Search results

1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 30 November 2022

Amar Aouzelleg and Delia Ojinnaka

The purpose of this conceptual paper was to introduce the risk–benefit approach to bakery products in relation to their acrylamide content. Acrylamide is a compound which gives…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this conceptual paper was to introduce the risk–benefit approach to bakery products in relation to their acrylamide content. Acrylamide is a compound which gives rise to risks of cancer, and several mitigating procedures have been in place for various products and processes. This paper concentrated on bakery products and took a risk–benefit approach in relation to acrylamide.

Design/methodology/approach

Papers published in peer-reviewed journals were reviewed. A combination of keywords such as acrylamide, bakery products and risk/benefit were used to find sources. Additional sources, such as governmental and non-governmental organisations documents, were also used when relevant. After looking at the main characteristics of acrylamide, the potential benefit of bread was also looked at. The paper summarises known information on acrylamide and looks at the risk and benefit of bakery products in relation to this compound.

Findings

The risk analysis approach can be extended to include benefits so that a balanced conclusion can be reached whether a product is an acceptable part of the diet or not. Exposure to acrylamide was a function of the product type and preparation/process. Bakery products were a source of many nutrients, and the risk regarding acrylamide may be controlled by careful product and process design.

Originality/value

There was contradictory information regarding how unsafe acrylamide is. In this paper, the risk–benefit approach has been qualitatively used to weigh both the risks and benefits of the bakery product category.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 April 2020

Lucinda Brabbins, Nima Moghaddam and David Dawson

Background: Quality of life is a core concern for cancer patients, which can be negatively affected by illness-related death anxiety; yet understanding of how to appropriately…

Abstract

Background: Quality of life is a core concern for cancer patients, which can be negatively affected by illness-related death anxiety; yet understanding of how to appropriately target psycho-oncological interventions remains lacking. We aimed to explore experiential acceptance in cancer patients, and whether acceptance – as an alternative to avoidant coping – was related to and predictive of better quality of life and death anxiety outcomes.

Methods: We used a longitudinal, quantitative design with a follow-up after three months. Seventy-two participants completed a questionnaire-battery measuring illness appraisals, acceptance and non-acceptance coping-styles, quality of life, and death anxiety; 31 participants repeated the battery after three months.

Results: Acceptance was an independent explanatory and predictive variable for quality of life and death anxiety, in the direction of psychological health. Acceptance had greater explanatory power for outcomes than either cancer appraisals or avoidant response styles. Avoidant response styles were associated with greater death anxiety and poorer quality of life.

Conclusions: The findings support the role of an accepting response-style in favourable psychological outcomes, identifying a possible target for future psychological intervention. Response styles that might be encouraged in other therapies, such as active coping, planning, and positive reframing, were not associated with beneficial outcomes.

Details

Emerald Open Research, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-3952

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 August 2023

Corliss Thornton, Lenita Davis and Bruce Weinberg

Advertisements often use fear appeals to encourage prevention focused behaviors. This approach has been somewhat successful in changing attitudes and behaviors, often encouraging…

Abstract

Purpose

Advertisements often use fear appeals to encourage prevention focused behaviors. This approach has been somewhat successful in changing attitudes and behaviors, often encouraging consumers to secede from behaviors such as smoking or to adopt preventative behaviors such as engaging in health screenings. However, health-care marketers have been less successful in efforts to reduce obesity. The obesity crisis has led to an abundance of marketing communications designed to influence weight loss. Many of these focus on fear of physical health risks associated with being overweight which have a certain degree of uncertainty surrounding them. This study aims to examine financial threats that have lower perceptions of uncertainty, and the differential impact this type of threat has on elements of the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM).

Design/methodology/approach

A 2 × 2 experimental design is used to examine the differential impact of messages communicating threat of financial and physical risk on evoked fear, perceived uncertainty, perceived susceptibility, efficacy and intention to lose weight.

Findings

Overall results indicate that response to weight loss advertising varies given the type of threat presented. Results indicate that there is a greater level of uncertainty associated with physical health threats than that with financial threats. Moreover, even though individuals were more fearful of and felt more susceptible to physical threats, when they believed that the recommended behavior was feasible, financial threat was more influential.

Originality/value

To encourage weight loss and intentions to lose weight advertising in practice and advertising research primarily focus on the physical health risks associated with being overweight as a motivating factor. Current research explores the impact of financial threats on attitudes and behavioral intention and finds that financial threats are perceived as more certain than physical threats, and the communication of financial threats is more salient in its effect on weight loss intentions. An opportunity for future research is to further explore the impact of uncertainty in relation to components of EPPM and how threats varying in degrees of uncertainty may impact weight loss intentions.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 40 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 May 2023

Yuqian Zhang, Juergen Seufert and Steven Dellaportas

This study examined subjective numeracy and its relationship with accounting judgements on probability issues.

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined subjective numeracy and its relationship with accounting judgements on probability issues.

