Effects of iron and zinc supplements on bioavailability of iron, copper, and zinc in young rats fed high fiber diets

The effects of iron and zinc supplements on growth and on trace mineral parameters of young rats fed high levels of fiber were studied. The sources for fiber were Kellogg's all-bran, Quaker corn bran, Kellogg's Most, and Ener-G rice bran. Animals fed low and high levels of all-bran and corn bran diets not supplemented with iron or zinc had weight gains at the end of four weeks which were essentially the same as the weight gains of animals fed a non-cereal fiber control diet. Animals consuming diets containing Kellogg's Most exhibited the greatest weight gains, while animals consuming the rice bran cereal diet showed the least weight gains. Hemoglobin concentrations and concentrations of copper, iron, and zinc in the livers were essentially the same in all animals, regardless of the source of fiber. Iron or zinc supplements had no significant effects on hemoglobin or liver mineral deposition in animals fed all-bran cereal. In the absence of extra iron or zinc, animals consuming allbran, corn bran, and rice bran diets were in positive copper balance and negative iron balance. Animals fed Kellogg's Most were in negative copper balance and positive iron balance

Outcomes in Pediatric Burn Patients With Additional Trauma-Related Injuries

The addition of trauma to burn injuries may result in higher morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of pediatric patients with a combination of burn and trauma injuries, and included all pediatric Burn only, Trauma only, and combined Burn-Trauma patients admitted between 2011 and 2020. Mean length of stay, ICU length of stay, and ventilator days were highest for the Burn-Trauma group. The odds of mortality were almost 13 times higher for the Burn-Trauma group when compared to the Burn only group (P = .1299). After using inverse probability of treatment weighting, the odds of mortality were almost 10 times higher for the Burn-Trauma group in comparison to the Burn only group (P < .0066). Thus, the addition of trauma to burn injuries was associated with increased odds of mortality, as well as longer ICU and overall hospital length of stay in this patient population

A Comparative Study of the ReCell® Device and Autologous Spit-Thickness Meshed Skin Graft in the Treatment of Acute Burn Injuries.

Early excision and autografting are standard care for deeper burns. However, donor sites are a source of significant morbidity. To address this, the ReCell® Autologous Cell Harvesting Device (ReCell) was designed for use at the point-of-care to prepare a noncultured, autologous skin cell suspension (ASCS) capable of epidermal regeneration using minimal donor skin. A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the clinical performance of ReCell vs meshed split-thickness skin grafts (STSG, Control) for the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns. Effectiveness measures were assessed to 1 year for both ASCS and Control treatment sites and donor sites, including the incidence of healing, scarring, and pain. At 4 weeks, 98% of the ASCS-treated sites were healed compared with 100% of the Controls. Pain and assessments of scarring at the treatment sites were reported to be similar between groups. Significant differences were observed between ReCell and Control donor sites. The mean ReCell donor area was approximately 40 times smaller than that of the Control (P &lt; .0001), and after 1 week, significantly more ReCell donor sites were healed than Controls (P = .04). Over the first 16 weeks, patients reported significantly less pain at the ReCell donor sites compared with Controls (P ≤ .05 at each time point). Long-term patients reported higher satisfaction with ReCell donor site outcomes compared with the Controls. This study provides evidence that the treatment of deep partial-thickness burns with ASCS results in comparable healing, with significantly reduced donor site size and pain and improved appearance relative to STSG

Forest productivity under elevated CO 2 and O 3 : positive feedbacks to soil N cycling sustain decade‐long net primary productivity enhancement by CO 2

