding as key activities. It concludes with action strategies and policy challenges following from a gender analysis of care.
Health and Nutrition Status of the Caregiver: Effect on Caregiving Capacity
Authors: Winkvist Anna
Published: November 2018

The importance of child care in ensuring optimal child survival, growth, and development is increasingly recognized. Unfortunately, poor health and nutrition status of the caregivers likely limit their agility to provide adequate care in many countries. Direct evidence for this has been shown in Egypt, where poor dietary intake, low haemoglobin levels, and low vitamin B6 status of the mothers were related to less time spent on care, less response to infants’ vocalization, less vocalization to infants, and greater utilization of older siblings as caregivers. In Kenya, lower maternal caloric intake was associated with less physical contact with their toddlers. Indirect evidence can be inferred from a review of illnesses affecting women globally in the light of the physical and mental demands of adequate caregiving. For this purpose, ill health of women is evaluated from both epidemiological and anthropological perspectives.
Modernization, Urbanization, and Nutritional Care
Authors: Zeitlin Marian F. , Megawanei Ratna
Published: November 2018

Child-care beliefs and practices evolve to meet the needs of children within changing families and societies. Production technologies, economic structures, formal and non-formal institutions, and ideologies influence the care of young children. Nutritional care varies among premodern agrarian, modern industrial, and postmodern knowledge-based settings. Vital families in which parents and children learn together currently are emerging as the most favourable environment for child care. Policy implications of historic trends are: 1) nutritional care should be added to the definition of children's rights; 2) functional indicators of nutritional care should be built into systems that monitor children's well-being; 3) care services should be available to the whole child in the whole family, through multi-purpose networks of agencies and activities; 4) child and family development programmes should teach parents to enhance children's nutritional care and development; 5) the care motto “Preserve, Protect, Promote” should expand to “Rediscover, Relearn, and Readapt” beneficial caring from the past.
Motivational Accounts of the Vicious Cycle of Social Status: An Integrative Framework Using the United States as a Case Study
Authors: Laurin Kristin , Engstrom Holly R. , Alic Adam
Published: November 2018

Social mobility is limited in most industrialized countries, and especially in the United States: Children born to relatively poor parents are less likely to prosper than other children. This observation has multiple explanations; in the current article, we focus on emerging motivational perspectives, synthesizing them into a novel integrative framework grounded in a classic theory of motivation: expectancy-value theory. Together, these findings indicate that individuals with lower socioeconomic status (SES) may be less motivated to achieve status relative to individuals with higher SES—not because of their own personal failings, but as a result of their material, social and cultural contexts. We then consider the significant theoretical advantages of this integrative framework, most notably that it enables us to consider how the disparate perspectives linking motivation to SES are linked and may at times compound or offset each other. In turn, this enables us to make sophisticated predictions concerning the conditions that will enable individuals with low SES to escape the vicious cycle of low motivation. Moreover, our account helps bridge the gap between explanations that locate the cause for low social mobility within individuals and those that locate it in the broader system. We end by addressing implications for the psychological understanding of low status and implications for social policy.
Exploring the socioethical dilemmas in the use of a global health archive
Authors: Holmes Matthew James Vaughton , Morris Isla-Kate , Williams Anthony , Le Blond Jennifer , Cranna Victoria , Davey Gail
Published: November 2018

A global health archive consisting of podoconiosis tissue slides and blocks (which was collected and imported into the UK before the introduction of the Human Tissue Act), was donated to Brighton & Sussex Medical School in 2014. There is little guidance on the socioethical and legal issues surrounding the retrospective use of archived or ‘abandoned’ tissue samples, which poses a number of questions relating to the ethical standing of the archive.

There is a great deal of interpretation in the guidelines that are currently in existence; however, modern ethical principles cannot be applied as it is not feasible to either reconsent or retrospectively seek approval. Our research team believed that it was unethical to leave the archive in storage, as this option favours neither researcher nor subjects. Permission was obtained from the Human Tissue Authority and a local ethics board for the tissues to be utilized in on-going research on podoconiosis aetiology.

