Increasing Health Consciousness Research Articles

Calorie labeling law and fast food chain performance: The value of capital responsiveness under sales volatility

With increasing health consciousness around calorie intake, we assess the influence of calorie labeling law on the stock market performance of publicly-traded fast-food chains. Using the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) final calorie labeling guidelines released on May 5, 2016, as the main event, we assess the cumulative abnormal return (CAR) of fast-food chains. Prior studies have focused on consumer behavior changes following the regulation; yet, the aggregate effects of the law on the financial outcomes remain unexplored. Our findings suggest that the regulation may not have had a significantly negative financial impact on publicly traded firms in the retail food industry. We found that publicly traded firms in the retail food industry with higher sales volatility in the past experienced a negative CAR while firms with high historic sales volatility accompanied by high levels of investment responsiveness – signaling of responsiveness to such laws – had a positive CAR.

Proliferation of 'healthy' alcohol products in Australia: implications for policy.

The Australian alcohol industry has observed that increased health consciousness among consumers is a threat to industry revenue, but also an opportunity for innovation and growth within the sector. This paper examines how the alcohol industry has responded to a perceived increase in health consciousness among consumers, considers policy implications and provides recommendations to address supposedly healthier alcohol products. We collected examples of new product developments and monitored alcohol industry publications for information on key trends and comments from alcohol company executives to inform the paper. We found that existing regulations do not appear to be sufficient to adequately restrict health-related claims made by alcohol marketers and producers, as alcohol products continue to be advertised in association with health. Research shows that this can have significant implications for the way consumers view these products. Restrictions on health-related claims should form part of broader reforms to alcohol marketing that should include strong, independent, legislated controls.

Cost estimation and consumer acceptance studies of herbal burfi

Traditional Indian dairy product has huge liking throughout the length and breadth of our country as well as abroad in the Indian diaspora. However, increasing health consciousness among the consumers has resulted into shift in their demand to functional foods. Many reports have highlighted the scope of further enhancing traditional dairy foods market by increasing their functionality, however very limited literature is available regarding their market prospects. The present study was conducted to estimate the production cost of herbal burfi, rich in anti-oxidative activity, in comparison to control burfi and also the market potential of the same. Herbal essential oil incorporation resulted into increase in INR 6/- of the raw material cost and thus the production cost of herbal burfi was INR 6/- (2.75%) was higher than that from control burfi. Consumer survey of the developed product revealed that 22.73% of the respondents rated the product ‘excellent’ and 92.86% of 154 respondents were ready to purchase the product, when available in market even at slightly higher price.

Color‐Tunable Eu3+ and Tb3+ Co‐Doped Nanophosphors Synthesis by Plasma‐Assisted Method

AbstractWith increasing health consciousness, Y2O3‐based rare earth nanophosphors are considered as promising luminescent complexes for bio‐applications. In the present study, an atmospheric pressure plasma‐electrochemical technique is demonstrated for the synthesis of Eu3+/Tb3+ single‐doped or co‐doped Y2O3 nanophosphors from merely an aqueous solution of the corresponding rare earth nitrite salts. Systematic experiments were performed to prepare (Y1‐x‐yEuxTby)2O3 nanophosphors of various Tb3+ and Eu3+ ratios (x:y = 1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, and 0:1), with the ultimate goal to achieve the colour tunability by simply adjusting the dopant compositions. Results indicated successfulness synthesis of crystalline Eu/Tb single‐doped and co‐doped Y2O3 nanophosphors with Tb3+ and Eu3+ ions being uniformly incorporated into the Y2O3 host matrix. The generated products showed apparent downshift behaviour under ultraviolet irradiation, and characteristic spectral excitation and emission bands were detected by the photoluminescence measurement. Furthermore, by adjusting the relative composition ratios of the terbium and europium ions, the emission colours were shown to be regulated to a large extent. The demonstrated process can be characterized as simple, versatile and environmentally‐friendly, featuring great flexibility in colour tunability, and therefore can present a considerable interest for emerging nanofabrication applications.

