Further studies on the iodine concentration of conventional, organic and UHT semi-skimmed milk at retail in the UK

Milk is the largest source of iodine in UK diets and earlier studies showed organic summer and winter milk to be significantly lower in iodine than conventional milk. One study also showed UHT milk to have lower iodine concentration. The study on winter and UHT milk was small and accordingly a new study is reported here involving conventional, organic and UHT semi-skimmed milk from four supermarkets over a six-month period in summer and winter in two regions of the UK. The results showed organic milk to be 44% lower in iodine than conventional milk (427 vs. 241 mg/L, P < 0.001) and UHT milk was 27% lower in iodine than conventional milk (427 vs. 314 mg/L, P < 0.001) although the differences tended to be less in the summer. The results indicate that replacement of conventional milk by organic or UHT milk will increase the risk of sub-optimal iodine status especially for pregnant/lactating women

Further studies on the iodine concentration of conventional, organic and UHT semi-skimmed milk at retail in the UK

Milk is the largest source of iodine in UK diets and earlier studies showed organic summer and winter milk to be significantly lower in iodine than conventional milk. One study also showed UHT milk to have lower iodine concentration. The study on winter and UHT milk was small and accordingly a new study is reported here involving conventional, organic and UHT semi-skimmed milk from four supermarkets over a six-month period in summer and winter in two regions of the UK. The results showed organic milk to be 44% lower in iodine than conventional milk (427 vs. 241 mg/L, P < 0.001) and UHT milk was 27% lower in iodine than conventional milk (427 vs. 314 mg/L, P < 0.001) although the differences tended to be less in the summer. The results indicate that replacement of conventional milk by organic or UHT milk will increase the risk of sub-optimal iodine status especially for pregnant/lactating women

Type 1 diabetes incidence in Scotland between 2006 and 2019

Aims: To describe type 1 diabetes incidence in Scotland between 2006 and 2019. Methods: Repeated annual cross‐sectional studies of type 1 diabetes incidence were conducted. Incident cases were identified from the Scottish Care Information—Diabetes Collaboration (SCI‐DC), a population‐based register of people with diagnosed diabetes derived from primary and secondary care data. Mid‐year population estimates for Scotland were used as the denominator to calculate annual incidence with stratification by age and sex. Joinpoint regression was used to investigate whether incidence changed during the study period. Age and sex‐specific type 1 diabetes incidence over the whole time period was estimated by quintile of the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), an area‐based measure, in which Q1 and Q5 denote the most and least deprived fifths of the population, respectively, with quasi‐Poisson regression used to compare incidence for Q5 compared to Q1. Results: The median (IQR) age of the study population of 14,564 individuals with incident type 1 diabetes was 24.1 (12.3–42.4) years, 56% were men, 23% were in Q1 and 16% were in Q5. Incidence of T1DM was higher in men than women overall (at around 22 and 17 per 100,000, respectively) and in under 15 year olds (approximately 40 per 100,000 in both sexes) than other age groups and was similar across the study period in all strata. There was an inverse association between socio‐economic status and type 1 diabetes incidence for 15–29, 30–49 and 50+ year olds [incidence rate ratio (IRR) for Q5 compared to Q1; IRR (95% CI) 0.52 (0.47–0.58), 0.68 (0.61–0.76) and 0.53(0.46–0.61), respectively] but not for under 15 year olds [1.02 (0.92–1.12)]. Conclusion: Incidence of type 1 diabetes varies by age, sex and socio‐economic status and has remained approximately stable from 2006 to 2019 in Scotland

Distribution of Stromal Cell Subsets in Cultures from Distinct Ocular Surface Compartments

Purpose: To reveal the phenotypic differences between human ocular surface stromal cells (hOSSCs) cultured from the corneal, limbal, and scleral compartments. Methods: A comparative analysis of cultured hOSSCs derived from four unrelated donors was conducted by multichromatic flow cytometry for six distinct CD antigens, including the CD73, CD90, CD105, CD166, CD146, and CD34. Results: The hOSSCs, as well as the reference cells, displayed phenotypical profiles that were similar in high expression of the hallmark mesenchymal stem cell markers CD73, CD90, and CD105, and also the cancer stem cell marker CD166. Notably, there was considerable variation regarding the expression of CD34, where the highest levels were found in the corneal and scleral compartments. The multi-differentiation potential marker CD146 was also expressed highly variably, ranging from 9% to 89%, but the limbal stromal and endometrial mesenchymal stem cells significantly surpassed their counterparts within the ocular and reference groups, respectively. The use of six markers enabled investigation of 64 possible variants, however, just four variants accounted for almost 90% of all hOSSCs, with the co-expression of CD73, CD90, CD105, and CD166 and a combination of CD146 and CD34. The limbal compartment appeared unique in that it displayed greatest immunophenotype diversity and harbored the highest proportion of the CD146+CD34- pericyte-like forms, but, interestingly, the pericyte-like cells were also found in the avascular cornea. Conclusions: Our findings confirm that the hOSSCs exhibit an immunophenotype consistent with that of MSCs, further highlight the phenotypical heterogeneity in stroma from distinct ocular surface compartments, and finally underscore the uniqueness of the limbal region.&nbsp