A prospective cohort study of dietary patterns of non-western migrants in the Netherlands in relation to risk factors for cardiovascular diseases: HELIUS-Dietary Patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Western countries the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is often higher in non-Western migrants as compared to the host population. Diet is an important modifiable determinant of CVD. Increasingly, dietary patterns rather than single nutrients are the focus of research in an attempt to account for the complexity of nutrient interactions in foods. Research on dietary patterns in non-Western migrants is limited and may be hampered by a lack of validated instruments that can be used to assess the habitual diet of non-western migrants in large scale epidemiological studies. The ultimate aims of this study are to (1) understand whether differences in dietary patterns explain differences in CVD risk between ethnic groups, by developing and validating ethnic-specific Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs), and (2) to investigate the determinants of these dietary patterns. This paper outlines the design and methods used in the HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study and describes a systematic approach to overcome difficulties in the assessment and analysis of dietary intake data in ethnically diverse populations.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The HELIUS-Dietary Patterns study is embedded in the HELIUS study, a Dutch multi-ethnic cohort study. After developing ethnic-specific FFQs, we will gather data on the habitual intake of 5000 participants (18-70 years old) of ethnic Dutch, Surinamese of African and of South Asian origin, Turkish or Moroccan origin. Dietary patterns will be derived using factor analysis, but we will also evaluate diet quality using hypothesis-driven approaches. The relation between dietary patterns and CVD risk factors will be analysed using multiple linear regression analysis. Potential underlying determinants of dietary patterns like migration history, acculturation, socio-economic factors and lifestyle, will be considered.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This study will allow us to investigate the contribution of the dietary patterns on CVD risk factors in a multi-ethnic population. Inclusion of five ethnic groups residing in one setting makes this study highly innovative as confounding by local environment characteristics is limited. Heterogeneity in the study population will provide variance in dietary patterns which is a great advantage when studying the link between diet and disease.</p

Meta-analysis of variation suggests that embracing variability improves both replicability and generalizability in preclinical research

The replicability of research results has been a cause of increasing concern to the scientific community. The long-held belief that experimental standardization begets replicability has also been recently challenged, with the observation that the reduction of variability within studies can lead to idiosyncratic, lab-specific results that cannot be replicated. An alternative approach is to, instead, deliberately introduce heterogeneity, known as "heterogenization" of experimental design. Here, we explore a novel perspective in the heterogenization program in a meta-analysis of variability in observed phenotypic outcomes in both control and experimental animal models of ischemic stroke. First, by quantifying interindividual variability across control groups, we illustrate that the amount of heterogeneity in disease state (infarct volume) differs according to methodological approach, for example, in disease induction methods and disease models. We argue that such methods may improve replicability by creating diverse and representative distribution of baseline disease state in the reference group, against which treatment efficacy is assessed. Second, we illustrate how meta-analysis can be used to simultaneously assess efficacy and stability (i.e., mean effect and among-individual variability). We identify treatments that have efficacy and are generalizable to the population level (i.e., low interindividual variability), as well as those where there is high interindividual variability in response; for these, latter treatments translation to a clinical setting may require nuance. We argue that by embracing rather than seeking to minimize variability in phenotypic outcomes, we can motivate the shift toward heterogenization and improve both the replicability and generalizability of preclinical research

Computer-based technology and student engagement: a critical review of the literature

Computer-based technology has infiltrated many aspects of life and industry, yet there is little understanding of how it can be used to promote student engagement, a concept receiving strong attention in higher education due to its association with a number of positive academic outcomes. The purpose of this article is to present a critical review of the literature from the past 5 years related to how web-conferencing software, blogs, wikis, social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter), and digital games influence student engagement. We prefaced the findings with a substantive overview of student engagement definitions and indicators, which revealed three types of engagement (behavioral, emotional, and cognitive) that informed how we classified articles. Our findings suggest that digital games provide the most far-reaching influence across different types of student engagement, followed by web-conferencing and Facebook. Findings regarding wikis, blogs, and Twitter are less conclusive and significantly limited in number of studies conducted within the past 5 years. Overall, the findings provide preliminary support that computer-based technology influences student engagement, however, additional research is needed to confirm and build on these findings. We conclude the article by providing a list of recommendations for practice, with the intent of increasing understanding of how computer-based technology may be purposefully implemented to achieve the greatest gains in student engagement. © 2017, The Author(s)

Late Holocene Environmental Reconstruction using Cave Sediments from Belize

Cave sediments collected from Reflection Cave on the Vaca Plateau, Belize show variations in the δ13C values of their fulvic acids (FAs), which indicate periods of vegetation change caused by climatic and Maya influences during the late Holocene. The δ13C values range from − 27.11‰ to − 21.52‰, a shift of ∼ 5.59‰, which suggests fluctuating contributions of C3 and C4 plants throughout the last 2.5 ka, with C4 plant input reflecting periods of Maya agriculture. Maya activity in the study area occurred at different intensities from ∼ 2600 cal yr BP until ∼ 1500 cal yr BP, after which agricultural practices waned as the Maya depopulated the area. These changes in plant assemblages were in response to changes in available water resources, with increased aridity leading to the eventual abandonment of agricultural areas. The Ix Chel archaeological site, located in the study area, is a highland site that would have been among the first agricultural settlements to be affected during periods of aridity. During these periods, minimal water resources would have been available in this highly karstified, well-drained area, and supplemental groundwater extraction would have been difficult due to the extreme depth of the water table

