Fortification: new findings and implications

This article reviews the current landscape regarding food fortification in the United States; the content is based on aworkshop sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. Fortification of the food supply with vitamins and minerals is a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of the population without increasing caloric intake. Many individuals in the United States would not achieve recommended micronutrient intakes without fortification of the food supply. The achievement and maintenance of a desirable level of nutritional quality in the nation\u27s food supply is, thus, an important public health objective. While the addition of nutrients to foods can help maintain and improve the overall nutritional quality of diets, indiscriminate fortification of foods could result in overfortification or underfortification in the food supply and nutrient imbalances in the diets of individuals. Any changes in food fortification policy for micronutrients must be considered within the context of the impact they will have on all segments of the population and of food technology and safety applications and their limitations. This article discusses and evaluates the value of fortification, the success of current fortification efforts, and the future role of fortification in preventing or reversing nutrient inadequacies

What is current practice in offering debriefing services to post partum women and what are the perceptions of women in accessing these services: A critical review of the literature

Objective: The main research question is to describe current practice in offering debriefing services to postpartum women and learn about the perceptions of women accessing these services Design: Critical review of the literature using a meta ethnography approach. Findings: Twenty papers were identified. These included four surveys, three qualitative studies, one mixed methods study and three literature reviews. Nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) provided additional information from alongside surveys and description of interventions. Two types of debriefing were identified: structured and unstructured. The more formal psychoanalytic forms took place within the RCTs whilst the unstructured discussion sessions commonly with midwives were identified in other research papers. In addition there is confusion amongst service providers about the nature of debriefing and what is delivered. Various aspects of providing a postnatal debriefing service were identified including the optimal timing, specific groups offered debriefing and the number of sessions offered. Postnatal debriefing enabled women to have their birth experiences validated by talking and being listened to and being provided with information. Finally from the limited literature identified relating to midwives’ perceptions of postnatal debriefing there was an overall feeling from midwives that they considered it to be beneficial to women. Key conclusions: The findings of this literature review imply that women’s responses to receiving postnatal debriefing are generally positive. This review has found that women appear to value talking and being listened to by a midwife following birth. They seem to have a strong need to have their story heard. This discussion also allows the women to have questions answered and information given where necessary. The whole process places a seal on a woman’s birth experience which is validated. Implications for practice: Although there is no evidence to suggest that postnatal debriefing reduces morbidity, women find the service of value. Maternity providers should consider offering a postnatal debriefing service to meet those needs in advance of further research in this area

Meeting Report from the Second 'Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations (MIBBI) workshop

Face-to-face meetings play a central role in the birth and maturation of communities. Intensive workshops filled with presentations, discussions and working group meetings have always been at the heart of the activities of the Genomic Standards Consortium (GSC). Such work-driven meetings are a key way in which the GSC fulfils its mission. Similarly, meeting reports provide a key mechanism for preserving and disseminating the consensus built at such meetings as they describe the range of speakers and participants present, topics covered and key outcomes and priorities agreed upon by the community.This issue contains a total of nine meeting reports, from workshops held between April and October 2010 that are presented to the reader to provide a broad overview of ongoing GSC activities and initiatives

How communication affects prescription decisions in consultations for acute illness in children:a systematic review and meta-ethnography

BACKGROUND: Communication within primary care consultations for children with acute illness can be problematic for parents and clinicians, with potential misunderstandings contributing to over–prescription of antibiotics. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence in relation to communication and decision making in consultations for children with common acute illness. METHODS: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SSCI, SIGLE, Dissertation Express and NHS economic evaluation databases was conducted. Studies of primary care settings in high income countries which made direct observations of consultations and reported qualitative data were included. Included studies were appraised using the process recommended by the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Group. Credibility was assessed as high for most studies but transferability was usually assessed low or unclear. Data were synthesised using a meta–ethnographic approach. RESULTS: Thirty–five papers and 2 theses reporting on 13 studies were included, 7 of these focussed on children with respiratory tract infections (RTI) and the remaining 6 included children with any presenting illness. Parent communication focussed on their concerns and information needs, whereas clinician communication focussed on diagnosis and treatment decisions. During information exchanges, parents often sought to justify the need for the consultation, while clinicians frequently used problem minimising language, resulting in parents and clinicians sometimes talking at cross–purposes. In the context of RTIs, a range of parent communication behaviours were interpreted by clinicians as indicating an expectation for antibiotics; however, most were ambiguous and could also be interpreted as raising concerns or requests for further information. The perceived expectation for antibiotics often changed clinician decision making into clinician–parent negotiation. CONCLUSIONS: Misunderstandings occurred due to parents and clinicians talking at cross purposes about the ‘seriousness’ of the illness and because parents’ expressions of concern or requests for additional information were sometimes perceived as a challenge to the clinicians’ diagnosis or treatment decision. This modifiable problem may be an important contribution to the unnecessary and unwanted prescribing of antibiotics. Primary care clinicians should be offered training to understand parent communication primarily as expressions of concern or attempts at understanding and always to check rather than infer parental expectations

Information theory and crystallographic phase determination

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Bibliography: leaves 40-41.Not availabl

Fortification: new findings and implications

This article reviews the current landscape regarding food fortification in the United States; the content is based on aworkshop sponsored by the North American Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute. Fortification of the food supply with vitamins and minerals is a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of the population without increasing caloric intake. Many individuals in the United States would not achieve recommended micronutrient intakes without fortification of the food supply. The achievement and maintenance of a desirable level of nutritional quality in the nation's food supply is, thus, an important public health objective. While the addition of nutrients to foods can help maintain and improve the overall nutritional quality of diets, indiscriminate fortification of foods could result in overfortification or underfortification in the food supply and nutrient imbalances in the diets of individuals. Any changes in food fortification policy for micronutrients must be considered within the context of the impact they will have on all segments of the population and of food technology and safety applications and their limitations. This article discusses and evaluates the value of fortification, the success of current fortification efforts, and the future role of fortification in preventing or reversing nutrient inadequacies.This article is from Nutrition Reviews 72 (2014): 127, doi: 10.1111/nure.12086.</p