Teaching critical thinking in nutritional sciences: a model course and assignments.

Critical thinking is a common and important learning outcome in college curricula. Case-based and problem-based learning can be used to assess and foster critical thinking skills. HNF 250-Contemporary Issues in Human Nutrition is a critical thinking course developed during the redesign of a nutritional sciences major program. Course assignments were designed to assess the course and nutritional sciences major learning outcomes. The nutrition and health claim assignment is scaffolded across the academic semester as three assignments: 1) bibliography assignment; 2) poster presentation; and 3) paper. Course lectures and materials have been designed to prepare students for completion of each assignment. The assignments have been modified over time based on classroom observations and student performance. In 2021, the course learning outcomes were examined by assessing several assignments including the nutrition and health claim poster and paper. Course learning outcome benchmarks using these assessments generally included 80% of students achieving an 80% for each criterion. Results revealed that students were not meeting most of these assessment benchmarks during the 2021 iteration, although benchmark data from other course assessments were more satisfactory. It is possible that the transition from a virtual to an in-person format negatively influenced student performance on these course learning outcomes. This course and the nutrition and health claim assignment example can provide a course design and learning outcome assessment framework for other higher education critical thinking courses.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This paper describes how a scaffolded nutrition and health claim assignment is used to teach critical thinking skills among nutritional sciences students and examine the program's learning outcomes. Further, this course example is to serve as an model for STEM majors on how to incorporate case-based and problem-based learning strategies into an undergraduate course.

In utero/peripartum antiretroviral therapy exposure and mental health outcomes at 8-18 years old: A longitudinal comparative study of children with perinatally acquired HIV, children perinatally HIV exposed but uninfected, and children unexposed uninfected from Uganda.

In utero/peripartum antiretroviral therapy (IPA) exposure type was examined in relationship to mental health symptoms among 577 children with perinatally acquired HIV (CPHIV), children perinatally HIV exposed but uninfected (CHEU), and children HIV unexposed uninfected (CHUU). IPA exposure was categorized for CPHIV and CHEU as none, single-dose nevirapine with or without zidovudine (sdNVP±AZT), sdNVP+AZT+lamivudine (3TC), or combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Anxiety and depressive symptoms were reported at baseline, 6-, and 12-month follow-up per behavioral assessment system for children. Multivariable linear mixed models were used to estimate differences (b) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for IPA exposure types versus CHEU without IPA exposure. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were lower in CHUU relative to CHEU and CPHIV but did not differ between CPHIV and CHEU. CHEU with sdNVP±AZT exposure had greater anxiety (b = 0.51, 95% CI: [0.06, 0.96]) and depressive symptoms (b = 0.48, 95% CI: [0.07, 0.89]) than CHEU without IPA exposure. CHEU with sdNVP+AZT+3TC exposure had higher anxiety (b = 0.0.45, 95% CI: [0.03, 0.86]) and depressive symptoms (b = 0.72, 95% CI: [0.27, 1.17]) versus CHEU without IPA exposure. Depressive and anxiety symptoms were not different for CHEU and CPHIV exposed to cART (b = 0.12-0.60, 95% CI: [-0.41, 1.30]) and CHEU and CHUU (b = -0.04 to 0.08, 95% CI: [-0.24, 0.29]) without IPA exposure. Among CHEU, peripartum sdNVP±AZT and sdNVP+AZT+3TC but not cART compared to no IPA exposure was associated with clinically important elevations in anxiety and depressive symptoms. Monitoring of mental health trajectory of HIV-affected children considering IPA is needed to inform mental health interventions. Patient Contribution: Caregivers and their dependents provided consent for participation and collaborated with study team to identify mutually convenient times for protocol implementation.

Plasma Phospholipid Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Associations with Neurocognition.

Neurocognitive deficits are implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD) and suicidal behavior, and cognitive function may be affected by blood levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). Neuroprotective functions have been described for omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs, while omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs exhibit broadly opposing activities. Both classes of PUFAs are linked to MDD and suicidal behavior. However, few studies have investigated the relationships between PUFAs and neurocognitive function with respect to MDD or suicidal behavior. Among participants with MDD (n = 45) and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 30) we assessed performance on tasks of attentional capacity and executive function and its relationship to plasma phospholipid PUFA levels, expressed as a percentage of total plasma phospholipids, for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA%), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA%), and arachidonic acid (AA%). Regression models tested the correlations between PUFA levels and task performance in three groups: MDD with a history of suicide attempt (SA, n = 20), MDD with no attempts (NA, n = 25), and HV. Interaction testing indicated a significant positive correlation of EPA% with continuous performance test scores in the NA group (F = 4.883, df = 2,72, p = 0.01), a measure of sustained attention. The AA% correlated negatively with performance on two executive function tasks, object alternation (beta = -3.97, z-score = -2.67, p = 0.008) and the Wisconsin card sort (beta = 0.80, t-score = -2.16, df = 69, p = 0.035), after adjustment for group and age, with no group effects. Our findings suggest a role for PUFA imbalance in attentional functioning and executive performance; however, no MDD-specific effect was observed.

New Perspectives on the Associations between Blood Fatty Acids, Growth Parameters, and Cognitive Development in Global Child Populations.

Malnutrition is prevalent in low-middle-income countries (LMICs), but it is usually clinically diagnosed through abnormal anthropometric parameters characteristic of protein energy malnutrition (PEM). In doing so, other contributors or byproducts of malnutrition, notably essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD), are overlooked. Previous research performed mainly in high-income countries (HICs) shows that deficiencies in essential fatty acids (EFAs) and their n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) byproducts (also known as highly unsaturated fatty acids or HUFAs) lead to both abnormal linear growth and impaired cognitive development. These adverse developmental outcomes remain an important public health issue in LMICs. To identify EFAD before severe malnutrition develops, clinicians should perform blood fatty acid panels to measure levels of fatty acids associated with EFAD, notably Mead acid and HUFAs. This review demonstrates the importance of measuring endogenous fatty acid levels for measuring fatty acid intake in various child populations in LMICs. Featured topics include a comparison of fatty acid levels between global child populations, the relationships between growth and cognition and PUFAs and the possible mechanisms driving these relationships, and the potential importance of EFAD and HUFA scores as biomarkers of overall health and normal development.