Search Results (172)

Ornamental fish shipped by road or rail may spend days in transit without food, leading to a reduction in somatic growth after transportation and during acclimatization. In the present study, a time-series (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 days) experiment was conducted to investigate the growth recovery of male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens, 1.56 ± 0.02 g body weight, n = 15 per group) transported by road for two days. Biometric changes, nesting activity, skin pigmentation, digestive enzyme activity, muscle quality, and whole-body composition, were compared across all fish groups. The recovery in growth, as indicated by final body weight, increased with post-transportation time (p < 0.05), causing a significant reversal of weight loss with a proportionally stable condition factor from day 8 until the end of observation (p > 0.05). During this time period, the fish exhibited similar bubble-nest building activity to the control group that was not transported (p > 0.05). Color parameters, digestive enzyme activities, muscle quality, and whole-body composition of fish 8 days after shipping were comparable to the control fish group (p > 0.05). Our findings indicate that an 8-day recovery time is an appropriate protocol for Siamese fighting fish acclimatization following overland shipping. Full article

The depletion of global fish stocks poses a major challenge to sustainable development, particularly in economies where marine resources are critical to livelihoods and food security. In this study, the relationship between economic development and the sustainability of fish stocks is examined using the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). We use panel data from 32 economies between 2002 and 2020 and analyze the fish stock status indicator (EPI_FSS) from the Environmental Performance Index, which captures the proportion of national catches from overfished or collapsed stocks. Using a dynamic panel approach and the generalized method of moments (GMM), we investigate how the human development index (HDI) and other socio-economic factors influence changes in the state of fish stocks. Our results show a statistically significant inverted-U-shaped (∩-shaped) relationship between the HDI and the state of fish stocks, suggesting that the deterioration of fish stocks increases at lower levels of development, but improves beyond a certain threshold. In addition, higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), education, and research and development (R&D) spending are associated with better outcomes for fish stocks. These results suggest that while early economic growth may put pressure on marine resources, sustained investment in human capital, innovation, and global integration is critical to promoting long-term marine sustainability. Full article

Background: Children, including the estimated 7% with food allergy, spend most of their waking hours in school. Variations in school-based food allergy (FA) practices exist. We aimed to examine differences in FA management practices across schools in Canada and the United States (US). Methods: Parents of children with Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated FA were recruited through social media to complete a survey evaluating the schools’ stock epinephrine, epinephrine storage locations, school type, and location. Data were described, analyzed using logistic and linear regressions, and then reported as odds ratios (ORs) and standardized coefficients (b), respectively, with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) and p < 0.05. This study was approved by the University of Manitoba Health Research Ethics Board. Results: Overall, 177 participants (14% [26/177] Canada, 86% [151/177] US) were included. Children were, on average, 4.92 ± 3.12 years and were commonly but not mutually exclusively allergic to tree nuts (50% Canada; 40% US) and peanuts (33% Canada; 29% US). Compared to US parents, Canadian parents were more likely to report epinephrine self-carriage by their children (OR = 4.58; 95%CI = 1.67–12.59). Parents with children age > 5 years were more likely to report epinephrine self-carriage by their children (OR = 3.70; 95%CI = 1.38–9.93) but less likely to report that their children’s school had an allergen-friendly zone (OR = 0.25; 95%CI = 0.06–0.99). Compared to US parents, Canadian parents were more likely to report their child’s school had anaphylaxis management policies (OR = 8.98; 95%CI = 1.11–72.42). Conclusions: Significant in-school FA management differences exist between countries. These findings stress the need for consistent policies and practices to ensure effective care. Full article

