Fish Oil Supplementation Reduces Markers of Oxidative Stress But Not Muscle Soreness After Eccentric Exercise

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Association of autoimmune thyroid disease and type 1 diabetes

Overt autoimmune hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism were found three times more commonly in insulin-dependent than in non-insulindependent diabetics. Similarly, clinically unrecognised primary autoim¬ mune thyroid failure, as evidenced by elevation of the serum thyrotro¬ phs concentration, was twice as common in insulin-dependent as in noninsulin- dependent diabetics. In contrast to the general insulindependent diabetic population, insulin- dependent diabetics with overt and clinically unrecognised autoimmune thyroid disease were character¬ istically female and middle-aged at the onset of diabetes. Ages at onset of diabetes and of thyroid dysfunction were correlated, suggesting the possibility of a common and coincident pathogenesis. Insulindependent diabetics with coexisting autoimmune thyroid disease showed a higher prevalence of HLA-B8, cytoplasmic and complement-fixing islet cell antibodies than those without thyroid disease. Within the insulin-dependent diabetic population, retinopathy was not related to the coexistence of autoimmune thyroid disease. In diabetics with elevated serum thyrotrophin concentrations but serum total thyroxine concentrations within the normal range, hypothy¬ roidism developed at a rate of 5% per annum in patients with thyroid microsomal antibodies. Thyroid disease was more common in siblings of diabetics with thyroid disease than in those of diabetics without thyroid disease. Insulin-dependent diabetes was more common in siblings of diabetics with a personal or family history of thyroid disease than in those of diabet¬ ics without such a history. In contrast to the younger, male, insulindependent patients, diabetics with coexistent autoimmune thyroid disease showed no seasonal variation in incidence. Thus, the pathogenesis of diabetes, when associated with autoimmune thyroid disease, appears to be dependent upon an inherited predisposition and not on environmental factors

Laying down a path in walking : student teachers’ emerging ecological identities

We would like to thank the three reviewers who provided insightful commentary and useful suggestions for engaging with the complex and contested conceptualisations integrated into this study. Sitting at the intersection of current theoretical and methodological paradigms, their feedback has been extremely useful in taking our own thinking forward. We thank them wholeheartedly.Peer reviewedPostprin

Criteria to monitor the poverty alleviation, empowerment and institutional performance of equity-share schemes in South African agriculture

This paper extends a previous study in South Africa aimed at developing methodology for assessing the performance of equity-share schemes. The previous study proposed four broad criteria to measure performance: poverty alleviation; empowerment and participation; institutional arrangements and governance; and financial performance. This paper does not aim to assess the performance of existing equity-share schemes but to develop a methodology for the first three criteria based on empirical analysis of data gathered in 2004 from a land reform project in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal and seven established equity-share schemes in the Western Cape. Poverty alleviation is measured using a transition matrix of households grouped by four different symptoms of poverty: current income, wealth, health and a principal component index of housing quality. Eight categories of indicators are recommended for empowerment and participation: control and ownership; skills transfer; understanding; information; outcomes; trust; outreach; and participation. A scorecard applying norms based on empirical evidence gathered at the equity-share schemes in the Western Cape is used to test the indicators. A scorecard approach is also applied to institutional arrangements and governance, which are measured using three categories of indicators: accountability, transparency and property rights. The proposed performance measures are relevant, manageable in number and have feasible norms based on empirical evidence. These indicators and their norms need to be tested on a wider scale and monitored over time. Future research should be undertaken to determine weights for the empowerment and institutional indicators.Food Security and Poverty,

Measuring the performance of equity-share schemes in South African agriculture: A focus on financial criteria

This study aims to develop a robust methodology for measuring financial performance of equity-share schemes. Several studies have investigated various aspects of performance of these schemes but no single study has yet measured their performance using an objective set of criteria. Four categories of such objective criteria are proposed: poverty alleviation; empowerment and participation; institutional arrangements and governance; and financial performance. This paper focuses only on the financial performance criteria. Recognised indicators of financial performance are applied to balance sheet and income statement data provided by four equity-share schemes in the Western Cape province. This analysis highlights problems with several of the conventional ratios used to measure profitability, solvency and growth when they are applied to recently restructured farming enterprises whose 'empowerment' status attracts exceptionally high levels of debt capital to finance long-term investments. To avoid these problems it is recommended that, for equity-share schemes, profitability should be measured by the return on assets or dividend return; solvency by the debt/asset ratio; liquidity by cash flow projections; growth by changes in the (estimated) real value of shares; and workers' total returns by changes in the sum of the real wage bill, capital gains, dividends, interest and other benefits accruing to workers in aggregate.Agricultural Finance,

Dietary nitrate reduces skeletal muscle oxygenation response to physical exercise : a quantitative muscle functional MRI study

© 2014 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Nutrient–nutrient interactions: competition, bioavailability, mechanism and function in health and diseases

The Nutrition Society Spring Conference 2018, held in Glasgow, brought together experts focusing on the interaction between different nutrients and how this impacts absorption, metabolism and health from biochemical and physiological perspectives. This cross-cutting theme was examined from a range of perspectives, bringing together experts on topics ranging from food processing to the impact of inflammation on nutrient status. Two plenary lectures provided a food landscape and lifecourse background to the proceedings, with on the first day a focus on processed/ultra-processed foods and their nutrient composition and, on the second day, a plenary lecture exploring the role that nutrient–nutrient interactions within the maternal diet have for the lifelong health of the offspring. The meeting was framed around three symposia, examining the competition and bioavailability of dietary components, nutrient–nutrient interactions and their role in protection from chronic diseases and the mechanisms of nutrient–nutrient interactions. The meeting ended with a round table, and an overall conclusion highlighting the opportunities to derive further understanding of the short- and long-term implications of diets through the study of nutrient–nutrient interactions

Fish oil-derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia

Purpose of review: Muscle mass and function decline progressively starting in middle age, which can result in sarcopenia and affect people's mobility and independence later in life. Exercise training and increased protein intake are typically recommended to counteract the age-associated decline in muscle mass and function. However, few people comply with exercise recommendations and the effectiveness of high-protein intake to halt the decline in muscle mass and function has not been proven. This review aims to explore recent developments in the potential for fish-oil derived n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) to improve muscle mass and function in older people. Recent findings: The results from several recent studies demonstrate that dietary supplementation with fish oil-derived n-3 PUFA stimulates muscle protein synthesis and improves muscle mass and function in sedentary older adults and augments the resistance exercise training-induced increase in muscle strength in older adults. The exact mechanisms by which fish oil-derived n-3 PUFAs exert their beneficial effects on muscle mass and function remain to be elucidated. Summary: Fish-oil supplementation has antisarcopenic effects and should be considered in the clinical care of older adults

Effect of Different Types of Physical Activity on Activities of Daily Living in Older Adults : Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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The Effect of Krill Oil Supplementation on Exercise Performance and Markers of Immune Function

Date of Acceptance: 08/09/2015 Acknowledgments We thank the technical support of the Institute of Medical Sciences Musculoskeletal Programme and the Iain Fraser Cytometry Centre.Peer reviewedPublisher PD