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The foregut, located at the front of the digestive tract, serves a vital role in insects by storing and grinding food into small particles. The innermost layer of the foregut known as the chitinous intima, comes into direct contact with the food and acts as a protective barrier against abrasive particles. Knickkopf (Knk) is required for chitin organization in the chitinous exoskeleton, tracheae and wings. Despite its significance, little is known about the biological function of Knk in the foregut. In this study, we found that LmKnk was stably expressed in the foregut, and highly expressed before molting in Locusta migratoria. To ascertain the biological function of LmKnk in the foregut, we synthesized specific double‐stranded LmKnk (dsLmKnk) and injected it into locusts. Our findings showed a significant decrease in the foregut size, along with reduced food intake and accumulation of residues in the foregut after dsLmKnk injection. Morphological observations revealed that newly formed intima became thinner and lacked chitin lamella. Furthermore, fluorescence immunohistochemistry revealed that LmKnk was located in the apical region of new intima and epithelial cells. Taken together, this study provides insights into the biological function of LmKnk in the foregut, and identifies the potential target gene for exploring biological pest management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescents and young adults continue to use e-cigarettes, and communication campaigns are needed to decrease use among these populations. We developed and tested a point-of-sale communication campaign focused on e-cigarette chemical exposure. We developed messages based on formative research and tested them (versus text-only messages) in a nationally-representative online survey among adolescents and young adults (16–25) (Phase 1). Based on survey findings, we selected a message focused on nicotine and brain development for the point-of-sale trial (Phase 2). We then conducted a cluster-randomized trial at six gas stations with convenience stores, randomly assigned to the intervention (messages displayed) or no message control condition. We conducted intercept surveys with repeated cross-sectional samples of 50 participants (ages 16–25) per store, at baseline and a four-week follow-up. Phase 1 included 1,636 participants in the online study. Intervention messages were rated as more attention grabbing than plain text messages (p <.05), though were rated similarly on other outcomes. Exposure to intervention messages resulted in larger changes from pre- to posttest for beliefs about addiction and relative harms versus cigarettes (p <.05). Phase 2 included 586 participants in the point-of-sale study. Real-world campaign exposure was low (31.8%), and no differences were found between conditions. E-cigarette prevention messages focused on nicotine's impact on brain development show promise. However, garnering attention for communication campaigns in saturated point-of-sale environments, often dominated by tobacco advertising, is challenging. Future efforts should utilize additional communication channels to directly target adolescents and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated the available literature on the association between characteristics of the food environment and household food insecurity. Systematic review. Studies published until January 9th, 2023, were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE and LILACS databases. The included studies were summarized with a narrative synthesis with information on the study location, population studied, prevalence and type of measure/instrument used to assess food (in)security, method of evaluating the food environment and measure between food insecurity and food environment. Twenty-two articles were included. Different methods were used to measure food security and the food environment. Most food insecurity assessment tools assessed the dimension of access to food, more precisely economic access. The dimensions of the food environment most evaluated were food availability and affordability. An association between characteristics of the food environment and food insecurity was found in 18 of these studies. Homes with food insecurity have a greater availability of unhealthy foods, more frequent purchasing of foods in convenience stores and small markets as well as a lower availability of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. This review revealed that household food insecurity was associated with the food environment, highlighting the importance of policies to promote healthy diets, especially in vulnerable communities. Few studies were found in the Global South, demonstrating the gap in this knowledge in these locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite an evolving e-cigarette environment, few studies have looked at adolescent exposure to e-cigarette advertising over time and its associations with curiosity about and susceptibility to using e-cigarettes. We examined e-cigarette advertising exposure and its associations with curiosity and susceptibility across multiple years among adolescents who have never used e-cigarettes. Methods: We obtained data from the National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTSs), 2014-2020 (N = 97,496). The NYTS identified e-cigarette advertising exposure from four channels: Internet, newspapers and magazines, convenience stores, and TV. Logistic regressions explored e-cigarette advertising exposure over time and the associations between exposure from the four channels and both curiosity and susceptibility to using e-cigarettes. Results: Youth exposure to e-cigarette advertising on the Internet and in convenience stores formed an increase-decrease-increase pattern from 2014 to 2020, whereas exposure in newspapers and magazines and on TV generally decreased over this period. Exposure on the Internet and in convenience stores was consistently associated with curiosity and susceptibility; but exposure in newspapers and magazines and on TV was sporadically associated with