Cerebral softening, also known as encephalomalacia, is a localized softening of the substance of the brain, due to bleeding or inflammation. Three varieties, distinguished by their color and representing different stages of the disease progress, are known respectively as red, yellow, and white softening. Causes
Stroke
Ischemia: A decreased or restriction of circulating blood flow to a region of the brain which deprives neurons of the necessary substrates (primarily glucose); represents 80% of all strokes. A thrombus or embolus plugs an artery so there is a reduction or cessation of blood flow. This hypoxia or anoxia leads to neuronal injury, which is known as a stroke. The death of neurons leads to a so-called softening of the cerebrum in the affected area.Hemorrhage: Intracerebral hemorrhage occurs in deep penetrating vessels and disrupts the connecting pathways, causing a localized pressure injury and in turn injury to brain tissue in the affected area. Hemorrhaging can occur in instances of embolic ischemia, in which the previously obstructed region spontaneously restores blood flow. This is known as a hemorrhagic infarction and a resulting red infarct occurs, which points to a type of cerebral softening known as red softening. Circle of Willis
In a study on the circle of Willis and its relation to cerebral vascular disorders, a comparison on various anomalies between normal brains (those without the condition of cerebral softening) and brains with cerebral softening were looked at to observe trends in the differences of the anatomical structure of the circle of Willis.
Addition of micronutrients to staples and condiments can prevent large-scale deficiency diseases in these cases.As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fortification refers to "the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e., vitamins and minerals in a food irrespective of whether the nutrients were originally in the food before processing or not, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimal risk to health", whereas enrichment is defined as "synonymous with fortification and refers to the addition of micronutrients to a food which are lost during processing". The Food Fortification Initiative lists all countries in the world that conduct fortification programs, and within each country, what nutrients are added to which foods. Vitamin fortification programs exist in one or more countries for folate, niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D and vitamin E. As of 21 December 2018, 81 countries required food fortification with one or more vitamins. The most commonly fortified vitamin – as used in 62 countries – is folate; the most commonly fortified food is wheat flour. Genetic engineering
Starting in 2000, rice was experimentally genetically engineered to produce higher than normal beta-carotene content, giving it a yellow/orange color. The product is referred to as golden rice (Oryza sativa).