Vitamin D: Evidence-Based Health Benefits and Recommendations for Population Guidelines.

Vitamin D offers numerous under-recognized health benefits beyond its well-known role in musculoskeletal health. It is vital for extra-renal tissues, prenatal health, brain function, immunity, pregnancy, cancer prevention, and cardiovascular health. Existing guidelines issued by governmental and health organizations are bone-centric and largely overlook the abovementioned extra-skeletal benefits and optimal thresholds for vitamin D.

An agent-based model facilitating stakeholder engagement in management of estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast (USA).

We describe an agent-based model purposed for social learning, which was developed by stakeholders, with the technical assistance of professional modelers, to facilitate stakeholder involvement in modeling issues related to the development of an adaptive environmental management plan for the Texas Gulf Coast (USA) estuaries. Stakeholders developed the model during six workshops that spanned a three-year period, and used the model to simulate the population dynamics (recruitment, growth, movement, and mortality) of blue crabs () in the Aransas and Copano Bays in response to various freshwater inflow and harvest scenarios. Results of scenarios representing normal, low, and high harvest levels indicated little effect on blue crab abundances, but harvests increased ≈75 % when harvest level was doubled and decreased ≈50 % harvest level was halved.

Long-term growth and nutrition outcomes in children following intestinal transplantation.

Objective: Intestinal transplantation (ITx) has become an accepted option for children with serious complications from intestinal failure and parenteral nutrition (PN) dependence. We aimed to assess long-term growth and nutritional outcomes in these patients. We also assessed factors influencing nutritional status and ability to wean off tube feedings (TFs) after ITx.

The Effect of Nutrients on Neurological Disorders.

The prevalence of neurological disorders (NDs) is increasing, with great cost to public health [...

How Follow-Up Period in Prospective Cohort Studies Affects Relationship Between Baseline Serum 25(OH)D Concentration and Risk of Stroke and Major Cardiovascular Events.

Prospective cohort studies are useful for studying how biomolecular status affects risk of adverse health outcomes. Less well known is that the longer the follow-up time, the lower the association (or "apparent effect") due to "regression dilution". Here, we evaluate how follow-up interval from baseline to "event" affects the relationship between baseline serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration and the later incidence of stroke and major cardiovascular events (MACEs).