bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nutrient and Nontraditional Food Intakes by Zambian Children in a Controlled Feeding Trial
Authors: Schmaelzle Samantha , Kaliwile Chisela , Arscott Sara A. , Gannon Bryan , Masi Cassim , Tanumihardjo Sherry A. 
Published: November 2015

Background Many programs aim to alleviate vitamin A deficiency. Biofortification is an approach to improve provitamin A carotenoid concentrations of staple crops in some developing countries. In rural Zambia, maize accounts for the majority of energy intake. Provitamin A–biofortified (orange) maize has been released in Zambia. Objective This study quantified food intake of Zambian children from records collected in a feeding trial in 2012 in order to compare adoption of orange maize and a new vegetable (green beans) with white maize and traditional foods. Methods One hundred thirty-six children with a mean age of 71.5 ± 6.9 months were fed three meals a day for 6 days a week for 15 weeks at four feeding centers. Breakfast consisted of maize porridge, and lunch and dinner were stiff porridge (nshima) with various side dishes (relishes). There were three treatment groups, which received orange maize and placebo oil, white maize and placebo oil, or white maize and a daily vitamin A supplement. Food was weighed before and after consumption. Nutritionists were trained to interview the children's caregivers about the previous day's intake using dietary recalls. Nine dietary recalls for each child were recorded and analyzed. Results Total food intake did not differ among the groups ( p = .31) and energy intakes on Sundays (≤ 880 kcal) were below recommendations. Nshima intake was lower in the orange-maize group ( p = .008), largely due to a genotype effect. Intakes of relish, green bean, and porridge did not differ among the groups ( p > .19). Dietary recalls revealed that children living in sites closer to the main road consumed more on Sundays than children living about 8 km from the main road, but less in the evenings when children were off site. Conclusions The intakes of energy of these Zambian children were low. Implementation and adoption of new and biofortified foods is possible with promotion.
Impact of Community-Based Mitanin Programme on Undernutrition in Rural Chhattisgarh State, India
Authors: Vir Sheila C. , Kalita Anuska , Mondal Shinjini , Malik Richa 
Published: November 2015

Background Community health workers known as mitanins undertook family-level counseling and mobilized the community to improve coverage of maternal and child health services in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The Nutrition Security Innovation (NSI) project was launched in selected blocks with additional inputs for promoting appropriate complementary feeding practices and disseminating information on Public Distribution System (PDS) entitlement. Within 3 years of project implementation, all NSI inputs in the project group (PG) were scaled up in the entire state. Objective To study the impact of interventions on nutritional status in PG and non-NSI comparison group (CG) blocks. Methods Quasi-experimental mixed methods were used. The sample consisted of 3,626 households with children under 3 years of age and 268 mitanins. Results A ratio of 1 mitanin per 250 to 500 population was effective. The coverage of exclusive breastfeeding, timely introduction of complementary feeding, DPT immunization, and antenatal care services was more than 70%. The PDS reached almost 90% of beneficiaries. In both the PG and the CG, one-third of children were undernourished, with one-quarter of children under-nourished by 6 months of age. The prevalence of low birthweight was over 40%, and half of all women were undernourished. The estimated annual average reduction rate (AARR) for the entire state was estimated to be 4.22% for underweight and 5.64% for stunting. Conclusions The strategy of Mitanin Programme in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh was unique with the implementation of direct nutrition actions being spearheaded by the health sector and community health volunteers in coordination with the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the Public Distribution System (PDS). The highest priority was given to interventions in the first 92 weeks of life. This implied ensuring frequent counseling and delivery of services through the entire pregnancy period and continued follow up till the children were at least one year of age. An accelerated decrease in the annual rate of reduction of underweight and stunting was observed. The emerging findings point to the significant contributions that can be made by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in India by involvement of community health volunteers known as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) towards reducing the persistent problem of undernutrition in the country.
How Nutrition-Friendly are Agriculture and Health Policies in Bangladesh?
Authors: Naher Firdousi , Barkat-e-Khuda  , Ahmed Shaikh Shamsuddin , Hossain Mahabub 
Published: November 2015