the outcomes. Conclusions: Despite a changing e-cigarette marketplace, youth were consistently exposed to e-cigarette advertising, especially on the Internet and in convenience stores. This pattern is worrisome, as it may increase youth curiosity and susceptibility to using e-cigarettes. Comprehensive tobacco prevention efforts to prevent e-cigarette use in adolescents should continue to restrict e-cigarette advertising and marketing, thereby reducing exposure and discouraging e-cigarette use. Regular efforts should also be made to educate adolescents about the risks of using e-cigarettes to counteract the impact of high e-cigarette advertising exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To understand intake frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and the consumption habit among primary and secondary students. To explore the relationship of SSBs cognition and behavior, and to provide a basis for reducing students' intake of SSBs. Methods A multi-stage sampling process was employed to select subjects from primary and middle school in Shenzhen. Network questionnaire survey was conducted to collecting information in September and October, 2021. Spearman rank correlations was used to analyze relationships of various types of SSBs consumption frequency. Multivariable linear regression model was used to examine the relationship between SSBs cognition score and consumption frequency score. Hierarchical analysis to explore the interactions. Results A total of 16 840 primary and secondary students aged 6 to 18 years old were included. The prevalence of SSBs consumption at least 3 time/week was 58.9%, the grades 1-3, 4-6 and middle school students were 52.3%, 60.3% and 67.6%. Parents (73.3%) were the main buyers of SSBs, convenience stores (73.7%) were the main places and delicious (77.2%) was the major cause of choices. There was a positive correlation between the intake frequency of different types of SSBs (P < 0.001). The results of multivariate linear regression showed that the higher the cognition was, the lower the intake frequency of SSBs was (β = 0.179, 95%CI: 0.155-0.204). There was a multiplicative interaction between the cognitive score of SSBs and the educational level of parents (P < 0.00l). Conclusion The intake frequency of SSBs was high among primary and middle school students in Shenzhen, and the cognitive level of SSBs was related to the intake frequency and the educational level of parents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retail workers contribute to the daily wellbeing of customers, including those living with disabilities or diseases. The relational job design theory suggests that one's perceived social impact (PSI) of their job contributes to improvements in job satisfaction, turnover intention, and persistence. Confirming such an association could encourage organization managers to commit more to community care for the purpose of improving the work outcomes of their employees. However, how convenience store workers perceive the social contributions of their work and the perception's impact on their work outcomes remains unclear. Thus, the first objective of this study was to examine the association between retail workers' PSI and work outcomes (job satisfaction, turnover intention, and hours worked). The second objective was to evaluate the effect of an intervention aimed at increasing the PSI on work outcomes. This study was part of a project to evaluate a dementia‐friendly program for convenience store workers. All participants completed a baseline survey after randomization. The intervention group was then required to complete a multicomponent e‐learning intervention program within one month. One month later, both groups completed a postintervention survey. The e‐learning program included lectures on dementia, virtual contact with people living with dementia, and information on the positive impact of retail store jobs on customers living with dementia. A total of 161 and 145 participants were analyzed in the baseline study and the postintervention survey, respectively. Cross‐sectional analysis of baseline data showed that the workers' PSI was significantly correlated with job satisfaction (β = 0.203, p < 0.001) and turnover intentions (β = −0.305, p = 0.006). However, the e‐learning intervention did not change PSI and work outcomes. Interventions that highlight workers' prosocial contributions more effectively and are successful in changing their PSI may improve their engagement and work outcomes. For retail workers, intervention based on a relational job design framework may be effective; however, designing such interventions remains challenging. This trial is registered with UMIN000043623. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to identify settings associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Methods: Cases with recent SARS-CoV-2 infection were matched with controls (4:1 ratio) on age, sex, region, population size, and calendar week. Odds ratios for SARS-CoV-2 infection were estimated for nine periods in models adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, health status, COVID-19 vaccine, and past infection. Results: Between October 27, 2020 and October 2, 2022, 175,688 cases were matched with 43,922 controls. An increased risk of infection was documented throughout the study for open-space offices compared to offices without open space (OR range across the nine periods: 1.12 to 1.57) and long-distance trains (1.25 to 1.88), and during most of the study for convenience stores (OR range in the periods with increased risk: 1.15 to 1.44), take-away delivery (1.07 to 1.28), car-pooling with relatives (1.09 to 1.68), taxis (1.08 to 1.89), airplanes (1.20 to 1.78), concerts (1.31 to 2.09) and night-clubs (1.45 to 2.95). No increase in transmission was associated with short-distance shared transport, car-pooling booked over platforms, markets, supermarkets and malls, hairdressers, museums, movie theatres, outdoor sports, and swimming pools. The increased risk of infection in bars and restaurants was no longer present in restaurants after reopening in June 2021. It persisted in bars only among those aged under 40 years. Conclusion: Closed settings in which people are less likely to wear masks were most affected by SARS-CoV-2 transmission and should be the focus of air quality improvement. ClinicalTrials.gov (03/09/2022): NCT04607941. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the rates of cigarette sales to underage youth and the factors associated with these sales using a mystery shopping technique. Of the convenience stores selling cigarettes in Seoul, South Korea, 2600 were sampled in 2019 and 2020. Personal and environmental factors were independent variables. Cigarette sales to underage youth were the outcome variable, defined as cases where a seller sold cigarettes to a youth shopper. A multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. Rates of cigarette sales to underage youth were 17.9% in 2019 and 16.3% in 2020, significantly higher when the seller was younger and the store was located in a central area. Administrative actions are needed to enforce strong warnings and training guidelines for convenience store sellers. Differentiation in surveillance intensity based on the location of convenience stores in Seoul is also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A food environment intervention using nudge tactics was implemented at a hospital convenience store (CVS) in Tokyo to improve employees' eating habits. The objective of this study was to evaluate its effects on the urinary sodium-to-potassium ratio (Na/K), food intake, eating attitude, and behavior. Methods: Using a pre–post design; the intervention incorporated nudge tactics, healthier options, easy-to-pick food placement, and eye-catching information. We also used price incentives. The primary outcomes included changes in Na/K and sodium and potassium excretion assessed using spot urine samples at health checkups. Secondary outcomes were changes in staff food intake, eating attitude, and behavior which were assessed using questionnaire surveys. All outcomes were evaluated statistically. Furthermore, we investigated how the intervention led to outcomes using path analysis. Results: A total of 140 participant (52men and 88women) were analyzed. Significant changes were observed in Na/K (3.16 to 2.98 in median, p = 0.02) and potassium excretion (43.4 to 45.2 mmol/day in mean, p = 0.03). However, sodium excretion did not change significantly. The intake of fruits and dairy products increased with improved self-efficacy. The most influential factor for lowering Na/K and increasing potassium excretion was information from the CVS; purchasing "balanced meals" to lower Na/K and salads to increase potassium excretion were second. Conclusions: Food environment intervention using nudge tactics can improve staff's food intake and lower Na/K. Trial registration: Registration number: UMIN000049444 (UMIN-CTR). Date of registration: November. 7. 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issues Addressed: The increase of youth vaping in Australia has raised concerns, especially with increasing promotions of vaping products. We observed the visibility of vaping products near high‐adolescent‐traffic areas. Methods: We examined stores within walking distance of high schools and the central business district (CBD) in Brisbane, Australia, observing the number and proportion of stores selling or displaying vaping products. Using an observational approach, we analysed advertisements and open displays of vaping products at tobacconists, vape stores, and convenience stores. Results: We identified 61 eligible stores located near schools or in the CBD. Overall, 20% of stores displayed vaping products externally, with higher proportions among vape stores (78%) compared to tobacconists (36%). Additionally, 46% of stores had visible interior displays, with vape stores (89%) displaying them more frequently than tobacconists (71%). Among the 28 stores displaying vaping products, 57% included warnings, one store featured only flavoured products, and 25% showcased nicotine‐containing products. Youth‐appealing features were present in all but one store, with cartoons (61%) as the most common feature. Conclusion: Vapes were displayed near high schools and in the city, often featuring youth‐appealing features, such as colours and flavours. So What?: The exposure to such promotions could normalise vaping and contribute to increased youth uptake. Continued monitoring of vaping product promotions is essential, particularly considering recent policy changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to review the evolution of the Hungarian food retail network between 1989 and 2023 and to analyse the acquisition processes of the firms in order to point out future trends. It was examined how the individual networks have evolved and how the ranking of food retailers has evolved, highlighting the reasons behind them. The aim of the research was to follow the expansion of food retailing multinational and domestic retailers both in space and time. The authors' findings show a steady decline in the number of small food stores and a rise in the number of discounters in the Hungarian grocery stores networks. New trends and sales models in the field of retail 4.0 are posing serious challenges for retailers, which may lead to further transformations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores legal approaches to draining food swamps in Chicago, Illinois. Topics discussed include food insecurity as a national health problem in the U.S., food swamps as a legal issue, potential policies to address food swamps, and the use of a convenience-store based approach to address food swamps in the city.

