Valorisation of rice husks using a TORBED® combustion process

World production of rice exceeds 750 million tonnes per year of which a fifth is removed in the form of rice husk during the milling process. The use of rice husks as a source of sustainable and renewable energy is often hindered by lack of capital and a poor understanding of rice husk combustion characteristics. This results in the selection of poor quality technology which generates significant quantities of harmful crystalline silica waste. Despite previous work in the area, detailed characterisation of the combustion of rice husk ash in a TORBED reactor across a wide temperature range has not yet been attempted and little effort has been directed towards assessing the economic viability of generating quality rice husk ashes. The use of a TORBED reactor enables low residual carbon after combustion without the generation of harmful crystalline material. Rice husk was combusted in a 400 mm reactor at temperatures between 700 and 950 °C. In the subsequent characterisation studies the resulting materials were shown to be fully amorphous high purity silica (> 95%) and were readily digested in a series of alkaline digestion experiments. Complete silica conversion was only possible using uneconomic Na₂O/SiO₂ ratios and further optimisation of the combustion process to generate higher surface area material is necessary to increase the digestion rates further. Provisional economic analysis suggests that sales of the by-product enhance the returns from rice husk based power generation. TORBED reactors enable the combustion of rice husk with considerable operating flexibility and they generate products that could be used to displace resource intensive products and processes thus, added value from the by-products can be obtained by using TORBED reactor technology

From meadows to milk to mucosa – adaptation of Streptococcus and Lactococcus species to their nutritional environments

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are indigenous to food-related habitats as well as associated with the mucosal surfaces of animals. The LAB family Streptococcaceae consists of the genera Lactococcus and Streptococcus. Members of the family include the industrially important species Lactococcus lactis, which has a long history safe use in the fermentative food industry, and the disease-causing streptococci Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes. The central metabolic pathways of the Streptococcaceae family have been extensively studied because of their relevance in the industrial use of some species, as well as their influence on virulence of others. Recent developments in high-throughput proteomic and DNA-microarray techniques, in in vivo NMR studies, and importantly in whole-genome sequencing have resulted in new insights into the metabolism of the Streptococcaceae family. The development of cost-effective high-throughput sequencing has resulted in the publication of numerous whole-genome sequences of lactococcal and streptococcal species. Comparative genomic analysis of these closely related but environmentally diverse species provides insight into the evolution of this family of LAB and shows that the relatively small genomes of members of the Streptococcaceae family have been largely shaped by the nutritionally rich environments they inhabit.

Lay support for pregnant women with social risk: a randomised controlled trial

Objectives We sought evidence of effectiveness of lay support to improve maternal and child outcomes in disadvantaged families. Design Prospective, pragmatic, individually randomised controlled trial. Setting 3 Maternity Trusts in West Midlands, UK. Participants Following routine midwife systematic assessment of social risk factors, 1324 nulliparous women were assigned, using telephone randomisation, to standard maternity care, or addition of referral to a Pregnancy Outreach Worker (POW) service. Those under 16 years and teenagers recruited to the Family Nurse Partnership trial were excluded. Interventions POWs were trained to provide individual support and case management for the women including home visiting from randomisation to 6 weeks after birth. Standard maternity care (control) included provision for referring women with social risk factors to specialist midwifery services, available to both arms. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes were antenatal visits attended and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) 8–12 weeks postpartum. Prespecified, powered, subgroup comparison was among women with 2 or more social risks. Secondary outcomes included maternal and neonatal birth outcomes; maternal self-efficacy, and mother-to-infant bonding at 8–12 weeks; child development assessment at 6 weeks, breastfeeding at 6 weeks, and immunisation uptake at 4 months, all collected from routine child health systems. Results Antenatal attendances were high in the standard care control and did not increase further with addition of the POW intervention (10.1 vs 10.1 (mean difference; MD) −0.00, 95% CI (95% CI −0.37 to 0.37)). In the powered subgroup of women with 2 or more social risk factors, mean EPDS (MD −0.79 (95% CI −1.56 to −0.02) was significantly better, although for all women recruited, no significant differences were seen (MD −0.59 (95% CI −1.24 to 0.06). Mother-to-infant bonding was significantly better in the intervention group for all women (MD −0.30 (95% CI −0.61 to −0.00) p=0.05), and there were no differences in other secondary outcomes. Conclusions This trial demonstrates differences in depressive symptomatology with addition of the POW service in the powered subgroup of women with 2 or more social risk factors. Addition to existing evidence indicates benefit from lay interventions in preventing postnatal depression. This finding is important for women and their families given the known effect of maternal depression on longer term childhood outcomes

