The difficult alliance between vegan parents and pediatrician: A case report

The number of children on a vegetarian or vegan diet is gradually increasing. If not balanced and adequately supplemented, these dietary regimes can seriously impact the growth of children. Often the pediatrician is not perceived as a figure to rely on in the event of parents’ willingness to follow an alternative diet for their child. The feeling of distrust of parents towards the pediatrician can be dangerous for the health of the child. We present a 22-month-old boy with failure to thrive probably induced by an unbalanced vegetarian diet. The acquisition of the anamnestic data concerning the child’s diet was difficult because initially omitted by the parents. The poor compliance and the difficult follow-up highlights the difficulty in establishing a therapeutic alliance between parents who follow alternative regimens and the pediatrician

Cactus pear fruit extract exerts anti-inflammatory effects in carrageenin-induced rat pleurisy

Nutritional research has recently shifted from alleviating nutrient deficiencies to chronic disease prevention. In this study activity of cactus pear fruit extract (CPFE) from Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. has been investigated in carrageenin-induced pleurisy, a rat model of acute inflammation. In our experimental design rat pleurisy was achieved by the injection of 0.2 ml of λ-carrageenin in the pleural cavity. At selected time points, rats were sacrificed; cells recruited in pleura were counted and exudates collected to analyse inflammatory parameters such as NO, PGE2, IL-1β, TNF-α. CPFE (in the range between 5 and 20 g fresh fruit equivalent/kg), orally given 30 min before the injection, time- and dose-dependently reduced the exudate volume (up to 72%) and the number of leukocytes recruited in the pleural cavity (up to 96%), at 24 h. These anti-inflammatory effects were accompanied by an inhibited release of inflammatory mediators (PGE2, NO, IL-1β, TNF-α). Our in vivo findings unveil for the first time an anti-inflammatory potential for cactus pear fruit and suggest further investigations to propose cactus pear fruit as a functional food able to improve health, possibly by preventing inflammation-based disorders. © 2015, International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved

A web application prototype for the multiscale modelling of seismic input

A web application prototype is described, aimed at the generation of synthetic seismograms for user-defined earthquake models. The web application graphical user interface hides the complexity of the underlying computational engine, which is the outcome of the continuous evolution of sophisticated computer codes, some of which saw the light back in the middle '80s. With the web application, even the non-experts can produce ground shaking scenarios at the local or regional scale in very short times, depending on the complexity of the adopted source and medium models, without the need of a deep knowledge of the physics of the earthquake phenomenon. Actually, it may even allow neophytes to get some basic education in the field of seismology and seismic engineering, due to the simplified intuitive experimental approach to the matter. One of the most powerful features made available to the users is indeed the capability of executing quick parametric tests in near real-time, to explore the relations between each model's parameter and the resulting ground motion scenario. The synthetic seismograms generated through the web application can be used by civil engineers for the design of new seismo-resistant structures, or to analyse the performance of the existing ones under seismic load.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure

Vegetarian and vegan weaning of the infant: How common and how evidence-based? a population-based survey and narrative review

Background: Vegetarian and vegan weaning have increasing popularity among parents and families. However, if not correctly managed, they may lead to wrong feeding regimens, causing severe nutritional deficiencies requiring specific nutritional support or even the need for hospitalization. Aim: To assess the prevalence of vegetarian and vegan weaning among Italian families and to provide an up-to-date narrative review of supporting evidence. Materials and methods: We investigated 360 Italian families using a 40-item questionnaire. The narrative review was conducted searching scientific databases for articles reporting on vegetarian and vegan weaning. Results: 8.6% of mothers follow an alternative feeding regimen and 9.2% of infants were weaned according to a vegetarian or vegan diet. The breastfeeding duration was longer in vegetarian/vegan infants (15.8 vs. 9.7 months; p < 0.0001). Almost half of parents (45.2%) claim that their pediatrician was unable to provide sufficient information and adequate indications regarding unconventional weaning and 77.4% of parents reported the pediatrician’s resistance towards alternative weaning methods. Nine studies were suitable for the review process. The vast majority of authors agree on the fact that vegetarian and vegan weaning may cause severe nutritional deficiencies, whose detrimental effects are particularly significant in the early stages of life. Discussion and conclusion: Our results show that alternative weaning methods are followed by a significant number of families; in half of the cases, the family pediatrician was not perceived as an appropriate guide in this delicate process. To date, consistent findings to support both the safety and feasibility of alternative weaning methods are still lacking. Since the risk of nutritional deficiencies in the early stages of life is high, pediatricians have a pivotal role in guiding parents and advising them on the most appropriate and complete diet regimen during childhood. Efforts should be made to enhance nutritional understanding among pediatricians as an unsupervised vegetarian or vegan diet can cause severe nutritional deficiencies with possible detrimental long-term effects