The accumulation of anthropogenic CO 2 in the Earth’s atmosphere, and hence the rate of climate warming, is sensitive to stimulation of plant growth by higher concentrations of atmospheric CO 2 . Here, we synthesise data from a field experiment in which three developing northern forest communities have been exposed to factorial combinations of elevated CO 2 and O 3 . Enhanced net primary productivity (NPP) ( c. 26% increase) under elevated CO 2 was sustained by greater root exploration of soil for growth‐limiting N, as well as more rapid rates of litter decomposition and microbial N release during decay. Despite initial declines in forest productivity under elevated O 3 , compensatory growth of O 3 ‐tolerant individuals resulted in equivalent NPP under ambient and elevated O 3 . After a decade, NPP has remained enhanced under elevated CO 2 and has recovered under elevated O 3 by mechanisms that remain un‐calibrated or not considered in coupled climate–biogeochemical models simulating interactions between the global C cycle and climate warming.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88002/1/j.1461-0248.2011.01692.x.pd

Environmental flows - basics for novices

The term environmental flows has become widely used to define the hydrological regime required to sustain freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and the human livelihoods and well-being that depend on them. A large range of frameworks and methods has been developed to assess environmental flow needs and many authors have identified subtleties in the approaches needed for different situations and required outcomes. This article summaries some basic concepts that can assist those new to environmental flows to navigate the rapidly expanding plethora of information. It briefly covers key areas of setting objectives for river ecosystems, examining pressures that constrain reaching these objectives, the level of detail needed, implementation, and how future changes affect environmental flow assessments

Institutional Adjustments for Coping with Prolonged and Severe Drought in the Rio Grande Basin