The 2002 Outburst of the Black-Hole X-ray Binary 4U 1543-47: Optical and Infrared Light Curves

We have obtained simultaneous optical and near infrared observations of 4U 1543-47 during its 2002 outburst. The most striking feature of the outburst light curve is the secondary maximum which appears after the object transitions into the low-hard state. This secondary maximum is much stronger in the infrared bands than optical. We suggest that the origin of the secondary maximum flux may be synchrotron radiation associated with a jet. Close infrared monitoring may lead to reliable triggers for simultaneous multiwavelength campaigns to study jet formation processes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Reciprocal associations between parental feeding practices and child eating behaviours from toddlerhood to early childhood: bivariate latent change analysis in the Gemini cohort

BACKGROUND: Parental feeding practices (PFPs) are a key component of a child's food environment. Parent-child feeding relationships are hypothesised to be bidirectional; however, to date, few large prospective studies have examined this, instead focussing on unidirectional relationships. As such, the direction of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours remains unclear. METHODS: Data were from Gemini, a population-based sample of children born in England and Wales in 2007. Children's eating behaviours and PFPs were measured at 15/16 months and 5 years using validated psychometric measures (n = 1,858 children). Bivariate Latent Change Score Modelling was used to examine the nature of relationships between PFPs and children's eating behaviours at 15/16 months and 5 years. Models were adjusted to account for clustering of twins within families and for sex of the child, socioeconomic status, gestational age and age of the child at measurement time points. RESULTS: A reciprocal relationship was observed between instrumental feeding and emotional overeating, with greater instrumental feeding predicting greater increases in emotional overeating (β = .09; 0.03-0.15; p = .004) and vice versa (β = .09; 0.03-0.15; p = .005). Reciprocity was also observed between encouragement to eat nutritious foods and children's enjoyment of food, with greater encouragement predicting greater increases in enjoyment of food (β = .08; 0.02-0.13; p = .006) and vice versa (β = .07; 0.02-0.11; p = .003). Parent-child associations and child-parent associations were also observed. CONCLUSION: These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that certain feeding practices are used as a 'natural' response to a child expressing a greater interest in and enthusiasm for food, but at the same time, such practices impact the development of eating behaviours by nurturing and encouraging the expression of higher emotional overeating and greater enjoyment of food in preschool years. The findings provide important insights into the PFPs and eating behaviour traits that could be targeted as part of a tailored feeding intervention to support parents of children during the preschool formative years

Perinatal trauma with and without loss experiences

Objective: The present study explored differences in mental health between women who experienced a trauma which involved a loss of fetal or infant life compared to women whose trauma did not involve a loss (difficult childbirth). Method: The sample consisted of 144 women (mean age = 31.13) from the UK, USA/Canada, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, who had experienced either stillbirth, neonatal loss, ectopic pregnancy, or traumatic birth with a living infant in the last 4 years. Results: The trauma without loss group reported significantly higher mental health problems than the trauma with loss group (F (1,117) = 4.807, p = .03). This difference was observed in the subtypes of OCD, panic, PTSD and GAD but not for major depression, agoraphobia and social phobia. However, once previous mental health diagnoses were taken into account, differences between trauma groups in terms of mental health scores disappeared, with the exception of PTSD symptoms. Trauma groups also differed in terms of perceived emotional support from significant others. Conclusion: The findings illustrate the need for a change in the focus of support for women’s birth experiences and highlighted previous mental health problems as a risk factor for mental health problems during the perinatal period

Identifying an avid eating profile in childhood:Associations with temperament, feeding practices and food insecurity

