Single hair analysis by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry detects small changes in dietary zinc intake: a nested randomized controlled trial

The aim of this study was to determine whether x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) could be used to detect changes in hair zinc concentration in response to a modest daily increase in zinc from the consumption of zinc biofortified wheat flour. This study was conducted as part of an effectiveness trial (BiZiFED2) exploring the potential for zinc biofortified wheat to alleviate zinc deficiency in adolescent girls aged 10-16 years in Pakistan (trial registration ID ISRCTN17107812). A randomised controlled design was used. Participants received either control flour or zinc biofortified flour for 6 months. Consumption of biofortified flour resulted in an average daily increase in dietary zinc intake of 1.5 mg per day above that of the control flour. At baseline and at the end of the intervention, individual hair samples (control: n= 59, intervention: n=64) were analyzed for zinc and sulphur content by XRF. Data were analysed using linear mixed effects models to contrast between trial groups the changes from baseline to end point and also to compare baseline and end point values within each trial group. Increases from baseline to endpoint in both sulphur and zinc were significantly greater in the intervention group compared to control (Sulphur counts. Control: baseline = 119.87±20.33 & endpoint = 121.58±23.58 / intervention: baseline = 122.67±24.19 & endpoint = 131.60±21.34); (Zinc counts. Control: baseline = 50.88±14.33 & endpoint = 54.82±14.61 / intervention: baseline = 49.61±10.77 & endpoint = 58.79±12.20). For these parameters, there were also significant increases from baseline to endpoint in the intervention group but not in control. Furthermore, for Zn:S count ratio there were no differences in terms of the magnitude of the change from baseline to endpoint in the control group, although significant increases from baseline to endpoint were evident in the intervention group. (Zn:S count ratio. Control: baseline = 0.42±0.10 & endpoint = 0.45±0.08 / intervention: baseline = 0.41±0.08 & endpoint = 0.45±0.08). A modest increase in dietary zinc over 6 months resulted in a detectable increase in both sulphur and zinc counts in individual hairs measured using XRF. This offers a sensitive, non-invasive method to monitor changes within subjects in response to dietary zinc interventions

Being a Public Manager in Times of Crisis: The Art of Managing Stakeholders, Political Masters, and Collaborative Networks

10.1111/puar.13245Public Administration Review580759 - 76

The administration and management of environmental sustainability initiatives: a collaborative perspective

Local climate and energy issues provide fertile ground for collaboration in pursuit of shared goals, yet coordination problems can stymie their achievement. Collaborative networks enable integration of local sustainability initiatives across regions and are one mechanism available to mitigate coordination problems and expand the access of resources to local governments. Building on the Institutional Collective Action framework, we examine the scope of the collaborative networks formed by US cities around issues of climate and energy sustainability. Drawing data from the integrated city sustainability database, our analysis finds that the number of partners a city collaborates with on climate and energy issues is influenced by city administrative capacity and community stakeholder support; on average, cities with greater capacity and more interest group support engage a larger number of partners. These findings have theoretical and practical implications for understanding the use of collaborative networks to resolve coordination and cooperation problems

Fragment-Based Discovery of Type I Inhibitors of Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase

Fragment-based drug design was successfully applied to maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK). A low affinity (160 μM) fragment hit was identified, which bound to the hinge region with an atypical binding mode, and this was optimized using structure-based design into a low-nanomolar and cell-penetrant inhibitor, with a good selectivity profile, suitable for use as a chemical probe for elucidation of MELK biology