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We aimed to summarize the associations between food sources of fructose and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancer, and all-cause mortality risk using a systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up to November 2020. We included cohort studies that investigated the relationship between mortality risk (all-cause, CVD, specific CVD, and total and site-specific cancers) and intake of ���1 food source of fructose (fruit, fruit juice, breakfast cereals, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), sweets, and yogurt) in general adult population. Summary hazard ratios and 95% CIs were estimated using a random-effects model for linear and nonlinear relationships. Findings indicated that each 100 g/d increase in fruit intake was associated with 8-13% lower risk of CVDs, stroke, gastrointestinal, and lung cancer mortality. For all-cause mortality, there was a beneficial relationship up to 200 g/d fruit, and then plateaued. For ischemic heart disease and cancer mortality, there was a beneficial relationship up to 300 g/d followed by a slight increase. Ingestion of breakfast cereals and sweets was also associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. For yogurt, a non-linear marginal decrease in all-cause mortality was found. Ingestion of each 200 g/d yogurt was associated with a 14% lower risk of CVD mortality. Every 60 g/d increase in sweet intake was linked to a 5% lower risk of all-cause mortality. Contrariwise, every 250 g/d increase in SSBs intake was associated with 7���10% higher risk of all-cause and CVD mortality. In conclusion, beneficial associations were found between fruit, breakfast cereals, sweets, and yogurt with all-cause and/or CVD mortality risk. Fruit intake had also an inverse link with cancer mortality. Conversely, SSBs had a harmful relationship with all-cause and CVD mortality. Registry number: CRD42019144956

Commercial boundaries have been erased by markets globalization. Companies around the world compete with each other and thus are enforced to improve their products and processes. These improvements depend on a number of factors such as proper management, working environment, and available technology, etc. Inappropriate design of the working environment is one of the main reasons for lower productivity. Inadequate and incomplete working environments caused by ignoring standard methods in planning level, persistent physical disorders and increase mistakes impact the productivity in the working environment. Maximum productivity, with less physical load and energy consumption, is achieved when the compliance occurs between worker and task. This paper aims to optimize ineffective time and eliminate undesired operations at Molding Compound Manufacturing plants using the time and motion study techniques. The results represent a significant improvement in the production process in productivity and cycle time to optimize the system. There is a substantial increase in the production of the product by simplifying the working method and changing the work sequence. Productivity is improved by eliminating unnecessary movements, simplifying individual tasks and changing operations sequence. Results show that time for each milling operation reduced from 36.3 minutes to 22.5 min, the number of machines reduced from 4 to 3.48 and productivity improved from 5 bags per hour per worker to 7.14 bags per hour per worker.

Background Although fructose as a source of excess calories increases uric acid, the effect of the food matrix is unclear. Objectives To assess the effects of fructose-containing sugars by food source at different levels of energy control on uric acid, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. Methods MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched (through 11 January 2021) for trials ≥ 7 days. We prespecified 4 trial designs by energy control: substitution (energy-matched replacement of sugars in diets); addition (excess energy from sugars added to diets); subtraction (energy from sugars subtracted from diets); and ad libitum (energy from sugars freely replaced in diets) designs. Independent reviewers (≥2) extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results We included 47 trials (85 comparisons; N = 2763) assessing 9 food sources [sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), sweetened dairy, fruit drinks, 100% fruit juice, fruit, dried fruit, sweets and desserts, added nutritive sweetener, and mixed sources] across 4 energy control levels in predominantly healthy, mixed-weight adults. Total fructose-containing sugars increased uric acid levels in substitution trials (mean difference, 0.16 mg/dL; 95% CI: 0.06-0.27 mg/dL; P = 0.003), with no effect across the other energy control levels. There was evidence of an interaction by food source: SSBs and sweets and desserts increased uric acid levels in the substitution design, while SSBs increased and 100% fruit juice decreased uric acid levels in addition trials. The certainty of evidence was high for the increasing effect of SSBs in substitution and addition trials and the decreasing effect of 100% fruit juice in addition trials and was moderate to very low for all other comparisons. Conclusions Food source more than energy control appears to mediate the effects of fructose-containing sugars on uric acid. The available evidence provides reliable indications that SSBs increase and 100% fruit juice decreases uric acid levels. More high-quality trials of different food sources are needed. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02716870.

