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Nutrients Sep 2023The range of gluten-free food products available to consumers is steadily expanding. In recent years, recalls of food products have highlighted the importance of...
The range of gluten-free food products available to consumers is steadily expanding. In recent years, recalls of food products have highlighted the importance of accurate labeling of food products for the presence of wheat, other gluten-containing cereals, or gluten itself as refined ingredient. The purpose of this study was to gain more insights into recent food recalls related to undeclared gluten/wheat contamination and consumer experiences with these recalls. Recalls of products triggered by gluten contamination are relatively scarce and are not often triggered by a consumer complaint. The impact of these recalls on consumer trust was evaluated through an online survey that was distributed among supporters of Celiac Canada (CCA) and covered (i) strategies to adhere to a gluten-free diet, (ii) experiences with gluten-free recalls and their impact on consumer trust, and (iii) demographic information. Consumer concern regarding gluten-free product recalls is significant, but the concern regarding recalls is not heightened after experiencing a recall. Companies pursuing transparency in the process, identification of the source of contamination, and mitigation strategies going forward are likely to retain consumer trust in their product and brand. Based on the survey results, further efforts focusing on consumer education regarding interpreting nutrient labels, identifying sources of information on product recalls, and understanding procedures to follow upon suspected gluten contamination of a gluten-free product are recommended.
Topics: Humans; Diet, Gluten-Free; Food Labeling; Trust; Glutens; Product Recalls and Withdrawals; Celiac Disease
PubMed: 37836454
DOI: 10.3390/nu15194170 -
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy Oct 2023Long-term humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is essential for preventing reinfection. The production of neutralizing antibody (nAb) and B cell differentiation are tightly...
Long-term humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is essential for preventing reinfection. The production of neutralizing antibody (nAb) and B cell differentiation are tightly regulated by T follicular help (T) cells. However, the longevity and functional role of T cell subsets in COVID-19 convalescents and vaccine recipients remain poorly defined. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infection and inactivated vaccine elicited both spike-specific CXCR3 T cell and CXCR3 T cell responses, which showed distinct response patterns. Spike-specific CXCR3 T cells exhibit a dominant and more durable response than CXCR3 T cells that positively correlated with antibody responses. A third booster dose preferentially expands the spike-specific CXCR3 T cell subset induced by two doses of inactivated vaccine, contributing to antibody maturation and potency. Functionally, spike-specific CXCR3 T cells have a greater ability to induce spike-specific antibody secreting cells (ASCs) differentiation compared to spike-specific CXCR3 T cells. In conclusion, the persistent and functional role of spike-specific CXCR3 T cells following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination may play an important role in antibody maintenance and recall response, thereby conferring long-term protection. The findings from this study will inform the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines aiming to induce long-term protective immune memory.
Topics: Humans; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Antibodies, Neutralizing; Vaccines, Inactivated
PubMed: 37802996
DOI: 10.1038/s41392-023-01650-x -
Journal of Medical Internet Research Sep 2023The innovative method of sentiment analysis based on an emotional lexicon shows prominent advantages in capturing emotional information, such as individual attitudes,...
BACKGROUND
The innovative method of sentiment analysis based on an emotional lexicon shows prominent advantages in capturing emotional information, such as individual attitudes, experiences, and needs, which provides a new perspective and method for emotion recognition and management for patients with breast cancer (BC). However, at present, sentiment analysis in the field of BC is limited, and there is no emotional lexicon for this field. Therefore, it is necessary to construct an emotional lexicon that conforms to the characteristics of patients with BC so as to provide a new tool for accurate identification and analysis of the patients' emotions and a new method for their personalized emotion management.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to construct an emotional lexicon of patients with BC.
METHODS
Emotional words were obtained by merging the words in 2 general sentiment lexicons, the Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (C-LIWC) and HowNet, and the words in text corpora acquired from patients with BC via Weibo, semistructured interviews, and expressive writing. The lexicon was constructed using manual annotation and classification under the guidance of Russell's valence-arousal space. Ekman's basic emotional categories, Lazarus' cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, and a qualitative text analysis based on the text corpora of patients with BC were combined to determine the fine-grained emotional categories of the lexicon we constructed. Precision, recall, and the F1-score were used to evaluate the lexicon's performance.
RESULTS
The text corpora collected from patients in different stages of BC included 150 written materials, 17 interviews, and 6689 original posts and comments from Weibo, with a total of 1,923,593 Chinese characters. The emotional lexicon of patients with BC contained 9357 words and covered 8 fine-grained emotional categories: joy, anger, sadness, fear, disgust, surprise, somatic symptoms, and BC terminology. Experimental results showed that precision, recall, and the F1-score of positive emotional words were 98.42%, 99.73%, and 99.07%, respectively, and those of negative emotional words were 99.73%, 98.38%, and 99.05%, respectively, which all significantly outperformed the C-LIWC and HowNet.
