Stable isotope composition of faeces as an indicator of seasonal diet selection in wild herbivores in southern Africa

We used stable carbon isotopes and nitrogen contents of faeces to investigate diet selection differences among wild grazers, browsers and mixed-feeders at seasonal intervals across a year in the Hluhluwe–Umfolozi Park, South Africa. Faecal 13C values showed that wildebeest and warthog selected predominantly C4 plant material throughout the year. Impala ingested significantly more C3 plant material during the winter months than in all other months. Nyala also ingested more browse during winter. The nitrogen content of wildebeest faeces was significantly lower in winter than in summer, suggesting a possible decline in diet quality during the dry winter months. No significant seasonal trend in faecal nitrogen content was evident for nyala or warthog. Nitrogen contents of impala faeces were significantly higher in spring than in other seasons. Faecal isotopic and nutrient content analyses appear to be useful indicators of short-term diet selection and nutritional status of free-ranging herbivores. Analyses show resource partitioning among the different herbivores at finer time resolutions than can be obtained from bone collagen or isotopic analysis of tooth enamel

Breastfeeding and maternal alcohol use: Prevalence and effects on child outcomes and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Determine any effects that maternal alcohol consumption during the breastfeeding period has on child outcomes

Describing a design thinking methodology to develop sustainable physical activity and nutrition interventions in low resourced settings

The objective of the study is to describe how design thinking as a participatory process can be applied in determining how sustainable physical activity and nutrition interventions should be implemented in a low resourced community in South Africa. Physical inactivity is the 4th leading cause of mortality world-wide. Associated with inactivity, a high prevalence of obesity is reported. Evidence based research indicate that sustainable physical activity and nutrition interventions will reduce the burden of physical inactivity and obesity. Poverty, and its inherent lack of food security, further impacts the health of people living marginalized, increasingly urban lifestyles. The intent of the project is to change attitudes and behavior towards physical activity participation and nutrition choices. Design Thinking is typically implemented using a five-step process where the community is engaged with presenting the problem they experience, defining the problem, presenting solutions to the problem and finally developing a prototype in solving the problem they experience. The principle of the Design Thinking process is that the low resourced community holds part of the answer to the problem and has a desire to change their health. The proposed solutions, coming directly from the participants, are therefore considered viable. Once a desired prototype is developed and tested in the community, feasibility can be determined. The presence of these three factors, is expected to result in an innovatio

Ultrafast Phase Mapping of Thin-Sections from An Apollo 16 Drive Tube - a New Visualisation of Lunar Regolith

Polished thin-sections of samples extracted from Apollo drive tubes provide unique insights into the structure of the Moon's regolith at various landing sites. In particular, they allow the mineralogy and texture of the regolith to be studied as a function of depth. Much has been written about such thin-sections based on optical, SEM and EPMA studies, in terms of their essential petrographic features, but there has been little attempt to quantify these aspects from a spatial perspective. In this study, we report the findings of experimental analysis of two thin-sections (64002, 6019, depth range 5.0 - 8.0 cm & 64001, 6031, depth range 50.0 - 53.1 cm), from a single Apollo 16 drive tube using QEMSCAN . A key feature of the method is phase identification by ultrafast energy dispersive x-ray mapping on a pixel-by-pixel basis. By selecting pixel resolutions ranging from 1 - 5 microns, typically 8,500,000 individual measurement points can be collected on a thin-section. The results we present include false colour digital images of both thin-sections. From these images, information such as phase proportions (major, minor and trace phases), particle textures, packing densities, and particle geometries, has been quantified. Parameters such as porosity and average phase density, which are of geomechanical interest, can also be calculated automatically. This study is part of an on-going investigation into spatial variation of lunar regolith and NASA's ISRU Lunar Simulant Development Project

Analysis of Lunar Highland Regolith Samples from Apollo 16 Drive Core 64001/2 and Lunar Regolith Simulants - An Expanding Comparative Database

