Bakgrund Diabetes typ II är ett globalt och nationellt växande hälsoproblem. Lågkolhydratkost har väckt debatt i samhället, men har enligt studier resulterat i gynnsamma effekter för patientgruppen. Socialstyrelsen rekommenderar måttlig lågkolhydratkost som en av flera primära alternativ till kosthållning för patienter med diabetes typ II. Syfte Att undersöka diabetessjuksköterskors attityd och kunskap gällande lågkolhydratkost vid diabetes typ II. Metod Kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer med sju diabetessjuksköterskor inom Uppsalas primärvård. Resultat Diabetessjuksköterskorna hade observerat positiva effekter i sitt kliniska arbete av kolhydratreduktion, men ingen sjuksköterska gav måttlig lågkolhydratkost som rekommendation i första hand till patienterna. Farhågor för att lågkolhydratkost, främst orsakat av ett ökat fettintag, skulle kunna resultera i en ökning av risken för hjärt-kärlsjukdom eller andra negativa hälsoeffekter skildrades. Medvetenheten gällande kostrekommendationer och uppdateringen kring aktuell forskning varierade. Slutsats Medvetenhet och kunskap gällande lågkolhydratkost som kosthållning vid diabetes typ II varierade hos diabetessjuksköterskor inom Uppsalas primärvård. Generellt kunde en negativ attityd till lågkolhydratkost urskiljas. För att upprätthålla en evidensbaserad hälso- och sjukvård är det av största vikt att diabetessjuksköterskor får möjlighet att inom arbetsplatsen hålla sig uppdaterade om aktuella forskningsresultat samt att skapa reflektion kring vilken extern och intern påverkan sjuksköterskor kan exponeras för. / Background Diabetes type II is an increasing problem on a national and global scale. Low carbohydrate diets have created debate in today society, all though it has come to show positive effects in studies made on this patient group. In the national guidelines by The National Board of Health and Welfare moderate low-carbohydrate diet is described as a primary diet recommendation for patients with diabetes type II. Aim To investigate the attitude and knowledge of nursing staff towards low-carbohydrate diets as a method for patients with diabetes type II to achieve positive health benefits. Method Qualitative semi-structured interviews with seven nurses in district health centers in Uppsala, Sweden. Result The nursing staff had observed health benefits as a result from low-carbohydrate diets in their daily clinical work with patient suffering from diabetes type II, yet none of the nurses did suggest patients to eat according to this diet. Apprehensions that low-carbohydrate diets, and specifically the increased intake of fat, would contribute to an increased risk of heart disease or cause other harmful bodily effects over a long period of time were described. The awareness of national guidelines and recommendation did vary widely among the nurses. Conclusion Awareness and knowledge regarding a low carbohydrate diet when it comes to patients with diabetes type II ranged with the diabetic nurses in Uppsala Primary Care. Generally, a negative attitude towards low carbohydrate diet could be distinguished. To maintain an evidence-based health care, it is important that diabetes nurses have the opportunity to be updated of current research and to make reflections on what kind of external and internal influences nurses may be exposed to.

No description available.

