Environmental Change and Human Health Case Studies I

The World Health Organization (WHO) has become increasingly concerned about effect of global environmental change on human health.1 In addition to climate change, biodiversity and natural disasters, there are a number of human interventions that are direct drivers of environmental change, such as land and agricultural practices, irrigation and dams and human behaviour.1 Impacts can be modified or exacerbated by a local population’s current vulnerability, such as population movement into an endemic area for a disease for which they have no immunity. Global changes, including an increase in trade and global warming, which act on the environment, are likely to impact on the evolution of pathogens and hence of diseases. For example, it is likely that climate change is likely to alter the geography of infectious diseases and pests, including the distribution of vector-borne diseases, such as Rift Valley fever, yellow fever, malaria, dengue and Chikungunya, which are highly sensitive to climatic conditions.1 Other diseases may also be influenced by climate, such as meningitis and cholera.2 Also, we have seen how changes to irrigation and dams have previously affected the distribution of diseases, such as schistosomiasis. This present book, Environmental Change and Human Health: Case Studies I, is a significant contribution to addressing these challenges. The Editor, Deon Canyon, presents a unique publication that is sure to assist professionals and students working in public health and environmental health, as well as related areas such as tropical health or environmental engineering. The main components of the book are an introductory chapter on “Biodiversity, environmental change and the web of life” and a series of case studies, which illustrate and inform the reader about these issues. The cases relate to diverse interests including cholera outbreaks globally, water quality and nutrient loading in the USA, schistosomiasis in China, neurocystercercosis in China, Nipah virus and Malaysia, Hantavirus and Argentina, pneumonic plague and the Congo, skin cancer and Mackay in Australia, the Toowoomba water crisis, schistosomiasis and Ghana, Chikungunya and the west Indian Ocean islands, Chagas’ disease and Guatemala. The major advantage as always with electronically published monographs is the full colour illustrations. This is an important online publication to add to your list of website bookmarks

A systematic review of research on outrigger canoe paddling and racing

Purpose: Research on outrigger canoe paddling performance is in its infancy and only began in the late 1990s. This paper systematically identified and reviewed previously published peer-reviewed articles and theses, and summarized the findings with the aim of defining the current state of knowledge on the sport. Method: Using a systematic review, searches were conducted on PubMed MEDLINE, Academic Search Premier, Cochrane Library databases and Google Scholar for articles published up to June 2014. A standard systematic review process was applied to sift abstracts and full texts to obtain and extract data on study characteristics, measurements and recommendations. Results: Twenty-seven articles by eleven lead authors were identified. There was fairly close consensus on anthropometrics, peak physiological measurements, stroke variables, injury prevalence and paddle design. Most non-injury studies relied on small data sets and had limited statistical power. Conclusions: The results identified in this review provide a starting point for more systematic research that identifies and quantifies performance predictors in outrigger canoe racing

A systematic review of research on outrigger canoe paddling and racing

Purpose: Research on outrigger canoe paddling performance is in its infancy and only began in the late 1990s. This paper systematically identified and reviewed previously published peer-reviewed articles and theses, and summarized the findings with the aim of defining the current state of knowledge on the sport. Method: Using a systematic review, searches were conducted on PubMed MEDLINE, Academic Search Premier, Cochrane Library databases and Google Scholar for articles published up to June 2014. A standard systematic review process was applied to sift abstracts and full texts to obtain and extract data on study characteristics, measurements and recommendations. Results: Twenty-seven articles by eleven lead authors were identified. There was fairly close consensus on anthropometrics, peak physiological measurements, stroke variables, injury prevalence and paddle design. Most non-injury studies relied on small data sets and had limited statistical power. Conclusions: The results identified in this review provide a starting point for more systematic research that identifies and quantifies performance predictors in outrigger canoe racing

