Common variants in WFS1 confer risk of type 2 diabetes

We studied genes involved in pancreatic beta cell function and survival, identifying associations between SNPs in WFS1 and diabetes risk in UK populations that we replicated in an Ashkenazi population and in additional UK studies. In a pooled analysis comprising 9,533 cases and 11,389 controls, SNPs in WFS1 were strongly associated with diabetes risk. Rare mutations in WFS1 cause Wolfram syndrome; using a gene-centric approach, we show that variation in WFS1 also predisposes to common type 2 diabetes

Tracking cultural ecosystem services: water chasing the Colorado River restoration pulse flow

The release of environmental flows for ecological restoration is a challenge for water policymakers and managers as it involves complex trade-offs between productive and ecosystem uses of water. While it is crucial to demonstrate that such environmental flows produce the desired hydro-ecological results, allocation of environmental water is also influenced by perceived social values of this water. This research draws on the sub-field of socio-hydrology to track two-way feedbacks between humans and environmental flows and shows why and how social responses to river restoration can be monitored. Media coverage, posted comments and in-person interviews were used to track the responses of stakeholders who ‘chased’ the progress of the 2014 “pulse flow” down the Colorado River. These data framed in the cultural ecosystem systems typology revealed the temporal patterns and dynamics of dramatic shifts in socio-hydrologic processes and highlight the value of understanding the human wellbeing benefits and complex social values that are affected by freshwater restoration. This experimental and mixed evidence approach is useful for contexts where multiple stakeholders shape water resource management and we suggest it can be used by water decision-makers in their efforts to understand and appropriately respond to the social-ecological dynamics of a changing river system

Micronutrient intakes of lactating mothers and their association with breast milk concentrations and micronutrient adequacy of exclusively breastfed Indonesian infants

BackgroundBreast milk is the sole source of nutrition for exclusively breastfed infants in the first 6 mo of life, yet few studies have measured micronutrient concentrations in breast milk in light of maternal diet and subsequent infant micronutrient intakes.ObjectivesWe evaluated the adequacy of micronutrient intakes of exclusively breastfed Indonesian infants by measuring milk volume and micronutrient concentrations and assessed maternal micronutrient intakes and their relationship with milk concentrations.MethodsMother-infant (2-5.3 mo) dyads (n = 113) were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Volume of breast-milk intake via the deuterium dose-to-mother technique over 14 d and analyzed micronutrient concentrations were used to calculate micronutrient intakes of exclusively breastfed infants. Maternal 3-d weighed food records were collected to assess median (IQR) micronutrient intakes. Multivariate regression analyses examined the association of usual maternal micronutrient intakes with milk micronutrient concentrations after adjustment for confounding variables.ResultsMean ± SD intake of breast-milk volume was 787 ± 148 mL/d. Median daily infant intakes of iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium, sodium, and B-vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, B-6, and B-12) were below their respective Adequate Intakes. Inadequacies in maternal intakes (as % < estimated average requirements) were >40% for calcium, niacin, and vitamins A, B-6, and B-12. Significant positive associations existed between maternal usual intakes of vitamin A, niacin and riboflavin and milk retinol, nicotinamide, and free riboflavin concentrations in both unadjusted and adjusted (for infant age, milk volume, and parity) analyses (all P < 0.05).ConclusionsThe majority of micronutrient intakes for these exclusively breastfed infants and their mothers fell below recommendations, with associations between maternal intakes and breast-milk concentrations for 3 nutrients. Data on nutrient requirements of exclusively breastfed infants are limited, and a better understanding of the influence of maternal nutritional status on milk nutrient concentrations and its impact on the breastfed infant is needed