Digital technologies provide a convenient and scalable approach to dietary assessment and personalised feedback, facilitating behaviour change. This is essential for reducing the prevalence of non-communicable diseases at a population level. However, the evaluation of the acceptability and feasibility of dietary feedback delivered via online platforms has not been thoroughly investigated. By utilising the term ‘system architecture’ to describe the essential components of the digital approach to capturing dietary feedback, this systematic review outlines the platform, dietary assessment methodology, reference values for assessing dietary intake, and elements of personalised dietary feedback. When reported, the acceptability and feasibility of personalised feedback were captured. OVID Medline, OVID Embase, Scopus via Elsevier, and Cinahl Plus via EBSCO identified 5,839 studies. Search terms included dietary assessment, feedback, and digital technologies. In total, 28 studies involving 301,271 participants were included. Food frequency questionnaires were the most commonly used dietary assessment method, accessed via web-based platforms. Dietary intake was commonly assessed using a diet quality index, and feedback was provided on food groups, often combined with a diet quality score or macronutrient analysis. While participant acceptance of personalised dietary feedback was generally high, the overall completion rates for acceptability questionnaires were low, and feasibility was seldom reported. Methods used to measure acceptability and feasibility varied, preventing comparisons across studies. Study quality was high; however, future research would benefit from the involvement of stakeholders and end-users in designing feedback messages.

This paper examines how public health promotion in colonial Australia figures the maternal body as an instrument for the production of whiteness for the perpetuation of the colonial state. In the context of a paradox between the institutional valuing of motherhood and institutional practices of systemic child removal and violence against women and mothers, I argue that public health promotion should be understood as a mechanism for the production of the white maternal body. I first establish the coloniality of public health promotion, arguing that its purpose is the production of bodies for the sake of colonial futurity, and that it so functions as a racializing code. Next, I offer a genealogical account in which the emergence of maternal subjectivity is shown to be the product of the colonial struggle for power; the white maternal body is thus produced through a schema of colonial mechanisms, among them the naturalization of sex, the feminization of the domestic sphere, the institutional establishment of the nuclear, heteroromantic family, and the British colonial notion of private property. I finally analyze how the white maternal body is subsequently materialized through the body’s own existential-temporal capacity for habituation.

Capacity assessments under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) are a routine part of daily clinical practice in England and Wales. One element of these is the role of insight within the MCA’s capacity criteria. This article focuses on the issue of insight and capacity in a recent Court of Protection judgment, discussing how to assess insight in clinical practice and elucidating key issues regarding the role and assessment of insight within capacity assessments. The article includes a 10-point checklist for capacity assessments that was presented in the judgment, and a discussion of insight assessments that can guide documentation and be implemented in clinical practice.

This parallel randomised controlled trial examined the effect of a 4-week, high dose (Lf-High, 600mg/d) or low dose (Lf-Low, 200mg/d) oral lactoferrin (Lf) intervention versus placebo, on immune cell responses to respiratory virus, circulating immune cell subsets, and systemic inflammation. In healthy older adults (n=103, ≥50 years old), ex vivo cytokine release of interferon (IFN)-α2, IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-6, and tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α from isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) stimulated with rhinovirus A-16 (RV-16) or influenza A virus (H1N1), circulating immune cell subsets, and plasma IL-6, C-reactive protein (CRP) and TNF-α were assessed at baseline and 4 weeks. Ninety-seven participants completed the intervention (Lf-High n=32, Lf-Low n=31, placebo n=34, withdrawals n=6). There was no difference in RV-16 or H1N1-induced IFN-γ release between groups. At 4-weeks, RV-16-induced IL-6 was lower in Lf-High compared to placebo (P=0.001), and RV-16-induced IFN-α2 was higher in Lf-High compared to Lf-Low (P=0.04). Lf-High increased total T cells (P=0.03) and CD4+ T cells (P=0.03) compared to placebo. Lf-Low reduced neutrophil (P=0.04), natural killer cell (P=0.045), activated CD8+ T cell (P=0.03), and γδ T cell (P=0.03) frequency compared to placebo. Plasma IL-6 (P=0.004) and CRP (P=0.03) were lower following Lf-High compared to Lf-Low, but not placebo. Both high and low dose lactoferrin altered ex vivo immune cell responses after 4 weeks. High dose lactoferrin increased T-cell subsets, promoting adaptive immunity, and reduced systemic inflammation, while low dose lactoferrin reduced proinflammatory and cytotoxic immune cells. High and low dose lactoferrin supplements may have immunoceutical benefits in older adults.

