BackgroundHypertension is the leading cause of death in developed countries and reduction of salt intake is recommended as a key preventive measure.ObjectiveTo assess the dietary sodium and potassium intakes in a national sample of Italian children and adolescents and to examine their relationships with BMI and blood pressure (BP) in the framework of the MINISAL survey, a program supported by the Italian Ministry of Health.Population and MethodsThe study population included 1424 healthy subjects (766 boys, 658 girls) aged 6-18 years (mean age: 10.1±2.9) who were consecutively recruited in participating National Health Service centers in 10 Italian regions. Electrolyte intake was estimated from 24 hour urine collections tested for completeness by the concomitant measurement of creatinine content. Anthropometric indices and BP were measured with standardized procedures.ResultsThe average estimated sodium intake was 129 mmol (7.4 g of salt) per day among boys and 117 mmol (6.7 g of salt) among girls. Ninety-three percent of the boys and 89% of the girls had a consumption higher than the recommended age-specific standard dietary target. The estimated average daily potassium intakes were 39 mmol (1.53 g) and 36 mmol (1.40 g), respectively, over 96% of the boys and 98% of the girls having a potassium intake lower than the recommended adequate intake. The mean sodium/potassium ratio was similar among boys and girls (3.5 and 3.4, respectively) and over 3-fold greater than the desirable level. Sodium intake was directly related to age, body mass and BP in the whole population.ConclusionsThe Italian pediatric population is characterized by excessive sodium and deficient potassium intake. These data suggest that future campaigns should focus on children and adolescents as a major target in the framework of a population strategy of cardiovascular prevention.

Mesopelagic fish species represent a large potentially unexploited resource for the fishing industry and the fish meal, oil, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical production. However, thorough investigation on ecological sustainability and socio-economic viability are fundamental prerequisites for potential exploitation. The current study explores the economic viability of a potential mesopelagic fishery investigating minimum catch rates, under the assumption of previous assessments of biological sustainability of such exploitation. We analyzed fishery data from the North-East Atlantic fisheries of the Danish large pelagic fleet from 2015 to 2019, by comparing the combined data on fishing dynamics and cost-structures with data from interviews of key pelagic producer organization representatives to develop scenarios of profitability. The results show full year-round fleet occupation with the ongoing fisheries, exposing the need of switching from existing activities, or investing into new vessels for conducting potential mesopelagic fishery. Economic analyses revealed that the minimum revenue to break even (zero profit) by trip varies among métiers between 60,000 and 200,000 euro showing strong positive correlation with vessel sizes. High profitability was discovered for herring, Atlantic mackerel and blue whiting fisheries while low profitability was observed for the Norway pout fishery. Due to the lack of mesopelagic fishery data, different scenarios of profitability were investigated as informed by the pelagic catch sector stakeholder perceptions of prices and costs and compared to current economic dynamics. A high break-even revenue per trip was forecasted given the increased perceived costs for fuel, modifications of gears and on-board processing methods and potential new vessel investments. High profitability may be reached if the catches exceed 220–1,060 tons per trip depending on costs and vessel storage capacity. If the conservation methods are improved from current refrigerated sea water, fishing trips could last longer than 5 days, being the major limiting economic factor for potential mesopelagic fishery. Future investigations on realistic mesopelagic catches, trip durations and spatio-temporal distribution of fisheries in relation to location, resource abundance, fishing rights, storage and conservation methods will be essential to test the robustness of the scenarios proposed in this study, and will in turn benefit of the economic requirements evaluated herein.

Background Iodine is an essential micronutrient for intellectual development in children. Information on iodine intakes based on 24-h urinary iodine excretion (UIE) is scant, because iodine status is only assessed by the measurement of urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in spot urine samples. Objectives The aim of our study was to evaluate the iodine intake of school-age children and adolescents, using UIE measurement in 24-h urine collections. Methods The study population included 1270 healthy subjects (677 boys, 593 girls) aged 6–18 y (mean age ± SD: 10.3 ± 2.9) from 10 Italian regions. Daily iodine intake was estimated as UIE/0.92, based on the notion that $\sim$92% of the dietary iodine intake is absorbed. The adequacy of intakes was assessed according to the Dietary Reference Values for iodine of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Body mass index (BMI) and UIC were also measured for each subject. Results Based on the scientific opinion of EFSA, 600 of 1270 subjects (47.2%) had a lower than adequate iodine intake, with a higher prevalence among girls (54.6%) compared with boys (40.2%) (P < 0.001). Although UIE and 24-h urinary volumes increased with age (P < 0.001), a progressive decrease in the percentage of subjects with iodine excretion <100 µg/24 h (P < 0.001) was observed, without any significant difference in the percentage of subjects with UIC <100 µg/L. No significant association was detected between BMI z-score and UIE (P = 0.603) or UIC (P = 0.869). Conclusions A sizable proportion of our population, especially girls, appeared to be at risk of iodine inadequacy. The simple measurement of UIC could lead to underestimation of the occurrence of iodine deficiency in younger children, because of the age-related smaller urine volumes producing spuriously higher iodine concentrations.

Larval dispersal and juvenile survival are crucial in determining variation in recruitment, stock size and adult distribution of commercially important fish. This study investigates the dispersal of early-life stages of common sole (Solea solea L.) in the southern North Sea, both empirically and through modeling. Age at different life-history events of juvenile flatfish sampled along the coasts of Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom in 2013, 2014 and 2016, was determined through the counting of daily growth rings in the otoliths. Juveniles captured between August and October were estimated to be on average 140 days old with an average pelagic larval duration of 34 days. The hatching period was estimated between early April and mid-May followed by arrival and settlement in the nurseries between May and mid-June. Growth rates were higher off the Belgian coast than in the other nursery areas, especially in 2013, possibly due to a post-settlement differentiation. Empirical pelagic larval duration and settlement distributions were compared with the Larvae&Co larval dispersal model, which combines local hydrodynamics in the North Sea with sole larval behavior. Yearly predicted and observed settlement matched partially, but the model estimated a longer pelagic phase. The observations fitted even better with the modelled average (1995–2015) distribution curves. Aberrant results for the small juvenile sole sampled along the UK coast in March 2016, led to the hypothesis of a winter disruption in the deposition of daily growth rings, potentially related to starvation and lower food availability. The similarities between measured and modelled distribution curves cross-validated both types of estimations and accredited daily ageing of juveniles as a useful method to calibrate biophysical models and to understand early-life history of fish, both important tools in support of efficient fisheries management strategies.