The Bioavailability of Various Oral Forms of Folate Supplementation in Healthy Populations and Animal Models: A Systematic Review

© 2019, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Background and aims: Folate is an essential nutrient required for many different functions in the body. It is particularly important for DNA synthesis, immune functions, and during pregnancy. Folate supplements are commonly prescribed by health professionals for a number of different conditions, however, the absorption of the different derivatives remains unclear. The aim of this review was to assess the bioavailability of various forms of folate supplements in healthy populations and animal models. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted of original research, which assessed the bioavailability of different oral forms of folate in healthy adults or animal models. The following databases were searched: PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), ProQuest Medical Collection (ProQuest) and ScienceDirect (Elsevier) up to March 30, 2017. The inclusion criteria consisted of both animal and human research, no disease state or condition, and assessed levels after an intervention of a folate derivative. Results: A total of 23 studies out of 5226 met the full inclusion criteria. Of these, 4 were animal studies and 19 were human studies. There was variation in supplement forms used with the most commonly tested being folic acid followed by 5-methylenetetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF). Dosages ranged from 25 μg up to 200 mg. Only three studies found a statistically significant difference in folate bioavailability when evaluating different supplement forms. These studies found 5-MTHF to be more effective at increasing folate levels in participants. Conclusions: This review has found a number of methodological limitations and conflicting results. Only three out of the 23 studies assessed found a statistically significant difference between different supplemental forms of folate. Quality absorption studies assessing the bioavailability of oral folate supplements are crucial if clinicians are to make effective evidence-based recommendations. More research is required for greater clarification regarding the bioavailability of these supplements

A difference boosting neural network for automated star-galaxy classification

In this paper we describe the use of a new artificial neural network, called the difference boosting neural network (DBNN), for automated classification problems in astronomical data analysis. We illustrate the capabilities of the network by applying it to star galaxy classification using recently released, deep imaging data. We have compared our results with classification made by the widely used Source Extractor (SExtractor) package. We show that while the performance of the DBNN in star-galaxy classification is comparable to that of SExtractor, it has the advantage of significantly higher speed and flexibility during training as well as classification.Comment: 9 pages, 1figure, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

A mixed-method process evaluation of an East Midlands county summer 2021 holiday activities and food programme highlighting the views of programme co-ordinators, providers, and parents

BACKGROUND: The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme is a UK Government initiative created to alleviate food insecurity and promote health and well-being among children and their families, who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM), during the school holidays. This process evaluation investigated factors that facilitated and acted as a barrier to the delivery of the HAF Programme from the perspectives of key stakeholders (Co-ordinators, Providers, and Parents) involved in the HAF Programme across an East Midlands county. METHODS: This evaluation utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating focus groups and online surveys to gain rich, multifaceted data. The focus groups were analyzed using a hybrid inductive-deductive thematic analysis and the online surveys were analyzed using mixed-methods approach due to the variation in question type (i.e., quantitative, Likert scale and open response) to align themes to the Government Aims and Standards of the HAF Programme. FINDINGS: The stakeholders highlighted several factors that facilitated and acted as a barrier to the delivery of the HAF Programme. Facilitating factors included existing and maintaining relationships between Co-ordinators, Providers, and facilities/schools/communities as this improved communication and attendance. Additionally, transport provision for those attending the Programme helped overcome barriers to attendance. The primary barrier of the Programme was the late awarding of the Programme contract as this limited the time available to prepare and organize the Programme. This in turn, had several “knock on” effects that created more barriers and resulted in some of the Government Aims and Standards not being met such as, nutrition education for children and parents. Despite the challenges faced, Co-ordinators and Providers were able to deliver the Programme and positively impact upon the children and their families that attended the Programme. CONCLUSION: Following the facilitators and barriers that were highlighted in this evaluation, several recommendations have been made to enhance the delivery of the HAF Programme and ensure Government Aims and Standards, to improve children and family's health and well-being, are attained

Comparative Study of Human and Mouse Postsynaptic Proteomes Finds High Compositional Conservation and Abundance Differences for Key Synaptic Proteins

Direct comparison of protein components from human and mouse excitatory synapses is important for determining the suitability of mice as models of human brain disease and to understand the evolution of the mammalian brain. The postsynaptic density is a highly complex set of proteins organized into molecular networks that play a central role in behavior and disease. We report the first direct comparison of the proteome of triplicate isolates of mouse and human cortical postsynaptic densities. The mouse postsynaptic density comprised 1556 proteins and the human one 1461. A large compositional overlap was observed; more than 70% of human postsynaptic density proteins were also observed in the mouse postsynaptic density. Quantitative analysis of postsynaptic density components in both species indicates a broadly similar profile of abundance but also shows that there is higher abundance variation between species than within species. Well known components of this synaptic structure are generally more abundant in the mouse postsynaptic density. Significant inter-species abundance differences exist in some families of key postsynaptic density proteins including glutamatergic neurotransmitter receptors and adaptor proteins. Furthermore, we have identified a closely interacting set of molecules enriched in the human postsynaptic density that could be involved in dendrite and spine structural plasticity. Understanding synapse proteome diversity within and between species will be important to further our understanding of brain complexity and disease

Proposal for SPS beam time for the baby MIND and TASD neutrino detector prototypes

