Maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation before and in early pregnancy prevents neural tube defects (NTD), but it is uncertain whether continuing FA after the first trimester has benefits on ...offspring health. We aimed to evaluate the effect of FA supplementation throughout pregnancy on cognitive performance and brain function in the child.
Follow-up investigation of 11-year-old children, residing in Northern Ireland, whose mothers had participated in a randomised trial of Folic Acid Supplementation in the Second and Third Trimesters (FASSTT) in pregnancy and received 400 μg/day FA or placebo from the 14th gestational week. Cognitive performance (Full Scale Intelligence Quotient, Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed) was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Neuronal function was assessed using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging.
Of 119 mother-child pairs in the FASSTT trial, 68 children were assessed for neurocognitive performance at 11-year follow-up (Dec 2017 to Nov 2018). Children of mothers randomised to FA compared with placebo scored significantly higher in two Processing Speed tests, i.e. symbol search (mean difference 2.9 points, 95% CI 0.3 to 5.5, p = 0.03) and cancellation (11.3 points, 2.5 to 20.1, p = 0.04), whereas the positive effect on Verbal Comprehension was significant in girls only (6.5 points, 1.2 to 11.8, p = 0.03). MEG assessment of neuronal responses to a language task showed increased power at the Beta (13-30 Hz, p = 0.01) and High Gamma (49-70 Hz, p = 0.04) bands in children from FA-supplemented mothers, suggesting more efficient semantic processing of language.
Continued FA supplementation in pregnancy beyond the early period currently recommended to prevent NTD can benefit neurocognitive development of the child. MEG provides a non-invasive tool in paediatric research to objectively assess functional brain activity in response to nutrition and other interventions.
ISRCTN ISRCTN19917787 . Registered on 15 May 2013.
This Letter presents the first observation on how a strong, 500 kG, externally applied B field increases the mode-two asymmetry in shock-heated inertial fusion implosions. Using a direct-drive ...implosion with polar illumination and imposed field, we observed that magnetization produces a significant increase in the implosion oblateness (a 2.5× larger P2 amplitude in x-ray self-emission images) compared with reference experiments with identical drive but with no field applied. The implosions produce strongly magnetized electrons (ω_{e}τ_{e}≫1) and ions (ω_{i}τ_{i}>1) that, as shown using simulations, restrict the cross field heat flow necessary for lateral distribution of the laser and shock heating from the implosion pole to the waist, causing the enhanced mode-two shape.
The current study aimed to investigate availability and placement of healthy and discretionary (less healthy) food in supermarkets in Victoria, Australia, and examine variation by supermarket chain ...and area-level socio-economic disadvantage.
Cross-sectional supermarket audit. Measures included: (i) proportion of shelf space (in square metres) allocated to selected healthy and discretionary food and beverages; (ii) proportion of end-of-aisle, checkout and island bin displays containing discretionary food and beverages and (iii) proportion of space within end-of-aisle, checkout and island bin displays devoted to discretionary food and beverages.
Metropolitan areas of Melbourne and Geelong, Australia. Assessment: June-July 2019.
Random sample of 104 stores, with equal numbers from each supermarket group (Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Independent stores) within strata of area-level socio-economic position.
Proportion of shelf space devoted to selected discretionary foods was greater for Independent stores (72·7 %) compared with Woolworths (65·7 %), Coles (64·8 %) and Aldi (63·2 %) (all P < 0·001). Proportion of shelf space devoted to selected discretionary food for all Coles, Woolworths and Aldi stores was 9·7 % higher in the most compared with the least disadvantaged areas (P = 0·002). Across all stores, 90 % of staff-assisted checkout displays and 50 % of end-of-aisle displays included discretionary food. Aldi was less likely to feature discretionary food in end-of-aisle and checkout displays compared with other supermarket groups.
Extensive marketing of discretionary food in all Australian supermarket chains was observed, which is likely to strongly influence purchasing patterns and population diets. Findings should be used to inform private and public sector policies to reduce marketing of discretionary food in supermarkets.
