AI shows the need for healthier diets in long-term care homes
2023-03-29
(Press-News.org)
A detailed analysis of consumed food showed there is a need to improve diets in long-term care (LTC) homes to make them healthier for residents.
The analysis found that eating more whole grains, plant-based proteins, and plain fruits and vegetables would help residents meet government guidelines and reduce their risk of inflammation.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo developed new artificial intelligence (AI) technology to examine data on food and fluids consumed by more than 600 residents over three days at 32 LTC homes.
Results were compared to recommendations in the 2019 Canada’s Food Guide on healthy eating and expert information on foods that could cause inflammation, contributing to chronic diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and dementia.
“These food analytics can support LTC menu planning and provide data-driven insights to support nutritional interventions geared at improving clinical outcomes and quality of life,” said Dr. Kaylen Pfisterer, an adjunct assistant engineering professor at Waterloo and a scientific associate at the Centre for Digital Therapeutics within the University Health Network.
Although they identified room for improvement in diet quality, the researchers acknowledged several challenges when changing food in LTC homes.
One is that older adult residents must enjoy the food and drinks they consume since it affects their quality of life.
Another is that most LTC residents are at risk of malnutrition, so simply ensuring they receive enough calories can be difficult. Budgetary constraints and the seasonal availability of certain foods can also come into play.
The new AI tool the researchers developed automated a process that has long been a time-consuming manual task subject to bias and error.
“The ability to do such massive categorization using AI in an automated fashion allowed us to get much deeper, much more comprehensive insights into the inflammatory potential of what is currently eaten in LTC,” said Dr. Alexander Wong, a professor of systems design engineering at Waterloo.
Dr. Heather Keller, a professor of kinesiology and health studies at Waterloo, and Dr. Robert Amelard, a post-doctoral fellow at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging and the University Health Network during the study, also contributed to the research.
A paper on the study, Characterizing Canadian long-term care home consumed foods and their inflammatory potential: a secondary analysis, appears in the journal BMC Public Health.
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2023-03-28
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After a building failure due to natural disasters or poor structural design, safety inspectors must enter a structure to assess the damage before occupants can return. Researchers in the Penn State Department of Architectural Engineering studied how building inspectors make their safety assessments, by analyzing their gaze patterns with eye-tracking software. Eventually, the eye-tracking data could be used to code autonomous robots, like drones, to conduct building assessments in place of humans.
The researchers' results were published in Scientific Reports.
“We ...
2023-03-28
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Measuring temperature and nitrogen levels in soil is important for agriculture systems but detecting them apart from one another is difficult to do. Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, James L. Henderson, Jr. Memorial Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State, led researchers in the development of a multi-parameter sensor that can effectively decouple temperature and nitrogen signals so that each can be measured accurately. The results were recently published by Advanced Materials.
“For efficient fertilization, ...
2023-03-28
A DNA editing tool adapted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists makes engineering microbes for everything from bioenergy production to plastics recycling easier and faster.
The Serine recombinase-Assisted Genome Engineering, or SAGE system, lets scientists quickly insert and test new DNA designs in a variety of microorganisms. Engineered microbes hold promise for making biofuels, recycling mixed plastics, aiding soil carbon storage and treating health disorders.
“SAGE works in virtually all microorganisms, revolutionizing what we’re able to do with microbes,” ...
2023-03-28
Neuroscientists from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) report in Brain Connectivity that they have detected subtle differences in the way the brain functions in older adults with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Adults with preclinical AD have the earliest signs of disease, such as buildup of amyloid-beta proteins in their brains. However, they have no noticeable symptoms of cognitive decline.
The research team, led by Andreana Benitez, Ph.D., and Stephanie Fountain-Zaragoza, Ph.D., used a novel brain imaging analysis technique to construct individualized maps of brain function. They then looked to see if there were ...
2023-03-28
Taxes on sugary drinks reduce the risk of gestational diabetes and unhealthy weight gain in pregnant women, reports a new UC San Francisco study of more than 5 million women.
Published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, this is the first study to examine how sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes affect the health of mothers and children immediately before and after birth. Researchers compared mothers who were living in cities that had SSB taxes in effect while they were pregnant to mothers in cities with no SSB taxes. In addition to significantly lowering the risk of diabetes and unhealthy weight gain ...
2023-03-28
Bioactive compounds present mostly in fruit and vegetables perform different bodily functions relating to health and well-being. Their effects are considered antioxidant, antidiabetic, antiaging and anticancer, among others.
Many studies are looking for ways to optimize absorption of bioactive compounds by the organism and increase their bioavailability – the proportion that enters the bloodstream after absorption. One way is to coat the compounds with another material and package them on the nanometric scale (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter). Nanoencapsulation, as this technique is known, assures slow release of the compounds so that they take longer to digest and can survive ...
2023-03-28
WASHINGTON (March 28, 2023)— A new combination drug treatment showed promising results in patients with pan-refractory, recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer, according to a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Head and neck cancer is a deadly form of cancer that arises in the lining of the mouth and throat. Worldwide more than 700,000 people were diagnosed with head and neck cancer in 2021. The disease is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) or environmental carcinogens, including the regular use of tobacco or alcohol. When the cancer comes back after curative ...
2023-03-28
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility supported the successful launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket at 6:39 p.m. EDT, Thursday, March 16, from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
The mission, named “Stronger Together,” carried two, 100-kilogram commercial satellites to low-Earth orbit for Capella Space.
“I’m extremely proud of the NASA team that helped ensure a safe and successful launch operation today,” said ...
2023-03-28
Researchers have designed a molecule that slows the effects of one of SARS-CoV-2's more dangerous components – an enzyme called a protease that cuts off the immune system's communications and helps the virus replicate.
While much more needs to happen to develop a drug, scientists can begin to imagine what that drug could look like – thanks to new images of the molecule bound to the protease.
“We have been searching for an effective molecule like this one for a while,” said Suman Pokhrel, a Stanford University graduate student in chemical and systems biology and one of the paper’s lead authors. “It is ...
2023-03-28
A new study found a professional development program helped teachers in a rural school district in the Southeast to collaborate and identify innovative solutions to serve multilingual learners, or students learning English as a second language.
The study, published in the Journal of Research in Rural Education, suggests professional development can help prepare teachers in rural districts that have fewer resources and a growing need to support multilingual learners.
“Professional development is essential in rural communities, where you might not have resources for specialists like a literacy coach, bilingual school psychologist, or bilingual family engagement specialist,” ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] AI shows the need for healthier diets in long-term care homes