There is a delicate balance between the benefits gained by society relating to the development and progress of scientific research and the risks to the donor regarding the reuse of their tissues. Clearer guidelines should be made available to ensure that researchers are able to reuse tissue archives in contemporary research.
Extending the survival signature paradigm to complex systems with non-repairable dependent failures
Authors: George-Williams Hindolo , Feng Geng , Coolen Frank PA , Beer Michael , Patelli Edoardo
Published: November 2018

Dependent failures impose severe consequences on a complex system’s reliability and overall performance, and a realistic assessment, therefore, requires an adequate consideration of these failures. System survival signature opens up a new and efficient way to compute a system’s reliability, given its ability to segregate the structural from the probabilistic attributes of the system. Consequently, it outperforms the well-known system reliability evaluation techniques, when solicited for problems like maintenance optimisation, requiring repetitive system evaluations. The survival signature, however, is premised on the statistical independence between component failure times and, more generally, on the theory of weak exchangeability, for dependent component failures. The assumption of independence is flawed for most realistic engineering systems while the latter entails the painstaking and sometimes impossible task of deriving the joint survival function of the system components. This article, therefore, proposes a novel, generally applicable, and efficient Monte Carlo Simulation approach that allows the survival signature to be intuitively used for the reliability evaluation of systems susceptible to induced failures. Multiple component failure modes, as well, are considered, and sensitivities are analysed to identify the most critical common-cause group to the survivability of the system. Examples demonstrate the superiority of the approach.
The role of extracellular vesicles in biomineralisation: current perspective and application in regenerative medicine
Authors: Azoidis Ioannis , Cox Sophie C , Davies Owen G
Published: November 2018

Extracellular vesicles comprise a heterogenous population of exosomes and microvesicles that have critical roles in intercellular signalling and tissue development. These complex particles have been implicated as mediators of the therapeutic effects of stem cells via the transfer of an assorted cargo of proteins and nucleic acids, which can modulate inflammation and enhance endogenous regeneration in a range of tissues. In addition, extracellular vesicles have the capacity to be loaded with therapeutic molecules for targeted delivery of pharmaceuticals. The versatility, biostability and biocompatibility of extracellular vesicles make them appealing for regenerative medicine and may endow considerable advantages over single molecule approaches. Furthermore, since production can be optimised and assessed ex vivo, extracellular vesicles present a decreased risk of neoplastic transformation when compared with cell-based methods. To date, the contribution of vesicles to tissue development has perhaps been most comprehensively defined within hard tissues, such as endochondral bone, where they were first identified in 1969 and henceforth referred to as matrix vesicles. Within developing bone, vesicles function as vehicles for the delivery of pro-osteogenic factors and initiate early nucleational events necessary for matrix mineralisation. However, advancement in our understanding of the biogenesis and characterisation of matrix vesicles has occurred largely in parallel to associated developments in wider extracellular vesicle biology. As such, there is a requirement to align current understanding of matrix vesicle–mediated mineralisation within the context of an evolving literature surrounding exosomes and microvesicles. In this review, we present an overview of current progress and opinion surrounding the application of vesicles in regenerative medicine with a primary focus on their potential as an acellular approach for enhancing hard tissue regeneration. This is balanced with an assessment of areas where further development is required to maximise their application for regenerative medicine.
Continuation of atypical antipsychotic medications in critically ill patients discharged from the hospital: a single-center retrospective analysis
Authors: Karamchandani Kunal , Schoaps Robert S. , Bonavia Anthony , Prasad Amit , Quintili Ashley , Lehman Erik B. , Carr Zyad J.
Published: November 2018

Background:

Atypical antipsychotics (AAP) have been associated with reduced duration of delirium in the intensive care setting. However, long-term use of these drugs is associated with significant adverse events, including increased all-cause mortality in the elderly. Inappropriate continuation of AAPs after discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU) is worrisome and needs to be addressed. The aim of this work was to assess the prevalence of continuation of AAPs after hospital discharge and evaluate the associated risk factors.

Method:

This was a single-center retrospective chart analysis in the setting of adult ICUs at a tertiary care academic medical center. It involved all adult patients admitted to the ICU and initiated on AAPs from January 2012 to December 2014. The measurements were: (1) prevalence of ICU-initiated AAP continuation following hospital discharge, (2) risk factors associated with continuation of AAPs following hospital discharge, and (3) risk of continuation of AAPs in patients ⩾65 years of age.

Results:

A total of 55% of ICU patients initiated on AAPs were discharged from the hospital with a prescription for continued AAP therapy. Male sex and discharge location were highly associated with continuation upon discharge. Older patients (⩾65 years of age) were not at a higher risk of being continued on these drugs after discharge.

Conclusion:

Male sex and discharge to a healthcare facility were associated with a higher rate of continuation. Research into practical methods to reduce their continuation upon discharge should be performed to mitigate the long-term risks of AAP administration.