To determine the effect of oat β‑glucan (OBG) on acute glucose and insulin responses and identify significant effect modifiers we searched the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases through October 27, 2020 for acute, crossover, controlled feeding trials investigating the effect of adding OBG (concentrate or oat-bran) to carbohydrate-containing test-meals compared to comparable or different carbohydrate-matched control-meals in humans regardless of health status. The primary outcome was glucose incremental area-under-the-curve (iAUC). Secondary outcomes were insulin iAUC, and glucose and insulin incremental peak-rise (iPeak). Two reviewers extracted the data and assessed risk-of-bias and certainty-of-evidence (GRADE). Data were pooled using generic inverse-variance with random-effects model and expressed as ratio-of-means with [95% CIs]. We included 103 trial comparisons (N = 538). OBG reduced glucose iAUC and iPeak by 23% (0.77 [0.74, 0.81]) and 28% (0.72 [0.64, 0.76]) and insulin by 22% (0.78 [0.72, 0.85]) and 24% (0.76 [0.65, 0.88]), respectively. Dose, molecular-weight, and comparator were significant effect modifiers of glucose iAUC and iPeak. Significant linear dose-response relationships were observed for all outcomes. OBG molecular-weight >300 kg/mol significantly reduced glucose iAUC and iPeak, whereas molecular-weight p = 0.03) and iPeak (39 vs 25%, p

Introduction: Opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) is a widely used procedure to improve knee function, decrease knee pain and delay arthroplasty in unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis in young patients. However, faulty technique can lead to patella baja and maltracking of extensor mechanism- leading to poor outcome. Modified biplanar downsloping OWHTO – where tibial tuberosity (TT) remains attached to proximal osteotomy fragment prevents patella baja by preventing TT to slide down during opening of osteotomy. Biplanar osteotomy also prevents rotation of distal tibial fragment. Biplanar along with downsloping osteotomy both factors combined prevents patella baja and change in quadriceps vector angle and hence patellar tracking is not altered leading to a better functional result. Case Report:A 20 years male patient with right knee pain while walking for 2 years. Knee inspection shows varus deformity and varus thurst gait. No evidence of ligamentous laxity and meniscal injury. He was treated with modified biplanar downsloping OWHTO. Overall 12 patients were operated between 2018 and 2020 with same technique in a similar profile of patients. Conclusion: Outcome of OWHTO can be improved and untoward complications such as patella baja which invariably occurs when TT remains attached to distal osteotomy fragment or when osteotomy passes above TT. This can be easily avoided with this downsloping OWHTO technique to give a better outcome in all 12 cases. Keywords: Opening-wedge high tibial osteotomy, downsloping owhto, upsloping owhto, patella baja, descending owhto, ascending owhto.

In recent times, text detection in the wild has significantly raised its ability due to tremendous success of deep learning models. Applications of computer vision have emerged and got reshaped in a new way in this booming era of deep learning. In the last decade, research community has witnessed drastic changes in the area of text detection from natural scene images in terms of approach, coverage and performance due to huge advancement of deep neural network based models. In this paper, we present (1) a comprehensive review of deep learning approaches towards scene text detection, (2) suitable deep frameworks for this task followed by critical analysis, (3) a categorical study of publicly available scene image datasets and applicable standard evaluation protocols with their pros and cons, and (4) comparative results and analysis of reported methods. Moreover, based on this review and analysis, we precisely mention possible future scopes and thrust areas of deep learning approaches towards text detection from natural scene images on which upcoming researchers may focus.

We aimed to investigate the association of dietary fiber consumption with mortality risk in women with breast cancer. A systematic search was undertaken in PubMed, Scopus, and ISI Web of Science till March 2020 to find cohort studies investigating the association of dietary fiber consumption with mortality risk in women with breast cancer. A random-effects model was used to combine study-specific results. The quality of evidence was rated by NutriGrade score. Seven prospective cohort studies with 1,426 cases of all-cause mortality and 679 cases of breast cancer-specific mortality among 11,295 patients with breast cancer were included. The relative risks for the highest compared to the lowest category of dietary fiber consumption were 0.63 (95%CI: 0.52, 0.77; I 2 = 0%, n = 5) for all-cause mortality, and 0.72 (95%CI: 0.54, 0.96; I 2 = 0%, n = 5) for breast cancer-specific mortality. There was a strong linear association between fiber intake and all-cause mortality risk. The quality of evidence was rated moderate for all-cause mortality, and low for breast cancer-specific mortality. Higher dietary fiber consumption may improve survival in patients with breast cancer. More research is needed to confirm the present results, considering types of fiber consumed and tumor estrogen receptor status.

Numeral recognition is an important preliminary step for optical character recognition, document understanding and others. Deep learning based numeral recognition models have achieved huge popularity among the researchers around the world since last few years. Several convolutional neural network (CNN) based architectures have been proposed and many of those have achieved state-of-the-art results in numeral recognition. In this paper, we have explored CNN based architectures for handwritten Arabic numeral recognition. We have also developed a handwritten Arabic numerals dataset using various morphological operations on an existing dataset thus increasing the size of the dataset from 3000 to 72,000 images. A modification of previously proposed CNN architecture has given us an accuracy of 98.91% and our proposed architecture has produced 99.76%, which is comparable to state-of-the-art results found in the domain of handwritten Arabic numeral recognition.