Foreign remittances have become a crucial component of the Nepalese economy. This study investigates the impact of remittances on household consumption patterns in rural Nepal using data from the World Bank’s Nepal Household Risk and Vulnerability (NHRV) Survey Panel, covering the period from 2016 to 2018. Employing an instrumental variable regression approach, we estimate the elasticity of remittances to various consumption categories. Our findings indicate that foreign remittances significantly affect total consumption expenditure. Disaggregated results reveal that remittances positively influence spending on food items and non-food categories such as education and healthcare, highlighting their role in enhancing nutrition and human capital development. However, remittances do not contribute to unproductive expenditures like tobacco, alcohol, or rituals. Therefore, other things remaining the same, remittance is enhancing welfare in rural Nepali households. Full article

Children with Down syndrome often face significant feeding difficulties and health comorbidities that may contribute to undernutrition or obesity. This study assessed dietary habits and nutritional status among 104 children with Down syndrome in Croatia, representing 11.5% of this population. Results showed that over 30% of children aged 1 to 15 were overweight. Over 60% never consumed whole grain bread, while more than 50% avoided fish, nuts, or seeds. Despite rural families more frequently producing their own food (meat p = 0.009; fruits/vegetables p = 0.035), no significant improvement was observed in the children’s diets compared to their urban counterparts. Urban children consumed milk (p = 0.008) and fermented dairy (p = 0.005) more often. Children of university-educated mothers had higher vegetable (p = 0.031), meat (p = 0.025), olive oil (p = 0.003), and nut (p = 0.029) consumption, and a lower intake of processed meats (p = 0.008) and salty snacks (p = 0.040). Families spending less than 50% of income on food also showed significantly healthier dietary patterns. Feeding difficulties in children with Down syndrome are commonly associated with sensory sensitivities, oral-motor impairments, and comorbid medical conditions. These challenges are often intensified by parental anxiety, delayed introduction of diverse foods, and inadequate professional support. Collectively, these factors contribute to selective eating, poor nutrient intake, and disordered eating behaviors. This study underscores the need for individualized nutritional interventions that address the unique physiological and sensory requirements of both children and adults with Down syndrome. Effective strategies should extend beyond general dietary recommendations to include early exposure to a variety of food textures, specialized feeding support, and the management of coexisting health conditions. Family education and engagement play a crucial role in achieving positive nutritional outcomes. Empowering parents and caregivers—especially those in socioeconomically disadvantaged or rural communities—can facilitate the alignment of food accessibility with healthy dietary practices. The findings of this research offer valuable guidance for the development and implementation of national strategies aimed at enhancing the nutrition and long-term health of individuals with Down syndrome. Full article

In this paper, we utilize the 2019/20 Uganda National Household Survey data to answer three related questions: (i) To what extent did out-of-pocket payments (OOPs) for health care services exceed the threshold for household financial catastrophe amidst COVID-19? (ii) What is the impoverishing effect of OOPs for health care services on household welfare? (iii) What are the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of OOPs for health care services in Uganda? Leveraging three health expenditure thresholds (10%, 25%, and 40%), we run a Tobit model for “left-censored” health expenditures and quantile regressions, and we find that among households which incur any form of health care expense, 37.7%, 33.6%, and 28.7% spend more than 10%, 25%, and 40% of their non-food expenditures on health care, respectively. Their average OOP budget share exceeds the respective thresholds by 82.9, 78.0, and 75.8 percentage points. While, on average, household expenditures on medicine increased amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, expenditures on consultations, transport, traditional doctors’ medicines, and other unbroken hospital charges were reduced during the same period. We find that the comparatively low incidence and intensity of catastrophic health expenditures (CHEs) in the pandemic period was not necessarily due to low household health spending, but due to foregone and substituted care. Precisely, considering the entire weighted sample, about 22% of Ugandans did not seek medical care during the pandemic due to a lack of funds, compared to 18.6% in the pre-pandemic period. More Ugandans substituted medical care from health facilities with herbs and home remedies. We further find that a 10% increase in OOPs reduces household food consumption expenditures by 2.6%. This modality of health care financing, where households incur CHEs, keeps people in chronic poverty. Full article

