Interactions among Micronutrient Deficiencies and Undernutrition in the Philippines

Data gathered from the 1987 National Nutrition Survey in the Philippines provided the opportunity to study the interactions among micronutrient deficiencies and undernutrition in different age groups as basis for program targeting. A randomly selected set of 50% of the households (3,200) covered by the national survey served as source of subjects. Results showed that there was a greater proportion of anemia among the undernourished (as judged by weight for age in children and weight for height in adults) (66.0%)than among the adequately nourished (54.6%) (P <0.01 ). However, the observed differencesin the proportion of serum vitamin A deficiency and of goiter among the undernourished compared to the adequately nourished were not significant. Also not significant were the observed higher prevalence of anemia among subjects with acceptable serum vitamin A levels for both adequately nourished and undernourished, and the higher prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among the non-anemics. Again there were no significant differences in the prevalence of anemia among goitrous and non-goitrous subjects, as well as the prevalence of goiter among anemic and non-anemic subjects. Neither were there significant differences in the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among goitrous and non-goitrous subjects, but there were significant differences in the prevalence of goiter among vitamin A deficient and non-vitamin A defjcient subjects among the 7-14 years old and among pregnant and lactating women.The study concludes that at the national level, there is apparently an interaction between anemia and protein-energy undernutrition and possibly also between goiter and vitamin A deficiency in the high-risk age groups, but between anemia on the one hand and goiter and vitamin A deficiency in the other, perhaps because of clustering in the latter conditions not found in anemia and general undernutrition. These findings may be useful in targeting communities with high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies by using prevalence of underweight and goiter as indicators for high prevalence of anemia and vitamin A deficiency, respectively

Gut microbiome:Linking together obesity,bariatric surgery and associated clinical outcomes under a single focus

Obesity is increasingly prevalent in the post-industrial era,with increased mortality rates.The gut microbiota has a central role in immunological,nutritional and metabolism mediated functions,and due to its multiplexity,it is considered an independent organ.Modern high-throughput sequencing techniques have allowed phylogenetic exploration and quantitative analyses of gut microbiome and improved our current understanding of the gut microbiota in health and disease.Its role in obesity and its changes following bariatric surgery have been highlighted in several studies.According to current literature,obesity is linked to a particular microbiota profile that grants the host an augmented potential for calorie release,while limited diversity of gut microbiome has also been observed.Moreover,bariatric surgery procedures represent effective interventions for sustained weight loss and restore a healthier microbiota,contributing to the observed fat mass reduction and lean mass increase.However,newer evidence has shown that gut microbiota is only partially recovered following bariatric surgery.Moreover,several targets including FGF15/19(a gutderived peptide),could be responsible for the favorable metabolic changes of bariatric surgery.More randomized controlled trials and larger prospective studies that include well-defined cohorts are required to better identify associations between gut microbiota,obesity,and bariatric surgery.

Dynamics and Availability of Different Pools of Manganese in Semiarid Soils as Affected by Cropping System and Fertilization

Manganese(Mn) deficiencies are common in soils on the Loess Plateau of China. This research provided essential information on improving Mn availability in semiarid soils through agricultural practices. Twelve cropping system and fertilization treatments were designed in a 28-year experiment. The cropping systems included long-term fallow, continuous winter wheat cropping, pea(1 year)-winter wheat(2 years)-millet(1 year) rotation(crop-legume rotation) cropping, and continuous alfalfa cropping. The fertilizer treatments under the cropping systems included no-fertilizer control(CK), application of P fertilizer(P), application of N and P fertilizers(NP), and application of N and P fertilizers and manure(NPM), but the NP treatment was excluded in the continuous alfalfa cropping system. Available Mn and Mn fractions of soil samples(0–20 and 20–40 cm depths) were measured and further analyzed quantitatively using path analyses. Results showed that the crop-legume rotation and continuous alfalfa cropping systems significantly increased available Mn compared with the fallow soil. Compared with the no-fertilizer control, manure application increased available Mn in soil of the continuous wheat cropping system. Across all treatments, the averaged content of mineral-, oxide-, carbonateand organic matter-bound and exchangeable Mn accounted for 42.08%, 38.59%, 10.05%, 4.59%, and 0.09% of the total Mn in soil,respectively. Cropping significantly increased exchangeable Mn in soil and the highest increase was 185.7% in the continuous wheat cropping system at 0–20 cm depth, compared with the fallow soil. Fertilization generally increased exchangeable and carbonate-bound Mn in soil. Carbonate-bound Mn was the main and direct source of available Mn in soil, followed by exchangeable and organic matterbound Mn. These results indicated that crop-legume rotation cropping, continuous alfalfa cropping and application of manure, have the potential to promote Mn availability in soils of rainfed farmlands.