Geospatial Food Environment Exposure and Obesity Among Low Income Baltimore City Children: Associations Differ by Data Source and Processing Method.

Due to the high prevalence of childhood obesity, it is imperative to assess the relationship children's access to food retailers and obesity. However, the influence of methodological decisions on these associations has been understudied. We examined relationships between different measures of geospatial food environment (using 4 data sources, and 2 data processing methods), and BMI in a sample of low-income children in Baltimore, Maryland.

Community-Engaged Development of Strengths-Based Nutrition Measures: The Indigenous Nourishment Scales.

Mainstream approaches to nutrition typically focus on diet consumption, overlooking multi-dimensional aspects of nutrition that are important to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. To address health challenges faced by AI/AN communities, strengths-based measures of nutrition grounded in community worldviews are needed. In collaboration with AI/AN communities in Baltimore and Minneapolis, we developed the Indigenous Nourishment Scales through three phases.

Reduced red and processed meat consumption is associated with lower diet costs in US households: a national analysis of protein substitutions.

Objective: To examine the association between red and processed meat consumption and total food expenditures in US households and explore whether households could reduce food costs by substituting these meats with other protein sources such as poultry, seafood, eggs and plant proteins.

Design: Cross-sectional study using data from the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS). Using adult male equivalents (AME) for standardisation, we categorised red and processed meat purchases into quintiles.

The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP): Design, Results and Recommendations from The First Wave of Data Collection.

Objectives: The Benchmarking Exercise Programme for Older People (BEPOP) service improvement project seeks to determine and promote the exercise training characteristics associated with positive outcomes for resistance exercise for older people living with, or at risk of, sarcopenia or physical frailty.

Methods: Mixed-methods service improvement project. Ten UK National Health Service physiotherapist-led therapy services delivering exercise interventions for older people submitted anonymized data for up to 20 consecutive patients.

A WIC Agency Drip Marketing Campaign Is Well Received and Improves Program Participation and Retention: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Background: Little is known about text messaging's influence on child retention in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the influence of WICBuzz, a WIC agency drip marketing texting campaign, on retention and participation compared with a comparison WIC agency and to assess WIC participants' perceptions of the campaign's added value.

Design: A quasi-experimental design, with pre- and postimplementation measurement, was used to compare innovation and comparison groups' outcomes.

Structure and Chemical Reactivity of Y-Stabilized ZrO Surfaces: Importance for the Water-Gas Shift Reaction.

The surface structure and chemical properties of Y-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) have been subjects of intense debate over the past three decades. However, a thorough understanding of chemical processes occurring at YSZ powders faces significant challenges due to the absence of reliable reference data acquired for well-controlled model systems. Here, we present results from polarization-resolved infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) obtained for differently oriented, Y-doped ZrO single-crystal surfaces after exposure to CO and DO.

Food, nutrition, and autism: from soil to fork.

Food and nutrition-related factors have the potential to impact development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and quality of life for people with ASD, but gaps in evidence exist. On 10 November 2022, Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute hosted a 1-d meeting to explore the evidence and evidence gaps regarding the relationships of food and nutrition with ASD. This meeting report summarizes the presentations and deliberations from the meeting.

Plant-Based Dietary Patterns and Incident Diabetes in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Objective: Plant-based dietary patterns emphasize plant foods and minimize animal-derived foods. We investigated the association between plant-based dietary patterns and diabetes in a community-based U.S.

Short-term dynamics of linear growth among Peruvian infants in the first year of life in a population with linear growth faltering.

Objectives: Infant growth is recognized to vary over the short term, with periods of greater and lesser linear growth velocity. Our objectives were to (1) examine the potential differences in overall growth profiles between children who experienced cumulative growth faltering in the first year of life consistent with that seen by many children living in poverty in low- and middle-income countries, versus children without growth faltering and (2) test whether biological factors were associated with the timing of magnitude of growth saltations.

Methods: Thrice-weekly measurements of length were recorded for n = 61 Peruvian infants (28 boys and 33 girls) enrolled from birth to 1 year.

Safety, Effectiveness, and Treatment Persistence of Subcutaneous Vedolizumab in IBD: A Multicenter Study From the United Kingdom.

Background And Aims: Despite intravenous (IV) vedolizumab being established for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the novel subcutaneous (SC) route of administration may provide numerous incentives to switch. However, large-scale real-world data regarding the long-term safety and effectiveness of this strategy are lacking.

Methods: IBD patients on IV vedolizumab across 11 UK sites agreed to transition to SC injections or otherwise continued IV treatment.

Maternity care experiences and breastfeeding at discharge among Maryland WIC participants: A qualitative analysis.

Background: Breastfeeding imparts numerous health and social benefits for families. Barriers deter some individuals from breastfeeding. Rates are lower among certain populations, including participants of the federally funded Women, Infants, and Children's Program (WIC).

Nutrient intakes from complementary foods are associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers among undernourished Peruvian children.

Relatively little is known about how the diet of chronically undernourished children may impact cardiometabolic biomarkers. The objective of this exploratory study was to characterise relationships between dietary patterns and the cardiometabolic profile of 153 3-5-year-old Peruvian children with a high prevalence of chronic undernutrition. We collected monthly dietary recalls from children when they were 9-24 months old.

