Nutrition education alone improves dietary practices but not hematologic indices of adolescent girls in Iran

BACKGROUND: Iron-deficiency anemia is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency worldwide. Iron-deficiency anemia has particular negative consequences on women in their childbearing years, and its prevention is a high priority in most health systems. OBJECTIVE: This interventional study assessed the effect of nutrition education on hematologic indices, iron status, nutritional knowledge, and nutritional practices of high-school girls in Iran. METHODS: Sixty healthy 16- to 18-year-old girls were randomly selected from two high schools in the city of Ahvaz and divided into two equally matched groups, one that received nutrition education, and one that did not. The education group received instruction in face-to-face sessions, group discussions, and pamphlets for 2 months. The control group did not receive any information during the study. Hematologic tests, corpuscular indices, and serum ferritin levels were measured at baseline and after 2 months. Food-frequency questionnaires were administered and histories taken, clinical signs of nutritional deficiencies observed, anthropometric measurements taken, nutritional knowledge tested, practices determined, and lifestyle questionnaires administered to all subjects. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in any baseline characteristics between the two groups. Scores for nutritional knowledge and practices of the education group were significantly higher after two months compared with the baseline (31.4 +/- 6 vs. 24.3 +/- 5.9 points, p < .001, and 31.2 +/- 5 vs. 28.4 +/- 5.7 points, p < .05, respectively). The scores in the control group showed no significant changes from baseline to 2 months. Mean corpuscular volume values were elevated in the education group (p < .001) but not in the control group. However, in the control group, serum ferritin concentrations showed about a 17% drop at the end of the study (p < .004). There were no changes in other hematologic, lifestyle, clinical, or anthropometric data compared with baseline after completion of the study in both groups. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that nutritional education can improve knowledge of healthy nutrition and lifestyle choices. Focused nutritional education using available resources and correcting current dietary habits in a vulnerable group of young women may result in dietary changes that can ultimately improve iron intake.     

Thermal properties of new varieties of yam starches

Starches isolated from yam varieties of Dioscorea alata and Dioscorea cayenensis‐rotundata species were prepared at different time–temperature conditions and characterised by DSC, amperometric iodine titration, light microscopy and rheology and compared to native and chemical modified tapioca starches. The observation by light microscopy showed different morphologies of the granules when heated above 100°C and the tendency for disintegration decreased in the order native tapioca starch > yam starch > modified tapioca starch. Differences between yam and tapioca starches were also revealed by DSC. Yam starch enthalpy is higher than tapioca starch, but the peak temperature is low. However, the significant differences between yam and the other tested starches were found in terms of their rheological behaviour. The viscosity of yam starch was very stable at high temperatures on the viscograph. With this property, yam starch can be used as thickening and gelling agent in food.     

Measurement of Consumed Energy Due to the Two-Phase Pressure Drop in a Pulsed Semi-Industrial Column: Effect of Geometry

This article deals with the evaluation of pressure drop and consumption of energy for a steady-state solvent extraction in a horizontal pulsed sieve-plate column, which are important for the design and optimization of the periodic-flow processes for industrial applications. In this study, the pressure drop and the position of loading points are investigated. Moreover, a mathematical evaluation on the energy consumption in the case of a pulsed flow is conducted, and besides the influence of pulsation intensity, the effect of geometrical parameters including the plate spacing and plate-free area is investigated as well. The results of this study are helpful for optimization of column geometry targeted to higher performance and lower energy consumption.     

Postpartum depression and vitamin D: A systematic review

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent mood disorder estimated to affect 20%–40% of women worldwide after childbirth. In recent studies, the effect of vitamin D on prevention of mood disorders and depression has been investigated, but it is still unclear how vitamin D may affect PPD. The evidence on the relevance between vitamin D deficiency and PPD is inconsistent, and assessment of the recent literature has not previously been carried out. Moreover, there are few clinical studies on PPD and vitamin D supplementation. Five studies have so far assessed the relationship between the levels of vitamin D and PPD. Findings from cohort studies suggest that vitamin-D deficiency is related to the incidence of PPD and vitamin D may play a significant role in the recovery of women with PPD, but it is uncertain whether these actions are the effect of vitamin D on the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the levels of estradiol, serotonin, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and/or of other mechanisms involved in PPD.     