The Rio Grande originates in the southern Colorado Rocky Mountains, flows through New Mexico, and forms the border between the U.S. and Mexico on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Serving over one-million acres of irrigated land and the municipal and industrial needs of cities like Albuquerque and El Paso, the Rio Grande represents a significant resource in the arid southwest. In 1938, Congress approved the Rio Grande Compact which divided the annual water flow among the three states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The U.S.-Mexico Treaty of 1906 divides the river flows between the U.S. and Mexico. The Compact acknowledges the Treaty in Articles IV and VI by stating that the Compact shall not diminish the allocation of water to Mexico and shall not degrade its quality. Since that time, significant growth in the Rio Grande Basin’s demand for water due to increasing populations, growing economies, and emerging policies toward fish and wildlife habitat emphasizing endangered species, has stressed the region’s already scarce water supply. Although the inevitable severe drought would cause significant economic damage to the regional economy, present institutional arrangements have not had to confront such an event since the 1950s. The objective of this research is to test the hypothesis that new institutions for interstate coordination of surface water withdrawal and reservoir operations could reduce economic losses resulting from water shortfalls in periods of severe and sustained drought. A three-state research team of economists, hydrologists and a lawyer was formed to perform the analysis to test this hypothesis. A fully-integrated hydrologic-economic model was developed which extends the basin optimization procedures developed by Vaux and Howitt for California and by Booker and Young for the Colorado River Basin. The geographic scope included the Rio Grande Basin, from Colorado through New Mexico to Fort Quitman, Texas, downstream of El Paso. The objective was to identify hydrological and economic impacts of possible changes in institutional structure for coping with drought. This study was an effort to examine options facing river basin managers when confronted with the extenuating circumstance of a major drought. It did not attempt a precise description of the current system as it is managed. The research team realizes that many considered institutional changes for managing water considered in this report would be difficult to do, costly, and in some cases fought bitterly. Nevertheless, like other analyses of proposed changes in water policy, there are several reasons for conducting these policy experiments. Estimating impacts of a proposed water policy change can be a cheap substitute for carrying it out, especially if carrying it out has potentially high but unknown political or economic costs or benefits. If a proposed policy change produces a low economic benefit and high cost for many water users, information on the size and distribution of those benefits and costs is important. This information is a valuable resource for formulating or executing this action should it be considered is a real possibility. If, however, there is a high benefit and low cost to most water users, this is also important information to get out, for it may influence the shape of future policies pursued. The general approach used in this study reflected the random supplies and uncertain demands for water. They also reflect river and reservoir management rules resulting from economic growth and competing demands for water to meet future needs such as endangered species habitats. Water supplies, which included all major tributaries, interbasin transfers, and hydrologically connected groundwater, were represented in a yearly time-step over a forty-four year planning horizon. Agricultural water uses, the major source of water demands, were split into major crops for four major demand areas. Municipal and Industrial (M&I) and recreational demands were also identified. Separate economic values were identified for each water use at each major location. Information on the economic value of each water use at each location provides important facts to decision makers who wish to know impacts of complex proposals whose implementation affects several uses at many locations. A mathematical model was developed that kept track of economic benefits subject to hydrologic and institutional constraints, and was solved with GAMS optimization software (Appendix CD ROM). Each institutional innovation considered was tested against the baseline Law of the River, the current set of rules for storing, allocating, and using water in the basin. Each proposal was tested for its impact on reducing total economic damages under a future, long-run drought scenario defined by inflows produced by the drought of the 1950s. Results are presented as economic and hydrologic impacts of measures for coping with drought by state, economic sector, and institutional alternative. One baseline and three alternative institutional innovations were selected for evaluation. The baseline Law of the River focused primarily on the Rio Grande Compact and related rules for allocating the total quantity of water entering the Rio Grande Basin and available for use. Total economic benefits were calculated for: (1) long run normal inflows, (2) a sequence of drought inflows, defined by historical inflows for the period 1942-1985. This period was chosen to represent the severe drought of the 1950s bound by the years leading up to and following that drought. The period was extended to 1942 and 1985 because spills occurred in these two years, wiping out accrued debits and credits under the Compact. For that period, average inflows summed over six headwater stream gages used for this study were 1.40 million acre-feet per year, about 11 percent below the long-run average of 1.57 million. Total drought damages were computed as the reduction in future economic benefits if future inflows to the basin averaged 1.40 million acre-feet per year compared to economic benefits if inflows averaged 1.57 million. Future economic activity is based on best available estimates for growth in M&I uses based on projected growth of the Albuquerque and El Paso areas. Long-run annual average future drought damages, defined as the direct economic value of damages caused by the reduced streamflows to water users, were estimated at $5.8 million for the San Luis Valley (Colorado),$3.37 million for New Mexico, and $8.0 million for west Texas, or about$101 per acre-foot of water supply reduction. Indirect economic impacts, resulting from interactions among drought-damaged water-users and the rest of the economy, were not measured. The first institutional adjustment analyzed was increased carryover storage at Elephant Butte Reservoir. This carryover storage was based on reducing Rio Grande project deliveries downstream of Elephant Butte by 25,000 acre-feet per year in normal years, to be stored for use in drought years. The long- run average annual economic value of drought damages mitigated by this institutional change was zero for Colorado, minus $200,000 for New Mexico, and minus$433,000 for west Texas. This means that the current Law of the River produces less drought damage than the proposed institution of storing the added water at Elephant Butte. The second institutional adjustment analyzed was a proposal to invest in technical measures to increase irrigation efficiency for the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, in which net stream depletions required for application to crops would be reduced by 18 percent. This institutional change produced virtually zero drought damage mitigation to each of the three states. Reduced water diverted from the Rio Grande brought about by greater irrigation efficiency would also considerably reduce irrigation return flows to the river. The result would be virtually zero water saved and essentially zero economic benefit. Zero drought damage mitigation benefits accrued to Colorado, $7,000 per year to New Mexico, and$15,000 to West Texas. This means that the cost of technologies needed to implement these increased irrigation efficiencies would have to be virtually zero to justify such investments economically. The final institutional adjustment analyzed was to build 100,000 acre feet of new reservoir storage in northern New Mexico above Cochiti Lake. This action produced zero long-run average annual benefit to Colorado, $134,000 to New Mexico water users, and$685,000 to West Texas water users. The bulk of these benefits would result from reduced reservoir evaporation and reduced Rio Grande Compact over-deliveries by New Mexico to Texas. Although the model developed for this study was comprehensive and detailed, it has several limitations in its current state. Overall, it does not precisely represent the behavior of the Rio Grande Basin system. One special area where further improvement is needed is to develop a better understanding and modeling of connections among economics, surface water movement, groundwater hydrology, and behavior of water users. If improved models are to be used to support development, execution, and evaluation of proposed decisions, considerable resources need to be put into model development and use. The kind of integrated, basin-wide modeling described in this report is a new area of research. The integrations required between modeling the behavior of water users and underlying natural processes are quite complex, poorly understood, and will require much work and patience to bring to full fruition. Nevertheless, this study succeeded in organizing a highly integrated interdisciplinary study dealing with water management in an important western river basin. Most western river basins are under stress, from natural factors like drought, institutional factors such as endangered species requirements, and external factors like economic growth. The use of interdisciplinary teams to build and apply models such as described in this report, helps prepare society for dealing with unexpected circumstances, such as drought, to cope with future stresses on river basins

