Assessing Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements Marketed to Children in Canada.

Given the growth of supplements specifically designed for children in Canada, this study examines the nutrient levels of these products, and evaluates them in light of the US Health and Medical Division (HMD)-formerly the Institute of Medicine-and Health Canada's recommendations. Content analysis was used to document the nutrient levels of child-targeted vitamins, minerals and fish oils/omega-3s (n = 80) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Products were assessed according to HMD and Health Canada dosage recommendations for children, and the percentage of Estimate Average Requirements (EAR), Adequate Intakes (AI), and Tolerable Upper Intakes Level (UL) calculated. Median EAR/AI/UL percentages and quartiles were calculated for each nutrient, and estimates for the adequate intake recommendations plotted with box plots. Sixty five percent of the products assessed were multivitamins; the median dose was higher than AI recommendations for vitamins A, B6, B12, and C, as well as thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and biotin. Substantial variation in vitamin, mineral, or fish oil dosage was found between similar supplements-with nutrients such as vitamin B12 ranging from 83% to 5557% of AI. Such findings matter because the very existence of these products suggests that children should be taking them, yet more research is needed on their potential (adverse) effects over both the short and long term. The substantial variation in dosages between products also raises questions about the (perhaps unnecessary) fortification of our children, as well as the expectations that parents know-or are even aware of-appropriate nutrient levels for their kids.

Chromium uptake by lettuce as affected by the application of organic matter and Cr(VI)-irrigation water: Implications to the land use and water management.

Toxic chromium [(Cr(VI)] in food chain has created an alarming situation for human life and ecosystems. The present study through a greenhouse pot experiment aims to (a) investigate the ability of organic matter in reducing Cr uptake by lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) from a sandy loam soil irrigating with Cr(VI)-water, (b) to provide a way for the restriction of Cr transfer from contaminated soils and irrigation water to plants/crops and (c) to contribute to the better management of soil (land) and water use, without reduction of the agricultural production. Since soil and groundwater contamination by Cr is a potential risk in a worldwide scale, due to industrial activities and/or natural processes, organic carbon may play a key role in the mobility of added Cr(VI) to soil via irrigation water, in a significant way. The cultivation of lettuce, using organic matter in the form of leonardite (10 and 30 wt%) and Cr(VI)-irrigation water (100, 200 and 300 mgL-1), showed that the uptake of Cr in both shoots and roots increased with increasing concentration of Cr in the irrigation water. The highest Cr values in shoots (average = 10 mg/kg) and in roots (average = 28 mg/kg) were recorded in those plants cultivated in soil after the addition of Cr(VI)- water without organic matter, whereas the lowest Cr values in shoots (average = 0.44 mg/kg) and in roots (average = 0.7 mg/kg) were recorded in those plants cultivated in soil with addition of 30 wt% organic matter. The used leonardite as organic matter that is an oxidized form of lignite, due to its high content of humic acid is considered to be a useful organic fertilizer that provides possibilities for combining food production with soil protection. Therefore, the application of the natural organic material leonardite, as a land management technique, seems to be a cost-effective method consistent to related protocols for the protection of the soil quality.

Violence, selection and infant mortality in Congo.

This paper documents the effects of the recent civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo on mortality both in utero and during the first year of life. It instruments for conflict intensity using a mineral price index, which exploits the exogenous variation in the potential value of mineral resources generated by changes in world mineral prices to predict the geographic distribution of the conflict. Using estimates of civil war exposure on mortality across male and female newborn to assess their relative health, it provides evidence of culling effect (in utero selection) as a consequence of in utero shocks.

Using Hemospray Improves the Cost-effectiveness Ratio in the Management of Upper Gastrointestinal Nonvariceal Bleeding.