Singlet-triplet transition in a few-electron lateral InGaAs-InAlAs quantum dot

The magnetic-field evolution of Coulomb blockade peaks in lateral InGaAs/InAlAs quantum dots in the few-electron regime is reported. Quantum dots are defined by gates evaporated onto a 60 nm-thick hydrogen silsesquioxane insulating film. A gyromagnetic factor of 4.4 is measured via zero-bias spin spectroscopy and a transition from singlet to triplet spin configuration is found at an in-plane magnetic field B = 0.7 T. This observation opens the way to the manipulation of singlet and triplet states at moderate fields and its relevance for quantum information applications will be discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Aquatic insect predators and mosquito control

Mosquitoes are serious biting pests and obligate vectors of many vertebrate pathogens. Their immature larval and pupal life stages are a common feature in most tropical and many temperate water bodies and often form a significant proportion of the biomass. Control strategies rely primarily on the use of larvicides and environmental modification to reduce recruitment and adulticides during periods of disease transmission. Larvicides are usually chemical but can involve biological toxins, agents or organisms. The use of insect predators in mosquito control has been exploited in a limited fashion and there is much room for further investigation and implementation. Insects that are recognized as having predatorial capacity with regard to mosquito prey have been identified in the Orders Odonata, Coleoptera, Diptera (primarily aquatic predators), and Hemiptera (primarily surface predators). Although their cpacity is affected by certain biological and physical factors, they could play a major role in mosquito control. Furthermore, better understanding for the mosquitoes-predators relationship(s) could probably lead to satisfactory reduction of mosquito-borne diseases by utilizing either these predators in control programs, for instance biological and/or integrated control, or their kairomones as mosquitoes’ovipoisting repellents. This review covers the predation of different insect species on mosquito larvae, predatorprey- habitat relationships, co-habitation developmental issues, survival and abundance, oviposition avoidance, predatorial capacity and integrated vector control

ROLE OF BIOACTIVE-RICH DIET IN THE MODULATION OF RISK FACTORS FOR CHRONIC-DEGENERATIVE DISEASES: IN VIVO AND EX VIVO APPROACHES

