Search Results (18,705)

Background/Objectives: Accurate estimation of nutritional content from food images has important applications in dietary assessment and public health surveillance. While large language models (LLMs) have shown promise for this task, the effects of prompt design and model selection on estimation accuracy remain poorly characterized. Methods: We evaluated three Claude models (Haiku 4.5, Sonnet 4.6, Opus 4.6) for visual estimation of five mandatory nutritional components (energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and salt equivalent) across three datasets: NutriImage (691 Japanese meal photographs with dietitian-validated ground truth, after OCR-mask quality filtering), SNAPMe (1463 US meal photographs from a publicly available benchmark), and the Japan Branded Food Database (JBFD; 989–1000 packaged food product images). We systematically compared a default prompt and a visual estimation prompt explicitly instructing the model not to read any text or numbers visible in the image. Results: The visual estimation prompt substantially improved accuracy when paired with a sufficiently capable model (energy R²: 0.23 for Haiku to 0.60 for Sonnet, JBFD). Sonnet and Opus substantially outperformed Haiku across all datasets, while differences between Sonnet and Opus were small (MedAPE difference 1–3 percentage points). Packaged food images (JBFD) yielded higher R² than meal photographs. Salt equivalent showed consistently poor accuracy (MedAPE 34–64%). On SNAPMe, Sonnet achieved lower energy MAE (116.9 vs. 123.0 kcal, −4.9%) and lower MAE for protein (5.9 vs. 7.9 g, −25.7%) and fat (6.6 vs. 8.7 g, −24.5%) compared with a recent ChatGPT-5 study. Conclusions: Claude Sonnet offers the best cost-performance balance for LLM-based nutritional estimation. Prompt design substantially affects accuracy, but only when paired with a sufficiently capable model; model visual recognition capability appears to be a key determinant of performance. These findings highlight the inherent difficulty of this task and provide practical guidance for dietary assessment system development. Full article

Background/Objectives: Evidence on the associations between adherence to different plant-based diet indices and depression in young adults remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the associations of overall, healthy, and unhealthy plant-based diet indices with depressive symptoms in university students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 with self-reported data from university students in Cuenca, Spain. Adherence to the overall plant-based diet index (PDI) and to the healthy (hPDI) and unhealthy (uPDI) plant-based diet indices were calculated using data from a 137-item food-frequency questionnaire. Mild-to-severe depression was defined as a Beck Depression Inventory II score > 13 points. Linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle-related confounders. Results: A total of 392 students (mean age: 20.9 ± 2.4 years; 70.4% female) were included. The prevalence of mild-to-severe depression was 36.0%. Higher hPDI and overall PDI scores were associated with lower depressive symptom scores, whereas uPDI scores showed a positive but non-significant association after full adjustment. In logistic regression analyses, high adherence to the hPDI was associated with lower odds of mild-to-severe depression (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.28–0.95; p-for-trend = 0.030). In contrast, higher uPDI adherence was associated with greater odds of depression, although the association was attenuated after adjustment for lifestyle-related variables. Conclusions: Greater adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with lower depressive symptoms and lower odds of mild-to-severe depression among university students. These findings highlight the importance of plant food quality, rather than plant-based diets per se, in relation to depression in young adults. Full article

Soybean is an important global crop used for oil, food, and feed production. To increase yield and land-use efficiency, growers often plant soybean at a high density or use intercropping systems. Under these systems, soybeans frequently experience shade stress, which directly affects agronomic traits such as plant height. Although researchers have well documented the genetic basis of plant height under normal conditions, the loci responsible for height variation under shade stress remain largely unexplored. Therefore, we performed a restricted two-stage multi-locus multi-allele genome-wide association study (RTM-GWAS) using SNP linkage disequilibrium block (SNPLDB) markers to identify QTLs associated with soybean plant height under shade stress. We evaluated a natural population of 181 soybean accessions for plant height traits under both normal and shaded conditions across four environments for three years. Using the Soybean40K chip, we derived 11,463 SNPLDB markers and identified 42, 33, and 28 significant SNPLDBs associated with plant height, average internode length, and number of main-stem nodes, respectively. For each SNPLDB, we estimated haplotype (allele) effects and assembled QTL–allele matrices to summarize the population’s genetic composition. Four SNPLDB loci proved stable across multiple environments, exhibiting high −lg(p) values and explaining substantial phenotypic variation. Finally, we projected that 80 candidate genes resided within 180 kb of these stable loci, and we identified four strong candidate genes linked to plant height traits based on combined positional and functional evidence. These results clarify genetic factors that influence soybean height under shading and could aid development of high-yielding soybean varieties. Full article

