Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries

ABSTRACTAimRecruiting participants for neonatal clinical studies may be challenging because parental consent is required shortly after birth. This study aimed to explore reasons for parental decline of participation in a neonatal study.MethodThis qualitative sub‐study was conducted in the Capital Region of Denmark between June 2022 and April 2023. Parents of healthy term newborn infants who declined participation in the PrePhage study, a study investigating the transfer of faecal filtrate for the prevention of necrotising enterocolitis, were included. These parents were interviewed through semi‐structured telephone interviews. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsTen parents (five mothers and five fathers of 10 different newborn infants) participated. All were first‐time parents. Three themes were identified: the first theme, uncertainty of the unknown, captured how early parenthood influenced willingness to engage. The second theme, challenges and discomfort related to sample collection, reflected logistical burdens and discomfort associated with faecal samples. The third theme, balancing societal expectations, described the tension between the social value of research and expressed guilt for declining participation.ConclusionEmotional, logistical and societal factors influenced parents' decision to decline participation in neonatal research. Future enrolment strategies should consider the timing of approach and aim to minimise participation burden.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05272579 and NCT05272566

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the school-based educational intervention "FOODcamp" on dietary habits among 6th-7th graders (aged 11-13 years), focusing on the food groups: fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, discretionary food, and sugar-sweetened beverages. In this cluster-based quasi-experimental controlled intervention study, 16 intervention classes (322 children) and 16 control classes (267 children) from nine schools were recruited during the school year 2019-2020. The children were asked to record their food intake for four consecutive days (Wednesday to Saturday) before (baseline) and after (follow-up) attending FOODcamp, using a validated self-administered web-based dietary record. Eligible dietary intake registrations from 124 and 118 children from the control and interventions classes, respectively, were included in the final statistical analysis. Hierarchical mixed model analysis was used to evaluate the effect of the intervention. No statistically significant effects of participating in FOODcamp were found on the average food intake of the food groups eaten regularly (vegetables, fruit, vegetables/fruit/juice combined, or meat) (p > 0.05). Among the food groups not eaten regularly (fish, discretionary foods, and sugar-sweetened beverages), a non-significant tendency to lower odds of consuming sugar-sweetened beverages from baseline to follow-up (OR = 0.512; 95% CI: 0.261-1.003; p = 0.0510) was seen among FOODcamp participants compared to control participants. In conclusion, this study found no effect of the educational intervention FOODcamp on the dietary intake of vegetables, fruit, vegetable/fruit/juice combined, meat, fish, or sugar-sweetened beverages. The intake frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages tended to decrease among FOODcamp participants.

Plant membrane transporters controlling metabolite distribution contribute key agronomic traits1-6. To eliminate anti-nutritional factors in edible parts of crops, the mutation of importers can block the accumulation of these factors in sink tissues7. However, this often results in a substantially altered distribution pattern within the plant8-12, whereas engineering of exporters may prevent such changes in distribution. In brassicaceous oilseed crops, anti-nutritional glucosinolate defence compounds are translocated to the seeds. However, the molecular targets for export engineering of glucosinolates remain unclear. Here we identify and characterize members of the USUALLY MULTIPLE AMINO ACIDS MOVE IN AND OUT TRANSPORTER (UMAMIT) family-UMAMIT29, UMAMIT30 and UMAMIT31-in Arabidopsis thaliana as glucosinolate exporters with a uniport mechanism. Loss-of-function umamit29 umamit30 umamit31 triple mutants have a very low level of seed glucosinolates, demonstrating a key role for these transporters in translocating glucosinolates into seeds. We propose a model in which the UMAMIT uniporters facilitate glucosinolate efflux from biosynthetic cells along the electrochemical gradient into the apoplast, where the high-affinity H+-coupled glucosinolate importers GLUCOSINOLATE TRANSPORTERS(GTRs) load them into the phloem for translocation to the seeds. Our findings validate the theory that two differently energized transporter types are required for cellular nutrient homeostasis13. The UMAMIT exporters are new molecular targets to improve nutritional value of seeds of brassicaceous oilseed crops without altering the distribution of the defence compounds in the whole plant.