The design, construction and testing of neutrino detector prototypes at CERN are ongoing activities. This document reports on the design of solid state baby MIND and TASD detector prototypes and outlines requirements for a test beam at CERN to test these, tentatively planned on the H8 beamline in the North Area, which is equipped with a large aperture magnet. The current proposal is submitted to be considered in light of the recently approved projects related to neutrino activities with the SPS in the North Area in the medium term 2015-2020

A Bayesian study of the primordial power spectrum from a novel closed universe model

We constrain the shape of the primordial power spectrum using recent measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 7-year data and other high-resolution CMB experiments. We also include observations of the matter power spectrum from the luminous red galaxy (LRG) subset DR7 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We consider two different models of the primordial power spectrum. The first is the standard nearly scale-invariant spectrum in the form of a generalised power-law parameterised in terms of the spectral amplitude $A_{\rm s}$, the spectral index $n_{\rm s}$ and (possibly) the running parameter $n_{\rm run}$. The second spectrum is derived from the Lasenby and Doran (LD) model. The LD model is based on the restriction of the total conformal time available in a closed Universe and the predicted primordial power spectrum depends upon just two parameters. An important feature of the LD spectrum is that it naturally incorporates an exponential fall-off on large scales, which might provide a possible explanation for the lower-than-expected power observed at low multipoles in the CMB. In addition to parameter estimation, we compare both models using Bayesian model selection. We find there is a significant preference for the LD model over a simple power-law spectrum for a CMB-only dataset, and over models with an equal number of parameters for all the datasets considered.Comment: minor corrections to match accepted version to MNRA

Detection methods for non-Gaussian gravitational wave stochastic backgrounds

We address the issue of finding an optimal detection method for a discontinuous or intermittent gravitational wave stochastic background. Such a signal might sound something like popcorn popping. We derive an appropriate version of the maximum likelihood detection statistic, and compare its performance to that of the standard cross-correlation statistic both analytically and with Monte Carlo simulations. The maximum likelihood statistic performs better than the cross-correlation statistic when the background is sufficiently non-Gaussian. For both ground and space based detectors, this results in a gain factor, ranging roughly from 1 to 3, in the minimum gravitational-wave energy density necessary for detection, depending on the duty cycle of the background. Our analysis is exploratory, as we assume that the time structure of the events cannot be resolved, and we assume white, Gaussian noise in two collocated, aligned detectors. Before this detection method can be used in practice with real detector data, further work is required to generalize our analysis to accommodate separated, misaligned detectors with realistic, colored, non-Gaussian noise.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figures, submitted to physical review D, added revisions in response to reviewers comment

An Introduction to Data Analysis in Asteroseismology

A practical guide is presented to some of the main data analysis concepts and techniques employed contemporarily in the asteroseismic study of stars exhibiting solar-like oscillations. The subjects of digital signal processing and spectral analysis are introduced first. These concern the acquisition of continuous physical signals to be subsequently digitally analyzed. A number of specific concepts and techniques relevant to asteroseismology are then presented as we follow the typical workflow of the data analysis process, namely, the extraction of global asteroseismic parameters and individual mode parameters (also known as peak-bagging) from the oscillation spectrum.Comment: Lecture presented at the IVth Azores International Advanced School in Space Sciences on "Asteroseismology and Exoplanets: Listening to the Stars and Searching for New Worlds" (arXiv:1709.00645), which took place in Horta, Azores Islands, Portugal in July 201

Fragile Environment, Seasonality, and Maternal and Childhood Undernutrition in Bangladesh

Spatial distribution of poverty in Bangladesh shows that poverty is concentrated in ecologically unfavourable areas. Recently, the issue of spatial distribution of undernutrition has emerged as a matter of concern as well, considering the growing evidence of the strong persistence of existing inequalities.Therefore, whether ecological differences have affected nutritional outcomes is becoming an important issue for research. This paper aims to understand whether spatial and seasonal variations affect maternal and childhood undernutrition in Bangladesh. The study first tests the hypothesis whether agricultural and household incomes are same across different agro-ecological environments. It then carries out an in-depth analysis of the effect of unfavourable ecologies on maternal and child malnutrition. In the results, panel data analysis showed that household income is not equal across agro-ecology; the fragility of the environment may thus affect the household’s ability to access food, which may have negative influence on the nutritional status of mothers and children. Coastal areas have less dependence on agriculture, particularly on cultivation which diminished over time. Per capita income has been increasing in coastal areas, led by remittance growing at 8 per cent per year against 6 per cent in other areas. Regression analysis shows that a household in coastal zones earns 19 per cent lower than one in favourable zones. Although farm practices are lower in unfavourable areas, the deficiency is compensated by increased non-farm incomes. The results from the Food Security Nutrition Surveillance Projects (FSNSP) data found that overall the rate of stunting and wasting prevalence were 36 per cent and 11.7 per cent respectively. Among the mothers, nearly 28 per cent suffered from chronic energy deficiencies. The study found that highly significant regional heterogeneity in undernutrition exists in Bangladesh; alarmingly high levels prevail in the Haor Basin and coastal belt areas. The study also found significantly higher rates of underweight and wasting prevailing in the monsoon season compared to the two harvest seasons (post-Aman and post-Aus) among children under five. Month of birth failed to show any significant association with the nutrition outcome of the children. In order to determine the most effective strategies for accelerating reduction in undernutrition, it is important that the determinants of undernutrition are known. The findings of this study imply the importance of bringing geographical location and seasonal thinking back into the various current debates on hunger and nutrition