Individuals following vegetarian diets are at risk for developing vitamin B12 deficiency owing to suboptimal intake. As vitamin B12 is essential for the synthesis of nucleic acids, erythrocytes and ...in the maintenance of myelin, deficiency may result in a variety of symptoms. Some of these symptoms may be severe while others may be irreversible. The objective of this review was to assess vitamin B12 deficiency, based on reported serum vitamin B12, among individuals adhering to different types of vegetarian diets. A systematic literature search was carried out using multiple search engines including PubMed, Medline, CINAHL plus, ERIC, Nursing and Allied Health Collection and Nursing/Academic Edition. The inclusion criteria consisted of original studies that assessed serum vitamin B12, studies written in English, non-case studies and studies that reported actual percentages of vitamin B12 deficiency. Forty research studies were included. The deficiency prevalence among infants reached 45%. The deficiency among the children and adolescents ranged from 0 to 33.3%. Deficiency among pregnant women ranged from 17 to 39%, dependent on the trimester. Adults and elderly individuals had a deficiency range of 0-86.5%. Higher deficiency prevalence was reported in vegans than in other vegetarians. Thus, with few exceptions, the reviewed studies documented relatively high deficiency prevalence among vegetarians. Vegans who do not ingest vitamin B12 supplements were found to be at especially high risk. Vegetarians, especially vegans, should give strong consideration to the use of vitamin B12 supplements to ensure adequate vitamin B12 intake. Vegetarians, regardless of the type of vegetarian diet they adhere to, should be screened for vitamin B12 deficiency.
Microgreens (seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs) have gained popularity as a new culinary trend over the past few years. Although small in size, microgreens can provide surprisingly intense ...flavors, vivid colors, and crisp textures and can be served as an edible garnish or a new salad ingredient. However, no scientific data are currently available on the nutritional content of microgreens. The present study was conducted to determine the concentrations of ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phylloquinone, and tocopherols in 25 commercially available microgreens. Results showed that different microgreens provided extremely varying amounts of vitamins and carotenoids. Total ascorbic acid contents ranged from 20.4 to147.0 mg per 100 g fresh weight (FW), while β-carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, and violaxanthin concentrations ranged from 0.6 to 12.1, 1.3 to 10.1, and 0.9 to 7.7 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Phylloquinone level varied from 0.6 to 4.1 μg/g FW; meanwhile, α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol ranged from 4.9 to 87.4 and 3.0 to 39.4 mg/100 g FW, respectively. Among the 25 microgreens assayed, red cabbage, cilantro, garnet amaranth, and green daikon radish had the highest concentrations of ascorbic acids, carotenoids, phylloquinone, and tocopherols, respectively. In comparison with nutritional concentrations in mature leaves (USDA National Nutrient Database), the microgreen cotyledon leaves possessed higher nutritional densities. The phytonutrient data may provide a scientific basis for evaluating nutritional values of microgreens and contribute to food composition database. These data also may be used as a reference for health agencies’ recommendations and consumers’ choices of fresh vegetables.
Status and Solutions for the World's Unassessed Fisheries Costello, Christopher; Ovando, Daniel; Hilborn, Ray ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
10/2012, Letnik:
338, Številka:
6106
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Recent reports suggest that many well-assessed fisheries in developed countries are moving toward sustainability. We examined whether the same conclusion holds for fisheries lacking formal assessment ...which comprise >80% of global catch. We developed a method using species' life-history, catch, and fishery development data to estimate the status of thousands of unassessed fisheries worldwide. We found that small unassessed fisheries are in substantially worse condition than assessed fisheries, but that large unassessed fisheries may be performing nearly as well as their assessed counterparts. Both small and large stocks, however, continue to decline; 64% of unassessed stocks could provide increased sustainable harvest if rebuilt. Our results suggest that global fishery recovery would simultaneously create increases in abundance (56%) and fishery yields (8 to 40%).
Various aspects related to the integrated pest management (IPM) were discussed. To qualify as an IPM practitioner, a farmer was required to utilize at least three of the four PAMS components. There ...were two problems with this approach: there was little or no commitment to integration of multiple tactics, and, because only three of four components needed to be employed, monitoring of pests and their natural enemies/antagonists was optional. Another metric for IPM implementation was reduction in pesticide use. It was found that applying a quick fix is simple and represents the path of least resistance for the farmer or pest consultant; in contrast, real IPM is complex, demands an ecological understanding of pest problems and can be challenging to implement.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasingly being used globally to conserve marine resources. However, whether many MPAs are being effectively and equitably managed, and how MPA management ...influences substantive outcomes remain unknown. We developed a global database of management and fish population data (433 and 218 MPAs, respectively) to assess: MPA management processes; the effects of MPAs on fish populations; and relationships between management processes and ecological effects. Here we report that many MPAs failed to meet thresholds for effective and equitable management processes, with widespread shortfalls in staff and financial resources. Although 71% of MPAs positively influenced fish populations, these conservation impacts were highly variable. Staff and budget capacity were the strongest predictors of conservation impact: MPAs with adequate staff capacity had ecological effects 2.9 times greater than MPAs with inadequate capacity. Thus, continued global expansion of MPAs without adequate investment in human and financial capacity is likely to lead to sub-optimal conservation outcomes.
Objective
The obesity paradox is the association of increased survival for overweight and obese patients compared to normal and underweight patients, despite an increased risk of morbidity. The ...obesity paradox has been demonstrated in many disease states but has yet to be studied in trauma. The objective of this study is to elucidate the presence of the obesity paradox in trauma patients by evaluating the association between BMI and outcomes.
