BackgroundICU patients lose muscle mass rapidly and maintenance of muscle mass may contribute to improved survival rates and quality of life. Protein provision may be beneficial for preservation of muscle mass and other clinical outcomes, including survival. Current protein recommendations are expert-based and range from 1.2 to 2.0 g/kg. Thus, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on protein provision and all clinically relevant outcomes recorded in the available literature.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review and meta-analyses, including studies of all designs except case control and case studies, with patients aged ≥18 years with an ICU stay of ≥2 days and a mean protein provision group of ≥1.2 g/kg as compared to <1.2 g/kg with a difference of ≥0.2 g/kg between protein provision groups. All clinically relevant outcomes were studied. Meta-analyses were performed for all clinically relevant outcomes that were recorded in ≥3 included studies.ResultsA total of 29 studies published between 2012 and 2022 were included. Outcomes reported in the included studies were ICU, hospital, 28-day, 30-day, 42-day, 60-day, 90-day and 6-month mortality, ICU and hospital length of stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, vomiting, diarrhea, gastric residual volume, pneumonia, overall infections, nitrogen balance, changes in muscle mass, destination at hospital discharge, physical performance and psychological status. Meta-analyses showed differences between groups in favour of high protein provision for 60-day mortality, nitrogen balance and changes in muscle mass.ConclusionHigh protein provision of more than 1.2 g/kg in critically ill patients seemed to improve nitrogen balance and changes in muscle mass on the short-term and likely 60-day mortality. Data on long-term effects on quality of life are urgently needed.
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This century, greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen oxides must be significantly reduced. Greenhouse gases absorb and emit infrared radiation that contributes to global warming, which can lead to irreversible negative consequences for humans and the environment. Greenhouse gases are caused by the burning of fossil fuels such as crude oil, coal, and natural gas, but livestock farming, and agriculture are also to blame. In addition, deforestation contributes to more greenhouse gases. Of the natural greenhouse gases, water vapor is the main cause of the greenhouse effect, accounting for 90%. The remaining 10% is caused from high to low by carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone. In addition, there are industrial greenhouse gases such as fluorinated hydrocarbons, sulphurhexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride that contribute to the greenhouse effect too. Greenhouse gases are a major cause of climate change, with far-reaching consequences for the welfare of humans and animals. In some regions, extreme weather events like rainfall are more common, while others are associated with more extreme heat waves and droughts. Sea level rise caused by melting ice and an increase in forest fires are undesirable effects of climate change. Countries in low lying areas fear that sea level rise will force their populations to move to the higher lying areas. Climate change is affecting the entire world. An estimated 30-40% o f the carbon dioxide released by the combustion of fossil fuels dissolves into the surface water resulting in an increased concentration of hydrogen ions. This causes the seawater to become more acidic, resulting in a decreasing of carbonate ions. Carbonate ions are an important building block for forming and maintaining calcium carbonate structures of organisms such as oysters, mussels, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals and calcareous plankton.
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Managing dairy excreta as slurry can result in significant emissions of ammonia (NH3) and greenhouse gases (GHGs) during storage and thereafter. Additionally, slurry often has an imbalanced nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratio for crop fertilization. While various treatments exist to address emissions and nutrient imbalances, each has trade-offs that can result in pollution swapping. An integrated management system, starting with source segregation (SS) in-house to separate faeces and urine into two manageable streams followed by step-wise complementary treatments has been designed to manage nutrients and reduce emissions in the whole chain, but its effect on emissions in storage remains untested. This study investigated NH3, nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) emissions and total N losses from integrated storage systems combining SS, mesophilic or thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD), acidification, drying and zeolite addition and an impermeable cover. These systems were compared to two reference slurry storage systems: in-house uncovered (US) and outside covered (CS). A 30-day lab-scale experiment was conducted at 10 °C, monitoring emissions using an INNOVA1412 gas analyser, while total N losses were assessed using mass balance. Results indicated that the SS fractions treated before covered storage exhibited significantly lower emissions (NH3 or CH4 or both) compared to both reference slurry storage systems (US and CS). Source segregation combined with acidification of urine and AD of faeces at 35 °C and an impermeable cover allowed for a 99% reduction in NH3 emissions, a 45% reduction in CH4 emissions and had no effect on N2O emissions as compared to US. When AD of faeces was conducted at 55 °C instead of 35 °C, the CH4 emission was reduced by 77% compared to US. This study concludes that SS combined with urine and faeces treatment allows a more effective and simultaneous reduction of all emissions in storage as compared to slurry storage systems, while also effectively separating nutrients allowing more precise N and P fertilization with dairy excreta. Further research is necessary to assess emissions and fertilizer value of treated fractions after field application, in addition to the associated costs.
