Food For Thought Research Articles

Food for Thought: Papas Fritas.

Food for Thought: Papas Fritas.

Laryngofissure for Airway Management in Thyroid Malignancy - ‘Food for Thought’

Paediatric thyroid cancer (PTC) is a rare disease, and treatment for thyroid malignancy is primarily surgical. Airway considerations can be challenging in such surgeries. An 8-year-old boy with a huge neck mass and a history of hoarseness and stridor at rest was diagnosed with PTC and scheduled to undergo total thyroidectomy with bilateral neck dissection. Airway imaging showed critical airway narrowing. An awake tracheostomy under local anaesthesia was planned. As the thyroid lesion was adherent to the trachea, tracheostomy was unsuccessful in an awake, agitated child and the surgeon had to perform laryngofissure (median thyrotomy) as a desperate measure to access the airway. The endotracheal tube was railroaded over a bougie through the laryngofissure opening. General anaesthesia with neuromuscular blockade was provided subsequently. The surgery was uneventful. A conventional tracheostomy was performed at the end of the surgery, and the laryngofissure opening was closed in layers.

Food For Thought: Under Pressure

Food For Thought: Under Pressure

Food for Thought: The Impact of a Nutritional Toolkit on Well-Being in Children

Food for Thought: The Impact of a Nutritional Toolkit on Well-Being in Children

Food for Thought: Julian Baggini's ‘How the World Eats’

Food for Thought: Julian Baggini's ‘How the World Eats’

Food for Thought: Mental Health, Psychological Well-Being, Social Engagement and Campus Service Utilization of Students Experiencing Food Insecurity at a Large Atlantic Canadian University

ABSTRACT The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and associated mental health characteristics of food insecure (FI) students at an Atlantic Canadian University. Based on data from the National College Health Assessment-third revision (NCHA-III, 2023) (N = 1694; mean age = 26.6; 63.2% female), FI prevalence was 46.6%, with higher rates for male, international, and undergraduate students, and those from low-income families. Food Insecure students were more likely to report “serious” psychological distress, a state of ’languishing,’ a greater frequency of all forms of suicidality, and use of the university’s food bank and mental health services. Concomitant social issues were also more likely for FI students in terms of lacking companionship, feeling left out and isolated from others, experiencing problems/challenges with family and peers, and indicating less agreement that they belonged at their university, and that their health/well-being was a priority on campus. Recommendations on how institutions can address the issue are considered.

Food for Thought: Young People and Youth Workers’ Perceptions of Food Insecurity and the Youth Work Response

While there is significant research on the impact of food insecurity, there is less so through the lens of young people and the youth work response. Therefore, this research presents findings from a small-scale United Kingdom-based study asking what are young people’s and youth workers perceptions of food insecurity and the youth work response. Focus group research methodology was adopted. The research recognised that food insecurity is part of a wider issue of poverty and inequality, and we explored how this is perceived by young people and youth workers at the Personal, Cultural, and Structural levels whilst also situating issues of food insecurity in the global context. Themes of togetherness, relationship, otherness, disempowerment, and learning were identified as key components in the youth work response to food insecurity. A number of recommendations are made, including the importance of highlighting the power of youth work in responding to young people experiencing food insecurity. The youth work approach has application to all professions working to challenge issues of food insecurity and social injustice.

Food for Thought

Food for Thought

Food for Thought in Malaysian Borneo: Data Mining and Sentiment Analysis of Tripadvisor Reviews for Online Destination Branding

Unique destination branding in tourism is crucial to gaining a competitive advantage. Local food is a significant component of a destination brand which Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) must integrate into their official marketing efforts. DMOs must monitor the popularity and perception of their food promotions against the competition. Online promotion and management are challenging due to the rise of user-generated content. Automatic data mining techniques were used to determine the extent to which tourist food choices on TripAdvisor matched foods promoted by DMOs and how distinct these choices were from a rival DMOs’ promotion. We compared online food promotion between the Sabah Tourism Board and the Sarawak Tourism Board. We developed a software system to automatically extract food branding business intelligence from TripAdvisor restaurant reviews. The application of web crawling and scraping technology was applied to extract data and use Sentiment Analysis for interpretation. Online foods promoted by DMOs for each region were found to contain only a few common dishes, but these were more popular than region-specific foods. Significantly different distributions of food choices were found for each region. Some potentially useful differences between foreign and domestic tourists and locals were also identified. Sentiment analysis revealed hidden information in reviews useful for potential food destination branding. Findings from TripAdvisor confirm practical suggestions for improving brand distinctiveness found in the literature. This study is the first to develop an actual system that DMOs could use to estimate the online popularity of their promoted foods and those of their competition.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Nutrition is a crucial yet often overlooked component in achieving optimal mental health and cognition, serving as one of the missing pieces in the complex puzzle of the gut-brain connection. The gut-brain axis highlights how gut health directly influences brain function, with gut microbiota playing a significant role in neurotransmitter production that regulates mood and cognition. A diet rich in whole foods, including omega-3 fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics, polyphenols, and B vitamins, supports both gut and brain health. By prioritizing these nutrients, individuals can enhance cognitive function and emotional stability, addressing the gut-brain conflict that arises from poor nutrition. Thus, good nutrition is crucial for mental wellness, acting as the missing puzzle piece in the gut-brain relationship. By prioritizing gut health through proper nutrition, individuals can enhance mental health, cognitive function, and overall wellbeing.

Assessing the effect of anthocyanins through diet and supplementation on cognitive function in older adults at risk for dementia: protocol for a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionPromising evidence is emerging for the procognitive, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of dietary flavonoids, particularly anthocyanins that provide red, purple and blue plant pigments.Methods and analysisThe ‘Food for Thought’ study...

Food for Thought

Could the rise of the ‘alternative protein’ industry be the answer to the world’s agricultural crisis?

"Food for Thought": Improving Cognition in People With Schizophrenia.

We have known that cognitive difficulties are related to functional outcomes in schizophrenia for many years. However, we have only paid attention to potential treatments relatively recently, so implementation has been slow. This is a narrative review describing the development of cognitive remediation treatments to improve cognitive skills and their effects on functioning. It also reviews the types of cognitive remediation with some evidence on their effects. Models of treatment have now been clarified and have led to a landmark paper by cognitive remediation experts around the world on the ingredients of cognitive remediation to produce the most benefit. This expert judgement on good clinical practice was justified by a large meta-analysis that supported the extra benefit of the four ingredients: an active therapist, massed practice of cognitive skills, the teaching of cognitive strategies and additional rehabilitation to transfer skills to real life. Although there is evidence of efficacy and of the beneficial therapy ingredients there is little implementation of cognitive remediation, so the establishment of cognitive remediation into mental health services needs an implementation pathway.

Food for Thought: Understanding the Impact of Food Insecurity on Fertility Dynamics in the U.S.

This paper examines the relationship between food insecurity rates and fertility rates in the United States using panel data at the county level spanning from 2010 to 2017. Drawing upon health literature that highlights the disproportionate burden of food insecurity on women and its adverse effects on maternal and child health, I investigate the hypothesis that counties with lower rates of food insecurity exhibit lower fertility rates by employing an instrumental variable regression approach with two-way fixed effects. The two most notable findings are, first, that there is weak but suggestive evidence of a positive relationship between food insecurity and fertility at the national level and second, regional disparities can cause this relationship to turn negative. These findings underscore the significance of socioeconomic factors in shaping reproductive behaviors. Further research using alternative econometric techniques is warranted to investigate causal mechanisms in the observed relationship.

Food for Thought: Evaluating Dietary Documentation in Psychiatric Settings

Food for Thought: Evaluating Dietary Documentation in Psychiatric Settings

Food for Thought: The Effects of Feeding on Neurogenesis in the Ball Python, Python regius

Introduction: Pythons are a well-studied model of postprandial physiological plasticity. Consuming a meal evokes a suite of physiological changes in pythons including one of the largest documented increases in post-feeding metabolic rates relative to resting values. However, little is known about how this plasticity manifests in the brain. Previous work has shown that cell proliferation in the python brain increases 6 days following meal consumption. This study aimed to confirm these findings and build on them in the long term by tracking the survival and maturation of these newly created cells across a 2-month period. Methods: We investigated differences in neural cell proliferation in ball pythons 6 days after a meal with immunofluorescence using the cell-birth marker 5-bromo-12′-deoxyuridine (BrdU). We investigated differences in neural cell maturation in ball pythons 2 months after a meal using double immunofluorescence for BrdU and a reptilian ortholog of the neuronal marker Fox3. Results: We did not find significantly greater rates of cell proliferation in snakes 6 days after feeding, but we did observe more new cells in neurogenic regions in fed snakes 2 months after the meal. Feeding was not associated with higher rates of neurogenesis, but snakes that received a meal had higher numbers of newly created nonneuronal cells than fasted controls. We documented particularly high cell survival rates in the olfactory bulbs and lateral cortex. Conclusion: Consuming a meal stimulates cell proliferation in the brains of ball pythons after digestion is complete, although this effect emerged at a later time point in this study than expected. Higher rates of proliferation partially account for greater numbers of newly created non-neuronal cells in the brains of fed snakes 2 months after the meal, but our results also suggest that feeding may have a mild neuroprotective effect. We captured a slight trend toward higher cell survival rates in fed snakes, and survival rates were particularly high in brain regions associated with olfactory perception and processing. These findings shed light on the relationship between energy balance and the creation of new neural cells in the brains of ball pythons.

Food for Thought: Optical Sensor Arrays and Machine Learning for the Food and Beverage Industry.

Arrays of cross-reactive sensors, combined with statistical or machine learning analysis of their multivariate outputs, have enabled the holistic analysis of complex samples in biomedicine, environmental science, and consumer products. Comparisons are frequently made to the mammalian nose or tongue and this perspective examines the role of sensing arrays in analyzing food and beverages for quality, veracity, and safety. I focus on optical sensor arrays as low-cost, easy-to-measure tools for use in the field, on the factory floor, or even by the consumer. Novel materials and approaches are highlighted and challenges in the research field are discussed, including sample processing/handling and access to significant sample sets to train and test arrays to tackle real issues in the industry. Finally, I examine whether the comparison of sensing arrays to noses and tongues is helpful in an industry defined by human taste.

Food for Thought: A Review of Neuroradiographic Signs Inspired by Food

Whetting appetites for both knowledge and lunch, there is a rich history of naming signs in radiology after delectable treats. Built to entice even the most discerning palate, this collection of neuroradiologic signs is presented here to prove that learning neuroradiology can be as sweet as it is stimulating. Imaging signs are important to the practice of neuroradiology, a medical subspecialty whose work can influence the decisions of other clinicians. They can assist the physician by associating complex pathologic processes with common, recognizable images from everyday life. Signs may aid the neuroradiologist in the interpretation of MR imaging and other imaging studies by adding confidence to a diagnosis. Sugary treats apparently offer the most inspiration, causing radiology reads to make the ordering physician’s stomach grumble.Learning Objective: To recognize 9 food-inspired radiologic signs and identify the pathology behind them

Food for Thought: The Soup Factory

Food for Thought: The Soup Factory

Food For Thought: Winesicle

Food For Thought: Winesicle