Undergraduate students with shame are more likely to experience suicidal ideation, but there remains a lack of research investigating the factors underlying this relationship. The interpersonal theory of suicide posits that suicidal ideation is influenced by the simultaneous presence of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness. We examined the prevalence of suicidal ideation among undergraduate students in China and examined the association between shame and suicidal ideation mediated by perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. A survey was conducted in July 2018 involving 2320 undergraduate students, and the twelve-month prevalence of suicidal ideation was 8.95%. Shame played a crucial role in predicting suicidal ideation, and the mediating effects of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness between shame and suicidal ideation were significant. Suicidal ideation is common among undergraduate students in China and merits greater attention. Shame, perceived burdensomeness, and thwarted belongingness may be important factors to assess among undergraduate students in suicide risk assessment and psychological intervention.

International students may have difficulties in dietary acculturation. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of diet and health during the acculturation of international students. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 473 international students in Dublin. Knowledge, attitude and practices towards diet and health were evaluated by a questionnaire with open- and closed-ended questions. It was found that 45.3% of participants had a broad concept of a healthy diet, while few knew its specific contents. Furthermore, 75.3% of participants could explain the term functional food, and among them, 62.1% knew the appropriate definition of functional food. Participants who perceived their health very good and excellent were more likely to believe that their health status was determined by their own control. The consumption rate of functional food varied among regions and South and Central America students had the highest usage rate (44.5%) and Asian students had the highest daily usage rate (52.7%). Participants who were younger, single, from African and South and Central American countries, or who were in Ireland for less than one year were more likely to report dietary change after immigration. In conclusion, insufficient knowledge and self-perception towards diet and health as well as unhealthily dietary changes exist among international students living in Dublin.

This study was conducted to explore the associations between maternal feeding practices, mealtime emotions, as well as maternal food neophobia and toddlers’ food neophobia in Ireland. A follow-up to the Technological University Dublin (DIT)-Coombe Hospital birth cohort was conducted. Mothers in the original cohort were invited to the present study by telephone calls. Postal questionnaires with stamped addressed envelopes were distributed to those who agreed to participate in the study. Toddler food neophobia was assessed by the modified version of the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS). There were 205 participants included in this study, with a median score of child food neophobia of 12. A higher degree of child food neophobia (score > 12) was positively associated with the maternal practice of coaxing the children to eat at refusal (OR (Odds Ratio) = 2.279, 95% CI: 1.048–4.955), unpleasant emotions at mealtime (e.g., stressful or hectic for mothers, or tearful for children) (OR ranged between 1.618 and 1.952), and mothers’ own degree of food neophobia (OR = 1.036, 95% CI: 1.001–1.072). Mothers who were not worried when confronted with child’s food refusal was negatively associated with toddlers’ food neophobia (OR = 0.251, 95% CI: 0.114–0.556). This study suggests the maternal practices of responsive feeding, being calm and patient with the toddlers, and creating a positive atmosphere at mealtime.

High consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) increases the risks of non-communicable diseases and all-cause mortality in adulthood, and the risk of early childhood caries. Limited evidence about factors influencing children’s consumption of UPF exists. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of UPF consumption among children less than three years of age, and identify its associations with caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding, and children’s emotional eating. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China. Caregivers caring for children aged 6–36 months (n = 408) were recruited. Caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding practices and children’s emotional eating were assessed by the Parents’ Feeding Practices Scale for Infant and Young Child and Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, respectively. Children’s UPF consumption was assessed by a validated Food Frequency Questionnaire. Of the children, 86.8% consumed UPF. The highest percentage of UPF consumed was pastries (63.5%), followed by solid or semi-solid dairy products (58.8%), and reconstituted meat products (56.4%). Caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding was positively associated with children’s consumption of UPF (OR = 1.59, 95%CI: 1.01, 2.49), a higher frequency of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.80, 95%CI: 1.35, 2.39), and a larger amount of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.85, 95% CI: 1.38, 2.49). Children’s higher frequency of emotional undereating was associated with their UPF consumption (OR = 1.61, 95%CI: 1.07, 2.42) and a higher frequency of UPF consumption weekly (OR = 1.33, 95%CI: 1.03, 1.73). Children’s emotional undereating significantly mediated the associations between caregivers’ emotional and instrumental feeding and children’s consumption of reconstituted meat products. Caregivers should be educated to avoid emotional and instrumental feeding practices, and cultivate children’s good eating habits to improve children’s diet quality.

Astaxanthin-rich maize has been developed through genetic modification as a potential dietary source of astaxanthin. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional components and the antioxidant effects of astaxanthin-rich maize. The antioxidant effects were assessed from a 60-day feeding experiment with 9-month-old male SD rats. The results showed that the content of astaxanthin in astaxanthin-rich maize was 24.91 μg/g. Compared with rats fed conventional feed or parental maize, those fed astaxanthin-rich maize showed higher serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) (p < 0.05). Serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in the astaxanthin-rich maize group was lower than that in the conventional feed group (p < 0.05). Liver protein carbonyl and MDA in the astaxanthin-rich maize group were lower than those in the conventional feed group (p < 0.05). Liver SOD activity, glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and GSH level in the astaxanthin-rich maize groups were higher than those in the conventional feed group or the parental maize group (p < 0.05). The astaxanthin-rich maize showed positive antioxidant effects in several indicators. In the future, antioxidant evaluations of the astaxanthin-rich maize need to be conducted over a broader concentration range and using more oxidative stress indicators.

Background: Responsive feeding is an integral component of nurturing care under the umbrella of early childhood development and has been recommended as an optimal feeding practice globally. Objective: This study was conducted to explore responsive and nonresponsive feeding practices among caregivers of children aged 6‐35 months in China. Factors influencing responsive/nonresponsive feeding practices were further explored. Methods: This study used a combination of survey and video observation approaches and was conducted in Hebei Province from August to October 2020. A cross-sectional survey (n=409) was conducted to measure caregivers’ responsive/nonresponsive feeding practices using a prevalidated scale (5-point Likert scale). The overall and individual dimension scores were calculated. Multiple linear regression was performed to explore the demographic factors associated with responsive/nonresponsive feeding practices. Video observation was conducted among 42 caregiver-child pairs to record the dining episodes of main meals for a day at participants’ homes. Videos taken were coded, and the feeding practices were extracted. The occurrence of each feeding practice was calculated. The results from the 2 methods were confirmatory and complementary to each other. Results: Caregivers adopted responsive feeding more frequently than nonresponsive feeding, with a median overall responsive feeding score of 3.52 (IQR 3.36-3.76) in the survey and a higher occurrence in video observation (responsive vs nonresponsive feeding: 75.6%‐97.6% vs 0%-46.3%). No significant differences in feeding practices were found across breakfast, lunch, and dinner (all P >.05). Nonparental caregivers (β=0.13, 95% CI 0.05-0.21) and those with a household monthly income of >5000 RMB (>US $721; β=0.07, 95% CI 0.01-0.14) had a higher score for overall responsive feeding, while unemployed caregivers (β=−0.07, 95% CI −0.13 to −0.01) had a lower score. Conclusions: Caregivers appear to be more likely to use responsive feeding practices than nonresponsive feeding practices. Interventions to promote responsive feeding should target parental, unemployed, and low-income caregivers. The findings of this study might serve as a reference for the comprehensive assessment of responsive feeding practices.