The Influence of Time on Food Intake Patterns: Age, Period, Cohort Differences

The impact of diet and exercise on overall health and chronic disease risk has been well examined. Multiple studies show that Americans eat more now than they did fifty years ago. What isn’t known is how much of an impact time has on food intake patterns of individuals in terms of different age groups, historic periods of structural influences, and birth cohorts. In order to identify the impact of time on food intake this study examined time from multiple perspectives. The first aim of this study was to determine food intake patterns among age groups across five time periods using a cross-sectional approach. The second aim of this study was to use a cohort perspective to measure food intake patterns among three birth cohorts across five time periods. The third aim of this study was to break down observed food patterns by group characteristics such as ethnicity, gender, income, education level, and marital status. The final aim of this study was to analyze the findings from the first three aims through a time context using historic information to connect individuals with socioecological factors that influence age and period-specific food knowledge, perceptions, decisions, and behaviors. Using data from five NHANES survey analyses confirms that total calorie and macronutrient intake has increased over the past fifty years. In addition, this study found that increased consumption occurred in all age groups. Within all five time periods, macronutrient intake declined with advancing age. When comparing birth cohorts over time, all cohorts in this study hit their peak intake of macronutrients and total calories in the years 2001 and 2011. Protein and fat intake was higher in those under the age of 50 while carbohydrate intake was highest in those over the age of 50. Using the life course framework, these factors were examined simultaneously. Results of this study are unique among food intake research because they incorporate not only socioecological influences but also life span and life course perspectives. This holistic approach will provide significant insight into food choice and behavior which has previously been absent from food intake studies

Does it Pay to be Perfect? A Lesson Learnt from CV XYZ

E-commerce provides an excellent opportunity to increase the company revenues, especially during the COVID-19. Many features that appear in the E-commerce platform can influence the customer purchase intention. Therefore, most companies strive to achieve the highest maximum Star-rating that serves as the electronic version of word of mouth. CV XYZ expects to increase the 5-Star-rating count by creating the after-sales service program. However, does it pay to be perfect? By collecting Star-rating data from six online stores across three different online marketplaces organized by CV XYZ, we develop simple Statistics to a more sophisticated Markov Chain and Regression to analyze the data. The result shows that the distribution movement of Star rating before and after implement the program is not significantly different. However, the after-sales service program greatly improved the average daily Sales around IDR 31M (p-value for the T-test = 0.0039). By simply using Pearson Correlation analysis, we found a negative correlation between Sales and Star-Rating counts that encounter us in the �too good to be true� phenomenon. Therefore, it is more critical for the company to figure out an optimal number of 5-Star ratings achieved to maximize Sales than only focus to achieve the highest 5-Star ratings

Site-specific glycan analysis of proteins in cell culture conditioned media and subcellular fractions by LC-MS/MS for understanding the impact of process conditions on N-glycosylation

Protein glycosylation, which involves the attachment of sugar residues to proteins, is an important post-translational modification that can influence the structure, pharmacological activity and stability of therapeutic proteins. The mechanisms by which cells modify and process these sugars therefore needs to be well understood and tightly controlled during protein production to ensure consistent product quality. Typically, glycosylation patterns are determined for the secreted therapeutic protein found in the conditioned media (CM). However, since glycosylation occurs through enzymatic reactions within the cellular endomembrane system, the glycosylation profile of the therapeutic protein in different intracellular compartments can also provide valuable insight into the static and dynamic properties of the cell culture system that impact protein glycosylation. This study focuses on determination of glycosylation patterns in CM and different sub-cellular fractions for three distinct N-glycosylation sites of a therapeutic Fc-fusion protein, by applying the Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) approach coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). SRM is a rapidly evolving technique for the reliable quantification of low abundance glycopeptides, since it reduces noise and enhances signal intensity by monitoring a select number of predetermined transitions. This mode of analysis was successfully applied for comprehensive site-specific glycan profiling of the therapeutic protein from CM and sub-cellular fractions during CHO cell culture, providing an overview of intermediate and final glycan species formed during the glycosylation process. The distinct glycan distribution patterns for the Fc-fusion protein in CM and different sub-cellular fractions, revealed through this effort, provide a window for understanding the impact of cell culture conditions on the glycosylation pathway, and possibly identify the bottlenecks in generation of glycan species of interest