Il rapido aumento dell\u2019incidenza delle malattie cronico-degenerative \ue8 probabilmente uno dei maggiori problemi di sanit\ue0 pubblica attuali. Sono numerosi gli studi che supportano il ruolo che determinati modelli alimentari ricchi in specifici alimenti o composti bioattivi hanno nella riduzione del rischio di sviluppare malattie. L\u2019intervento di tipo nutrizionale \ue8 sempre pi\uf9 considerato una strategia di prevenzione primaria che risulta tra le pi\uf9 efficaci, convenienti e facilmente perseguibili. Recentemente, un interesse crescente si sta sempre pi\uf9 focalizzando su interventi dietetici personalizzati accuratamente studiati per soddisfare le specifiche esigenze nutrizionali di gruppi di popolazione target. Infatti, un approccio nutrizionale personalizzato sembra essere molto pi\uf9 efficace nell\u2019ottenimento di uno specifico risultato, soprattutto in quei gruppi di popolazione target considerati pi\uf9 a rischio di sviluppare malattie croniche. Sulla base di queste premesse, lo scopo della presente tesi di dottorato \ue8 stato quello di valutare, attraverso approcci in vivo ed ex vivo, l'effetto del consumo di specifici alimenti e dei loro composti bioattivi nella modulazione di alcuni fattori di rischio per le malattie cronico-degenerative, in gruppi di popolazione \u201ca rischio\u201d. La prima parte della tesi (approccio in vivo) ha avuto l\u2019obiettivo di valutare l\u2019impatto di due diversi interventi dietetici in una popolazione di bambini ed adolescenti italiani affetti da iperlipidemia primaria, e quindi considerati a maggior rischio di possibili eventi cardiovascolari futuri. In primo luogo, la popolazione pediatrica in studio \ue8 stata caratterizzata per il profilo lipidico sierico e per la composizione degli acidi grassi dei fosfolipidi delle membrane eritrocitarie, mostrando delle differenze in base al sesso e al tipo specifico di iperlipidemia. Inoltre, in questi soggetti \ue8 stata osservato un basso indice omega 3 (acido eicosapentaenoico, EPA + acido docosaesaenoico, DHA: <4%), un marker che \ue8 stato suggerito essere associato a un elevato rischio di sviluppare malattie cardiovascolari. In secondo luogo, nella stessa popolazione di pazienti pediatrici iperlipidemici \ue8 stato studiato l\u2019effetto del consumo regolare di uno specifico alimento (nocciole, HZN) o un supplemento alimentare (olio di semi di canapa, HSO), entrambi ricchi in acidi grassi insaturi e altri bioattivi, nella modulazione di diversi biomarker di rischio cardiovascolare collegati all\u2019iperlipidemia. Entrambi gli interventi dietetici sono risultati efficaci nella gestione dell\u2019iperlipidemia pediatrica. In particolare, abbiamo dimostrato che l\u2019assunzione per 8 settimane di nocciole, consumate con la cuticola (HZN+S) oppure pelate (HZN-S), migliorava significativamente il profilo lipidico sierico e aveva un impatto favorevole anche sulla composizione degli acidi grassi delle membrane eritrocitarie. Inoltre, i trattamenti dietetici con le nocciole sono stati in grado di ridurre i livelli di danno al DNA, un marker di stress ossidativo. Tuttavia, le concentazioni plasmatiche di LDL ossidate (ox-LDL) non hanno subito alcun cambiamento in seguito all\u2019intervento con le nocciole. L\u2019effetto della supplementazione con olio di semi di canapa nella modulazione del profilo lipidico in bambini iperlipidemici \ue8 stato valutato attraverso uno studio pilota. Anche se preliminari, i risultati di questo studio hanno mostrato un miglioramento dell\u2019indice omega 3 e della composizione degli acidi grassi delle membrane eritrocitarie in seguito all\u2019assunzione dell\u2019olio di semi di canapa per 8 settimane. La seconda parte della tesi di dottorato \ue8 stata svolta su modelli ex vivo presso il Dipartimento di Fisiologia e Biochimica della Nutrizione del Max Rubner-Institut (Karlsruhe, Germania). Considerando che le malattie cronico-degenerative sono spesso associate ad una risposta immunitaria compromessa, l\u2019obiettivo di questa parte di ricerca \ue8 stato quello di studiare il potenziale effetto immunomodulatorio di diverse concentrazioni di acidi grassi polinsaturi a lunga catena (LC-PUFA), in combinazione con dosi standard di vitamina D3, in cellule immunitarie ex vivo prelevate da volontari sani. L\u2019effetto di questi composti bioattivi \ue8 stato valutato su due meccanismi implicati nella risposta immunitaria innata, che agiscono specificatamente contro le cellule tumorali e gli agenti patogeni: l\u2019attivita delle cellule natural killer (NK) e la fagocitosi. I risultati ottenuti hanno mostrato che gli LC-PUFA ad elevate dosi, indipendentemente dalla presenza o meno della vitamina D, interferiscono negativamente sulla capacit\ue0 delle cellule NK di lisare e contrastare le cellule tumorali target, mostrando una risposta dose-dipendente. Al contrario, \ue8 stato osservato un miglioramento dell\u2019attivit\ue0 fagocitaria dei monociti quando gli LC-PUFA erano coincubati con la vitamina D, suggerendo un potenziale effetto sinergico e immunomodulatorio della vitamina D. In conclusione, attraverso questa tesi di dottorato \ue8 stato possibile aumentare le conoscenze sul potenziale effetto di diete ricche in composti bioattivi nella modulazione