The interactions between accessibility and crash risk from a social equity perspective: A case study at the Rotterdam-The Hague metropolitan region.

PROBLEM: Transport policies generally prioritize improving safety and accessibility levels, as they are regarded as the most important indicators of the quality of the transport system serving the public. However, inequalities associated with safety and accessibility issues are generally overlooked in these policies. Despite the importance and necessity of transport policies to address equity issues, there is still scarce knowledge on the interactions between equity, safety, and accessibility. This research aims to address this gap in the literature by creating a better understanding of the relationships between accessibility levels and traffic safety with a focus on social equity perspectives. METHOD: A crash risk evaluation method and a Gravity model are utilized to analyze cycling safety and accessibility to jobs by bicycle. Two linear regression models (LM) were conducted to investigate the statistical correlations between cycling crash risk and accessibility. Moreover, the Bivariate local Moran's I method was employed to assess the spatial inequalities of distribution of crash risk and job accessibility over different income-level populations. RESULTS: The analyses showed that low-income people are not only disadvantaged in terms of job accessibility by bicycle but are also exposed to higher cycling crash risks, compared to high-income groups. Furthermore, most disadvantaged zones that have the highest need for road safety and accessibility improvements are identified as areas where low-income populations are exposed to higher crash risk and/or have lower access to jobs by bicycle. SUMMARY: This study contributes to the transport literature by investigating the interactions between safety and accessibility and the impacts on transport equity. The findings of the statistical and spatial analysis are beneficial for the decision-makers, considering the probable mutual implications of land-use and transport developments and projects aiming to improve safety, accessibility, or both for different population groups.

Prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia among healthy women of reproductive age in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of anemia and iron status as assessed by biochemical markers and to explore the associations between markers of iron status and iron intake. STUDY AREA AND POPULATION: Five hundred healthy women of reproductive age from the Bhaktapur district of Nepal were included in the study. METHODS: A cluster sampling procedure was applied for this cross-sectional study. Women without any ongoing infection aged 13-35 years were selected randomly from the population. We measured the plasma concentration of hemoglobin (Hb), ferritin and transferrin receptors. Dietary information was obtained by a food frequency questionnaire and two 24-h dietary recalls. RESULTS: The prevalence of anemia (Hb concentration <12 g/dl) was 12% (n=58). The prevalence of depleted iron stores (plasma ferritin <15 microg/l) was 20% (n=98) whereas the prevalence of iron deficiency anemia (anemia, depleted iron stores with elevated transferrin receptor i.e. >1.54 mg/l) was 6% (n=30). Seven percent (n=35) of women were having iron-deficient erythropoiesis (depleted iron stores and elevated transferrin receptor but normal Hb). Out of the 58 anemic women, 41 (71%) and 31 (53%) were also having elevated plasma transferrin receptor and depleted iron stores, respectively. Fifty-four percent of the women ate less than the recommended average intake of iron. The main foods contributing to dietary iron were rice, wheat flour and green and dry vegetables. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of anemia in our study was substantially lower than the national figure for non-pregnant women. Only about half of the women with anemia were also having depleted iron stores, suggesting that other causes of anemia may be prevalent in this population. SPONSORSHIP: Norwegian Universities Committee for Development, Research and Education (NUFU).

The prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency is more common in breastfed infants than their mothers in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Iron deficiency anemia is a widespread public health problem, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Maternal iron status around and during pregnancy may influence infant iron status. We examined multiple biomarkers to determine the prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia among breastfed infants and explored its relationship with maternal and infant characteristics in Bhaktapur, Nepal. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey, we randomly selected 500 mother-infant pairs from Bhaktapur municipality. Blood was analyzed for hemoglobin, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity, transferrin receptors and C-reactive protein. RESULTS: The altitude-adjusted prevalence of anemia was 49% among infants 2-6-month-old (hemaglobin (Hb) <10.8 g/dl) and 72% among infants 7-12-month-old (Hb <11.3 g/dl). Iron deficiency anemia, defined as anemia and serum ferritin <20 or <12 µg/l, affected 9 and 26% of infants of these same age groups. Twenty percent of mothers had anemia (Hb <12.3 g/dl), but only one-fifth was explained by depletion of iron stores. Significant predictors of infant iron status and anemia were infant age, sex and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and maternal ferritin concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that iron supplementation in pregnancy is likely to have resulted in a low prevalence of postpartum anemia. The higher prevalence of anemia and iron deficiency among breastfed infants compared with their mothers suggests calls for intervention targeting newborns and infants.

Effect of fish oil on indometacin-induced gastric lesions in rats.

The effect of fish oil in promoting the healing of indomethacin-induced gastric lesions was investigated in Wistar albino rats. After indomethacin treatment (30 mg/kg, s.c.), animals were given fish oil, olive oil, or normal diet for 48 h. The ulcer index was found to be decreased to 2.1 +/- 1.8 mm with fish oil, 13.7 +/1 5.4 mm with olive oil, and 14.6 +/- 2.4 mm with normal diet. Fish oil showed a potent healing-promoting effect on acute gastric erosions and ulcers induced by indomethacin and significantly enhanced the mucus content of the mucosa (p < 0.05).

Protective effect of fish oil against stress-induced gastric injury in rats.

The effect of fish oil and olive oil on the gastric mucosal damage induced by cold-restraint stress was investigated in rats. The oils were dietary supplemented for 3 weeks. The results demonstrate that a diet containing fish oil, when ingested for 3 weeks before exposure to stress, protected from gastric ulceration significantly (p < 0.01) and led to a statistically significant increase both in mucus and phospholipid content of the gastric mucosal barrier (p < 0.02 and p <0.001, resp.) in cold-restraint stress-induced gastric injury in rats. However, further studies are required to determine the role of dietary fish oils in the prophylaxis and treatment of peptic ulcer.