Intake of sugar sweetened beverages among children and adolescents in 185 countries between 1990 and 2018: population based study.

Objective: To quantify global intakes of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and trends over time among children and adolescents.

Design: Population based study.

Setting: Global Dietary Database.

Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries.

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.

An integrative analytical framework to identify healthy, impactful, and equitable foods: a case study on 100% orange juice.

To identify healthy, impactful, and equitable foods, we combined health scores from six diverse nutrient profiling systems (NPS) into a meta-framework (meta-NPS) and paired this with dietary guideline adherence assessment multilevel regression and poststratification. In a case-study format, a commonly debated beverage formulation - 100% orange juice (OJ) - was chosen to showcase the utility and depth of our framework, systematically scoring high across multiple food systems (i.e.

Global dietary quality in 185 countries from 1990 to 2018 show wide differences by nation, age, education, and urbanicity.

Evidence on what people eat globally is limited in scope and rigour, especially as it relates to children and adolescents. This impairs target setting and investment in evidence-based actions to support healthy sustainable diets. Here we quantified global, regional and national dietary patterns among children and adults, by age group, sex, education and urbanicity, across 185 countries between 1990 and 2018, on the basis of data from the Global Dietary Database project.

Children's and adolescents' rising animal-source food intakes in 1990-2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity.

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.

Global, regional, and national consumption of animal-source foods between 1990 and 2018: findings from the Global Dietary Database.

Background: Diet is a major modifiable risk factor for human health and overall consumption patterns affect planetary health. We aimed to quantify global, regional, and national consumption levels of animal-source foods (ASF) to inform intervention, surveillance, and policy priorities.

Methods: Individual-level dietary surveys across 185 countries conducted between 1990 and 2018 were identified, obtained, standardised, and assessed among children and adults, jointly stratified by age, sex, education level, and rural versus urban residence.

Food Compass is a nutrient profiling system using expanded characteristics for assessing healthfulness of foods.

Nutrient profiling systems (NPS) aim to discriminate the healthfulness of foods for front-of-package labelling, warning labels, taxation, company ratings and more. Existing NPS often assess relatively few nutrients and ingredients, use inconsistent criteria across food categories and have not incorporated the newest science. Here, we developed and validated an NPS, the Food Compass, to incorporate a broader range of food characteristics, attributes and uniform scoring principles.

Hyperosmolar Ionic Solutions Modulate Inflammatory Phenotype and sGAG Loss in a Cartilage Explant Model.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the effects of hyperosmolar sodium (Na), lithium (Li) and potassium (K) on catabolic and inflammatory osteoarthritis (OA) markers and sulfated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) loss in TNF-α-stimulated cartilage explants.

Methods: Explants from bovine stifle joints were stimulated with TNF-α for 1 day to induce cartilage degradation followed by supplementation with 50 mM potassium chloride (KCl), 50 mM lithium chloride (LiCl), 50 mM sodium chloride (NaCl), or 100 nM dexamethasone for an additional 6 days. We assessed the effect of TNF-α stimulation and hyperosmolar ionic treatment on sGAG loss and expression of OA-associated proteins: ADAMTS-5, COX-2, MMP-1, MMP-13, and VEGF.

Assessment of Enrichment of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Based on Plasma and Mitochondrial Membrane Potentials.

Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are utilized preclinically and clinically as a candidate cell therapy for a wide range of inflammatory and degenerative diseases. Despite promising results in early clinical trials, consistent outcomes with hMSC-based therapies have proven elusive in many of these applications. In this work, we attempt to address this limitation through the design of a stem cell therapy to enrich hMSCs for desired electrical and ionic properties with enhanced stemness and immunomodulatory/regenerative capacity.

Optical changes in THP-1 macrophage metabolism in response to pro- and anti-inflammatory stimuli reported by label-free two-photon imaging.

Temporal changes in macrophage metabolism are likely crucial to their role in inflammatory diseases. Label-free two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy are well suited to track dynamic changes in macrophage metabolism. We performed TPEF imaging of human macrophages following either pro- or an anti-inflammatory stimulation.