di alcuni fattori di rischio per le malattie cronico-degenerative. Questo aspetto risulta particolarmente importante soprattutto nelle popolazioni target considerate pi\uf9 a rischio e per le quali un intervento nutrizionale appropriato e personalizzato viene considerato l\u2019approccio di prevenzione primario. Studi futuri su gruppi di popolazione pi\uf9 ampi e volti a valutare i meccanismi d\u2019azione specifici sono necessari al fine di fornire delle dimostrazioni aggiuntive che confermino i nostri risultati.The rapid increase in prevalence of chronic-degenerative diseases is probably the major global health problem nowadays. Several studies have emphasized the role that dietary patterns rich in specific foods or their bioactive compounds may play in the reduction of disease risk. In fact, nutritional intervention is considered one of the most significant, easily achieved and affordable primary prevention strategy. Recently, increasing interest has been focused on personalized dietary interventions accurately designed to meet specific nutritional needs of target groups of population. The personalized approach seems to be more effective to achieve a defined outcome, especially in targeted subgroups of population considered \u201cat higher risk\u201d to develop chronic diseases. Based on these premises, the aim of the present Ph.D. thesis was to evaluate the effect of specific foods and their bioactives in the modulation of risk factors for chronic-degenerative diseases in \u201cat risk\u201d groups of population, thorough both in vivo and ex vivo approaches. The first part (in vivo approach) was focused on the impact of two different dietary interventions in a population of Italian children and adolescents affected by primary hyperlipidemia and thus considered at \u201chigher risk\u201d to develop cardiovascular (CV) events later in life. Firstly, the study population was characterized for serum lipid profile and fatty acid (FA) composition of red blood cell (RBC) phospholipids, showing differences according to sex and diagnosis of hyperlipidemia. Moreover, in the hyperlipidemic pediatric patients we observed an overall low omega 3 index (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA + docosahexaenoic acid, DHA: <4%), an emerging risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Secondly, in the same population of hyperlipidemic pediatric patients, it was investigated the effect of regular intake of a specific food (hazelnuts, HZN) or food supplement (hempseed oil, HSO) rich in unsaturated fats and other bioactives, in the modulation of different CVD biomarkers related to hyperlipidemia. We documented that both dietary treatments were effective in the management of primary hyperlipidemia at pediatric age. In particular, we showed that 8-week of hazelnuts intake, consumed with skin (HZN+S) or without skin (peeled, HZN-S), significantly improve the serum lipid profile and had a favorable impact on FAs composition of RBC membranes. In addition, HZN treatments were able to reduce the levels of DNA damage, a marker of oxidative stress, even if the concentrations of plasma oxidized LDL (ox-LDL) did not change following the HZN intervention. The effect of HSO supplementation on lipid profile of hyperlipidemic children was evaluated through a pilot study. Even if preliminary, the results from this study showed an enhancement of the omega-3 index and the RBC phospholipid composition following the intake of HSO for 8 weeks. The second part of the Ph.D thesis was performed at the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry of Nutrition of Max Rubner-Institut (Karlsruhe, Germany) and devoted to ex vivo approaches. Considering that chronic diseases are often associated to a compromised immune response, the objective of this part of research was to investigate the potential immunomodulatory properties of different concentrations of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in conjunction with standard dose of vitamin D3 on ex vivo immune cells from healthy volunteers. The effect of these bioactives was evaluated on two mechanisms crucially involved in the innate immune response that specifically act against cancer cells as well as infectious agents: the natural killer (NK) cell activity and the phagocytosis. The findings showed that high dose of LC-PUFA, independently by the presence of the vitamin D, negatively affect the lytic activity of NK cell of target cancer cells, with a dose-dependent response. On the contrary, an enhancement of phagocytic activity of monocytes was observed only when LC-PUFA were combined with vitamin D, suggesting a potential synergic and immunomodulatory role of vitamin D. In conclusion, through this Ph.D thesis it was possible to increase knowledge on the potential benefits of bioactives rich-diet in the modulation of different risk factors for chronic-degenerative diseases. This aspect is particulary important in at risk target groups of population for whom appropriate and personalized nutritional interventions are considered the primary prevention approach. Future studies on largest population groups aimed to clarify the specific mechanisms of action involved are needed to provide additional demonstration that confirm our results