No description available.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

To test the applicability of anuran tadpole functional ecology with regards to diet as a tool to determine ecosystem function of aquatic habitats, all the presently known as southern Africa anuran species’ tadpoles were assigned to ecomorphological guilds. The data set included 106 anuran tadpole species and 84 variables, which include: 23 habitat; 49 morphological; 9 behavioral; and 3 development (time metamorphosis) related variables. Although the data set for the guild delineation did not include genetic data, a phylogeny (evolutionary approach) was used to obtain a tree where species are grouped together based on shared characteristics, similar to that of a cluster analysis where each cluster or group is a guild. Maximum parsimony was employed with PAUP 4.0b10 to construct consensus trees using heuristic search settings. The phylogenetic/taxonomic affiliation of the species in each ecomorphological guilds’ was also observed by constructing a phylogenetic tree. The 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were retrieved from Genbank, to represent the major lineages documented in the anurans of southern Africa thus far. The ecomorphological guild delineation was further supported by quantify tadpole gut contents to determine their trophic status. Information on the feeding behavior of four guilds was obtained by analyzing a representative anuran tadpole species from each. The IUCN red list of threatened species was consulted to obtain the conservation status of the 106 anuran species used for this study, which made it possible to determine whether there is a link between species found in the same ecomorphological guilds and those species’ conservation status. Considering the high diversity of anuran species in the Phongolo region (offering access to a variety of tadpole guilds), and the ability to analyse the diatom communities found in the gut contents of tadpoles. A portion of this study supplemented the assessment of ecosystem functioning and management of aquatic resources of the lower Phongolo River and floodplain, by providing information regarding the health. Diatom bioassessment was applied as a tool for inferring water quality. The polygenetic approach proved to be very effective for the guild delineation, permitting the recognition of 10 fully characterized ecomorphological guilds, a number of which corresponded with previously characterized guilds. Terminology had to be produced for three new guilds, based on the guild defining criteria. The polygeny of the anuran species within the guild, although belonging to different genera and families belonged to the same phylogenetic clade. The trophic analysis supports the guild delineation, since a clear distinction could be made between the percentage and combination of materials from each trophic category ingested by tadpoles from different ecomorphological guilds. Even though some similarity can be seen between species, based on the criteria for the endangered status, there was still no true correlation between IUCN status and ecomorphological guild. The fact that the critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species are distributed over so many guilds further emphasizes the extent of amphibian decline. The majority of the diatom species found in the Phongolo River and floodplain favor brackish water, with a moderate to high electrolyte content. Indicating that the Phongolo River and the section of the floodplain considered for this study had a high salinity. This might be due to the water bodies’ close proximity to the coast. The diatom index scores indicated the presence of organic pollutants and labelled these water bodies as mesotrophic to eutrophic. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