Dietary fiber has played a consistent role in weight management, with efficacy potentially attributed to increased viscous fiber consumption. To summarize the effects of viscous fiber on body weight and other anthropometric parameters, along with a calorie-deficient diet, through a systematic review and meta-analysis. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library were searched through July 24, 2019 for randomized controlled trials that assessed the effect of viscous fiber supplementation as part of a restricted calorie diet for ≥ 4 weeks relative to comparator diets. Data were pooled using the generic inverse-variance method with random-effects models and expressed as mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Inter-study heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q and quantified with I2. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach was used to evaluate the overall certainty of evidence. Findings from 15 studies (n = 1347) showed viscous fiber supplementation significantly decreased body weight (− 0.81 kg [− 1.20, − 0.41]; p

Background: The role of dietary fiber in obesity management remains debatable. Evidence suggests that intake of viscous fiber may have the potential to facilitate weight loss. Objective: We aimed to summarize and quantify the effects of viscous fiber on body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and body fat, independent of calorie restriction, through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Methods: Trials ≥4 wk in duration that assessed the effect of viscous fiber supplemented to an ad libitum diet along with comparator diets were included. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library were searched through 24 July, 2019. Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data. Data were pooled using the generic inverse variance method and random-effects models and expressed as mean differences with 95% CIs. Interstudy heterogeneity was assessed (Cochran Q statistic) and quantified (I2 statistic). The overall certainty of evidence was explored using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Findings from 62 trials (n = 3877) showed that viscous fiber reduced mean body weight (-0.33 kg ; 95% CI: -0.51, -0.14 kg ; P = 0.004), BMI (in kg/m2) (-0.28 ; 95% CI: -0.42, -0.14 ; P = 0.0001), and waist circumference (-0.63 cm ; 95% CI: -1.11, -0.16 cm ; P = 0.008), with no change in body fat (-0.78% ; 95% CI: -1.56%, 0.00% ; P = 0.05) when consumed with an ad libitum diet. Greater reductions in body weight were observed in overweight individuals and those with diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The certainty of evidence was graded moderate for body weight, high for waist circumference and body fat, and low for BMI. Conclusions: Dietary viscous fiber modestly yet significantly improved body weight and other parameters of adiposity independently of calorie restriction. Future trials are warranted to address the inconsistency and imprecision identified through GRADE and to determine long- term weight-loss sustainability.This systematic review and meta-analysis was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03257449.

Text detection and localization from text embedded natural images is still considered as a challenging problem in complex imagery environment. Foreground object segmentation followed by classification is a popular approach for this task. Component level object classification in clutter environment is therefore an important sub-problem. Appropriate extraction of foreground objects leads to effective classification that may certainly increase the performance of text detection. In this paper, a novel feature vector is developed based on area occupancy profile of equidistant pixels is reported for text/non-text classification. The generated feature descriptors are script invariant and much effective in practical scenario. This proposed feature set is evaluated on our dataset using five different pattern classifiers and experimental result shows that the said feature set yields more than 86% classification accuracy irrespective of scripts.

Objective To determine the association of total and added fructose-containing sugars on cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched from January 1, 1980, to July 31, 2018. Prospective cohort studies assessing the association of reported intakes of total, sucrose, fructose and added sugars with CVD incidence and mortality in individuals free from disease at baseline were included. Risk estimates were pooled using the inverse variance method, and dose-response analysis was modeled. Results Eligibility criteria were met by 24 prospective cohort comparisons (624,128 unique individuals; 11,856 CVD incidence cases and 12,224 CVD mortality cases). Total sugars, sucrose, and fructose were not associated with CVD incidence. Total sugars (risk ratio, 1.09 [95% confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.17]) and fructose (1.08 [1.01 to 1.15]) showed a harmful association for CVD mortality, there was no association for added sugars and a beneficial association for sucrose (0.94 [0.89 to 0.99]). Dose-response analyses showed a beneficial linear dose-response gradient for sucrose and nonlinear dose-response thresholds for harm for total sugars (133 grams, 26% energy), fructose (58 grams, 11% energy) and added sugars (65 grams, 13% energy) in relation to CVD mortality (P Conclusion Current evidence supports a threshold of harm for intakes of total sugars, added sugars, and fructose at higher exposures and lack of harm for sucrose independent of food form for CVD mortality. Further research of different food sources of sugars is needed to define better the relationship between sugars and CVD. Registration clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01608620