Adequacy of Iodine Status and Associations with Gut Health: A Prospective Cohort Study among Infants in 8 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Background: Environmental enteric dysfunction increases the likelihood of micronutrient deficiencies among infants, but few studies have assessed the potential impact of gut health on urinary iodine concentration (UIC) among this vulnerable group.

Objectives: We describe the trends of iodine status among infants from 6 to 24 mo old and examine the associations between intestinal permeability, inflammation, and UIC from 6 to 15 mo of age.

Methods: Data from 1557 children enrolled in this birth cohort study conducted in 8 sites were included in these analyses.

Engagement With and Acceptability of Digital Media Platforms for Use in Improving Health Behaviors Among Vulnerable Families: Systematic Review.

Background: The use of digital communication platforms to improve health behaviors has increased dramatically over the last decade. Public health practitioners have adopted digital communication technologies such as text messages, mobile apps, and social media to reach diverse populations. However, the effectiveness of digital communication platforms used by community-serving agencies remains unclear, and patterns of engagement and acceptability of different platforms have not been studied.

Strategies to Improve Adolescent Food Security from the Perspectives of Policy Advocates, Parents, and Adolescents.

This study explored strategies to improve adolescent food security using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 9 policy advocates, 12 parents and 15 adolescents aged between 17 and 20 years, living in households who were eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 2020. This study was part of a larger evaluation of adolescent food insecurity conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, USA during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three key strategies arose during analysis-improving federal nutrition assistance programs for households, federal nutrition assistance programs for individual adolescents, and leveraging school programs and resources.

Diet Quality and Contextual Factors Influencing Food Choice among Adolescents with Food Security and Food Insecurity in Baltimore City.

This study evaluated differences in overall diet quality, diet quality components, and food-related contextual factors between adolescents with food security and those with food insecurity. Mixed methods analysis was conducted on data from three 24-h dietary recalls from 61 adolescents ages 14-19 years old living in Baltimore, Maryland, USA in 2020-2021. All adolescents were sampled from households eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 2020.

Promising trends and influencing factors of complementary feeding practices in Côte d'Ivoire: An analysis of nationally representative survey data between 1994 and 2016.

Poor complementary feeding (CF) challenges early childhood growth. We examined the trends and influencing factors of CF practices among children aged 6-23 months in Côte d'Ivoire. Using data from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS, 1994-2011) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS, 2000-2016), the trends and predictors of World Health Organization-United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund CF indicators including the timely introduction of complementary foods (INTRO), minimum meal frequency (MMF), minimum dietary diversity (MDD) and minimum acceptable diet (MAD) were determined.

Maternal, Infant, and Child Health Outcomes Associated With the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children : A Systematic Review.

Background: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is intended to improve maternal and child health outcomes. In 2009, the WIC food package changed to better align with national nutrition recommendations.

Purpose: To determine whether WIC participation was associated with improved maternal, neonatal-birth, and infant-child health outcomes or differences in outcomes by subgroups and WIC enrollment duration.

Evolution of infant feeding practices in children from 9 to 24 months, considering complementary feeding indicators and food processing: Results from the Brazilian cohort of the MAL-ED study.

Infant feeding practices impact children's nutritional and health status, influencing growth and development. This study aimed to analyse the evolution of infant feeding practices from 9 to 24 months of age, considering infant and young child feeding (IYCF) indicators and food processing. The infant feeding practices in children from the Brazilian site of the MAL-ED study were evaluated at 9 (n = 193), 15 (n = 182) and 24 months (n = 164) using 24-h dietary recalls.

Influence of Pathogen Carbon Metabolism on Interactions With Host Immunity.

is a ubiquitous opportunistic fungal pathogen typically causing disease in immunocompromised individuals and is globally responsible for about 15% of AIDS-related deaths annually first causes pulmonary infection in the host and then disseminates to the brain, causing meningoencephalitis. The yeast must obtain and metabolize carbon within the host in order to survive in the central nervous system and cause disease. Communication between pathogen and host involves recognition of multiple carbon-containing compounds on the yeast surface: polysaccharide capsule, fungal cell wall, and glycosylated proteins comprising the major immune modulators.

Baby Friendly Hospital Designation and Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Maryland WIC Participants.

Objectives: The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative is an effective intervention to support maternal practices around breastfeeding. However, little is known about its impact on participants of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether Baby Friendly Hospital (BFH) designation in Maryland improved breastfeeding practices among Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) participants.

Diet quality scores associated with improved cardiometabolic measures among African American adolescents.

Background: The Reversing the Negative cardiovascular Effects on Weight (ReNEW) Clinic is a prospective cohort study in children and adolescents (≤21 years) at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis between diet quality using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-2010), pro-inflammatory potential using the Children's Dietary Inflammatory Index (C-DII), and cardiometabolic outcomes. AHEI-2010 and C-DII scores were assessed by median intake determined from the sample distribution and associated with cardiometabolic measures using linear regression models.

Full breastfeeding protection against common enteric bacteria and viruses: results from the MAL-ED cohort study.

Background: Breastfeeding is known to reduce the risk of enteropathogen infections, but protection from specific enteropathogens is not well characterized.

Objective: The aim was to estimate the association between full breastfeeding (days fed breast milk exclusively or with nonnutritive liquids) and enteropathogen detection.

Methods: A total of 2145 newborns were enrolled at 8 sites, of whom 1712 had breastfeeding and key enteropathogen data through 6 mo.