Background/Objectives: The consumption of microwave ready meals has increased significantly in recent years due to a noticeable reduction in the available time to spend cooking. However, one of the issues about this type of diet is its nutrient intake. The main objective of this study was to determine the content of macroelements (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) in samples of animal origin (omelette, chicken curry, meatballs, shredded meat, and prawns), vegetable origin (vegetable garnish, round rice, pesto pasta, cream of vegetable soup, and chickpeas with spinach), and mixed origin (pizza, lasagna, seafood paella, cannelloni, and spaghetti Bolognese). Methods: The macroelement content was determined by ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma—Optical Emission Spectrometry) in 288 samples of different microwave foods. Results: Likewise, the possible difference in the content of macroelements after the microwave heating process was studied, and significant differences in the Ca content were observed in the three analyzed food groups, indicating that there may have been migration from the container to the food. The concentrations of Na and Ca in the tails of garlic prawns (9381 ± 3102 mg Na/kg fw and 845 ± 134 mg Ca/kg fw) stood out. The vegetable side dish stood out for its higher concentration of K (3424 ± 1319 mg/kg fw). Pizza registered the highest concentrations of the four macrolements within the group of foods of mixed origin. The study of the dietary intake indicated that the consumption of some animal-based products offered a contribution to the safe and adequate intake of Na of almost 50%, which could pose a risk of dietary overdose as Na is an element found in many foods. Conclusions: It is recommended to moderate the consumption of some of the dishes analyzed mainly because of the risk of the high intake of Na. Full article

Green coffee is essential in many tropical economies. Its cultivation often necessitates using pesticides that can leave behind residues harmful to human health. To ensure consumer safety, the European Community has set strict maximum residue limits (ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 mg/kg) for pesticides in green coffee sold within Europe. However, the lack of official testing methods for neonicotinoids (NEOs) is a problem, as laboratories must spend resources and time developing and validating suitable analytical methods. This study developed and validated a method for the simultaneous analysis of seven NEOs frequently used in coffee cultivation: acetamiprid, clothianidin, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam. The proposed methodology uses Strata^®-X PRO cartridges (solid-phase extraction) to remove interfering compounds present in the food matrix and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), equipped with a diode array detector (DAD), to determine NEOs. The accuracy profile strategy validated the method’s suitability for the intended application. NEO recovery rates above 97%; negligible matrix effects (>93%); the linearity of the quantification method (R² values above 0.99); relative biases and standard deviations below 5% and 6%, respectively; and an expected error rate less than 8% allowed to consider the method reliable for the intended objectives. Because of its low ecological impact and simple execution, this method can be used in routine analyses. Full article

The ever-expanding market has made organic food a popular research topic, with the primary question being what factors facilitate or hinder consumers in making an organic purchase. The most relevant studies have been conducted in an offline context. As selling organic food online has become a common practice and is underresearched, this study aims to (1) explore the drivers and barriers of online organic food shopping and (2) investigate the shopping behavior of organic food from an omnichannel perspective. The results of partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), with 278 valid samples, indicate that trust in organic labels and positive review sentiment significantly contribute to the intention to purchase organic food online, which in turn influences online purchase behaviors. For online shopping behavior, the investigation shows that Taiwanese consumers, on a monthly basis, make an average of 3.22 organic food purchases and spend US$156.44 through offline channels, whereas they make 2.34 purchases of organic food and spend US$114.71 via online channels. Organic vegetables and fruits are the most frequently purchased organic foods. Among online channels, consumers prefer visiting the websites of general grocery stores and specialty stores over social media platforms. Our findings suggest that the determinants of organic food shopping differ between offline and online contexts and reveal interesting behavioral patterns of online organic shopping. Full article

