Responsive feeding: establishing healthy eating behaviour early on in life

Responsive feeding (RF) refers to a reciprocal relationship between an infant or child and his or her caregiver that is characterised by the child communicating feelings of hunger and satiety through verbal or nonverbal cues, followed by an immediate response from the caregiver. The response includes the provision of appropriate and nutritious food in a supportive manner, while maintaining an appropriate feeding environment. The literature indicates that RF is the foundation for the development of healthy eating behaviour and optimal skills for self-regulation and self-control of food intake. Therefore, practising RF is associated with ideal growth standards, optimal nutrient intake and long-term regulation of weight. On the other hand, nonresponsive feeding (NRF) practices are associated with feeding problems and the development of under- or overnutrition. Different types of NRF behaviour have been described, where the caregiver is either uninvolved during meals, too restrictive or controlling, or allows the child to control mealtimes. Consequently, mealtimes may become cumbersome, characterised by inconsistent, nonresponsive interaction, and may result in a relationship that is lacking in trust. The effects of RF and NRF are reviewed in this article and the practical guideline to “Feed slowly and patiently, and encourage your baby to eat, but do not force them” is suggested as appropriate for inclusion in the proposed South African paediatric Food Based Dietary Guidelines. It is also acknowledged that RF practices are best established when mothers choose to breastfeed on demand, as they are less controlling and moreresponsive to their infants’ internal hunger and satiety cues

Omega-3 fatty acids for the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease

Background. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are defined as conditions involving decreased blood flow to the heart that can lead to heart attacks, stroke or other disorders. CVDs are a common cause of death in low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa (SA) in particular, CVD is the leading cause of death after HIV/AIDS, responsible for 1 in 6 deaths. CVD risk factors include unhealthy diets, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol levels and diabetes. Omega-3 fatty acids may have a protective role in the risk of developing heart disease.Objectives. To evaluate the consequences of an increased intake of fish and plant-based omega-3 fatty acids on the risk of CVD mortality and events.Methods. The inclusion criteria for this review were randomised controlled trials (RCTs) lasting at least 12 months, which investigated men and women aged ≥18 years. These participants had to be at any risk of CVD while receiving dietary supplements and an advised diet to promote the intake of omega-3. This diet included oily fish, fish oils and seeds rich in omega-3. Comparisons with the interventions included the participants’ usual diet, no advice, no supplements, placebo or lower-dose omega-3. The review evaluated the effectiveness of these interventions on primary (e.g. CVD deaths and events), secondary (e.g. major adverse cerebrovascular or CVD events, body weight and other adiposity measures, and lipids) and tertiary (e.g. blood pressure and side-effects) outcomes.Results. Evidence from this review indicates that increasing the intake of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (LCn3) or alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) probably has little or no effect on all-cause CVD or coronary heart disease mortality. Evidence was of moderate certainty, except for all-cause mortality, where there was a high certainty.Conclusions. According to moderate- to high-certainty evidence, short-chain fatty acids and LCn3 have little or no effect on mortality or cardiovascular health. However, omega-3 ALA slightly reduces the risk of CVD events and arrhythmias

Electrostatically gated membrane permeability in inorganic protocells

Although several strategies are now available to produce functional microcompartments analogous to primitive cell-like structures, little progress has been made in generating protocell constructs with self-controlled membrane permeability. Here we describe the preparation of water-dispersible colloidosomes based on silica nanoparticles and delineated by a continuous semipermeable inorganic membrane capable of self-activated, electrostatically gated permeability. We use crosslinking and covalent grafting of a pH-responsive copolymer to generate an ultrathin elastic membrane that exhibits selective release and uptake of small molecules. This behaviour, which depends on the charge of the copolymer coronal layer, serves to trigger enzymatic dephosphorylation reactions specifically within the protocell aqueous interior. This system represents a step towards the design and construction of alternative types of artificial chemical cells and protocell models based on spontaneous processes of inorganic self-organization