CONCLUSIONS
The emotional lexicon with fine-grained emotional categories conforms to the characteristics of patients with BC. Its performance related to identifying and classifying domain-specific emotional words in BC is better compared to the C-LIWC and HowNet. This lexicon not only provides a new tool for sentiment analysis in the field of BC but also provides a new perspective for recognizing the specific emotional state and needs of patients with BC and formulating tailored emotional management plans.
Topics: Humans; Female; Breast Neoplasms; Sentiment Analysis; Emotions; Fear; Sadness
PubMed: 37698914
DOI: 10.2196/44897 -
PloS One 2023Product-harm crises have detrimental effects on firm's sales, reputation, and financial value, requiring crisis managers to promptly adopt appropriate response...
Product-harm crises have detrimental effects on firm's sales, reputation, and financial value, requiring crisis managers to promptly adopt appropriate response strategies to mitigate these impacts. Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) guides managers to align responsibility attribution with response strategies. Using Chinese listed firms' product-harm crises sample from 2015 to 2021, this study analyzes the stock market's reaction to different response strategies. The event study method reveals that a passive strategy is more effective during the disclosure stage, and accept+no recall and deny+recall are conforming strategies during the initial response stage. Additionally, firms with a crisis history should assume greater responsibility when developing response strategies for product-harm crises, as crisis history amplifies negative effects. The results provide recommendations to help managers formulate appropriate strategies.
Topics: Commerce; Disclosure; Social Perception; Product Recalls and Withdrawals; Consumer Product Safety; Private Sector; Public Opinion; Truth Disclosure; China
PubMed: 37616251
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0290548 -
Alzheimer's Research & Therapy Jan 2024Disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease highlight the need for early detection of cognitive decline. However, at present, most primary care providers do not... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease highlight the need for early detection of cognitive decline. However, at present, most primary care providers do not perform routine cognitive testing, in part due to a lack of access to practical cognitive assessments, as well as time and resources to administer and interpret the tests. Brief and sensitive digital cognitive assessments, such as the Digital Clock and Recall (DCR™), have the potential to address this need. Here, we examine the advantages of DCR over the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia.
METHODS
We studied 706 participants from the multisite Bio-Hermes study (age mean ± SD = 71.5 ± 6.7; 58.9% female; years of education mean ± SD = 15.4 ± 2.7; primary language English), classified as cognitively unimpaired (CU; n = 360), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n = 234), or probable mild Alzheimer's dementia (pAD; n = 111) based on a review of medical history with selected cognitive and imaging tests. We evaluated cognitive classifications (MCI and early dementia) based on the DCR and the MMSE against cohorts based on the results of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), the Trail Making Test-Part B (TMT-B), and the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). We also compared the influence of demographic variables such as race (White vs. Non-White), ethnicity (Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic), and level of education (≥ 15 years vs. < 15 years) on the DCR and MMSE scores.
RESULTS
The DCR was superior on average to the MMSE in classifying mild cognitive impairment and early dementia, AUC = 0.70 for the DCR vs. 0.63 for the MMSE. DCR administration was also significantly faster (completed in less than 3 min regardless of cognitive status and age). Among 104 individuals who were labeled as "cognitively unimpaired" by the MMSE (score ≥ 28) but actually had verbal memory impairment as confirmed by the RAVLT, the DCR identified 84 (80.7%) as impaired. Moreover, the DCR score was significantly less biased by ethnicity than the MMSE, with no significant difference in the DCR score between Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals.
CONCLUSIONS
DCR outperforms the MMSE in detecting and classifying cognitive impairment-in a fraction of the time-while being not influenced by a patient's ethnicity. The results support the utility of DCR as a sensitive and efficient cognitive assessment in primary care settings.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04733989.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Dementia; Cognitive Dysfunction; Alzheimer Disease; Mental Status and Dementia Tests; Neuropsychological Tests
PubMed: 38167251
DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01367-7 -
Preventive Medicine Reports Jan 2024Cannabis legalization provides an opportunity to communicate with consumers through mandated health warnings on cannabis packaging. However, research on cannabis health... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Cannabis legalization provides an opportunity to communicate with consumers through mandated health warnings on cannabis packaging. However, research on cannabis health warnings is a nascent field. Therefore, a review is needed to synthesize cannabis health warning research and inform ongoing policy discussions.
METHODS
This paper used systematic review guidelines to search online databases, including PubMed Central, Scopus, Web of Science, Jstor, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Medline, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Search strings combined the terms "cannabis" or "marijuana" with "health warning" or "health warning message" or "warning label" or "health warning label" or "health information label." Results were synthesized narratively.
RESULTS
The search identified 90 research articles. After screening, 17 studies on the impact of cannabis health warnings were retained. Retained studies focused on the hypothetical effects of cannabis health warnings ( = 11; 64.7 %) and "real world" effects of implementing warnings post-legalization ( = 6; 35.3 %). Evidence indicated mandated cannabis health warnings improved noticing and recall of health warning content. Cannabis health warnings describing risks of addiction were consistently rated the least effective. Pictorial cannabis health warnings generally outperformed text-only warnings when displayed on their own, while experiments with warnings on products had mixed results. Cannabis health warnings decreased product appeal, mainly when package branding was minimized.
