The Planetary Health Diet Index: A novel dietary assessment tool and its associations with environmental and health measures in the United States

Sustainable dietary guidance – such as the universal healthy reference diet proposed by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health – is one strategy to improve the health and environmental impacts of dietary choices in the United States (US). The Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) is a quantitative measure of adherence to the Commission’s recommendations that to date has not been applied in the US. There is a need to assess PHDI’s relationship with health and environmental indicators and to compare it to heath-focused dietary recommendations already in use, such as the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), we examined trends in PHDI adherence and its correlations with fiber, potassium, calcium, and iron. We then compared PHDI to HEI-2015 and DASH in terms of disparities, cardiometabolic indicators (waist circumference, blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, fasting triglycerides) and dietary greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE). We observed small improvements in PHDI score from 2003-2018 and found positive correlations with dietary fiber and potassium, inverse correlations with dietary calcium, and no impact on dietary iron. In comparing PHDI, HEI-2015, and DASH, disparities by income, education, and race/ethnicity existed for each index. Higher PHDI, HEI-2015, and DASH scores were correlated with improved cardiometabolic indicators and there were few meaningful differences across indices, although PHDI was not correlated with fasting plasma glucose and was the only index correlated with fasting triglycerides. Higher dietary quality on all three indices was associated with lower dietary GHGE. The magnitude of the dietary quality-dietary GHGE relationship was larger for PHDI and DASH than for HEI-2015 and was driven largely by red and processed meat intake. Overall, our results suggest that improved dietary quality in the US has potential benefits for health and emissions, regardless of dietary quality measure used. PHDI and DASH were comparable to HEI-2015 in terms of cardiometabolic indicators and had lower carbon footprints. Incorporating sustainability into US dietary guidelines is a promising strategy to improve diet, health, and environmental outcomes, although continued efforts are needed to promote equity and reduce diet disparities.Doctor of Philosoph

Environment sensing and response mediated by ABC transporters

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Transporter proteins are one of an organism’s primary interfaces with the environment. The expressed set of transporters mediates cellular metabolic capabilities and influences signal transduction pathways and regulatory networks. The functional annotation of most transporters is currently limited to general classification into families. The development of capabilities to map ligands with specific transporters would improve our knowledge of the function of these proteins, improve the annotation of related genomes, and facilitate predictions for their role in cellular responses to environmental changes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To improve the utility of the functional annotation for ABC transporters, we expressed and purified the set of solute binding proteins from <it>Rhodopseudomonas palustris</it> and characterized their ligand-binding specificity. Our approach utilized ligand libraries consisting of environmental and cellular metabolic compounds, and fluorescence thermal shift based high throughput ligand binding screens. This process resulted in the identification of specific binding ligands for approximately 64% of the purified and screened proteins. The collection of binding ligands is representative of common functionalities associated with many bacterial organisms as well as specific capabilities linked to the ecological niche occupied by <it>R. palustris</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The functional screen identified specific ligands that bound to ABC transporter periplasmic binding subunits from <it>R. palustris</it>. These assignments provide unique insight for the metabolic capabilities of this organism and are consistent with the ecological niche of strain isolation. This functional insight can be used to improve the annotation of related organisms and provides a route to evaluate the evolution of this important and diverse group of transporter proteins.</p

Capacitive sensing of N-formylamphetamine based on immobilized molecular imprinted polymers

A highly sensitive, capacitive biosensor was developed to monitor trace amounts of an amphetamine precursor in aqueous samples. The sensing element is a gold electrode with molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) immobilized on its surface. A continuous-flow system with timed injections was used to simulate flowing waterways, such as sewers, springs, rivers, etc., ensuring wide applicability of the developed product. MIPs, implemented as a recognition element due to their stability under harsh environmental conditions, were synthesized using thermo-and UV-initiated polymerization techniques. The obtained particles were compared against commercially.,available MIPs according to specificity and selectivity metrics; commercial MIPs were characterized by quite broad cross-reactivity to other structurally related amphetamine-type stimulants. After the best batch of MIPs was chosen, different strategies for immobilizing them on the gold electrode's surface were evaluated, and their stability was also verified. The complete, developed system was validated through analysis of spiked samples. The limit of detection (LOD) for N-formylamphetamine was determined to be 10 mu M in this capacitive biosensor system. The obtained results indicate future possible applications of this MIPs-based capacitive biosensor for environmental and forensic analysis. To the best of our knowledge there are no existing MIPs-based sensors toward amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS)

