Introduction This study sought to determine the association of individual-level food insecurity (FI) with mental health status across all global regions. Methods Cross-sectional data were analyzed in ...2016 from the 2014 Gallup World Poll, a series of globally implemented, nationally representative surveys. FI was assessed using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey Module for Individuals, an eight-question psychometric scale reporting individuals’ experiences of FI. Individual-level composite indices of mental health, the Negative Experience Index and Positive Experience Index (0–100 scale), were calculated based on responses to five questions of respondents’ recent negative and positive experiences, respectively, associated with depression and mental distress. Results The prevalence of any FI ranged from 18.3% in East Asia to 76.1% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In global analyses (149 countries) using adjusted multiple regression analyses, FI was associated in a dose–response fashion with poorer scores on the mental health indices (coefficient 95% CI: Negative Experience Index: mild FI, 10.4 9.5, 11.2; moderate FI, 17.7 16.4, 19.0; severe FI, 24.5 22.7, 26.3; Positive Experience Index: mild FI, –8.3 –9.3, –7.4; moderate FI, –12.6 –13.8, –11.3; severe FI, –16.2 –17.9, –14.5). Within-region analyses (11 regions) consistently demonstrated the same trends. Conclusions FI is associated with poorer mental health and specific psychosocial stressors across global regions independent of SES. The numerous pathways via which FI may contribute to common mental disorders, and the broad social implications of FI linked to cultural norms and self-efficacy, may contribute to the cross-cultural consistency of the findings.
The biguanide metformin is widely prescribed for Type II diabetes and has anti-neoplastic activity in laboratory models. Despite evidence that inhibition of mitochondrial respiratory complex I by ...metformin is the primary cause of its cell-lineage-specific actions and therapeutic effects, the molecular interaction(s) between metformin and complex I remain uncharacterized. In the present paper, we describe the effects of five pharmacologically relevant biguanides on oxidative phosphorylation in mammalian mitochondria. We report that biguanides inhibit complex I by inhibiting ubiquinone reduction (but not competitively) and, independently, stimulate reactive oxygen species production by the complex I flavin. Biguanides also inhibit mitochondrial ATP synthase, and two of them inhibit only ATP hydrolysis, not synthesis. Thus we identify biguanides as a new class of complex I and ATP synthase inhibitor. By comparing biguanide effects on isolated complex I and cultured cells, we distinguish three anti-diabetic and potentially anti-neoplastic biguanides (metformin, buformin and phenformin) from two anti-malarial biguanides (cycloguanil and proguanil): the former are accumulated into mammalian mitochondria and affect oxidative phosphorylation, whereas the latter are excluded so act only on the parasite. Our mechanistic and pharmacokinetic insights are relevant to understanding and developing the role of biguanides in new and existing therapeutic applications, including cancer, diabetes and malaria.
The declining diversity of agricultural production and food supplies worldwide may have important implications for global diets. The primary objective of this review is to assess the nature and ...magnitude of the associations of agricultural biodiversity with diet quality and anthropometric outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. A comprehensive review of 5 databases using a priori exclusion criteria and application of a systematic, qualitative analysis to the findings of identified studies revealed that agricultural biodiversity has a small but consistent association with more diverse household- and individual-level diets, although the magnitude of this association varies with the extent of existing diversification of farms. Greater on-farm crop species richness is also associated with small, positive increments in young child linear stature. Agricultural diversification may contribute to diversified diets through both subsistence- and income-generating pathways and may be an important strategy for improving diets and nutrition outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Six research priorities for future studies of the influence of agricultural biodiversity on nutrition outcomes are identified based on gaps in the research literature.
Dietary nitrate is growing in popularity as a sports nutrition supplement. This article reviews the evidence base for the potential of inorganic nitrate to enhance sports and exercise performance. ...Inorganic nitrate is present in numerous foodstuffs and is abundant in green leafy vegetables and beetroot. Following ingestion, nitrate is converted in the body to nitrite and stored and circulated in the blood. In conditions of low oxygen availability, nitrite can be converted into nitric oxide, which is known to play a number of important roles in vascular and metabolic control. Dietary nitrate supplementation increases plasma nitrite concentration and reduces resting blood pressure. Intriguingly, nitrate supplementation also reduces the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise and can, in some circumstances, enhance exercise tolerance and performance. The mechanisms that may be responsible for these effects are reviewed and practical guidelines for safe and efficacious dietary nitrate supplementation are provided.
On-farm crop species richness (CSR) may be important for maintaining the diversity and quality of diets of smallholder farming households.
The objectives of this study were to 1) determine the ...association of CSR with the diversity and quality of household diets in Malawi and 2) assess hypothesized mechanisms for this association via both subsistence- and market-oriented pathways.
Longitudinal data were assessed from nationally representative household surveys in Malawi between 2010 and 2013 (n = 3000 households). A household diet diversity score (DDS) and daily intake per adult equivalent of energy, protein, iron, vitamin A, and zinc were calculated from 7-d household consumption data. CSR was calculated from plot-level data on all crops cultivated during the 2009-2010 and 2012-2013 agricultural seasons in Malawi. Adjusted generalized estimating equations were used to assess the longitudinal relation of CSR with household diet quality and diversity.
