Nutrients in Infancy

Infants are not just small adults; they have a complex set of nutrient requirements and interactions to account for the high metabolic rate, growth, immunological and cognitive development, etc. Each year there are 138 million births, including 30 million from the least developed countries, where health is most at risk. Nutrition during infancy establishes growth patterns and development which moderate short term and long term health and life expectancy. There is continuing progress in understanding the nutrient composition of breastmilk and the importance nutritious and timely complementary foods. Nutrients at particular risk in the first years of life are iron, iodine, and vitamins A and D. There are still gaps in our knowledge on the influence of maternal diet, body composition and nutritional status on breastmilk nutrients. Interaction of nutrients with the human microbiome and gastro-intestinal tract hormonal secretion are developing fields. While breastmilk remains the “gold standard of pediatric nutrition”, the provisions of nutrients providing for optimal health in infant formulae, including nutrients and probiotics remains an area of research. The assessment of body composition for research and clinical practice has progressed rapidly and is important in understanding later obesity. After six months of age, there are new issues of the interaction of weaning foods and later family foods with the maturing gastro-intestinal tract to promote health and growth. Infant nutrition is made more difficult (and interesting) by the many cultural beliefs related to feeding practices. Developments in all of these fields of research into pediatric nutrition will be explored in this special issue together with state of the art reviews

Acupuncture for persistent allergic rhinitis: a multi-centre, randomised, controlled trial protocol

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common health complaints worldwide. Complementary and alternative medical approaches have been employed to relieve allergic rhinitis symptoms and to avoid the side effects of conventional medication. Acupuncture has been widely used to treat patients with allergic rhinitis, but the available evidence of its effectiveness is insufficient. Our objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture in patients in Korea and China with persistent allergic rhinitis compared to sham acupuncture treatment or waitlist control.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study consists of a multi-centre (two centres in Korea and two centres in China), randomised, controlled trial with three parallel arms (active acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and waitlist group). The active acupuncture and sham acupuncture groups will receive real or sham acupuncture treatment, respectively, three times per week for a total of 12 sessions over four weeks. Post-treatment follow-up will be performed a month later to complement these 12 acupuncture sessions. Participants in the waitlist group will not receive real or sham acupuncture treatments during this period but will only be required to keep recording their symptoms in a daily diary. After four weeks, the same treatment given to the active acupuncture group will be provided to the waitlist group.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This trial will provide evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for persistent allergic rhinitis. The primary outcome between groups is a change in the self-reported total nasal symptom score (i.e., nasal obstruction, rhinorrhea, sneezing, and itching) from baseline at the fourth week. Secondary outcome measures include the Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire score and total non-nasal symptom score (i.e., headache, itching, pain, eye-dropping). The quantity of conventional relief medication used during the follow-up period is another secondary outcome measure.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN90807007</p

KDM1A microenvironment, its oncogenic potential, and therapeutic significance

The lysine-specific histone demethylase 1A (KDM1A) was the first demethylase to challenge the concept of the irreversible nature of methylation marks. KDM1A, containing a flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent amine oxidase domain, demethylates histone 3 lysine 4 and histone 3 lysine 9 (H3K4me1/2 and H3K9me1/2). It has emerged as an epigenetic developmental regulator and was shown to be involved in carcinogenesis. The functional diversity of KDM1A originates from its complex structure and interactions with transcription factors, promoters, enhancers, oncoproteins, and tumor-associated genes (tumor suppressors and activators). In this review, we discuss the microenvironment of KDM1A in cancer progression that enables this protein to activate or repress target gene expression, thus making it an important epigenetic modifier that regulates the growth and differentiation potential of cells. A detailed analysis of the mechanisms underlying the interactions between KDM1A and the associated complexes will help to improve our understanding of epigenetic regulation, which may enable the discovery of more effective anticancer drugs

ILC Reference Design Report Volume 1 - Executive Summary

The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a 200-500 GeV center-of-mass high-luminosity linear electron-positron collider, based on 1.3 GHz superconducting radio-frequency (SCRF) accelerating cavities. The ILC has a total footprint of about 31 km and is designed for a peak luminosity of 2x10^34 cm^-2s^-1. This report is the Executive Summary (Volume I) of the four volume Reference Design Report. It gives an overview of the physics at the ILC, the accelerator design and value estimate, the detector concepts, and the next steps towards project realization.The International Linear Collider (ILC) is a 200-500 GeV center-of-mass high-luminosity linear electron-positron collider, based on 1.3 GHz superconducting radio-frequency (SCRF) accelerating cavities. The ILC has a total footprint of about 31 km and is designed for a peak luminosity of 2x10^34 cm^-2s^-1. This report is the Executive Summary (Volume I) of the four volume Reference Design Report. It gives an overview of the physics at the ILC, the accelerator design and value estimate, the detector concepts, and the next steps towards project realization