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Plants (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2023Adapting our food production chain and increasing the flora and fauna's livelihood in climate change-affected areas using is not only theoretical but already exists in... (Review)
Review
Adapting our food production chain and increasing the flora and fauna's livelihood in climate change-affected areas using is not only theoretical but already exists in practice in many places. This cactus grows in unsuitable soil for most species as it is adapted to arid and semi-arid soils and hot weather. In these regions, protects from erosion and contributes to soil health. The usage of this plant as fodder is also discussed, with immense potential in substituting a part of livestock's diet and even increasing the quality of the animal's by-products and decreasing water consumption. This would result in a feed that is low-cost and has a lower environmental impact. It is to be noted that has a high potential as an invasive species, with caution always being recommended when dealing with this specie. The high content of specific compounds, such as proline, indicaxanthin, and betanin, found in , influence the plant's adaptation to unfavourable conditions. This collective evidence depicts as a crop that can battle climate change and ensure food security.
PubMed: 37631119
DOI: 10.3390/plants12162907 -
Membranes Jun 2023Climate change, global population growth, and rising standards of living have put immense strain on natural resources, resulting in the unsecured availability of water... (Review)
Review
Climate change, global population growth, and rising standards of living have put immense strain on natural resources, resulting in the unsecured availability of water as an existential resource. Access to high-quality drinking water is crucial for daily life, food production, industry, and nature. However, the demand for freshwater resources exceeds the available supply, making it essential to utilize all alternative water resources such as the desalination of brackish water, seawater, and wastewater. Reverse osmosis desalination is a highly efficient method to increase water supplies and make clean, affordable water accessible to millions of people. However, to ensure universal access to water, various measures need to be implemented, including centralized governance, educational campaigns, improvements in water catchment and harvesting technologies, infrastructure development, irrigation and agricultural practices, pollution control, investments in novel water technologies, and transboundary water cooperation. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of measures for utilizing alternative water sources, with particular emphasis on seawater desalination and wastewater reclamation techniques. In particular, membrane-based technologies are critically reviewed, with a focus on their energy consumption, costs, and environmental impacts.
PubMed: 37367816
DOI: 10.3390/membranes13060612 -
Cureus Dec 2023Tea and coffee have become ingrained in our daily lives and have become the most widely consumed drinks after water. Their effects vary on an individual basis depending... (Review)
Review
Tea and coffee have become ingrained in our daily lives and have become the most widely consumed drinks after water. Their effects vary on an individual basis depending upon the amount of daily consumption, genetic polymorphisms, and the presence of comorbidities. Non-habitual individuals experience an initial, brief increase in blood pressure due to caffeine's vasoactive effects. Caffeine also appears to be protective against arrhythmias and heart failure. Along with having a generally cardioprotective profile, they have also demonstrated to have a favorable impact on insulin resistance and reduced risk of diabetes mellitus. Physicians often practice caution and advise patients with known cardiovascular diseases to refrain from drinking caffeine; however, studies have shown that drinking two to three cups a day has either no or some beneficial effects on both patients with or without cardiac disorders like arrhythmias. This article focuses on the effects of tea and coffee on the cardiovascular system as well as the potential mechanisms involved.
PubMed: 38186410
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.49991 -
Kidney International Jul 2023Water is a dwindling natural resource, and potable water is wrongly considered an unlimited resource. Dialysis, particularly hemodialysis, is a water-hungry treatment... (Review)
Review
Water is a dwindling natural resource, and potable water is wrongly considered an unlimited resource. Dialysis, particularly hemodialysis, is a water-hungry treatment that impacts the environment. The global annual water use of hemodialysis is approximately 265 million m/yr. In this reference estimate, two-thirds of this water is represented by reverse osmosis reject water discharged into the drain. In this review, we would like to draw attention to the complexity and importance of water saving in hemodialysis. We propose that circular water management may comply with the "3R" concept: reduce (reduce dialysis need, reduce dialysate flow, and optimize reverse osmosis performance), reuse (reuse wastewater as potable water), and recycle (dialysis effluents for agriculture and aquaponic use). Awareness and sustainability should be integrated to create positive behaviors. Effective communication is crucial for water savings because local perspectives may lead to global opportunities. Besides the positive environmental impacts, planet-friendly alternatives may have significant financial returns. Innovative policies based on the transition from linear to circular water management may lead to a paradigm shift and establish a sustainable water management model. This review seeks to support policymakers in making informed decisions about water use, avoiding wasting, and finding solutions that may be planet friendly and patient friendly in dialysis, especially in hemodialysis treatments.