Practical Methods to Improve the Quality and Safety of FreshCut Fruits: A Review

The ready-to-eat fruit and vegetable market has rapidly grown in recent years due to the health benefits associated with these foods and to the increased health consciousness of consumers with busy lifestyles and increased purchase power. Nevertheless, ready-to-use commodities are more perishable than the original materials. The main factors affecting the loss of consumer acceptability are discoloration, enzymatic browning, dryness and texture loss. These parameters determine the visual appearance of the fruits. For this reason, the fruit processing industry requires the development of techniques capable of keeping safe shelf-life, preserving the original visual and organoleptic fresh-like characteristics of fresh-cut products. Another problem associated with the ready-to-eat products, is the microbiological growth. The metabolism of molds and yeasts is responsible for the qualitative decay of minimally processed fruits, so the products decontamination became essential. Natural antimicrobials, ozone, chlorine dioxide, UV and cold gas plasma are some of the different treatments proposed. In combination with these treatments, some actions are carried out to limit the oxidative browning and the firmness loss. Ascorbic acid is the compound most extensively used to avoid the oxidative browning of the fruits, however nowadays there are many alternatives, like chemical or physical treatments. The edible coatings could be effective systems to preserve fresh cut fruits quality, their actions are due to the barrier forming against external agents; in addiction, they could carry functional ingredients (antioxidant, antimicrobial, calcium salts). In conclusion, the treatments aimed to preserve minimally processed fruits quality could be chemical or physical, innovative or more established, cheap or expensive or they could require complex equipment. This review describes the most significant contributions regarding preservation of fresh-cut fruits in order to evaluate their effectiveness in preserving quality traits.

Antimicrobial sensitivity in urinary tract obstruction due to calculus: a study of 50 cases

Background: The urinary tract obstruction occurs due to several causes. one of the most important cause of obstruction is urinary calculus. urinary calculi are the third most common affliction of the urinary tract exceeded only by urinary tract infection and pathology of prostate. Improvement of the medical facility and increased health consciousness has resulted in more patients presenting with early urinary tract obstruction due stone.Methods: This is prospective study. It was conducted from July 2017 to August 2018 at GMERS medical college Valsad. A Study of 50 cases was carried out, after thorough clinical examination and necessary investigations, patients were subjected to x ray KUB, ultrasonography, intravenous pyelography. The samples were cultured & Antimicrobial sensitivity determined.Results: Escherichia coli is the commonest urinary pathogen causing 60 -90 % of infection, but in this study 72% of patient came infected with Escherichia coli 16% came infected with Klebsiella. Infection of anterior urinary tract (Urethritis) is mainly caused by N. Gonrrhoeae, staphylococci and chlamydia. Gentamicin is found to be most effective drug (78% sensitivity) in present series this is followed by Gatifloxacin (60% sensitivity), Septran (36% sensitivity) & Cefotaxime (34% sensitivity).Conclusions: It is concluded that most of the urinary tract infections in human are caused by Escherichia coli with more sensitivity to Gentamicin.

Influence of thermosonication treatments on bioactive compounds and sensory quality of fruit (Haematocarpus validus ) juice

The main aim of the paper was to evaluate the quality attributes and consumer acceptability of blood fruit (Haematocarpus validus) juice treated by thermosonication (TS) process. The major process parameters, temperature, processing time, and power load were experimented and the treated samples compared with the conventional pasteurized and untreated juice sample. Results obtained showed the TS‐treated juice sample (TS‐7) at 55°C/5 min/1.4 W/ml gives the maximum inactivation of pectin methyl esterase (PME), peroxidase (PO), and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes, microorganism (total bacteria and yeast and mold), and also excellent sensory qualities. In addition to this, higher retention of ascorbic acid, polyphenols, flavonoids, antioxidant, flavonols, anthocyanins was noted, besides preserving the original color. This optimized TS technique can be employed in numerous beverages industries to produce high quality of fruits and vegetables juices, squash, cordial, and other products. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Increased health consciousness dictates various lifestyles changes and the need for better quality product in terms of freshness, less or no addictive usage and longer shelf life is warrant. The paper presents such technique: thermosonication (TS) which when employed in beverage’s preparation gives the above‐stated attributes. TS is a novel and viable technique that is employed to replace the conventional thermal processing. This shall provide great assistance to the commercial beverage industries to cater the health conscious population or otherwise and nonetheless, produced healthier, more stable and quality products which can be of therapeutic used.