GOALS: We compared the cost-effectiveness of traditional recommended endoscopic hemostatic therapies and Hemospray alone or in combination when treating nonvariceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding (NVUGIB). BACKGROUND: Hemospray (TC-325) is a novel endoscopic hemostatic powder, achieving hemostasis through adherence to actively bleeding biological surfaces. STUDY: A decision tree of patients with NVUGIB assessed 4 possible treatment strategies: traditional therapy alone (T), Hemospray alone (H), traditional therapy completed by Hemospray if needed (T+H), or Hemospray completed by traditional therapy if needed (H+T). Using published probabilities, effectiveness was the likelihood of avoiding rebleeding over 30 days. Costs in 2014 US$ were based on the US National Inpatient Sample. A third-party payer perspective was adopted. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed. RESULTS: For all patients, T+H was more efficacious (97% avoiding rebleeding) and less expensive (average cost per patient of US$9150) than all other approaches. The second most cost-effective approach was H+T (5.57% less effective and US$635 more per patient). Sensitivity analyses showed T+H followed by a strategy of H+T remained more cost-effective than H or T alone when varying all probability assumptions across plausible ranges. Subgroup analysis showed that the inclusion of H (especially alone) was least adapted for ulcers and was more cost-effective when treating lesions at low risk of delayed rebleeding. CONCLUSIONS: Hemospray improves the effectiveness of traditional hemostasis, being less costly in most NVUGIB patient populations. A Hemospray first approach is most cost-effective for nonulcer bleeding lesions at low risk of delayed hemorrhage.

Nanofertilizers: New Products for the Industry?

Mineral fertilizers are key to food production, despite plant low nutrient uptake efficiencies and high losses. However, nanotechnology can both enhance crop productivity and reduce nutrient losses. This has raised interest in nanoscale and nanoenabled bulk fertilizers, hence the concept of nanofertilizers. Nevertheless, large-scale industrial production of nanofertilizers is yet to be realized. Here, we highlight the science-based evidence and outstanding concerns for motivating fertilizer industry production of nanofertilizers, including the notion of toxicity associated with nanoscale materials; scant nanofertilizer research with key crop nutrients; inadequacy of soil- or field-based studies with nanofertilizers; type of nanomaterials to produce as fertilizers; how to efficiently and effectively apply nanofertilizers at the field scale; and the economics of nanofertilizers. It is anticipated that the development and validation of nanofertilizers that are nondisruptive to existing bulk fertilizer production systems will motivate the industry's involvement in nanofertilizers.

Framework for resilience in material supply chains, with a case study from the 2010 Rare Earth Crisis.

In 2010, Chinese export restrictions caused the price of the rare earth element neodymium to increase by a factor of 10, only to return to almost normal levels in the following months. This despite the fact that the restrictions were not lifted. The significant price peak shows that this material supply chain was only weakly resistant to a major supply disruption. However, the fact that prices rapidly returned to lower levels implies a certain resilience. With the help of a novel approach, based on resilience theory combined with a material flow analysis (MFA) based representation of the neodymium magnet (NdFeB) supply chain, we show that supply chain resilience is composed of various mechanisms, including (a) resistance, (b) rapidity, and (c) flexibility, that originate from different parts of the supply chain. We make recommendations to improve the capacity of the NdFeB system to deal with future disruptions and discuss potential generalities for the resilience of other material supply chains.

[Inventories of the Earth. Mineral resource appraisals and the rise of resource economics]. / Inventuren der Erde. Vorratsschätzungen für mineralische Rohstoffe und die Etablierung der Ressourcenökonomie.

How do the earth sciences mediate between the natural and social world? This paper explores the question by focusing on the history of nonfuel mineral resource appraisal from the late nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. It argues that earth sciences early on embraced social scientific knowledge, i.e. economic knowledge, in particular, when it came to determining or deposits and estimating the magnitude of mineral reserves. After 1900, assessing national and global mineral reserves and their "life span" or years of supply became ever more important, scaling up and complementing traditional appraisal practices on the level of individual mines or mining and trading companies. As a consequence, economic methods gained new weight for mineral resource estimation. Natural resource economics as an own field of research grew out of these efforts. By way of example, the mineral resource appraisal assigned to the U.S. Materials Policy Commission by President Harry S. Truman in 1951 is analyzed in more detail. Natural resource economics and environmental economics might be interpreted as a strategy to bring down the vast and holistically conceived object of geological and ecological research, the earth, to human scale, and assimilate it into social matters.

[Factors influencing on the Silesian University students' decisions concerning purchasing of vitamin and mineral food supplements]. / Czynniki decydujace o zakupie suplementów diety zawierajacych witaminy i skladniki mineralne przez studentów Slaskiego Uniwersytetu medycznego.