Design/methodology/approach

A subjective numeracy scale (SNS) questionnaire was distributed to 231 accounting students to measure self-evaluated numeracy. Modified Bayesian reasoning tasks were applied in an accounting-related probability estimation, manipulating presentation formats.

Findings

The study revealed a positive relationship between self-evaluated numeracy and performance in accounting probability estimation. The findings suggest that switching the format of probability expressions from percentages to frequencies can improve the performance of participants with low self-evaluated numeracy.

Research limitations/implications

Adding objective numeracy measurements could enhance results. Future numeracy research could add objective numeracy items and assess whether this influences participants' self-perceived numeracy. Based on this sample population of accounting students, the findings may not apply to large populations of accounting-information users.

Practical implications

Investors' ability to exercise sound judgement depends on the accuracy of their probability estimations. Manipulating the format of probability expressions can improve probability estimation performance in investors with low self-evaluated numeracy.

Originality/value

This study identified a significant performance gap among participants in performing accounting probability estimations: those with high self-evaluated numeracy performed better than those with low self-evaluated numeracy. The authors also explored a method other than additional training to improve participants' performance on probability estimation tasks and discovered that frequency formats enhanced the performance of participants with low self-evaluated numeracy.

Details

Journal of Applied Accounting Research, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0967-5426

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 January 2024

Neslihan Arslan and Eda Köksal

The goal of this narrative review was to look at the link between the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the telomere length. Furthermore, this study aims to understand the impact of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The goal of this narrative review was to look at the link between the Mediterranean diet (MD) and the telomere length. Furthermore, this study aims to understand the impact of the MD on obesity-related telomere length.

Design/methodology/approach

Relevant literature was reviewed to explore the potential influence of the MD on telomere length and its association with obesity.

Findings

The MD is one of the healthiest diets of all known dietary patterns, and it is also linked to the telomere length. Except for fruits and vegetables, the main findings for other MD components are inconsistent. In terms of antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties, using the MD as a weight loss approach is a good method. For predicting changes in obesity characteristics, the initial telomere length is critical. However, there are not many studies in the field that have looked at the MD as a weight loss approach and its link to the telomere length. As a result, more research is needed to understand these connections in various groups.

Originality/value

This study is unique since it examines the MD, telomere length and obesity-related consequences. This study examines the MD, telomere length and obesity to determine if the MD can help lose weight while maintaining telomere length. As there are few studies on MD weight loss and telomere length, the work emphasizes the need for greater research in this area. This study fills a research gap and improves the understanding of nutrition, telomere biology and obesity-related outcomes.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 54 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 February 2023

Alison Hicks

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to suggest that the growing sociocultural theorisation of risk calls for a more robust research focus on the role that information and in…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to suggest that the growing sociocultural theorisation of risk calls for a more robust research focus on the role that information and in particular, information literacy, plays in mediating hazards and danger.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting by tracing how information has been conceptualised in relation to risk through technoscientific, cognitive and sociocultural lenses, the paper then focuses on emerging sociocultural understandings of risk to present a research agenda for a renewed sociocultural exploration of how risk is shaped through the enactment of information literacy.

Findings

The paper identifies and examines how information literacy shapes four key aspects of risk, including risk perception, risk management, risk-taking and “at-risk” populations. These four aspects are further connected through broader themes of learning, identity, work and power, which form the basis of the sociocultural risk research agenda.

Originality/value

This paper is the first study bringing together the many understandings related to how risk is informed and establishes risk as a key area of interest within information literacy research.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 79 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 December 2023

Norshamliza Chamhuri, Nur Syahirah Che Lah, Peter J. Batt, Muhammad Nadzif Bin Ramlan, Norain Mod Asri and Azrina Abdullah Al-Hadi

Palm oil has consistently been a staple ingredient in the Malaysian diet. Despite various promotional efforts throughout the years, the health aspects of palm oil have often been…

Abstract

Purpose

Palm oil has consistently been a staple ingredient in the Malaysian diet. Despite various promotional efforts throughout the years, the health aspects of palm oil have often been undervalued, leading consumers to overlook its benefits. This study has two objectives: (1) to explore consumer behaviour in purchasing decisions for food products containing palm oil in an emerging market and (2) to examine consumer awareness of palm oil as an ingredient in various edible products related to health.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative methodology that utilises a self-administered questionnaire was adopted for data collection. The conceptual framework and hypotheses were tested using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM) on a dataset of 342 respondents.

Findings

The findings revealed that three hypotheses – attitude, subjective norms (SNs) and perceived health benefits – positively impact the intention to purchase palm-oil-based food products. Additionally, results indicate that Malaysian consumers practice sustainable consumption when purchasing palm-oil-based food products.

Originality/value

There is a need for a greater understanding of the importance perceived health benefits have in influencing consumers' consumption of food products containing palm oil in an emerging market such as Malaysia. This research study addresses the gap in existing knowledge.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 126 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 December 2022

Zeinab Sadri, Fereshteh Najafi, Reza Beiranvand, Farhad Vahid and Javad Harooni

While several studies have reported a relationship between chronic daily headache (CDH) and different dietary patterns, no study has investigated the association between CDH and…

Abstract

Purpose

While several studies have reported a relationship between chronic daily headache (CDH) and different dietary patterns, no study has investigated the association between CDH and the dietary inflammatory index (DII). This study aims to hypothesize that a higher DII score (proinflammatory diets) is associated with higher odds of CDH.

