Economic evaluation of price discounts and skill-building strategies on purchase and consumption of healthy food and beverages: The SHELf randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE: Pricing strategies are a promising approach for promoting healthier dietary choices. However, robust evidence of the cost-effectiveness of pricing manipulations on dietary behaviour is limited. We aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of a 20% price reduction on fruits and vegetables and a combined skills-based behaviour change and price reduction intervention. DESIGN AND METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective was undertaken for the randomized controlled trial Supermarket Healthy Eating for Life (SHELf). Female shoppers in Melbourne, Australia were randomized to: (1) skill-building (n = 160); (2) price reductions (n = 161); (3) combined skill-building and price reduction (n = 161); or (4) control group (n = 161). The intervention was implemented for three months followed by a six month follow-up. Costs were measured in 2012 Australian dollars. Fruit and vegetable purchasing and consumption were measured in grams/week. RESULTS: At three months, compared to control participants, price reduction participants increased vegetable purchases by 233 g/week (95% CI 4 to 462, p = 0.046) and fruit purchases by 364 g/week (95% CI 95 to 633, p = 0.008). Participants in the combined group purchased 280 g/week more fruits (95% CI 27 to 533, p = 0.03) than participants in the control group. Increases were not maintained six-month post intervention. No effect was noticed in the skill-building group. Compared to the control group, the price reduction intervention cost an additional A$2.3 per increased serving of vegetables purchased per week or an additional A$3 per increased serving of fruit purchased per week. The combined intervention cost an additional A$12 per increased serving of fruit purchased per week compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: A 20% discount on fruits and vegetables was effective in promoting overall fruit and vegetable purchases during the period the discount was active and may be cost-effective. The price discount program gave better value for money than the combined price reduction and skill-building intervention. The SHELf trial is registered with Current Controlled Trials Registration ISRCTN39432901.

Changes in quality and bioactivity of native food during storage

Australian native foods have long been consumed by the Indigenous people of Australia. There is growing interest in the application of these foods in the functional food and complementary health care industries. Recent studies have provided information on the health properties of native foods but systematic study of changes in flavour and health components during processing and storage has not been done. It is well known that processing technologies such as packaging, drying and freezing can significantly alter the levels of health and flavour compounds. However, losses in compounds responsible for quality and bioactivity can be minimised by improving production practices. This report outlines research developed to provide the native food industry with reliable information on the retention of bioactive compounds during processing and storage to enable the development of product standards which in turn will provide the industry with scientific evidence to expand and explore new market opportunities globally.

The biology and availability of the spiny lobster Palinurus delagoae Barnard, off the coast of Mozambique

Catch and effort data and some biological characteristics of the deep water spiny lobster P. delagoae collected between August 1980 and December 1981, are presented. The work was conducted on board a commercial vessel off the coast of Mozambique.

Problem of access and rights of fishermen to water bodies in haor areas: a case study

Meat to water ratio used for washing was 1:3 for oil sardine and mackerel; but for pink perch and croaker, it was 1:2. Again the washing process was repeated three times for oil sardine and mackerel; but two times for pink perch and croaker. The washed meat was mixed with 2.5% NaC1 and set at +5°C and +40°C for 1, 2 and 3hrs. The gel strength and expressible water content was measured. Basing on this study, setting temperature at +40°C was selected and with respect to time 1hr for sardine and mackerel and 3hrs for pink perch and croaker was selected.

Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot

T. G. Williams, J.J. Rowland, and Lee M.H., Teaching from Examples in Assembly and Manipulation of Snack Food Ingredients by Robot, Proc. IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Nov., 2001, pp2300-2305.

Mathematical modelling and optimisation of the formulation and manufacture of aggregate food products

In this PhD study, mathematical modelling and optimisation of granola production has been carried out. Granola is an aggregated food product used in breakfast cereals and cereal bars. It is a baked crispy food product typically incorporating oats, other cereals and nuts bound together with a binder, such as honey, water and oil, to form a structured unit aggregate. In this work, the design and operation of two parallel processes to produce aggregate granola products were incorporated: i) a high shear mixing granulation stage (in a designated granulator) followed by drying/toasting in an oven. ii) a continuous fluidised bed followed by drying/toasting in an oven. In addition, the particle breakage of granola during pneumatic conveying produced by both a high shear granulator (HSG) and fluidised bed granulator (FBG) process were examined. Products were pneumatically conveyed in a purpose built conveying rig designed to mimic product conveying and packaging. Three different conveying rig configurations were employed; a straight pipe, a rig consisting two 45° bends and one with 90° bend. It was observed that the least amount of breakage occurred in the straight pipe while the most breakage occurred at 90° bend pipe. Moreover, lower levels of breakage were observed in two 45° bend pipe than the 90° bend vi pipe configuration. In general, increasing the impact angle increases the degree of breakage. Additionally for the granules produced in the HSG, those produced at 300 rpm have the lowest breakage rates while the granules produced at 150 rpm have the highest breakage rates. This effect clearly the importance of shear history (during granule production) on breakage rates during subsequent processing. In terms of the FBG there was no single operating parameter that was deemed to have a significant effect on breakage during subsequent conveying. A population balance model was developed to analyse the particle breakage occurring during pneumatic conveying. The population balance equations that govern this breakage process are solved using discretization. The Markov chain method was used for the solution of PBEs for this process. This study found that increasing the air velocity (by increasing the air pressure to the rig), results in increased breakage among granola aggregates. Furthermore, the analysis carried out in this work provides that a greater degree of breakage of granola aggregates occur in line with an increase in bend angle.