Background The improvements in nutrition status in Bangladesh, particularly child nutrition outcomes, have been relatively slow, despite remarkable improvements in the country's food situation as well as in the health sector. At present more than 40% of children under 5 years of age are stunted. Objective To examine the specific food, agriculture, and health policies that have existed and currently exist in Bangladesh from the perspective of nutrition and identify gaps in the policy framework for which improvements in nutrition have been slow. Methods Policy documents, public financial and budget documents, and related papers were reviewed. Several interviews with former civil servants and bureaucrats were conducted. Results The approach to achieving food security has been a partial one, with policy provisions focusing excessively on increasing the availability of food, primarily rice. The “accessibility” pillar of food security has received little attention, while the neglect of the “utilization” pillar is conspicuous by the dearth of appropriate policies and laws for ensuring food safety. The efforts in the health sector have largely concentrated on expanding the coverage of primary healthcare, with little consideration of equity and quality. Conclusions There exists a wide window of unexplored opportunity to align the remarkable increases in food production and advances in the health sector with nutrition considerations toward an improved nutrition status in Bangladesh.
Investing in Innovation: Trade-Offs in the Costs and Cost-Efficiency of School Feeding Using Community-Based Kitchens in Bangladesh
Authors: Gelli Aulo , Suwa Yuko 
Published: November 2015

Background School feeding programs have been a key response to the recent food and economic crises and function to some degree in nearly every country in the world. However, school feeding programs are complex and exhibit different, context-specific models or configurations. Objective To examine the trade-offs, including the costs and cost-efficiency, of an innovative cluster kitchen implementation model in Bangladesh using a standardized framework. Methods A supply chain framework based on international standards was used to provide benchmarks for meaningful comparisons across models. Implementation processes specific to the program in Bangladesh were mapped against this reference to provide a basis for standardized performance measures. Qualitative and quantitative data on key metrics were collected retrospectively using semistructured questionnaires following an ingredients approach, including both financial and economic costs. Costs were standardized to a 200-feeding-day year and 700 kcal daily. Results The cluster kitchen model had similarities with the semidecentralized model and outsourced models in the literature, the main differences involving implementation scale, scale of purchasing volumes, and frequency of purchasing. Two important features stand out in terms of implementation: the nutritional quality of meals and the level of community involvement. The standardized full cost per child per year was US$110. Despite the nutritious content of the meals, the overall cost-efficiency in cost per nutrient output was lower than the benchmark for centralized programs, due mainly to support and start-up costs. Conclusions Cluster kitchens provide an example of an innovative implementation model, combining an emphasis on quality meal delivery with strong community engagement. However, the standardized costs per child were above the average benchmarks for both low- and middle-income countries. In contrast to the existing benchmark data from mature, centralized models, the main cost drivers of the program were associated with support and start-up activities. Further research is required to better understand changes in cost drivers as programs mature.
Identifying Common Metrics for Evaluating School-Based Healthy Lifestyles Programs in Seven Countries: Introduction to Workshop Proceedings
Authors: Pérez-Escamilla Rafael , Alberg-Seberich Michael 
Published: November 2015

Background The worldwide childhood obesity pandemic highlights the need to instill healthy lifestyle habits in children and youths, in particular fostering and facilitating healthy eating behaviors and a high degree of physical activity. To achieve this it's important to strengthen local program evaluation capacity. Objective To summarize the proceedings of the seven-country School-Based Healthy Lifestyles Program Evaluation Workshop held in Granada, Spain, on 13–14 September 2013 under the auspices of the Mondelēz International Foundation. Methods Synthesis of workshop proceedings including illustrative participants' quotes. Results All seven countries' programs were successful at developing and presenting their Program Impact Pathway (PIP) analysis at the workshop. All countries found their PIP analyses useful and improved them based on feedback received at the workshop. Conclusions As illustrated by the participants' quotes the PIP analyses proved to be very useful in leading to in-depth critical thinking and discussion about ways to improve the programs' processes, oversight, and outcomes.
Strong and Healthy in Primary School Klasse2000 Program, Germany: A Program Impact Pathways (PIP) Analysis
Authors: Dokter Andrea , Horst Brigitte 
Published: November 2015