This study aimed to identify distinct eating behaviour profiles in young children and examine how other key predictors of children's eating behaviour, including child temperament, the experience of food insecurity, or parental feeding practices, may vary by identified profiles. An online survey was conducted with 995 parents/carers living in England and Wales (N = 995, Mage = 35.4 years, 80% female, 88% White). Participants reported on their child's eating behaviour using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire and completed measures of child temperament, household food security and parental feeding practices. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was carried out to identify distinct eating profiles amongst the children (36–72 months, Mage = 48.8 months, 52% female). Four eating profiles emerged from the sample of children: (a) avid eating, (b) avoidant eating, (c) happy eating, and (d) typical eating. Avid eating (21.9% of children) was characterised by higher levels of food responsiveness, enjoyment of food, and emotional over-eating in combination with lower satiety responsiveness, slowness in eating and food fussiness. Children with an avid eating profile were reported to be more surgent and experienced greater food insecurity than all other eating profiles. Parents of children belonging to the avid eating profile showed significantly greater use of food for emotional regulation, varied and balanced food provision, restriction of food for health, and restriction of food for weight feeding practices than the three other eating profiles

Prospective associations between parental feeding practices used in toddlerhood and preschool children's appetite vary according to appetite avidity in toddlerhood

Parental feeding practices are a key modifiable component of children's food environments. Evidence suggests that certain feeding practices may differentially influence children's eating behaviour or weight, depending on the child's temperament (e.g. emotionality). Building on this work, we tested the hypothesis that feeding practices during toddlerhood influence children's developing eating behaviours differently, depending on their appetite avidity (which is characterised by a larger appetite and greater interest in food). Data were from Gemini, a population-based cohort of British twin children born in 2007. Parental feeding practices were assessed at 15-months, and child appetite at 15-months and 5-years, using validated psychometric measures (n = 1858 children). Complex samples general linear models examined prospective associations between PFPs at 15-months and child appetitive traits at 5-years, adjusting for clustering of twins within families and for the corresponding child appetitive trait at 15-months, difference in age between timepoints, child sex, gestational age, and socioeconomic status. Moderation analyses revealed that pressuring a child to eat led to greater increases in emotional overeating from 15-months to 5-years, only for children with high (1 SD above the mean: B = 0.13; SE± = 0.03,

Targeted case finding for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease versus routine practice in primary care (TargetCOPD): a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain undiagnosed worldwide. Health-care organisations are implementing case-finding programmes without good evidence of which are the most effective and cost-effective approaches. We assessed the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two alternative approaches to targeted case finding for COPD compared with routine practice. METHODS: In this cluster-randomised controlled trial, participating general practices in the West Midlands, UK, were randomly assigned (1:1), via a computer-generated block randomisation sequence, to either a targeted case-finding group or a routine care group. Eligible patients were ever-smokers aged 40-79 years without a previously recorded diagnosis of COPD. Patients in the targeted case-finding group were further randomly assigned (1:1) via their household to receive either a screening questionnaire at the general practitioner (GP) consultation (opportunistic) or a screening questionnaire at the GP consultation plus a mailed questionnaire (active). Respondents reporting relevant respiratory symptoms were invited for post-bronchodilator spirometry. Patients, clinicians, and investigators were not masked to allocation, but group allocation was concealed from the researchers who performed the spirometry assessments. Primary outcomes were the percentage of the eligible population diagnosed with COPD within 1 year (defined as post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] to forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio <0·7 in patients with symptoms or a new diagnosis on their GP record) and cost per new COPD diagnosis. Multiple logistic and Poisson regression were used to estimate effect sizes. Costs were obtained from the trial. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN14930255. FINDINGS: From Aug 10, 2012, to June 22, 2014, 74 818 eligible patients from 54 diverse general practices were randomly assigned and completed the trial. At 1 year, 1278 (4%) cases of COPD were newly detected in 32 789 eligible patients in the targeted case-finding group compared with 337 (1%) cases in 42 029 patients in the routine care group (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 7·45 [95% CI 4·80-11·55], p<0·0001). The percentage of newly detected COPD cases was higher in the active case-finding group (822 [5%] of 15 378) than in the opportunistic case-finding group (370 [2%] of 15 387; adjusted OR 2·34 [2·06-2·66], p<0·0001; adjusted risk difference 2·9 per 100 patients [95% CI 2·3-3·6], p<0·0001). Active case finding was more cost-effective than opportunistic case finding (£333 vs £376 per case detected, respectively). INTERPRETATION: In this well established primary care system, routine practice identified few new cases of COPD. An active targeted approach to case finding including mailed screening questionnaires before spirometry is a cost-effective way to identify undiagnosed patients and has the potential to improve their health. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research