Data science has been an invaluable part of the COVID-19 pandemic response with multiple applications, ranging from tracking viral evolution to understanding the effectiveness of interventions. Asymptomatic breakthrough infections have been a major problem during the ongoing surge of Delta variant globally. Serological discrimination of vaccine response from infection has so far been limited to Spike protein vaccines used in the higher-income regions. Here, we show for the first time how statistical and machine learning (ML) approaches can discriminate SARS-CoV-2 infection from immune response to an inactivated whole virion vaccine (BBV152, Covaxin, India), thereby permitting real-world vaccine effectiveness assessments from cohort-based serosurveys in Asia and Africa where such vaccines are commonly used. Briefly, we accessed serial data on Anti-S and Anti-NC antibody concentration values, along with age, sex, number of doses, and number of days since the last vaccine dose for 1823 Covaxin recipients. An ensemble ML model, incorporating a consensus clustering approach alongside the support vector machine (SVM) model, was built on 1063 samples where reliable qualifying data existed, and then applied to the entire dataset. Of 1448 self-reported negative subjects, 724 were classified as infected. Since the vaccine contains wild-type virus and the antibodies induced will neutralize wild type much better than Delta variant, we determined the relative ability of a random subset of such samples to neutralize Delta versus wild type strain. In 100 of 156 samples, where ML prediction differed from self-reported uninfected status, Delta variant, was neutralized more effectively than the wild type, which cannot happen without infection. The fraction rose to 71.8% (28 of 39) in subjects predicted to be infected during the surge, which is concordant with the percentage of sequences classified as Delta (75.6%-80.2%) over the same period.

ObjectiveIntake of white rice has been associated with elevated risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D), while studies on brown rice are conflicting. To inform dietary guidance, we synthesised the evidence on white rice and brown rice with T2D risk.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesPubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched through November 2021.Eligibility criteriaProspective cohort studies of white and brown rice intake on T2D risk (≥1 year), and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing brown rice with white rice on cardiometabolic risk factors (≥2 weeks).Data extraction and synthesisData were extracted by the primary reviewer and two additional reviewers. Meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models and reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale for prospective cohort studies and the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for RCTs. Strength of the meta-evidence was assessed using NutriGrade.ResultsNineteen articles were included: 8 cohort studies providing 18 estimates (white rice: 15 estimates, 25 956 cases, n=5 77 426; brown rice: 3 estimates, 10 507 cases, n=1 97 228) and 11 RCTs (n=1034). In cohort studies, white rice was associated with higher risk of T2D (pooled RR, 1.16; 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.32) comparing extreme categories. At intakes above ~300 g/day, a dose–response was observed (each 158 g/day serving was associated with 13% (11%–15%) higher risk of T2D). Intake of brown rice was associated with lower risk of T2D (pooled RR, 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81 to 0.97) comparing extreme categories. Each 50 g/day serving of brown rice was associated with 13% (6%–20%) lower risk of T2D. Cohort studies were considered to be of good or fair quality. RCTs showed an increase in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (0.06 mmol/L; 0.00 to 0.11 mmol/L) in the brown compared with white rice group. No other significant differences in risk factors were observed. The majority of RCTs were found to have some concern for risk of bias. Overall strength of the meta-evidence was moderate for cohort studies and moderate and low for RCTs.ConclusionIntake of white rice was associated with higher risk of T2D, while intake of brown rice was associated with lower risk. Findings from substitution trials on cardiometabolic risk factors were inconsistent.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020158466.

Objective To inform the update of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes clinical practice guidelines for nutrition therapy. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Data sources Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Library searched up to 13 May 2021. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Randomised controlled trials of three or more weeks investigating the effect of diets with low glycaemic index (GI)/glycaemic load (GL) in diabetes. Outcome and measures The primary outcome was glycated haemoglobin (HbA 1c ). Secondary outcomes included other markers of glycaemic control (fasting glucose, fasting insulin); blood lipids (low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), non-HDL-C, apo B, triglycerides); adiposity (body weight, BMI (body mass index), waist circumference), blood pressure (systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)), and inflammation (C reactive protein (CRP)). Data extraction and synthesis Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled by random effects models. GRADE (grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation) was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results 29 trial comparisons were identified in 1617 participants with type 1 and 2 diabetes who were predominantly middle aged, overweight, or obese with moderately controlled type 2 diabetes treated by hyperglycaemia drugs or insulin. Low GI/GL dietary patterns reduced HbA 1c in comparison with higher GI/GL control diets (mean difference −0.31% (95% confidence interval −0.42 to −0.19%), P2 =75%, P1c and for absolute dietary GI and SBP (P1c and moderate for most secondary outcomes, with downgrades due mainly to imprecision. Conclusions This synthesis suggests that low GI/GL dietary patterns result in small important improvements in established targets of glycaemic control, blood lipids, adiposity, blood pressure, and inflammation beyond concurrent treatment with hyperglycaemia drugs or insulin, predominantly in adults with moderately controlled type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The available evidence provides a good indication of the likely benefit in this population. Study registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04045938 .