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This report focuses on the feasibility of the power-to-ammonia concept. Power-to-ammonia uses produced excess renewable electricity to electrolyze water, and then to react the obtained hydrogen with nitrogen, which is obtained through air separation, to produce ammonia. This process may be used as a “balancing load” to consume excess electricity on the grid and maintain grid stability. The product, ammonia, plays the role of a chemical storage option for excess renewable energy. This excess energy in the form of ammonia can be stored for long periods of time using mature technologies and an existing global infrastructure, and can further be used either as a fuel or a chemical commodity. Ammonia has a higher energy density than hydrogen; it is easier to store and transport than hydrogen, and it is much easier to liquefy than methane, and offers an energy chain with low carbon emissions.The objective of this study is to analyze technical, institutional and economic aspects of power-to-ammonia and the usage of ammonia as a flexible energy carrier.
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This open access book states that the endemic societal faultlines of our times are deeply intertwined and that they confront us with challenges affecting the security and sustainability of our societies. It states that new ways of inhabiting and cultivating our planet are needed to keep it healthy for future generations. This requires a fundamental shift from the current anthropocentric and economic growth-oriented social contract to a more ecocentric and regenerative natural social contract. The author posits that in a natural social contract, society cannot rely on the market or state alone for solutions to grand societal challenges, nor leave them to individual responsibility. Rather, these problems need to be solved through transformative social-ecological innovation (TSEI), which involves systemic changes that affect sustainability, health and justice. The TSEI framework presented in this book helps to diagnose and advance innovation and change across sectors and disciplines, and at different levels of governance. It identifies intervention points and helps formulate sustainable solutions for policymakers, administrators, concerned citizens and professionals in moving towards a more just and equitable society.
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Bij zijn inauguratie presenteerde Luewton Agostinho een globale visie op watertechnologie, de fysische principes die hierbij betrokken zijn en de uitdagingen, behoeften en conflicten bij het wetenschappelijk en toegepast onderzoek
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From PLoS website: In general, dietary antigens are tolerated by the gut associated immune system. Impairment of this so-called oral tolerance is a serious health risk. We have previously shown that activation of the ligand-dependent transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) by the environmental pollutant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) affects both oral tolerance and food allergy. In this study, we determine whether a common plant-derived, dietary AhR-ligand modulates oral tolerance as well. We therefore fed mice with indole-3-carbinole (I3C), an AhR ligand that is abundant in cruciferous plants. We show that several I3C metabolites were detectable in the serum after feeding, including the high-affinity ligand 3,3´-diindolylmethane (DIM). I3C feeding robustly induced the AhR-target gene CYP4501A1 in the intestine; I3C feeding also induced the aldh1 gene, whose product catalyzes the formation of retinoic acid (RA), an inducer of regulatory T cells. We then measured parameters indicating oral tolerance and severity of peanut-induced food allergy. In contrast to the tolerance-breaking effect of TCDD, feeding mice with chow containing 2 g/kg I3C lowered the serum anti-ovalbumin IgG1 response in an experimental oral tolerance protocol. Moreover, I3C feeding attenuated symptoms of peanut allergy. In conclusion, the dietary compound I3C can positively influence a vital immune function of the gut.
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Two key air pollutants that affect asthma are ozone and particle pollution. Studies show a direct relationship between the number of deaths and hospitalizations for asthma and increases of particulate matter in the air, including dust, soot, fly ash, diesel exhaust particles, smoke, and sulfate aerosols. Cars are found to be a primary contributor to this problem. However, patient awareness of the link is limited. This chapter begins with a general discussion of vehicular dependency or ‘car culture’, and then focuses on the discussion of the effects of air pollution on asthma in the Netherlands. I argue that international organizations and patient organizations have not tended to put pressure on air-control, pollution-control or environmental standards agencies, or the actual polluters. While changes in air quality and the release of greenhouse gases are tied to practices like the massive corporate support for the ongoing use of motor vehicles and the increased prominence of ‘car culture’ globally, patient organizations seem more focused on treating the symptoms rather than addressing the ultimate causes of the disease. Consequently, I argue that to fully address the issue of asthma the international health organizations as well as national health ministries, patient organizations, and the general public must recognize the direct link between vehicular dependency and asthma. The chapter concludes with a recommendation for raising environmental health awareness by explicitly linking the vehicular dependency to the state of poor respiratory health. Strategic policy in the Netherlands then should explicitly link the present pattern of auto mobility to public health. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118786949 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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The present study examined efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment in Dutch children with asthma in areas with differing air pollution. The study results indicate that TCM treatment of children living in more polluted urban area is less successful then that of children living in cleaner air area. http://dx.doi.org/10.5402/2012/547534 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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This module for Involving Anthropology presents an account of one of the plenary debates held at the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) World Congress held at Manchester University, 5-10 August 2013. The module begins with a brief introduction to provide the context for the debate, which included two speakers for (Amita Baviskar and Don Nonini) and two speakers against (Helen Kopnina and Veronica Strang) the motion: ‘Justice for people must come before justice for the environment’. The introduction is followed by an edited transcript of John Gledhill’s welcome and introduction, the texts of the arguments made by each speaker for and against the motion (with the exception of Veronica Strang, whose presentation is being published elsewhere a summary of the comments and questions subsequently invited from the floor of the hall, and then a transcript of the responses of the presenters. https://doi.org/10.1080/00664677.2015.1102229 https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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