Caregiving in Quarantine: Evaluating the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Adult Child Informal Caregivers of a Parent.

Informal caregivers form a shadow workforce projected to become even more essential as the U.S. population ages. Most are untrained in the role and manage caregiving with competing life demands that compound burden and threaten the welfare of the older adults in their care. The 12-item Zarit Burden Interview measure was employed to investigate differences in subjective burden before and during the Covid-19 pandemic among adult children who are primary informal caregivers of a parent. Additionally, this study explored family composition to determine if the presence of siblings or dependent children affected burden scores. A convenience sample (N = 77) reported significantly more burden since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic when compared to pre-pandemic burden. Since the pandemic began, those with living siblings reported less burden than those without siblings, while there was no difference in burden between sandwich generation caregivers and those providing care only for a parent. This study's results point to the role family plays in resilience during a crisis and emphasizes the need to promote efficient supports and networks to alleviate caregiver burden.

Academic-Related Factors and Emotional Eating in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Existing literature indicates a relationship between stress and emotional eating in adults, yet limited research has examined the impact of school-related stress on emotional eating in adolescents. This study investigated the influence of academic factors on emotional eating among minority adolescents. METHODS: A survey was implemented among a sample of minority adolescents (N = 666) to investigate the relationship between emotional eating and 3 academic factors: academic self-esteem, grade point average (GPA), and academic worries. Forced-entry multiple linear regressions were used to test for relationships. RESULTS: Findings indicate that GPA, academic self-esteem, and academic worries were related to emotional eating scores in adolescents. There were no significant differences in academic factors between emotional eaters and nonemotional eaters. CONCLUSIONS: Additional research is needed to further elucidate the complex interaction between emotional eating behavior and academics.

Experiences of recovery in binge-eating disorder: a qualitative approach using online message boards.

PURPOSE: In this study, qualitative methods were employed to analyze secondary data from the anonymous postings of a pro-recovery website in an effort to investigate the changes in thinking of binge-eating disorder (BED) sufferers who were able to recover from the disorder, understand more fully how guilt and self-blame affect recovery, and explore the perceived motivators and challenges to recovery. METHOD: 681 messages from 65 participants pertaining to BED were analyzed from January 1, 2014-January 1, 2015 through thematic analysis. Coding strategies were employed to reveal patterns within the experiences of the participants. RESULTS: The researchers identified three themes surrounding "changes in thinking" from analysis of the message board postings: admitting the disorder, recognizing unhealthy coping behaviors, and seeing recovery. Further analysis of postings suggested that guilt and self-blame hinder recovery by promoting a feedback cycle of binging, which leads to further guilt and self-blame. The data ultimately identified experiences that resulted in or hindered recovery. The experience of validation appeared to result in recovery; those who experienced validation were less inclined to engage in disordered eating behaviors. Conversely, weight loss or attempts at weight loss hindered recovery by ultimately promoting more disordered eating behaviors. CONCLUSION: This qualitative analysis of message board postings offers authentic, credible data with a unique perspective. Practitioners working in the field of eating disorders such as registered dietitian nutritionists or therapists might use evidence from the data to guide their practice.

Meals identified as healthy choices on restaurant menus: an evaluation of accuracy.

This study evaluated the accuracy of restaurant entrees identified as healthy choices on menus at two fast food restaurant chains. Entrees were purchased at two different locations of each restaurant 35 days apart. Samples were processed in duplicate for total fat contents, sodium analysis, and adiabatic bomb calorimeter for total energy. t-Tests compared (a) the mean experimental values to claimed values for fat, energy, and sodium, (b) nutritional content at different locations for the same restaurant, and (c) the mean experimental values for fat, energy, and sodium levels to the recommended Daily Values. Results indicate that entrees identified as healthy choices at these selected restaurants are in fact healthy choices, are accurately labeled, and are consistent among different locations of the same restaurant chains.

Resveratrol in raw and baked blueberries and bilberries.

Resveratrol in the fruits of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), the lowbush "wild" blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton), the rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade), and the highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) were measured using a new assay based on high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The LC-MS/MS assay provided lower limits of detection than previous methods for resveratrol measurement, 90 fmol of trans-resveratrol injected on-column, and a linear standard curve spanning >3 orders of magnitude. The recoveries of resveratrol from blueberries spiked with 1.8, 3.6, or 36 ng/g were 91.5 +/- 4.5, 95.6 +/- 6.5, and 88.0 +/- 3.6%, respectively. trans-Resveratrol but not cis-resveratrol was detected in both blueberry and bilberry samples. The highest levels of trans-resvertatrol in these specimens were 140.0 +/- 29.9 pmol/g in highbush blueberries from Michigan and 71.0 +/- 15.0 pmol/g in bilberries from Poland. However, considerable regional variation was observed; highbush blueberries from British Columbia contained no detectable resveratrol. Because blueberries and bilberries are often consumed after cooking, the effect of baking on resveratrol content was investigated. After 18 min of heating at 190 degrees C, between 17 and 46% of the resveratrol had degraded in the various Vaccinium species. Therefore, the resveratrol content of baked or heat-processed blueberries or bilberries should be expected to be lower than in the raw fruit. Although blueberries and bilberries were found to contain resveratrol, the level of this chemoprotective compound in these fruits was <10% that reported for grapes. Furthermore, cooking or heat processing of these berries will contribute to the degradation of resveratrol.

Cleaning frequency and the microbial load in ice-cream.

This study investigates the efficacy of a 62 h cleaning frequency in the manufacturing of ice-cream. Various product and product contact surfaces were sampled progressively throughout the time period between cleaning cycles, and analyzed for microbial growth. The coliform and standard plate counts (SPC) of these samples did not vary significantly over time after 0, 24, 48, or 62 h from Cleaning in Place (CiP). Data for product contact surfaces were significant for the SPC representing sample locations. Some of the variables in cleaning practices had significant influence on microbial loads. An increase in the number of flavors manufactured caused a decrease in SPC within the 24 h interval, but by the 48 h interval the SPC increased. More washouts within the first 24 h interval were favorable, as indicated by decreased SPC. The more frequently the liquefier was sanitized within the 62 h interval, the lower the SPC. This study indicates that food safety was not compromised and safety practices were effectively implemented throughout the process.