The Portfolio Diet, a plant-based portfolio of cholesterol-lowering foods, has been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and other cardiovascular risk factors, in randomized controlled trials (RCTs). It is not known if these beneficial effects translate to a lower incidence cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. To support examinations between Portfolio Diet adherence and disease, a Portfolio Diet score (PDS) was developed and its predictive and concurrent validity was assessed within the Toronto Healthy Diet Study, a six-month RCT in overweight adults. Predictive validity was assessed using change in the PDS measured by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and concomitant change in LDL-C from baseline to six months using multiple linear regression, adjusted for potential confounders (n = 652). Concurrent validity was assessed in a subset of participants (n = 50) who completed the FFQ and a 7-day diet record (7DDR) at baseline. The PDS determined from each diet assessment method was used to derive correlation coefficients and Bland–Altman plots to assess the between-method agreement. The change in PDS was inversely associated with change in LDL-C (β coefficients: −0.01 mmol/L (95% confidence intervals (CIs): −0.02, −0.002, p = 0.02). The correlation between the PDS from the FFQ and 7DDR was 0.69 (95% CIs: 0.48, 0.85). The Bland–Altman plot showed reasonable agreement between the score from the FFQ and 7DDR. These findings indicate predictive validity of the PDS with lower LDL-C, and reasonable concurrent validity of the PDS as assessed by an FFQ against a 7DDR.

OBJECTIVES: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have been linked to weight gain. It is unclear if other food sources of fructose-containing sugars behave similarly. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials to assess the effect of different food sources of fructose-containing sugars on body weight and markers of adiposity. METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched through January 2020 for controlled feeding trials ≥2 weeks on the effect of fructose-containing sugars. Trial designs were prespecified by energy control: substitution (energy matched replacement of sugars in diets); addition (excess energy from sugars added to diets); subtraction (energy from sugars subtracted from diets); and ad libitum (energy from sugars freely replaced in diets). The primary outcome was body weight. Secondary outcomes were body mass index, body fat and waist circumference. Independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was assessed using GRADE. (NCT02558920) RESULTS: We identified 119 controlled trials (368 trial comparisons, N = 5263) assessing the effect of 10 food sources (SSBs, sweetened dairy alternative (soy), fruit juice, fruit drink, fruit, dried fruit, sweetened cereal grains/bars, sweets, added sweeteners and mixed sources). Total fructose-containing sugars increased body weight (mean difference, 0.29 kg [95% confidence interval, 0.05 to 0.53 kg], P = 0.017) and body fat in addition trials with no effect in other analyses or outcomes. There was evidence of interaction by food source in substitution trials with fruit reducing and mixed sources increasing some outcomes and in addition trials with 100% fruit juice reducing and SSBs and mixed sources increasing some outcomes. The overall certainty of evidence was moderate for the decreasing effect of fruit and fruit juice and the increasing effect of SSBs and mixed sources and high-to-very low for other comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Energy control and food source may mediate the effect of fructose-containing sugars on adiposity. The evidence provides good indication that fruit and 100% fruit juice decrease and SSBs and mixed sources increase markers of adiposity. More high-quality randomized trials of different foods are needed to improve our estimates. FUNDING SOURCES: American Society for Nutrition, Diabetes Canada, CIHR, Mitacs.

OBJECTIVES: Intermittent fasting (IF) is a popular trending diet, yet there is limited evidence-based support considering its clinical impact on cardiometabolic outcomes. In an effort to inform the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) clinical practice guidelines for nutrition therapy, we conducted a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing IF strategies and continuous energy restriction (CER) on cardiometabolic outcomes using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases were searched through Nov 2020. We included RCTs assessing the effect of IF strategies (alternate-day fasting (ADF), whole-day periodic fasting (WDF), time-restricted feeding (TRF)), CER, and ad libitum diet. Outcomes included body weight, fasting glucose and LDL-cholesterol. Two independent researchers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. A network meta-analysis was performed and data were expressed as mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The certainty of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. RESULTS: We identified 19 RCTs (n = 590) including adults of varying health backgrounds. ADF and CER both showed a benefit for body weight reduction compared to ad libitum diet (18 trials, n = 520; MD −3.95 kg [95% CI −6.09, −1.81] and MD −2.85 kg [95% CI −4.99, −0.71], respectively). For fasting glucose (17 trials, n = 590), TRF showed a benefit compared to ad libitum diet (MD −0.39 mmol/L [95% CI −0.59, −0.20]), to CER (MD −0.25 mmol/L [95% CI, −0.45 to −0.06]) and to WDF (MD −0.20 mmol/L [95% CI, −0.45, −0.05]). Furthermore, ADF showed a benefit in reducing LDL-cholesterol (17 trials, n = 590) compared to ad libitum diet (MD −0.21 mmol/L [95% CI −0.40, −0.1]), and to CER (MD −0.15 mmol/L [95% CI −0.31, −0.01]). The certainty of the evidence ranged from high to moderate due to variable downgrades for imprecision. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence provides a good indication that IF strategies have similar benefits to CER for weight loss but may have additional benefits for fasting glucose and LDL-cholesterol. Long-term high quality RCTs are needed to clarify the effect of different IF strategies on cardiometabolic outcomes. FUNDING SOURCES: Diabetes and Nutrition Study Group of the EASD, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Diabetes Canada.

