Overdose, opioid treatment admissions and prescription opioid pain reliever relationships: United States, 2010-2019.

Background: "As part of the U.S. government's urgent response to the epidemic of overdose deaths (1)" the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the "CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain-United States, 2016 (2)" (guideline) followed by the "CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids-United States, 2022 (3) (guideline update). " The guideline and guideline update cite a direct correlation between prescription opioids sales (POS) and opioid treatment admissions (OTA) and prescription opioid deaths (POD), which was based on data from 1999 to 2010. This paper updates those relationships and includes the correlations between prescription opioid sales (POS) and any opioid deaths (AOD) and total overdose deaths (TOD) from 2010 to 2019. Methods: Linear regression models were fit to each response separately. Opioid sales (measured as MME (morphine milligram equivalent) per capita) was the independent variable. Total overdose deaths (TOD), any opioid overdose deaths (AOD), prescription opioid overdose deaths (POD) and opioid treatment admissions (OTA) were the dependent, response variables. The models were assessed using three criteria: the statistical significance of the model (Overall P-Value), the quality of the fit (R 2), and the sign of the slope coefficient (positive or negative). Results: The analyses revealed that the direct correlations (i.e., significant, positive slopes) reported by the CDC based on data from 1999 to 2010 no longer exist. Based on data from 2010 to 2019, the relationships either have reversed (i.e., significant, negative slopes) or are non-existent (i.e., no significant model). Conclusions: The guideline, guideline update, CDC's public, medical profession, and intergovernmental communications should be corrected/updated to state no direct correlation has existed between POS to OTA, POD, AOD, and TOD since 2010. Individualized patient care and public health policy should be amended accordingly.

Two New Alternatives to the Conventional Arm-in-Cage Test for Assessing Topical Repellents.

European guidelines for testing attractant and repellent efficacy (i.e., Product type 19 [PT19]) have been in revision since 2017. A key topic of discussion is the current approach to evaluating topical repellents. The European Chemical Agency has stated field testing should be avoided because of mosquito-borne disease risks. However, the most common laboratory method, the arm-in-cage (AIC) test, may limit the reliable extrapolation of lab results to field conditions. This study's main goal was to assess alternative laboratory methods for evaluating topical mosquito repellents that use mosquito landing rates more representative of those in the field. The study took place at three European testing labs using 30 study participants per test and the mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse, 1894, Diptera: Culicidae). In phase 1, a conventional AIC test and a sleeved AIC test were performed. Respectively, the arm area exposed was 600 and 100 cm2, and cage volume was 0.040 and 0.064 m3. Mosquito density was the same for both: 1 female/840 cm3. In phase 2, room-based testing (40 ± 5 mosquitoes in 25-30 m3) was used as a proxy for field testing. The mosquito repellent employed was 15% N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide in ethanol at two doses: 1 and 0.5 g/600 cm2. The protection times measured at each laboratory were analyzed both separately and together using nonparametric (Kruskal-Wallis) test. The two alternatives methods showed to be potential alternatives to the current AIC method recreated field mosquito landing rates and achieved reproducible protection times across laboratories.

Emotional and electrophysiological measures correlate to flavour perception in the presence of music.

Research into the influence of auditory cues upon food perception has increased in the past decade. Mechanisms evoked to explain crossmodal interactions between the auditory and gustatory senses include attentional, emotional, and affective mediators. In this study, the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method was utilised to document the changes in taste and flavour of chocolate gelato while participants listened to music. After each TDS trial, the participants rated their emotions using intensity scales. Additionally, electrophysiological measures including heart rate, respiration rate, and skin conductance were obtained. As anticipated, listening to liked music evoked positive emotions (enjoyment, happiness, love, and satisfaction), while disliked music elicited negative emotions (disappointment, and disgust). No significant difference in terms of respiration parameters were observed while listening to music differing in liking. When compared to neutral and liked music, listening to disliked music exhibited the greatest change in skin conductance. Additionally, neutrally liked music significantly decreased blood volume pulse amplitude, while listening to liked music significantly increased heart rate. Partial Least Square Regression (PLSR) analysis was employed to explore associations between electrophysiological and sensory measures. Skin conductance and cardiovascular measures were both linked to the perception of gelato. Partial Least Square Path Modelling (PLS-PM) was also utilised to investigate the relationships between the electrophysiological measures, subjective ratings of emotion, and perception. The PLS-PM model showed that changes in cardiac and skin conductance measures were correlated with subjectively-rated emotions. Furthermore, these self-reported emotions evoked by music were significantly correlated with flavour.

Food Consumption Patterns and Micronutrient Density of Complementary Foods Consumed by Infants Fed Commercially Prepared Baby Foods.