Effect of Poly(sophorolipid) Functionalization on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Osteogenesis and Immunomodulation.

Sophorolipids are a class of glycolipids that can be polymerized via ring-opening metathesis polymerization giving rise to bioresorbable biomaterials. The surface chemistry of the resulting poly(sophorolipids) (pLSLs) can be modified using a combination of enzymatic and "click" chemistries to insert bioactive groups that influence cellular behavior. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are being actively investigated for engineered bone grafts for fracture repair due to their osteogenic potential, and more recently, due to their immunomodulatory capacity.

Toward zonally tailored scaffolds for osteochondral differentiation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells.

Synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) are an emerging cell source for regenerative medicine applications, including osteochondral defect (OCD) repair. However, in contrast to bone marrow MSCs, scaffold compositions which promote SMSC chondrogenesis/osteogenesis are still being identified. In the present manuscript, we examine poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG)-based scaffolds containing zonally-specific biochemical cues to guide SMSC osteochondral differentiation.

Tuning Forkhead Box D3 overexpression to promote specific osteogenic differentiation of human embryonic stem cells while reducing pluripotency in a three-dimensional culture system.

Clinical use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in bone regeneration applications requires that their osteogenic differentiation be highly controllable as well as time- and cost-effective. The main goals of the current work were thus (a) to assess whether overexpression of pluripotency regulator Forkhead Box D3 (FOXD3) can enhance the osteogenic commitment of hESCs seeded in three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds and (b) to evaluate if the degree of FOXD3 overexpression regulates the strength and specificity of hESC osteogenic commitment. In conducting these studies, an interpenetrating hydrogel network consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate and collagen I was utilized as a 3D culture platform.

In vitro evaluation of anti-fibrotic effects of select cytokines for vocal fold scar treatment.

Scarring of the vocal fold lamina propria (LP) can cause considerable voice disorders due to reduced pliability in scar tissue, attributed in part to abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition produced by the fibrotic vocal fold fibroblast (fVFF). Cytokines with anti-fibrotic potential have been investigated to limit abnormal LP ECM, but are limited by the need for repeat injections. Moreover, the potentially significant role played by activated macrophages (AMOs) is usually not considered even though the interaction between AMO and fibrotic fibroblasts is known to regulate scar formation across different tissues.

Collagen-Mimetic Proteins with Tunable Integrin Binding Sites for Vascular Graft Coatings.

Achieving graft endothelialization following implantation continues to be a challenge in the development of "off-the-shelf," small-caliber, arterial prostheses. Coating grafts with biomolecules to support the retention, migration, and differentiation of adherent endothelial precursor cells (EPCs) is a promising approach toward improving graft endothelialization. esigner ollagen Scl2- with integrin binding site per strand (DC2-1X) is a -derived, collagen-like protein that has previously been evaluated as a graft coating due to its ability to resist platelet aggregation and to promote attachment and migration of "late outgrowth" EPCs (EOCs).

A canine in vitro model for evaluation of marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cell-based bone scaffolds.

Tissue engineered bone grafts based on bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are being actively developed for craniomaxillofacial (CMF) applications. As for all tissue engineered implants, the bone-regenerating capacity of these MSC-based grafts must first be evaluated in animal models prior to human trials. Canine models have traditionally resulted in improved clinical translation of CMF grafts relative to other animal models.

Initial In Vitro Development of a Potassium-Based Intra-Articular Injection for Osteoarthritis.

The long-term goal of this work is to develop a potassium (K)-based intra-articular (IA) injection for osteoarthritis treatment. Within this context, the objectives of this study were to (1) demonstrate that hyperosmolar K solutions can suppress proinflammatory macrophage activation and (2) evaluate the therapeutic potential of a hyperosmolar K solution relative to a clinically utilized drug-based (methylprednisolone acetate [MPA]-a corticosteroid) or cell-based (human mesenchymal stem cell [hMSC]) IA injectable. A 3D in vitro model with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogels encapsulated with proinflammatory interferon-gamma (IFN)-stimulated macrophages (M(IFN)s) was utilized.