OBJECTIVES: Plant-based diets defined by limited animal food consumption have been extensively associated with cardiometabolic health benefits in Western nations. Diet indices are increasingly used to distinguish the protective characteristics of a plant-based diet at different levels of adherence. We aimed to synthesize evidence on the association between adherence to plant-based diet indices and cardiometabolic risk. A plant-based diet index (PDI) is hypothesized to be inversely associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) with a stronger association with the healthful index (hPDI) that emphasizes higher quality plant-based foods. METHODS: We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL databases through January 2021. Prospective cohort studies assessing the association of plant-based diet indices with T2D and CVD in adults were included and appraised for risk of bias and quality (NutriGrade). We followed the PRISMA-P, Cochrane and MOOSE guidelines. Random and fixed-effects meta-analyses were conducted to pool risk ratios (RR) of extreme quantiles. Dose-response meta-analyses were conducted after harmonizing all diet index scores. I(2)-values of 30–60%, 50–90%, and 75–100% denoted moderate, substantial, and considerable heterogeneity respectively. RESULTS: We included a total of 10 studies from 5927 retrievals. Across 6 studies there were 22 135 cases of T2D over 4 817 308 person-years. Across 7 studies there were 15 077 cases of CVD over 6 117 016 person-years. The PDI was associated with a lower risk of T2D (RR = 0.82, 95% CI [0.75, 0.91], I(2 )= 55.4%), and CVD (RR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.8, 0.96], I(2 )= 16.2%). The hPDI had a stronger inverse association with T2D (RR = 0.73, 95% CI [0.68, 0.77], I(2) = 84.3%) and CVD (RR = 0.8, 95% CI [0.77, 0.88], I(2 )= 55.9%). All dose-response relationships were linear (except hPDI with CVD). All studies had acceptable risk of bias and the quality of evidence was moderate. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to a plant-based diet was inversely associated with T2D and CVD with a stronger association for a healthful plant-based diet pattern. Since highest quantiles of the index still included moderate meat consumption, linear dose-responses emphasized potential benefits on risk of T2D and CVD with any incremental progression towards a plant-based diet. FUNDING SOURCES: Nora Martin Fellowship, Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

OBJECTIVES: Fructose as a source of excess calories increases uric acid. Whether this effect is mediated by the food matrix at different levels of energy is unknown. We aim to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled feeding trials on the effect of food sources of fructose-containing sugars at different energy levels on uric acid (NCT02716870). METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library were searched through January 27, 2020 for controlled trials ≥7-days assessing the effect of food sources of fructose-containing sugars on uric acid. Trial designs were prespecified based on energy control: substitution (energy matched replacement of sugars by other macronutrients); addition (excess energy from sugars added to diets); subtraction (energy from sugars subtracted from diets); and ad libitum (energy from sugars freely replaced by other macronutrients) trials. Independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Eligibility was met by 41 trials (72 trial comparisons, N = 2109) assessing the effect of 9 food sources (sugar-sweetened beverages [SSBs], sweetened dairy, fruit drink [lemonade], 100% fruit juice, fruit, dried fruit [raisins], baked goods desserts and sweets, added nutritive [caloric] sweetener and mixed sources) across the 4 energy levels. Total fructose-containing sugars increased uric acid in substitution trials (mean difference, 0.15 mg/dL [95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.27 mg/dL], P = 0.012) with no effect in addition, subtraction or ad libitum trials. There was evidence of interaction by food source with SSBs and baked goods, desserts and sweets increasing uric acid in substitution and SSBs increasing and 100% fruit juice decreasing uric acid in addition trials. The overall certainty of evidence was moderate for the increasing effect of SSBs in substitution and addition trials and low to very low for all other comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: Food source more than energy control mediate the effect of fructose-containing sugars on uric acid. SSBs and baked goods, desserts and sweets appear to increase, and 100% fruit juice appear to decrease uric acid. More high-quality trials of different food sources of fructose-containing sugars are needed to improve our estimates. FUNDING SOURCES: Diabetes Canada.