Prevention of Sports-related Dental Injuries in Children

A sports-related dental injury is defined as injuries to the oral and maxillofacial regions associated with sports activities, and involves tooth fracture and luxation, facial bone and temporomandibular fractures, and soft tissue injury. Participants in sports activities are always at risk for traumatic injury, with the oral and maxillofacial region often affected. Dental injuries also have a high rate of occurrence among sports-related injuries received during school physical education classes and club activities. Unfortunately, nearly all such dental injuries are irreversible, and the loss of teeth or their supporting tissues has a significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. Thus, for prevention of sports-related dental injuries, it is important for dental professionals to disseminate correct knowledge regarding oral health, as well as provide information to reduce and treat risk factors such as dental caries, periodontal disease, and occlusal problems. In particular, use of mouthguard is one of the most effective ways to prevent sports-related dental injuries that occur in sports and physical activity participants. Recently, along with increased health consciousness, the number of individuals who participate in sports and fitness activities is also increasing. Outside of the bounds of conventional dental clinical treatment, dentists are encouraged to actively be involved in local and regional organizations related to sports, recreation, and physical activity opportunities, in order to contribute to promotion of safety and health, including injury prevention. In this review, we discuss various findings to prevention of sports-related dental injuries in children.

Service quality in private hospitals of Jammu and Kashmir - an empirical assessment from District Srinagar

The growing middle class, increased health consciousness and inadequate public health facilities have led to an enormous growth of the private healthcare sector in India. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the service quality of private hospitals in Srinagar District of India from the perspective of outpatients. The study used SERVQUAL model to determine the overall service quality and gaps between perceptions and expectations of outpatients regarding service quality attributes in sample private hospitals. The results revealed that there existed a statistically significant difference between total mean perceptions and total mean expectations of patients across all the dimensions and variables of healthcare service quality (p < 0.05) except for three variables (hospital being visually appealing; floor being clean; and, hospital having regular water supply). The overall service quality of −1.22 implies that the private hospitals in Srinagar District are far from meeting the expectations of patients.

Motivating healthy eating: The role of presentation format and health consciousness

Research on improving healthy eating has shown that paternalistic strategies, which rely on educating consumers and increasing health consciousness (HC), tend to be ineffective. The present research explores an approach that relies on subtle environmental changes and consumers’ innate motivations to improve food decision making. Specifically, we test whether changes in the presentation format (picture vs. text) of healthy food items can increase hedonic perceptions and consumption intentions, especially among consumers low in HC. In Study 1, participants evaluated the hedonic and health-related properties of a fruit salad. In Study 2, participants evaluated the hedonic- and health-related properties of an entrée (zucchini pasta with cauliflower sauce) and indicated their consumption intentions. The results show that while health-related perceptions did not change as a function of presentation format or HC, participants low in HC rated a healthy food item as more hedonically pleasing and were more likely to choose that item when it was presented in picture rather than text format. In contrast, presentation format did not influence the evaluations and consumption intentions of participants high in HC.

Pharmacists' knowledge and perceptions about herbal medicines: A case study of Jos and environs

Background: Due to increased health consciousness among the public, the use of herbal products are on the increase on a daily basis. To achieve optimal benefits, there is a need for pharmacists who are the custodians of knowledge on drugs and drugs-related products to have more understanding and interest in herbal medicine for effective counseling on the products. The purpose of this study was to assess Pharmacists' knowledge and perceptions regarding herbal medicine use. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were administered to 200 pharmacists working within the study areas to fill; after which the collected data were statistically analyzed using IBM SPSS software programmer, version 20. Results: Only 88.5% of the respondents responded on the questionnaires, and their mean age was 34 years; median year of experience in practice was 8.2 years; and their areas of practice included hospital (56.1%), community (28.1%), academic (8.47%), and industries (4.52%). More than half (76.27%) of them believed that herbal products were more efficacious and safer (61.02%) than orthodox medicines; with almost all of them (94.92%) acknowledging the beneficial effects of incorporating herbal medicines into orthodox medicine practice. However, most of them (72.88%) confessed having little knowledge on herbal remedies, especially drug-herbs interactions (81.36%), and their main source of information on herbs was from school (56.50%). Conclusions: The result showed poor level of pharmacists' knowledge on herbal medicine; which might result in poor patients' counseling on herbal therapy, especially regarding their safety and potential interaction with orthodox medicine.

Spot measurement of heart rate based on morphology of PhotoPlethysmoGraphic (PPG) signals

Due to increasing health consciousness among people, it is imperative to have low-cost health care devices to measure the vital parameters like heart rate and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2). In this paper, an efficient heart rate monitoring algorithm based on the morphology of photoplethysmography (PPG) signals to measure the spot heart rate (HR) and its real-time implementation is proposed. The algorithm does pre-processing and detects the onsets and systolic peaks of the PPG signal to estimate the heart rate of the subject. Since the algorithm is based on the morphology of the signal, it works well when the subject is not moving, which is a typical test case. So, this algorithm is developed mainly to measure the heart rate at on-demand applications. Real-time experimental results indicate the heart rate accuracy of 99.5%, mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.65%, mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.18 BPM and reference closeness factor (RCF) of 0.988. The results further show that the average response time of the algorithm to give the spot HR is 6.85 s, so that the users need not wait longer to see their HR. The hardware implementation results show that the algorithm only requires 18 KBytes of total memory and runs at high speed with 0.85 MIPS. So, this algorithm can be targeted to low-cost embedded platforms.

