Quality Control and Assurance: crucial for the sustainability of the applied phycology industry

The chemical and nutritional properties of microalgae are well known, which has led to an ever expanding industry for foods and dietary supplements both in terms of quantity and products. Little has been done to regulate or control quality and assurance in the applied phycology industry and it is known that it varies considerably. Nutritional aspects of produced biomass and consumption as dietary supplements have become issues of concern, especially since the industry is lucrative and fast growing. Various claims are made regarding dietary and food supplements that include health, nutrition, structure and functioning, many often unsubstantiated. Although quality is a subjective term many organisations are involved in testing, controlling and determining criteria. Today quality is more than just standards where it is an "integrated quality management approach" involving amongst others "hazard analyses and critical control points" (HACCP) practices. Microalgae are not recognised as a food or food supplement and they are also not categorised under herbals or botanicals, but as "other supplements". Produced microalgal biomass is subject to contamination from the entire range of contaminants and pathogens. Contamination of products by algal toxins in mixed culture populations also occurs. The industry has largely regulated itself, but there is considerable scope for improvement. There is a need for support and dissemination of information in the industry.     

Status of nutrition and health claims in Europe

Functional foods are closely associated with claims on foods. There are two categories of claims on foods: nutrition claims and health claims. Health claims on (functional) foods must be scientifically substantiated. In December 2006, the European Union published its Regulation 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods. As concerns scientific evaluation, the EU-project PASSCLAIM resulted in a set of criteria for the scientific substantiation of health claims on foods. The European Food Safety Authority provides the scientific advise to the European Commission for health claims submitted under Regulation 1924/2006 and has hitherto published several hundreds of opinions on health claims, part of which are positive, part which are negative and a few with insufficient evidence. Antioxidant claims have been approved for the general function of vitamins but not for direct health effects in humans. Another issue with claims is consumer understanding. Consumers can hardly distinguish between graded levels of evidence, and they do make only little or no distinction between nutrition and health claims. Consumers understand nutrition and health claims different from scientists and regulators. Therefore, innovation in industry can readily proceed via approved nutrition claims and approved health claims. The market and the shelves in the stores will not be empty; rather they will look different in the years to come.     

Fleshing Out Vulnerability

In the literature on medical ethics, it is generally admitted that vulnerable persons or groups deserve special attention, care or protection. One can define vulnerable persons as those having a greater likelihood of being wronged – that is, of being denied adequate satisfaction of certain legitimate claims. The conjunction of these two points entails what we call the Special Protection Thesis. It asserts that persons with a greater likelihood of being denied adequate satisfaction of their legitimate claims deserve special attention, care or protection. Such a thesis remains vague, however, as long as we do not know what legitimate claims are. This article aims at dispelling this vagueness by exploring what claims we have in relation to health care – thus fleshing out a claim‐based conception of vulnerability. We argue that the Special Protection Thesis must be enriched as follows: If individual or group X has a greater likelihood of being denied adequate satisfaction of some of their legitimate claims to (i) physical integrity, (ii) autonomy, (iii) freedom, (iv) social provision, (v) impartial quality of government, (vi) social bases of self‐respect or (vii) communal belonging, then X deserves special attention, care or protection. With this improved understanding of vulnerability, vulnerability talk in healthcare ethics can escape vagueness and serve as an adequate basis for practice.     

基于景观生态学“源-汇”理论的市域尺度生态功能分区——以内蒙古通辽市为例

市域尺度的生态功能分区对于市域生态资源的有效保护和合理利用起着不可替代的指导作用。现阶段较为被动而静态的功能分区研究忽视了市域生态资源在城镇化发展中的剧烈变化。而景观生态学的"源-汇"概念和相关手段,将区域生态功能空间格局与不断变化的生态过程之间建立了联系,在生态功能分区科学理性的研究实践中运用前景广阔。运用景观生态学"源-汇"理论,以内蒙古通辽市为例,通过对于研究区域中"源"景观的划分,设定不同景观要素的阻力值,构建基于"源"动态特征的最小累计阻力模型,计算得出阻力面。并进一步通过寻找阻力面突变点来确定分区阈值,最终确定通辽市域尺度生态功能的5大分区,最后提出有针对性的分区管控措施与指引。研究将市域生态要素在城市化下的动态演变与生态安全格局进行有机关联并制定科学的分区策略,为市域生态空间的优化及管理提供了理论依据。     

Towards an indicator of urban centrality? Exploring changes in present and resident population (1991–2011) in Greece

This study compares the spatial distribution of resident and present population at the municipal scale in Greece (1991–2011) with the aim to infer recent trends in urban expansion. The ratio of present to resident population is proposed as a proxy of urban centrality indicating variations in urban hierarchy over time. Results of the analysis outline relevant changes in the spatial distribution of present and resident population along the urban–rural gradient. Apart from the metropolitan areas of Athens and Salonika (which concentrate nearly half of Greek population), the density of present and resident population varied largely across time and space. Urban regions showed higher values in the ratio of resident to present population than rural regions. The indicator proposed in this study contributes to defining more precisely urban and rural areas and may integrate decision support systems for diachronic analysis of urbanization patterns and processes.     

