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Design and Synthesis of Polybetaines for Nonfouling Applications
Polybetaines represent a unique class of charged polymers. These polymers contain both a positive and negative charge on each repeat unit so that the polymer itself is charge-neutral. The highly polar nature of the betaine group gives rise to biocompatibility and strong hydration, making polybetaines attractive biomaterials. Ring-opening metathesis polymerization’s utility in polymerizing charged monomers opened up a new avenue to obtain polybetaines. Dual-functional polybetaines obtained by ring-opening the imide group of cationic oxanorbornene-based polymers were previously described. Here, that chemistry is expanded upon to create a broad library of new betaines. First, the ring-opening reaction in oxanorbornene imides is explored in-depth so that it can be developed into an efficient set of post-polymerization functionalization reactions. New betaines based on the oxanorbornene scaffold are then synthesized, taking advantage of this dual-functional chemistry. A range of well-defined, amphiphilic betaines that contain alkyl, benzyl and fluorinated moieties are obtained in this way. Additionally, the more traditional linear carboxybetaine and sulfobetaine structures are incorporated into the oxanorbornene imide backbone as well. These materials then allow us to study the structure-property relationships between the diverse betaine chemistries and their surface and nonfouling properties
Silicon-based nanochannel glucose sensor
Silicon nanochannel biological field effect transistors have been developed
for glucose detection. The device is nanofabricated from a silicon-on-insulator
wafer with a top-down approach and surface functionalized with glucose oxidase.
The differential conductance of silicon nanowires, tuned with source-drain bias
voltage, is demonstrated to be sensitive to the biocatalyzed oxidation of
glucose. The glucose biosensor response is linear in the 0.5-8 mM concentration
range with 3-5 min response time. This silicon nanochannel-based glucose
biosensor technology offers the possibility of high density, high quality
glucose biosensor integration with silicon-based circuitry.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, two-column format. Related papers can be found at
http://nano.bu.ed
Disease burden of selected gastrointestinal pathogens in Australia, 2010
SummaryObjectiveTo estimate and compare disease burden attributable to six gastrointestinal pathogens (norovirus, rotavirus, Campylobacter, non-typhoidal Salmonella, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium) in Australia, 2010.MethodsWe estimated the number of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases and deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and DALY/case for each pathogen. We included AGE cases that did not require medical care. Sequelae were included for Campylobacter (Guillain–Barré syndrome, reactive arthritis (ReA), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)) and Salmonella (ReA, IBS).ResultsWe estimated 16626069 AGE cases in Australia in 2010 (population 22 million). Of the pathogens studied, most AGE cases were attributed to norovirus (2180145), Campylobacter (774003), and Giardia (614740). Salmonella caused the fewest AGE cases (71255) but the most AGE deaths (90). The DALY burden was greatest for Campylobacter (18222 DALYs) and Salmonella (3856 DALYs), followed by the viral and protozoal pathogens. The average DALY/case was greatest for Salmonella (54.1 DALY/1000 cases), followed by Campylobacter (23.5 DALY/1000 cases).ConclusionsThe pathogen causing the greatest disease burden varied according to the metric used, however DALYs are considered most useful given the incorporation of morbidity, mortality, and sequelae. These results can be used to prioritize public health interventions toward Salmonella and Campylobacter infections and to measure the impact of these interventions
Screening Practices for Infectious Diseases among Burmese Refugees in Australia
Helicobacter pylori and Strongyloides spp. infections were the most common conditions found
Development and Validation of a Food-Frequency Questionnaire for the Determination of Detailed Fatty Acid Intakes
