Validity of two new brief instruments to estimate vegetable intake in adults

Cost effective population-based monitoring tools are needed for nutritional surveillance and interventions. The aim was to evaluate the relative validity of two new brief instruments (three item: VEG3 and five item: VEG5) for estimating usual total vegetable intake in comparison to a 7-day dietary record (7DDR). Sixty-four Australian adult volunteers aged 30 to 69 years (30 males, mean age ± SD 56.3 ± 9.2 years and 34 female mean age ± SD 55.3 ± 10.0 years). Pearson correlations between 7DDR and VEG3 and VEG5 were modest, at 0.50 and 0.56, respectively. VEG3 significantly (p < 0.001) underestimated mean vegetable intake compared to 7DDR measures (2.9 ± 1.3 vs. 3.6 ± 1.6 serves/day, respectively), whereas mean vegetable intake assessed by VEG5 did not differ from 7DDR measures (3.3 ± 1.5 vs. 3.6 ± 1.6 serves/day). VEG5 was also able to correctly identify 95%, 88% and 75% of those subjects not consuming five, four and three serves/day of vegetables according to their 7DDR classification. VEG5, but not VEG3, can estimate usual total vegetable intake of population groups and had superior performance to VEG3 in identifying those not meeting different levels of vegetable intake. VEG5, a brief instrument, shows measurement characteristics useful for population-based monitoring and intervention targeting

CD40-Activated B Cells Can Efficiently Prime Antigen-Specific Naïve CD8+ T Cells to Generate Effector but Not Memory T cells

Background: The identification of the signals that should be provided by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to induce a CD8 + T cell response in vivo is essential to improve vaccination strategies using antigen-loaded APCs. Although dendritic cells have been extensively studied, the ability of other APC types, such as B cells, to induce a CD8 + T cell response have not been thoroughly evaluated. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this manuscript, we have characterized the ability of CD40-activated B cells, stimulated or not with Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists (CpG or lipopolysaccharide) to induce the response of mouse naïve CD8 + T cells in vivo. Our results show that CD40-activated B cells can directly present antigen to naïve CD8 + T cells to induce the generation of potent effectors able to secrete cytokines, kill target cells and control a Listeria monocytogenes infection. However, CD40-activated B cell immunization did not lead to the proper formation of CD8 + memory T cells and further maturation of CD40-activated B cells with TLR agonists did not promote the development of CD8 + memory T cells. Our results also suggest that inefficient generation of CD8 + memory T cells with CD40-activated B cell immunization is a consequence of reduced Bcl-6 expression by effectors and enhanced contraction of the CD8 + T cell response. Conclusions: Understanding why CD40-activated B cell immunization is defective for the generation of memory T cells and gaining new insights about signals that should be provided by APCs are key steps before translating the use of CD40-B cel

Evaluation of short dietary questions from the 1995 National Nutrition Survey

Six of the short dietary questions used in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey (see box below) were evaluated for relative validity both directly and indirectly and for consistency, by documenting the differences in mean intakes of foods and nutrients as measured on the 24-hour recall, between groups with different responses to the short questions. 1. Including snacks, how many times do you usually have something to eat in a day including evenings? 2. How many days per week do you usually have something to eat for breakfast? 3. In the last 12 months, were there any times that you ran out of food and couldn’t afford to buy more? 4. What type of milk do you usually consume? 5. How many serves of vegetables do you usually eat each day? (a serve = 1/2 cup cooked vegetables or 1 cup of salad vegetables) 6. How many serves of fruit do you usually eat each day? (a serve = 1 medium piece or 2 small pieces of fruit or 1 cup of diced pieces) These comparisons were made for males and females overall and for population sub-groups of interest including: age, socio-economic disadvantage, region of residence, country of birth, and BMI category. Several limitations to this evaluation of the short questions, as discussed in the report, need to be kept in mind including: · The method for comparison available (24-hour recall) was not ideal (gold standard); as it measures yesterday’s intake. This limitation was overcome by examining only mean differences between groups of respondents, since mean intake for a group can provide a reasonable approximation for ‘usual’ intake. · The need to define and identify, post-hoc, from the 24-hour recall the number of eating occasions, and occasions identified by the respondents as breakfast. · Predetermined response categories for some of the questions effectively limited the number of categories available for evaluation. · Other foods and nutrients, not selected for this evaluation, may have an indirect relationship with the question, and might have shown stronger and more consistent responses. · The number of responses in some categories of the short questions eg for food security may have been too small to detect significant differences between population sub-groups. · No information was available to examine the validity of these questions for detecting differences over time (establishing trends) in food habits and indicators of selected nutrient intakes. By contrast, the strength of this evaluation was its very large sample size, (atypical of most validation studies of dietary assessment) and thus, the opportunity to investigate question performance in a range of broad population sub-groups compared with a well-conducted, quantified survey of intakes. The results of the evaluation are summarised below for each of the questions and specific recommendations for future testing, modifications and use provided for each question. The report concludes with some general recommendations for the further development and evaluation of short dietary questions

A national food and nutrition monitoring and surveillance system: a framework and a business case: final report

An adequate and varied diet is important for normal growth and development, maintenance of good health and the prevention of chronic disease; as is the need for up-to-date, reliable and timely data to provide a basis for informed decision making and regulation by government. Despite this, and clear evidence for the contribution of nutrition to the considerable burden of preventable ill health, Australia’s policy makers do not have adequate information to develop cost-effective food and nutrition policy and regulation. The need for a national food and nutrition monitoring and surveillance system has long been recognised and it has been identified as a priority in several public health nutrition, obesity, physical activity and chronic disease-related policy documents. This report provides a framework and cost estimates for establishing a national food and nutrition monitoring surveillance system (FNMS). The development of the framework follows extensive consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders: Australian, State and Territory Governments, non-government organisations, professional associations and industry bodies. The framework was also informed by a review of selected international approaches to food and nutrition monitoring. Overwhelming support for an ongoing, sustainable FNMS emerged from these consultations. Government agencies, policy makers, regulators and industry representatives state that they do not have adequate information on the following: • the nutritional adequacy of the food supply; • equity of food access; • effects on health of changes in the composition of foods in the food supply; • use of nutritional supplements and their effect on nutrient intake, nutritional status and health; final report: national food and nutrition monitoring and surveillance system April 2006 5 www.nexusmc.com.au • differences in nutritional status between different population sub-groups; • alignment of food and nutrient intakes in the population with dietary targets and guidelines and nutrient reference values developed for Australia and New Zealand; • trends in eating patterns and their effect on food industry growth and innovation; • implications of technological and regulatory changes on the composition of the food supply; and • risks associated with exposure to bioactive compounds in foods at current levels of consumption. The consultation process also identified a range of significant costs and risks associated with not having an ongoing system, including: • reduced ability to appropriately develop, target and monitor the outcomes of public health nutrition interventions; • late detection of new, or accelerating, nutrition problems in the community, and the lack of trend information about the possible causes; • increasing reliance on outdated data to undertake effective risk assessment for food additives, fortification with vitamins and minerals, chemical residues etc; and • an inability to monitor the objectives of public health nutrition policies and programs. For the majority of stakeholders the costs and risks of not having a system far outweighed the costs of establishing an ongoing monitoring system. THE FRAMEWORK The framework presented in this report provides a basis for providing the information identified by stakeholders as necessary for making informed decisions about food and nutrition policy in Australia