The objective of this review is to systematically examine and summarise the effects of agricultural interventions to increase household food production on the nutrition and health outcomes of women and young children and provide recommendations for future research and programming. Data from all studies meeting inclusion/ exclusion criteria were abstracted into a standardised form. The quality of the evidence was assessed and graded using a modified version of the Child Health Epidemiology Reference Group adaptation of the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation technique. Thirty-six articles, representing 27 unique projects were identified. Of these 32 and 17 reported on the health and nutrition outcomes of children and women, respectively. Although studies were too heterogeneous to conduct meta-analysis, agricultural strategies consistently reported significantly improved diet patterns and vitamin A intakes for both women and children. Although some individual studies reported significant reductions in child malnutrition, summary estimates for effects on stunting were not significant. Findings for an effect on vitamin A status, anaemia and morbidity were inconsistent. Overall the evidence base for the potential of agricultural strategies to improve the nutrition and health of women and young children is largely grounded in a limited number of highly heterogeneous, quasi-experimental studies, most of which have significant methodological limitations. While household food production strategies hold promise for improving the nutrition of women and children, the evidence base would be strengthened by additional research that is methodologically robust and adequately powered for biological and dietary indicators of nutrition.

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The bicyclic fatty acid lubiprostone (formerly known as SPI-0211) activates two types of anion channels in A6 cells. Both channel types are rarely, if ever, observed in untreated cells. The first channel type was activated at low concentrations of lubiprostone (<100 nM) in >80% of cell-attached patches and had a unit conductance of approximately 3-4 pS. The second channel type required higher concentrations (>100 nM) of lubiprostone to activate, was observed in approximately 30% of patches, and had a unit conductance of 8-9 pS. The properties of the first type of channel were consistent with ClC-2 and the second with CFTR. ClC-2's unit current strongly inwardly rectified that could be best fit by models of the channel with multiple energy barrier and multiple anion binding sites in the conductance pore. The open probability and mean open time of ClC-2 was voltage dependent, decreasing dramatically as the patches were depolarized. The order of anion selectivity for ClC-2 was Cl > Br > NO(3) > I > SCN, where SCN is thiocyanate. ClC-2 was a "double-barreled" channel favoring even numbers of levels over odd numbers as if the channel protein had two conductance pathways that opened independently of one another. The channel could be, at least, partially blocked by glibenclamide. The properties of the channel in A6 cells were indistinguishable from ClC-2 channels stably transfected in HEK293 cells. CFTR in the patches had a selectivity of Cl > Br >> NO(3) congruent with SCN congruent with I. It outwardly rectified as expected for a single-site anion channel. Because of its properties, ClC-2 is uniquely suitable to promote anion secretion with little anion reabsorption. CFTR, on the other hand, could promote either reabsorption or secretion depending on the anion driving forces.

The alveolar surface of the lung is lined by alveolar type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2) cells. Using single channel patch clamp analysis in lung slice preparations, we are able to uniquely study AT1 and AT2 cells separately from intact lung. We report for the first time the Na