Objective: To validate a fat intake questionnaire (FIQ) developed to assess habitual dietary intake while focusing on the assessment of detailed fatty acid intake including total trans unsaturated fatty acids (TUFA). Design: An 88 food item/food group FIQ was developed using a meal pattern technique. Validation was achieved by comparison with dietary intake assessed by a modified diet history (DH) in a cross-over design. Eighty-four individuals supplied adipose tissue biopsies for linoleic acid and total TUFA analysis as an independent validation of the FIQ and DH. Setting: Medical Centre, Dublin Airport, Republic of Ireland. Subjects: One hundred and five healthy volunteers (43 females and 62 males aged 23–63 years). Results: Significant correlations (P , 0.0005) were achieved for intakes of energy (0.78), total fat (0.77), saturated fat (0.77), monounsaturated fat (0.63), polyunsaturated fat (0.73), TUFA (0.67) and linoleic acid (0.71) assessed by the FIQ compared with the DH. Linoleic acid intake assessed by the FIQ and the DH was significantly correlated with adipose tissue concentrations (r ¼ 0.58 and 0.49, respectively; P , 0.005); however, total TUFA intake was poorly correlated with adipose tissue concentrations (r ¼ 0.17 and 0.10 for FIQ and DH, respectively). Conclusions: The FIQ compared favourably with the DH in assessing habitual diet, in particular fatty acid intake. In addition, the FIQ was successfully validated against the linoleic acid composition of adipose tissue, an independent biomarker of relative fatty acid status. The FIQ could therefore be used as an alternative to the DH as it is a shorter, less labour-intensive method
Capturing health and eating status through a nutritional perception screening questionnaire (NPSQ9) in a randomised internet-based personalised nutrition intervention : the Food4Me study
BACKGROUND: National guidelines emphasize healthy eating to promote wellbeing and prevention of non-communicable diseases. The perceived healthiness of food is determined by many factors affecting food intake. A positive perception of healthy eating has been shown to be associated with greater diet quality. Internet-based methodologies allow contact with large populations. Our present study aims to design and evaluate a short nutritional perception questionnaire, to be used as a screening tool for assessing nutritional status, and to predict an optimal level of personalisation in nutritional advice delivered via the Internet. METHODS: Data from all participants who were screened and then enrolled into the Food4Me proof-of-principle study (n = 2369) were used to determine the optimal items for inclusion in a novel screening tool, the Nutritional Perception Screening Questionnaire-9 (NPSQ9). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on anthropometric and biochemical data and on dietary indices acquired from participants who had completed the Food4Me dietary intervention (n = 1153). Baseline and intervention data were analysed using linear regression and linear mixed regression, respectively. RESULTS: A final model with 9 NPSQ items was validated against the dietary intervention data. NPSQ9 scores were inversely associated with BMI (β = -0.181, p < 0.001) and waist circumference (Β = -0.155, p < 0.001), and positively associated with total carotenoids (β = 0.198, p < 0.001), omega-3 fatty acid index (β = 0.155, p < 0.001), Healthy Eating Index (HEI) (β = 0.299, p < 0.001) and Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) (β = 0. 279, p < 0.001). Findings from the longitudinal intervention study showed a greater reduction in BMI and improved dietary indices among participants with lower NPSQ9 scores. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy eating perceptions and dietary habits captured by the NPSQ9 score, based on nine questionnaire items, were associated with reduced body weight and improved diet quality. Likewise, participants with a lower score achieved greater health improvements than those with higher scores, in response to personalised advice, suggesting that NPSQ9 may be used for early evaluation of nutritional status and to tailor nutritional advice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01530139 .Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Personalized Nutrition Advice Reduces Intake of Discretionary Foods and Beverages: Findings From the Food4Me Randomized Controlled Trial
© 2021 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Objectives This study aimed to examine changes in intake of discretionary foods and beverages following a personalized nutrition intervention using two national classifications for discretionary foods. Methods Participants were recruited into a 6-month RCT across seven European countries (Food4Me) and were randomized to receive generalized dietary advice (Control) or one of three levels of personalized nutrition advice (based on dietary, phenotypic and genotypic information). Dietary intake from a FFQ was used to determine change between baseline and month 6 in (i) % energy, % contribution to total fat, SFA, total sugars and salt and (ii) contribution (%) made by sweets and snacks to intake of total fat, SFA, sugars and salt from discretionary foods and beverages, defined by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG). Results A total of 1270 adults (40.9 (SD 13.0) years; 57% female) completed the intervention. At month 6, percentage sugars from FSS discretionary