Seguridad del Paciente Oncológico : Desarrollos Estratégicos

Los errores en el tratamiento quimioterápico pueden tener consecuencias graves para los pacientes debido al estrecho margen terapéutico de los antineoplásicos; la mayor parte de los errores de medicación están sujetos al error humano. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir las estrategias utilizadas por el Sanatorio Güemes para mejorar la seguridad en el tratamiento de pacientes oncológicos sobre la base de desarrollos de recursos electrónicos y estandarización de procedimientos. La implementación de estas estrategias representó una disminución en la probabilidad de error con un cambio en el estándar de calidad y seguridad de atención al paciente, logrando además optimización de recursos y tiempos.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Erratum to: Seismic waves in 3-D: from mantle asymmetries to reliable seismic hazard assessment

Acknowledgments This paper is strongly relying upon the work of many colleagues and collaborators to whom we are greatly thankful, in particular: Carlo Doglioni, Gillian Foulger, Vahid Gholami, Hossein Hamzehloo, Volodya Kossobokov, Cristina La Mura, Anatoly Levshin, Andrea Magrin, Antonella Peresan, Federica Riguzzi, Franco Vaccari, Peter Varga, Tatiana Yanovskaya. Financial support from PRIN 2010-2011 and RITMARE projects, funded by Italian Ministry of University and Research, is gratefully acknowledged. In addition, Fig. 3 should be updated by new one as below

Leptin, Leptin Soluble Receptor, and the Free Leptin Index following a Diet and Physical Activity Lifestyle Intervention in Obese Males and Females

Leptin (LEP) is associated with appetite regulation and metabolism. Concentration is linear with adiposity, suggesting LEP resistance. LEP circulates freely and bound with its soluble receptor (sOB-r); the ratio is the free leptin index (FLI), an index of leptin resistance; lower FLI suggests reduced biological action. Purpose. The aim was to determine the effect of changes in adipose tissue distribution on LEP, sOB-r, and FLI following 6 months (6 M) of a diet/exercise weight loss program (WLP). In addition, we aim to identify predictors of the FLI. Methods. 6 M WLP consisted of diet/lifestyle interventions following ADA guidelines. Body composition was assessed by DXA. LEP and sOB-r analysis were done via ELISA. Results. 10 adults completed the WLP. Significant reductions were seen in total fat percentage (% fat), nontrunk fat, (NTF), and trunk fat (TF) from base to 3 m and 6 M (p≤0.05). The FLI were reduced at 3 M and 6 M for males and 6 M for females. Total body fat and body weight predicted the FLI in both sexes. Conclusions. LEP and FLI reductions following 6 M of WLP were achieved independent of sOB-r changes. We also demonstrate that the FLI can be predicted noninvasively through total fat mass and body weight in kilograms

Jurásico y cretácico del Macizo del Deseado, provincia de Santa Cruz

El conocimiento geológico del Macizo del Deseado ha experimentado en los últimos años un gran avance especialmente en lo que se refiere a sus aspectos estratigráficos, petrológicos, geoquímicos, tectónicos y metalogénicos. Desde las contribuciones de De Giusto et al. (1980) y Franchi et al. (1989), no se han efectuado publicaciones de tipo general que actualicen los adelantos operados en el conocimiento de las características geológico-estratigráficas del Macizo, adquiriendo importancia lo referente a los eventos tecto-magmáticos ocurridos durante el Mesozoico, especialmente en el Jurásico y Cretácico. En este sentido cabe resaltar no solamente el interés geológico que ha despertado el volcanismo jurásico como episodio clave en su historia evolutiva sino también el económico, habida cuenta del hallazgo de importantes depósitos minerales epitermales de metales preciosos en diferentes sectores del Macizo y que se encuentran asociados espacial y temporalmente con dicho evento magmático. El Macizo del Deseado ha sido considerado desde el trabajo de Harrington (1962) como un nesocratón, es decir como un área persistentemente subpositiva, relativamente estable y poco deformable tangencialmente. Su comportamiento temporalmente positivo y rígido marca un neto contraste con el régimen subsidente de las vecinas cuencas pericratónicas del Golfo San Jorge y Austral o Magallánica (De Giusto et al., 1980). Sus rasgos estructurales están íntimamente ligados al desarrollo del orógeno de la Cordillera Patagónica Austral durante el Paleozoico conjuntamente con la evolución de la dorsal mesooceánica atlántica durante gran parte del Mesozoico y Cenozoico. La presente contribución es el fruto, en gran medida, de la labor desarrollada por el Servicio Geológico Nacional, cuyos integrantes realizaron durante las décadas de los 80 y 90, el levantamiento geológico escala 1:100.000 y 1:250.000 de gran parte de la provincia de Santa Cruz.Instituto de Recursos MineralesConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica