Immune factors and fatty acid composition in human milk from river/lake, coastal and inland regions of China

Breast milk fatty acid composition may be affected by maternal diet during gestation and lactation. The influence of dietary and breast milk fatty acids on breast milk immune factors is poorly defined. We determined the fatty acid composition and immune factor concentrations of breast milk from women residing in river & lake, coastal, and inland regions of China, which differ in their consumption of lean fish and oily fish. Breast milk samples were collected on days 3 to 5 (colostrum), 14 and 28 post-partum and analysed for soluble CD14 (sCD14), transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, TGF-β2, secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and fatty acids. The fatty acid composition of breast milk differed between regions and with time post-partum. The concentrations of all four immune factors in breast milk decreased over time, with sCD14, sIgA and TGF-β1 being highest in colostrum in the river & lake region. Breast milk DHA and arachidonic acid (AA) were positively associated, and γ-linolenic acid and EPA negatively associated, with the concentrations of each of the four immune factors. In conclusion, breast milk fatty acids and immune factors differ between regions in China characterised by different patterns of fish consumption and change during the course of lactation. A higher breast milk DHA and AA concentration is associated with higher concentrations of immune factors in breast milk, suggesting a role for these fatty acids in promoting gastrointestinal and immune maturation of the infant.

Crossbred cow adoption and milk market participation in a multivariate count data framework

Cross-bred cow adoption is an important and potent policy variable precipitating subsistence household entry into emerging milk markets. This paper focuses on the problem of designing policies that encourage and sustain milkmarket expansion among a sample of subsistence households in the Ethiopian highlands. In this context it is desirable to measure households’ ‘proximity’ to market in terms of the level of deficiency of essential inputs. This problem is compounded by four factors. One is the existence of cross-bred cow numbers (count data) as an important, endogenous decision by the household; second is the lack of a multivariate generalization of the Poisson regression model; third is the censored nature of the milk sales data (sales from non-participating households are, essentially, censored at zero); and fourth is an important simultaneity that exists between the decision to adopt a cross-bred cow, the decision about how much milk to produce, the decision about how much milk to consume and the decision to market that milk which is produced but not consumed internally by the household. Routine application of Gibbs sampling and data augmentation overcome these problems in a relatively straightforward manner. We model the count data from two sites close to Addis Ababa in a latent, categorical-variable setting with known bin boundaries. The single-equation model is then extended to a multivariate system that accommodates the covariance between crossbred-cow adoption, milk-output, and milk-sales equations. The latent-variable procedure proves tractable in extension to the multivariate setting and provides important information for policy formation in emerging-market settings

Tobit estiamtion with unknown point of censoring with an application to milk market participation in the Ethiopian highlands

Data augmentation is a powerful technique for estimating models with latent or missing data, but applications in agricultural economics have thus far been few. This paper showcases the technique in an application to data on milk market participation in the Ethiopian highlands. There, a key impediment to economic development is an apparently low rate of market participation. Consequently, economic interest centers on the “locations” of nonparticipants in relation to the market and their “reservation values” across covariates. These quantities are of policy interest because they provide measures of the additional inputs necessary in order for nonparticipants to enter the market. One quantity of primary interest is the minimum amount of surplus milk (the “minimum efficient scale of operations”) that the household must acquire before market participation becomes feasible. We estimate this quantity through routine application of data augmentation and Gibbs sampling applied to a random-censored Tobit regression. Incorporating random censoring affects markedly the marketable-surplus requirements of the household, but only slightly the covariates requirements estimates and, generally, leads to more plausible policy estimates than the estimates obtained from the zero-censored formulation

Proportions of A1, A2, B and C β-casein protein variants in retail milk in the UK

The A1 variant protein of the β-casein family has been implicated in various disease states although much evidence is weak or contradictory. The primary objective was to measure, for the first time, the proportions of the key β-casein variant proteins in UK retail milk over the course of one year. In total, 55 samples of semi-skimmed milk were purchased from five supermarkets over the course of a year and the proportions of the A1, A2, B and C casein variant proteins were measured, using high resolution HPLC-MS. The results showed that β-casein in UK retail milk comprises approximately 0.58, 0.31, 0.07 and 0.03 A2, A1, B and C protein variants, respectively. The proportion of A2 is higher than some early studies would predict although the reasons for this and any implications for health are unclear

The treatment of mental contamination: a case series

The recommended treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) incorporating exposure and response prevention (ERP), which is effective for approximately 50% of patients. However, there has been little advance in treatment outcomes since the introduction of ERP in 1979. It has been suggested that some progress can be made in treating contamination obsessions and washing compulsions by addressing feelings of dirtiness and contamination that arise without physical contact with a tangible contaminant. To date, the treatment of these “mental contamination” fears in OCD has not been systematically explored. This paper reports on a case series of 12 participants with OCD who received 10 to 20 sessions of a CBT-based treatment for mental contamination. At the end of treatment, 7 participants no longer met the diagnostic criteria for OCD and mental contamination and these gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Mental contamination in obsessive–compulsive disorder

It was recently proposed that feelings of contamination can arise in the absence of physical contact with a contaminant. Currently, there are limited data regarding this construct of ‘mental contamination’ although it is hypothesised to be relevant to obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD) where compulsive washing in response to contamination fear is a common presentation (Rachman,2006). This research examined the presence of mental contamination in OCD. Participants (N=177) with obsessive compulsive symptoms completed questionnaires to assess mental contamination, OCD symptoms and thought-action fusion (TAF). Findings indicated that 46% of participants experienced mental contamination, and severity was associated with severity of OCD symptoms and TAF. Mental contamination in the absence of contact contamination was reported by 10.2% of participants. Similar findings were reported in a sub-sample of participants who had received a formal diagnosis of OCD (N=54). These findings suggest that mental contamination is a distinct construct that overlaps with, but is separate from, contact contamination, and provide preliminary empirical support for the construct.

