Launching a new food/dietary supplement into the US market can be a confusing process to those unfamiliar with the food industry. Industry capability and product specifications are initial ...determinants of whether a candidate product can be manufactured in a reproducible manner and whether pilot production can be brought up to the market scale. Regulatory issues determine how a product can be produced and marketed; the primary federal institutions involved in regulations are the US Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Trade Commission. A primary distinction is made between food and drugs, and no product may enter the food market if it is in part or whole a drug. Product safety is a major concern, and myriad regulations govern the determination of safety. New foods/dietary supplements are often marketed by health claims or structure/function claims, and there are specific regulations pertaining to claims. Not understanding the regulatory issues involved in developing a new product or failing to comply with associated regulations can have legal and financial repercussions.
Executive functioning (EF) is a salient factor in both ADHD as well as depressive disorders. However, sparse literature has examined whether depression severity impacts EF concurrently among adults ...with ADHD. The goal of this study was to examine differences in EF between adult patients diagnosed with ADHD and those diagnosed with a non-ADHD primary psychopathological condition, as a function of both ADHD presentation and depression severity in a diverse clinical sample.
This crosssectional study included 404 adult patients clinically referred for neuropsychological evaluation to assist with differential diagnosis and/or treatment planning related to known or suspected ADHD. Various EF tasks and a measure of depression severity were administered. One-way MANOVA analyses were conducted to compare EF performance between individuals diagnosed with ADHD or a non-ADHD primary psychopathological condition, with additional analyses examining group differences based on ADHD presentation and depression severity. Regression analyses also examined the potential contribution of depression severity to each EF measure within each group.
No significant EF performance differences were found when comparing individuals diagnosed with ADHD and those with a non-ADHD primary psychopathological condition, nor based on ADHD presentation. When comparing across groups using cut-offs for high or low depression, only one EF measure showed significant differences between groups. Further, depression severity generally did not predict reduced EF performances with the exception of verbal fluency and working memory performances in select groups.
This study demonstrated that individuals with ADHD generally perform comparably on EF measures regardless of the presence or absence of comorbid depression. These results suggest further examination of EF deficits when they emerge for adults with ADHD, especially beyond comorbid depression severity.
An under-recognized cause of chest pain, the coronary slow-flow (CSF) phenomenon is characterized by delayed coronary opacification during diagnostic angiography in the absence of epicardial coronary ...artery disease (CAD). Given its angiographic resemblance to no-reflow during percutaneous coronary intervention, a condition associated with microvascular spasm responsive to calcium-channel blockers, we hypothesized that spontaneous CSF may similarly be reversed by intracoronary (IC) nicardipine.
The effect of IC nicardipine was evaluated in 30 patients. CSF was defined as spontaneously delayed flow (<TIMI 3) during diagnostic coronary angiography in the absence of obstructive epicardial CAD or other conditions associated with impaired flow. Nicardipine was administered as a 200 μg IC bolus, after which repeat angiography was performed. Coronary flow before and after nicardipine was evaluated by TIMI flow grade and corrected TIMI frame count (TFC) assessments.
The study population consisted of 22 men and 8 women (mean age, 54 ± 11 years). Clinical presentation was rest angina in 21 patients (70%). At baseline, CSF with <TIMI 3 flow was observed in 49 vessels. TFC was prolonged (>27) in 68/90 vessels (76%). IC nicardipine produced markedly accelerated coronary filling, which was corroborated by TFC analysis. TFC was 47 ± 17 before vs 15 ± 5 after nicardipine (P<.001). All vessels demonstrated TIMI 3 flow and TFC <28 after nicardipine treatment.
IC nicardipine appears highly effective in reversing spontaneous CSF. These findings implicate microvascular spasm in the pathogenesis of CSF. Future studies of oral calcium-channel blockers in the long-term management of CSF are needed.
