How Does the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program Work? A Theory of Change

Increased fruit and vegetable (FV) intake is associated with decreased risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Sociodemographic disparities in FV intake indicate the need for strategies that promote equitable access to FVs. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) supports state and local programs that offer nutrition incentives (NIs) that subsidize purchase of FVs for people participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While a growing body of research indicates NIs are effective, the pathways through which GusNIP achieves its results have not been adequately described. We used an equity-focused, participatory process to develop a retrospective Theory of Change (TOC) to address this gap. We reviewed key program documents; conducted a targeted NI literature review; and engaged GusNIP partners, practitioners, and participants through interviews, workshops, and focus groups in TOC development. The resulting TOC describes how GusNIP achieves its long-term outcomes of increased participant FV purchases and intake and food security and community economic benefits. GusNIP provides NIs and promotes their use, helps local food retailers develop the capacity to sell FVs and accept NIs in accessible and welcoming venues, and supports local farmers to supply FVs to food retailers. The TOC is a framework for understanding how GusNIP works and a tool for improving and expanding the program.     

罗布麻叶总黄酮抗抑郁作用及其机制研究

目的 探讨罗布麻叶总黄酮的抗抑郁作用及与多巴胺能系统相关的可能机制.方法 采用经典的小鼠强迫游泳和悬尾抑郁模型,观察罗布麻叶总黄酮的抗抑郁作用.同时观察多巴胺D1受体阻滞剂SCH23390、D2受体阻滞剂舒必利对小鼠强迫游泳和悬尾试验中罗布麻叶总黄酮抗抑郁作用的影响,研究罗布麻叶总黄酮抗抑郁的作用机制.结果 罗布麻叶总黄酮具有明确的抗抑郁作用;SCH23390、舒必利与罗布麻叶总黄酮联合ig给药10 d,能明显延长悬尾小鼠累计不动时间(P＜0.05).结论 罗布麻叶总黄酮的抗抑郁作用与多巴胺能系统有关.     

Participatory Systems Mapping for Municipal Prioritization and Planning

Rapidly growing cities face new and compounding health challenges, leading governments and donors to seek innovative ways to support healthier, more resilient urban growth. One such approach is the systems mapping process developed by Engaging Inquiry (EI) for the USAID-funded Building Healthy Cities project (BHC) in four cities in Asia. This paper provides details on the theory and methods of the process. While systems mapping is not new, the approach detailed in this paper has been uniquely adapted to the purpose of municipal planning. Strategic stakeholder engagement, including participatory workshops with a diverse group of stakeholders, is at the core of this approach and led to deeper insights, greater buy-in, and shared understanding of the city’s unique opportunities and challenges. This innovative mapping process is a powerful tool for defining municipal priorities within growing cities across the globe, where the situation is rapidly evolving. It can be used to provide evidence-based information on where to invest to gain the biggest impact on specific goals. This paper is part of a collection in this issue providing a detailed accounting of BHC’s systems mapping approach across four project cities.     

A Slight Adjustment of the Nutri-Score Nutrient Profiling System Could Help to Better Reflect the European Dietary Guidelines Regarding Nuts

The consumption of nuts remains low among European populations despite widespread inclusion as a recommended food group across European dietary guidelines. Front-of-Pack nutrition labelling systems are designed to support consumers make healthier choices and to stimulate product improvement, thus representing a pivotal opportunity to reduce the gap between intakes and recommendations. This study examined how the Nutri-Score algorithm treats nuts and nut-containing products and tested whether slight adjustments could better recognise and motivate nut inclusion in foods and diets. The nutritional score (ScN) and corresponding Nutri-Score letter of 68 nuts and nut-containing products were calculated, using the initial algorithm and slight adjustments, where nut weight was doubled (S1), saturated fats (S2) or energy (S3) from nuts were discounted, or saturated fats were replaced by the saturated fats/lipid ratio (S4). The correlation between the nuts’ content and the ScN was moderate for the initial algorithm (R² = 0.34) and S1 (R² = 0.36), but improved for S2, S3 and S4 (R² = 0.54, 0.55 and 0.52, respectively). Four plain nuts, initially labelled as “B” or “C” obtained a Nutri-Score “A” with S2, S3 and S4. Slight adjustments could better align the Nutri-Score with food-based dietary guidelines, reassure consumers on healthfulness of nuts and nut-containing products, whilst incentivising the inclusion of nuts in diverse foods.     