Interprofessional Education: A Team Approach in the Classroom

Interprofessional education is an increasingly common component of course work for health care professionals. Extant research provides examples of these collaborations across multiple health disciplines, however, there is no research that addresses interprofessional education between the fields of occupational therapy and dietetics. This study was conducted in order to fill the gap of extant research related to unique collaborations between occupational therapy and dietetics. The Interprofessional Attitudes Scale was given to occupational therapy and dietetic students pre/post participation in an interprofessional, active learning, educational case-study. There was one item on the scale that demonstrated a statistically significant change (“shared learning before graduation will help me become a better team worker”), while all other items showed only a slight positive increase. While this study suggests that students value interprofessional education, there is further research needed to determine what types of interprofessional education are most impactful for students at various levels of education

The RNA-binding protein, ZFP36L2, influences ovulation and oocyte maturation

ZFP36L2 protein destabilizes AU-rich element-containing transcripts and has been implicated in female fertility. In the C57BL/6NTac mouse, a mutation in Zfp36l2 that results in the decreased expression of a form of ZFP36L2 in which the 29 N-terminal amino acid residues have been deleted, ΔN-ZFP36L2, leads to fertilized eggs that arrest at the two-cell stage. Interestingly, homozygous ΔN-Zfp36l2 females in the C57BL/6NTac strain release 40% fewer eggs than the WT littermates (Ramos et al., 2004), suggesting an additional defect in ovulation and/or oocyte maturation. Curiously, the same ΔN-Zfp36l2 mutation into the SV129 strain resulted in anovulation, prompting us to investigate a potential problem in ovulation and oocyte maturation. Remarkably, only 20% of ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes in the 129S6/SvEvTac strain matured ex vivo, suggesting a defect on the oocyte meiotic maturation process. Treatment of ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes with a PKA inhibitor partially rescued the meiotic arrested oocytes. Furthermore, cAMP levels were increased in ΔN-Zfp36l2 oocytes, linking the cAMP/PKA pathway and ΔN-Zfp36l2 with meiotic arrest. Since ovulation and oocyte maturation are both triggered by LHR signaling, the downstream pathway was investigated. Adenylyl cyclase activity was increased in ΔN-Zfp36l2 ovaries only upon LH stimulation. Moreover, we discovered that ZFP36L2 interacts with the 3′UTR of LHR mRNA and that decreased expression levels of Zfp36l2 correlates with higher levels of LHR mRNA in synchronized ovaries. Furthermore, overexpression of ZFP36L2 decreases the endogenous expression of LHR mRNA in a cell line. Therefore, we propose that lack of the physiological down regulation of LHR mRNA levels by ZFP36L2 in the ovaries is associated with anovulation and oocyte meiotic arrest.Fil: Ball, Christopher B.. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Rodriguez, Karina F.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Stumpo, Deborah J.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Ribeiro Neto, Fernando. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Korach, Kenneth S.. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Blackshear, Perry J.. University of Duke; Estados Unidos. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Birnbaumer, Lutz. National Institutes of Health; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ramos, Silvia B. V.. University of North Carolina; Estados Unido

Synthesis and Recognition Properties of Higher Order Tetrathiafulvalene (Ttf) Calix N Pyrroles (N=4-6)

