The new Nordic diet - consumer expenditures and economic incentives estimated from a controlled intervention

BACKGROUND: Several studies suggest that a healthy diet with high emphasis on nutritious, low-energy components such as fruits, vegetables, and seafood tends to be more costly for consumers. Derived from the ideas from the New Nordic Cuisine – and inspired by the Mediterranean diet, the New Nordic Diet (NND) has been developed as a palatable, healthy and sustainable diet based on products from the Nordic region. The objective of the study is to investigate economic consequences for the consumers of the NND, compared with an Average Danish Diet (ADD). METHODS: Combine quantity data from a randomized controlled ad libitum dietary 6 month intervention for central obese adults (18–65 years) and market retail price data of the products consumed in the intervention. Adjust consumed quantities to market price incentives using econometrically estimated price elasticities. RESULTS: Average daily food expenditure of the ADD as represented in the unadjusted intervention (ADD-i) amounted to 36.02 DKK for the participants. The daily food expenditure in the unadjusted New Nordic Diet (NND-i) costs 44.80 DKK per day per head, and is hence about 25% more expensive than the Average Danish Diet (or about 17% when adjusting for energy content of the diet). Adjusting for price incentives in a real market setting, the estimated cost of the Average Danish Diet is reduced by 2.50 DKK (ADD-m), compared to the unadjusted ADD-i diet, whereas the adjusted cost of the New Nordic Diet (NND-m) is reduced by about 3.50 DKK, compared to the unadjusted NND-i. The distribution of food cost is however much more heterogeneous among consumers within the NND than within the ADD. CONCLUSION: On average, the New Nordic Diet is 24–25 per cent more expensive than an Average Danish Diet at the current market prices in Denmark (and 16–17 per cent, when adjusting for energy content). The relatively large heterogeneity in food costs in the NND suggests that it is possible to compose an NND where the cost exceeds that of ADD by less than the 24–25 per cent

Evaluation of a digital method to assess evening meal intake in a free-living adult population

Background: In recent years new applications of technologies, including digital images, to capture dietary behaviour in real time have been explored. Objectives: To validate a digital method for estimating evening meal intake in a free-living adult population, and to examine the feasibility of the method for recording evening meal intake over a prolonged period of time. Design: The digital method was compared against weighed records of 19 participants’ usual evening meals for five consecutive days. Two trained image analysts independently estimated the weight of individual foods within the meals into major food categories, and the nutrient content was calculated. A second study included interviews with 28 participants recording their evening meals on weekdays for three consecutive weeks to get their perspective on the feasibility of the method. Results: High correlation coefficients between the digital method and weighed records were found for all measured food categories and nutrients. Comparable means and acceptable limits of agreement (mean difference +/− 2 SD) were found with regard to macronutrient distribution (e.g. fat content −5 to 6 E%), energy density (−75 to 91 kJ/100 g), and energy-adjusted foods (e.g. fruit and vegetable content −241 to 236 g/10 MJ). The majority of the participants expressed satisfaction with the method and were willing to record their evening meals for 1 month or more using the digital method. Conclusion: The digital method is valid and feasible for evening meal estimation in real-time where a prolonged recording period of participants’ meals is needed

Simvastatin and oxidative stress in humans:A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Simvastatin reduces the blood concentration of cholesterol by inhibiting hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis, and thereby reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, simvastatin treatment leads to a reduction in fluxes in mitochondrial respiratory complexes I and II and might thereby reduce the formation of reactive oxygen species, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of arteriosclerosis. Therefore, we hypothesized that simvastatin may reduce oxidative stress in humans in vivo. We conducted a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study in which subjects were treated with either 40 mg of simvastatin or placebo for 14 days. The endpoints were six biomarkers for oxidative stress, which represent intracellular oxidative stress to nucleic acids, lipid peroxidation and plasma antioxidants, that were measured in urine and plasma samples. A total of 40 participants were included, of which 39 completed the trial. The observed differences between simvastatin and placebo groups in the primary outcomes, DNA and RNA oxidation, were small and nonsignificant (p=0.68), specifically, 3% in the simvastatin group compared to 7.1% in the placebo group for DNA oxidation and 7.3% in the simvastatin group compared to 3.4% in the placebo group. The differences in biomarkers related to plasma were not statistically significant between the treatments groups, with the exception of total vitamin E levels, which, as expected, were reduced in parallel with the reduction in plasma cholesterol. In healthy young male volunteers, short-term simvastatin treatment, which considerably reduces cholesterol, does not lead to a clinically relevant reduction in a panel of measures of oxidative stress. Whether simvastatin has effects on oxidative stress in diseased populations, such as diabetes or hemochromatosis, where oxidative stress is prominent, is unknown but seems unlikely

