Endangered Sustainable Innovation: Indigenous Milk Hygiene and Preservation Techniques by Maasai Too Valuable to Lose

The indigenous Parakuyo Maasai communities of Tanzania are traditional pastoralists who depend on fresh cow’s milk as a staple food. However, the arid climate and a lack of clean water challenge milk production and conventional milk hygiene practices. By conducting informational interviews in eight Parakuyo Maasai regions and 13 districts of Tanzania we sought to identify the key indigenous plants preferred and establish their traditional manner of use. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to: (i) determine the plants used, (ii) the parts used, (iii) methods of preparation and utensil smoking, (iv) therapeutic applications and associated health benefits of these plants, and (v) alternative uses; that may suggest why they are used and preferred. Twenty plants were identified as being the most valuable, comprising predominantly hard wood trees and shrubs with strong aromas and astringent tastes suggestive of a role played by secondary metabolites. The most frequently mentioned plants, in order of preference, were: Zanthoxylum chalybeum (prickly ash; overall preference 26.6 %), Olea europaea subsp. africana (African wild olive; 11.9 %), Combretum molle (velvet bush willow; 11.4 %), Cordia ovalis/monoica (satin saucer berry; 9.5 %) and C. sinensis (oldoroko; 7.3 %). Many of these plants are also used medicinally by these pastoralists for a variety of infectious diseases, suggesting possible antimicrobial properties. Plant choices also tended to vary by local geography and the purpose to which the calabashes were assigned, e.g. old or new calabashes and milk stored for children or mothers. Nevertheless, the expertise of selecting these plants and their innovative applications is transmitted solely by the oral tradition. Further, climatic change is adversely affecting herbaceous habitats in these regions and inter-tribal territorial strife and land-grabs necessitate that the pastoralists remain nomadic. Unless we document and attempt to understand this old indigenous and sustainable hygiene know-how, it may be too late

Quality and Safety Aspects of Infant Nutrition

Quality and safety aspects of infant nutrition are of key importance for child health, but oftentimes they do not get much attention by health care professionals whose interest tends to focus on functional benefits of early nutrition. Unbalanced diets and harmful food components induce particularly high risks for untoward effects in infants because of their rapid growth, high nutrient needs, and their typical dependence on only one or few foods during the first months of life. The concepts, standards and practices that relate to infant food quality and safety were discussed at a scientific workshop organized by the Child Health Foundation and the Early Nutrition Academy jointly with the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and a summary is provided here. The participants reviewed past and current issues on quality and safety, the role of different stakeholders, and recommendations to avert future issues. It was concluded that a high level of quality and safety is currently achieved, but this is no reason for complacency. The food industry carries the primary responsibility for the safety and suitability of their products, including the quality of composition, raw materials and production processes. Introduction of new or modified products should be preceded by a thorough science based review of suitability and safety by an independent authority. Food safety events should be managed on an international basis. Global collaboration of food producers, food-safety authorities, paediatricians and scientists is needed to efficiently exchange information and to best protect public health. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

Arcanobacterium phocae infection in mink (Neovison vison), seals (Phoca vitulina, Halichoerus grypus) and otters (Lutra lutra)

Abstract Background Infectious skin disorders are not uncommon in mink. Such disorders are important as they have a negative impact on animal health and welfare as well as on the quality and value of the fur. This study presents the isolation of Arcanobacterium phocae from mink with severe skin lesions and other pathological conditions, and from wild seals and otters. Results In 2015, A. phocae was isolated for the first time in Denmark from outbreaks of dermatitis in mink farms. The outbreaks affected at least 12 farms. Originating from these 12 farms, 23 animals cultured positive for A. phocae. The main clinical findings were necrotizing pododermatitis or dermatitis located to other body sites, such as the lumbar and cervical regions. A. phocae could be isolated from skin lesions and in nine animals also from liver, spleen and lung, indicating a systemic spread. The bacterium was also, for the first time in Denmark, detected in dead seals (n = 9) (lungs, throat or wounds) and otters (n = 2) (throat and foot). Conclusions An infectious skin disorder in mink associated with A. phocae has started to occur in Danish farmed mink. The origin of the infection has not been identified and it is still not clear what the pathogenesis or the port of entry for A. phocae infections are

Digital Work Design

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)More and more academic studies and practitioner reports claim that human work is increasingly disrupted or even determined by information and communication technology (ICT) (Cascio and Montealegre 2016). This will make a considerable share of jobs currently performed by humans susceptible to automation (e.g., Frey and Osborne 2017; Manyika et al. 2017). These reports often sketch a picture of ‘machines taking over’ traditional domains like manufacturing, while ICT advances and capabilities seem to decide companies’ fate. Consequently, ICT is often put at the core of innovative efforts. While this applies to nearly all areas of workplace design, a recent popular example of increasing technology centricity is ‘Industry 4.0’, which is often delineated as ‘machines talking to computers’

Listeria monocytogenes in Milk Products

peer-reviewedMilk and milk products are frequently identified as vectors for transmission of Listeria monocytogenes. Milk can be contaminated at farm level either by indirect external contamination from the farm environment or less frequently by direct contamination of the milk from infection in the animal. Pasteurisation of milk will kill L. monocytogenes, but post-pasteurisation contamination, consumption of unpasteurised milk and manufacture of unpasteurised milk products can lead to milk being the cause of outbreaks of listeriosis. Therefore, there is a concern that L. monocytogenes in milk could lead to a public health risk. To protect against this risk, there is a need for awareness surrounding the issues, hygienic practices to reduce the risk and adequate sampling and analysis to verify that the risk is controlled. This review will highlight the issues surrounding L. monocytogenes in milk and milk products, including possible control measures. It will therefore create awareness about L. monocytogenes, contributing to protection of public health

