Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Neutron production in semiprototypic target assemblies for accelerator transmutation technology

Integral neutron production was measured by the manganese-activation technique, on targets semiprototypic of spallation-neutron-driven transmutation systems, after irradiation by 400-MeV to 2.0-GeV protons. The purpose of these experiments was to provide data to benchmark nuclear transport codes for targets irradiated by protons in this energy range, as well as to evaluate design options to maximize the production of spallation neutrons in various targets under consideration. These computer codes are used to design accelerator systems that will utilize spallation neutrons for the generation of tritium, transmutation of nuclear waste, production of radioisotopes, and other scientific investigations. Some of the targets used in this investigation were semiprototypic of the proposed Accelerator Production of Tritium target. Other targets were included to provide data to test the computational models in the codes. Total neutron production is the main factor that determines the economics of transmutation for a particular accelerator design. Comparisons of the data reported here with calculations from computer simulations show agreement to within 15% over the entire energy region for most of the targets

Substituição do milho pela casca de café ou de soja em dietas para vacas leiteiras: comportamento ingestivo, concentração de nitrogênio uréico no plasma e no leite, balanço de compostos nitrogenados e produção de proteína microbiana Replacing corn with coffee hulls or soyhulls in diets of dairy cows: chewing activity, ruminal metabolism, nitrogen utilization and microbial protein synthesis

Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da substituição do milho pela casca de café ou pela casca de soja em dietas à base de cana-de-açúcar, com 60% de concentrado, sobre o comportamento ingestivo, o pH e a concentração de amônia no líquido ruminal, a excreção de uréia na urina (EU), a concentração de N-uréia no plasma (NUP) e no leite (NUL), o balanço de compostos nitrogenados e a síntese de proteína microbiana em vacas leiteiras, em comparação a uma dieta com silagem de milho. Foram utilizadas 12 vacas holandesas, puras e mestiças, distribuídas em três quadrados latinos 4 x 4. A dieta controle foi composta de silagem de milho e 40% de concentrado (SiMi), com base na MS. Foram utilizadas três dietas contendo cana-de-açúcar e 60% de concentrado, de modo que os percentuais de substituição do milho foram 0% (CMi), 25% com casca de café (CCC) ou 50% com casca de soja (CCS), com base na MS total da dieta. O tempo total de mastigação foi menor para a dieta SiMi e não foi afetado pela inclusão de casca de café ou casca de soja. O pH ruminal não diferiu nos tempos 0 e 3 horas após a alimentação matinal. A dieta CCC resultou, três horas após alimentação, em menor concentração de amônia ruminal em relação às demais, com exceção da dieta CMi. Não foram observadas diferenças na EU e NUL, sendo registrados valores médios de 179,31 mg/kg de PV e 12,59 mg/dL, respectivamente. A substituição do milho pela casca de café ou de soja não promove melhora no ambiente ruminal. A síntese de compostos nitrogenados microbianos e a eficiência microbiana ruminal não são influenciadas pelas dietas e apresentam valores médios de 273 g/dia e 130,08 gPBmic/kg de NDT, respectivamente.<br>Twelve purebred and crossbred Holstein cows were assigned to three replicated 4 x 4 Latin squares to evaluate the effects of replacing corn grain with coffee hulls or soyhulls on chewing activity, ruminal metabolism, nitrogen utilization, and microbial protein synthesis. Animals were fed a control diet containing 60% corn silage and 40% concentrate (CS diet) or three sugarcane based diets with forage to concentrate ratio of 40:60. The sugarcane diets contained 100% of corn in the concentrate (SC diet) or partial replacement of corn with 25% of coffee hulls (SCH diet) or 50% of soyhulls (SSH diet). Total chewing time was lowest on CS and did not change by the inclusion of coffee hulls or soyhulls in the diet. Ruminal pH did not differ significantly at zero (pre-feeding) and at three hours after the morning feeding across diets. The same was observed for the ruminal concentration of ammonia N immediately before feeding. However, the concentration of ruminal ammonia N at three hours after feeding was lower on SCH than on CS and SSH diets but was similar to that of SC diet. No significant differences were observed for the urinary excretion of urea N and milk urea N, which averaged 179.31 mg/kg BW and 12.59 mg/dL, respectively, among diets. Replacing corn grain with coffee hulls or soyhulls did not improve the ruminal environment. Microbial protein synthesis and microbial efficiency were both not affected by diets averaging 273 g/day and 130.08 g microbial CP/kg TDN, respectively