Subjective organization (SO) facilitates storage and retrieval of information but is often impaired following traumatic brain injury. No study has compared measures of SO using association rule ...analyses to clustering analyses. Moreover, there have been no studies investigating whether patients post-brain injury subjectively organize non-verbal information.
This study investigates the relationship between SO and recall of words and symbols with participants discordant for traumatic brain injury. Additionally, the authors explored the conditions under which clustering or association rule measures of SO were best used.
Two female monozygotic twins discordant for traumatic brain injury completed a multi-trial free recall test of words and symbols. The authors examined whether measures of SO derived from clustering analysis or association rule modeling could differentiate organizational abilities between participants' data.
The twin following sequential traumatic brain injuries demonstrated significantly less SO and recall relative to the twin without a traumatic brain injury. Both twins subjectively organized verbal and non-verbal information and each measure could differentiate the twins' performance.
The quantitative analysis of SO can provide clinicians with valuable information concerning a patient's recall performance. This study illustrates practical issues that may influence a clinician's choice of these techniques.
Subjective Organization (SO) refers to the human tendency to impose organization on our environment. Persons with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) often lose the ability to organize however, there are no ...performance based measures of organization that can be used to document this disability.
The authors propose a method of association rule analysis (AR) that can be used as a clinical tool for assessing a patient's ability to organize.
Twenty three patients with ABI recalled a list of twelve unrelated nouns over twelve study and test trials. Several measures of AR computed on these data were correlated with various measures of short-term, long-term, and delayed recall of the words.
All of the AR measures correlated significantly with the short-term and long-term memory measures. The confidence measure was the best predictor of memory and the number of association rules generated was the best predictor of learning.
The confidence measure can be used as a clinical tool to assess SO with individual ABI survivors.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with various cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms that complicate diagnosis and treatment. The heterogeneity of these symptoms may ...also vary depending on certain sociodemographic factors. It is therefore important to establish more homogenous symptom profiles in patients with ADHD and determine their association with the patient's sociodemographic makeup. The current study used unsupervised machine learning to identify symptom profiles across various cognitive, behavioral, and mood symptoms in adults with ADHD. It was then examined whether symptom profiles differed based on relevant sociodemographic factors.
Participants were 382 adult outpatients (62% female; 51% non-Hispanic White) referred for neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD.
Employing Gaussian Mixture Modeling, we identified two distinct symptom profiles in adults with ADHD: "ADHD-Plus Symptom Profile" and "ADHD-Predominate Symptom Profile." These profiles were primarily differentiated by internalizing psychopathology (Cohen's
= 1.94-2.05), rather than by subjective behavioral and cognitive symptoms of ADHD or neurocognitive test performance. In a subset of 126 adults without ADHD who were referred for the same evaluation, the unsupervised machine learning algorithm only identified one symptom profile. Group comparison analyses indicated that female patients were most likely to present with an ADHD-Plus Symptom Profile (
= 5.43,
< .001).
The machine learning technique used in this study appears to be an effective way to elucidate symptom profiles emerging from comprehensive ADHD evaluations. These findings further underscore the importance of considering internalizing symptoms and patients' sex when contextualizing adult ADHD diagnosis and treatment.
Abstract
Recent analyses indicate that global fruit and vegetable (F&V) production will need to increase by 50%–150% by 2050 in order to achieve sustainable and healthy diets for 10 billion people. ...Although global production of F&V has grown by 50% during the last two decades alone, simply scaling up current systems of F&V production, supply chains, and consumption will inevitably worsen environmental and socioeconomic tradeoffs. This article examines three examples of important F&V—avocados, leafy greens, and tomatoes—to assess the global challenge of meeting dietary recommendations at affordable prices to consumers while sustaining producer livelihoods and minimizing environmental damage. These three cases highlight key characteristics of F&V systems that make the challenge of sustainable expansion especially difficult: knowledge-, input-, and labor-intensive production, high rates of food loss and waste, and low affordability to consumers relative to less nutrient-dense food groups. Our analysis shows that only by investing in innovations that increase diversity, integrate technology, and improve equity will truly sustainable expansion of F&V systems be possible.
The yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em. Thell) has greatly improved through breeding, but it is not known how this has affected seed micronutrient content. In the present study, the iron (Fe), ...zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and selenium (Se) content of seed of 14 US hard red winter wheat varieties from production eras spanning more than a century was measured. The seed that was analyzed was obtained from a replicated field trial conducted at two locations in Kansas. The Fe, Zn, and Cu content was obtained by inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICPES) and Se content was obtained by hydride-generated atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS). Significant effects of location on micronutrient content of seed were observed. Similarly, depending on the micronutrient, significant differences in seed micronutrient content between varieties were detected at one or both locations. A significant negative regression of seed Zn content on both yield and variety release date was observed at both locations, while seed Fe content exhibited a significant negative regression on yield and variety release date at one location. Regression of seed Se content on variety release date was significant and negative at one location. These results suggest that genetic gains in the yield of US hard red winter wheat have tended to reduce seed Fe, Zn, and Se concentrations. However, the extent to which this effect manifests itself is influenced by environmental effects.
Since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19), in December 2019, the infection has spread around the globe. ...Some of the risk factors include social distancing, mask wearing, hand washing with soap, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and dysbiosis. Evidence has shown the incidence of total infection and death rates to be lower in sub-Saharan Africa when compared with North Africa, Europe and North America and many other parts of the world. The higher the metabolic syndrome rate, the higher the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Africa has a lower rate of metabolic syndrome risk than many other continents. This paradox has puzzled several in the biomedical and scientific communities. Published results of research have demonstrated the exciting correlation that the combination of young age of the population coupled with their native plant-based diet has lowered their risk factors. The plant-based diet include whole grains (millet, sorghum), legumes (black-eye peas, dry beans, soybean), vegetables, potato, sweet potato, yams, squash, banana, pumpkin seeds, and moringa leaves, and lower consumption of meat. The plant-based diet results in a different gut microbiota than of most of the rest of the world. This has a significant impact on the survival rate of other populations. The “plant-based diet” results in lower rates of obesity, diabetes and dysbiosis, which could contribute to lower and less severe infections. However, these hypotheses need to be supported by more clinical and biostatistics data.
Insomnia is common in the elderly and is associated with chronic disease, but use of hypnotics increases the incidence of falls. Montmorency tart cherry juice has improved insomnia by self-report ...questionnaire.
Is insomnia confirmed by polysomnography and is tryptophan availability a potential mechanism for treating insomnia?
A placebo-controlled balanced crossover study with subjects older than 50 years and insomnia were randomized to placebo (2 weeks) or cherry juice (2 weeks) (240 mL 2 times/d) separated by a 2-week washout.
Sleep was evaluated by polysomnography and 5 validated questionnaires. Serum indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), the kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio, and prostaglandin E2 were measured. In vitro, Caco-2 cells were stimulated with interferon-gamma, and the ability of cherry juice procyanidin to inhibit IDO which degrades tryptophan and stimulates inflammation was measured. The content of procyanidin B-2 and other major anthocyanins in cherry juice were determined.
Eleven subjects were randomized; 3 with sleep apnea were excluded and referred. The 8 completers with insomnia increased sleep time by 84 minutes on polysomnography (P = 0.0182) and sleep efficiency increased on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P = 0.03). Other questionnaires showed no significant differences. The serum kynurenine-to-tryptophan ratio decreased, as did the level of prostaglandin E2 (both P < 0.05). In vitro, cherry juice procyanidin B-2 dose-dependently inhibited IDO.
Cherry juice increased sleep time and sleep efficiency. Cherry juice procyanidin B-2 inhibited IDO, increased tryptophan availability, reduced inflammation, and may be partially responsible for improvement in insomnia.
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