Committee on Military Nutrition Research Activity Report 1994-1999 (1999) / Chapter Skim
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H: Conclusions and Recommendations from the Workshop Report: Emerging Technologies for Nutrition Research
H: Conclusions and Recommendations from the Workshop Report: Emerging Technologies for Nutrition Research
Pages 185-206
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From page 185... ...
Appendix H Conclusions and Recommendations from the Workshop Report; Emerging Technologies for Nutrition Research Submitted September 1997
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From page 187... ...
The following six categories of technologies were identified and evaluated for their applicability to the military mission: · assessment of body composition, · tracer techniques for study of metabolic processes, · improved measures of energy expenditure and respiratory exchange, · molecular and cellular approaches for evaluating nutritional requirements and status, · assessment of immune status and function, and · functional and behavioral measures of nutritional status. The Military Nutrition Division (MND)
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From page 188... ...
These techniques could be used by the military to improve the accuracy and reliability of derived equations that use anthropometric measures to predict body fat content. Single-frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)
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From page 189... ...
To assess the effects of military operations on body composition in individual soldiers, improvement is needed in methods for assessment and prediction of modest longitudinal changes in body composition. While DXA might provide the most accurate, direct longitudinal assessment, its relatively limited practicality in the field makes it a more likely candidate to be the criterion against which new anthropometric equations can be validated.
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From page 190... ...
Although BIA also can be performed in the field, it currently does not represent an improvement over anthropometric measures of BC. Because the interpretation of BIA predictions of body composition is influenced significantly by environmental factors, health status, and physical activity, its use in the field may provide a mechanism for easily monitoring these factors, which are of significant interest to the military.
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From page 191... ...
When tracer isotopes can be administered and samples collected noninvasively in the field, cost is minimized. Samples and data can be analyzed in a core laboratory, and costs can be kept at a relatively low level for the value of the data obtained (an example being DEW studies of energy expenditure of troops in field operations)
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From page 192... ...
Studies using stable isotopes require trained personnel for design and implementation. The technique is not trivial, nor is data analysis, so that experienced personnel are required to ensure meaningful results.
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From page 193... ...
The use of stable isotopes to measure energy expenditure is a well-developed method that requires no further support for development. Funds should continue to be appropriated to support the development of ambulatory monitoring, to refine the technology under development, and to validate the devices with field studies.
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From page 194... ...
Noninvasive field applications of NIR spectroscopy will require simple, rugged, and portable equipment, while routine health screening of military personnel at their home bases would have less stringent equipment requirements. However, at the present time, neither the technology nor the necessary instrumentation are available for either of these applications.
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From page 195... ...
By bringing the investigation down to the level of gene expression, it is becoming possible to elucidate completely the mechanisms, by which stimuli, such as environmental stresses or changes in nutritional status, exert their influence upon physiological systems. Isolated cell techniques will find practical use largely, if not solely, in basic research settings.
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From page 196... ...
While there is no reason to imagine conducting basic molecular biological or cell physiology research in the field, several field applications may become feasible in the future. One application that will become more appealing as the elucidation of the human genome progresses is the screening of cells taken from individuals recently exposed to extreme environmental conditions (stimuli)
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From page 197... ...
These generally are available in academic research institutions. Novel approaches to the development of oral vaccines for active immunizations, and human antibodies for passive immunization, represent vastly important improvements over current technologies and give great promise for inducing better and more complete immunity than do current vaccines, and at a far lower cost.
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From page 198... ...
Tests based on cytokine assays, especially those of the proinflammatory cytokines and related molecules excreted in urine, have great potential for adding important new diagnostic measures at a relatively inexpensive cost/benefit ratio. Costs of developing and testing potential new oral vaccines are likely to be comparable with those of conventional vaccines currently under development.
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From page 199... ...
The potential for developing new families of oral vaccines that are more effective, less expensive, and easier to administer than currently available vaccines should not be ignored by the DoD. Creation of new families of transgenic plant-produced antibodies for passive protection against rare infections and toxemias of potential military importance represents a technological breakthrough that should be developed fully by the DoD in the immediate future.
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From page 200... ...
, the basic premises underlying the association between collected data and lean body mass or other indicators of nutritional status remains to be validated. The effects of prior strenuous physical exercise on MFA readings are not clear nor is it possible as yet to eliminate the contribution of voluntary muscle contraction or changes in activity of the sodium potassium pump.
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From page 201... ...
Developments in the private sector need to be closely monitored by the DoD so that it may adapt what is already commercially available. Because most of the technologies are already developed, specific military field applications that involve miniaturization and increased portability should be financed by DoD.
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From page 202... ...
· BIA is a less-reliable method of measuring body fat at this time, but the methodology may be useful in answering specific questions concerning hydration state and function of cell membranes. · Tracer methodology, particularly the use of stable isotopes, is an important technology for understanding and measuring metabolic processes (the doubly labeled water technique currently is used in studies of energy expenditure in
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From page 203... ...
An understanding of the effect of the various stresses of military operations on the body's immune function and how these may be modified to aid soldier performance is an important area for investigation. · The development of vaccines that are effective against various infectious diseases of unique significance to the military population but not necessarily of significance to the civilian population may be very important in sustaining the ability of the soldier to operate effectively in the field.
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From page 204... ...
Research on possible vaccine programs that may protect soldiers from infectious diseases frequently encountered in military operations should be supported, particularly when the potential infections are not usually a problem in the civilian sector. Oral vaccine development should be encouraged.
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From page 205... ...
. The Committee on Military Nutrition Research is pleased to have participated with the Military Nutrition Division (currently the Military Nutrition and Biochemical Division)
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