Predatory nature of the littoral amphipod Echinogammarus marinus: gut content analysis and effects of alternative food and substrate heterogeneity

Interspecific interactions are major structuring forces in marine littoral communities; however, it is unclear which of these interactions are exhibited by many key-component species. Gut content analysis showed that the ubiquitous rocky/cobble shore amphipod Echinogammarus marinas, often ascribed as a mesograzer, consumes both algae and macroinvertebrates. Further, laboratory experiments showed that E. marinus is an active predator of such macroinvertebrates, killing and consuming the isopod Jaera nordmanni and the oligochaete Tubificoides benedii. Predatory impacts of E. marinus were not alleviated by the presence of alternative food in the form of alga discs. However, in the presence of prey, consumption of alga by E. marinus was significantly reduced. Further, survival of prey was significantly higher when substrate was provided, but predation remained significant and did not decline with further increases in substrate heterogeneity. We conclude that such amphipods can have pervasive predatory impacts on a range of species, with implications for community structure, diversity and functioning.

Body size differs in workers produced across time and is associated with variation in the quantity and composition of larval food in Nannotrigona perilampoides (Hymenoptera, Meliponini)

Although variation in body size has been recently reported in stingless bees (Meliponini), empirical evidence evaluating possible factors related to such variation is lacking, and thus it is not clear if it may have an adaptive significance. We evaluated if variation in the body size and weight of workers of stingless bees fluctuates across a seasonal pattern and if this could be related to characteristics of the food consumed during the larval stage. The weight of larval provisions, their protein, and sugar content were evaluated in four colonies of Nannotrigona perilampoides every 2 months across 1 year. Worker-destined larvae from the same combs were allowed to develop and were sampled as callow workers to determine their weight and size using morphometric data. The weight and size of workers were highly correlated and varied across the seasons in established colonies, suggesting that size variation cycles across the year in stingless bees. An increase in the protein content and, to a lesser degree, the quantity of larval food were positively linked to variation in body weight and size; food with richer protein content resulted in larger and heavier workers. This study provides the first evidence of an effect of the quantity and composition of larval food on the size of workers in stingless bees. Although body weight and size of workers differed across seasons, they were not readily noticeable as changes seem to occur as a continuum across the year. Since size polymorphism was of a larger magnitude across time but not within age cohorts and as it was highly determined by food resources, it may not be an adaptive feature in stingless bees. However, more studies are needed to determine the role of the cyclical change in worker body size on colony performance and thus its adaptive significance in stingless bees.

Accessibility and availability of smoking-related associations in smokers

A free association test was used in the present study to examine the availability and accessibility of positive vs negative smoking-related information in the long-term memories of smokers. Participants were asked to generate smoking-related associations across a 4-minute interval. Although smokers generated more positive smoking-associations than non-smokers, both groups produced a greater number of negative than positive associations per se. Of particular interest was the finding that whilst the ratio of positive/negative associations generated was constant across time in non-smokers, this ratio varied in smokers. Specifically, smokers generated proportionately more of their available positive associations and proportionately less of their negative associations in the early time interval. It is suggested that these results not only indicate a greater availability of positive smoking-associations in smokers compared to non-smokers, but also a greater accessibility too. It is proposed that positive smoking associations are more automatically activated than negative associations in smokers, even though they have generally more negative associations available.

Access and utilisation of maternity care for disabled women who experience domestic abuse: a systematic review

Background: Although disabled women are significantly more likely to experience domestic abuse during pregnancy than non-disabled women, very little is known about how maternity care access and utilisation is affected by the co-existence of disability and domestic abuse. This systematic review of the literature explored how domestic abuse impacts upon disabled women’s access to maternity services.

Methods: Eleven articles were identified through a search of six electronic databases and data were analysed to identify: the factors that facilitate or compromise access to care; the consequences of inadequate care for pregnant women’s health and wellbeing; and the effectiveness of existing strategies for improvement.

Results: Findings indicate that a mental health diagnosis, poor relationships with health professionals and environmental barriers can compromise women’s utilisation of maternity services. Domestic abuse can both compromise, and catalyse, access to services and social support is a positive factor when accessing care. Delayed and inadequate care has adverse effects on women’s physical and psychological health, however further research is required to fully explore the nature and extent of these consequences. Only one study identified strategies currently being used to improve access to services for disabled women experiencing abuse.

Conclusions: Based upon the barriers and facilitators identified within the review, we suggest that future strategies for improvement should focus on: understanding women’s reasons for accessing care; fostering positive relationships; being women-centred; promoting environmental accessibility; and improving the strength of the evidence base.

Opioid poisoning and availability of specialized medical care in Ontario, 2002-2006

The prescription of opioid analgesics has risen sharply in North America over the past two decades. This increase has been accompanied by a rise in overdoses. The present study draws on administrative data collected from emergency department contacts to describe the epidemiology of opioid overdose in Ontario b~tween 2002 and 2006 and to examine the role of regional variation in availability of specialist care. The number of poisonings increased from 1250 (10.9 per 100,000) in FY2002 to 1816 (15.2 per 100,000) in FY2005. Local concentration of specialist physicians was significantly associated with the incidence of opioid overdose, inversely at most levels of availability, but positively at very high levels. Regional variation in incidence was also associated with demographics, median family income, and the rate of other drug poisonings. Policy options for limiting opioid-related harms are limited, but improvements in monitoring and clinical management may prove valuable.