The Materiality of the Archive is the first volume to bring together a range of methodological approaches to the materiality of archives, as a framework for their engagement, analysis and ...interpretation. Focusing on the archives of creative practices, the book reaches between and across existing bodies of knowledge in this field, including material culture, art history and literary studies, unified by an interest in archives as material deposits and aggregations, in both analogue and digital forms, as well as the material encounter. Connecting a breadth of disciplinary interests in the archive with expanding discourses in materiality, contributors address the potential of a material engagement to animate archival content. Analysing the systems, processes and actions that constitute the shapes, forms and structures in which individual archival objects accumulate, and the underpinnings which may hold them in place as an archival body, the book considers ways in which the inexorable move to the digital affects traditional theories of the physical archival object. It also considers how stewardship practices such as description and metadata creation can accommodate these changes. The Materiality of the Archive unifies theory and practice and brings together professional and academic perspectives. The book is essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students working in the fields of archive studies, museology, art history and material culture.
Legumes have the potential to support global protein production by partially replacing meat and dairy products in the human diet. This will not only help meeting the increasing worldwide demand for ...proteins, but could contribute towards mitigating the threat imposed to the environment by current agricultural practices in higher‐economy countries (dependence on fossil fuel energy and harmful emissions). Among the legumes, fava bean (Vicia faba L.) is a valuable crop. It is a rich source of proteins, fiber, and other non‐nutrient compounds considered beneficial for health. Although a popular source of proteins in many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East, Mediterranean area, and South America, it has yet to be fully exploited in markets where meat is the predominant source of proteins in the diet. Here, fava bean cultivation could not only make a valuable contribution towards protein self‐sufficiency, but could potentially play a role in alleviating the rise in chronic diseases. In addition, fava bean enables symbiotic fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and can provide a more environmentally friendly substitution for industrial N‐fertilizers with associated improvements in resource efficiency and production costs. From both a food security and environmental sustainability perspective, encouraging both production and consumption of fava bean is a timely and important target. This review focuses on the potential of fava bean as a functional food ingredient to partially replace meat in the human diet.
Highlights • Diet-driven changes in microbially produced SCFA can influence health via signalling. • Gut microbiota mediates the release and transformation of many bioactive phenolics. • Gut ...microbiota degrades dietary choline to methylamines. • Interactions between the microbiota, inflammasomes and host influence liver disease.
The importance of chronic low-grade inflammation in the pathology of numerous age-related chronic conditions is now clear. An unresolved inflammatory response is likely to be involved from the early ...stages of disease development. The present position paper is the most recent in a series produced by the International Life Sciences Institute's European Branch (ILSI Europe). It is co-authored by the speakers from a 2013 workshop led by the Obesity and Diabetes Task Force entitled ‘Low-grade inflammation, a high-grade challenge: biomarkers and modulation by dietary strategies’. The latest research in the areas of acute and chronic inflammation and cardiometabolic, gut and cognitive health is presented along with the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation–health/disease associations. The evidence relating diet composition and early-life nutrition to inflammatory status is reviewed. Human epidemiological and intervention data are thus far heavily reliant on the measurement of inflammatory markers in the circulation, and in particular cytokines in the fasting state, which are recognised as an insensitive and highly variable index of tissue inflammation. Potential novel kinetic and integrated approaches to capture inflammatory status in humans are discussed. Such approaches are likely to provide a more discriminating means of quantifying inflammation–health/disease associations, and the ability of diet to positively modulate inflammation and provide the much needed evidence to develop research portfolios that will inform new product development and associated health claims.
Plant-based diets contain a plethora of secondary metabolites that may impact on health and disease prevention. Much attention has been focused on the potential bioactivity and nutritional relevance ...of several classes of phytochemicals such as flavonoids, carotenoids, phyto-oestrogens and glucosinolates. Less attention has been paid to simple phenolic acids that are widely found in fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices and beverages. Daily intakes may exceed 100 mg. In addition, bacteria in the gut can perform reactions that transform more complex plant phenolics such as anthocyanins, procyanidins, flavanones, flavonols, tannins and isoflavones into simple phenolic metabolites. The colon is thus a rich source of potentially active phenolic acids that may impact both locally and systemically on gut health. Both the small and large intestine (colon) contain absorption sites for phenolic acids but low post-prandial concentrations in plasma indicate minimal absorption early in the gastrointestinal tract and/or rapid hepatic metabolism and excretion. Therefore, any bioactivity that contributes to gut health may predominantly occur in the colon. Several phenolic acids affect the expression and activity of enzymes involved in the production of inflammatory mediators of pathways thought to be important in the development of gut disorders including colon cancer. However, at present, we remain largely ignorant as to which of these compounds are beneficial to gut health. Until we can elucidate which pro-inflammatory and potentially carcinogenetic changes in gene expression can be moderated by simple phenolic acids, it is not possible to recommend specific plant-based foods rich in particular phenolics to optimise gut health.