Background Developing a Program Impact Pathways (PIP) diagram helps identify and clarify the key objectives, processes, activities, and evaluation indicators of school-based nutrition programs. The Mondelēz International Foundation has recently supported the development of PIP analyses for programs in seven countries around the world. The results were shared with other project organizers at a Healthy Lifestyles Program Evaluation Workshop held in Granada, Spain, 13–14 September 2013, under the auspices of the Mondelēz International Foundation. Objective The objectives were to develop the PIP assessment of the Strong and Healthy in Primary School Klasse2000 Program in order to refine the primary, secondary, and tertiary objectives of the program; identify Critical Quality Control Points (CCPs); and identify core indicators of the program's impact on healthy lifestyles. Methods The PIP report was developed based on detailed instructions provided prior to the workshop, taking into account the Klasse2000 Program evaluation reports. Results The following CCPs were identified: monitoring the qualifications and motivation of teaching staff (external health promoters and schoolteachers); assessing involvement of the students' environmental influences, including families, schools, and sponsors; and assessing the children's healthy lifestyle knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors before and after program exposure. The healthy lifestyle indicators identified were children's knowledge of healthy diets and health-enhancing physical activities; the availability of healthy breakfast and snacks; the frequency of consumption of fruits, vegetables, sweetened and unsweetened drinks, fast food, and sweets, as well as attitudes toward physical activity; and the frequency and extent of physical activity in school and during free time. Body mass index (BMI) was identified as the final outcome indicator. Conclusions Developing a PIP report helped to focus the objectives of the program. Identifying CCPs helped draw attention to the processes linking critical program activities. As a result, plans for the upcoming school year include conducting a PIP-informed survey of participating parents and children to gauge their satisfaction with the program.
Setting the Scene: An Overview of Issues Related to Policies and Programs for Moderate and Severe Acute Malnutrition
Authors: Kennedy Eileen , Branca Francesco , Webb Patrick , Bhutta Zulfigar , Brown Rebecca 
Published: November 2015

Background Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) and severe acute malnutrition (SAM) continue to exist at unacceptably high levels. There is a renewed momentum to dramatically improve nutritional status and decrease rates of malnutrition of all kinds. Although much focus is on the first 1,000 days, the period from conception to age 2 years, in relation to growth retardation (or stunting), it is just as important to pay adequate attention to wasting as a major contributor to both morbidity and mortality. Objective This paper reviews what is known about effective approaches for treatment and prevention of MAM and SAM, highlights nutrition blind spots in our strategies, and identifies programmatic and research gaps that, if addressed, will enhance our understanding of the menu of cost-effective approaches to alleviate acute forms of malnutrition. Methods The paper synthesizes presentations from the opening session of a May 2014 International Atomic Energy Agency symposium on Moderate Acute Malnutrition held in Vienna, Austria. Results Although understanding of efficacious approaches to the treatment and prevention of MAM and SAM has recently improved, the evidence base for informed policies and programs remains limited. Conclusions If priority evidence gaps can be urgently addressed, our understanding of the menu of cost-effective interventions to alleviate acute forms of malnutrition will be considerably enhanced and the potential for impact at global scale significantly increased.
The genetic fingerprint of susceptibility for transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy
Authors: Jodele Sonata , Zhang Kejian , Zou Fanggeng , Laskin Benjamin , Dandoy Christopher E. , Myers Kasiani C. , Lane Adam , Meller Jaroslav , Medvedovic Mario , Chen Jenny , Davies Stella M. 
Published: November 2015

