Search Results (974)

Background/Objectives: Health education plays a vital role in training health professionals and caregivers, supporting both prevention and the promotion of self-care. In this context, technology serves as a valuable ally by enabling continuous and flexible learning. Among the various domains of health education, nutrition stands out as a key element in the management of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), helping to prevent malnutrition and enhance patient well-being. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and learning processes within a learning pathway focused on food and nutrition in the context of ALS. Methods: This study adopted a longitudinal, quantitative design. The learning pathway, titled “Food and Nutrition in ALS,” consisted of four self-paced and self-instructional Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), offered through the Virtual Learning Environment of the Brazilian Health System (AVASUS). Participants included health professionals, caregivers, and patients from all five regions of Brazil. Participants had the autonomy to complete the courses in any order, with no prerequisites for enrollment. Results: Out of 14,263 participants enrolled nationwide, 182 were included in this study after signing the Informed Consent Form. Of these, 142 (78%) completed at least one course and participated in the educational intervention. A significant increase in knowledge was observed, with mean pre-test scores rising from 7.3 (SD = 1.8) to 9.6 (SD = 0.9) on the post-test across all courses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The self-instructional, technology-mediated continuing education model proved effective in improving participants’ knowledge about nutrition in ALS. Future studies should explore knowledge retention, behavior change, and the impact of such interventions on clinical outcomes, especially in multidisciplinary care settings. Full article

Background/Objectives: Studies have reported that female athletes often exhibit low levels of nutritional knowledge and inadequate dietary intake to meet their nutritional needs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nutritional education intervention on nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and body composition in female handball players (n = 45; age, 17.6 ± 2.1 years). Methods: A quasi-experimental intervention design was implemented, consisting of a 3-week educational program delivered through six in-person sessions led by a registered dietitian. Nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, and anthropometric and body composition measurements were assessed. Results: Nutrition knowledge levels were significantly higher both immediately post-intervention and three months later compared to baseline (p < 0.05, ES > 0.8). A total of 36 participants completed a 3-day dietary record at baseline and at follow-up. Initial assessments revealed insufficient energy (31 kcal/kg/day) and carbohydrate intake (3.0 g/kg/day) and a high intake of total fats (1.4 g/kg/day). During follow-up, a significant decrease in the consumption of foods rich in sugar was observed (p = 0.0272). A total of 82.2% of the players needed to improve their adherence to the Mediterranean diet. No significant changes were found in Mediterranean diet adherence or body composition following the intervention. Conclusions: The nutritional education intervention significantly improved athletes’ nutritional knowledge and significantly decreased their consumption of sugary foods; however, further studies are needed to evaluate its impact on dietary intake and body composition, considering the study’s limitations. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of nutritional education on nutritional knowledge, nutritional status, and quality of life in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods: Thirty patients participated. At baseline, assessments were conducted to collect data on demographics, physical activity, anthropometric and biochemical measures, dietary habits, 24 h food intake, nutritional status, quality of life, and nutritional knowledge. Participants received a 30 min face-to-face nutritional education session by a registered dietitian, repeated after one month. A follow-up phone call was conducted one month later to reinforce the education. Final evaluations were completed one month after the call. Results: A significant upward trend was detected in nutritional knowledge scores after the intervention period (from 7.4 ± 2.76 to 9.2 ± 3.45). The physical component of quality of life improved, while the mental component showed a slight decline. Dietary changes included reduced energy and protein intake among females and increased protein intake in males. In both genders, fat intake increased and carbohydrate intake decreased. Biochemical improvements were observed, including significant reductions in gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and triglycerides in females and alanine aminotransferase and gamma-glutamyl transferase in males. Conclusions: Structured nutritional education may improve nutritional knowledge, dietary behavior, and biochemical markers in cirrhosis patients. Longer follow-up durations may further enhance these improvements. Full article

The lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) is a widely utilized, rapid diagnostic technique characterized by its short analysis duration, cost efficiency, visual result interpretation, portability and suitability for point-of-care applications. However, conventional LFIAs have limited sensitivity, a challenge that can be overcome by the introduction of gold nanoparticles, which provide enhanced sensitivity and selectivity (compared, for example, to latex beads or carbon nanoparticles) for the detection of target analytes, due to their optical properties, chemical stability and ease of functionalization. In this work, gold nanoparticle-based LFIAs are developed for the detection of aflatoxin B1, and the relative performance of different morphology particles is evaluated. LFIA using gold nano-labels allowed for aflatoxin B1 detection over a range of 0.01 ng/mL–100 ng/mL. Compared to spherical gold nanoparticles and gold nano-flowers, star-shaped gold nanoparticles show increased antibody binding efficiency of 86% due to their greater surface area. Gold nano-stars demonstrated the highest sensitivity, achieving a limit of detection of 0.01ng/mL, surpassing the performance of both spherical gold nanoparticles and gold nano-flowers. The use of star-shaped particles as nano-labels has demonstrated a five-fold improvement in sensitivity, underscoring the potential of integrating diverse nanostructures into LFIA for significantly improving analyte detection. Moreover, the robustness and feasibility of gold nano-stars employed as labels in LFIA was assessed in detecting aflatoxin B1 in a wheat matrix. Improved sensitivity with gold nano-stars holds promise for applications in food safety monitoring, public health diagnostics and rapid point-of-care diagnostics. This work opens the pathway for further development of LFIA utilizing novel nanostructures to achieve unparallel precision in diagnostics and sensing. Full article

Antibiotic residues in poultry pose health and resistance risks, necessitating breed-specific WDTs. In this study, the residue elimination patterns of seven antibiotics in Taihang chicken tissues under free-range conditions were studied and the appropriate WDT was formulated. A total of 240 healthy Taihang chickens aged 100 days were randomly divided into 8 groups, each comprising 30 chickens. Chickens in groups 1 to 7 were administered oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, tylvalosin, lincomycin, and tiamulin, respectively. Regarding the administration method, we adopted the highest dose and maximum course of treatment recommended by the Veterinary Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China. Group 8 served as the control group. Muscle, sebum, liver, and kidney samples were collected at 4 h, 1 d, 2 d, 3 d, 5 d, 7 d, 10 d, 13 d, and 16 d after drug withdrawal. Our results demonstrated that the drug residues after drug withdrawal gradually decreased with the increase in drug withdrawal days, and the elimination rate in the early stage of drug withdrawal was significantly faster than that in the later stage. At 4 h after drug withdrawal, the drug residues in various tissues reached their highest values. In most cases, the drug concentrations in the kidney and liver were higher than those in the muscles and sebum; however, some drugs also exhibited concentration peaks in the sebum. On the first day of drug withdrawal, the amount of residues in various tissues decreased rapidly. In general, the elimination rate of various drugs in the muscles, liver, and kidneys is faster but slower in the sebum. Based on the WDT calculation software WT1.4, the recommended WDTs for oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, erythromycin, tylosin, tylvalosin, lincomycin, and tiamulin chickens are 4 d, 5 d, 11 d, 8 d, 13 d, 13 d, and 7 d, respectively. These findings support food safety and industry development. Full article

Clinical and animal studies suggest that multiple brain systems are involved in mediating reward-motivated and related emotional behavior including the consumption of commonly used drugs and palatable food, and there is evidence that the repeated ingestion of or exposure to these rewarding substances may in turn stimulate these brain systems to produce an overconsumption of these substances along with co-occurring emotional disturbances. To understand this positive feedback loop, this review focuses on a specific population of hypothalamic peptide neurons expressing melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH), which are positively related to dopamine reward and project to forebrain areas that mediate this behavior. It also examines neurons expressing the peptide hypocretin/orexin (HCRT) that are anatomically and functionally linked to MCH neurons and the molecular systems within these peptide neurons that stimulate their development and ultimately affect behavior. This report first describes evidence in animals that exposure in adults and during adolescence to rewarding substances, such as the drugs alcohol, nicotine and cocaine and palatable fat-rich food, stimulates the expression of MCH as well as HCRT and their intracellular molecular systems. It also increases reward-seeking and emotional behavior, leading to excess consumption and abuse of these substances and neurological conditions, completing this positive feedback loop. Next, this review focuses on the model involving embryonic exposure to these rewarding substances. In addition to revealing a similar positive feedback circuit, this model greatly advances our understanding of the diverse changes that occur in these neuropeptide/molecular systems in the embryo and how they relate, perhaps causally, to the disturbances in behavior early in life that predict a later increased risk of developing substance use disorders. Studies using this model demonstrate in animals that embryonic exposure to these rewarding substances, in addition to stimulating the expression of peptide neurons, increases the intracellular molecular systems in neuroprogenitor cells that promote their development. It also alters the morphology, migration, location and neurochemical profile of the peptide neurons and causes them to develop aberrant neuronal projections to forebrain structures. Moreover, it produces disturbances in behavior at a young age, which are sex-dependent and occur in females more than in males, that can be directly linked to the neuropeptide/molecular changes in the embryo and predict the development of behavioral disorders later in life. These results supporting the close relationship between the brain and behavior are consistent with clinical studies, showing females to be more vulnerable than males to developing substance use disorders with co-occurring emotional conditions and female offspring to respond more adversely than male offspring to prenatal exposure to rewarding substances. It is concluded that the continued consumption of or exposure to rewarding substances at any stage of life can, through such peptide brain systems, significantly increase an individual’s vulnerability to developing neurological disorders such as substance use disorders, anxiety, depression, or cognitive impairments. Full article