items was lower in personalized nutrition vs control (19.0 ± 0.37 vs 21.1 ± 0.65; P = 0.005). Percentage energy (31.2 ± 0.59 vs 32.7 ± 0.59; P = 0.031), % total fat (31.5 ± 0.37 vs 33.3 ± 0.65; P = 0.021), SFA (36.0 ± 0.43 vs 37.8 ± 0.75; P = 0.034) and sugars (31.7 ± 0.44 vs 34.7 ± 0.78; P < 0.001) from ADG discretionary items were lower in personalized nutrition vs control. The % contribution of sugars from sweets and snacks was lower in personalized nutrition vs control (19.1 ± 0.36 vs 21.5 ± 0.63; P < 0.001). At 3 months, effects were consistent for ADG discretionary items, while there was no significant differences in personalized nutrition vs control for FSS discretionary items. Conclusions Compared with generalized dietary advice, personalized nutrition advice achieved greater reductions in intake of discretionary foods and beverages when the classification included all foods high in fat, added sugars and salt. Future personalized nutrition strategies may be used to target intake of discretionary foods and beverages. Funding Sources European Commission Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnology Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development [265494]. KML is supported by a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship (APP1173803).Peer reviewe
Association between diet-quality scores, adiposity, total cholesterol and markers of nutritional status in European adults: findings from the Food4Me study
Diet-quality scores (DQS), which are developed across the globe, are used to define adherence to specific eating patterns and have been associated with risk of coronary heart disease and type-II diabetes. We explored the association between five diet-quality scores (Healthy Eating Index,HEI; Alternate Healthy Eating Index, AHEI; MedDietScore, MDS; PREDIMED Mediterranean DietScore, P-MDS; Dutch Healthy Diet-Index, DHDI) and markers of metabolic health (anthropometry,objective physical activity levels (PAL), and dried blood spot total cholesterol (TC), total carotenoids,and omega-3 index) in the Food4Me cohort, using regression analysis. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Participants (n= 1480) were adults recruited from seven European Union (EU) countries. Overall, women had higher HEI and AHEI than men (p< 0.05), and scores varied significantly between countries. For all DQS, higher scores were associated with lower body mass index, lower waist-to-height ratio and waist circumference, and higher total carotenoids and omega-3-index (p trends < 0.05). Higher HEI, AHEI, DHDI, and P-MDS scores were associated with increased daily PAL, moderate and vigorous activity, and reduced sedentary behaviour (p trend < 0.05). We observed no association between DQS and TC. To conclude,higher DQS, which reflect better dietary patterns, were associated with markers of better nutritional status and metabolic health
Nutrition policy: developing scientific recommendations for food-based dietary guidelines for older adults living independently in Ireland
Older adults (≥65 years) are the fastest growing population group. Thus, ensuring nutritional well-being of the ‘over-65s’ to optimise health is critically important. Older adults represent a diverse population – some are fit and healthy, others are frail and many live with chronic conditions. Up to 78% of older Irish adults living independently are overweight or obese. The present paper describes how these issues were accommodated into the development of food-based dietary guidelines for older adults living independently in Ireland. Food-based dietary guidelines previously established for the general adult population served as the basis for developing more specific recommendations appropriate for older adults. Published international reports were used to update nutrient intake goals for older adults, and available Irish data on dietary intakes and nutritional status biomarkers were explored from a population-based study (the National Adult Nutrition Survey; NANS) and two longitudinal cohorts: the Trinity-Ulster and Department of Agriculture (TUDA) and the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) studies. Nutrients of public health concern were identified for further examination. While most nutrient intake goals were similar to those for the general adult population, other aspects were identified where nutritional concerns of ageing require more specific food-based dietary guidelines. These include, a more protein-dense diet using high-quality protein foods to preserve muscle mass; weight maintenance in overweight or obese older adults with no health issues and, where weight-loss is required, that lean tissue is preserved; the promotion of fortified foods, particularly as a bioavailable source of B vitamins and the need for vitamin D supplementation
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