Nosocomial Infections through Hospital Waste

The amount of hospital waste being generated is increasing geometrically day by day due to increasing health consciousness. Improper management of the waste also leads nosocomial to infections. In the present article the types of hospital waste generated, the present pattern of its handling and disposal has been discussed. Its consequences and the proposed disposal methods have also been discussed in brief. The ultimate results of hospital waste on air, water and land have also been highlighted.

Variety difference in quality characteristics, antioxidant properties and mineral composition of brown rice

In the present trend, increasing health consciousness in response to the modern life style pattern, brown rice has been increasingly recognised for nutritional and health benefits. Brown rice was evaluated for physicochemical and functional properties during the present study. Physicochemical properties showed significant difference (p < 0.05) among the rice varieties. Brown rice was proved to have potent antioxidant activity with a significant variation (p < 0.05) in total phenolic and flavonoid content, DPPH radical scavenging activity and total reducing power among varieties. From the mineral analysis by X-ray fluorescence, brown rice had the highest amount of minerals especially, potassium, phosphorus, sulphur and magnesium with a significant variation among varieties. Cooking time, water uptake ratio, gruel solid loss and elongation ratio varied between 33.63–46.71 min, 1.74–2.85, 1.97–3.32 % and 1.14–1.81, respectively. Textural attributes of cooked rice showed significant variation among the varieties. Hence the present study evidenced the presence of significant amount of antioxidants and minerals in brown rice with varying cooking properties and the impact of variety difference in antioxidant property, mineral content of brown rice.

Quality Improvement of Reduced‐Salt, Phosphate‐Free Fish Patties from Processed By‐Products of Nile Tilapia Using Textural Additives and Bioactive Rice Bran Compounds

AbstractOver 60% of tilapia by‐products from the frozen fillet industry are wasted. In response to the increased health consciousness of consumers, we investigated the effects of lowered salt content, phosphate substitute additives and natural antioxidants on the quality improvement of patties made from processed by‐products of tilapia. We determined the effect of 0.5% k‐carrageenan, Citri‐Fi 100 fine granulated and xanthan gum combined with 0.5% microbial transglutaminase and 0.3% NaHCO3 on the textural qualities of reduced‐salt (1% NaCl) Nile tilapia patties (made from an 80:20 ratio of trimmed meat to belly flap) then compared this with a control with sodium tripolyphosphate (0.3%). After 12 freeze‐thaw cycles, k‐carrageenan was observed to improve the textural quality and lower cooking losses better than other treatments (P ≤ 0.05). Rice bran protein hydrolysate and red jasmine rice bran extract (2%) could be used instead of butylated hydroxyanisole (0.02%) to prevent lipid oxidation in reduced‐salt, k‐carrageenan‐supplemented patties during freezing and thawing.Practical ApplicationsThailand boasts robust production, consumption and export of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linn); notwithstanding, over 60% of by‐products are discarded including the trimmed and belly flap meat. These are, however, low‐value, high‐fat meats, which limit shelf life and create an undesirable flavor and texture in processed products. Appropriate textural additives (i.e., MTGase, various hydrocolloids) and natural antioxidants (i.e., bioactive rice bran compounds) are promising as additives because they enhance the textural qualities and stability in reduced‐salt, phosphate‐free fish patties made from processed tilapia by‐products. Supportive findings would lead to efficient, industrial‐scale use of these by‐products.

FT-IR Method for the Quantification of Isoflavonol Glycosides in Nutritional Supplements of Soy (Glycine max (L.) MERR.).

Due to increasing health consciousness, a lot of food supplements are sold and used. Dietary supplements of Glycine max (L.) MERR. are used as an alternative treatment for menopausal complaints such as hot flashes. Thereby, the effective soy compounds are the isoflavones daidzin, genistin, and glycitin. However, only the total soy extract content of the nutritional supplements is indicated. The aim of this study is to introduce a fast, efficient, and economic Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy method to quantify the active ingredients in the complex matrix of soy-based supplements. Five different nutritional supplements of Glycine max (L.) MERR. were purchased from a German pharmacy and were extracted with 80% aqueous methanol. A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was used for the separation. The samples were concentrated and measured with infrared spectroscopy. An FT-IR method was established to quantify the active ingredients in the complex matrix of soy-based nutritional supplements. The partial least-squares algorithm was used to develop the method, which enabled the estimation of the content of particular isoflavones (daidzin R2 = 0.86, glycitin R2 = 0.94, genistin R2 = 0.96) and the quantification of the total isoflavone content (R2 = 0.92) despite peak overlap in the infrared (IR) spectra. The method for the quantification of the isoflavonol glycosides is precise with the standard error of prediction being 13.54%.

