An investigation into the pragmatic diets of vegetarianism: the results of a pilot study

Published recommended various classifications of vegetarian diets are widespread across the globe, but few published articles if any report on the types of foods actually consumed by vegetarians in general. The primary objective was to elucidate this aspect of vegetarianism, analysis of food consumption over a fourteen day period, with respect to the various manifestations of vegetarianism, was undertaken in the form of a pilot study to indicate the contents of these diets as compared with recommended daily allowances (RDA) and adequate intake (AI) values. Five lactovegetarians, twenty lactoovovegetarians and fourteen vegans, were recruited. The study included a detailed analysis of the vegetarian participants’ diet, through the compilation of an individual diet diary. Statistical analysis employing Microsoft Excel software was conducted to determine the outcome of the vegetarians’ diets, with each mean nutrient and mean dietary energy value compared against RDA and AI. Analysis of the participants’ diet diaries indicated somewhat unexpectedly a failure to meet the RDA and AI for several important nutrients. Furthermore, the daily metabolizable energy level for all classifications of vegetarians was lower than the recommended AI for daily energy requirements. Whilst it is generally accepted that vegetarianism can lead to a healthy lifestyle, the findings of this research indicate that vegetarianism participants may be at risk of deficiency of certain nutrients that could potentially lead to chronic medical conditions. The statistical findings obtained in the study will allow an accurate sample size to be calculated for each important item for future large definitive studies

Efficacy of methylcobalamin to normalise elevated homocysteine of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians: a double blind placebo control study

Vegetarians are known to be deficient in vitamin B12, due to a lack of dietary animal products, which can elevate plasma total homocysteine (tHcy). Elevated total tHcy can render vegetarians susceptible to cardiovascular disease (CVD). There are a limited number of published studies in relation to the efficacy of methylcobalamin to normalise plasma tHcy of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians. The primary objective of the present study was to explore the relationship between supplementary oral methylcobalamin and levels of tHcy of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians; to reduce the risk of developing primary CVD. A randomised double blind placebo controlled pilot study was conducted to monitor and analyse baseline and post treatment levels of plasma tHcy, 49 volunteer vegetarians were recruited to participate in this study. Statistical analysis employing SPSS software indicated that methylcobalamin reduced mean baseline plasma tHcy of 15.5 µmolL-1 (n=39) to a mean plasma tHcy level of 8.4 µmolL-1 (P < 0.001). In a second group that contained details of ten withdrawn participants, which was conducted on an ‘Intention to Treat’ (ITT) basis, indicated that methylcobalamin was shown to be reduced from a mean baseline plasma tHcy of 14.7 µmolL-1(n=49) to a mean plasma tHcy level of 9.1 µmolL-1 (P < 0.001). The findings of the study have the potential to alert vegetarians of the possible risk of becoming vitamin B12 deficient, and to help avoid the risk of developing homocysteine related CVD. The quality data obtained in the study will allow an accurate sample size to be calculated for a future definite clinical study

Efficacy of methylcobalam in to normalise elevated homocysteine of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians: a double blind placebo control study

Vegetarians are known to be deficient in vitamin B12, due to a lack of dietary animal products,which can elevate plasma total homocysteine (tHcy). Elevated total tHcy can render vegetarians susceptible to cardiovascular disease (CVD).There are a limited number of published studies in relation to the efficacy of methylcobalamin to normalise plasma tHcy of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians.The primary objective of the present study was to explore the relationship between supplementary oral methylcobalamin and levels of tHcy of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians; to reduce the risk of developing primary CVD. A randomised double blind placebo controlled pilot study was conducted to monitor and analyse baseline and post treatment levels of plasma tHcy, 49 volunteer vegetarians were recruited to participate in this study. Statistical analysis employing SPSS software indicated that methylcobalamin reduced mean baseline plasma tHcy of 15.5 μmolL-1 (n=39) to a mean plasma tHcy level of 8.4 μmolL-1 (P < 0.001). In a second group that contained details of ten withdrawn participants, which was conducted on an ‘Intention to Treat’ (ITT) basis, indicated that methylcobalamin was shown to be reduced from a mean baseline plasma tHcy of 14.7 μmolL-1(n=49)to a mean plasma tHcy level of 9.1 μmolL-1 (P < 0.001).The findings of the study have the potential to alert vegetarians of the possible risk of becoming vitamin B12 deficient, and to help avoid the risk of developing homocysteine related CVD. The quality data obtained in the study will allow an accurate sample size to be calculated for a future definite clinical study