Key Points
HSCT recipients with multiple complement gene variants (≥3) are at high risk for severe TA-TMA. Increased numbers of complement gene variants predisposing to TMA might contribute to racial disparities in transplant-related mortality.
The Role of Nav1.9 Channel in the Development of Neuropathic Orofacial Pain Associated with Trigeminal Neuralgia
Authors: Lulz Ana Paula , Kopach Olga , Santana-Varela Sonia , Wood John N. 
Published: November 2015

Background Trigeminal neuralgia is accompanied by severe mechanical, thermal and chemical hypersensitivity of the orofacial area innervated by neurons of trigeminal ganglion (TG). We examined the role of the voltage-gated sodium channel subtype Nav1.9 in the development of trigeminal neuralgia. Results We found that Nav1.9 is required for the development of both thermal and mechanical hypersensitivity induced by constriction of the infraorbital nerve (CION). The CION model does not induce change on Nav1.9 mRNA expression in the ipsilateral TG neurons when evaluated 9 days after surgery. Conclusions These results demonstrate that Nav1.9 channels play a critical role in the development of orofacial neuropathic pain. New routes for the treatment of orofacial neuropathic pain focussing on regulation of the voltage-gated Nav1.9 sodium channel activity should be investigated.
Comparison of biological characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells derived from maternal-origin placenta and Wharton’s jelly
Authors: Chen Gecai , Yue Aihuan , Ruan Zhongbao , Yin Yigang , Wang Ruzhu , Ren Yin , Zhu Li 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
Introduction
Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from different sources share many similar characteristics, they also exhibit individual properties. In this study, we compared MSCs derived from Wharton’s jelly in the umbilical cord with those derived from the decidual basalis in the maternal part of the placenta to better understand the similarities and differences between these two cell types.

Method
The morphology, immunophenotype (as assessed using flow cytometry), and multi-lineage differentiation potential were analyzed. Karyotype analysis was carried out to determine the origin of the MSCs. Growth kinetics were evaluated using analysis of the population doubling time and cell cycle. Immunosuppressive function was analyzed using mixed lymphocyte culture.

Results
MSCs from Wharton’s jelly and the decidua basalis exhibited similar morphology, immunophenotype, and differentiation potential to osteogenesis and adipogenesis. The percentage of MSCs in the G0/G1 phase was higher in the case of Wharton’s jelly than in the case of the decidua basalis (P < 0.05). Decidual MSCs displayed more remarkable immunosuppressive effects on phytohemagglutinin-stimulated T-cell proliferation (P < 0.05).

Conclusion
MSCs from both sources had similar basic biological properties, but decidual MSCs had slower proliferation and stronger immunosuppressive function.
Common fixed point theorems of integral type contraction on metric spaces and its applications to system of functional equations
Authors: Sarwar Muhammad , Zada Mian Bahadur , Erhan İnci M 
Published: November 2015

AbstractIn this article, using the common $(CLR)$
(
C
L
R
)
property, common fixed point results for two pairs of weakly compatible mappings satisfying contractive condition of integral type on metric spaces are established. Furthermore, the existence and uniqueness of common solution for system of functional equations arising in dynamic programming are discussed as an application of a common fixed point theorem presented in this paper.
Mild Thyroid Hormone Insufficiency During Development Compromises Activity-Dependent Neuroplasticity in the Hippocampus of Adult Male Rats
Authors: Gilbert M. E. , Sanchez-Huerta K. , Wood C. 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
Severe thyroid hormone (TH) deficiency during critical phases of brain development results in irreversible neurological and cognitive impairments. The mechanisms accounting for this are likely multifactorial, and are not fully understood. Here we pursue the possibility that one important element is that TH affects basal and activity-dependent neurotrophin expression in brain regions important for neural processing. Graded exposure to propylthiouracil (PTU) during development produced dose-dependent reductions in mRNA expression of nerve growth factor (Ngf) in whole hippocampus of neonates. These changes in basal expression persisted to adulthood despite the return to euthyroid conditions in blood. In contrast to small PTU-induced reductions in basal expression of several genes, developmental PTU treatment dramatically reduced the activity-dependent expression of neurotrophins and related genes (Bdnft, Bdnfiv, Arc, and Klf9) in adulthood and was accompanied by deficits in hippocampal-based learning. These data demonstrate that mild TH insufficiency during development not only reduces expression of important neurotrophins that persists into adulthood but also severely restricts the activity-dependent induction of these genes. Considering the importance of these neurotrophins for sculpting the structural and functional synaptic architecture in the developing and the mature brain, it is likely that TH-mediated deficits in these plasticity mechanisms contribute to the cognitive deficiencies that accompany developmental TH compromise.
Research Resource: The Dexamethasone Transcriptome in Hypothalamic Embryonic Neural Stem Cells
Authors: Frahm Krystle A. , Peffer Melanie E. , Zhang Janie Y. , Luthra Soumya , Chakka Anish B. , Couger Matthew B. , Chandran Uma R. , Monaghan A. Paula , DeFranco Donald B. 
Published: November 2015