The Morphology of Black Tea Cream

The colloidal precipitate known as tea cream, which separates when a hot aqueous infusion of black tea is cooled, is investigated by electron microscopic (EM) techniques of shadowing, sectioning, freeze-etching and scanning and also by optical microscopy. These indicate tea cream to be an association colloid, the morphology of which depends on overall solids concentration. Dilute infusions (0.1% w/w) produce macromolecular aggregates of about 50 run, but at higher tea solids concentrations secondary aggregation of the initial particles results in ill-defined clusters of approximately 1 um in diameter. At 5% w/w, clear , spherical liquid droplets, typically 1-2 um in diameter are observed . Increasing concentration to 40% w/w causes an increase in size of the individual colloidal droplets and an increase in the phase volume of this disperse phase. The colloidal phase contains 55 - 65% solids by weight, the total solids content appearing to be independent of overall composition of the solutions from which it is formed. The colloid may be separated from cooled tea infusions by centrifugation but individual particles display strong resistance to coalescence. At high tea cream phase volumes phase inversion can occur and dispersions of the dilute phase in a continuous cream phase are then observed

Cancer incidence among children and young adults who have undergone x-ray guided cardiac catheterization procedures

Children and young adults with heart disease appear to be at increased risk of developing cancer, although the reasons for this are unclear. A cohort of 11,270 individuals, who underwent cardiac catheterizations while aged B 22 years in the UK, was established from hospital records. Radiation doses from cardiac catheterizations and CT scans were estimated. The cohort was matched with the NHS Central Register and NHS Transplant Registry to determine cancer incidence and transplantation status. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with associated confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The excess relative risk (ERR) of lymphohaematopoietic neoplasia was also calculated using Poisson regression. The SIR was raised for all malignancies (2.32, 95% CI 1.65, 3.17), lymphoma (8.34, 95% CI 5.22, 12.61) and leukaemia (2.11, 95% CI 0.82, 4.42). After censoring transplant recipients, post-transplant, the SIR was reduced to 0.90 (95% CI 0.49, 1.49) for all malignancies. All lymphomas developed post-transplant. The SIR for all malignancies developing 5 years from the first cardiac catheterization (2 years for leukaemia/lymphoma) remained raised (3.01, 95% CI 2.09, 4.19) but was again reduced after censoring transplant recipients (0.98, 95% CI 0.48, 1.77). The ERR per mGy bone marrow dose for lympho-haematopoietic neoplasia was reduced from 0.541 (95% CI 0.104, 1.807) to 0.018 (95% CI - 0.002, 0.096) where transplantation status was accounted for as a time-dependent background risk factor. In conclusion, transplantation appears to be a large contributor to elevated cancer rates in this patient group. This is likely to be mainly due to associated immunosuppression, however, radiation exposure may also be a contributing factor

Evaluation and monitoring of terrestrial and aquatic insect biodiversity in forested and cleared watersheds at Camp Atterbury, Indiana.