From therapeutic landscapes to healthy spaces, places and practices: a scoping review

The term 'therapeutic landscapes' was first coined by health geographer, Wilbert Gesler, in 1992 to explore why certain environments seem to contribute to a healing sense of place. Since then, the concept and its applications have evolved and expanded as researchers have examined the dynamic material, affective and socio-cultural roots and routes to experiences of health and wellbeing in specific places. Drawing on a scoping review of studies of these wider therapeutic landscapes published between 2007 and 2016, this paper explores how, where, and to what benefit the 'therapeutic landscapes' concept has been applied to date, and how such applications have contributed to its critical evolution as a relevant and useful concept in health geography. Building on themes included in two earlier (1999, 2007) edited volumes on Therapeutic Landscapes, we summarise the key themes identified in the review, broadly in keeping with the core material, social, spiritual and symbolic dimensions of the concept initially posited by Gesler. Through this process, we identify strengths and limitations of the concept and its applications, as well as knowledge gaps and promising future directions for work in this field, reflecting critically on its value within health geography and its potential contribution to wider interdisciplinary discussions and debates around 'healthy' spaces, places, and related practices. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patterns of Red and Processed Meat Consumption Across North America: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Comparison of Dietary Recalls from Canada, Mexico, and the United States

Close economic ties encourage production and trade of meat between Canada, Mexico, and the US. Understanding the patterns of red and processed meat consumption in North America may inform policies designed to reduce meat consumption and bolster environmental and public health efforts across the continent. We used nationally-representative cross-sectional survey data to analyze consumption of unprocessed red meat; processed meat; and total red and processed meat. Generalized linear models were used to separately estimate probability of consumption and adjusted mean intake. Prevalence of total meat consumers was higher in the US (73.6, 95% CI: 72.3&ndash;74.8%) than in Canada (65.6, 63.9&ndash;67.2%) or Mexico (62.7, 58.1&ndash;67.2%). Men were more likely to consume unprocessed red, processed, and total meat, and had larger estimated intakes. In Mexico, high wealth individuals were more likely to consume all three categories of meat. In the US and Canada, those with high education were less likely to consume total and processed meat. Estimated mean intake of unprocessed red, processed, and total meat did not differ across sociodemographic strata. Overall consumption of red and processed meat remains high in North America. Policies to reduce meat consumption are appropriate for all three countries

Theory of mind impairment in patients with behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia (bv-FTD) increases caregiver burden

Background: Theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer the intention, beliefs and emotional states of others, is frequently impaired in behavioural variant fronto-temporal dementia patients (bv-FTDp); however, its impact on caregiver burden is unexplored. Setting: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health. Subjects: bv-FTDp (n = 28), a subgroup of their caregivers (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 32). Methods: we applied a faux-pas (FP) task as a ToM measure in bv-FTDp and healthy controls and the Zarit Burden Interview as a measure of burden in patients' caregivers. Patients underwent structural MRI; we used voxel-based morphometry to examine relationships between regional atrophy and ToM impairment and caregiver burden. Results: FP task performance was impaired in bv-FTDp and negatively associated with caregiver burden. Atrophy was found in areas involved in ToM. Caregiver burden increased with greater atrophy in left lateral premotor cortex, a region associated in animal models with the presence of mirror neurons, possibly involved in empathy. Conclusion: ToM impairment in bv-FTDp is associated with increased caregiver burde

Early Scottish Monasteries and Prehistory: A Preliminary Dialogue

Reflecting oil the diversity of monastic attributes found in the east and west of Britain, the author proposes that prehistoric ritual practice was influential on monastic form. An argument is advanced that this was not based solely oil inspiration Front the landscape, nor oil conservative tradition, but oil the intellectual reconciliation of Christian and non-Christian ideas, with disparate results that account. for the differences in monumentality. Among more general matters tentatively credited with a prehistoric root are the cult of relics, the tonsure and the date of Easter