Assessment of dietary diversity of mothers and children of 6-24 months from eastern and southern provinces of Zambia

Open Access JournalIn-depth information on dietary diversity and food consumption patterns in Zambian households is still scarce. This study, therefore, probed dietary intakes of mothers and their children living in households of two Zambian districts, Chipata and Monze, located in the eastern and southern provinces of Zambia, respectively. After assessing their diet, Dietary Diversity Scores (DDSs) were calculated and classified into low and high categories, while correlations were used to test determinants of DDS. The assessment revealed that the consumption of cereal-based products ranked highest in frequency. Specifically, the consumption of maize-based foods was highest in Chipata (55.43%) and then in Monze (43.56%) households. There was an observed low preference for mixed dishes that were not either maize or groundnut porridges. We also found positive and negative correlations of DDS with the educational level of household heads and age of mothers, respectively. We, therefore, suggest that increased nutrition education may improve dietary preferences, so also further investigation into other factors hindering low choices for mixed recipes will be useful in increasing overall diet quality

Double burden of malnutrition: evidence from a selected Nigerian population

Open Access JournalIndices reflecting the double burden of malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing. Evidence to support this claim in households of Africa’s most populous country—Nigeria—is scant. This study, therefore, presents results from a study of mother-child pairs sampled from Akwa Ibom State in the southern region of Nigeria. Anthropometric measures for 660 mother-child pairs were collected according to standard procedures. Indices were expressed as the standard deviation of units from the median for the reference group. Chi-square analysis was used to test significant differences in proportion, and was taken as significant. A total of 37.4% of the children were stunted out of which 19.8% were moderately stunted, and 17.6% were severely stunted. Prevalence of wasting was 13.1%, 6.2% were moderately wasted, and 6.9% were severely wasted. Mean maternal body mass index was (23.54 ± 4.60) kgm2. 9.0% were underweight mothers, 23.2% were overweight, and 9.3% were obese. The co-existence of undernutrition among children and overnutrition in women of child-bearing age is prevalent in this population. We recommend that more effort be placed on active nutrition surveillance to ascertain malnutrition prevalence and periodically reassess priority challenges

Enhanced Cellular Transduction of Nanoparticles Resistant to Rapidly Forming Plasma Protein Coronas

Nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly being developed as biomedical platforms for drug/nucleic acid delivery and imaging. However, in biological fluids, NPs interact with a wide range of proteins that form a coating known as protein corona. Coronae can critically influence self-interaction and binding of other molecules, which can affect toxicity, promote cell activation, and inhibit general or specific cellular uptake. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-binding enhanced transduction (GET) is developed to efficiently deliver a variety of cargoes intracellularly; employing GAG-binding peptides, which promote cell targeting, and cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) which enhance endocytotic cell internalization. Herein, it is demonstrated that GET peptide coatings can mediate sustained intracellular transduction of magnetic NPs (MNPs), even in the presence of serum or plasma. NP colloidal stability, physicochemical properties, toxicity and cellular uptake are investigated. Using label-free snapshot proteomics, time-resolved profiles of human plasma coronas formed on functionalized GET-MNPs demonstrate that coronae quickly form (<1 min), with their composition relatively stable but evolving. Importantly GET-MNPs present a subtly different corona composition to MNPs alone, consistent with GAG-binding activities. Understanding how NPs interact with biological systems and can retain enhanced intracellular transduction will facilitate novel drug delivery approaches for cell-type specific targeting of new nanomaterials

Toward engineering biosystems with emergent collective functions

Many complex behaviors in biological systems emerge from large populations of interacting molecules or cells, generating functions that go beyond the capabilities of the individual parts. Such collective phenomena are of great interest to bioengineers due to their robustness and scalability. However, engineering emergent collective functions is difficult because they arise as a consequence of complex multi-level feedback, which often spans many length-scales. Here, we present a perspective on how some of these challenges could be overcome by using multi-agent modeling as a design framework within synthetic biology. Using case studies covering the construction of synthetic ecologies to biological computation and synthetic cellularity, we show how multi-agent modeling can capture the core features of complex multi-scale systems and provide novel insights into the underlying mechanisms which guide emergent functionalities across scales. The ability to unravel design rules underpinning these behaviors offers a means to take synthetic biology beyond single molecules or cells and toward the creation of systems with functions that can only emerge from collectives at multiple scales

SUSY GUT Model Building

I discuss an evolution of SUSY GUT model building, starting with the construction of 4d GUTs, to orbifold GUTs and finally to orbifold GUTs within the heterotic string. This evolution is an attempt to obtain realistic string models, perhaps relevant for the LHC. This review is in memory of the sudden loss of Julius Wess, a leader in the field, who will be sorely missed.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures, lectures given at PiTP 2008, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, to be published in the European Physical Journal

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

The behavioral turn in flood risk management, its assumptions and potential implications

Recent policy changes highlight the need for citizens to take adaptive actions to reduce flood-related impacts. Here, we argue that these changes represent a wider behavioral turn in flood risk management (FRM). The behavioral turn is based on three fundamental assumptions: first, that the motivations of citizens to take adaptive actions can be well understood so that these motivations can be targeted in the practice of FRM; second, that private adaptive measures and actions are effective in reducing flood risk; and third, that individuals have the capacities to implement such measures. We assess the extent to which the assumptions can be supported by empirical evidence. We do this by engaging with three intellectual catchments. We turn to research by psychologists and other behavioral scientists which focus on the sociopsychological factors which influence individual motivations (Assumption 1). We engage with economists, engineers, and quantitative risk analysts who explore the extent to which individuals can reduce flood related impacts by quantifying the effectiveness and efficiency of household-level adaptive measures (Assumption 2). We converse with human geographers and sociologists who explore the types of capacities households require to adapt to and cope with threatening events (Assumption 3). We believe that an investigation of the behavioral turn is important because if the outlined assumptions do not hold, there is a risk of creating and strengthening inequalities in FRM. Therefore, we outline the current intellectual and empirical knowledge as well as future research needs. Generally, we argue that more collaboration across intellectual catchments is needed, that future research should be more theoretically grounded and become methodologically more rigorous and at the same time focus more explicitly on the normative underpinnings of the behavioral turn

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification. Funding: UK Research and Innovation and National Institute for Health Research