Background/Objectives: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in social communication, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and sensory processing abnormalities, including food selectivity. Due to the lack of effective causal therapies, alternative approaches such as dietary interventions are increasingly being explored. This study aimed to assess the impact of dietary factors on the nutritional status of children with ASD. Methods: A total of 103 children (75 with ASD and 28 controls) were included. Nutritional status was assessed using biochemical markers and standardized anthropometric measurements. Associations between nutritional status and dietary factors, particularly elimination diets implemented either on medical indications or in the absence of clinical justification, were analyzed. Results: ASD diagnosis was independently associated with lower height SDS (Standard Deviation Score). Food selectivity was significantly associated with growth patterns: children with food selectivity showed a higher prevalence of short stature compared with the control group (15.2% vs. 0%, p = 0.033). Children following elimination diets had significantly lower BMI SDS compared with those without dietary restrictions (−0.35 [−1.29 to 0.05] vs. −0.22 [−0.78 to 1.14], p = 0.046), although only 11.1% had medical indications for such interventions. Among non-supplemented participants, vitamin D deficiency was significantly more prevalent in the ASD group (84.6% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Elimination diets were the only dietary factor associated with a clinically relevant reduction in BMI SDS in children with ASD. Food selectivity alone was not associated with impaired nutritional status. Most elimination diets were implemented without confirmed medical indications. These findings highlight the importance of evidence-based dietary management and routine vitamin D supplementation in this population. Full article

The increasing consumption of fresh organic produce has given rise to concerns regarding the microbiological safety of minimally processed foods. Organic cultivation may be associated with increased exposure to environmental microorganisms due to soil-based inputs and reduced chemical interventions, including both beneficial taxa and potential foodborne pathogens. Fresh produce is known to harbour complex microbial ecosystems, which are shaped by farming practices, plant physiology, handling, packaging and storage, particularly in raw-consumed products such as leafy greens and strawberries. In this study, bacterial (16S rRNA) and eukaryotic (18S rRNA) communities were characterized by amplicon sequencing. In parallel, an amoeba-associated bacterial microbiome was analyzed and DVC-FISH was used to assess the viability and metabolic activity of pathogenic bacteria internalized within free-living amoebae (FLA). No significant differences in alpha or beta diversity were observed between organic and conventional products, suggesting microbiome convergence at the retail stage driven by post-harvest handling and processing. Potentially pathogenic genera, including Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Acinetobacter (bacterial), as well as Tilletiopsis, Candida, and Naegleria (eukaryotic), were identified in both organic and non-organic microbiomes. The viability of FLA-internalized Pseudomonas spp. was confirmed by DVC-FISH, demonstrating that FLA act as reservoirs, enhancing pathogen persistence in fresh produce. This integrated assessment of organic and conventional fruits and vegetables at the retail stage highlights the importance of post-harvest handling and retail conditions in shaping microbiological safety. The integration of microbiome profiling with targeted viability analyses demonstrates that downstream stages are critical control points for food safety and consumer exposure, beyond the influence of the production system alone. Full article