The hypoglycaemic effects of two Ribes sp. i.e., anthocyanin-rich black currants (BC) were compared to green currants (GC), which are low in anthocyanins to establish which compounds are involved in ...the regulation of postprandial glycaemia. We determined the effect of the currants on inhibiting carbohydrate digestive enzymes (α-amylase, α-glucosidase), intestinal sugar absorption and transport across CaCo-2 cells. The digestion of these currants was modelled using in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (IVGD) to identify the metabolites present in the digested extracts by LC–MS/MS. Freeze-dried BC and IVDG extracts inhibited yeast α-glucosidase activity (P<.0001) at lower concentrations than acarbose, whereas GC and IVDG GC at the same concentrations showed no inhibition. BC and GC both showed significant inhibitory effects on salivary α-amylase (P<.0001), glucose uptake (P<.0001) and the mRNA expression of sugar transporters (P<.0001). Taken together this suggests that the anthocyanins which are high in BC have their greatest effect on postprandial hyperglycaemia by inhibiting α-glucosidase activity. Phytochemical analysis identified the phenolics in the currants and confirmed that freeze-dried BC contained higher concentrations of anthocyanins compared to GC (39.80 vs. 9.85 g/kg dry weight). Specific phenolics were also shown to inhibit salivary α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and glucose uptake. However, specific anthocyanins identified in BC which were low in GC were shown to inhibit α-glucosidase. In conclusion the anthocyanins in BC appear to regulate postprandial hyperglycaemia primarily but not solely by inhibiting α-glucosidase while other phenolics modulate salivary α-amylase, glucose uptake and sugar transporters which together could lower the associated risk of developing type-2 diabetes.
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The potential beneficial effects of plant-based diets on human health have been extensively studied. However, the evidence regarding the health effects of extracted plant-based proteins as functional ...ingredients, other than soya, is scarce. The aim of this review was to compile evidence on the effects of extracted protein from a wide range of traditional and novel plant sources on glycemic responses, appetite, body weight, metabolic, cardiovascular and muscle health. A comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) was conducted through 23 and 27 March 2020 for randomized controlled trials that featured any of the following 18 plant protein sources: alfalfa, duckweed, buckwheat, chickpea, fava bean, hemp, lentil, lupin, mushroom, oat, pea, potato, pumpkin, quinoa, rapeseed, rice, sacha inchi, sunflower. Only interventions that investigated concentrated, isolated or hydrolysed forms of dietary protein were included. Searched health outcome measures were: change in blood glucose, insulin, satiety hormones concentration, subjective assessment of appetite/satiety, change in blood lipids concentration, blood pressure, body weight and muscle health parameters. Acute and sub-chronic studies were considered for inclusion. Applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach we identified 1190 records. Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. Plant protein sources used in interventions were most often pea (
= 16), followed by lupin (
= 4), fava bean (
= 2), rice (
= 2), oat (
= 2), hemp (
= 2) and lentil (
= 1). Satiety and postprandial glycemic response were the most frequently reported health outcomes (
= 18), followed by blood lipids (
= 6), muscle health (
= 5), body weight (
= 5) and blood pressure (
= 4). No studies on the remaining plant proteins in the extracted form were identified through the search. Most studies confirmed the health-promoting effect of identified extracted plant protein sources across glycemic, appetite, cardiovascular and muscular outcomes when compared to baseline or non-protein control. However, the current evidence is still not sufficient to formulate explicit dietary recommendations. In general, the effects of plant protein were comparable (but not superior) to protein originating from animals. This is still a promising finding, suggesting that the desired health effects can be achieved with more sustainable, plant alternatives. More methodologically homogenous research is needed to formulate and validate evidence-based health claims for plant protein ingredients. The relevance of these findings are discussed for the food sector with supporting market trends.
Scope
Plant secondary metabolites, such as phenolic acids are commonly associated with benefits for human health. Two of the most abundant phenylpropanoid‐derived compounds detected in human faecal ...samples are phenylacetic acid (PAA) and 4‐hydroxylphenylacetic acid (4‐hydroxyPAA). Although they have the potential to be derived from diets rich in plant‐based foods, evidence suggests that these compounds can be derived from the microbial fermentation of aromatic amino acids (AAAs) in the colon.
Methods and results
To identify the bacteria responsible, 26 strains representing 25 of the dominant human colonic species were screened for phenyl metabolite formation. Seven strains produced significant amounts of both PAA and 4‐hydroxyPAA. These included five out of seven Bacteroidetes (Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Bacteroides eggerthii, Bacteroides ovatus, Bacteroides fragilis, Parabacteroides distasonis), and two out of 17 Firmicutes (Eubacterium hallii and Clostridium bartlettii). These species also produced indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA), the corresponding tryptophan metabolite, but C. bartlettii showed 100 times higher IAA production than the other six strains. Four strains were further tested and PAA formation was substantially increased by phenylalanine, 4‐hydroxyPAA by tyrosine and IAA by tryptophan.
Conclusion
This study demonstrates that certain microbial species have the ability to ferment all three AAAs and that protein fermentation is the likely source of major phenylpropanoid‐derived metabolites in the colon.
The choice of suitable sites for microgrids is not only a techno-economic process. Many aspects are important in understanding community support (or lack thereof) for the planning and deployment of ...grid integration. Alongside usual techno-economic considerations, the site selection process itself must be responsive to the local socio-political context and concerns (e.g., multiple values, needs and expectations of energy infrastructure or perceived fairness of technology deployment). In our project, we developed, in close collaboration with our local partners, an integrated site selection method to address these multiple imperatives. To this end, in addition to socio-technical considerations, our method seeks to (further) democratize network integration technology and its deployment so that it takes into account energy vulnerabilities and inequalities and fully integrates the views of the most affected (especially the most vulnerable) stakeholders into well-informed, place-based deliberative processes. With the support of the method we detail in this paper, we suggest that researchers and practitioners invest time and resources in developing more democratic and place-based site selection methods for microgrids.
•Authoritative energy actors should see site selection as a socio-technical process.•Site selection processes should aim to further democratize technology deployment.•Site selection processes should follow a clear method with interdependent steps.•A transdisciplinary, participatory and place-based approach should be established.•Special attention must be paid to all forms of socio-technical vulnerabilities.
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