Effects of Reserve Capacity on Seismic Response of Concentrically Braced Frames by Considering Brace Failure

In order to study the influence of brace failure on the seismic response of concentrically braced frames and the improvement of the residual structure’s resistance to collapse due to reserve capacity, a series of concentrically braced frame prototypes with different story numbers is designed. A matrix of six finite-element concentrically braced-frame (CBF) models is established, which is varied by the number of stories and the level of reserve capacities. Accuracy of the numerical model is verified by comparing the responses of the shaking-table test of the concentrically braced frames, under 10 different working conditions. Then, a nonlinear time-history analysis, considering brace failure in one specified story, is carried out. The results show that the story-drift angle of the failure story as well as its adjacent stories increases greatly in the ideal pinned model. The above phenomenon is particularly serious, when the failure occurs at the top or bottom of the structure. With the reserve capacity brought by column continuity, and the semi-rigid rotation capacity of the beam-to-column and column-to-base connections are taken into consideration, the increase in story-drift angle caused by the brace failure is effectively reduced. However, the inherent reserve capacity has little influence on the dynamic characteristics of concentrically braced frames in the elastic stage.     

Visual stimulation and frequency of focal neurological symptoms engage distinctive neurocognitive resources in migraine with aura patients: a study of resting-state functional networks

IntroductionSeveral functional neuroimaging studies on healthy controls and patients with migraine with aura have shown that the activation of functional networks during visual stimulation is not restricted to the striate system, but also includes several extrastriate networks.MethodsBefore and after 4 min of visual stimulation with a checkerboard pattern, we collected functional MRI in 21 migraine with aura (MwA) patients and 18 healthy subjects (HS). For each recording session, we identified independent resting-state networks in each group and correlated network connection strength changes with clinical disease features.ResultsBefore visual stimulation, we found reduced connectivity between the default mode network and the left dorsal attention system (DAS) in MwA patients compared to HS. In HS, visual stimulation increases functional connectivity between the independent components of the bilateral DAS and the executive control network (ECN). In MwA, visual stimulation significantly improved functional connectivity between the independent component pairs salience network and DAS, and between DAS and ECN. The ECN Z-scores after visual stimulation were negatively related to the monthly frequency of aura.ConclusionsIn individuals with MwA, 4 min of visual stimulation had stronger cognitive impact than in healthy people. A higher frequency of aura may lead to a diminished ability to obtain cognitive resources to cope with transitory but important events like aura-related focal neurological symptoms.     

聚乙二醇1000维生素E琥珀酸酯在纳米制剂中的应用进展

目的综述聚乙二醇1000维生素E琥珀酸酯(D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succi-nate,TPGS)在各种纳米制剂中的最新进展。方法查阅国内外相关文献共48篇,对这些文献进行分析、概括和总结。结果 TPGS能够提高药物包封率和细胞吸收,改善药物释放,提高药物生物利用度,并能协同起抗癌疗效。广泛应用于聚合物纳米粒、聚合物胶束、纳米脂质体、纳米药物等纳米给药系统中。结论 TPGS在纳米制剂中有着良好应用前景。     

Data mining for signals in spontaneous reporting databases: proceed with caution

PURPOSE: To provide commentary and points of caution to consider before incorporating data mining as a routine component of any Pharmacovigilance program, and to stimulate further research aimed at better defining the predictive value of these new tools as well as their incremental value as an adjunct to traditional methods of post-marketing surveillance. METHODS/RESULTS: Commentary includes review of current data mining methodologies employed and their limitations, caveats to consider in the use of spontaneous reporting databases and caution against over-confidence in the results of data mining. CONCLUSIONS: Future research should focus on more clearly delineating the limitations of the various quantitative approaches as well as the incremental value that they bring to traditional methods of pharmacovigilance.