Maroon Archaeology Beyond the Americas: A View From Kenya

Archaeological research on Maroons—that is, runaway slaves—has been largely confined to the Americas. This essay advocates a more global approach. It specifically uses two runaway slave communities in 19th-century coastal Kenya to rethink prominent interpretive themes in the field, including “Africanisms,” Maroons’ connections to indigenous groups, and Maroon group cohesion and identity. This article’s analysis demonstrates that the comparisons enabled by a more globalized perspective benefit the field. Instead of eliding historical and cultural context, these comparisons support the development of more localized and historically specific understandings of individual runaway slave communities both in Kenya and throughout the New World

Protocol for developing the nutrition dataset for the international spinal cord society: an international eDelphi approach

Study design An eDelphi survey. Objective To develop the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) basic and extended nutrition datasets for adults with SCI for the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS). Setting This international eDelphi study, administered in Australia, will be conducted virtually, overseen by a Research Advisory Group. Methods An expert panel will be recruited internationally to participate in a three-round eDelphi survey to develop the ISCoS basic and extended nutrition datasets. An a priori criterion will be implemented, defining strong consensus as an interquartile range (IQR) ≤ 1 and consensus as an IQR > 1/≤2. Mean and standard deviation will be calculated to measure convergence and stability depending on the data. Agreement will be determined as ≥ 80% per statement (Likert scale ratings of 4 and 5). A content analysis approach will be utilised to synthesise free-text responses

Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with spinal cord injury at admission: a single-centred study in the UK

Abstract Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) and has been implicated as an aetiologic factor of osteoporosis and various skeletal and extra-skeletal issues in SCI patients. Few data were available regarding vitamin D status in patients with acute SCI or immediately assessed at hospital admission. This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated vitamin D status in SCI patients at admission to a UK SCI centre in January–December 2017. A total of 196 eligible patients with serum 25(OH)D concentration records at admission were recruited. The results found that 24 % were vitamin D deficient (serum 25(OH)D &lt; 25 nmol/l), 57 % of the patients had serum 25(OH)D &lt; 50 nmol/l. The male patients, patients admitted in the winter–spring time (December–May), and patients with serum sodium &lt; 135 mmol/l or with non-traumatic causes had a significant higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency than their counterparts (28 % males v. 11⋅8 % females, P = 0⋅02; 30⋅2 % in winter–spring v. 12⋅9 % in summer–autumn, P = 0⋅007; 32⋅1 % non-traumatic v. 17⋅6 % traumatic SCI, P = 0⋅03; 38⋅9 % low serum sodium v. 18⋅8 % normal serum sodium, P = 0⋅010). There was a significant inverse association of serum 25(OH)D concentration with body mass index (BMI) (r = −0⋅311, P = 0⋅002), serum total cholesterol (r = −0⋅168, P = 0⋅04) and creatinine concentrations (r = −0⋅162, P = 0⋅02) that were also significant predictors of serum 25(OH)D concentration. Strategies for systematic screening and efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in SCI patients need to be implemented and further investigated to prevent the vitamin D deficiency-related chronic complications.</jats:p

The prevalence of malnutrition in spinal cord injuries patients:a UK multicentre study

Data on the prevalence of malnutrition among patients with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are lacking. The aim of the present study was to assess nutritional risk at admission, and the status of nutritional support in the UK SCI Centres (SCIC); a cross-sectional, multicentre study in four SCIC. A standardised questionnaire was used and distributed to the participating SCIC. After obtaining informed consent, baseline demographic data, nutritional risk score by the 'Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool', BMI and routine blood biochemistry were collected from every patient admitted to an SCIC. The four SCIC, comprising 48·2 % of the total UK SCI beds, contributed data from 150 patients. On admission, 44·3 % of patients were malnourished or at risk of undernutrition. Nutritional risk was more common in patients with acute high cervical SCI than those with lower SCI (60·7 v. 34·5 %), and nutritional risk was more common in those with additional complications including ventilatory support (with tracheostomy, 56·3 v. 38·7 %). Also, 45 % of patients were at risk of overnutrition (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2). The prevalence of malnutrition in SCI patients admitted to SCIC is higher than national figures focused on general hospitalised patients, indicating that SCI patients are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Patients with SCI who have a tracheostomy may need additional attention. Given the potential negative impact of malnutrition on clinical outcomes, an emphasis on mandatory nutrition screening, followed by detailed assessment for at-risk individuals should be in place in the SCIC

Grain Quality and Yield of Rice in the Main and Ratoon Harvests in the Southern U.S.

The ratoon rice system is an energy-saving, high-efficiency cultivation method. Harvests from a two-year field trial with a main crop (MC) and a ratoon crop (RC) were used to evaluate milled grain quality traits and yield performance. The results indicated that chalkiness was significantly lower in the RC than in the MC. Chalkiness ranged from 1.90 to 15.01%, with an average of 6.46%, in the MC and from 0.66 to 3.28%, with an average of 1.50%, in the RC across two years. In addition, nearly all of the RC of the test entries had lower white vitreous (higher translucency) than the MC of the same entry. In 6 of the 20 entries, the MC had longer or wider milled grain than the RC in 2017. The milled rice recovery for the MC was higher in both years, but there was no difference in head rice recovery within the same year. The average total yield (MC+RC) in the two years was 12.6 and 13.0 t/ha, and the two-year average RC yields were 47.5 and 37.3% those of the MC. Our results revealed that the RC milled grains showed better appearance quality than the MC grains, and several genotypes had comparable or even better milled grain quality and yield compared with the check entries that were suitable for the ratoon rice system. </jats:p