医院行政值班系统设计与应用

医院行政总值班是医院管理中重要的组成部分,这一观点在医院管理实践中已形成共识。文中首次提出如何运用信息化手段,借助医院现有行政值班制度,建立一个行政值班信息管理系统,并将行政值班工作借助信息化技术和手段进行管理和积累,实现自动排班、行政值班人员短信提醒、实时签到、事务记录、数据分析等功能,既方便行政值班人员实时、应急处理紧急情况,又能对行政值班情况进行及时监控分析,以更好地保障医院行政管理工作的正常运行。     

When Good Lawyers Write Bad History: Unreliable Evidence and the South China Sea Territorial Dispute

The recent award by an arbitral tribunal in a case brought by the Philippines against China gives lawyers reason to reexamine the historical evidence put forward by claimants in the South China Sea disputes. While the Tribunal was barred from considering territorial or boundary questions, it did cast doubt on the historical narrative rule that China has asserted in support of its claims. Fresh evidence from other sources also suggests that discussions of these matters need to move beyond arguments put forward in a small number of papers published more than thirty years ago. A close examination of the references used in those papers shows that they relied upon highly partisan Chinese sources. Recent historical research has produced new facts about the development of the competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, but international legal discourse has yet to take these findings into account. This article examines some of the key works in the field and calls for them to be reassessed and for future discussion of the disputes to be based upon verifiable and contextualized evidence rather than on nationalist assertions.     

行政干预对Ⅰ类切口围术期预防性使用抗菌药物的影响

目的:探讨行政干预对I类切口围术期预防性使用抗菌药物的影响。方法:2011年4月～6月对全院手术科室进行行政干预,具体做法:卫生行政部门与医院一把手、医院与手术科室主任、科室主任与科室执业医生分别签订目标责任状;医院配合全国抗菌药物临床应用专项整治活动方案进行全员培训,并对医师进行抗菌药物临床应用培训并考核合格后,授予其相应级别的抗菌药物处方权,明确各级医师使用抗菌药物的处方权限;由医务科牵头与院感染科、药剂科、质控科联合对I类切口手术患者预防使用抗菌药物情况进行检查,定期实施目标奖罚,责任到科室主任和临床医生。然后抽取我院2010年7月～12月(行政干预前)和2011年7月～12月(行政干预后)I类切口手术病历各210份,参考《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》、卫办医政发[2009]38号通知对420例I类切口手术患者预防使用抗菌药物情况进行回顾性分析。结果:行政干预前(2010年7月～12月)I类切口围手术期预防性抗菌药物的使用率达83.81%(176/210),术后抗菌药物使用时间在2～7天者占69.52%,大于7天者占6.67%;行政干预后(2011年7月～12月)210例患者预防使用抗菌药物使用率为30%(63/210),显著低于未使用行政干预的Ⅰ类切口术患者(P<0.05),围术期术后抗菌药物使用时间在2～7天者占16.67%,没有1例患者用药超过7天,抗菌药物的使用时间较未使用行政干预的Ⅰ类切口术患者显著缩短(P<0.05)。结论:有效的行政干预可以强化临床医生合理应用抗菌药物的意识,提高合理用药的水平,明显降低I类切口预防性抗菌药物的使用率,缩短抗菌药物的使用疗程。     

Development of functional agricultural products utilizing the new health claim labeling system in Japan

Abstract

In April 2015, Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan launched a new food labeling system known as “Foods with Function Claims (FFC).” Under this system, the food industry independently evaluates scientific evidence on foods and describes their functional properties. As of May 23, 2017, 1023 FFC containing 8 fresh foods have been launched. Meanwhile, to clarify the health-promoting effects of agricultural products, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) implemented the “Research Project on Development of Agricultural Products” and demonstrated the risk reduction of osteoporosis of β-cryptoxanthin rich Satsuma mandarins and the anti-allergic effect of the O-methylated catechin rich tea cultivar Benifuuki. These foods were subsequently released as FFC. Moreover, NARO elucidated the health-promoting effects of various functional agricultural products (β-glucan rich barley, β-conglycinin rich soybean, quercetin rich onion, etc.) and a healthy boxed lunch. This review focuses on new food labeling system or research examining functional aspects of agricultural products.