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Thermal processing of leafy African indigenous vegetables (LAIVs), which are rich in nutrients, especially vitamin B series affects the levels and bioaccessibility of the vitamins. This study investigated the bioaccessibility of vitamin B series in fresh and thermally processed LAIVs. Five commonly consumed indigenous vegetables, Cleome gynadra, Vigna unguilata, Amaranthus viridis, Basella alba, and Cucurbita maxima, were processed by boiling and/or frying, treated to in vitro gastrointestinal digestion procedure, and levels of vitamin B series determined before and after treatment. The vitamin B series in fresh LAIVs ranged from 0.73 ± 0.01 mg/100 g (B9; spider plant) to 174.16 ± 3.50 mg/100 g (B2; vine spinach) and had both significant increase (ranging from +8.71% to +446.84%) and decrease (ranging from −0.44% to −100.00%) with thermal processing (p

Hannah ML Young,1 Lindsay D Apps,1 Samantha L Harrison,1 Vicki L Johnson-Warrington,1 Nicky Hudson,2 Sally J Singh1,3 1National Institute of Health Research CLAHRC-LNR Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Group, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, 2School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, 3Applied Research Centre in Health and Lifestyle Interventions, Coventry University, Coventry, UK Background: In light of the growing burden of COPD, there is increasing focus on the role of self-management for this population. Currently, self-management varies widely. Little is known either about nurses’ and allied health professionals’ (AHPs’) understanding and provision of self-management in clinical practice. This study explores nurses’ and AHPs’ understanding and implementation of supported COPD self-management within routine clinical practice. Materials and methods: Nurses and AHPs participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews to explore their understanding and provision of COPD self-management, as well as their perceptions of the challenges to providing such care. Purposive sampling was used to select participants from a range of professions working within primary, community, and secondary care settings. Three researchers independently analyzed each transcript using a thematic approach. Results: A total of 14 participants were interviewed. Nurses and AHPs viewed self-management as an important aspect of COPD care, but often misunderstood what it involved, leading to variation in practice. A number of challenges to supporting self-management were identified, which related to lack of time, lack of insight regarding training needs, and assumptions regarding patients’ perceived self-management abilities. Conclusion: Nurses and AHPs delivering self-management require clear guidance, training in the use of effective self-management skills, and education that challenges their preconceptions regarding patients. The design of health care services also needs to consider the practical barriers to COPD self-management support for the implementation of such interventions to be successful. Keywords: self-management, COPD, qualitative, interviews, nurses, allied health professionals

Lindsay D Apps,1 Samantha L Harrison,1 Johanna EA Williams,1 Nicky Hudson,2 Michael Steiner,1 Mike D Morgan,1 Sally J Singh1,31National Institute of Health Research CLAHRC-LNR Pulmonary Rehabilitation Research Group, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, 2School of Applied Social Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, 3Applied Research Centre Health & Lifestyle Interventions, Coventry University, Coventry, UKBackground: There is much description in the literature of how patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) manage their breathlessness and engage in self-care activities; however, little of this is from the perspective of those with less severe disease, who are primarily managed in primary care. This study aimed to understand the self-care experiences of patients with COPD who are primarily managed in primary care, and to examine the challenges of engaging in such behaviors.Methods: Semistructured interviews were carried out with 15 patients with COPD as part of a larger project evaluating a self-management intervention. Thematic analysis was supported by NVivo software (version 8, QSR International, Melbourne, Australia).Results: Three main themes are described, ie, experiencing and understanding symptoms of COPD, current self-care activities, and the importance of family perceptions in managing COPD.Conclusion: Self-care activities evolved spontaneously as participants experienced symptoms of COPD. However, there was a lack of awareness about whether these strategies would impact upon symptoms. Perceptions of COPD by family members posed a challenge to self-care for some participants. Health care professionals should elicit patients' prior disease experiences and utilize spontaneous attempts at disease management in future self-management. These findings have implications for promoting self-management and enhancing quality of life.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, self-care, qualitative interviews, primary care

Introduction Mass screening for SARS-CoV-2 using nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) is costly, uncomfortable for patients, and increases the chance of virus exposure to health care workers. Therefore, this study focused on determining if self-collected unpreserved saliva can be an effective alternative to NPS collection in COVID-19 surveillance. Materials and Methods In this study, patients being tested for SARS-CoV-2 using NPS were asked to provide a saliva sample to compare their results. NPS samples were evaluated for SARS-CoV-2 using BioFire® FilmArray® Torch® or Cepheid® GeneXpert® systems while saliva samples were evaluated using an in-house developed reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which targeted the Envelope (E) and Nucleocapsid (N) genes. Results Detection of SARS-CoV-2 using self-collected saliva was found to be only slightly less accurate (<5%) than testing using NPS. In addition, initial saliva RT-PCR identified 27 positive subjects, 18 of which provided amplicons sufficient for confirmatory sequencing. The sequencing data showed a genetic shift in the virus within our population sometime between 22 June and July 8, 2021 from Alpha to Delta variant. Conclusions The saliva sample collection method identifies the E gene in SARS COVID-2 samples which provides an alternative specimen source to the NPS. This identifies the S gene and ORF1ab. Saliva collection is more convenient to the patient, yields comparable results to NPS collection, and potentially increases Covid-19 surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTDifferent processing methods could impact on the nutritional and anti-nutritional composition of edible insects. This study involved the analysis of nutrients and anti-nutrients in fresh and processed grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) and winged termites (Nasutitermes spp) in Kenya. Proximate analysis was done using AOAC methods, minerals analysis using AAS and anti-nutrients analysis using UV-VIS and titration. Moisture content reduced significantly to less than 10% on processing, while ash content increased significantly by more than 50% on processing. Processing did not affect the crude fibre content but it led to a 0.2–90% decrease in crude fat. Processing increased significantly the protein content but did not significantly influence mineral levels; however calcium content was reduced considerably. Anti-nutrient levels decreased significantly on processing by 2%–70% with oxalates and phytates having the highest decrease. These results show that oven-drying and defatting methods retained higher nutrient composition in the edible insects.