Examining correlates of feeding practices among parents of preschoolers.

Background: Parent feeding practices play a critical role in children's eating behaviors. Limited research has explored child-level correlates of parent feeding practices. Aim: To identify correlates of feeding practices (responsive and controlling) among parents of preschoolers US. Methods: Participants included parents (n = 273) of preschoolers (3-5 years), recruited from Early Care and Education settings (n = 24) located in a metropolitan city in the US. Analysis included descriptives, correlations, and multiple regression. Results: For responsive feeding practices, positive associations included child's weight with unintentional modeling (ß = .17, 95% CI [0.12, 0.53]), child vegetable consumption with behavioral role modeling (ß = 0.22, 95% CI [0.17, 0.44]), and parent monitoring with verbal modeling (ß = 0.21, 95% CI [0.12, 0.34]). For controlling feeding practices, parent restriction was positively associated with child weight concern (ß = 0.22, 95% CI [0.13, 0.39]) and parent monitoring (ß = 0.13, 95% CI [0.01, 0.19]), whereas child vegetable consumption was negatively associated (ß = -0.16, 95% CI [-0.27, -0.05]). Pressure to eat was negatively associated with child weight concern (ß = -0.18, 95% CI [-0.45, -0.09]), child fruit consumption (ß = -0.12, 95% CI [-0.37, -0.01]), household income (ß = -0.13, 95% CI [-0.30, -0.02]), and parent weight (ß = -0.14, 95% CI [-0.60, -0.05]), Conclusions: Findings highlight the importance of child characteristics when examining correlates of parent feeding practices, demonstrating bidirectional interactions between parent feeding practices and children's eating behaviors. Considering child-level correlates may improve the implementation of responsive feeding practices and reduce controlling feeding practices.

Indicators of community physical activity resources and opportunities and variation by community sociodemographic characteristics: A scoping review.

Objective: This scoping review synthesizes studies examining community-level variability in physical activity resource (assets) and opportunity (organized group physical activity services) availability by community sociodemographic characteristics to describe methodologies for measuring resources/opportunities, indicators characterizing availability, and associations between community-level sociodemographic characteristics and availability. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus for literature through 2022. Eligible studies quantitatively examined measures of physical activity resource/opportunity availability by community-level racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic characteristics within geospatially defined communities. Extracted data included: community geospatial definitions, sociodemographic characteristics assessed, methodologies for measuring and indicators of community physical activity resource/opportunity availability, and study findings. Results: Among the 46 included studies, community geospatial units were defined by 28 different community boundaries (e.g., town), and 13% of studies were conducted in rural areas. Nearly all (98%) studies measured community-level socioeconomic status, and 45% of studies measured race/ethnicity. A total of 41 indicators of physical activity resource/opportunity availability were identified. Most studies (91%) assessed built environment resources (e.g., parks), while 8.7% of studies assessed opportunities (e.g., programs). Of 141 associations/differences between community sociodemographic characteristics and resource/opportunity availability, 29.8% indicated greater availability in communities of higher socioeconomic status or lower prevalence of minority populations. The remaining findings were in the opposite direction (9.2%), non-significant (36.9%), or mixed (24.1%). Conclusions: Variability in physical activity resources/opportunities by community sociodemographic characteristics was not consistently evident. However, the indicators synthesized may be useful for informing population health improvement efforts by illuminating the physical and social conditions impacting population physical activity outcomes.

Characterization of a recombinant tomato leaf curl New Delhi Virus (ToLCNDV) in a perennial medicinal climber host (Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet).

During the year 2020-2021, a disease syndrome very commonly observed in railway creepers (Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet) was taken into consideration from Gorakhpur Province (UP East region). Whitefly, a common vector for plant-related viral diseases was observed for wide transmission of disease. DNA from 17 infected leaf samples was isolated and analyzed through PCR using specific primers designed for the detection of Begomoviruses. Further amplification of isolated DNA fragments supporting a begomovirus infection with an estimated size of (2.7 kb). RCA of the isolated DNA sample was carried out using ϕ29 DNA polymerase by digesting it through a set of restriction endonucleases (such as BamHI, Kpn1, HindIII, EcoRI) obtaining the best result through KpnI. The amplified segment was cloned into pUC 18vectors. The obtained sequences were matched using the NCBI BLAST database showing the highest sequence similarity of 98.7% with ToLCNDV of snake gourd (Accession no. KY780199), isolates of CP genes sequence in Varanasi. ToLCNDV, a begomovirus of bipartite nature was first reported to be from Tomato (Solanaceae), later affecting certain members of the Cucurbitaceae family in India and adjacent countries. The obtained DNA sequence was submitted at NCBI with the name ToLCNDV-IP (GenBank Accession no. OM777194). The phylogenetic analysis clubbed the current isolate ToLCNDV-IP with Asian isolates. All European isolates were clubbed in separate clades indicating two distinct groups of ToLCNDV isolates. ToLCNDV-IP isolate was found to be an intralineage recombinant between two Asian isolates viz ToLCNDV isolate from Papaya (India) and ToLCNDV isolate from Tomato (Pakistan). This study shows the association of recombinant ToLCNDV infection in a new host Ipomoea cairica for the first time in India.

