Search

Background: The charitable food system distributes free food to clients across the U.S., but many nutrition and health-focused efforts encounter barriers to success, which were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the current study was to understand barriers and facilitators to distributing nutritious, fresh foods in food pantries across Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Forty-nine pantry representatives participated in focus groups in October 2021. A codebook was created based on relevant literature, stakeholder interests, and an initial review of the recordings. Transcripts of each group were coded and analyzed using a basic interpretive approach. Results: Pantries distribution of fresh foods was impacted by community partners, food bank policies and practices, and the quality of the donated fresh foods. Physical constraints of pantries limit fresh food storage capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified stressors in the charitable food system which highlighted how community partners might improve fresh food distribution. Conclusion: Focus groups with food pantry representatives across Illinois provided key insights that can inform future efforts to facilitate fresh food distribution in the charitable food system. Future studies should evaluate the effects of the suggested initiatives and changes at the food pantry, food bank, and policy levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic wastewater (DW) has been used as a substrate for both microalgae biomass production and nutrient removal. Biological treatment with photosynthetic microalgae provides aeration, reducing operating costs and the risk of volatilization of contaminants. It also provides oxygen to the bacteria for degradation of organic compounds. In this study, a microalga was isolated and identified as Scenedesmus sp. An experimental trial was performed using synthetic wastewater with different concentrations of N (40, 90 and 150 mg/L) and P (4, 15 and 50 mg/L). Each assay was inoculated with 1×106 cells/ml under 16h of continuous light at 50-μmol m-2 s-1 at and 120 rpm for 7 days. Samples were taken at 0, 3, 5 and 7 days to determine the growth of microalgae and the concentration of nitrates, ammonium and phosphorus. The same treatment was carried out using real DW. Synthetic water of low and medium concentration had higher removal percentages. These were between 50 and 60 for nitrogen and 40 and 70 for phosphorus, with a maximum growth of 1×107 cells /ml. For real DW, the removal was 65% for phosphorus and 80% for nitrogen. These results suggest Scenedesmus sp could be used to treat DW, enhancing nutrient removal and obtaining biomass for other purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Cadmium is a metal that has been found in milks and, therefore, represents a big risk for human health. Biosensors have been used as tools for the rapid determination of this kind of compounds in several matrices. Materials and methods. An amperometric biosensor and screen printed electrodes were used to immobilize the urease enzyme, by the use of the cross linking method. The subtract used for the determination was urea. Before determining the cadmium concentration in the milk, the method used was validated by making calibration curves and evaluating the repeatability of both the method and the instrument. Results and discussion. The linear rank for the method was 5 mM to 60 mM with a high correlation between variables. The quantification limit of the method was 0.05 mg/L. The variation coefficient was 7.55 % for the method´s repeatability tests, which indicates a high precision of the results. From the milk samples analyzed, recovery percentages above 80% were obtained. This means a low matrix effect, keeping in mind that milk has a high degree of interfering elements for this kind of methods. Conclusion. The amperometric biosensor demonstrated to be an efficient and fast tool to determine cadmium in milks, and this can be helpful to improve the milk´s quality in swine farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The charitable food system distributes free food to clients across the U.S. Still, many nutrition and health-focused efforts need help to succeed, which was exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To understand barriers and facilitators across the spectrum of the Social-Ecological Model to distributing nutritious, fresh foods in food pantries across Illinois during the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-nine representatives of Illinois food pantries were recruited to participate. All focus groups were held via an online platform in October 2021. A script was developed to facilitate a discussion about the challenges and opportunities faced in distributing fresh foods in pantries. The script included a definition of what fresh foods were (and were not), followed by 11 open-ended questions about representatives' experiences and perceptions with follow-up prompts and probing questions. After review from external colleagues, the script was updated to improve flow and clarity. After data collection, a codebook was created based on relevant literature, common themes heard in recordings, and stakeholder interests. Transcripts of each group were coded and analyzed using a basic interpretive approach. The analysis of focus group transcripts resulted in challenges and opportunities, which were organized into five distinct levels of influence, mirroring aspects of the Social-Ecological Model to include 1) societal, 2) community, 3) organizational, 4) interpersonal, and 5) product. Many pantry representatives felt they offered a wide variety of fresh foods that met the client's health needs. However, distribution of fresh foods was impacted by community partners, food bank policies and practices, and the quality of the donated fresh foods. Furthermore, the physical limitations of pantries limited fresh food storage capacity. The COVID-19 pandemic posed unique stressors that