Despite repeated calls to action, proposals for urban conservation are often met with surprise or scepticism. There remains a pervasive narrative in policy, practice, and the public psyche that urban ...environments, although useful for engaging people with nature or providing ecosystem services, are of little conservation value. We argue that the tendency to overlook the conservation value of urban environments stems from misconceptions about the ability of native species to persist within cities and towns and that this, in turn, hinders effective conservation action. However, recent scientific evidence shows that these assumptions do not always hold. Although it is generally true that increasing the size, quality, and connectivity of habitat patches will improve the probability that a species can persist, the inverse is not that small, degraded, or fragmented habitats found in urban environments are worthless. In light of these findings we propose updated messages that guide and inspire researchers, practitioners, and decision makers to undertake conservation action in urban environments: consider small spaces, recognize unconventional habitats, test creative solutions, and use science to minimize the impacts of future urban development.
Corrección de Ideas Erróneas para Inspirar Acciones de Conservación en Ambientes Urbanos
Resumen
A pesar de las repetidas llamadas a actuar, las propuestas para la conservación urbana con frecuencia se enfrentan a reacciones de sorpresa o escepticismo. Todavía existe una narrativa penetrante en la política, la práctica y el psique del público que dicta que los ambientes urbanos, aunque sean útiles para comprometer a las personas con la naturaleza o para proporcionar servicios ambientales, tienen poco valor para la conservación. Argumentamos que la tendencia de pasar por alto el valor para la conservación de los ambientes urbanos surge de las ideas erróneas sobre la habilidad que tienen las especies nativas para persistir dentro de ciudades y pueblos y que esto, en cambio, impide la acción efectiva de la conservación. A pesar de esto, la evidencia científica reciente muestra que estas suposiciones no siempre se sostienen. Aunque casi siempre es verdad que incrementar el tamaño, la calidad y la conectividad de los fragmentos de hábitat mejorará la probabilidad de que una especie pueda persistir, lo contrario, que los hábitats fragmentados, degradados y pequeños que se encuentran en los ambientes urbanos son inútiles, no lo es. A la luz de estos hallazgos proponemos mensajes actualizados que guíen e inspiren a los investigadores, practicantes y a los tomadores de decisiones a emprender acciones de conservación en ambientes urbanos: considerar espacios pequeños, reconocer hábitats poco convencionales, probar con soluciones creativas, y utilizar la ciencia para minimizar los impactos de desarrollos urbanos futuros.
摘要
尽管人们一再呼吁要采取城市保护行动, 然而却常常对相关提案表示诧异或怀疑。在政策制定、实践行动和公众心理中仍存在一种普遍的认识, 即城市环境虽然有助于人们亲近自然并提供生态系统服务, 但其保护价值微乎其微。我们认为, 这种忽视城市环境保护价值的倾向来源于对本地物种在城市和乡镇间续存能力的误解, 而这反过来又阻碍了有效的保护行动。然而, 最近的科学证据表明这些种种假设并不总是成立。虽然通常情况下增加生境斑块的大小、提高其质量和连接度可以提高物种续存的可能性, 但反过来看, 并不是说退化或碎片化的小面积生境在城市环境中就毫无价值。鉴于以上发现, 我们建议更新这些指导和激励研究者、实践者和决策者采取城市环境保护行动的信息, 应考虑小尺度空间的保护、认识非传统生境、尝试创新性解决方案, 并利用科学知识来减少未来城市发展带来的影响。 【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】
Article impact statement: Conserving native biodiversity is both important and achievable in urban environments.