Correctly composed diet covers the demands of a healthy adult for nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Nowadays constant increase of vitamin and mineral supplements of diet intake is observed. Customers have a great choice of diet supplements on Polish market. They are diversified under the quality and quantitative accounts. The main aim of this study was to evaluate main factors of Silesian University students' choice while they are purchasing particular diet supplements. The questionnaire survey was conducted in a group of 208 students at the age of 19 to 24. 99.5% of them admitted that they have supplemented their diets with vitamin and mineral preparations until the moment of the experiment. The results indicate that main factors that influence the students' decisions on purchasing these preparations are: composition of the supplement, price and convenient dosing regimen. Respondents indicate the internet as a main source of information on the supplements being discussed in the following study.

The adult vitamin and mineral supplement maze.

OBJECTIVE: The content and daily cost of 14 popular multi-vitamin/ multi-mineral (MVMM) supplements promoted for adults 50 years of age or older in the United States were compared in order to provide pharmacists with objective information, enabling them to make more informed recommendations for these products. DATA SOURCES: The labeled ingredients for MVMM products contained on Drug Topic's "Top 200" over-the-counter product list and for several other popular brands were compared with the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) recommendations for the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) of micronutrients. DATA SYNTHESIS: DRIs for micronutrients are generally the same for adults between ages 31 to 70. However, vitamin B6, vitamin D, and calcium have increased daily DRIs for adults 50 years of age or older, and the DRI for vitamin D for those 70 years of age and older is higher. All products reviewed met IOM's recommendations for vitamin B6 and vitamin D for individuals 70 years of age or older. No product contained the daily DRI for calcium, particularly products designed for men. The cost and number of tablets per daily dose for MVMM varies and may affect product selection. CONCLUSIONS: The most significant difference among MVMM products is the calcium content. IOM's recommendations for calcium are the same for both genders 50 years of age or older, but products developed for men contain very low amounts of calcium compared with products for women. Individuals who have a low dietary intake of vitamin D and calcium should take additional supplements with a daily MVMM. Formulations change frequently, and pharmacists should read labeling before making any specific product recommendations.

LCA to choose among alternative design solutions: the case study of a new Italian incineration line.

At international level LCA is being increasingly used to objectively evaluate the performances of different Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management solutions. One of the more important waste management options concerns MSW incineration. LCA is usually applied to existing incineration plants. In this study LCA methodology was applied to a new Italian incineration line, to facilitate the prediction, during the design phase, of its potential environmental impacts in terms of damage to human health, ecosystem quality and consumption of resources. The aim of the study was to analyse three different design alternatives: an incineration system with dry flue gas cleaning (without- and with-energy recovery) and one with wet flue gas cleaning. The last two technological solutions both incorporating facilities for energy recovery were compared. From the results of the study, the system with energy recovery and dry flue gas cleaning revealed lower environmental impacts in relation to the ecosystem quality. As LCA results are greatly affected by uncertainties of different types, the second part of the work provides for an uncertainty analysis aimed at detecting the extent output data from life cycle analysis are influenced by uncertainty of input data, and employs both qualitative (pedigree matrix) and quantitative methods (Monte Carlo analysis).

Assessing the addition of mineral processing waste to green waste-derived compost: an agronomic, environmental and economic appraisal.

The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the benefit of mixing two large volume wastes, namely mineral processing waste and source-segregated green waste compost, on the growth performance of plants targeted towards high (horticulture/agriculture) and low (amenity/restoration) value markets. The secondary aims were to evaluate the influence of mineral waste type on plant growth performance and to undertake a simple economic analysis of the use of mineral-compost mixtures in land restoration. Our results showed that in comparison to organic wastes, mineral wastes contained a low available nutrient content which reduces compost quality. This is supported by growth trials with tomato, wheat and grass which showed that, irrespective of mineral source, plants performed poorly in compost blended with mineral waste in comparison to those grown in green waste or peat-based compost alone. In terms of consumer confidence, unlike other wastes (e.g. biosolids and construction/demolition waste) the mineral quarry wastes can be expected to be free of potentially toxic elements, however, the production costs of compost-mineral waste mixtures and subsequent transport costs may limit its widespread use. In addition, handling of the material can be difficult under wet conditions and effective blending may require the purchase of specialist equipment. From our results, we conclude that mineral fines may prove useful for low quality, low value landscaping activities close to the source of production but are unsuited to high value markets.