CSR was positively associated with DDS (β: 0.08; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.12; P < 0.001), as well as daily intake per adult equivalent of energy (kilocalories) (β: 41.6; 95% CI: 20.9, 62.2; P < 0.001), protein (grams) (β: 1.78; 95% CI: 0.80, 2.75; P < 0.001), iron (milligrams) (β: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.44; P < 0.001), vitamin A (micrograms of retinol activity equivalent) (β: 25.8; 95% CI: 12.7, 38.9; P < 0.001), and zinc (milligrams) (β: 0.26; 95% CI: 0.13, 0.38; P < 0.001). Neither proportion of harvest sold nor distance to nearest population center modified the relation between CSR and household diet diversity or quality (P ≥ 0.05). Households with greater CSR were more commercially oriented (least-squares mean proportion of harvest sold ± SE, highest tertile of CSR: 17.1 ± 0.52; lowest tertile of CSR: 8.92 ± 1.09) (P < 0.05).
Promoting on-farm CSR may be a beneficial strategy for simultaneously supporting enhanced diet quality and diversity while also creating opportunities for smallholder farmers to engage with markets in subsistence agricultural contexts.
Since reports about CIA-funded LSD studies came out in the 1970s, psychedelic drugs have invoked images of unethical experimentation and "mad scientists" in the public imagination. Even now, as the ...stigma surrounding psychedelics diminishes in the 21st century, the figure of the "mad scientist" continues to occupy a space in what Ido Hartogsohn calls the "collective set and setting," the larger framework of cultural understandings that shape how individuals experience psychedelic drugs. Scientists and humanities scholars who study these drugs have responded to this issue by drawing boundaries between those who used psychedelics carefully and those who used them ignorantly. Yet these boundaries were not always so clear in the past. Drawing on historical examples of LSD's use as a
in Canada, I show how enthusiasm about the drug's potential led several experienced and knowledgeable psychedelic therapists to use it on vulnerable populations in diverse institutional settings, such as correctional facilities. These examples reveal how the institutional context of modern industrial societies shaped the application of psychedelic therapy in the past and suggest that today's therapists need to carefully consider how this broader context impacts their work.
Widespread uptake of COVID-19 vaccines will be essential to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Vaccines have been developed in unprecedented time and quantifying levels of hesitancy towards ...vaccination among the general population is of importance.
Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies using large nationally representative samples (n ≥ 1000) to examine the percentage of the population intending to vaccinate, unsure, or intending to refuse a COVID-19 vaccine when available. Generic inverse meta-analysis and meta-regression were used to pool estimates and examine time trends. PubMed, Scopus and pre-printer servers were searched from January-November 2020. Registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020223132).
Twenty-eight nationally representative samples (n = 58,656) from 13 countries indicate that as the pandemic has progressed, the percentage of people intending to vaccinate decreased and the percentage of people intending to refuse vaccination increased. Pooled data from surveys conducted during June-October suggest that 60% (95% CI: 49% to 69%) intend to vaccinate and 20% (95% CI: 13% to 29%) intend to refuse vaccination, although intentions vary substantially between samples and countries (I2 > 90%). Being female, younger, of lower income or education level and belonging to an ethnic minority group were consistently associated with being less likely to intend to vaccinate. Findings were consistent across higher vs. lower quality studies.
Intentions to be vaccinated when a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available have been declining across countries and there is an urgent need to address social inequalities in vaccine hesitancy and promote widespread uptake of vaccines as they become available.
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Abstract
The Allele Frequency Net Database (AFND, www.allelefrequencies.net) provides the scientific community with a freely available repository for the storage of frequency data (alleles, genes, ...haplotypes and genotypes) related to human leukocyte antigens (HLA), killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR), major histocompatibility complex Class I chain related genes (MIC) and a number of cytokine gene polymorphisms in worldwide populations. In the last five years, AFND has become more popular in terms of clinical and scientific usage, with a recent increase in genotyping data as a necessary component of Short Population Report article submissions to another scientific journal. In addition, we have developed a user-friendly desktop application for HLA and KIR genotype/population data submissions. We have also focused on classification of existing and new data into ‘gold–silver–bronze’ criteria, allowing users to filter and query depending on their needs. Moreover, we have also continued to expand other features, for example focussed on HLA associations with adverse drug reactions. At present, AFND contains >1600 populations from >10 million healthy individuals, making AFND a valuable resource for the analysis of some of the most polymorphic regions in the human genome.
Abstract
Endurance exercise performance is known to be closely associated with the three physiological pillars of maximal O
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uptake (), economy or efficiency during submaximal exercise, and the ...fractional utilisation of (linked to metabolic/lactate threshold phenomena). However, while ‘start line’ values of these variables are collectively useful in predicting performance in endurance events such as the marathon, it is not widely appreciated that these variables are not static but are prone to significant deterioration as fatiguing endurance exercise proceeds. For example, the ‘critical power’ (CP), which is a composite of the highest achievable steady‐state oxidative metabolic rate and efficiency (O
2
cost per watt), may fall by an average of 10% following 2 h of heavy intensity cycle exercise. Even more striking is that the extent of this deterioration displays appreciable inter‐individual variability, with changes in CP ranging from <1% to ∼32%. The mechanistic basis for such differences in fatigue resistance or ‘physiological resilience’ are not resolved. However, resilience may be important in explaining superlative endurance performance and it has implications for the physiological evaluation of athletes and the design of interventions to enhance performance. This article presents new information concerning the dynamic plasticity of the three ‘traditional’ physiological variables and argues that physiological resilience should be considered as an additional component, or fourth dimension, in models of endurance exercise performance.
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