Many stressors have been identified for shelter dogs, and while stress is a natural physical response, exposure to shelter stressors has been implicated in poor dog welfare including the formation of maladaptive behaviors that manifest as unappealing responses toward humans. Inappropriate behavioral reactions to humans lead to longer lengths of stay in the shelter, so identifying ways to reduce these responses to human presence would not only benefit the immediate welfare of the dog but could also decrease the amount of time the dog spends in the shelter. Previous studies have shown that response-independent food paired with an auditory stimulus reduced behaviors that likely prolong time to adoption; however, these interventions used an explicit discriminative stimulus where a more easily deployed design would be effective without requiring an additional stimulus to precede the food. The purpose of the present study was to extend that work to evaluate the effect of noncontingent reinforcement on reducing behavioral reactions to humans in the presence both of the experimenter and other people. Overall, the intervention was effective at decreasing human-directed behavioral responses but did not decrease the dogs’ length of stay. Changes in reactive behaviors appear to be limited to the presence of the experimenter during the first and last trials, with improvements generalizing to non-experimenters only for two behaviors: staying in the front half of the kennel and facing the kennel front. Our recommendation for shelters is that this intervention would be most effective at improving behaviors directed at a person delivering treats to the dog. Full article

Background: Toxic chemical adulteration of food is harmful to human health and a major global risk to healthy food consumption. The United Nations declared 2021 as the “International Year of Fruits and Vegetables in an effort to raise public awareness of the nutritional and health benefits of including more fruits and vegetables in a balanced diet”. Although consumers are aware of organic food products, their understanding of the concept is still restricted. Hence, it is paramount to understand their level of awareness and consumption behavior. Methods: Data were captured from 578 samples using a structured questionnaire. Samples were drawn from four districts in Karnataka state of India using a purposive sampling technique. “IBM-SPSS” was used for descriptive analysis, and Smart PLS 4 was adopted to assess the measurement model. Findings: Indian consumers are significantly influenced by health and concern for the environment when buying organic food. Its natural ingredients positively impact customers’ willingness to spend more for organic food. The idea that the natural content of organic food influences millennials’ purchase habits more indirectly than directly is supported by empirical data. Conclusions: With an emphasis on how health concerns influence millennials’ decisions to buy organic fruits and vegetables, this study offers insightful information about customers’ intentions to buy organic food. As the organic food industry develops and fills in current knowledge gaps, the findings are intended to help researchers, food producers, and marketers create focused marketing strategies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Children spend the most time in school, which can be a friendly environment that encourages students to eat healthy foods, so school is a good place to learn and practice these behaviors. In Palau, public schools offer free lunches to students. Based on the constructs of Social Cognitive Theory, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate the effects of a school nutrition education program (NE) and the provision of more fruits and vegetables (FV) in school lunches on elementary school students’ nutrition knowledge, as well as their attitudes and behaviors regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. Methods: A public elementary school participated in our trial from February to May 2017. While all students (ages 5–12) at the school were provided with free meals through the National School Meal program, only students in grades 4–8 were invited to participate in a four-month nutrition education program and taste-testing activities, during which more fresh fruits and vegetables were incorporated into the school lunches. Participants filled out questionnaires before and after the trial. Results: Our results showed that students in grades 4–8 (n = 92) had improved scores in all nutrition knowledge items after completing the nutrition education course compared to before the course. Among these, the food category, food servings, and total scores showed statistically significant differences. The scores for attitudes and behaviors regarding FVs intake showed an increasing trend after the completion of the course. Further, the age-based analysis revealed that fifth-grade students showed the greatest improvement in their nutrition knowledge scores, with an increase of 38.5%. However, after adjusting for gender, the significance was no longer observed. Regarding attitude and behavior scores toward fruit and vegetable consumption, fourth-grade students showed the greatest improvement, with increases of 10.9% and 6.3%, respectively. Additionally, we tracked the total amount of FVs consumed by the school annually, noting a consistent rise from 1853 pounds in 2017 to 6580 pounds in 2021, a 3.5-fold increase. Conclusions: This pilot study showed that school nutrition education and providing more fresh fruits and vegetables (FVs) can significantly improve children’s nutrition knowledge, while there was only a slight upward trend in attitudes and behaviors toward FV consumption. However, regularly offering nutrition education courses combined with providing more fruits and vegetables in school lunches could effectively increase children’s consumption of these healthy foods. Full article