Topics: Humans; Renal Dialysis; Drinking Water; Drinking; Planets; Water Purification
PubMed: 37116701
DOI: 10.1016/j.kint.2023.04.008 -
PLoS Biology Aug 2023Modern lifestyle is associated with a major consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) due to their practicality and palatability. The ingestion of emulsifiers, a main...
Modern lifestyle is associated with a major consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) due to their practicality and palatability. The ingestion of emulsifiers, a main additive in UPFs, has been related to gut inflammation, microbiota dysbiosis, adiposity, and obesity. Maternal unbalanced nutritional habits during embryonic and perinatal stages perturb offspring's long-term metabolic health, thus increasing obesity and associated comorbidity risk. However, whether maternal emulsifier consumption influences developmental programming in the offspring remains unknown. Here, we show that, in mice, maternal consumption of dietary emulsifiers (1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and 1% P80 in drinking water), during gestation and lactation, perturbs the development of hypothalamic energy balance regulation centers of the progeny, leads to metabolic impairments, cognition deficits, and induces anxiety-like traits in a sex-specific manner. Our findings support the notion that maternal consumption of emulsifiers, common additives of UPFs, causes mild metabolic and neuropsychological malprogramming in the progeny. Our data call for nutritional advice during gestation.
Topics: Female; Pregnancy; Male; Animals; Mice; Obesity; Anxiety; Cognition Disorders; Cognitive Dysfunction; Dysbiosis
PubMed: 37616199
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002171 -
Appetite Sep 2023There is a striking discrepancy in both U.S and the U.K data between obesity rates, which are increasing, and self-reported food consumption rates, which are decreasing.... (Review)
Review
There is a striking discrepancy in both U.S and the U.K data between obesity rates, which are increasing, and self-reported food consumption rates, which are decreasing. There are two possible explanations for this discrepancy, namely that the widely accepted energy balance interpretation of obesity is wrong or that food consumption data are somehow biased. In a comment entitled "Obesity-an unexplained epidemic", Mozaffarian (2022) challenged the Energy Balance Model (EBM) and argued for a need to replace it with a novel biological theory. This challenge is premature, because there are psychological explanations for this discrepancy, namely that individuals with overweight and obesity underreport their food consumption and that this tendency has increased in recent years. To support these hypotheses, U.S and U.K data are reviewed that used the Doubly Labelled Water method (DLW), which is the gold standard for estimating energy expenditure. Such studies find not only consistent evidence of underreporting, but also that the discrepancy between measured energy expenditure and reported calorie consumption increased over time. Two psychological explanations for this pattern are discussed.
Topics: Humans; Obesity; Overweight; Energy Intake; Water; Energy Metabolism
PubMed: 37271254
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106614 -
Self-Reported Consumption of Bottled Water v. Tap Water in Appalachian and Non-Appalachian Kentucky.Journal of Appalachian Health 2023Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with...
INTRODUCTION
Quantitative studies on drinking water perceptions in Appalachia are limited. High-profile water infrastructure failures in the U.S. and Eastern Kentucky, coupled with human-made and natural disasters in the Appalachian Region, have likely impacted opinions regarding tap water.
PURPOSE
To use existing unexplored data to describe baseline tap water v. bottled water consumption in Kentucky.
METHODS
Telephone-based cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2013 Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) directed by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Among many items in KHIP, self-reported consumption of bottled water over tap water, reasons for bottled water use, and demographic data were obtained.
RESULTS
Among Appalachian (n=356) and non-Appalachian (n=1,125) Kentucky respondents, a significantly higher frequency of Appalachian Kentuckians reported drinking bottled water more often than tap water relative to non-Appalachian Kentuckians (57% v. 34%; p < 0.001). Appalachian residency significantly predicted bottled water consumption in simple and multivariable logistic regression adjusted for significant covariates (i.e., age, sex, and race). Among persons consuming bottled water more than tap water, Appalachian Kentuckians reported significantly more concerns regarding tap water taste or smell ( = 0.005) and safety ( = 0.008) than non-Appalachians.
IMPLICATIONS
These results from 2013 data pre-date headline news items related to public water and likely underestimate current bottled water preferences. New data are needed, and these results warrant further investigation into tap water aesthetics in Appalachia, bottled water consumption impacts on personal finances, and approaches to build public trust for public drinking water among multiple populations including Appalachian Kentuckians.
PubMed: 38022490
DOI: 10.13023/jah.0502.04