Assessment of lac dyed eri silk and naturally coloured cotton fabrics

Environmental awareness, hazards of chemical industries, dyes and increased health consciousness of consumers have paved way for environmental friendly inventions that include variety of fibres, dyes and chemicals. Natural colour cotton, organic cotton, natural dyes, enzymatic finishes, are few of them. An effort was made to weave eco-friendly fabrics using a combination of lac dyed Eri silk with naturally brown coloured cotton. Two fabrics viz ., lac dyed pure Eri silk fabric (2/80s) and Eri (warp) x Naturally coloured cotton (weft) union fabrics formed the test sample. Results revealed that, pure Eri silk fabric exhibited greater tenacity, elongation percentage, lower drape co-efficient and colour strength compared to union fabric, whereas Eri x NCC union fabric showed higher values of fabric thickness, weft way bending length, weft way crease recovery angle and abrasion resistance, indicate the fabric to be stiffer and coarser. Hand spun, naturally coloured cotton yarn showed unequal distribution of slubs and snarls which gave novelty appearance and textural effect on handloom Khadi fabric. Thus, lac dyed Eri silk x NCC union fabric; a unique eco-friendly fabric was best suitable for designer's made-ups, shirts and dress materials.

Organic Food Consumption among Urban Consumers: Preliminary Results

The consumption of organic food is on the rise due to increasing health consciousness among Malaysians regarding food intake, as well as to the growth of the organic agricultural sector in this country. Therefore, this study attempts to investigate Malaysian consumers’ awareness and intention towards organic food consumption. A questionnaire survey was conducted for this study and the questionnaire was distributed to respondents in the townships of Shah Alam and Subang Jaya. Early results show respondents are highly aware of organic food, they find organic food to be good for their health as well as have the intention to purchase organic food products for their families.

An epidemiological investigation of training and injury patterns in triathletes

Associated with the trend towards increased health consciousness and fitness, triathlon has established itself as a sport for masses. The goals of this study were to evaluate injury risk factors of non-professional triathletes and to compare prospective and retrospective evaluation methods. Using an online survey, 212 triathletes retrospectively answered a questionnaire about their training habits and injuries during the past 12 months. Forty-nine of these triathletes participated in a 12-month prospective trial. Injuries were classified with regard to the anatomical location, type of injury, incidence and associated risk factors. Most injuries occurred during running (50%) followed by cycling (43%) and swimming (7%). Fifty-four per cent (retrospective) and 22% (prospective) of the injuries were contusions and abrasions, 38% (retrospective) and 46% (prospective) were ligament and capsular injuries, 7% (retrospective) and 32% (prospective) were muscle and tendon injuries and 1% (retrospective) and 0% (prospective) were fractures. The incidence of an injury per 1000 training hours was 0.69 (retrospective) and 1.39 (prospective) during training and 9.24 (retrospective) and 18.45 (prospective) during competition. The main risk factor for injury in non-professional triathlon is participation in a competitive triathlon event. A retrospective design may underestimate the rate of overuse injuries.

Problem analysis of health tourism sector

On the basis of experts health tourism is one of the most dynamically developing sectors within tourism. The outstanding role of the sector is partly owing to increasing health consciousness and partly to aging society – beside numerous other factors. But health tourism in Hungary is hit by several problems in spite of the fact that recently particular attention is paid to this sector. It can be mentioned as a difficulty that supply of education system is not in conformity with market demands, thus fresh supply of experts is not appropriate. As a world trend, classic position of thermal baths based on natural curative factors is getting to be displaced by adventure baths, which is unfavourable for health tourism. Notwithstanding that Hungary is in a distinguished place on a world scale as regards tourist arrivals, yet we are only in a mid-filed position relating to industrial revenues. Suppliers of this sector do not pay enough attention to disabled persons. The established TDM Organisations have to cope with numerous challenges. Nevertheless experts agree that high support of health tourism can be suggested despite to problems, market risks and significant international competition. However, this support has to be more aimed than before and has to be rather founded on world trends.