highlighted additional opportunities for the charitable food system. Future studies should evaluate the effects of the suggested initiatives and changes at the food pantry, food bank, and policy levels. None [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Efforts to improve the nutritional quality and health promotion in the charitable food system have been undertaken. Though methods exist to track these efforts in terms of food banks' inventory, there are not research-tested tools to assess, monitor and influence policy, systems and environmental (PSE) changes. The study objective was to develop and evaluate a novel assessment tool that could be used to evaluate a food bank's efforts to improve the promotion of health and nutritious foods. Design: The study had five phases: (1) initial development; (2) iterative review and revisions; (3) pilot testing; (4) content validity assessment and (5) inter-rater and test-retest assessment. The Food Bank Health and Nutrition Assessment (FB-HANA) was drafted after reviewing existing policies, nutrition-focused charitable food systems guidance and similar tools for food pantries. Setting: Midwestern United States. Participants: Eleven food banks. Results: Stakeholders and pilot testers provided initial feedback to refine the FB-HANA's flow, ease of completion and collection of contextual information. External experts rated the FB-HANA and each of the eight objectives as content valid. A set of two assessments completed by twenty-six community-based professionals, employed by Extension and fourteen food bank staff across eleven food banks, supported moderate to excellent inter-rater and test-retest reliability for the FB-HANA overall and each of its objectives. Conclusions: Evidence suggests that the FB-HANA can be used by either food bank or community-based professionals, such as Extension staff, to provide a perspective on ways food banks promote health and nutrition through PSE approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to examine the associations of hypoglycemia with health care resource utilization (HCRU) and health care costs among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in China.Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted with 23,680 T2DM patients >18 years old who visited the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015. Univariate descriptive statistics were used to relate the HCRU and associated costs to patient characteristics, and regression analysis was used to examine the association between hypoglycemia and HCRU, controlling for other confounding factors.Results: In the T2DM patients with or without insulin treatment, when compared with nonhypoglycemic patients, hypoglycemia was associated with more medical visits (all T2DM patients 19.48 vs. 10.46, insulin users 23.45 vs. 14.12) and higher diabetes-related medical costs (all T2DM patients ¥5187.54 vs. ¥3525.00, insulin users ¥6948.84 vs. ¥3401.15) and medication costs (T2DM patients ¥1349.40 vs. ¥641.92, insulin users: ¥1363.87 vs. ¥853.96). Controlling for age, gender, and Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score, hypoglycemia and insulin intake were associated with greater health care resource utilization. As compared to nonhypoglycemic patients, hypoglycemic T2DM patients and those on insulin therapy performed more outpatient visits (proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic T2DM patients performing 3+ visits: 72.69% vs. 65.49%; proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic patients on insulin therapy performing 3+ visits: 78.26% vs. 71.73%) and were hospitalized more often (proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic T2DM patients with 3+ admissions 75.90% vs. 50.24%; proportions of hypoglycemic vs nonhypoglycemic patients on insulin therapy with 3+ admissions: 83.19% vs. 58.51%).Conclusion: Hypoglycemia in diabetes patients was associated with increased healthcare resource utilization and health-related expenditure, especially for patients on insulin treatment. Insulin treatment regimens should be more individualized and account for hypoglycemia risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of Adelges tsugae (Hemlock Woolly Adelgid) directly threatens the survival of Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock) and has also triggered pre-emptive and salvage logging. In this study, we took advantage of a 25-year-old accidental experiment involving Eastern Hemlock removal by logging at Smith College's MacLeish Field Station, in western Massachusetts, to investigate how microclimate, ecosystem processes, and forest-floor animal communities might change in the decades following Eastern Hemlock loss. On average, mean understory light levels in summer were 68% higher under young Black Birch (Betula lenta) canopies as compared to adjacent mature Eastern Hemlock forest. Mean daily air temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature, and organic-layer moisture content were similar between young Black Birch and mature Eastern Hemlock plots, although some of these factors were significantly more variable in the former. The soil organic horizon was significantly thicker in Eastern Hemlock plots, but net nitrification rates did not differ substantially between young Black Birch and mature Eastern Hemlock forest plots. We detected significantly greater densities of microarthropods (e.g., mites, collembolans) in the forest floors of Eastern Hemlock plots, possibly linked to the thicker organic horizon. Our results indicate substantial changes in forest structure and microar-thropod communities with Eastern Hemlock removal, but little evidence of large changes in key ecosystem processes, like nitrogen cycling. Other sites that represent similar accidental experiments with Eastern Hemlock removal due to past human disturbance likely exist and should be studied before intact reference stands are lost to Hemlock Woolly Adelgid or preemptive salvage logging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]