OBJECTIVES: The association between body mass index (BMI) and total body adiposity differs across ethnic groups. For instance, South Asians (SA) and East Asians (EA) have lower body fat for a given BMI level than Europeans, while the opposite is true for African-Caribbeans (AC). This suggests that the relationship between BMI and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk may also vary depending on ethnicity. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate whether the association between BMI and the risk of T2D differs across ethnic groups. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched up to July 2020. We included prospective cohort studies of >2 years, which investigated the association between BMI and T2D incidence among adults of a specified ethnicity. Linear and non-linear dose-response meta-analyses were performed using random effects models, with subgroup analyses by ethnicity. The heterogeneity among studies was estimated using the Cochran Q test and I(2) statistic. Study quality was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. RESULTS: 54 studies were included. Cohorts were stratified into the following ethnic subgroups: AC (N = 67,453), EA (N = 1,012,135), European (N = 206,424), Indigenous (N = 10,533), Latin American (LA) (N = 4,669), SA (N = 9,395), and Southeast Asian (SEA) (N = 51,129). Linear dose-response associations between 1 kg/m(2) increase in BMI and T2D were observed for the SEA (RR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.10, 1.30) and SA (RR = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.19) subgroups with no evidence of departure from linearity. Associations departed from linearity for all other subgroups. At a BMI level of 30 kg/m(2), the non-linear dose-response curves for each of the other subgroups displayed the following risk ratios; AC: RR = 3.13 (95% CI, 1.95, 5.02), EA: RR = 2.39 (95% CI, 1.96, 2.92), European: RR = 7.41 (95% CI, 3.88, 14.18), Indigenous: RR = 8.15 (95% CI, 6.07; 10.95), and LA: RR = 12.82 (95% CI, 5.50, 29.92). For all subgroups, there was a high degree of interstudy heterogeneity (I(2 )> 75%). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that the association between BMI and the risk of T2D differs across ethnic groups, suggesting that ethnic-specific BMI cut-offs could be helpful in identifying cardiometabolic risk profiles across different populations. FUNDING SOURCES: Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

OBJECTIVES: The efficacy of oat beta-glucan (OBG), a viscous soluble fibre, on postprandial glycemic outcomes may depend on the nature of the control and the dose and molecular weight (MW) utilized. We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of acute clinical trials to determine whether these features mediate the glycemic and insulinaemic responses to OBG. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through October 27, 2020. We included acute, single-meal feeding, controlled trials investigating the effect of OBG (concentrate or oat bran) added to a carbohydrate-containing meal compared to a comparable meal (matched control) or a different carbohydrate-containing meal (unmatched control). Two reviewers extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias and certainty of evidence (GRADE). The primary outcome was incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for blood glucose. Data were pooled using the generic-inverse variance method with random effects model and expressed as ratio of means with [95% Cis]. RESULTS: One hundred and three trial comparisons (N = 538) were included. OBG reduced glucose iAUC and iPeak by 23% (0.77 [0.74, 0.81]) and 28% (0.72 [0.64, 0.76]) and insulin by 22% (0.78 [0.72, 0.85]) and 24% (0.76 [0.65, 0.88]), respectively. Dose, molecular-weight and comparator were significant effect modifiers of glucose iAUC and iPeak. Significant linear dose-response relationships were observed for all outcomes. OBG molecular-weight > 300 kg/mol significantly reduced glucose iAUC and iPeak, whereas, molecular-weight

OBJECTIVES: Sugars have been implicated in the epidemic of obesity. It is unclear whether food sources of fructose-containing sugars other than sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with increased risk of obesity. To assess the evidence of the relation of food sources of fructose-containing sugars with incident overweight or obesity, we undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane Library through Aug 2019. We included prospective cohort studies of ≥1 year. Two reviewers extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. The primary outcome was incident overweight/obesity. Data were pooled using generic-inverse variance method (random effects) and expressed as relative risks (RR) for incident outcomes and ß-coefficients for WC with 95% confidence intervals (CI). GRADE assessed the certainty of evidence RESULTS: We included 12 and 8 prospective cohorts involving 181,295 adults and 31,717 children, respectively. Four food sources of fructose-containing sugars were identified: SSBs, 100% fruit juice, fruit and yogurt. There was no data available in children for yogurt or WC. SSBs were associated with increased incident overweight/obesity in children (RR, 1.22 [95% CI, 1.03 to 1.44] but not in adults and increased incident abdominal obesity in both children (3.78 [1.08 to 13.25]) and adults (1.51 [1.11 to 2.06]), but there was no association with change in WC in adults. Fruit juice was associated with increased incident overweight/obesity in children (1.28 [1.07 to 1.53]) but not in adults, and there was no association with incident abdominal obesity in either children or adults or WC in adults. Fruit was associated with decreased incident overweight/obesity (0.87 [0.82 to 0.92]) and decreased WC (ß, −0.23 cm [−0.33 to −0.13]) in adults. Yogurt was associated with decreased incident abdominal obesity (0.65 [0.47 to 0.90]) in adults with no data available on WC. The certainty of the evidence was graded as “very low” to “moderate”. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence indicates that the relation between fructose-containing sugars and obesity outcomes differs by food sources. More research of more food sources of sugars is needed to improve our certainty in the evidence. (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02558920) FUNDING SOURCES: ASN, Diabetes Canada, Banting and Best Diabetes Centre.