Design/methodology/approach

This cross-sectional study was performed using the baseline data of the Dena PERSIAN cohort study, including demographic information, body mass index, medical history, laboratory tests, sleep duration and blood pressure. The DII was computed based on the data collected by a valid 113-item food frequency questionnaire and a 127-item indigenous food questionnaire. The association between CDH and DII score was analyzed by simple and multiple logistic regression.

Findings

Out of 3,626 people included in the study, 23.1% had CDH. The median DII was −0.08 (interquartile range = 0.18). People in the third and fourth quartiles of DII (proinflammatory diet) had a 20% (odds ratio: 0.80; 95% confidence interval: 0.65–1) and a 25% (odds ratio: 0.75; 95% confidence interval: 0.61–0.94) lower chance of having CHD than those in the first quartile, respectively. After adjustment for confounding variables, this association did not remain statistically significant (p > 0.05).

Originality/value

Although the analysis conducted without adjustment for medical history showed a significant association between proinflammatory diet and reduced CDH, considering the diverse etiology of different types of headaches and the paucity of studies in this area, further studies are needed to investigate the DII score of patients by the type of headache, its severity and duration.

Details

Nutrition & Food Science , vol. 53 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0034-6659

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2021

Roqia Saleem Maabreh, Raya Yousef Al-Husban, Hekmat Yousef Al-Akash and Noha Al-Shdayfat

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most important health issues faced by women worldwide. The purpose of this study is to identify Jordanian women’s knowledge, barriers and…

Abstract

Purpose

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most important health issues faced by women worldwide. The purpose of this study is to identify Jordanian women’s knowledge, barriers and measures pertaining to risk factors and screening choices of CC (Pap smear tests).

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied a cross sectional design by collecting data from a convenient sample of 200 women between 20 and 70 years of age in health and public centers in Jordan. Data was then analyzed using the descriptive statistical tools of SPSS, version 21.

Findings

The findings revealed that 55.5% of the participants had no information about the Pap smear, and 75% did not know the risk factors. Moreover, 50% of the sample did not know where to take the test, and 50% reported a lack of encouragement from the husband to undertake the test. More than half of the participants (56.5%) expressed fear that cervical screening would be a painful examination even though they reported not having any previous experience with the test.

Originality/value

Based on these findings, public education about CC screening is essential, including advertising and a campaign similar to the breast cancer awareness programs in Jordan, as a way of encouraging early screening to improve the health of women.

Details

International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4902

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 21 December 2023

Amina Tawfik, Samia Shouman, Reda Tabashy, Mervat Omran and Mohamed Gad El-Mola

This scientific article aims to evaluate the efficacy of the drug Doxorubicin for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Egypt. The study analyzes data from patients referred…

Abstract

Purpose

This scientific article aims to evaluate the efficacy of the drug Doxorubicin for treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Egypt. The study analyzes data from patients referred to a multi-disciplinary consultation at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. The study includes 40 intermediate-stage HCC patients who underwent treatment with either Doxorubicin-Lipiodol or Doxorubicin-loaded drug-eluting beads-trans-arterial chemoembolization (DEB-TACE).

Design/methodology/approach

Patients referred to a multi-disciplinary consultation at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University with a possible diagnosis of HCC in the intermediate stage were eligible for the study.

Findings

The study finds that the plasma peak concentration of Doxorubicin is significantly higher in patients treated with Lipiodol compared to those treated with DEB-TACE. The median plasma peak concentration of patients treated with Lipiodol was significantly higher 424 (202.5–731) than the peak level of patients treated with beads 84.95 (26.6–156.5) with p-value = 0.036. However, there is no significant difference in other pharmacokinetic parameters between the two treatment groups. The research article also investigates the genetic polymorphisms in HCC patients treated with Doxorubicin-Lipiodol and Doxorubicin-loaded DEB-TACE. It identifies a significant association between the ABCB1 gene (C3435T) and the concentration of Doxorubicin in plasma. Patients with the CCand computed tomography (CT) genotypes of ABCB1 have higher concentrations of Doxorubicin compared to those with the TT genotype. Furthermore, the study examines the progression-free survival rates and tumour response in the two treatment groups. It demonstrates that DEB-TACE patients have a higher progression-free survival rate compared to cTACE patients. DEB-TACE also leads to better tumour regression.

Originality/value

The current study helps to increase the understanding of the genetic factors that may contribute to HCC susceptibility in the Egyptian population. However, it is essential to consider that genetic polymorphism is just one aspect of HCC risk, and other factors such as environment, lifestyle and viral infections also play crucial roles. Further research is needed to elucidate the complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors in HCC development among Egyptians.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

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