In this first attempt to model the distributions of a mesopelagic fish family at this scale in the eastern Australian region (10°S to 57°S), lanternfish species occurrence data spanning a period from ...1928 to 2010 were modelled against environmental covariates. This involved: (1) data collation and taxonomic quality checking, (2) classification of trawls into "horizontal" (presence-absence) and "oblique" (presence-only) types, and classification of vertical migration patterns using existing literature and the species occurrence database, (3) binomial GAMs using presence-absence data for representative temperate, subtropical and tropical species to examine depth interactions with environmental covariates and refine the selection of environmental layers for presence-only MAXENT models, (4) Presence-only MAXENT modelling using data from all trawls and the reduced environmental layers, and (5) Multivariate analysis (area-wise and species-wise) of the resulting matrix of logistic score by geographic pixel. We test the hypothesis that major fronts in the region (Tasman Front, Subtropical Convergence, Subantarctic Front) represent zoogeographic boundaries. A four-region zoogeographic scheme is hypothesised: Coral Sea region, Subtropical Lower Water region, Subtropical Convergence/South Tasman region and Subantarctic region. The Tasman Front, Subtropical Convergence and Subantarctic Front represented zoogeographic boundaries. An additional boundary at ∼25°S (coined the 'Capricorn' boundary) was adopted to delineate the Coral Sea from Subtropical Lower Water regions. Lanternfish zoogeographic regions are congruent with some aspects of two prevailing physicochemical biogeographic schema in the region, but neither of these schema alone accurately predicts lanternfish distributions. As lanternfishes integrate vertical ocean processes, the hypothesised lanternfish zoogeography may represent a useful model for a generalised pelagic biogeography that should be tested for other oceanic groups.
Cities tend to be built in areas of high biodiversity, and the accelerating pace of urbanization threatens the persistence of many species and ecological communities globally. However, urban ...environments also offer unique prospects for biological conservation, with multiple benefits for humans and other species. We present seven ecological principles to conserve and increase the biodiversity of cities, using metaphors to bridge the gap between the languages of built-environment and conservation professionals. We draw upon John Ruskin's famous essay on the seven lamps of architecture, but more generally on the thinking of built-environment pioneers such as Patrick Geddes (1854–1932) who proposed a synoptic view of the urban environment that included humans and non-humans alike. To explain each principle or ‘lamp’ of urban biodiversity, we use an understanding from the built-environment disciplines as a base and demonstrate through metaphor that planning for the more-than-human does not require a conceptual leap. We conclude our discussion with ten practical strategies for turning on these lamps in cities. Urban planners, architects, landscape architects, engineers and other built-environmental professionals have a key role to play in a paradigm shift to plan for the more-than-human, because of their direct influence on the evolving urban environment. This essay is intended to increase dialogue between ecologists and members of these professions, and thus increase the biodiversity of cities around the world.
•Cities and towns offer important opportunities for the conservation of biodiversity.•A paradigm shift that integrates biodiversity into the urban fabric is required.•We present seven ecological principles to increase the biodiversity of cities through planning for the more-than-human.
Successful implementation and long-term maintenance of healthy supermarkets initiatives are crucial to achieving potential population health benefits. Understanding barriers and enablers of ...implementation of real-world trials will enhance wide-scale implementation. This process evaluation of a healthy supermarket intervention sought to describe (i) customer, retailer and stakeholder perspectives on the intervention; (ii) intervention implementation; and (iii) implementation barriers and enablers.
Eat Well @ IGA was a 12-month randomised controlled trial conducted in 11 Independent Grocers of Australia (IGA) chain supermarkets in regional Victoria, Australia (5 intervention and 6 wait-listed control stores). Intervention components included trolley and basket signage, local area and in-store promotion, and shelf tags highlighting the healthiest packaged foods. A sequential mixed-methods process evaluation was undertaken. Customer exit surveys investigated demographics, and intervention recall and perceptions. Logistic mixed-models estimated associations between customer responses and demographics, with store as random effect. Supermarket staff surveys investigated staff demographics, interactions with customers, and intervention component feedback. Semi-structured stakeholder interviews with local government, retail and academic partners explored intervention perceptions, and factors which enabled or inhibited implementation, maintenance and scalability. Interviews were inductively coded to identify key themes.
Of 500 customers surveyed, 33%95%CI:23,44 recalled the Eat Well @ IGA brand and 97%95%CI:93,99 agreed that IGA should continue its efforts to encourage healthy eating. The 82 staff surveyed demonstrated very favourable intervention perceptions. Themes from 19 interviews included that business models favour sales of unhealthy foods, and that stakeholder collaboration was crucial to intervention design and implementation. Staff surveys and interviews highlighted the need to minimise staff time for project maintenance and to regularly refresh intervention materials to increase and maintain salience among customers.