Natural microbial pigments offer important advantages and are widely studied for food applications. We investigated the biosynthetic pathways, characteristics, and bioactivities of the orange–red pigment produced by Bacillus velezensis YM–3, a strain isolated from the traditional Pixian Douban condiment. Whole-genome sequencing revealed complete pathways for melanin, phytoene, and heme biosynthesis. The purified extracellular pigment was characterized using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and ultra-performance liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry; it was preliminarily characterized as melanin-like pigment. The pigment was highly soluble in alkaline solutions, moderately soluble in water, and insoluble in common organic solvents. It exhibited strong photostability and remained stable at low temperature, precipitated under acidic conditions, and showed high stability under alkaline environments. Furthermore, the pigment demonstrated in vitro free radical scavenging activity. Hence, this study provides a scientific foundation for exploring the potential utility of B. velezensis YM–3 and its pigment metabolites as functional agents. Full article

Certain sacoglossan sea slugs, often known as “solar-powered sea slugs”, are a group of marine gastropods that have the unique ability to photosynthesize by stealing functional chloroplasts from algae. The sacoglossan Elysia papillosa can maintain functional chloroplasts for up to two weeks after feeding. The microbiome of these slugs may play a crucial role in their metabolism, immunity, development, but more importantly their photosynthesis. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing was conducted on four samples of E. papillosa in order to characterize their microbiome. Sequences were classified and relative abundance was quantified with Centrifuger and functional data was examined using SqueezeMeta. Bacteria were analyzed by taxonomic groups and hypothesized function to the sea slug was determined with literature analysis. All samples were dominated by phyla Actinomycetota, Bacillota, Patescibacteriota, and Pseudomonadota. The presence of the phyla Bacteroidota and Bacillota was notable in all samples, which contain species known to produce enzymes that break down polysaccharides. It is possible that these bacteria could assist in degradation of the polysaccharide xylan found in the cell walls of Penicillus, the algal food source of E. papillosa. One species that was found in all samples was Cutibacterium acnes which has been shown to be an important component of the gut microbiota in other marine invertebrates and may provide the host with vitamin B12 and other beneficial nutrients. Many of these bacteria may be opportunistic rather than commensal. As a result, more research is required to describe the interactions between the slug and its microbiome, but this preliminary report provides a valuable starting point for identifying the microbiome make-up to further understanding of these relationships. Full article

Background: Early childhood nutrition is strongly associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes, particularly in socially vulnerable settings. Limited evidence is available describing the relationship between nutritional status, food security, and neurodevelopment among preschool children in low-income urban areas of Colombia. This study aimed to evaluate nutritional status, household food insecurity, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children attending early childhood centers in El Codito, Bogotá, and to explore the association between anthropometric indicators and neurodevelopmental performance. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in children enrolled in community childcare centers. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric indicators according to World Health Organization growth standards, including weight for age, height for age, and body mass index for age. Neurodevelopment was evaluated using the Escala Abreviada de Desarrollo (EAD). Household food insecurity was measured through a validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed, and associations between variables were analyzed using correlation tests and group comparisons according to data distribution. Results: Most participants presented adequate nutritional status; however, a proportion of children showed risk of stunting or excess weight. Neurodevelopmental scores were generally within expected ranges, although variability was observed across developmental domains. Significant associations were identified between certain anthropometric indicators and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Moderate to severe household food insecurity was identified in 21.4% of participating households. Conclusions: Nutritional status and household food insecurity represent important contextual factors for child health in vulnerable urban populations. These findings highlight the importance of integrated nutritional and developmental monitoring strategies within early childhood programs. Further longitudinal studies are required to clarify causal pathways and to guide targeted public health interventions in similar contexts. Full article