The induction of mental and contact contamination

Background: Extreme fear of contamination within Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is traditionally conceptualised as a physical phenomenon. More recent research has supported the notion of ‘mental’ contamination, in which people feel contaminated in the absence of physical contact. The current research sought to determine whether feelings of contact and mental contamination could be induced within a non-clinical sample, whether the impact of mental and contact contamination was comparable in terms of associated feelings and behaviour and whether related psychopathology related to the impact of the tasks. Methods: Undergraduate students (n=60) completed OCD relevant measures and were randomly assigned to either a contact contamination condition (CC: moving a bucket of fake vomit) or a mental contamination condition (MC: thinking about a bucket of vomit). Results: Both manipulations induced feelings of contamination. Participants in the contact condition had significantly greater urges to wash than those in the mental condition. Neutralising behaviour did not differ across conditions. Conclusions: Feelings of contamination can be induced in the absence of physical contact and for those in the MC group, some aspects of OCD-relevant psychopathology were related to the impact of the manipulation. These findings have implications for the understanding and treatment of contamination-related fears in OCD.

Incremental effect of a calcium salt of cis-monounsaturated fatty acids supplement on milk fatty acid composition in cows fed maize silage-based diets

In most Western countries, saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake exceeds recommended levels, which is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). As milk and dairy products are major contributors to SFA intake in many countries, recent research has focused on sustainable methods of producing milk with a lower saturated fat concentration by altering dairy cow diets. Human intervention studies have shown that CVD risk can be reduced by consuming dairy products with reduced SFA and increased cis-monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) concentrations. This milk fatty acid profile can be achieved by supplementing dairy cow diets with cis-MUFA-rich unsaturated oils. However, rumen exposure of unsaturated oils also leads to enhanced milk trans fatty acid (TFA) concentrations. Because of concerns about the effects of TFA consumption on CVD, feeding strategies that increase MUFA concentrations in milk without concomitant increases in TFA concentration are preferred by milk processors. In an attempt to limit TFA production and increase the replacement of SFA by cis-MUFA, a preparation of rumen-protected unsaturated oils was developed using saponification with calcium salts. Four multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows in mid-late lactation were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with 21-d periods to investigate the effect of incremental dietary inclusion of a calcium salt of cis-MUFA product (Ca-MUFA; 20, 40, and 60 g/kg of dry matter of a maize silage-based diet), on milk production, composition, and fatty acid concentration. Increasing Ca-MUFA inclusion reduced dry matter intake linearly, but no change was observed in estimated ME intake. No change in milk yield was noted, but milk fat and protein concentrations were linearly reduced. Supplementation with Ca-MUFA resulted in a linear reduction in total SFA (from 71 to 52 g/100 g of fatty acids for control and 60 g/kg of dry matter diets, respectively). In addition, concentrations of both cis- and trans-MUFA were increased with Ca-MUFA inclusion, and increases in other biohydrogenation intermediates in milk fat were also observed. The Ca-MUFA supplement was very effective at reducing milk SFA concentration and increasing cis-MUFA concentrations without incurring any negative effects on milk and milk component yields. However, reduced milk fat and protein concentrations, together with increases in milk TFA concentrations, suggest partial dissociation of the calcium salts in the rumen

Seasonal variation in the fatty acid composition of milk available at retail in the United Kingdom and implications for dietary intake

Milk and dairy products are major sources of fat in the human diet, but there are few detailed reports on the fatty acid composition of retail milk, trans fatty acids in particular, and how these change throughout the year. Semi-skimmed milk was collected monthly for one year from five supermarkets and analysed for fatty acid composition. Relative to winter, milk sold in the summer contained lower total saturated fatty acid (SFA; 67 vs 72 g/100 g fatty acids) and higher cis-monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA; 23 vs 21 g/100 g fatty acids) and total trans fatty acid (6.5 vs 4.5 g/100 g fatty acids) concentrations. Concentrations of most trans-18:1 and -18:2 isomers also exhibited seasonal variation. Results were applied to national dietary intakes, and indicated that monthly variation in the fatty acid composition of milk available at retail has limited influence on total dietary fatty acid consumption by UK adults.

Proteolysis of milk heated at high temperatures by native enzymes analysed by trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) method

Native enzymes play a significant role in proteolysis of milk during storage. This is significant for heat resistant native enzymes. Plasmin is one of the most heat resistant enzymes found in milk. It has been reported to survive several heat treatments, causing spoilage during storage. The aim of this study was to assess susceptibility of high temperature heated milk to proteolysis by native enzymes. The trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS) method was used for this purpose. Raw milk was heated at 110, 120, 130,142°C for 2 s and 85°C for 15 s and milk processed at low temperature (85°C /15s) was selected to mimic pasteurisation. TNBS method confirmed that raw milk and milk processed at 85°C /15s were the most proteolysed, whereas treatment of milk at high temperatures (110, 120, 130 and 142°C for 2 s) inactivated the native enzymes. It may thus be concluded that high temperature processing positively affects proteolysis by lowering its susceptibility to spoilage during storage.