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Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and JusticeThere is mounting concern over the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health and antisocial behavior. Cutting-edge research provides an enhanced understanding of biophysiological mechanisms, including microbiome pathways, and invites a historical reexamination of earlier work that investigated the relationship between nutrition and criminal behavior. Here, in this perspective article, we explore how this emergent research casts new light and greater significance on previous key observations.
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Metagenomic Characterisation of the Gut Microbiome and Effect of Complementary Feeding on Bifidobacterium spp. in Australian InfantsComplementary feeding induces dramatic ecological shifts in the infant gut microbiota toward more diverse compositions and functional metabolic capacities, with potential implications for immune and metabolic health. The aim of this study was to examine whether the age at which solid foods are introduced differentially affects the microbiota in predominantly breastfed infants compared with predominantly formula-fed infants.
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Altered dietary behaviour during pregnancy impacts systemic metabolic phenotypesEvidence suggests consumption of a Mediterranean diet (MD) can positively impact both maternal and offspring health, potentially mediated by a beneficial effect on inflammatory pathways. We aimed to apply metabolic profiling of serum and urine samples to assess differences between women who were stratified into high and low alignment to a MD throughout pregnancy and investigate the relationship of the diet to inflammatory markers.
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Perinatal Women’s Perspectives of, and Engagement in, Digital Emotional Well-Being Training: Mixed Methods StudyPsychological distress in the early postpartum period can have long-lasting deleterious effects on a mother's well-being and negatively affect her infant's development. Intervention approaches based in contemplative practices such as mindfulness and loving-kindness and compassion are intended to alleviate distress and cultivate well-being and can be delivered effectively as digital mental health interventions.
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Dimensions of the diet-exercise relationship in later life: A qualitative studyDiet and physical activity are two lifestyle behaviours that are critical for healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to explore how older adults negotiate dietary and physical activity decisions to identify areas of intersection between these two behaviours and inform health promotion interventions targeting both diet and exercise.
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Data resource profile: the ORIGINS project databank: a collaborative data resource for investigating the developmental origins of health and diseaseThe ORIGINS Project (“ORIGINS”) is a longitudinal, population-level birth cohort with data and biosample collections that aim to facilitate research to reduce non-communicable diseases and encourage ‘a healthy start to life’. ORIGINS has gathered millions of datapoints and over 400,000 biosamples over 15 timepoints, antenatally through to five years of age, from mothers, non-birthing partners and the child, across four health and wellness domains.
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Beyond Plants: The Ultra-Processing of Global Diets Is Harming the Health of People, Places, and PlanetGlobal food systems are a central issue for personal and planetary health in the Anthropocene. One aspect of major concern is the dramatic global spread of ultra-processed convenience foods in the last 75 years, which is linked with the rising human burden of disease and growing sustainability and environmental health challenges.
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Increasing emergency department visits for anaphylaxis in very early childhood: A canary in the coal mineThe incidence of anaphylaxis is increasing globally in tandem with changing environmental and lifestyle factors. There is very limited data on very early childhood presentations. We aim to assess changes in rates, characteristics and management of infant anaphylaxis in a paediatric ED over a 15-year period.
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The ORIGINS Project Biobank: A Collaborative Bio Resource for Investigating the Developmental Origins of Health and DiseaseEarly onset Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including obesity, allergies, and mental ill-health in childhood, present a serious and increasing threat to lifelong health and longevity. The ORIGINS Project (ORIGINS) addresses the urgent need for multidisciplinary efforts to understand the detrimental multisystem impacts of modern environments using well-curated large-scale longitudinal biological sample collections.
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PKC activation promotes maturation of cord blood T cells towards a Th1 IFN-γ propensityA significant number of babies present transiently with low protein kinase C zeta (PKCζ) levels in cord blood T cells, associated with reduced ability to transition from a neonatal Th2 to a mature Th1 cytokine bias, leading to a higher risk of developing allergic sensitisation, compared to neonates whose T cells have 'normal' PKCζ levels. However, the importance of PKCζ signalling in regulating their differentiation from a Th2 to a Th1 cytokine phenotype propensity remains undefined.