Automated scene text recognition from camera images is considered as a pioneer research area through last few decades. Classification of foreground object components from camera images is an essential step of Text Information Extraction (TIE). Text/Non-text separation from complex document images as well as unstructured natural images is still a challenging task. Although, some works have been reported in this direction, component level standard benchmark datasets for specifically text/non-text classification are not available. In this paper, a new multi-script dataset of text and non-text components have been reported along with multi-purpose ground truth annotations. A novel feature set is also designed on the basis of distance information of medial skeleton points to set benchmark performance on this dataset. Also, a Deep Convolution Neural Network (D-CNN) based automated feature extraction and classification framework is developed for benchmarking purpose. More insight is put forward by conducting separate assessment of current two benchmark methods on component images originated from documents and natural scenes. Experimental results show that classification accuracy is over 94.00% for medial skeleton based feature descriptors and over 96.00% for D-CNN framework on both types of sources, which is pretty impressive in practical scenario.

BACKGROUND: Certain plant foods (nuts and soy protein) and food components (viscous fibers and plant sterols) have been permitted by the FDA to carry a heart health claim based on their cholesterol-lowering ability. The FDA is currently considering revoking the heart health claim for soy protein due to a perceived lack of consistent LDL cholesterol reduction in randomized controlled trials. OBJECTIVE: We performed a meta-analysis of the 46 controlled trials on which the FDA will base its decision to revoke the heart health claim for soy protein. METHODS: We included the 46 trials on adult men and women, with baseline circulating LDL cholesterol concentrations ranging from 110 to 201 mg/dL, as identified by the FDA, that studied the effects of soy protein on LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol (TC) compared with non-soy protein. Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data. Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method with a random effects model and expressed as mean differences with 95% CI. Heterogeneity was assessed and quantified. RESULTS: Of the 46 trials identified by the FDA, 43 provided data for meta-analyses. Of these, 41 provided data for LDL cholesterol, and all 43 provided data for TC. Soy protein at a median dose of 25 g/d during a median follow-up of 6 wk decreased LDL cholesterol by 4.76 mg/dL (95% CI: −6.71, −2.80 mg/dL, P

OBJECTIVE The evidence for liquid meal replacements in diabetes has not been summarized. Our objective was to synthesize the evidence of the effect of liquid meal replacements on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese individuals with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Data sources included MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library through 10 December 2018. We included randomized trials of ≥2 weeks assessing the effect of liquid meal replacements in weight loss diets compared with traditional weight loss diets on cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight/obese subjects with type 2 diabetes. Two independent reviewers extracted relevant data and assessed risk of bias. Data were pooled using the inverse variance method. The overall certainty of the evidence was evaluated using GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation). RESULTS Nine trial comparisons (N = 961 [median follow-up 24 weeks]) met eligibility criteria. Mean differences were for body weight −2.37 kg (95% CI −3.30 to −1.44), BMI −0.87 kg/m2 (−1.31 to −0.42), body fat −1.66% (−2.17 to −1.15), waist circumference −2.24 cm (−3.72 to −0.77), HbA1c −0.43% (−0.66 to −0.19) (−4.7 mmol/mol [−7.2 to −2.1]), fasting glucose −0.63 mmol/L (−0.99 to −0.27), fasting insulin −11.83 pmol/L (−23.11 to −0.54), systolic blood pressure −4.97mmHg (−7.32 to −2.62), and diastolic blood pressure −1.98 mmHg (−3.05 to −0.91). There was no effect on blood lipids. The overall certainty of the evidence was low to moderate owing to imprecision and/or inconsistency. CONCLUSIONS Liquid meal replacements in weight loss diets lead to modest reductions in body weight, BMI, and systolic blood pressure, and reductions of marginal clinical significance in body fat, waist circumference, HbA1c, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and diastolic blood pressure. More high-quality trials are needed to improve the certainty in our estimates.