To test the applicability of anuran tadpole functional ecology with regards to diet as a tool to determine ecosystem function of aquatic habitats, all the presently known as southern Africa anuran species’ tadpoles were assigned to ecomorphological guilds. The data set included 106 anuran tadpole species and 84 variables, which include: 23 habitat; 49 morphological; 9 behavioral; and 3 development (time metamorphosis) related variables. Although the data set for the guild delineation did not include genetic data, a phylogeny (evolutionary approach) was used to obtain a tree where species are grouped together based on shared characteristics, similar to that of a cluster analysis where each cluster or group is a guild. Maximum parsimony was employed with PAUP 4.0b10 to construct consensus trees using heuristic search settings. The phylogenetic/taxonomic affiliation of the species in each ecomorphological guilds’ was also observed by constructing a phylogenetic tree. The 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were retrieved from Genbank, to represent the major lineages documented in the anurans of southern Africa thus far. The ecomorphological guild delineation was further supported by quantify tadpole gut contents to determine their trophic status. Information on the feeding behavior of four guilds was obtained by analyzing a representative anuran tadpole species from each. The IUCN red list of threatened species was consulted to obtain the conservation status of the 106 anuran species used for this study, which made it possible to determine whether there is a link between species found in the same ecomorphological guilds and those species’ conservation status. Considering the high diversity of anuran species in the Phongolo region (offering access to a variety of tadpole guilds), and the ability to analyse the diatom communities found in the gut contents of tadpoles. A portion of this study supplemented the assessment of ecosystem functioning and management of aquatic resources of the lower Phongolo River and floodplain, by providing information regarding the health. Diatom bioassessment was applied as a tool for inferring water quality. The polygenetic approach proved to be very effective for the guild delineation, permitting the recognition of 10 fully characterized ecomorphological guilds, a number of which corresponded with previously characterized guilds. Terminology had to be produced for three new guilds, based on the guild defining criteria. The polygeny of the anuran species within the guild, although belonging to different genera and families belonged to the same phylogenetic clade. The trophic analysis supports the guild delineation, since a clear distinction could be made between the percentage and combination of materials from each trophic category ingested by tadpoles from different ecomorphological guilds. Even though some similarity can be seen between species, based on the criteria for the endangered status, there was still no true correlation between IUCN status and ecomorphological guild. The fact that the critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species are distributed over so many guilds further emphasizes the extent of amphibian decline. The majority of the diatom species found in the Phongolo River and floodplain favor brackish water, with a moderate to high electrolyte content. Indicating that the Phongolo River and the section of the floodplain considered for this study had a high salinity. This might be due to the water bodies’ close proximity to the coast. The diatom index scores indicated the presence of organic pollutants and labelled these water bodies as mesotrophic to eutrophic. / MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Previous studies suggest that dietary patterns that promote acidosis may have a negative effect on bone density, whereas a more alkaline‐based profile would be associated with better bone health. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess, in omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans bone mineral density using Dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and compare it to their acid‐base status as indicated by urinary pH, Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) and serum anion gap. Our hypothesis was that plant‐based diets would be associated with a more alkaline acid‐base profile than omnivorous diets, and thus have a higher bone mineral density. Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional study where we compared plant based vs. omnivorous diets. Eighty‐two subjects were enrolled in the study (27 omnivores, 27 vegetarians, and 28 vegans). Subjects were asked to fill out a medical history form and a 24‐ hour diet recall, and to complete a 24‐hour urine collection. After a few weeks, subjects returned to the test site to complete a DEXA scan. Acid base‐balance and bone health were determined using PRAL, urine pH, and anion gap as biomarkers for pH, and DEXA as an indicator of bone density. Our results showed that bone mineral density did not differ significantly between groups, although lacto‐ovo and vegan diets were more alkaline compared to meat based diets (6.5  0.4, 6.7  0.4, and 6.2  0.4 pH respectively, p = 0.003). Protein intake was found to be reduced by ~30% in individuals adhering to a lacto‐ovarian or vegan diet; yet protein was only associated with bone mineral density in those following vegan diets. Conversely, urinary pH was associated with bone mineral density only in those following a meat‐based diet. The significance of this study is that it provides knowledge in the area of osteoporosis prevention and perhaps specific recommendations based on diet groups: increased fruit and vegetable intake for those with high meat consumption, to improve the acid‐base homeostasis, and increased plant protein intake for individuals who follow a plant-based diet.

No description available.

Since 2000, there has been a marked decline in the number of harbour seals in some regions around Britain; one possible contributing cause is competition for prey with sympatric grey seals. To explore one important aspect of this interaction, in this thesis the diet of harbour seals is estimated using analysis of hard prey remains recovered from faeces and compared with equivalent results for grey seals. To estimate coefficients to account for partial and complete digestion of hard prey remains, 100 whole prey feeding trials were conducted with six harbour seals and 18 prey species. Differences were found among prey species and between harbour and grey seals highlighting the importance of applying predator- and prey-specific digestion correction factors when reconstructing diet. In a comprehensive exploration of the diet of harbour seals around Britain, sandeel and flatfish dominated in the North Sea and large gadoids dominated on the Scottish west coast with seasonal pulses of pelagic prey. Variation in diet was linked to regional and seasonal differences in prey distribution and abundance. Sex-specific variation in harbour seal diet was examined in four regions. The main difference detected was in The Wash, where female diet quality was significantly higher than males in winter, which appeared to be driven by greater consumption of pelagic prey by female seals associated with seasonal energetic requirements of their annual life cycle. Comparison of the diet of harbour and grey seals revealed regional differences in diet composition, diversity and quality between the two species. However, there was no consistent pattern in this variation in relation to regional variation in harbour and grey seals population trajectories and no clear evidence for interspecific competition for prey. Future work should focus on an integrated investigation of prey abundance and distribution, and seal diet and foraging behaviour/distribution.