Background: Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is the most common food allergy in children, typically resolving by adolescence. In contrast, the clinical spectrum of allergies to non-cow mammalian milk and their patterns of IgE cross-reactivity are less well documented. Nutritional differences between various mammalian milks may also impact dietary management in milk-allergic patients. Objectives: To characterize clinical features, onset age, and IgE cross-reactivity patterns of non-cow mammalian milk allergies in adult patients seen at a tertiary allergy center, and to compare these findings with published cases. Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients included in the “Extended Laboratory Investigation for Rare Causes of Anaphylaxis study” with mammalian milk allergy was performed using clinical history, skin testing, and serum-specific IgE measurements. Cross-reactivity patterns were assessed in selected cases using immunoblotting, specific IgE inhibition, and basophil activation testing, and compared with published reports of non-cow mammalian milk allergy. Results: In our case series of 22 patients with mammalian milk allergy and 10 healthy control subjects, 3 patients were identified with isolated adult-onset non-cow mammalian milk allergy (n = 1 buffalo milk; n = 2 mare milk), confirmed via immunoblotting and basophil activation testing. Streptavidin-based specific IgE measurement for buffalo cheese was positive in the buffalo milk allergic patient. The literature review identified 82 cases of non-cow mammalian milk allergy. These cases typically showed late onset (mean age 8.6 years; range 1–70 years), severe reactions (CoFAR (Consortium for Food Allergy Research) grade 3 or 4 in 66%, and one fatality), and selective sensitization (affecting sheep and/or goat, camel, mare, buffalo, donkey, or combinations thereof in 56, 10, 5, 5, 4, and 2 cases, respectively). Conclusions: Non-cow mammalian milk allergies are rare but generally present later in life with selective IgE cross-reactivity, differing from the broader cross-reactivity observed in CMA. This selectivity may allow for safe dietary alternatives. These findings underscore the need for improved diagnostics and personalized dietary management in this patient population. Full article

This study integrated non-targeted metabolomics and transcriptomics to investigate dynamic changes in Antheraea pernyi pupae across five developmental stages. Metabolomic analysis identified 1246 metabolites, primarily organic acids, lipids, heterocyclic compounds, and oxygen-containing organics. Principal component analysis revealed stage-specific metabolic profiles: amino acid derivatives (pyruvate, proline, lysine) declined, while pyrimidines (cytidine, uridine, β-alanine) and monosaccharides (glucose, mannose) increased. 18β-glycyrrhetinic and ursolic acids accumulated significantly in the middle and late stages. Transcriptomic analysis identified 7230 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with 366, 1705, and 5159 significantly differentially expressed genes in the T1, T3, and T5 comparison groups, respectively. KEGG enrichment highlighted ABC transporters, amino acid/pyrimidine metabolism, and tyrosine pathways as developmentally critical, with aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis upregulated in later phases. Integrated multi-omics analysis revealed coordinated shifts in metabolites and genes across developmental phases, reflecting dynamic nutrient remodeling during pupal maturation. This study systematically delineates the molecular transitions driving pupal development in Antheraea pernyi pupae, uncovering conserved pathway interactions and mechanistic insights into nutrient metabolism. These findings provide a scientific foundation for leveraging pupal resources in functional food innovation and bioactive compound discovery for pharmaceutical applications. Full article

Addressing climate change requires not only knowledge but also psychological resilience. This study examined whether integrating Mental Mode Management (MMM) self-regulation training with climate education improves pro-environmental outcomes and emotional responses to climate change. In a randomised 2 × 2 design, 44 participants were assigned to either a control group (CG; n = 21), which received a six-week climate education programme, or an experimental group (MMM; n = 23), which received the same education plus MMM training. Pro-environmental attitudes, behaviours, carbon emissions, climate change anxiety, mindfulness, and executive functions were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. A follow-up was also conducted six months later. Both groups showed increased pro-environmental attitudes post-intervention (η² = 0.3) and reduced food-related emissions (η² = 0.107). No changes were observed in pro-environmental behaviour scores or global carbon footprint. While neither intervention affected overall climate anxiety or cognitive impairment, functional impairment increased in the CG and decreased in the MMM group (η² = 0.177), with mindfulness facet acting with awareness moderating this effect. These findings contribute to sustainability research by showing that integrating climate education with psychological training enhances environmental awareness and fosters emotionally resilient engagement with climate challenges, supporting individual-level contributions to broader sustainability goals. Full article