Two new benzoTTF-annulated calix[n]pyrroles (n = 5 and 6) were synthesized via a one-step acid catalyzed condensation reaction and fully characterized via single crystallographic analyses. As compared to the known tetra-TTF annulated calix[4]pyrrole, which is also produced under the conditions of the condensation reaction, the expanded calix[n]pyrroles (n = 5 and 6) are characterized by a larger cavity size and a higher number of TTF units (albeit the same empirical formula). Analysis of the binding isotherms obtained from UV-Vis spectroscopic titrations carried out in CHCl3 in the presence of both anionic (Cl-, Br-, I-, CH3COO-, H2PO4-, and HSO4-) and neutral (1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)) substrates revealed that as a general rule the calix[6]pyrrole derivative proved to be the most efficient molecular receptor for anions, while the calix[4]pyrrole congener proves most effective for the recognition of TNB and TNT. These findings are rationalized in terms of the number of electron rich TTF subunits and NH hydrogen bond donor groups within the series, as well as an ability to adopt conformations suitable for substrate recognition, and are supported by solid state structural analyses.National Science Foundation CHE 1057904, 0741973Robert A. Welch Foundation F-1018Danish Natural Science Research Council (FNU) 272-08-0047, 11-106744WCU (World Class University) program of Korea R32-2010-10217-0Villum FoundationChemistr

Monetary policy and alternative measures of inflation:empirical evidence for the UK

The issue of which measure of inflation ought to be targeted by policymakers has been extensively analysed, but the equally important issue of which inflation rate is actually targeted by policymakers in practice has been given much less attention. The paper addresses this question, using data for the UK, a country where differences among the alternative measures are especially marked. We estimate simple Taylor-like monetary policy rules, using several different measures of inflation. We find that plausible models can be obtained for each of the different measures, suggesting that it may not matter which is used in empirical analysis. Models using the RPI measure of inflation have a slight empirical advantage which reflects the ability better to explain monetary policy in more turbulent circumstances

Ebstein Anomaly in Pregnancy

A 27-year-old primiparous woman with 28 weeks gestational age was admitted to our hospital with worsening shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with Ebstein’s anomaly three years ago, but preferred to be left untreated. The patient was not cyanotic and her vital signs were stable. Her ECG showed incomplete RBBB and prolonged PR-interval. Blood tests revealed mild anemia. Observation of two-dimensional echo with color flow Doppler study showed Ebstein’s anomaly with PFO as additional defects, EF of 57%, LV and LA dilatation, RV atrialization, severe TR, and moderate PH with RVSP of 44.3 mmHg. The patient then underwent elective sectio caesaria at 30 weeks of gestational age; both the mother and her baby were alive and were in good conditions. Problem: there was an increasing breathlessness in this patient so that there was an increasing need to take a decision for her pregnancy.Ebstein’s anomaly is a complicated congenital anomaly. Medical treatment may be followed for many years in patients with mild forms of Ebstein’s anomaly. Surgery should be considered if there is objective evidence of debasement such as significant enlargement of heart size, reduction of systolic function in echocardiography

‘It has become everybody’s business and nobody’s business’: Policy actor perspectives on the implementation of TB infection prevention and control (IPC) policies in South African public sector primary care health facilities

Karina Kielmann - ORCID: 0000-0001-5519-1658 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5519-1658South Africa is increasingly offering screening, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB), and especially drug-resistant TB, at the primary care level. Nosocomial transmission of TB within primary health facilities is a growing concern in South Africa, and globally. We explore here how TB infection prevention and control (IPC) policies, historically focused on hospitals, are being implemented within primary care facilities. We spoke to 15 policy actors using in-depth interviews about barriers to effective TB-IPC and opportunities for improving implementation. We identified four drivers of poor policy implementation: fragmentation of institutional responsibility and accountability for TB-IPC; struggles by TB-IPC advocates to frame TB-IPC as an urgent and addressable policy problem; barriers to policy innovation from both a lack of evidence as well as a policy environment dependent on ‘new’ evidence to justify new policy; and the impact of professional medical cultures on the accurate recognition of and response to TB risks. Participants also identified examples of TB-IPC innovation and described conditions necessary for these successes. TB-IPC is a long-standing, complex health systems challenge. As important as downstream practices like mask-wearing and ventilation are, sustained, effective TB-IPC ultimately requires that we better address the upstream barriers to TB-IPC policy formulation and implementation.The support of the Economic and Social Research Council (IK) is gratefully acknowledged. The project is partly funded by the Antimicrobial Resistance Cross Council Initiative supported by the seven research councils in partnership with other funders including support from the GCRF. Grant reference: ES/P008011/1https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2020.183993216pubpub1