We present modal data from QEMSCAN(registered TradeMark) beam analysis of Apollo 16 samples from drive core 64001/2. The analyzed lunar samples are thin sections 64002,6019 (5.0-8.0 cm depth) and 64001,6031 (50.0-53.1 cm depth) and sieved grain mounts 64002,262 and 64001,374 from depths corresponding to the thin sections, respectively. We also analyzed lunar highland regolith simulants NU-LHT-1M, -2M, and OB-1, low-Ti mare simulants JSC-1, -lA, -1AF, and FJS-1, and high-Ti mare simulant MLS-1. The preliminary results comprise the beginning of an internally consistent database of lunar regolith and regolith simulant mineral and glass information. This database, combined with previous and concurrent studies on phase chemistry, bulk chemistry, and with data on particle shape and size distribution, will serve to guide lunar scientists and engineers in choosing simulants for their applications. These results are modal% by phase rather than by particle type, so they are not directly comparable to most previously published lunar data that report lithic fragments, monomineralic particles, agglutinates, etc. Of the highland simulants, 08-1 has an integrated modal composition closer than NU-LHT-1M to that of the 64001/2 samples, However, this and other studies show that NU-LHT-1M and -2M have minor and trace mineral (e.g., Fe-Ti oxides and phosphates) populations and mineral and glass chemistry closer to these lunar samples. The finest fractions (0-20 microns) in the sieved lunar samples are enriched in glass relative to the integrated compositions by approx.30% for 64002,262 and approx.15% for 64001,374. Plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine are depleted in these finest fractions. This could be important to lunar dust mitigation efforts and astronaut health - none of the analyzed simulants show this trend. Contrary to previously reported modal analyses of monomineralic grains in lunar regolith, these area% modal analyses do not show a systematic increase in plagiociase/pyroxene as size fraction decreases

New Insights into the Composition and Texture of Lunar Regolith Using Ultrafast Automated Electron-Beam Analysis

Sieved grain mounts of Apollo 16 drive tube samples have been examined using QEMSCAN - an innovative electron beam technology. By combining multiple energy-dispersive X-ray detectors, fully automated control, and off-line image processing, to produce digital mineral maps of particles exposed on polished surfaces, the result is an unprecedented quantity of mineralogical and petrographic data, on a particle-by-particle basis. Experimental analysis of four size fractions (500-250 microns, 150-90 microns, 75-45 microns and < 20 microns), prepared from two samples (64002,374 and 64002,262), has produced a robust and uniform dataset which allows for the quantification of mineralogy; texture; particle shape, size and density; and the digital classification of distinct particle types in each measured sample. These preliminary data show that there is a decrease in plagioclase modal content and an opposing increase in glass modal content, with decreasing particle size. These findings, together with data on trace phases (metals, sulphides, phosphates, and oxides), provide not only new insights into the make-up of lunar regolith at the Apollo 16 landing site, but also key physical parameters which can be used to design lunar simulants, and compute Figures of Merit for each material produced

Breastfeeding and maternal alcohol use: Prevalence and effects on child outcomes and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

OBJECTIVE: Determine any effects that maternal alcohol consumption during the breastfeeding period has on child outcomes. METHODS: Population-based samples of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), normally-developing children, and their mothers were analyzed for differences in child outcomes. RESULTS: Ninety percent (90%) of mothers breastfed for an average of 19.9 months. Of mothers who drank postpartum and breastfed (MDPB), 47% breastfed for 12 months or more. In case control analyses, children of MDPB were significantly lighter, had lower verbal IQ scores, and more anomalies in comparisons controlling for prenatal alcohol exposure and final FASD diagnosis. Utilizing a stepwise logistic regression model adjusting for nine confounders of prenatal drinking and other maternal risks, MDPB were 6.4 times more likely to have a child with FASD than breastfeeding mothers who abstained from alcohol while breastfeeding. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use during the period of breastfeeding was found to significantly compromise a child’s development