Food insecurity is affecting an increasing number of urban poor in the developing world. Yet seasonal characteristics of food intakes have rarely been studied in West African cities. The objective of the present study was to assess the seasonality of the dietary dimension of household food security in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso). In 2007, two sets of data were collected during the lean and post-...

We describe the development and application of a teacher-administered tool for routine program evaluation of food-tasting activities among low-income children and adolescents in a classroom or afterschool setting. This six-item evaluation tool is intended to capture student willingness to try new foods and ask for them at home. Phase 1 involved one-on-one interviews to determine the feasibility...

KEY FINDINGS Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-2010. More than three-quarters of youth aged 2-19 years (77.1%) consumed fruit on a given day. Almost 92% of youth aged 2-19 years consumed vegetables on a given day. Nine out of 10 children aged 2-5 years consumed fruit, while only 6 out of 10 adolescents consumed fruit on a given day. More children aged 2-5 year...

A cross-sectional sequential explanatory mixed methods study was conducted among household food preparers to examine the association between home availability and consumption of traditional vegetables among resettled African refugees living in Queensland, Australia. Home availability of traditional African vegetables was associated with age, having a vegetable garden, employment status, and hav...

OBJECTIVE The relationship of socio-economic status and vegetable consumption is examined in nine European countries. The aim is to analyse whether the pattern of socio-economic variation with regard to vegetable consumption is similar in all studied countries with high v. low vegetable availability and affordability, and whether education has an independent effect on vegetable consumption once...

A supramolecular assay based on two fluorescent cucurbit[n]uril probes enables the recognition and quantification of nitrosamines, including cancer-associated nitrosamines, compounds that are difficult to recognize. The cross-reactive sensor leverages weak interactions and competition among the probe, metal, and guest, yielding high information density in the signal output (variance) and enabli...

Supramolecular assembly of a beta-barrel protein via cucurbit[8]uril results in compact z-shaped protein dimers. SAXS data reveal the formation of a well ordered protein dimer, notwithstanding being connected by a reversible and flexible peptide linker, and highlight the supramolecular induced interplay of the proteins, analogous to covalently linked proteins.

Cucurbit[6]uril-based reversible bistable [2]pseudorotaxanes were designed, synthesized and installed on the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles as supramolecular nanovalves. The assembled mechanized silica nanoparticles realize the multistage pH-controlled release of benzotriazole and the potential for reutilization.

The binding affinity of Neutral Red with cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) can be fine-tuned by addition and competitive binding of metal ions, which leads also to a pK(a) shift of the dye; this can be exploited to relocate the dye from the macrocyclic cavity of CB7 to the biomolecular pocket of bovine serum albumin.

The first attempt of constructing pH responsive supramolecular prodrug micelles based on cucurbit[8]uril is reported. The obtained prodrug micelles are found to be able to inhibit proliferation of cancer cells. It is anticipated that this facile strategy may open a novel avenue for the development of multifunctional drug delivery systems.