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Research

Variation in Neonatal Nutrition Practice and Implications: A Survey of Australia and New Zealand Neonatal Units

Significant global variation exists in neonatal nutrition practice, including in assigned milk composition values, donor milk usage, fortification regimens, probiotic choice and in methods used to calculate and report nutrition and growth outcomes, making it difficult to synthesize data to inform evidence-based, standardized nutritional care that has potential to improve neonatal outcomes

Research

Mitochondrial mistranslation modulated by metabolic stress causes cardiovascular disease and reduced lifespan

Changes in the rate and fidelity of mitochondrial protein synthesis impact the metabolic and physiological roles of mitochondria. Here we explored how environmental stress in the form of a high-fat diet modulates mitochondrial translation and affects lifespan in mutant mice with error-prone or hyper-accurate mitochondrial ribosomes. Intriguingly, although both mutations are metabolically beneficial in reducing body weight, decreasing circulating insulin and increasing glucose tolerance during a high-fat diet, they manifest divergent (either deleterious or beneficial) outcomes in a tissue-specific manner.

Research

Prebiotic Supplementation During Pregnancy Modifies the Gut Microbiota and Increases Metabolites in Amniotic Fluid, Driving a Tolerogenic Environment In Utero

The gut microbiota is influenced by environmental factors such as food. Maternal diet during pregnancy modifies the gut microbiota composition and function, leading to the production of specific compounds that are transferred to the fetus and enhance the ontogeny and maturation of the immune system. Prebiotics are fermented by gut bacteria, leading to the release of short-chain fatty acids that can specifically interact with the immune system, inducing a switch toward tolerogenic populations and therefore conferring health benefits.

Research

Beyond Plants: The Ultra-Processing of Global Diets Is Harming the Health of People, Places, and Planet

Global 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.

Research

A massive hit that targets kids quite a bit: Where and how Australian school children see energy drinks

Energy drinks (EDs) are not recommended for children due to their high caffeine content and adverse health risks. Their popularity among children may be due to children's exposure to ED marketing. This study aimed to identify where children have seen ED marketing and whether they believe ED marketing targets them.

Research

Intake of polyphenols from cereal foods and colorectal cancer risk in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study

Cereal-derived polyphenols have demonstrated protective mechanisms in colorectal cancer (CRC) models; however, confirmation in human studies is lacking. Therefore, this study examined the association between cereal polyphenol intakes and CRC risk in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study (MCCS), a prospective cohort study in Melbourne, Australia that recruited participants between 1990 and 1994 to investigate diet-disease relationships.

Research

Development of the Menu Assessment Scoring Tool (MAST) to Assess the Nutritional Quality of Food Service Menus

Preventing the rise in obesity is a global public health priority. Neighbourhood environments can help or undermine people's efforts to manage their weight, depending on availability of nutritious and nutrient-poor 'discretionary' foods. The proportion of household food budgets spent on eating outside the home is increasing. To inform nutrition policy at a local level, an objective assessment of the nutritional quality of foods and beverages on food service menus that is context-specific is needed.

Research

Probiotic supplementation in neonates with congenital gastrointestinal surgical conditions: a pilot randomised controlled trial

To evaluate whether probiotic supplementation attenuates gut-dysbiosis in neonates with congenital gastrointestinal surgical conditions.