The role of Persian-language word exercise games in improving spelling of students with dyslexia: Word exercise games in improving spelling

Children with dyslexia have reduced sensitivity to phonological sounds and words, and this deficiency in lexical processing causes many problems for them. Word exercise games based on phonological awareness have emphasized the mistakes of students with dyslexia, attempting to help children avoid these mistakes. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of Persian-language word exercise games on the spelling of students with dyslexia. The design of the present study was quasi-experimental, with a pretest and posttest of an experimental group and a control group. Participants were 30 students with dyslexia from second grade to fifth grade in elementary schools in Bojnord, who completed the spelling test as a pretest and posttest. The experimental group played eleven 40-min sessions of word exercise games. The results showed that the word exercise programme improved the spelling of the children with dyslexia. This suggests that basing training on the phonological mistakes of students with dyslexia and using the word exercise games can improve their spelling.     

Fault‐tolerant control of distributed systems by information pattern reconfiguration

Given a fault‐tolerance strategy and a distributed control system, the set of recoverable faults depends on the information pattern that is implemented. This paper shows that fault‐tolerance can be achieved, when possible, by the reconfiguration of the information pattern. A necessary and sufficient recoverability condition is provided, and sub‐optimal solutions are developed for actuator and sensor faults under system reconfiguration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of varietal change in roots,tubers and bananas: consumer preferences and other drivers of adoption and implications for breeding

This review of the literature on varietal change in sub-Saharan Africa looks in detail at adoption of new varieties of bananas in Uganda, cassava in Nigeria, potato in Kenya, sweetpotato in Uganda and yams in Côte d’Ivoire. The review explored three hypotheses about drivers of varietal change. There was a strong confirmation for the hypothesis that insufficient priority given to consumer-preferred traits by breeding programmes contributes to the limited uptake of modern varieties (MVs) and low varietal turnover. Lack of evidence meant the second hypothesis of insufficient attention to understanding and responding to gender differences in consumer preferences for quality and post-harvest traits was unresolved. The evidence on the third hypothesis about the informal seed system contributing to slow uptake of MVs was mixed. In some cases, the informal system has contributed to rapid uptake of MVs, but often it appears to be a barrier with inconsistent varietal naming a major challenge.     

Structural,Thermal and Luminescence Properties of AlN:Tm Thin Films Deposited on Silicon Substrate and Optical Fiber

Semiconductors - Thin films of AlN:Tm are deposited on a Si(111) and Si(100) substrates and optical fiber by rf magnetron sputtering method. 200–400 nm thick films are deposited at various...     

Soil moisture estimation using land surface temperature and soil temperature at 5 cm depth

Soil Temperature (ST) data, obtained from either field works or satellite imagery, has frequently been studied for Soil Moisture (SM) estimation. However, a combination of ST data at different depths and soil surface temperature, i.e., Surface Radiometric Temperature (SRT) or Land Surface Temperature (LST), has not yet been well investigated for accurate SM prediction. In this study, an empirical model was first developed to estimate SM at 5 cm Depth (SM_5D) over areas with no or sparse vegetation cover using the field SRT and field ST data at 5 cm Depth (ST_5D). A Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.037 m³ m^?3 and 0.8 were obtained using this model, respectively. Then, the SRT was substituted by the LST obtained from Landsat thermal bands and ST_5D was estimated using the ST data collected at the nearest weather station to the study area by developing a regression equation. The second model demonstrated an RMSE and r of 0.035 m³ m^?3 and 0.71, respectively. Overall, it was concluded that the proposed models had high potential for SM estimation using the ST data at different depths collected in the field or acquired by optical satellites.