Soil erosion (SE) is a constant, complex land degradation process, a common natural disaster that occurs all over the world and severely impacts soil fertility, food security, and environmental balance. Soil erosion depends on many factors, including soil properties, slope, vegetation, rainfall amount and intensity, and anthropogenic activities. There are two main natural erosive forces by which soil is eroded and transported—water and wind. Water erosion refers to the detachment, transportation, and deposition of soil particles (solid runoff) into river networks. These particles, varying in size and composition, are the main products of soil erosion and most strongly affect river ecosystems. Solid runoff, or sediment-laden runoff, affects water quality, destroying habitats, carrying pollutants, reducing reservoir storage, and causing flooding. Erosion control activities also influence river ecosystems in different ways. Hydrotechnical facilities, a major erosion control practice, can alter the composition of aquatic biota by disrupting longitudinal connectivity and isolating populations. Reforestation and afforestation are other erosion control practices that have a strong impact on ecosystems. Stormwater retention systems in urban and forest areas are also important measures addressed in this review. This review examines complex environmental interactions and the roles of erosion and erosion control activities in river ecosystems. During the research, several key points were established: erosion and erosion control activities significantly affect river ecosystems. There is a lack of quantitative analysis of erosion intensity and its influence on ecosystems. This is probably due to the exceptional complexity and diversity of river ecosystems, but such a study would provide important information about complex relationships in nature. Full article

Obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges worldwide and has reached the scale of a global epidemic. Its etiology is multifactorial and includes genetic, environmental, hormonal, and neurobiological factors. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the role of the gut microbiota in the regulation of energy metabolism, inflammatory processes, and the functioning of the gut–brain axis. An increasing body of evidence suggests that the gut microbiota may influence the dopaminergic system and eating behaviors through bacterial metabolites, immune pathways, and the vagus nerve. Disturbances in microbiota composition may contribute to the development of chronic low-grade inflammation and compulsive consumption of highly processed foods. This article discusses the concept of food addiction as a phenomenon involving loss of control over eating, excessive reward system reactivity, and dopaminergic dysfunction within the mesolimbic reward system. Particular attention is given to the role of the gut microbiota in modulating these processes, including the potential effects of selected commensal bacteria and the importance of dietary interventions such as the ketogenic diet in regulating the gut–brain axis. The presented data suggest that modulation of the gut microbiota may represent a promising supportive strategy in the treatment of obesity and disorders associated with compulsive eating. At the same time, it is emphasized that the current state of knowledge is largely preclinical and observational, highlighting the need for further translational and clinical studies. Full article

Microplastics and related plastic additives, particularly in agricultural products and food, have attracted concern due to their widespread distribution and potential impacts on human health. However, there is still insufficient research on microplastics and plastic additives in meat products, especially chicken meat. This study analyzed the abundance of microplastics, phthalates (PAEs), and phenolic antioxidants in small free-range farms, large cage-raised farms, and heated and unheated prefabricated chicken products and assessed the health risks of their consumption to humans. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) comprised the main microplastic in all chicken samples, with concentration ranges of 51,163.64–73,080.00 μg/kg. As PVC has a very high hazard score among polymers, these results have significant importance. Dibutyl phthalate was the main PAEs detected, with concentrations ranging from 112.20 to 640.11 μg/kg dry weight. Only one antioxidant, nonylphenol, was detected, with a concentration range of 0 to 5.14 μg/kg dry weight. The chicken samples in this study contained low levels of PAEs and phenolic antioxidants, and their intake levels did not exceed the daily tolerable intake, posing low risks to human health. However, after heating, the levels of PAEs and nonylphenol in pre-cooked chicken products increase from 214.15 to 287.02 to 446.20–463.62 μg/kg dry weight and from 0 to 2.3 to 2.94–5.14 μg/kg dry weight, respectively, necessitating consideration of the health risks of low-dose and combined exposure. This study provides a theoretical basis for quantifying the health risks posed by environmental pollutants in food, driving the transition to green production and promoting sustainable development. Full article

Sustainability has become a key strategic priority in resource-intensive industries such as food processing, yet limited research has examined how specific internal sustainability governance and management components influence firm financial performance. Drawing on the institutional theory and Resource-Based View, this study investigates the direct effects of sustainability-oriented vision and business policy, sustainability-oriented organizational culture, and sustainability strategies on financial performance in the food processing industry. The empirical analysis is based on survey data from 247 firms in Slovenia and employs multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed relationships. The results indicate that sustainability strategies exhibit the strongest positive and statistically significant effect on firm financial performance, followed by sustainability-oriented organizational culture. In contrast, sustainability-oriented vision and business policy show a statistically significant negative direct association, suggesting that formal sustainability commitments alone do not translate into financial benefits without effective strategic integration and organizational support. These findings demonstrate that sustainability does not influence financial performance uniformly, but through distinct organizational mechanisms. The study contributes to the literature by distinguishing between normative, cultural, and strategic dimensions of sustainability and demonstrating their different direct implications for financial performance. It also provides practical insights for managers by highlighting the importance of embedding sustainability into organizational culture and core strategic processes in order to support long-term financial value creation. Full article