Association Between Educational Attainment and EFNEP Participants' Food Practice Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Examine the association between educational attainment and improvement in food practice outcomes of the California Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) participants. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 19,089 participants, 92.3% female, 77.2% Hispanic, 19.7% with ≤ sixth-grade education, and 68.9% with incomes ≤ 100% of the federal poverty level. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Improvement in food resource management practices (FRMP), nutrition practices, and food safety practices (FSP). ANALYSIS: Wilcoxon signed rank tests examined pre-post outcomes. Mann-Whitney U tests compared whether participants in the lowest and highest educational attainment quartiles had similar levels of improvement. RESULTS: California EFNEP is associated with improved FRMP (z = -95.33), nutrition practices (z = -94.91), and FSP (z = -92.37); (P < 0.001). Lowest educational quartile was associated with more improvement in FRMP and FSP (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: California EFNEP contributed to improved food practice outcomes for low and high educational attainment participants. Program content and instruction are effective across the education continuum.

Provider reported implementation of nutrition-related practices in childcare centers and family childcare homes in rural and urban Nebraska.

Approximately 15 million children under age 6 are in childcare settings, offering childcare providers an opportunity to influence children's dietary intake. Childcare settings vary in organizational structure - childcare centers (CCCs) vs. family childcare homes (FCCHs) - and in geographical location - urban vs. rural. Research on the nutrition-related best practices across these childcare settings is scarce. The objective of this study is to compare nutrition-related best practices of CCCs and FCCHs that participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in rural and urban Nebraska. Nebraska providers (urban n = 591; rural n = 579) reported implementation level, implementation difficulty and barriers to implementing evidence-informed food served and mealtime practices. Chi-square tests comparing CCCs and FCCHs in urban Nebraska and CCCs and FCCHs in rural Nebraska showed sub-optimal implementation for some practices across all groups, including limiting fried meats and high sugar/ high fat foods, using healthier foods or non-food treats for celebrations and serving meals family style. Significant differences (p < .05) between CCCs and FCCHs also emerged, especially with regard to perceived barriers to implementing best practices. For example, CCCs reported not having enough money to cover the cost of meals for providers, lack of control over foods served and storage problems, whereas FCCHs reported lack of time to prepare healthier foods and sit with children during mealtimes. Findings suggest that policy and public health interventions may need to be targeted to address the unique challenges of implementing evidence-informed practices within different organizational structures and geographic locations.

Understanding Parental Ethnotheories and Practices About Healthy Eating: Exploring the Developmental Niche of Preschoolers.

PURPOSE: To understand parental ethnotheories (ie, belief systems) and practices about preschoolers' healthy eating guided by the developmental niche framework. DESIGN: Qualitative hermeneutic phenomenology. SETTING: Home. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 20 parents of preschool-age children ages 3 to 5 years, recruited from a quantitative investigation. A majority of the participants were white, female, married, well educated, and working full time. METHODS: Participants who completed the quantitative survey were asked to provide their contact information if they were willing to be interviewed. From the pool of participants who expressed their willingness to participate in the interviews, 20 participants were selected using a random number generator. In-person semistructured interviews were conducted until data saturation (n = 20). Thematic analysis was performed. RESULTS: Three themes and 6 subthemes emerged: theme 1-parental ethnotheories about healthy eating included subthemes of knowledge about healthy eating, motivations to promote healthy child development through healthy eating, and sources of knowledge about healthy eating (eg, doctors, social media, government guidelines, positive family-of-origin experiences); theme 2-parental ethnotheories that supported organization of children's physical and social settings included structured mealtime routines and food socialization influences (eg, grandparents, siblings, and childcare programs); and theme 3-parental ethnotheories that supported children's learning about healthy eating included parent-child engagement, communication, and encouragement in food-related activities (eg, meal preparation, visiting farmer's market, grocery shopping, gardening, cooking, baking). CONCLUSION: Findings advance the literature on parental practices about healthy eating. Parental ethnotheories (eg, beliefs, motivations, knowledge, and skills) matter. Developmental niche of preschoolers (ie, physical and social settings, childrearing practices, and parental ethnotheories) constitutes an interactive system in which ethnotheories serve as guides to parental practices. Fostering nutrition education and parent-child engagement, communication, and encouragement in food-related activities are recommended to promote children's healthy eating in daily routines.