Backgrounds: Korean society is entering an aging society, and this phenomenon indicates the need for preparation for aging in Korean society. In such a situation, exploring the characteristics of the elderly can be considered important for preparation. The objective of this study is to identify the determinants of medical expenses among older adults in South Korea. The key factors analyzed include food, leisure, and housing expenses, as well as lifestyle choices such as drinking and smoking. Method: Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, covering 7374 observations from the years 2018 and 2020, are adopted for statistical analysis. This research explores the inverted-U-shape effect of food, leisure, and housing expenditures on medical costs, grounded in the concepts of diminishing marginal utility and mental accounting. A quadratic panel regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses, controlling for variables such as birth year, gender, and personal assets. Results: The results show that food and housing expenses have an inverted-U relationship with medical expenditures based on diminishing marginal utility and mental accounting as the theoretical foundation. However, leisure expenses, drinking, and smoking do not significantly affect medical expenses. Furthermore, this study identifies the optimal expenditure levels for maximizing medical spending through the first-order condition. Conclusions: These findings provide important insights for the development of policies aimed at improving the financial well-being of older adults in South Korea. Moreover, this study contributes to the literature by applying the concepts of mental accounting and the law of diminishing marginal utility to better understand the financial behavior of older adults. Full article

Against the backdrop of global challenges to food security and China’s push to modernize its agriculture, it is critical to understand how government strategies affect innovation efficiency. This study examines how three modes of intergovernmental competition—fiscal spending competition (strategically increasing public spending to attract resources), tax competition (providing incentives to promote investment), and promotion competition (officials prioritizing short-term projects for promotion)—affect the efficiency of agricultural science and technology innovations across China’s provinces. Utilizing panel data (2000–2021) and a Slack-Based Measure Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA-SBM) model, we find that fiscal spending competition suppresses efficiency, particularly in western regions where infrastructure investments crowd out R&D. Tax competition enhances efficiency, yet its impact is attenuated in central China due to low industrial upgrading. Promotion competition impedes long-term innovation, as frequent official turnover prioritizes short-term projects. Regional heterogeneity highlights eastern China’s market-driven advantages versus central/western regions’ structural constraints. Policy implications advocate for spatially differentiated governance, including R&D tax rebates in the east and cross-regional innovation alliances. This study contributes to fiscal decentralization theory by revealing the nonlinear effects of competition modes on agricultural innovation. Full article

Microgreens are tender, edible seedlings harvested 7–21 days after germination containing a central stem, cotyledons, and true leaves. Known as a fresh, ready-to-eat functional food, they are mostly rich in vitamins, antioxidants, bioactive compounds, and minerals, with distinctive flavors, colors, and textures. These attributes make microgreens a valuable component in nutrition and health research. In countries like India, where low-income households spend 50–80% of their income on food, micronutrient deficiencies are common, particularly among women. Indian women, facing a double burden of malnutrition, experience both underweight (18.7%) and obesity (24.0%) issues, with 57% suffering from anemia. Women’s unique health requirements vary across life stages, from infancy to their elderly years, and they require diets rich in vitamins and minerals to ensure micronutrient adequacy. Microgreens, with their high nutrient density, hold promise in addressing these deficiencies. Fresh and processed microgreens based products can enhance food variety, nutritive value, and appeal. Rethinking agriculture and horticulture as tools to combat malnutrition and reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is vital for achieving nutritional security and poverty reduction. This review compiles recent research on microgreens, focusing on their nutrient profiles, health benefits, suitable crops, substrates, seed density, growing methods, sensory characteristics, and applications as fresh and value-added products. It offers valuable insights into sustainable agriculture and the role of microgreens in enhancing human nutrition and health. Full article