Nutrition is critically important in the first 1000 days, and while most American babies are fed commercial baby foods, there is little or no evidence from nationally representative data to understand the implications of such consumption. We used 24-hour dietary recall data for 505 infants from The Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study to describe food consumption patterns and micronutrient density of complementary foods consumed by infants fed commercially prepared baby food fruit, vegetables, and dinners and compared with those eaten by nonconsumers of these products. Results show that consumers were significantly more likely to report eating all vegetables (excluding white potatoes, 71% vs 51%), deep yellow vegetables (42% vs 18%), and fruits (79% vs 65%) and were less likely to report eating white potatoes (10% vs 24%), dark green vegetables (4% vs 20%), and sweets (23% vs 47%) than were nonconsumers. Nutrient density of the complementary foods of consumers was greater for fiber, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, and magnesium, but lower in sodium and vitamin D. We conclude that infants fed commercially prepared baby foods were more likely to eat vegetables and fruits, and their diets were higher in several micronutrients. These findings provide important insights on complementary feeding and are useful to support the development of evidence-based infant-feeding guidelines.

Rapid consumer-based sensory characterization of requeijão cremoso, a spreadable processed cheese: Performance of new statistical approaches to evaluate check-all-that-apply data.

We investigated the performance of multidimensional alignment analysis and multidimensional scaling on phi coefficient values to evaluate check-all-that-apply questionnaire data. We evaluated 6 dairy foods belonging to the category of requeijão cremoso processed cheese (traditional, with starch, or with starch and vegetable fat). We obtained sensory descriptors using trained assessors in descriptive analysis for comparison. A check-all-that-apply questionnaire used with 121 consumers (77 women and 44 men; 18 to 57 yr old) proved to be a suitable alternative for sensory profiling, providing descriptions similar to descriptive analysis and discriminating between products. Multidimensional alignment analysis and multidimensional scaling were efficient and logical approaches for obtaining a deeper understanding of the data, allowing us to clarify the relationships between sensory descriptors and products and contribute to optimizing the different formulations of requeijão cremoso.

Reformulating Minas Frescal cheese using consumers' perceptions: Insights from intensity scales and check-all-that-apply questionnaires.

We evaluated the performance of check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions and intensity scales to describe Minas Frescal cheese and its reformulation based on consumers' perceptions. Ten commercial samples with different formulations (full-fat, low-fat, or low-lactose) were evaluated by 200 consumers divided equally into 2 groups: 1 evaluated samples and described their ideal cheese using intensity scales and 1 did the same using CATA questions. Both methodologies provided similar information about the sensory characteristics of the Minas Frescal cheeses, the description of the ideal product, and directions for product reformulation. The ideal Minas Frescal cheese was characterized by high moisture, intense white color, homogeneous mass, typical Minas Frescal cheese aroma and flavor, softness, and juiciness. For the intensity scales, the recommendation was to increase the typical aroma and flavor, salty taste, and juiciness, and to decrease the bitter flavor; for the CATA questions, only increasing the typical Minas Frescal cheese flavor was important for all classes of cheeses. Even for a heterogeneous product with no defined manufacturing protocol, both methodologies presented satisfactory results that should be considered for use by cheese producers and the dairy industry.

Picky eating: Associations with child eating characteristics and food intake.

Food rejection behaviors such as picky eating are of concern for many parents and attempts to increase healthy food intake can cause distress at mealtimes. An important limitation in most of the picky eating studies is that they cover few characteristics of picky eating behaviors and use limited measures of food intake. The objective of this study was to explore the associations between picky eating, child eating characteristics, and food intake among toddlers 12-47.9 months old (n = 2371) using data from the 2008 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS). Logistic regression was used to examine associations between demographic and feeding characteristics and picky eater status. Differences in food group intake between picky and non-picky eaters were analyzed. Picky eaters were more likely to be neophobic, texture resistant, and to eat only favorite foods, In addition, the parents of picky eaters tend to offer new food a greater number of times than those of non-picky eaters before deciding that the child does not like it. Picky eaters showed significant lower intakes of eggs, burritos/tacos/enchiladas/nachos and sandwiches than non-picky eaters. Picky eaters consumed fewer vegetables from the "other vegetables" category and less raw vegetables than non-picky eaters. Neophobia, eating only favorite foods and difficulties with texture are all important characteristics of picky eaters which need to be integrated in studies measuring picky eating behaviors. Food intake of picky eaters differs only slightly from non-picky eaters. Because picky eating is a major parental concern, feeding strategies and advice related to the relevant characteristics of picky eating behavior need to be developed and assessed for their effectiveness.

Listening to music can influence hedonic and sensory perceptions of gelati.

The dominant taste sensations of three different types of chocolate gelati (milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and bittersweet chocolate) were determined using forty five trained panellists exposed to a silent reference condition and three music samples differing in hedonic ratings. The temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) method was used to measure temporal taste perceptions. The emotional states of panellists were measured after each gelati-music pairing using a scale specifically developed for this study. The TDS difference curves showed significant differences between gelati samples and music conditions (p < 0.05). Sweetness was perceived more dominant when neutral and liked music were played, while bitterness was more dominant for disliked music. A joint Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) further explained the variability in sensory and emotion data. The first and second dimensions explained 78% of the variance, with the first dimension separating liked and disliked music and the second dimension separating liked music and silence. Gelati samples consumed while listening to liked and neutral music had positive scores, and were separated from those consumed under the disliked music condition along the first dimension. Liked music and disliked music were further correlated with positive and negative emotions respectively. Findings indicate that listening to music influenced the hedonic and sensory impressions of the gelati.