Lactotransferrin (LTF), a critical multifunctional glycoprotein, plays an essential role in the immune defence, growth and development, and milk quality of dairy cows. The regulatory mechanisms governing gene expression are intricate, with sequence variations in the promoter region potentially exerting a substantial impact on gene expression. In this study, sequencing analysis of the bovine lactotransferrin promoter region was conducted, leading to the identification of two linked single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites. A significant association between these SNPs and lactotransferrin content was observed in a cohort of 301 Holstein cows. Subsequently, further investigation into the transcriptional activity of various lactotransferrin genotypes was performed by constructing promoter fragments encompassing different lactotransferrin genotypes. The findings reveal that the two SNPs significantly influence the activity of the lactotransferrin promoter, thereby affecting lactotransferrin expression. These results hold substantial implications for advancing our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms underlying lactotransferrin expression and for the genetic enhancement of dairy cows.

This paper presents an actively controllable nonreciprocal metasurface based on a ferrite–patch structure with PIN diodes for dynamic control. Two activation methods are investigated: (a) phase control, which enables a 30° transmission-phase shift while maintaining nonreciprocal behavior, and (b) ON–OFF control, which switches the response by altering the propagation path. The phase-control metasurface is analyzed using transmission-line theory, full-wave simulation, and experiments, showing good agreement across methods. The ON–OFF design is optimized to suppress bidirectional transmission when ON. Experimental results confirm strong nonreciprocity, though slight frequency shifts arise from FR4 variability, and a back-fitted simulation improves consistency. The proposed dual-control framework provides a compact and low-cost approach to reconfigurable nonreciprocal surfaces that retain the use of permanent magnets for ferrite bias and are applicable to microwave wireless systems, including adaptive isolation, interference control, and tunable shielding. The results demonstrate the feasibility of compact, reconfigurable nonreciprocal metasurfaces using simple biasing circuits and offer design insights for frequency-stable implementations.

The current study was designed to examine the association between a composite Healthy Lifestyle Score (HLS) and thyroid function biomarkers among American adults. This cross-sectional study utilized data from 5,693 adults aged ≥18 years in the NHANES 2007–2012 cycles. A HLS (range 0–6) was constructed based on six modifiable factors: non-smoking, no heavy alcohol intake, normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m²), high physical activity (upper tertile of MET-min/week), adequate sleep (7–9 h/night), and appropriate energy intake. Serum concentrations of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free and total thyroxine (FT4, TT4), free and total triiodothyronine (FT3, TT3), thyroglobulin (Tg), and thyroid antibodies (TPOAb, TgAb) were measured. Multivariable linear regression adjusted for sociodemographic factors was used to assess associations. In fully adjusted models, each one-point increase in HLS was associated with lower serum FT4 (β = −0.07 ng/dL; 95% CI: −0.10, −0.03; p < 0.001) and TT4 (β = −0.11 µg/dL; 95% CI: −0.15, −0.06; p < 0.001). Compared with participants with an HLS of 0–1, those with HLS 4–6 had lower FT4 (β = −0.20; 95% CI: −0.30, −0.09; p < 0.001) and TT4 (β = −0.36; 95% CI: −0.49, −0.22; p < 0.001). Associations for other thyroid markers were not statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons (p > 0.05). A healthier lifestyle is inversely associated with serum FT4 and TT4 levels, highlighting potential links between modifiable behaviors and thyroid physiology.

Assisted dying debates overlook the powerful unconscious forces that shape end-of-life decision-making. These dynamics influence personal, clinical and societal judgements and may be contributing to the rapid international expansion of assisted dying practices. Strengthening safeguards requires acknowledging these forces and integrating structured psychological assessment, clinician support and reflective practice to reduce unconscious bias and enhance the reliability, transparency and ethical integrity of decisions.

On 28 August 2023, Canada amended and substantially narrowed its unilateral declaration accepting the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The combined effects of its various reservations — notably, Canada’s new requirement that states must have provided at least six-month advance written notice before instituting ICJ proceedings against it, coupled with its ongoing rights to amend or terminate its declaration with immediate effect — have now rendered Canadian acceptance of Optional Clause jurisdiction compulsory in name only. Canada now appears to control whether any future ICJ cases can ever be brought against it in this way.

The unanticipated spillover effects of economic policies on residents’ political trust have seldom been discussed in the literature. This paper examines the impact of the rapid increase in housing prices, triggered by the economic stimulus policies implemented by the Chinese government in response to the 2008 financial crisis, on residents’ political trust. Empirical research based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) indicates that the rapid rise in housing prices had differentiated effects on political trust among different age groups: it weakened the political trust of the younger and middle-aged groups but enhanced the political trust felt by elderly groups. Mechanism analysis reveals that the sudden and rapid rise in housing prices exacerbated younger people’s housing difficulties, suppressed their wealth accumulation and undermined their sense of self-efficacy, thus eroding their political trust. The findings of this paper not only extend the research on the formation mechanism of political trust but also broaden the research perspective of housing politics and provide new empirical evidence for understanding the complex dynamic relationship between economic development and political stability.