Abstract
Exposure to excess glucocorticoids during fetal development has long-lasting physiological and behavioral consequences, although the mechanisms are poorly understood. The impact of prenatal glucocorticoids exposure on stress responses in juvenile and adult offspring implicates the developing hypothalamus as a target of adverse prenatal glucocorticoid action. Therefore, primary cultures of hypothalamic neural-progenitor/stem cells (NPSCs) derived from mouse embryos (embryonic day 14.5) were used to identify the glucocorticoid transcriptome in both males and females. NPSCs were treated with vehicle or the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone (dex; 100nM) for 4 hours and total RNA analyzed using RNA-Sequencing. Bioinformatic analysis demonstrated that primary hypothalamic NPSC cultures expressed relatively high levels of a number of genes regulating stem cell proliferation and hypothalamic progenitor function. Interesting, although these cells express glucocorticoid receptors (GRs), only low levels of sex-steroid receptors are expressed, which suggested that sex-specific differentially regulated genes identified are mediated by genetic and not hormonal influences. We also identified known or novel GR-target coding and noncoding genes that are either regulated equivalently in male and female NPSCs or differential responsiveness in one sex. Using gene ontology analysis, the top functional network identified was cell proliferation and using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation observed a reduction in proliferation of hypothalamic NPSCs after dexamethasone treatment. Our studies provide the first characterization and description of glucocorticoid-regulated pathways in male and female embryonically derived hypothalamic NPSCs and identified GR-target genes during hypothalamic development. These findings may provide insight into potential mechanisms responsible for the long-term consequences of fetal glucocorticoid exposure in adulthood.
Different ossification patterns of intermuscular bones in fish with different swimming modes
Authors: Yao Wenjie , Lv Yaoping , Gong Xiaoling , Wu Jiaming , Bao Baolong 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTIntermuscular bones are found in the myosepta in teleosts. However, there is very little information on the development and ossification of these intermuscular bones. In this study, we performed an in-depth investigation of the ossification process during development in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica). In Japanese eel, a typical anguilliform swimmer, the intermuscular bones ossified predominantly from the anterior to the posterior. By contrast, in the zebrafish, a sub-carangiform or carangiform swimmer, the intermuscular bones ossified predominantly from the posterior to the anterior regions of the fish. Furthermore, tail amputation affected the ossification of the intermuscular bones. The length of the intermuscular bones in the posterior area became significantly shorter in tail-amputated zebrafish and Japanese eels, and both had less active and lower swimming speeds; this indicates that swimming might induce the ossification of the intermuscular bones. Moreover, when a greater length of tail was amputated in the zebrafish, the intermuscular bones became even shorter. Tail amputation affected the length and ossification of intermuscular bones in the anterior part of the fish, close to the head, differently between the two fish: they became significantly shorter in the zebrafish, but did not in the Japanese eel. This might be because tail amputation did not significantly affect the undulations in the anterior of the Japanese eel, especially near the head. This study shows that the ossification of intermuscular bones might be induced through mechanical force loadings that are produced by swimming.