Molecular variants and derivatives of insulin for improved glycemic control in diabetes.

Insulin is a historic molecule. It presents many first instances, such as the first protein to be fully sequenced, one of the first proteins to be crystallized in pure form, one among the early proteins whose structure was investigated using X-ray crystallography, the first protein to be chemically synthesized and the first Biotech drug. Therefore, the development of insulin in the early years is intricately intertwined with the progress in molecular and structural biology. In recent years, development of a range of insulin analogs has led to better control of glucose levels, thus preventing secondary complications and improving the quality of life in diabetic patients. Such analogs were obtained by modification of the native insulin sequence. They vary with regard to their pharmacokinetic profile, stability, tissue specificity and mode of administration. In addition, alterations involving incorporation of various chemical moieties in insulin and its co-crystallization with insoluble derivatives are used to modulate the time-action profile of the drug. This article traces the development of molecular variants and derivatives of insulin. It discusses future directions for further improvement in their properties to produce still better insulin therapeutics for tight glycemic control.

Engaging Parents to Promote Children's Nutrition and Health.

PURPOSE: Using the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics benchmarks as a framework, this study examined childcare providers' (Head Start [HS], Child and Adult Care Food Program [CACFP] funded, and non-CACFP) perspectives regarding communicating with parents about nutrition to promote children's health. DESIGN: Qualitative. SETTING: State-licensed center-based childcare programs. PARTICIPANTS: Full-time childcare providers (n = 18) caring for children 2 to 5 years old from varying childcare contexts (HS, CACFP funded, and non-CACFP), race, education, and years of experience. METHODS: In-person interviews using semi-structured interview protocol until saturation were achieved. Thematic analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Two overarching themes were barriers and strategies to communicate with parents about children's nutrition. Barriers to communication included-(a) parents are too busy to talk with providers, (b) parents offer unhealthy foods, (c) parents prioritize talking about child food issues over nutrition, (d) providers are unsure of how to communicate about nutrition without offending parents, and (e) providers are concerned if parents are receptive to nutrition education materials. Strategies for communication included-(a) recognize the benefits of communicating with parents about nutrition to support child health, (b) build a partnership with parents through education, (c) leverage policy (federal and state) to communicate positively and avoid conflict, (d) implement center-level practices to reinforce policy, and (e) foster a respectful relationship between providers and parents. CONCLUSION: Policy and environmental changes were recommended for fostering a respectful relationship and building a bridge between providers and parents to improve communication about children's nutrition and health.

Temporal variation of atmospheric pollutants a case study of Allahabad city (India).

This paper presents monitoring results of atmospheric concentrations of SO2, NO2, PM10 and SPM of an Indian city, Allahabad at two stations from June 2008 to May 2009. The objective of this work was to estimate seasonal and spatial variations of these pollutants on urban air quality levels using simple statistics. The monitoring sites were selected based on the dominant activities of the area. The correlation between these primary pollutants and some meteorological parameters were also established during the study. The monthly average concentrations of PM10 SPM, SO2 and NO2 were found in the range 87-298 µg/m3, 270-744 µg/m3, 3.64-6.86 µg/m3 and 20.47-73 µg/m3 for mixed station (Katra) whereas, 46-252 µg/m3, 82-404 µg/m3, 1.72-4.82 µg/m3 and 9.87-42.3 µg/m3 for residential station (near Circuit House) respectively. The maximum frequency of PM10 appears in the range of 100-200 µg/m3 for mixed areas whereas 0-150 µg/m for residential area, SPM is higher in the range of 400-500 pg/m: for mixed area and 300- 400 µg/m3 for residential area. The linear regressions between PM10 and SPM for both the area were developed. It has been observed that total SPM concentration has inverse correlation with temperature and humidity. The average concentrations for SO2 and NO2 are lower and PM10 and SPM are higher than the NAAQ guideline values. At residential area 57% PM10 and 66% SPM and at mixed area 60% of PM10 and 44% of SPM exceeded the standards according to NAAQS, 1998 (CPCB, New Delhi) while according to NAAQS, 2009 (CPCB, New Delhi) 57% of PM10 of residential area and 81% of PM10 of mixed area exceeded the standards.