Risk of Stillbirth in the Relation to Water Disinfection By-Products: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Taiwan

Background: Few epidemiological studies that have assessed the relation between water disinfection by-products (DBPs) and the risk of stillbirth provide inconsistent results. The objective was to assess the relation between exposure to water disinfection by-products and the risk of stillbirth. Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study of 3,289 cases of stillbirth and a random sample of 32,890 control subjects from 396,049 Taiwanese newborns in 2001–2003 using information from the Birth Registry and Waterworks Registry in Taiwan. We compared the risk of stillbirth in four disinfection by-product exposure categories based on the levels of total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) representing high (TTHMs 20+ mg/L), medium (TTHMs 10–19 mg/L), low exposure (TTHMs 5–9 mg/L), and 0–4 mg/L as the reference category. In addition, we conducted a meta-analysis of the results from the present and 5 previous studies focusing on stillbirth. Findings: In logistic regression analysis adjusting for gender, maternal age, plurality, conception of season and population density of the municipality where the mother lived during pregnancy, the odds ratio (OR) for stillbirth was 1.10 (95 % CI 1.00–1.21) for medium exposure and 1.06 (95 % 0.96–1.17) for high exposure compared to reference category. In the metaanalysis, the summary odds ratio for stillbirth (1.11, 95 % CI: 1.03, 1.19) was consistently elevated. Conclusions: The present study is consistent with the hypothesis that the risk of stillbirth is related to prenatal exposure t

Proudly for Brooke:Race-Conscious Campaigning in 1960s Massachusetts

Scholars have credited the victory of Edward Brooke, America's first popularly elected black U.S. senator, to a “deracialized” or “color-blind” election strategy in which both the candidate and the electorate ignored racial matters. This article revises this prevailing historical explanation of Brooke's election. Drawing from the historical-ideational paradigm of Desmond King and Rogers Smith, this paper argues that Brooke was much more of a “race-conscious” candidate than is generally remembered. Primary documents from the 1966 campaign reveal that Brooke spoke openly against racial inequality, argued in favor of racially targeted policies, and called for stronger racial equality legislation. In addition, this paper argues that Brooke's appeals were not targeted primarily to the state's small black population but to liberal whites. Far from ignoring race, internal campaign documents and interviews with campaign staff reveal that Brooke's campaign strategists sought to appeal to white desires to “do the right thing” by electing an African American candidate. Internal polling documents from the Brooke campaign and newspaper commentaries further demonstrate that a proportion of the white electorate cited Brooke's race as the reason for supporting his candidacy. This paper suggests that Brooke's election was extremely well timed—coming soon after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act but before the urban riots of the “long hot summer of 1967”, the King assassination riots, and anti-busing riots in Boston. The first half of Brooke's 1966 campaign slogan “Proudly for Brooke: A Creative Republican” signals the race-conscious dynamics of his candidacy