This process evaluation found that interventions to promote healthy diets in supermarkets can be perceived as beneficial by retailers, customers, and government partners provided that barriers including staff time and intervention salience are addressed. Collaborative partnerships in intervention design and implementation, including retailers, governments, and academics, show potential for encouraging long-term sustainability of interventions.
ISRCTN, ISRCTN37395231 Registered 4 May 2017.
Introduction: Most people in Australia buy most of their food in supermarkets. Marketing techniques promoting healthy foods in supermarkets can be important to encourage healthy eating at a ...population level. Shelf tags that highlight the healthiness of products have been identified as one such promising initiative. The aim of this study was to assess changes in the healthiness of foods sold in an Australian supermarket chain following implementation of a shelf tag intervention based on the Australian Health Star Rating (HSR) system. Methods: A controlled, non-randomised trial was undertaken in seven supermarkets (intervention: n = 3; control: n = 4) of a single chain in Victoria, Australia, over 12 weeks (4 weeks baseline, 8 weeks intervention period) between August and November 2015. The intervention involved provision of a shelf tag indicating the HSR of all packaged products that scored 4.5 or 5 stars (‘high-HSR products’) using the Australian HSR system. Posters indicating the healthiness of fresh fruits and vegetables (not eligible for an HSR rating, as they are not packaged) were also installed. Weekly per store sales data were provided by the retailer. In an intention-to-treat analysis (with intervention status of individual products based on their eligibility to be tagged), the proportion (%) of all ‘high-HSR’ packaged food sold and the volume of key nutrients (saturated fat, total fat, sodium, total sugar, protein, carbohydrates and energy) per 100 g sold were assessed. Difference-in-difference analyses were conducted to determine the difference between intervention and control stores in terms of mean outcomes between baseline and intervention periods. Customer exit surveys (n = 304) were conducted to evaluate awareness and use of the shelf tags and posters. Results: The proportion of ‘high-HSR products’ sold increased in the intervention period compared to the baseline period in each of the three intervention stores (average increase of 0.49%, 95% CI: −0.02, 0.99), compared to a decrease of −0.15% (−0.46, 0.15) in control stores (p = 0.034). The overall increase in intervention compared to control stores (difference-in-difference) of 0.64% represents an 8.2% increase in the sales of ‘high-HSR products’. Sales of total sugar, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sodium, protein and total energy in packaged food all decreased significantly more in intervention stores compared to control stores. Sales of fresh fruits and vegetables decreased in intervention stores compared to control stores. Customer surveys found that 34.4% noticed the shelf tags. Of those who noticed the tags, 58% believed the shelf tags influenced their purchases. Conclusions: With this study, we found that the use of shelf tags that highlight the healthiest packaged foods in a supermarket setting showed promise as a mechanism to improve the healthiness of purchases. Opportunities to scale up the intervention warrant exploration, with further research needed to assess the potential impact of the intervention on overall population diets over the longer term.
The supermarket environment impacts the healthiness of food purchased and consumed. Shelf tags that alert customers to healthier packaged products can improve the healthiness of overall purchases. ...This study assessed the potential value-for-money of implementing a three-year shelf tag intervention across all major supermarket chains in Australia. Cost-benefit analyses (CBA) and cost-utility analyses (CUA) were conducted based on results of a 12-week non-randomised controlled trial of a shelf tag intervention in seven Australian supermarkets. The change in energy density of all packaged foods purchased during the trial was used to estimate population-level changes in mean daily energy intake. A multi-state, multiple-cohort Markov model estimated the subsequent obesity-related health and healthcare cost outcomes over the lifetime of the 2019 Australian population. The CBA and CUA took societal and healthcare sector perspectives, respectively. The intervention was estimated to produce a mean reduction in population body weight of 1.09 kg. The net present value of the intervention was approximately AUD 17 billion (B). Over 98% of the intervention costs were borne by supermarkets. CUA findings were consistent with the CBA-the intervention was dominant, producing both health benefits and cost-savings. Shelf tags are likely to offer excellent value-for-money from societal and healthcare sector perspectives.
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