Increasing temperatures associated with climate change will lead to (periodic) temperature-induced reductions in food intake in human and other mammal populations. Human adults, however, are both tolerant and resilient to periodic nutritional deficits, and the associated health effects should be limited. Intermittent nutritional deficits may also cause growth restriction in developing foetuses and young children, which potentially affects their food intake in later life. Therefore, temperature-induced hypophagia can be hypothesised to manifest as later compensatory responses with multiple concomitant (or extended) lags of varying temporal dimensions. We examined the relationship between calorie intake and ambient outdoor temperatures for a time series covering past decades (FAO data for 1961–2013) in 80 countries to determine if humans alter their food intake in response to elevated temperatures. We included eleven different temporal “windows of exposure” of varying lag. These windows considered current and recent exposure, just as lagged effects allowed for a consideration of past effects on mothers, their children, and childhood exposure. It was hypothesised that one of these could provide a basis for predicting future changes in human calorie intake in response to climate change. Our analyses showed no apparent association with temperatures in ten of the eleven hypotheses/models. The remaining hypothesis suggests that current calorie intake is linked to decadal mean temperatures with a lag of approximately three decades, pointing to an impact on mothers and their (developing) children. The impact of an increase in mean temperature varies with temperature amplitudes, and negative impacts are only found in countries with low temperature amplitudes (warmer countries), albeit the impact on calorie intake caused by a 2–3 °C change in temperatures or temperature amplitudes is generally modest. However, in considering calorie intake, we only address quantities of food (with unspecified quality), which insufficiently reflect the full range of nutritional challenges associated with increasing temperatures. Understanding climate-driven changes in human food intake requires global interdisciplinary collaboration across public health, environmental science, and policy. Full article

Microorganisms play a crucial role in food processes, safety, and quality through their dynamic interactions with other organisms. In recent years, biosensors have become essential tools for monitoring these processes in the dairy, meat, and fresh produce industries. This review highlights how microbial diversity, starter cultures, and interactions, such as competition and quorum sensing, shape food ecosystems. Diverse biosensor platforms, including electrochemical, optical, piezoelectric, thermal, field-effect transistor-based, and lateral flow assays, offer distinct advantages tailored to specific food matrices and microbial targets, enabling rapid and sensitive detection. Biosensors have been developed for detecting pathogens in real-time monitoring of fermentation and tracking spoilage. Control strategies, including bacteriocins, probiotics, and biofilm management, support food safety, while decontamination methods provide an additional layer of protection. The integration of new techniques, such as nanotechnology, CRISPR, and artificial intelligence, into Internet of Things systems is enhancing precision, particularly in addressing regional food safety challenges. However, their adoption is still hindered by complex food matrices, high costs, and the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance. Looking ahead, intelligent systems and wearable sensors may help overcome these barriers. Although gaps in standardization and accessibility remain, biosensors are well-positioned to revolutionize food microbiology, linking ecological insights to practical solutions and paving the way for safer, high-quality food worldwide. Full article

A fungal strain with comparably high chitosan yield was isolated from the Shivaganga hills and identified as Aspergillus versicolor AD07 through molecular characterization. Later, the strain was cultivated on Sabouraud Dextrose Broth (SDB) and wild jackfruit-based media to evaluate its potential for chitosan production. Among the various media formulations, the highest chitosan yield (178.40 ± 1.76 mg/L) was obtained from the jackfruit extract medium with added peptone and dextrose. The extracted chitosan was characterized through FTIR, XRD (reported a crystallinity index of 55%), TGA/DTG, and DSC analysis, confirming the presence of key functional groups and high thermal resistance. The extracted chitosan was fabricated into a sheet incorporated with 1% lemongrass oil; the sheet exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (30 mm) and Bacillus megaterium (48 mm). The biodegradation studies reported a weight loss of 38.93 ± 0.51% after 50 days of soil burial. Further, the chitosan film was tested as a packaging material for paneer, demonstrating better preservation by maintaining nutritional quality and reducing microbial load over a 14-day storage period. These findings highlight the potential of A. versicolor AD07-derived chitosan, cultivated on a waste substrate medium, as a sustainable biopolymer for food packaging applications. Full article

