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Gut health has multidimensional impact on childhood growth and development. Diet being the major modulator of gut health, this study aims to hypothesize if supplementation of dietary prebiotics and vitamins can impact gut environment of healthy children.

A double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted with parallel allocation of children 8–13 years of age to placebo or test group. Test group was supplemented with 1.5 g of formulation comprising prebiotics and vitamins, and to placebo, maltodextrin (1.5 g) was supplemented. After four weeks, the effect on markers of gut health (i.e. beneficial microbes, and gut integrity markers such as secretory Immunoglobulin A [sIgA] and calprotectin concentration) was evaluated in feces of children.

Significant increase of 17.1% in fecal bifidobacteria counts (p = 0.04) was observed in the test group compared to placebo after four weeks. Also, fecal calprotectin concentration decreased (20%) significantly (p = 0.01) in test group compared to placebo. In addition, the test group showed significant improvement in fecal sIgA and lactobacilli compared to baseline concentration (p = 0.01 and 0.001, respectively).

This study demonstrates that prebiotic (and vitamin) intervention may influence health outcomes in children by positively modulating markers of gut health.

There are limited studies demonstrating the efficacy of prebiotic and vitamins on gut health of school age children.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the impact of specific carbohydrate restriction (polysaccharides and disaccharides) in the form of the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) in treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

A female patient diagnosed with diarrhea predominant IBS was assigned to the SCD for six months. The diet occurred in phases and was advanced based on the individual’s tolerance level under the guidance of a registered dietitian. Quality of life was measured by a pre- and post-IBS severity score questionnaire. Gastrointestinal symptoms were measured by self-assessment of IBS symptoms using a seven-point Likert-like scale, with −3 = substantially worse to +3 = substantially better. Probiotics were consumed throughout the duration of the study.

The quality of life severity score significantly improved from a severity of 315 (with 500 being the most severe) to 15. The initial symptoms from the first day on the diet compared to the total period for bloating, abdominal pain/discomfort, flatulence/wind, diarrhea, bowel urgency, stool consistency, stool frequency, energy levels, incomplete evacuation and abdominal rumbling were improved significantly (p < 0.0005). The SCD diet significantly improved the quality of life and IBS symptoms in a female patient with IBS-diarrhea.

This study is the first of its kind to evaluate the efficacy of the SCD to treat IBS. The SCD should be considered a therapeutic option to treating IBS after fermentable carbohydrate restriction.

Globalization in supply chain networks is urging manufacturing companies for the production of sustainable products with re-engineering technologies that offer competitive advantage in current market. However, the increasing sustainable illumes are influencing reverse logistics (RL) systems to analyze their impacts on economy, environment and society. Recently, China’s $62bn investment under the egis of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which comprises a number of infrastructure and energy projects is developing Pakistan as a part of “One Belt One Road” initiative. Accordingly, a substantial number of economical, ecological and social exercises will occur in closest future. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of sustainable practices, i.e., environmental, economic and social sustainability on RL recovery options.

Sustainable concepts including environmental, economic and social and RL recovery options are extracted through extensive literature review. A number of researchers used a variety of methodologies for achieving their research objectives. However, the authors will be using a combination of VIsekriterijumska optimizacija i KOmpromisno Resenje (VIKOR) and grey relational analysis (GRA) technique under fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC.

Results show that waste management, impact on bio-diversity and economic growth are the most significant factors in designing sustainable RL recovery options. Moreover, remanufacture and reuse rank top among RL recovery options due their significant economic and environmental effects, whereas recycle and resell position last due to their high cost and cutting edge modern technologies.

Finally based on this model, it is possible for authorities to design a sustainable RL strategy for efficient operations in case of CPEC projects and other developing countries as well.

Negligible work has been done regarding sustainable modeling in RL strategies using a combination of VIKOR and GRA techniques subjected to fuzzy environment in the case of CPEC from perspective of developing country, i.e., Pakistan.