Evidence of dysbiosis in the intestinal microbial ecosystem of children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia and the potential role of regular hazelnut intake

Hyperlipidemia starts at a pediatric age and represents an unquestionable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Modulation of the intestinal microbial ecosystem (IME), in principle, can ameliorate lipid profiles. In this study, we characterized the IME of children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia by analyzing fecal samples through 16S rRNA gene profiling (n\ua0=\ua015) and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) quantification (n\ua0=\ua032). The same analyses were also carried out on age-matched normolipidemic controls (n\ua0=\ua015). Moreover, we evaluated the modulatory effect of regular hazelnut intake (approximately 0.43 g of hazelnuts with skin per kg of body weight) on the IME of 15 children and adolescents with hyperlipidemia for eight weeks. We found alterations of numerous operational taxonomic units potentially associated with SCFA-producing bacteria and reductions in the fecal levels of acetate, butyrate and propionate in hyperlipidemic subjects. Furthermore, we observed that an eight-week hazelnut intervention may induce limited changes in fecal microbiota composition but can significantly modulate the fecal levels of predominant intestinal SCFAs, such as acetate. Finally, correlation analyses indicated that changes in lipidemic parameters are linked to modifications of the abundance of specific bacterial taxa, such as the families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae and the genera Akkermansia, Bacteroides, Roseburia, and Faecalibacterium. This study suggests that children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia possess an altered IME. The promising results presented here support the need for future dietary interventions aimed at positively modulating the IME of hyperlipidemic subjects

Intra and inter-day repeatability of peripheral arterial function: suitability and potential limitations

The present study aimed to investigate the inter- and intraday repeatability of reactive hyperemia index (RHI) measured by Endo-PAT in healthy volunteers. Interday RHI repeatability was tested in two consecutive days in a group of thirty-one male subjects. Intraday repeatability was investigated at baseline and after 2 and 4 h in a group of sixteen volunteers. Data were evaluated by analysis of variance. Bland-Altman plot, coefficient of variation (CV), coefficient of repeatability (CR) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were measured. While interday RHI repeatability was found to be reliable (CV: 6.0%; CR: 0.51; ICC: 0.77), multiple evaluations within the same day significantly (p<0.001) affected RHI (repeatability of the measurement - CV: 18.8%; CR: 1.26; ICC: 0.48). In particular, a significant increase in RHI occurred at 4 h compared to 2 h (+16.8%; p<0.05) and to baseline (+30.1%; p<0.05). In conclusion, RHI showed good interday but poor intraday repeatability. Multiple evaluations increased RHI especially in subjects with endothelial dysfunction who improved or reversed their impairment. These results show the potential limitations of multiple Endo-PAT measurements within the same day and the importance of standardizing the protocols before RHI evaluations

Effect of short-term hazelnut consumption on DNA damage and oxidized LDL in children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia : a randomized controlled trial

Children with primary hyperlipidemia are prone to develop premature atherosclerosis, possibly associated with increased oxidative stress. Nutritional therapy is the primary strategy in the treatment of hyperlipidemia and associated conditions. Dietary interventions with bioactive-rich foods, such as nuts, may contribute to the modulation of both lipid profile and the oxidative/antioxidant status. Our study aimed to assess the impact of a dietary intervention with hazelnuts on selected oxidative stress markers in children and adolescents with primary hyperlipidemia. A single-blind, 8-week, randomized, controlled, three-arm, parallel-group study was performed. Children and adolescents diagnosed with primary hyperlipidemia (n=60) received dietary guidelines and were randomized into three groups: group 1 received hazelnuts with skin (HZN+S), and group 2 hazelnuts without skin (HZN-S), at equivalent doses (15-30 g/day, based on body weight); group 3 (controls) received only dietary recommendations (no nuts). At baseline and after 8 weeks, plasma oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) concentrations, oxidative levels of DNA damage in PBMCs and potential correlation with changes in serum lipids were examined. A reduction of endogenous DNA damage by 18.9%\ub151.3% (P=.002) and 23.1%\ub147.9% (P=.007) was observed after HZN+S and HZN-S, respectively. Oxidatively induced DNA strand breaks decreased by 16.0%\ub138.2% (P=.02) following HZN+S treatment. Ox-LDL levels did not change after HZN+S intervention but positively correlated with total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. A short-term hazelnut intervention improves cell DNA protection and resistance against oxidative stress but not ox-LDL in hyperlipidemic pediatric patients. The trial was registered at ISRCTN.com, ID no. ISRCTN12261900