Abstract The sense of smell plays an essential role in the sensory evaluation of coffee. However, a precise sensory evaluation also requires good memory and the ability to stay focused and concentrated. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an online sensory and cognitive training program on the odor recognition of 36 coffee aromas. A total of 44 coffee professionals participated in a randomized crossover trial. It consisted of an online training program with different sensory and cognitive tasks over two periods of 6 weeks. The participants were divided into three study groups for data analysis purposes: a Control‐first group (n = 16), a matching Intervention‐first group (n = 16), and a second Intervention‐first‐residual group (n = 12) to check for repeatability of the test results. On average, the participants improved their odor recognition score by 15% after 6 weeks of training (p < .01) and maintained a high‐performance level after the control period. A positive correlation between completed training and improvement was observed (p < .001). The participants significantly improved their ability to detect the 36 Le Nez du Café aromas commonly used in the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) exam systems.Practical ApplicationsThe new online training program is a promising tool for improving the odor recognition of coffee professionals. The sensory training can easily be accomplished as it is executable off‐site, is self‐instructive, and does not require any supervision. A further generalization of this new odor‐training program for noncoffee professionals may potentially train people with prolonged loss in olfactory function, such as observed in coronavirus disease 2019 patients.

This chapter reviews the summarized data on susceptibility patterns and prevalence and epidemiology of resistance for the most clinically relevant staphylococcal and streptococcal pathogens in animals. The chapter focuses mainly on resistance in Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus hyicus, and Staphylococcus intermedius. The first isolation of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from a veterinary specimen was reported from bovine mastitis in Belgium by Devriese et al. in 1972. The presence of other resistance genes and mechanisms has not been examined in streptococci of animal origin. Antimicrobial agents are most often used to control infections caused by these two groups of bacteria. The continuous monitoring of staphylococci and streptococci from animal infections is an essential prerequisite for early detection of new trends in the development of resistance to antimicrobials commonly used to control these infections. However, standardized procedures need to be made available for unambiguous species identification and for in vitro susceptibility testing, and such procedures also need to be applied by researchers in this field to make the results of susceptibility testing more comparable. More knowledge about the ability of certain subtypes to acquire resistance, together with the development of means to control such clones, could perhaps provide new means of controlling the increase in resistance.

Abstract This study was conducted to isolate and identify lactobacilli from larval and adult midgut of wild Aedes aegypti (Ae. aegypti) to find candidate bacteria for paratransgenic control. Characterization of the bacterial symbionts was done using Gram staining, motility test, catalase test, and biochemical tests, among others, and the morphological features were confirmed using a standard scheme that simplifies the identification of lactic acid bacteria. A total of 174 strains were isolated and identified, 135 strains from larval midgut and 39 strains from adult midgut (mean ± SE, 4.00 ± 0.72; P = 0.00). The isolated species were confirmed to be Lactobacillus fermentum, L. casei, L. acidophilus, L. viridescens, L. brevis and L. gasseri. It can be concluded that Ae. aegypti has the potential of harboring the cultivable bacterial symbionts. In conclusion, the isolated species were nominated for paratransgenic control, particularly L. fermentum, being found in large numbers from both larval and adulxt midgut.

Abstract In the context of a growing interest toward foods of local origin, this research explored consumer perceptions of novel sea‐buckthorn‐based beverages (SBBs), developed by combining sea‐buckthorn (hippophae rhamnoides L.) berries in combination with other locally sourced ingredients.Specifically, the aims of the present study were to test how newly developed SBBs were perceived compared to a selected market reference, and to determine their acceptability with a representative sample of the Danish consumer population. Using a combination of consumer‐friendly product profiling methods, we investigated which product attributes were associated with different ingredient combinations. Promising prototypes were tested in a larger study where consumers (N = 200) reported hedonic response and appropriateness of use for the SBBs. Results showed that the developed SBBs were generally well liked, but were perceived as appropriate for fewer usages than the existing ones, suggesting that consumers may find it hard to envisage how to incorporate novel SBBs in their existing dietary habits. Consumer demographics and psychographics did not significantly affect product acceptance, indicating that sensory characteristics were the most important drivers of consumer preferences within this product category.Practical ApplicationsThis study offers new insights into consumers’ perception of novel food products of local origin. A key issue with such ingredients is that they have unique sensory properties which are unfamiliar to many consumers. We suggest evidence‐based directions for product development and identify potential barriers to adoption that food producers should be aware of. Methodologically, this study shows a stepwise approach to consumer‐driven product development that effectively differentiated between the products and identified most promising prototypes, and could, therefore, be beneficially applied to support product development efforts among small and medium‐sized local producers.