Plasma total homocysteine status of vegetarians compared with omnivores: a systematic review and meta-analysis

There is strong evidence indicating that elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are a major independent biomarker and/or a contributor to chronic conditions, such as CVD. A deficiency of vitamin B12 can elevate homocysteine. Vegetarians are a group of the population who are potentially at greater risk of vitamin B12 deficiency than omnivores. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to appraise a range of studies that compared the homocysteine and vitamin B12 levels of vegetarians and omnivores. The search methods employed identified 443 entries, from which, by screening using set inclusion and exclusion criteria, six eligible cohort case studies and eleven cross-sectional studies from 1999 to 2010 were revealed, which compared concentrations of plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B12 of omnivores, lactovegetarians or lacto-ovovegetarians and vegans. Of the identified seventeen studies (3230 participants), only two studies reported that vegan concentrations of plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B12 did not differ from omnivores. The present study confirmed that an inverse relationship exists between plasma tHcy and serum vitamin B12, from which it can be concluded that the usual dietary source of vitamin B12 is animal products and those who choose to omit or restrict these products are destined to become vitamin B12 deficient. At present, the available supplement, which is usually used for fortification of food, is the unreliable cyanocobalamin. A well-designed study is needed to investigate a reliable and suitable supplement to normalise the elevated plasma tHcy of a high majority of vegetarians. This would fill the gaps in the present nutritional scientific knowledge

Results of a pilot study to provide evidence on the efficacy of vitamin B12 to normalise elevated homocysteine of vegetarians

Homocysteine can be remethylated through the major folic cycle path. It is recycled to methionine in a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme methionine synthase and is absolutely dependent on the essential vitamin B12 methylcobalamin (MeCbl). All other forms of vitamin B12 must be converted to MeCbl prior to their usage. This can prove to be problematic, particularly for the aged. Vegetarians are known to be susceptible to vitamin B12 deficiency, due to a lack of dietary animal produce, which can elevate plasma total homocysteine (tHcy). There is positive evidence that links elevated plasma (tHcy) with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The specific objective of the present study was to establish if supplementary MeCbl will optimise elevated levels of plasma tHcy of vitamin B12 deficient vegetarians

Connected Women: How Mobile Can Support Women's Economic and Social Empowerment

This report explores how mobile services provided by Vodafone and the Vodafone Foundation are enabling women to seize new opportunities and improve their lives. Accenture Sustainability Services were commissioned to conduct research on the services and to assess their potential social and economic impact if they were widely available across Vodafone's markets by 2020. It showcases the projects and the work of those involved and also poses the question -- what would the benefit to women and to society at large be if projects such as these were taken to scale and achieved an industrialscale of growth? This reflects the Foundation's commitment not solely to the development of pilots but rather the Trustees' ambition to see projects which lead to transformational change. In order to understand this more deeply, the Report looks at the benefits for women and society and providessome financial modelling for how the engagement of commercial players could achieve industrial, sustainable growth in these areas. Accenture has provided the modelling and, given the public benefit and understanding which the report seeks to generate, these are shared openly for all in the mobile industry to understand and share. It is the Trustees' hope that the collaboration with Oxford University and Accenture in the delivery of this Report will stimulate not only the expansion of existing charitable programmes but will also seed other philanthropic, social enterprise or commercial initiatives

Public perceptions of the use of gloves by healthcare workers and comparison with perceptions of student nurses