CONCLUSIONS
Health warnings on cannabis packaging are an important strategy to communicate risk to consumers. Mandating warnings increased notice, recall, and health knowledge. Warnings with pictures and describing specific risks were most effective, as was showing warnings without product branding.
PubMed: 38222305
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2023.102573 -
Pharmaceutical Research Sep 2023The goal of pharmacovigilance (PV) is to prevent adverse events (AEs) associated with drugs and vaccines. Current PV programs are of a reactive nature and rest entirely...
The goal of pharmacovigilance (PV) is to prevent adverse events (AEs) associated with drugs and vaccines. Current PV programs are of a reactive nature and rest entirely on data science, i.e., detecting and analyzing AE data from provider/patient reports, health records and even social media. The ensuing preventive actions are too late for people who have experienced AEs and often overly broad, as responses include entire product withdrawals, batch recalls, or contraindications of subpopulations. To prevent AEs in a timely and precise manner, it is necessary to go beyond data science and incorporate measurement science into PV efforts through person-level patient screening and dose-level product surveillance. Measurement-based PV may be called 'preventive pharmacovigilance', the goal of which is to identify susceptible individuals and defective doses to prevent AEs. A comprehensive PV program should contain both reactive and preventive components by integrating data science and measurement science.
Topics: Humans; Pharmacovigilance; Vaccines
PubMed: 37349651
DOI: 10.1007/s11095-023-03548-3 -
Journal of Clinical Medicine Aug 2023The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of extra virgin olive (EVO) oil and fruity oil for the treatment of gingivitis.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of extra virgin olive (EVO) oil and fruity oil for the treatment of gingivitis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A sample of 75 patients over 18 years of age with gingivitis induced by plaque bacteria was divided into three groups: study group A, with extra virgin olive oil; study group B, with fruity oil; and control group C. In the two study groups, EVO oil was administered as a mouthwash to patients with gingival inflammation. The protocol included a daily application of the product for 30 days, with three recalls 15 days apart. Clinical parameters of plaque formation and gingivitis, including plaque index (PI) and bleeding index (BI), were assessed at each recall and scored on a specific periodontal chart. The control group received no mouthwash treatment in addition to normal daily oral hygiene procedures, and the same clinical parameters as the study group were evaluated. Data were evaluated using SPSS 27.0 software for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Then, the pre- and post-treatment values of the groups were compared using Student's -test, setting < 0.05 as the significance level.
RESULTS
Comparison of the three groups showed that extra-virgin olive oil was an adjuvant in the treatment of gingival inflammation, improving PI and BI. In group A, the mean plaque index showed a 48% reduction, and the bleeding index showed a 64% reduction after 30 days. In group B, the mean plaque index showed a 35% reduction and a bleeding index reduction of 43% after 30 days.
CONCLUSIONS
The collected data showed significant improvements in the formation of bacterial plaque and gingivitis. The exact mechanism of such treatment is still to be elucidated. As a result of this, further studies with a different sample of patients than those used and a comparison with other products need to be addressed to verify and demonstrate the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects of the components of this natural product.
PubMed: 37629298
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12165256 -
North American Spine Society Journal Sep 2023Bone grafting is commonly used in spine surgery to supplement or replace the need for autografts. This is harvested, prepared, and utilized predominantly for...
BACKGROUND
Bone grafting is commonly used in spine surgery to supplement or replace the need for autografts. This is harvested, prepared, and utilized predominantly for osteoconductive properties. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, a procedure to decompress and fuse the spine which treats herniated discs and compressed nerves, commonly uses Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody filled with allograft bone matrices to reconstruct the disc space after a discectomy is performed.
CASE DESCRIPTION
The presented case is one of a 57-year-old male patient who underwent an uneventful cervical 5-6 and cervical 6-7 discectomy and fusion using a PEEK interbody and bone allograft. The allograft had been prepared using cancellous bone particles with preserved living cells and demineralized cortical bone fibers to facilitate bone repair and healing, which is a common technique. The allograft was aseptically processed to preserve native factors that can support bone repair and prevent contamination and cross-contamination of the product. Additionally, the product was sterilized using gamma irradiation to further prevent contamination.
OUTCOME
Unfortunately, with the presented case, the State's Department of Health and The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention identified that the graft was from a source contaminated with tuberculosis. The patient being reported went on to develop disseminated tuberculosis, including lung abscesses and osteomyelitis.
CONCLUSIONS
The current case highlights that there was contamination of the donor bone sources. Tuberculosis was not screened in the tissue donor even though he had risk factors, symptoms, and signs consistent with tuberculosis. Although there are methods to screen potential organ donors for tuberculosis, there is currently no approved standard laboratory tuberculosis screening tool for bone grafts. Thus, this emphasizes the importance of proper screening among individual institutions for even the most uncommon diseases in all donated bone grafts.
PubMed: 37483264
DOI: 10.1016/j.xnsj.2023.100241