Background: Essential oils (EOs) are promising natural antimicrobials against food-borne pathogens, yet their efficacy depends on complex chemical profiles that vary by species and origin. The evaluation of underexplored aromatic plants from the Peruvian Amazon may reveal novel bioactive agents. Methods: We chemically characterized six EOs from Aloysia citrodora, Arracacia xanthorrhiza (two cultivars), Baccharis genistelloides, Piper acutifolium, and Piper lanceifolium using GC-MS and assessed their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), Salmonella enterica (ATCC 14028), Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29212), and Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 49476). Results: EOs of Aloysia citrodora and Arracacia xanthorrhiza cv. Yellow exhibited the strongest inhibition, effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, potentially associated with higher relative abundances of oxygenated monoterpenes and aliphatic aldehydes. Dose–response analysis supported their superior antibacterial potency, with the lowest LD₅₀ values observed for these oils. Oils rich in sesquiterpenes showed lower activity. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of EO chemical composition for antibacterial potency and suggest that select Amazonian EOs have potential as natural preservatives for food safety applications. Full article

This study investigates the psychological and contextual mechanisms through which consumers’ awareness of agriculture’s contribution to climate change translates into a willingness to pay (WTP) for low-carbon agricultural products. Drawing on data from Eurobarometer 93.2 (ZA7739; N = 24,193), the research applies a moderated mediation model (Hayes’ PROCESS Model 14) to examine the mediating role of support for mandatory environmental labelling and the moderating effect of residential context. The results indicate that climate change awareness is significantly and positively associated with WTP. Moreover, support for mandatory labelling partially mediates this relationship, suggesting that institutionalized transparency may serve as a key mechanism through which environmental concern becomes economically actionable. The findings further reveal that this indirect effect is moderated by the level of urbanization, being stronger in urban areas than in rural settings. This highlights the importance of socio-spatial context in shaping consumer responses to sustainability information. Overall, the study contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by demonstrating that willingness to financially support low-carbon agriculture depends not only on environmental awareness but also on trust-enhancing policy instruments and contextual factors. The findings offer important implications for policymakers aiming to promote sustainable food systems through information-based regulation. Full article

UV-C light is a promising non-thermal technology for microbial inactivation on food surfaces; however, its efficacy may be compromised by the spatial structure of microbial colonies. The present work investigated the influence of Listeria monocytogenes colony size on UV-C treatment effectiveness using agar-based model systems. Petri dishes were inoculated at defined concentrations and incubated to generate colonies of varying sizes, which were subsequently exposed to a UV-C dose of 0.12 J/cm². Colony growth was monitored over 48 h using an image-based analysis workflow implemented in MATLAB, combined with individual colony tracking. A neural network model was developed to predict the probability of growth cessation based on colony diameter, and quantitative PCR combined with bead-beating was used to estimate cell counts per colony. UV-C treatment applied immediately after inoculation achieved high inactivation efficacy, consistent with minimal cell aggregation. As colony size increased, treatment effectiveness declined markedly. Bootstrap analysis of the neural-network predictions identified a minimum mean growth cessation probability at a colony diameter of approximately 0.862 mm. At this diameter, the predicted probability was 56.8%, with a pointwise 95% bootstrap interval of 50.3–62.8%, corresponding to approximately ${10}^{6.14}$ (viable + non-viable) cells per colony. These findings demonstrate that colony spatial structure substantially limits UV-C efficacy and underscore the importance of early-stage intervention in food surface UV-C decontamination protocols. Full article