Introduction: There is emerging evidence that non-sterile clinical gloves (NSCG) are over-used by healthcare workers (HCW) and associated with a risk of cross contamination because they are put on too early and removed too late. The purpose of this study was to determine student nurses’ approach to their use and the perceptions and preferences of the public. Methods: A cohort of third-year student nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire and indicate for which of 46 clinical tasks they would routinely wear gloves and what influenced their decision to use them. Factor analysis was used to explore correlations between tasks. Members of the pubic were asked to complete the online survey aiming to explore their recent experiences of healthcare and their attitudes towards HCW wearing gloves. Results: A total of 67 student nurses completed the questionnaire. Inconsistencies in responses were observed and gloves were reported being routinely worn for procedures with a low risk of contact with blood and body fluid. The exploratory factor analysis identified correlations related to four factors – procedures perceived to be risky, definitive indications, procedures related to personal hygiene and some low risk procedures. Most students (94%) indicated their own judgment influenced their decision to wear NSCG. The public survey was completed by 142 people. Many were uncomfortable with HCW using gloves for personal tasks but 94% preferred their use for washing ‘private parts’. Responses were broadly comparable with those of student nurses. 29% had observed inappropriate use of gloves during a recent episode of healthcare treatment and 20% had challenged a HCW about their glove use. Conclusions: Student nurses reported using NSCG appropriately for procedures involving a risk of contact with BBF, however a significant proportion also routinely used NSCG for a wide range of low risk tasks and procedures for which they are neither required nor recommended. Members of the public feel uncomfortable with HCW wearing gloves for some personal care but strongly prefer their use for contact with ‘private parts’ such as the genitals

Geographies of Outer Space : Progress and New Opportunities

Acknowledgements The editors of this forum would like to acknowledge productive contributions to a thematic session at the RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2016 on ‘Geographies of Outer Space’. We are also grateful to the editorial board of this journal for their support of this endeavour. Declaration of conflicting interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Peer reviewedPostprin

Saving Lives – an epic quest to promote an evidence-based approach for preventing healthcare-associated infections in the National Health Service in England

Since its inception more than half a century ago, the National Health Service has continued to transform and improve the health and wellbeing of the Nation. Now treating a million people every 36 hours, the NHS provides an unprecedented range of clinical interventions that can mend accidental damage, prevent, identify and manage or cure disease, and prolong quality life. However, hospital care and healthcare interventions are always associated with potential hazards, including the risk of acquiring an infection during care. Those patients most at risk are often the most vulnerable and chronically ill in our society and they and their families suffer needlessly because healthcare-associated infections are largely preventable. During the last decade, the Richard Wells Research Centre (RWR) in the Faculty of Health and Human Sciences at University of West London (formally Thames Valley university) has collaborated with the Department of Health and a variety of other governmental organisations and professional societies to develop an evidence-based approach to preventing healthcare-associated infections. This article describes the impact of our work and our journey in partnerships to support sustainable improvements in patient care, enhance patient safety and ultimately save lives

Systematic and detailed analysis of behavioural tests in the rat Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) model of stroke: tests for long-term assessment

In order to test therapeutics, functional assessments are required. In pre-clinical stroke research, there is little consensus regarding the most appropriate behavioural tasks to assess deficits; especially when testing over extended times in milder models with short occlusion times and small lesion volumes. In this study we comprehensively assessed 16 different behavioural tests, with the aim of identifying those that show robust, reliable and stable deficits for up to 2 months. These tasks are regularly used in stroke research, as well as being useful for examining striatal dysfunction in models of Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease. Two cohorts of male Wistar rats underwent the intraluminal filament model of MCAO (30min) and were imaged 24hrs later. This resulted in primarily subcortical infarcts, with a small amount of cortical damage. Animals were tested, along with sham and naïve groups at 24hrs, 7 days, and 1 and 2 months. Following behavioural testing, brains were processed and striatal neuronal counts were performed alongside measurements of total brain and white matter atrophy. The staircase, adjusting steps, rotarod and apomorphine induced rotations were the most reliable for assessing long-term deficits in the 30 min transient MCAO model of stroke