The Nutrition Transition in High and Low-Income Countries: What are the Policy Lessons?

The world has seen a remarkable shift from a period when diets, activity patterns and body composition were characterized by the period termed the receding famine pattern to one dominated by nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs). This presentation first examines the speed of these changes, summarizes dietary changes, and provides some sense of the way the burden of obesity is shifting from the rich to the poor not only in urban but also rural areas throughout the world. The focus is on the lower- and middle- income countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America but some examples will come from the United States, Australia, and the UK. After showing that changes are occurring at great speed and at earlier stages of countries' economic and social development, the presentation shifts to some of the critical policy opportunities and some example of options. Few policy lessons exist at a macro level outside of selected countries such as South Korea and Finland. Examples of ways price policy and other options might work, using Chinese longitudinal case studies, are presented. The challenge is for the agricultural economics profession to focus on this major global issue-one which challenges some of the earlier paradigms of food policy an agricultural development.diet composition, price policy, economic growth, health effects, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Production of high stellar-mass primordial black holes in trapped inflation

Trapped inflation has been proposed to provide a successful inflation with a steep potential. We discuss the formation of primordial black holes in the trapped inflationary scenario. We show that primordial black holes are naturally produced during inflation with a steep trapping potential. In particular, we have given a recipe for an inflaton potential with which particle production can induce large non-Gaussian curvature perturbation that leads to the formation of high stellar-mass primordial black holes. These primordial black holes could be dark matter observed by the LIGO detectors through a binary black-hole merger. At the end, we have given an attempt to realize the required inflaton potential in the axion monodromy inflation, and discussed the gravitational waves sourced by the particle production.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, match the version accepted by JHE

Conservative Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis

Degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is commonly seen in people over the age of 50 years. The prevalence increases with age. Patients with DLS often complain of low back pain and radiculopathy. Neurological complaints are rare. Current treatments are generally targeted at pain relief. Effects are temporary; this is understandable as the spinal deformities which are the cause of the pain are not addressed. A few studies have shown that scoliosis specific exercises and lordotic bracing stabilize or reduce the rate of curve progression in patients with DLS. Patients should also be instructed in performing corrective movements in daily activities. In the presence of sarcopenia or decreased bone mineral density (BMD), resistance exercises and nutritional supplements should also be prescribed, as reduction in paraspinal muscle mass and BMD are risk factors of DLS. In the presence of neurological involvement or when the symptoms are refractory to conservative treatment, referral for surgery is required

The influence of collaborative learning style, reciprocity and extroversion on knowledge sharing via social media among UUM undergraduates

This quantitative study is aimed to study the relationship between collaborative learning style, reciprocity and extroversion on knowledge sharing via social media in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). A total of 400 set of questionnaires were distributed to undergraduate students from three (3) academic colleges which are College of Business (COB), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS). However, only 363 set of questionnaires were return and usable for analysis. Regression analysis was performed to tests the hypotheses of the study. The result indicated that collaborative learning, reciprocity and extroversion were positively significant to knowledge sharing behavior via social media. The findings were discussed and recommendations for the future research were also addressed

A new method for studying the vibration of non-homogeneous membranes

We present a method to solve the Helmholtz equation for a non-homogeneous membrane with Dirichlet boundary conditions at the border of arbitrary two-dimensional domains. The method uses a collocation approach based on a set of localized functions, called "little sinc functions", which are used to discretize two-dimensional regions. We have performed extensive numerical tests and we have compared the results obtained with the present method with the ones available from the literature. Our results show that the present method is very accurate and that its implementation for general problems is straightforward.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 6 table

The Use of Phototherapy for Bell’s Palsy

Various methods have been used to treat Bell’s palsy, ranging from physical therapy, medications, to decompression surgery. The standard treatment is currently a prescription of corticosteroids with antiviral agents. All these medical approaches yield mixed results, and there is a need for additional investigation on treatment options. Recent studies have shown that facial palsy responds positively to phototherapy treatment, in particular the low-energy infrared laser. In the present report, we attempt to review the current clinical application of phototherapy, representing a conservative and safe medical approach in the treatment of Bell’s palsy. A literature review was performed. The results of the included studies suggested that low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is a significant treatment modality for patients recovering from Bell’s palsy. However, the risk of bias of the included studies was relatively high, and further research could change the estimate of effect of this treatment option. In conclusion, there is currently a moderate evidence to support the effectiveness of low-level laser therapy in the treatment of Bell’s palsy. Further randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials and high-quality studies are needed to determine with certainty the benefits of this treatment option for Bell’s palsy