Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequiti... more Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequities. For most nations, recent estimates and trends of intake are not available; nor variation by education or urbanicity. We investigated SSB intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries, stratified subnationally by age, sex, education, and rural/urban residence, using data from the Global Dietary Database. In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 2.7 (8 oz = 248 grams) servings/week (95% UI 2.5-2.9) (range: 0.7 (0.5-1.1) in South Asia to 7.8 (7.1-8.6) in Latin America/Caribbean). Intakes were higher in male vs. female, younger vs. older, more vs. less educated, and urban vs. rural adults. Variations by education and urbanicity were largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2018, SSB intakes increased by +0.37 (+0.29, +0.47), with the largest increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. These findings inform intervention, surveillance, and policy actions worldwide, highlighting the gro...
Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive ... more Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF c...
In the version of this article originally published, the Global Dietary Database consortium was m... more In the version of this article originally published, the Global Dietary Database consortium was missing from the author list. The consortium is now listed as an author, with a list of members and their affiliations appearing online. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
A systematic review on studies that have compared epigenetic age acceleration between participant... more A systematic review on studies that have compared epigenetic age acceleration between participants grouped by a particular psychiatric disorder compared to an unaffected (or control) group.
Bupropion is an effective anti-smoking agent in humans, but the behavioral mechanisms mediating t... more Bupropion is an effective anti-smoking agent in humans, but the behavioral mechanisms mediating this effect are unclear. The present studies assessed the effects of chronic bupropion on the reinforcing and reward-enhancing effects of self-administered nicotine, and on the motivational properties of a nicotine-associated conditioned reinforcer. The present studies also assessed the reward-enhancing effects of nicotine self-administration under different levels of access to nicotine, and the effects of enforced abstinence from self-administered nicotine on brain reward function and somatic signs. Rats were prepared with bipolar electrodes in the lateral hypothalamus and trained on a discrete trial intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) task. After establishing stable ICSS thresholds, rats were prepared with intravenous catheters and allowed to self-administer nicotine at different levels of access. Self-administered nicotine lowered ICSS thresholds, thereby providing a measure of the reward-enhancing effects of nicotine. Abstinence from 6h/d 7d/wk nicotine self-administration was associated with increased somatic signs of nicotine withdrawal and unchanged brain reward thresholds. Chronic bupropion administration via subcutaneous osmotic minipump had no effect on nicotine self-administration, but attenuated nicotine-induced enhancement of brain reward function and enhanced the motivational properties of a previously nicotine-associated conditioned stimulus. Thus, it is unlikely that chronic bupropion exerts anti-smoking effects by attenuating the primary or conditioned reinforcing effects of nicotine. Rather, preclinical investigations suggest that bupropion attenuates nicotine-induced enhancement of brain reward function and reverses the anhedonic, somatic, and neurochemical correlates of nicotine withdrawal.
The effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) 99-126 3 or 10 pmol/kg/min on increase in plasma re... more The effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) 99-126 3 or 10 pmol/kg/min on increase in plasma renin activity (PRA) stimulated by a 30-min infusion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 80 ng/kg/min was studied in healthy salt-replete male volunteers. PGE2 increased PRA to approximately 230% of basal levels (p less than 0.001). Concomitant infusion of ANF 3 pmol/kg/min significantly attenuated this rise in PRA to approximately 130% of baseline values (p = 0.02, n = 10). A quantitatively similar effect was observed with ANF 10 pmol/kg/min (n = 5). We suggest, in light of previous findings, that this inhibitory effect of ANF probably represents a nonspecific action rather than a specific effect of ANF on PGE2-mediated increases in PRA.
Background: An international expert panel convened by the Independent Scientific Committee on Dru... more Background: An international expert panel convened by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs developed a multi-criteria decision analysis model of the relative importance of different types of harm related to the use of nicotine-containing products. Method: The group defined 12 products and 14 harm criteria. Seven criteria represented harms to the user, and the other seven indicated harms to others. The group scored all the products on each criterion for their average harm worldwide using a scale with 100 defined as the most harmful product on a given criterion, and a score of zero defined as no harm. The group also assessed relative weights for all the criteria to indicate their relative importance. Findings: Weighted averages of the scores provided a single, overall score for each product. Cigarettes (overall weighted score of 100) emerged as the most harmful product, with small cigars in second place (overall weighted score of 64). After a substantial gap to the third-plac...