Hyperosmolar Potassium (K) Treatment Suppresses Osteoarthritic Chondrocyte Catabolic and Inflammatory Protein Production in a 3-Dimensional In Vitro Model.

Objective: The main goal of this study was to provide a proof-of-concept demonstrating that hyperosmolar K solutions can limit production of catabolic and inflammatory mediators in human osteoarthritic chondrocytes (OACs).

Methods: A 3-dimensional in vitro model with poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels was used. Catabolic and pro-inflammatory protein production from encapsulated OACs was assessed following culture for 1 or 7 days in the presence or absence of 80 mM K gluconate, 80 mM sodium (Na) gluconate, or 160 mM sucrose, each added to culture media (final osmolarity ~490 mOsm).

In vitro evaluation of a basic fibroblast growth factor-containing hydrogel toward vocal fold lamina propria scar treatment.

Scarring of the vocal fold lamina propria can lead to debilitating voice disorders that can significantly impair quality of life. The reduced pliability of the scar tissue-which diminishes proper vocal fold vibratory efficiency-results in part from abnormal extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition by vocal fold fibroblasts (VFF) that have taken on a fibrotic phenotype. To address this issue, bioactive materials containing cytokines and/or growth factors may provide a platform to transition fibrotic VFF within the scarred tissue toward an anti-fibrotic phenotype, thereby improving the quality of ECM within the scar tissue.

Evaluation of late outgrowth endothelial progenitor cell and umbilical vein endothelial cell responses to thromboresistant collagen-mimetic hydrogels.

Bioactive coatings which support the adhesion of late-outgrowth peripheral blood endothelial progenitor cells (EOCs) are actively being investigated as a means to promote rapid endothelialization of "off-the-shelf," small-caliber arterial graft prostheses following implantation. In the present work, we evaluated the behavior of EOCs on thromboresistant graft coatings based on the collagen-mimetic protein Scl2-2 and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) diacrylate. Specifically, the attachment, proliferation, migration, and phenotype of EOCs on PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels were evaluated as a function of Scl2-2 concentration (4, 8, and 12 mg/mL) relative to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs).

Probing the response of human osteoblasts following exposure to sympathetic neuron-like PC-12 cells in a 3D coculture model.

Understanding the capacity of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) to regulate bone homeostasis has implications for a number of metabolic diseases and may help establish connections between certain neurological conditions and bone quality. The goal of the present work was to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of the SNS on the phenotype of osteoblasts, a major cell type in bone. An in vitro coculture model with human osteoblasts and sympathetic-like, neuroendocrine pheochromocytoma-12 (PC-12) cells encapsulated within separate 3D poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels was utilized to assess markers involved with bone ECM formation and osteoclast formation.

Cell layer-electrospun mesh composites for coronary artery bypass grafts.

This work investigates the potential of cell layer-electrospun mesh constructs as coronary artery bypass grafts. These cell-mesh constructs were generated by first culturing a confluent layer of 10T½ smooth muscle progenitor cells on a high strength electrospun mesh with uniaxially aligned fibers. Cell-laden mesh sheets were then wrapped around a cylindrical mandrel such that the mesh fibers were aligned circumferentially.

Collagen-mimetic hydrogels promote human endothelial cell adhesion, migration and phenotypic maturation.

This work evaluates the response of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) to thromboresistant collagen-mimetic hydrogel coatings toward improving the biocompatibility of existing "off-the-shelf" small-caliber vascular grafts. Specifically, bioactive hydrogels - previously shown to support α/α integrin-mediated cell adhesion but to resist platelet activation - were fabricated by combining poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with a 120 kDa, triple-helical collagen-mimetic protein(Scl2-2) containing the GFPGER adhesion sequence. Analysis of HAECs seeded onto the resulting PEG-Scl2-2 hydrogels demonstrated that HAEC adhesion increased with increasing Scl2-2 concentration, while HAEC migration rate decreased over this same concentration range.