Executive Summary Camp Atterbury is a 33,132 ha military installation near Edinburgh, Indiana. Construction of a 80 ha (4,550 ha with safety fan) Multi-Purpose Training Range (MPTR) began in 1998, and supports training for military vehicles and dismounted infantry, with a variety of stationary and moving targets. This study provides a baseline for long term monitoring and evaluation of natural communities to assess the impacts of construction of, and training in, the MPTR. We assessed both aquatic macroinvertebrate and terrestrial insect community diversity, abundance, and richness and similarity at a series of study plots using quantifiable, repeatable and replicated methods. These data provide baseline data facilitating long-term monitoring and assessment as a measure of ecosystem health, and allow evaluation of relationships between community composition and habitat metrics. Methods Eight terrestrial study sites, each comprised of a 30 m square plot, were randomly selected, with four of these placed in the cleared portions of the MPTR and four placed in adjacent upland forest. We used several sampling methods, with focus on three groups of taxa (all insect taxa, ants, and leafhoppers and kin) and compared the efficacy of both the methods and the groups as monitoring tools. Sampling methods included: 1) a Malaise trap (mesh tent-like device that captures flying insects) at each site; 2) four sweep sample transects at each site; 3) four leaf litter samples from each site, with invertebrates extracted using the Winkler method; and 4) Nine pitfall traps at each site. Samples were collect during Summer and Fall study periods, and this report gives results from the Summer sample period. Several habitat parameters were recorded, including a vegetation index, canopy cover, ground cover, and leaf litter depth. Dominant plant taxa were collected, and data loggers recorded soil and air temperature during the study. We sampled aquatic macroinvertebrates at three stream sites draining the MPTR. Invertebrates were collected in replicate samples with a dipnet and these were sorted and subsampled in the laboratory. Canopy cover and basic water chemistry data were collected, and data loggers recorded changes in terrestrial and aquatic temperature. An index of biotic integrity and taxon richness were used to evaluate the aquatic communities. Results and Discussion At least 409 taxa and 3776 specimens were collected at terrestrial sample sites during the Summer sampling period. In general, there were some differences among sites, among sampling methods, and among treatments (cleared MPTR versus forested) when we examined taxon richness and species diversity, but these differences could not always be fully resolved. While taxon richness and species diversity differed among treatments, and, in general, plots in the two treatments harbored different insect communities. Species accumulation curves and various estimators of taxon richness were used to evaluate the four sampling methods and the three groups of taxa (all taxa, ants, leafhoppers). Based on the performance of the different taxa (all, ants, leafhoppers) compared across the different methods (malaise sampling, Winkler extracted leaf litter samples, pitfall traps, and sweep samples), the single most effective taxon for monitoring was found to be the ants (Formicidae), and the single best method for monitoring was found to be pitfall trapping. We collected 818 specimens, primarily aquatic macroinvertebrates, from the three stream sites during Summer sampling. All three streams were dry during the fall sample period, and thus no aquatic macroinvertebrates were collected. Using Hilsenhoff’s (1988) family-level index of biotic integrity, water quality was classified as “good” at one site, and “fair” at the other two, although taxon richness was lowest at the site classified as good. In addition to invertebrates, numerous salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera, the Two-lined Salamander) were observed in the streams. 3 For aquatic invertebrates, we found that the small upstream portions that directly drained the MPTR only held water seasonally, and thus were not effective sites for monitoring of stream macroinvertebrates. There was insufficient separation between MPTR-influenced stream sites and control sites, and a lack of replication (few streams flowing away from the MPTR) precluded robust statistical analysis of the data we did obtain. The community of aquatic macroinvertebrates collected during this study appeared similar to the communities reported by Robinson (2004) elsewhere at Camp Atterbury in larger streams, and includes taxa typical of rocky bottom Midwestern forest streams. Fish were largely absent due to the intermittent nature of the streams. Salamanders were abundant in the streams, and because they are top predators in this seasonal habitat, they may be suitable subjects for studies of potential bioaccumulation of toxins. This study provides a snapshot of insect biodiversity at a point in time, thus providing baseline for any possible future monitoring of insect biodiversity. Sampling methods and analyses developed in this study could easily be implemented at a wide variety of other military installations to facilitate inventory and/or monitoring of insect biodiversity.Ope

Accelerated Model Checking of Parametric Markov Chains

Parametric Markov chains occur quite naturally in various applications: they can be used for a conservative analysis of probabilistic systems (no matter how the parameter is chosen, the system works to specification); they can be used to find optimal settings for a parameter; they can be used to visualise the influence of system parameters; and they can be used to make it easy to adjust the analysis for the case that parameters change. Unfortunately, these advancements come at a cost: parametric model checking is---or rather was---often slow. To make the analysis of parametric Markov models scale, we need three ingredients: clever algorithms, the right data structure, and good engineering. Clever algorithms are often the main (or sole) selling point; and we face the trouble that this paper focuses on -- the latter ingredients to efficient model checking. Consequently, our easiest claim to fame is in the speed-up we have often realised when comparing to the state of the art

Proteomic Biomarkers for Acute Interstitial Lung Disease in Gefitinib-Treated Japanese Lung Cancer Patients

Interstitial lung disease (ILD) events have been reported in Japanese non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients receiving EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We investigated proteomic biomarkers for mechanistic insights and improved prediction of ILD. Blood plasma was collected from 43 gefitinib-treated NSCLC patients developing acute ILD (confirmed by blinded diagnostic review) and 123 randomly selected controls in a nested case-control study within a pharmacoepidemiological cohort study in Japan. We generated ∼7 million tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) measurements with extensive quality control and validation, producing one of the largest proteomic lung cancer datasets to date, incorporating rigorous study design, phenotype definition, and evaluation of sample processing. After alignment, scaling, and measurement batch adjustment, we identified 41 peptide peaks representing 29 proteins best predicting ILD. Multivariate peptide, protein, and pathway modeling achieved ILD prediction comparable to previously identified clinical variables; combining the two provided some improvement. The acute phase response pathway was strongly represented (17 of 29 proteins, p = 1.0×10−25), suggesting a key role with potential utility as a marker for increased risk of acute ILD events. Validation by Western blotting showed correlation for identified proteins, confirming that robust results can be generated from an MS/MS platform implementing strict quality control