Soybean (Glycine max) is a protein-rich legume crop that plays an important role in achieving food security. The aim of this study was to isolate soybean-nodulating rhizobia from Côte d’Ivoire soils and evaluate their potential as efficient strains in order to develop local bioinoculants. For this objective, 38 composite soil samples were collected from Côte d’Ivoire’s five major climatic zones. These soils were used as substrate to trap the nodulating rhizobia using the promiscuous soybean variety R2-231. A total of 110 bacterial strains were isolated and subsequently identified. The analysis of ITS (rDNA16S-23S), glnII and recA sequences revealed a relatively low genetic diversity of these native rhizobia. Moreover, the ITS phylogeny showed that these were scattered into two Bradyrhizobium clades dominated by the B. elkanii supergroup, with ca. 75% of all isolates. Concatenated glnII-recA sequence phylogeny confirmed that the isolates belong in the majority to ‘B. brasilense’, together with B. vignae and some putative genospecies of Bradyrhizobium that needs further elucidation. The core gene phylogeny was found to be incongruent with nodC and nifH phylogenies, probably due to lateral gene transfer influence on the symbiotic genes. The diversity and composition of the Bradyrhizobium species varied significantly among different sampling sites, and the key explanatory variables identified were carbon (C), magnesium (Mg), nitrogen (N), pH, and annual precipitation. Based on both shoot biomass and leaf relative chlorophyll content, three isolates consistently showed a higher symbiotic effectiveness than the exotic inoculant strain Bradyrhizobium IRAT-FA3, demonstrating their potential to serve as indigenous elite strains as bioinoculants. Full article

Background: Worldwide, the awareness about childhood obesity as a public health concern is increasing, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. Obesity during early childhood may persist into later ages, increasing the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of different types of food groups with obesity among children with normal and stunted growth trajectories in Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted a secondary analysis of Pakistan Demographic and Health Surveys (PDHSs) conducted in the years 2012–2013 and 2017–2018. Data of 1230 healthy and obese children with either normal or stunted growth were analysed after excluding those who were aged below six months, wasted, underweight, or had missing anthropometric or dietary data. The relationship of different food groups with obesity among the children with normal and stunted growth was analysed by bivariate logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of paediatric obesity dropped from 7.3% in 2012–2013 to 2.4% in 2017–2018. However, the coexistence of stunting with obesity—termed the nutritional paradox—slightly increased from 2.8% in 2012–2013 to 3% in 2017–2018. Among the different food groups, the continuation of breastmilk was associated with lowering the odds of obesity by 69% (25% to 88%) among children with normal growth. Conversely, among children with stunted growth, the continuation of breastmilk was associated with an increase in the odds of obesity by 3.71 (1.08 to 12.62) times. Conclusion: Despite the 4.9% reduction in paediatric obesity, cases of the nutritional paradox are still escalating in Pakistan. This reflects an urgent need for targeted nutritional interventions to mitigate the impact of obesogenic diets and reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity in Pakistan. Full article

Mycotoxins are responsible for a multitude of diseases in both humans and animals, resulting in significant medical and economic burdens worldwide. Conventional detection methods, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), are highly effective, but they are generally confined to laboratory settings. Consequently, there is a growing demand for point-of-care testing (POCT) solutions that are rapid, sensitive, portable, and cost-effective. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are a pivotal technology in POCT due to their simplicity, rapidity, and ease of use. This review synthesizes data from 78 peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2024, evaluating advances in nanoparticle-based LFAs for detection of singular or multiplex mycotoxin types. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) remain the most widely used, due to their favorable optical and surface chemistry; however, significant progress has also been made with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), magnetic nanoparticles, quantum dots (QDs), nanozymes, and hybrid nanostructures. The integration of multifunctional nanomaterials has enhanced assay sensitivity, specificity, and operational usability, with innovations including smartphone-based readers, signal amplification strategies, and supplementary technologies such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). While most singular LFAs achieved moderate sensitivity (0.001–1 ng/mL), only 6% reached ultra-sensitive detection (<0.001 ng/mL), and no significant improvement was evident over time (ρ = −0.162, p = 0.261). In contrast, multiplex assays demonstrated clear performance gains post-2022 (ρ = −0.357, p = 0.0008), largely driven by system-level optimization and advanced nanomaterials. Importantly, the type of sample matrix (e.g., cereals, dairy, feed) did not significantly influence the analytical sensitivity of singular or multiplex lateral LFAs (Kruskal–Wallis p > 0.05), confirming the matrix-independence of these optimized platforms. While analytical challenges remain for complex targets like fumonisins and deoxynivalenol (DON), ongoing innovations in signal amplification, biorecognition chemistry, and assay standardization are driving LFAs toward becoming reliable, ultra-sensitive, and field-deployable platforms for high-throughput mycotoxin screening in global food safety surveillance. Full article