Methods
Using the 2014–2015 National Trauma Database (NTDB), adults were categorized by WHO BMI category. Logistic regression was used to assess the odds of mortality associated with each category, adjusting for statistically significant covariables. Length of stay (LOS), ICU LOS and ventilator days were also analyzed, adjusting for statistically significant covariables.
Results
A total of 415,807 patients were identified. Underweight patients had increased odds of mortality (OR 1.378,
p
< 0.001 95% CI 1.252–1.514), while being overweight had a protective effect (OR 0.916,
p
= 0.002 95% CI 0.867–0.968). Class I obesity was not associated with increased mortality compared to normal weight (OR 1.013,
p
= 0.707 95% CI 0.946–1.085). Class II and Class III obesity were associated with increased mortality risk (Class II OR 1.178,
p
= 0.001 95% CI 1.069–1.299; Class III OR 1.515,
p
< 0.001 95% CI 1.368–1.677). Hospital and ICU LOS increased with each successive increase in BMI category above normal weight. Obesity was associated with increased ventilator days; Class I obese patients had a 22% increase in ventilator days (IRR 1.217 95% CI 1.171–1.263), and Class III obese patients had a 54% increase (IRR 1.536 95% CI 1.450–1.627).
Conclusion
The obesity paradox exists in trauma patients. Further investigation is needed to elucidate what specific phenotypic aspects confer this benefit and how these can enhance patient care.
Level of evidence
Level III, prognostic study
The field of marine reserve science has matured greatly over the last decade, moving beyond studies of single reserves and beyond perspectives from single disciplines. This Special Feature ...exemplifies recent advances in marine reserve research, showing insights gained from synthetic studies of reserve networks, long-term changes within reserves, integration of social and ecological science research, and balance between reserve design for conservation as well as fishery and other commercial objectives. This rich body of research helps to inform conservation planning for marine ecosystems but also poses new challenges for further study, including how to best design integrated fisheries management and conservation systems, how to effectively evaluate the performance of entire reserve networks, and how to examine the complex coupling between ecological and socioeconomic responses to reserve networks.
Oral alendronate (5 or 10 mg daily) for 2 years in children with osteogenesis imperfecta was well-tolerated, significantly increased spine bone mineral density, and decreased bone turnover.
Context:
...Information on the use of oral bisphosphonate agents to treat pediatric osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is limited.
Objective:
The objective of the investigation was to study the efficacy and safety of daily oral alendronate (ALN) in children with OI.
Design and Participants:
We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. One hundred thirty-nine children (aged 4–19 yr) with type I, III, or IV OI were randomized to either placebo (n = 30) or ALN (n = 109) for 2 yr. ALN doses were 5 mg/d in children less than 40 kg and 10 mg/d for those 40 kg and greater.
Main Outcome Measures:
Spine areal bone mineral density (BMD) z-score, urinary N-telopeptide of collagen type I, extremity fracture incidence, vertebral area, iliac cortical width, bone pain, physical activity, and safety parameters were measured.
Results:
ALN increased spine areal BMD by 51% vs. a 12% increase with placebo (P < 0.001); the mean spine areal BMD z-score increased significantly from −4.6 to −3.3 (P < 0.001) with ALN, whereas the change in the placebo group (from −4.6 to −4.5) was insignificant. Urinary N-telopeptide of collagen type I decreased by 62% in the ALN-treated group, compared with 32% with placebo (P < 0.001). Long-bone fracture incidence, average midline vertebral height, iliac cortical width, bone pain, and physical activity were similar between groups. The incidences of clinical and laboratory adverse experiences were also similar between the treatment and placebo groups.
Conclusions:
Oral ALN for 2 yr in pediatric patients with OI significantly decreased bone turnover and increased spine areal BMD but was not associated with improved fracture outcomes.
•We investigate the thermal mechanisms by which microwave heating enhances emulsion separation.•Settling times decrease with increased microwave heating duration and the addition of NaCl.•Results ...show significant water droplet coalescence, but viscosity effects cannot be decoupled.•No evidence for non-thermal microwave effects is observed.•Proposed mechanism is selective heating of the saline phase causing thermal gradients in the oil.
The separation of water-in-oil emulsions made with Azeri crude was investigated using natural gravity settling and microwave heating techniques. Separation times could be reduced by an order of magnitude compared with untreated emulsions. Increasing the salinity of the water phase leads to a 15% average decrease in the settling time for untreated emulsions compared with over 90% for microwave-heated emulsions. An image analysis technique showed that the observed increases in settling time could not be attributed to changes in viscosity alone. Significant coalescence of water droplets occurs during microwave heating, however the effects of coalescence and viscosity reduction cannot be completely decoupled. Despite this, it is clear that it is the thermal effect of microwave heating that leads to improvements in settling times, and that any advantages in microwave heating over conventional heating can be explained by selective heating of the aqueous phase rather than so-called non-thermal effects.
Three different PAN based carbon fibres (Toray T600S, T700S and Tenax STS5631) were recycled from epoxy resin/carbon fibre composites using supercritical
n-propanol. The recycled carbon fibres were ...characterised using single fibre tensile tests, SEM, XPS and micro-droplet test. The tensile strength and modulus of the recycled carbon fibre was very similar to the corresponding as-received carbon fibres. However, the surface oxygen concentration decreased significantly, which caused a reduction of the interfacial shear strength with epoxy resin.
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