Holocene Climatic Variation Recorded in a Speleothem from McFail’s Cave, New York

A speleothem collected from McFail’s Cave, central New York, was analyzed in order to produce a high resolution paleoclimatic record for this region. The record is dated by Th/U ICP Mass Spectrometry. Variation in growth rates and d18O values for the period 0 to 7.6 ka revealed three distinct intervals: maximum warmth and wettest from 7.6 to 7.0 ka; a slow steady cooling from 7.0 to 2.5 ka; and fairly constant temperatures for the last few thousand years. The climatic optimum appears to have occurred at or before 7.6 ka. These changes are in agreement with regional stable isotopic and lake level records from the Finger Lakes in NY, suggesting the climatic changes are regional in scope. Enrichment of 18O in speleothem deposited at this time suggests that temperatures could potentially have been 5°C warmer than at present, which is consistent with pollen records for this region. However, a northward shift in the Jet Stream during the period would have affected the source area of the rainfall, providing heavier d18O values, an effect that would potentially reduce our temperature increase of 5°C. Quantification of this shift’s contribution to the temperature increase recorded by our speleothem is extremely difficult due to the lack of information about the exact location of the Jet Stream. d13C values are generally uniform but show a brief vegetational optimum at ~7.5 ka and increased density from 5.5 to 2.5 ka, suggesting a wetter climate

Holocene Climatic Variation Recorded in a Speleothem from McFail’s Cave, New York

A speleothem collected from McFail’s Cave, central New York, was analyzed in order to produce a high resolution paleoclimatic record for this region. The record is dated by Th/U ICP Mass Spectrometry. Variation in growth rates and d18O values for the period 0 to 7.6 ka revealed three distinct intervals: maximum warmth and wettest from 7.6 to 7.0 ka; a slow steady cooling from 7.0 to 2.5 ka; and fairly constant temperatures for the last few thousand years. The climatic optimum appears to have occurred at or before 7.6 ka. These changes are in agreement with regional stable isotopic and lake level records from the Finger Lakes in NY, suggesting the climatic changes are regional in scope. Enrichment of 18O in speleothem deposited at this time suggests that temperatures could potentially have been 5°C warmer than at present, which is consistent with pollen records for this region. However, a northward shift in the Jet Stream during the period would have affected the source area of the rainfall, providing heavier d18O values, an effect that would potentially reduce our temperature increase of 5°C. Quantification of this shift’s contribution to the temperature increase recorded by our speleothem is extremely difficult due to the lack of information about the exact location of the Jet Stream. d13C values are generally uniform but show a brief vegetational optimum at ~7.5 ka and increased density from 5.5 to 2.5 ka, suggesting a wetter climate

Causes of Colour and Fluorescence in Speleothems

Speleothems fluoresce, when illuminated with UV light, between 410 and 460 nm. In this study, we attempted to determine the nature of the fluorophores, thought to be either trace elements or organic matter trapped in the calcite. Fluorescence of solid speleothems and organic species extracted from the calcite were measured to quantify their contribution to the observed fluorescence of the speleothems. All speleothems and extracts gave similar spectra with broad emission maxima centred around 410–430 nm, and two excitation maxima at approximately 255 and 330 nm. The organic compounds were partly characterized using fulvic acid (FA)–humic acid (HA) separation and molecular size fractionation. Trace elements, determined by neutron activation analysis, do not appear to be responsible for the observed spectra. Organic matter, particularly FAs, were found to be the dominant fluorophore in the calcite. Of the FA, the dominant fractions were the hydrophilics. Darker speleothems, although having higher concentrations of FA and HA than light speleothems, had lower emission intensities, due to self-absorption. Average particulate organic matter (POM), FA, HA, and total organic matter (TOM) concentrations for the dark speleothems were twice that of their light counterparts

Developing a GIS-Based Inventory for the Implementation of Cave Management Protocols in Withlacoochee State Forest, Florida

The type of data collected during cave inventories includes a myriad of different parameters; however, the actual practice of field data collection lacks a modern, standardized method. The integration of GIS with methods associated with the inventory of cave resources and utilization patterns improve upon the previously utilized paper-form of inventory. This article discusses the development of a GIS-based method of cave inventory and how its implementation advanced cave management protocols in Withlacoochee State Forest (WSF), Florida. After realizing the need for a more sophisticated and secure method to inventory caves in WSF, an alternative data collection, storage, and manipulation method was expanded that allowed the input and storage of large amounts of spatially-referenced data. The overarching purpose of this study was to create a modernized and user-friendly GIS-based method of cave inventory that encompassed all aspects of the inventory (i.e., data collection, storage, manipulation, and post-processing) for the efficient management of caves in WSF. The GIS-based inventory developed for WSF caves is easily applied by state forest personnel and is aiding in the drafting of management plans for each cave they manage. Having rigorously tested this method in 19 caves, we feel it is applicable to cave systems in all karst areas