A cost-utility analysis of multivitamin and multimineral supplements in men and women aged 65 years and over.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: As people age there is a progressive dysregulation of the immune system that may lead to an increased risk of infections, which may precipitate hospital admission in people with chronic heart or respiratory diseases. Mineral and vitamin supplementation in older people could therefore influence infections in older people. However, the evidence from the available randomised controlled trials (RCTs) is mixed. The aim of the study was to assess the relative efficiency of multivitamin and multimineral supplementation compared with no supplementation. METHODS: Cost-utility analysis alongside an RCT. Participants aged 65 years or over from six general practices in Grampian, Scotland, were studied. They were randomised to one tablet daily of either a multivitamin and multimineral supplement or matching placebo. Exclusion criteria were use of mineral, vitamin or fish oil supplements in the previous 3 months (1 month for water soluble vitamins), vitamin B12 injection in the last 3 months. RESULTS: Nine hundred and ten participants were recruited (454 placebo and 456 supplementation). Use of health service resources and costs were similar between the two groups. The supplementation arm was more costly although this was not statistically significant ( pound15 per person, 95% CI-3.75 to 34.95). After adjusting for minimisation and baseline EQ-5D scores supplementation was associated with fewer QALYs per person (-0.018, 95% CI-0.04 to 0.002). It was highly unlikely that supplementation would be considered cost effective. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from this study suggests that it is highly unlikely that supplementation could be considered cost effective.

Where will large amounts of materials accumulated within the economy go?--A material flow analysis of construction minerals for Japan.

For all countries analyzed so far, Material Flow Analysis/Accounting (MFA) studies indicate that the overall stock of materials within the economy is growing. Most are construction minerals such as asphalt, cement, sand and gravel, crushed stone, and other aggregates. In the analyses described in this paper, flows and stocks of construction minerals were estimated for Japan from the past to the future to elucidate: (1) the mechanisms by which construction minerals become waste, and (2) the future supply of and demand for recycled crushed stone. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) The amounts of waste construction minerals generated have been and will be at much lower levels than the domestic demand for construction minerals. These differences might indicate consistent growth of the stock of construction minerals, which will become waste in the future. However, certain amounts of materials that we account for as stock can be interpreted already in the environment as dead stock or dissipated waste; such materials can be called "missing stock" or "dissipated stock". Capturing that missing or dissipated stock is very important because it provides information that clarifies the environmental impacts and loss of resources that these materials cause; it allows estimation of appropriate future waste generation. (2) The amount of construction minerals that are recognized as waste was estimated to increase in the future. An imbalance in the supply of and demand for recycled crushed stone will likely occur in the near future if an expected decline in future road construction is considered.

Correction for errors in measuring adherence to prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplement use among low-income women.

Adherence to prenatal multivitamin/mineral supplement use is often measured by self-reports or pill counts. Although both measures were shown to overestimate adherence, measurement error is rarely considered. In this study, we examined measurement error in adherence to prenatal supplement use among pregnant women and demonstrated a calibration method to adjust for error. In a validation subsample (n=51) from a larger clinical study of supplementation, adherence was assessed by self-reports, pill counts, and a Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS) bottle cap that recorded the date and time of each opening of the pill bottle. Mean adherence in the validation sample as measured by the MEMS (the gold standard) was 68%; thus, adherence measured by self-report (77%) and pill count (84%) reflected overestimation. The Pearson correlation coefficients of self-reports and pill counts to MEMS were 0.35 and 0.62, respectively. When adherence was defined as taking >or=75% of the pills prescribed, sensitivity and specificity were greater for pill counts (93 and 52%, respectively) than for self-reports (88 and 44%). The regression coefficient for pill count adherence from a linear regression on MEMS adherence was applied to pill counts from a larger sample (n=244). The adjustment significantly lowered the estimate of adherence from 74 to 64% (P<0.001) in this larger sample. In conclusion, our data show that both self-reports and pill counts overestimate adherence and that linear regression in comparison to an external standard such as MEMS can be used to correct for measurement error in adherence.