Competitive Benchmarking: An IS Research Approach to Address Wicked Problems with Big Data and Analytics

Wicked problems like sustainable energy and financial market stability are societal challenges that arise from complex socio-technical systems in which numerous social, economic, political, and technical factors interact. Understanding and mitigating them requires research methods that scale beyond the traditional areas of inquiry of Information Systems (IS) “individuals, organizations, and markets” and that deliver solutions in addition to insights. We describe an approach to address these challenges through Competitive Benchmarking (CB), a novel research method that helps interdisciplinary research communities to tackle complex challenges of societal scale by using different types of data from a variety of sources such as usage data from customers, production patterns from producers, public policy and regulatory constraints, etc. for a given instantiation. Further, the CB platform generates data that can be used to improve operational strategies and judge the effectiveness of regulatory regimes and policies. We describe our experience applying CB to the sustainable energy challenge in the Power Trading Agent Competition (Power TAC) in which more than a dozen research groups from around the world jointly devise, benchmark, and improve IS-based solutions

FDG PET-CT demonstration of metastatic neuroendocrine tumor of prostate

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: FDG PET-CT is generally not suitable for diagnosing prostate cancer because of low glycolysis of the tumor cells. Neuroendocrine differentiation of the prostate cancer is often associated with early visceral metastasis and dismal prognosis, which is resulted from changed metabolic and regulatory pathways. Case presentation: A case is reported in this paper that FDG PET-CT demonstrates intense uptake of neuroendocrine tumor of the prostate and multiple metastases. Conclusion: There is high glycolysis and strong FDG-avidity of neuroendocrine tumor of the prostate, which is similar to that of high grade of neuroendocrine tumor in other tissue and organs. In some selected cases of prostate neuroendocrine cancer, whole body FDG PET-CT may be helpful for detection of metastatic disease. Background Positron emission tomography (PET) is a new imaging modality which has been widely used for detection o

Fluid Status in Peritoneal Dialysis Patients: The European Body Composition Monitoring (EuroBCM) Study Cohort

BACKGROUND: Euvolemia is an important adequacy parameter in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. However, accurate tools to evaluate volume status in clinical practice and data on volume status in PD patients as compared to healthy population, and the associated factors, have not been available so far. METHODS: We used a bio-impedance spectroscopy device, the Body Composition Monitor (BCM) to assess volume status in a cross-sectional cohort of prevalent PD patients in different European countries. The results were compared to an age and gender matched healthy population. RESULTS: Only 40% out of 639 patients from 28 centres in 6 countries were normovolemic. Severe fluid overload was present in 25.2%. There was a wide scatter in the relation between blood pressure and volume status. In a multivariate analysis in the subgroup of patients from countries with unrestricted availability of all PD modalities and fluid types, older age, male gender, lower serum albumin, lower BMI, diabetes, higher systolic blood pressure, and use of at least one exchange per day with the highest hypertonic glucose were associated with higher relative tissue hydration. Neither urinary output nor ultrafiltration, PD fluid type or PD modality were retained in the model (total R² of the model = 0.57). CONCLUSIONS: The EuroBCM study demonstrates some interesting issues regarding volume status in PD. As in HD patients, hypervolemia is a frequent condition in PD patients and blood pressure can be a misleading clinical tool to evaluate volume status. To monitor fluid balance, not only fluid output but also dietary input should be considered. Close monitoring of volume status, a correct dialysis prescription adapted to the needs of the patient and dietary measures seem to be warranted to avoid hypervolemia

The Macroeconomic Effects of the Euro Area's Fiscal Consolidation 2011-2013: A Simulation-Based Approach

We simulate the Euro Area's fiscal consolidation between 2011 and 2013 by employing two DSGE models used by the ECB and the European Commission, respectively. The cumulative multiplier amounts to 0.7 and 1.0 in the baseline, but increases to 1.3 with a reasonably calibrated financial accelerator and a crisis-related increase of the share of liquidity constrained households. In the latter scenario, fiscal consolidation would be largely responsible for the decline in the output gap from 2011-2013. Postponing the fiscal consolidation to a period of unconstrained monetary policy (until after the economic recovery) would have avoided most of these losses.Wir simulieren die Haushaltskonsolidierung im Euroraum im Zeitraum 2011 bis 2013 mit Hilfe von zwei DSGE Modellen der EZB und der Europäischen Kommission. Der kumulative Multiplikator beträgt 0.7 bzw. 1.0 in der Basislinie, steigt aber auf 1.3, wenn die Modelle um einen plausibel kalibrierter Finanzakzelerator erweitert und der Anteil liquiditätsbeschränkter Haushalte krisenbedingt erhöht wird. Im letzteren Szenario trägt die Haushaltskonsolidierung die maßgebliche Verantwortung für die Verschlechterung der Produktionslücke im Zeitraum 2011 bis 2013. Wäre die Haushaltskonsolidierung erst in einer Phase mit uneingeschränktem geldpolitischen Handlungsspielraum vorgenommen worden (d.h. nach der Erholung der Wirtschaft) hätte der Großteil der BIP-Verluste verhindert werden können

Osteonecrosis of the Maxilla and Mandible in Patients with Advanced Cancer Treated with Bisphosphonate Therapy

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139939/1/onco0911.pd