Care For Pastors: Learning From Clergy and Their Spouses

Pastors and their spouses face unique challenges because of the nature of pastoral work, and yet most manage these challenges successfully. Five studies are presented which help distinguish between intrapersonal, family, and community forms of care. Pastors rely heavily on intrapersonal forms of coping such as spiritual devotion, hobbies, exercise, and taking time away from work. The marriage relationship is also quite important for most clergy and spouses. Relationships outside the immediate family are not commonly identified as coping resources. Implications are discussed

Co-culture systems for the production of secondary metabolites: current and future prospects

Microorganisms are the great sources of Natural Products (NPs); these are imperative to their survival apart from conferring competitiveness amongst each other within their environmental niches. Primary and secondary metabolites are the two major classes of NPs that help in cell development, where antimicrobial activity is closely linked with secondary metabolites. To capitalize on the effects of secondary metabolites, co-culture methods have been often used to develop an artificial microbial community that promotes the action of these metabolites. Different analytical techniques will subsequently be employed based on the metabolite specificity and sensitivity to further enhance the metabolite induction. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) and Gas Chromatography (GC)-MS are commonly used for metabolite separation while Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been used as tools to elucidate the structure of compounds. This review intends to discuss current systems in use for co-culture in addition to its advantages, with discourse into the investigation of specific techniques in use for the detailed study of secondary metabolites. Further advancements and focus on co-culture technologies are required to fully realize the massive potential in synthetic biological systems

The Regulatory Framework Across International Jurisdictions for Risks Associated with Consumption of Botanical Food Supplements

Dietary supplements, including those containing botanical ingredients and botanical-derived compounds, have been marketed to consumers globally for many decades. However, the legislative framework for such products remains inconsistent across jurisdictions internationally. This study aims to compare the regulatory framework of botanical food supplements in the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and China. The study also aims to investigate and describe safety assessment criteria for botanical food supplements where they are present in the above said jurisdictions, and attempts to analyze whether these criteria are suitable for addressing the toxicological risks associated with the use of botanical food supplement products, based on the evaluation of reported adverse effects related to botanical food supplement use as examples. Finally, this study discusses some future issues that need further attention, such as the consideration of less than lifetime exposures, potential for misidentification, and adulteration of botanical supplements by pharmacologically active substances. It is concluded that the regulatory approaches towards botanical food supplements differ significantly across jurisdictions. In addition, national authorities are increasingly considering having more regulatory oversight for such products. Further consideration of the actual impact of adverse events arising from botanical food supplement usage will be helpful in guiding such decisions.</p

The Regulatory Framework Across International Jurisdictions for Risks Associated with Consumption of Botanical Food Supplements

Dietary supplements, including those containing botanical ingredients and botanical-derived compounds, have been marketed to consumers globally for many decades. However, the legislative framework for such products remains inconsistent across jurisdictions internationally. This study aims to compare the regulatory framework of botanical food supplements in the EU, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan, and China. The study also aims to investigate and describe safety assessment criteria for botanical food supplements where they are present in the above said jurisdictions, and attempts to analyze whether these criteria are suitable for addressing the toxicological risks associated with the use of botanical food supplement products, based on the evaluation of reported adverse effects related to botanical food supplement use as examples. Finally, this study discusses some future issues that need further attention, such as the consideration of less than lifetime exposures, potential for misidentification, and adulteration of botanical supplements by pharmacologically active substances. It is concluded that the regulatory approaches towards botanical food supplements differ significantly across jurisdictions. In addition, national authorities are increasingly considering having more regulatory oversight for such products. Further consideration of the actual impact of adverse events arising from botanical food supplement usage will be helpful in guiding such decisions.</p