Dwelling as the life basis of Ukrainians

На прикладі містечок Батурина, Глухова, Борзни та Кролевця у статті розглядається інтер’єр жител населення Чернігово-Сіверщини (друга половина ХVІІІ – середина ХІХ ст.). На основі значного описового матеріалу, стосовно звичаїв і побуту українців, який накопичився в середині і особливо в другій половині ХІХ ст. можна зробити науково-вивірені узагальнення з приводу порівняльної характеристики українців і росіян. Дослідженням цієї теми займалися М. Маркевич, І. Срезнєвський, П. Куліш та ін. Значний внесок до вивчення даної проблематики належить історику М. Костомарову, який виокремив український культурний і традиційно-буттєвий комплекс із загальноросійського, що утрадиційнилось як спільне за понад сторіччя співжиття в рамках однієї імперії. Також у даній статті характеризується поділ оселі на умовні частини та визначаються основні сакральні центри хати. Автор наголошує на глибокому символічному обрядово-ритуальному значенні, яке українці надавали всім предметам хатнього інтер’єру та наголошує на ліричній прив’язаності їх до місця свого проживання.На примере городков Батурина, Глухова, Борзны и Кролевца в статье рассматривается интерьер жилищ населения Чернигово-Северщины во второй половине XVIII – середине XIX вв. На основе материалов, описывающих украинские обычаи и быт, накопившихся в средине, а особенно во второй половине XIX в., можно сделать обобщения по поводу сравнительной характеристики украинцев и русских. Исследованием этой темы занимались Н. Маркевич, И. Срезневский, П. Кулиш и другие ученые. Значительный вклад в изучение данной проблематики принадлежит историку Н. Костомарову, который выделил украинский культурный и традиционно- бытейный комплекс из общероссийского, которые сосуществовали более столетия в границах одной империи. Также в данной статье характеризируется разделение жилища на условные части и определяются основные сакральные центры дома (хаты). Автор отмечает глубокое символическое ритуально-обрядовое значение, которое украинцы придавали всем предметам домашнего интерьера, а также подчеркивает лирическую привязанность населения к месту его проживания.Article deals with the interior of dwellings in Chernihiv-Siverskyi region (in the 2nd half of the ХVІІІ – 1st half of the ХІХ cent.). On the example of towns Baturyn, Glukhiv, Borzna and Krolevets the article deals with the house interiors of the population of Chernihovo-Sivershchyna (the second half of the XVIII – mid. XIX cent.). The analysis is based on considerable descriptive material concerning Ukrainian customs and way of life that has accumulated in the middle and especially in the second half of the XIX cent. and led to scientific adjusted conclusion about the comparative characteristics of Ukrainians and Russians. This topic was researched by M. Markevych, I. Sreznevskyi, P. Kulish and others. A significant contribution to the study of this subject belongs to historian M. Kostomarov, who singled Ukrainian cultural and traditional existential complex out of all-Russian complex, that was considered unified for more than three centuries of coexistence within a single empire. Also, this article characterizes the division of the house on special parts and identifies the main sacred centres of the house. The attention is given to the fact that the Ukrainian housing is associated with many beliefs and rituals. It indicates that the dwelling-house reflects not only people’s ideological and artistic heritage, but also a pragmatic idea. After all, the house seemed a model of nature and the universe, which protected both physically and spiritually. We know that house was not only a place where the family spent most of its life, but it was the family hearth around which ancient and beautiful traditions were preserved. The author emphasizes the deep symbolic ritual value that Ukrainians gave to all subjects of domestic interior and the lyrical attachment to their place of residence. After all, the house had a kind of sacred meaning for its tenants, that is why, to the house and all domestic things people gave some philosophical content. Complexity of representations of the world for humans began from the dwelling and was a dominant through all life. It is revealed that a Ukrainian house with its aesthetic appearance and its interior in particular, is an important factor in the understanding of the Ukrainian people and makes the character unique, and one that is very different from the characteristics of other nations. The author concluded that this topic needs a further study

Personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS): study protocol for an international randomized clinical trial

background acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a frequent cause of hypoxemic respiratory failure with a mortality rate of approximately 30%. Identifying ARDS subphenotypes based on "focal" or "non-focal" lung morphology has the potential to better target mechanical ventilation strategies of individual patients. however, classifying morphology through chest radiography or computed tomography is either inaccurate or impractical. Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a non-invasive bedside tool that can accurately distinguish "focal" from "non-focal" lung morphology. We hypothesize that LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation in ARDS patients leads to a reduction in 90-day mortality compared to conventional mechanical ventilation. methods the personalized mechanical ventilation guided by ultrasound in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (PEGASUS) study is an investigator-initiated, international, randomized clinical trial (RCT) that plans to enroll 538 invasively ventilated adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients with moderate to severe ARDS. eligible patients will receive a LUS exam to classify lung morphology as "focal" or "non-focal". thereafter, patients will be randomized within 12 h after ARDS diagnosis to receive standard care or personalized ventilation where the ventilation strategy is adjusted to the morphology subphenotype, i.e., higher positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment maneuvers for "non-focal" ARDS and lower PEEP and prone positioning for "focal" ARDS. the primary endpoint is all-cause mortality at day 90. secondary outcomes are mortality at day 28, ventilator-free days at day 28, ICU length of stay, ICU mortality, hospital length of stay, hospital mortality, and number of complications (ventilator-associated pneumonia, pneumothorax, and need for rescue therapy). after a pilot phase of 80 patients, the correct interpretation of LUS images and correct application of the intervention within the safe limits of mechanical ventilation will be evaluated. discussion PEGASUS is the first RCT that compares LUS-guided personalized mechanical ventilation with conventional ventilation in invasively ventilated patients with moderate and severe ARDS. If this study demonstrates that personalized ventilation guided by LUS can improve the outcomes of ARDS patients, it has the potential to shift the existing one-size-fits-all ventilation strategy towards a more individualized approach. trial registration the PEGASUS trial was registered before the inclusion of the first patient, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (ID: NCT05492344)