Deuterated Nanopolymers for Renal and Lymphatic Imaging via Quantitative Deuterium MRI.

Deuterium (H) MRI is an emerging tool for noninvasive imaging. We explore the integration of H MRI with deuterated multifunctional nanopolymers for deuterated particle imaging (DPI). To this end, amine-terminated G5-polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers were labeled with deuterated acetyl surface groups, leading to highly H-loaded bioparticles, making them ideal for imaging studies.

Common Feeding Practices Used by Chinese Caregivers of 6-10-Month-Old Infants: A Behavioral Observation Study in Shaanxi Province.

Objective: To explore the feeding practices and feeding environment of Chinese families with 6-10-month-old infants.

Design: One day of caregiver-recorded feeding occasions.

Setting: Homes in Shaanxi, China.

Parahydrogen-enhanced pH measurements using [1-C]bicarbonate derived from non-enzymatic decarboxylation of [1-C]pyruvate-d.

Alterations in pH are a hallmark in several pathologies including cancer, ischemia, and inflammation. Non-invasive magnetic resonance methods to measure pH offer a new approach for early diagnosis of diseases characterized by acid-base imbalances. The hyperpolarization with parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) enhances inherently low signals in magnetic resonance experiments by several orders of magnitude and offers a suitable platform to obtain biocompatible markers in less than one minute.

Food texture experiences across nine age groups in Indian infants from urban areas.

The introduction of complementary food plays a fundamental role in dietary behaviours later in life. Little is known about the influences of age on food texture acceptance in young Indian children. Thus, the objective of this cross-sectional study was to describe the relationship between age and food texture experiences in young children aged 4-36 months in India from urban areas using a parental-reported survey.

Real-Time Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Pancreatic and Colon Cancer Tumor-Xenografts with Parahydrogen Hyperpolarized 1-C Pyruvate-d.

Parahydrogen-induced polarization (PHIP) is an emerging technique to enhance the signal of stable isotope metabolic contrast agents for Magnetic Resonance (MR). The objective of this study is to continue establishing 1-C-pyruvate-d, signal-enhanced via PHIP, as a hyperpolarized contrast agent, obtained in seconds, to monitor metabolism in human cancer. Our focus was on human pancreatic and colon tumor xenografts.

Hyperpolarization of N-Pyridinium by Using Parahydrogen Enables Access to Reactive Oxygen Sensors and Pilot In Vivo Studies.

Magnetic resonance with hyperpolarized contrast agents is one of the most powerful and noninvasive imaging platforms capable for investigating in vivo metabolism. While most of the utilized hyperpolarized agents are based on C nuclei, a milestone advance in this area is the emergence of N hyperpolarized contrast agents. Currently, the reported N hyperpolarized agents mainly utilize the dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (d-DNP) protocol.

Observations of feeding practices of US parents of young children with Down syndrome.

Parental behaviours influence food acceptance in young children, but few studies have measured these behaviours using observational methods, especially among children with Down syndrome (CWDS). The overall goal of this study was to understand parent feeding practices used during snack time with young CWDS (N = 111, aged 11-58 months). A coding scheme was developed to focus on feeding practices used by parents of CWDS from a structured home-use test involving tasting variously textured snack products.

A Probiotic Intervention With Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001 on Perinatal Mood Outcomes (PROMOTE Study): Protocol for a Decentralized Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Perinatal mood disorders such as depression and anxiety are common, with subclinical symptomology manifesting as perinatal mood disturbances being even more prevalent. These could potentially affect breastfeeding practices and infant development. Pregnant and lactating women usually limit their exposure to medications, including those for psychological symptoms.

O Hyperfine Spectroscopy Reveals Hydration Structure of Nitroxide Radicals in Aqueous Solutions.

The hydration structure of nitroxide radicals in aqueous solutions is elucidated by advanced O hyperfine (hf) spectroscopy with support of quantum chemical calculations and MD simulations. A piperidine and a pyrrolidine-based nitroxide radical are compared and show clear differences in the preferred directionality of H-bond formation. We demonstrate that these scenarios are best represented in O hf spectra, where in-plane coordination over -type H-bonding leads to little spin density transfer on the water oxygen and small hf couplings, whereas -type perpendicular coordination generates much larger hf couplings.

Effects of Probiotic Intervention on Markers of Inflammation and Health Outcomes in Women of Reproductive Age and Their Children.

The human intestinal microbiota has been shown to be modulated during inflammatory conditions. Probiotic administration has been shown to affect the immune system and cytokine expression which can affect inflammation and health outcomes. There seems to be an association between the mother's intestinal microbiota and inflammation biomarkers, both of which may contribute to newborn early life immune and metabolic programming and impact short and long-term health outcomes.

Food texture experiences across age groups in 4- to 36-month-old children in the United States.

The question of what to feed becomes a new challenge as an infant reaches the transition to complementary foods. Limited information is available that provides a texture progression map for complementary food introduction. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the relationship between age and food texture experiences (FTE) in young children aged 4-36 months in the United States.

Infant and preschooler feeding behaviors in Chinese families: A systematic review.

A systematic review was conducted on the literature on feeding behaviors in Chinese families of children under 6 years old. Forty relevant publications were identified, of which 33 were published in Chinese, 7 in English. All studies were questionnaire-based and used a cross-sectional research design.