The Vacuum Group of The Institute of Physics, in collaboration with the Institution of Electrical... more The Vacuum Group of The Institute of Physics, in collaboration with the Institution of Electrical Engineers, is holding its next biennial conference, Vacuum '82, at Chester College, Chester on 29–31 March 1982. An exhibition of vacuum equipment will be held in conjunction with the conference on the first two days (the exhibitors and their products are listed in the following pages), and a 'New product seminar' on the first evening will provide the opportunity for firms to describe products released into the market during the past year.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequiti... more Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequities. For most nations, recent estimates and trends of intake are not available; nor variation by education or urbanicity. We investigated SSB intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries, stratified subnationally by age, sex, education, and rural/urban residence, using data from the Global Dietary Database. In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 2.7 (8 oz = 248 grams) servings/week (95% UI 2.5-2.9) (range: 0.7 (0.5-1.1) in South Asia to 7.8 (7.1-8.6) in Latin America/Caribbean). Intakes were higher in male vs. female, younger vs. older, more vs. less educated, and urban vs. rural adults. Variations by education and urbanicity were largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2018, SSB intakes increased by +0.37 (+0.29, +0.47), with the largest increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. These findings inform intervention, surveillance, and policy actions worldwide, highlighting the gro...
Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive ... more Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF c...
In the version of this article originally published, the Global Dietary Database consortium was m... more In the version of this article originally published, the Global Dietary Database consortium was missing from the author list. The consortium is now listed as an author, with a list of members and their affiliations appearing online. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
A systematic review on studies that have compared epigenetic age acceleration between participant... more A systematic review on studies that have compared epigenetic age acceleration between participants grouped by a particular psychiatric disorder compared to an unaffected (or control) group.
Bupropion is an effective anti-smoking agent in humans, but the behavioral mechanisms mediating t... more Bupropion is an effective anti-smoking agent in humans, but the behavioral mechanisms mediating this effect are unclear. The present studies assessed the effects of chronic bupropion on the reinforcing and reward-enhancing effects of self-administered nicotine, and on the motivational properties of a nicotine-associated conditioned reinforcer. The present studies also assessed the reward-enhancing effects of nicotine self-administration under different levels of access to nicotine, and the effects of enforced abstinence from self-administered nicotine on brain reward function and somatic signs. Rats were prepared with bipolar electrodes in the lateral hypothalamus and trained on a discrete trial intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) task. After establishing stable ICSS thresholds, rats were prepared with intravenous catheters and allowed to self-administer nicotine at different levels of access. Self-administered nicotine lowered ICSS thresholds, thereby providing a measure of the reward-enhancing effects of nicotine. Abstinence from 6h/d 7d/wk nicotine self-administration was associated with increased somatic signs of nicotine withdrawal and unchanged brain reward thresholds. Chronic bupropion administration via subcutaneous osmotic minipump had no effect on nicotine self-administration, but attenuated nicotine-induced enhancement of brain reward function and enhanced the motivational properties of a previously nicotine-associated conditioned stimulus. Thus, it is unlikely that chronic bupropion exerts anti-smoking effects by attenuating the primary or conditioned reinforcing effects of nicotine. Rather, preclinical investigations suggest that bupropion attenuates nicotine-induced enhancement of brain reward function and reverses the anhedonic, somatic, and neurochemical correlates of nicotine withdrawal.
The effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) 99-126 3 or 10 pmol/kg/min on increase in plasma re... more The effect of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) 99-126 3 or 10 pmol/kg/min on increase in plasma renin activity (PRA) stimulated by a 30-min infusion of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) 80 ng/kg/min was studied in healthy salt-replete male volunteers. PGE2 increased PRA to approximately 230% of basal levels (p less than 0.001). Concomitant infusion of ANF 3 pmol/kg/min significantly attenuated this rise in PRA to approximately 130% of baseline values (p = 0.02, n = 10). A quantitatively similar effect was observed with ANF 10 pmol/kg/min (n = 5). We suggest, in light of previous findings, that this inhibitory effect of ANF probably represents a nonspecific action rather than a specific effect of ANF on PGE2-mediated increases in PRA.
Background: An international expert panel convened by the Independent Scientific Committee on Dru... more Background: An international expert panel convened by the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs developed a multi-criteria decision analysis model of the relative importance of different types of harm related to the use of nicotine-containing products. Method: The group defined 12 products and 14 harm criteria. Seven criteria represented harms to the user, and the other seven indicated harms to others. The group scored all the products on each criterion for their average harm worldwide using a scale with 100 defined as the most harmful product on a given criterion, and a score of zero defined as no harm. The group also assessed relative weights for all the criteria to indicate their relative importance. Findings: Weighted averages of the scores provided a single, overall score for each product. Cigarettes (overall weighted score of 100) emerged as the most harmful product, with small cigars in second place (overall weighted score of 64). After a substantial gap to the third-plac...
The Vacuum Group of The Institute of Physics, in collaboration with the Institution of Electrical... more The Vacuum Group of The Institute of Physics, in collaboration with the Institution of Electrical Engineers, is holding its next biennial conference, Vacuum '82, at Chester College, Chester on 29–31 March 1982. An exhibition of vacuum equipment will be held in conjunction with the conference on the first two days (the exhibitors and their products are listed in the following pages), and a 'New product seminar' on the first evening will provide the opportunity for firms to describe products released into the market during the past year.
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Papers by David Balfour