Background: Zip codes classified by the Food Insecurity Index with moderate and high food insecurity (FI) risk can be a threat to the health and well-being of children during the first 1,000 days (from pregnancy to 2 years). The presence of nurturing care assets (i.e., stable environments that promote health and nutrition, learning opportunities, security and safety, and responsive relationships) can contribute to supporting families and their communities, and ultimately reduce systemic barriers to food security. We aimed to identify and characterize nurturing care assets in under-resourced communities with moderate and high FI risk. Methods: Four steps were used to conduct a Community Asset Mapping (CAM): (1) review of community documents across five zip codes in Clark County, Nevada (2), engagement of community members in identifying community assets (3), definition of the assets providing nurturing care services, and (4) classification of assets to nurturing care components, i.e., good health, adequate nutrition, safety and security, opportunities for early learning, and responsive caregiving. The Food Insecurity Index was used to determine FI risk in each zip code. Analyses explored whether disparities in nurturing care assets across zip codes with moderate and high FI exist. Results: We identified 353 nurturing care assets across zip codes. A more significant number of nurturing care assets were present in zip codes with high FI risk. The adequate nutrition component had the most assets overall (n = 218, 61.8%), while the responsive caregiving category had the least (n = 26, 7.4%). Most of the adequate nutrition resources consisted of convenience stores (n = 96), food pantries (n = 33), and grocery stores (n = 33). Disparities in the number and type of good health, early learning, and security and safety assets were identified within zip codes with high FI risk compared to moderate FI risk. Conclusions: The quantity and type of nurturing care assets can exacerbate existing demographic disparities across zip codes, which are tied to barriers to access to food in under-resourced communities in Clark County, Nevada. Co-creating a nurturing care asset-based zip code strategy to address high FI risk will require strengthening systems across existing nurturing care assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The centering concern in this article is to reconsider how a modern society may provide a representation of itself in itself, and so manage the Midas touch of modernity: contingency. The core emphasis is on the fleeting novelty of the novel and its styles of time management. That, in turn, makes for a stress-testing of current models of genre and periodization. The key examples draw on the works of Kazuo Ishiguro, Rachel Cusk, and Natsume Sōseki. The inquiry focuses on four related topics: "The temporalization of complexity" (Niklas Luhmann) "The economy of time" (Karl Marx) "The void-like space of a transition" (Rachel Cusk) "The dark side of a career" (Giancarlo Corsi) The Japanese/English novelist Kazuo Ishiguro asks, "Is it possible that what we think of as genre boundaries are things that have been invented fairly recently by the publishing industry?" We might then ask, too, if it's possible that what we think of as distinct periodizations in literary studies are boundaries reinvented fairly recently by the subdivisions, step-systems, departments, and temporal economies of the contemporary university. That is, we might consider how such literary divisions, or spaces of transition, respond to the imperatives, and side-effects, of the structures and systems that make up what the Japanese novelist Sayaka Murata calls "the world of the convenience store." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the feasibility of in-store signage promoting sparkling water and the impact of this signage on sparkling water sales in convenience stores. We conducted a randomized control trial. Convenience stores in North Carolina. Twenty-four convenience stores in neighborhoods with a higher proportion of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -eligible households. The 24 eligible stores were randomized to receive the in-store signage promoting sparkling water or to the control condition of no change. One poster was hung on the beverage cooler doors in front of the sparkling water selections at each of the 12 participating stores. Weekly sales data and fidelity checks were collected. The primary outcome measure was sales of total water, and the subanalysis was sales of sparkling water. T tests were conducted to assess changes in total water and sparkling water sales between intervention and control stores. In-store signage did not significantly increase sales of sparkling water, or all water, during the intervention. Signage alone may not be enough to impact healthy beverage purchasing, and signage should be paired with other promotional components to increase healthy beverage purchases in convenience stores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point pattern analysis is a fundamental analytical tool in various academic fields related to spatial information science. Basic but important patterns discussed in existing studies are spatially clustered and dispersed points. Analysis of these static patterns aims to reveal their underlying structure, i.e. why and how they are formed. However, to answer this research question, the direct tracking of the pattern formation process is more effective, though we have not yet fully conducted such analysis along the temporal axis. To fill the research gap, this paper develops a new method of spatiotemporal analysis. We focus on the point density around the appearance and disappearance of points. A research question is whether points appear/disappear in dense or sparse space. Extending Ripley's K-function, we develop four measures statistically evaluating the point density. We applied the proposed method to the analysis of the competition among convenience store chains in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. A new method for event pattern analysis is proposed. The method evaluates the point density around the appearance and disappearance of points. The method considers event patterns within a single set of points and between two different sets of points. The method is applied to analyse the competition among convenience store chains in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, which reveals the dynamic aspects of the competition among store chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]