Factors influencing breastfeeding practices in China: A meta-aggregation of qualitative studies.

The World Health Organization recommends that women exclusively breastfeed until their babies are 6 months old and continue to breastfeed while introducing complementary foods. A meta-aggregation methodology was used to systematically review and synthesise the qualitative studies on factors influencing breastfeeding practices of healthy Chinese women in Greater China. English and Chinese databases were searched to identify peer-reviewed qualitative studies (published 2008-2019).

Feeding practices demonstrated by parents of toddlers: An observational analysis of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

The aims of the current study were to compare feeding practices and the eating environment (other people present, other people eating, and screen use) observed in families of toddlers across breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. 60 families with toddlers (12-36 months; M = 24.7 months) video recorded all occasions over the course of a day when the toddler ate or drank.

Interventions to increase the consumption of water among children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of interventions to increase children's water consumption. A systematic literature search was conducted in seven electronic databases. Studies published in English before 18 February 2019 that evaluated any type of intervention that measured change in water consumption among children aged 2 to 12 years by applying any type of design were included.

Consistency Between Parent-Reported Feeding Practices and Behavioral Observation During Toddler Meals.

Objective: To assess whether feeding questionnaire responses reflect observed mealtime behavior.

Design: Cross-sectional associations between self-reported and observed behaviors.

Setting: Participants' homes.

Factors associated with water consumption among children: a systematic review.

Background: Water is recommended as the main beverage for daily fluid intake. Previous systematic reviews have studied the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) among children, but none have focused on water consumption. Insight into factors that are associated with children's water intake is needed to inform the development of interventions aimed at the promotion of water consumption.

Maternal feeding practices and children's food intake during an ad libitum buffet meal: Results from the GUSTO cohort.

Parents' feeding practices have been shown to be associated with children's food intake and weight status, but little is known about feeding practices in Asian countries. This study used behavioral observation to explore the feeding practices of 201 mothers of 4.5 year-old children in Singapore during an ad libitum buffet lunch.

Validation of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire in 5 and 6 Year-Old Children: The GUSTO Cohort Study.

Revised subscales of the Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) have been proposed to be more appropriate for assessing appetitive traits in Singaporean 3 year-olds, but the CEBQ has not yet been validated in older children in this population. The current study aimed to validate the CEBQ at ages 5 ( = 653) and 6 ( = 449) in the ethnically diverse GUSTO cohort. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined whether the established eight-factor model of the CEBQ was supported in this sample.

Longitudinal Analysis Between Maternal Feeding Practices and Body Mass Index (BMI): A Study in Asian Singaporean Preschoolers.

Bidirectional studies between maternal feeding practices with subsequent child weight are limited, with no studies in Asian populations. In longitudinal analyses, we assessed the directionality of the associations between maternal feeding practices and body mass index (BMI) in preschoolers. Participants were 428 mother child dyads from the GUSTO (Growing Up in Singapore Toward healthy Outcomes) cohort.

Associations between inhibitory control, eating behaviours and adiposity in 6-year-old children.

Background: Lower inhibitory control has been associated with obesity. One prediction is that lower inhibitory control underlies eating behaviours that promote increased energy intakes. This study examined the relationships between children's inhibitory control measured using the Stop Signal Task (SST), body composition and eating behaviours, which included self-served portion size, number of servings, eating rate, and energy intake at lunch and in an eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) task.

Parental Feeding Practices and Associations with Children's Food Acceptance and Picky Eating.

Picky eating, which includes behaviors such as limited dietary variety, neophobia, food refusals, and sensory sensitivities, can be a source of stress for families. Parents can influence their children's mealtime behavior through the feeding practices they use when offering foods. Some practices are counterproductive to establishing healthy eating habits and should be avoided, but caregivers need alternative behaviors to replace them.

Maternal feeding practices in relation to dietary intakes and BMI in 5 year-olds in a multi-ethnic Asian population.

Background: In Asia, little is known about how maternal feeding practices are associated with dietary intakes and body mass index (BMI) in preschoolers.

Objective: To assess the relationships between maternal feeding practices with dietary intakes and BMI in preschoolers in Asia using cross-sectional analysis in the GUSTO (Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes) cohort.

Participant Settings: Mothers (n = 511) who completed the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) and a semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) when children were 5 years old.

Novel public-private partnerships to address the double burden of malnutrition.

Public-private partnerships are an effective way to address the global double burden of malnutrition. While public-private partnerships operate in multiple forms, their leadership usually falls to governments, public health agencies, or nongovernmental organizations, with the private sector taking a subordinate role. The rapid ascent of social media and mass communications worldwide has provided a disruptive technology for new nutrition intervention programs.

Prospective associations between parental feeding practices and children's oral processing behaviours.

Previous research demonstrated that faster eating rates are linked with increased intake of energy during a meal. Here, we examined whether within-meal parental feeding practices show cross-sectional and prospective associations with children's oral processing behaviours and whether the previously demonstrated association between faster eating rates and higher energy intakes varies by parental feeding practices. A subset (n = 155) of children and their mothers from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes cohort participated in an ad libitum meal at age 4.