Digital Commons Network^™

Moral Reflections On Twenty-First Century Tax Policy Trends, Susan Pace Hamill

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Focusing on individual taxpayers, this article offers moral reflections on state and local, and federal tax policy trends during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Although tax policy decisions are made by politicians (who often rely on economists), determining the best tax policy is ultimately an ethical issue and serves as a barometer revealing the true moral compass of any community. I started thinking about ethical tax policy while studying theology at the Beeson Divinity School, a conservative evangelical seminary that is part of Samford University. At Beeson, I noticed for the first time the gap between "walk …

Understanding A Low Vitamin D State In The Context Of Covid-19, James Bernard Walsh, Daniel Mccartney, Eamon Laird, Kevin Mccarroll, Declan G. Byrne, Martin Healy, Paul O'Shea, Rose Anne Kenny, John L. Faul

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While a low vitamin D state has been associated with an increased risk of infection by SARS-CoV-2 in addition to an increased severity of COVID-19 disease, a causal role is not yet established. Here, we review the evidence relating to i) vitamin D and its role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease ii) the vitamin D status in the Irish adult population iii) the use of supplemental vitamin D to treat a deficient status and iv) the application of the Bradford-Hill causation criteria. We conclude that reverse causality probably makes a minimal contribution to the presence of low vitamin D …

Development And Validation Of A New Methodological Platform To Measure Behavioral, Cognitive, And Physiological Responses To Food Interventions In Real Time, M.A. Vargas-Alvarez, H. Al-Sehaim, J.M. Brunstrom, G. Castelnuovo, S. Navas-Carretero, J.A. Martínez, E. Almiron-Roig

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To fully understand the causes and mechanisms involved in overeating and obesity, measures of both cognitive and physiological determinants of eating behavior need to be integrated. Effectively synchronizing behavioral measures such as meal micro-structure (e.g., eating speed), cognitive processing of sensory stimuli, and metabolic parameters, can be complex. However, this step is central to understanding the impact of food interventions on body weight. In this paper, we provide an overview of the existing gaps in eating behavior research and describe the development and validation of a new methodological platform to address some of these issues. As part of a controlled …

A Qualitative Analysis Of A Caregivers’ Experience Of Complementary Feeding In A Population Of Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander And Filipino Infants: The Timing Of The Introduction Of Complementary Foods, And The Role Of Transgenerational Experience, Kara Mulville, Jessie Kai, John Kearney, Jacqueline Ng-Osorio, Carol J. Boushey, Marie K. Fialkowski

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The aim of this study was to investigate caregivers’ experiences of complementary feeding (CF) among the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHPI), and Filipino populations. Research focused on the timing of CF commencement, and the influence of transgenerational experience on feeding practices. The experiences and practices of those who fed human milk exclusively (HME), were compared to those who included infant formula (F&HM). Caregivers of a subset of 32 infants who were participating in a larger longitudinal study relating to CF and diet diversity, took part in voluntary in-depth interviews relating to CF practices. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. …

Bioactive Peptides From Algae: Traditional And Novel Generation Strategies, Structure-Function Relationships, And Bioinformatics As Predictive Tools For Bioactivity, Jack O'Connor, Marco Garcia-Vaquero, Steve Meaney, Brijesh Kumar Tiwari

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Over the last decade, algae have been explored as alternative and sustainable protein sources for a balanced diet and more recently, as a potential source of algal-derived bioactive peptides with potential health benefits. This review will focus on the emerging processes for the generation and isolation of bioactive peptides or cryptides from algae, including: (1) pre-treatments of algae for the extraction of protein by physical and biochemical methods; and (2) methods for the generation of bioactive including enzymatic hydrolysis and other emerging methods. To date, the main biological properties of the peptides identified from algae, including anti-hypertensive, antioxidant and antiproliferative/ …

Ecological Factors And Childhood Eating Behaviours At 5 Years Of Age: Findings From The Rolo Longitudinal Birth Cohort Study, Anna Delahunt, Marie C. Conway, Eileen C. O’Brien, Aisling A. Geraghty, Linda M. O’Keeffe, Sharleen L. O’Reilly, Ciara M. Mcdonnell, Patricia M. Kearney, John Mehegan, Fionnuala M. Mcauliffe

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Individual differences in children eating behaviours have been linked with childhood overweight and obesity. The determinants of childhood eating behaviours are influenced by a complex combination of hereditary and ecological factors. This study examines if key ecological predictors of childhood overweight; maternal socio-economic status (SES), children’s screen time, and childcare arrangements, are associated with eating behaviours in children aged 5-years-old.

Vitamin D Status And Mortality From Sars Cov-2: A Prospective Study Of Unvaccinated Caucasian Adults, Robert Barrett, Modar Youssef, Irfan Shah, Julia Ioana, Abdullah Al Lawati, Abdullah Bukhari, Suzanne Hegarty, Liam J. Cormican, Eoin Judge, Conor M. Burke, Catriona Cody, Joseph Feely, Katrina Hutchinson, William Tormey, Eoghan O’ Neill, Aoife O'Shea, Meabh Connolly, Daniel Mccartney, John L. Faul

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COVID-19 and a low vitamin D state share common risk factors, which might explain why vitamin D deficiency has been linked with higher COVID-19 mortality. Moreover, measures of serum vitamin D may become lower during systemic inflammatory responses, further confounding the association via reverse causality. In this prospective study (recruited over 12 months), we examined whether the association between a low vitamin D state and in-hospital mortality due to SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in unvaccinated subjects is explained by (i) the presence of shared risk factors (e.g., obesity, advanced age) or (ii) a reduction in serum 25(OH)D due to COVID-19 (i.e., reverse …

Telehealth Delivery Of A Multi-Disciplinary Rehabilitation Programme For Upper Gastro-Intestinal Cancer: Restore@Home Feasibility Study, Louise Brennan, Fatemeh Sadeghi, Linda O'Neill, Emer Guinan, Laura Smith, Graine Sheill, Suzanne Doyle, Claire M. Timon, Deirdre Connolly, Jacintha O'Sullivan, John V. Reynolds, Juliette Hussey

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Advances in diagnosis and the treatment for upper gastro-intestinal (UGI) cancers have led to improved survival rates and, consequently, to a larger population of survivors of many types of UGI cancer [1,2]. Progress in survivorship care for UGI cancer remains poor, and many survivors experience ongoing negative physical and psychosocial impacts of treatment, which can have profound and long-term impacts on physical function and quality of life (QOL) [3,4]. At one year post-op, 40% of survivors report poor physical function, and significant reductions in walking distance, cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle strength are observed, along with a high prevalence of fatigue …

Postprandial 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Response Varies According To The Lipid Composition Of A Vitamin D3 Fortified Dairy Drink, Aislinn F. Mccourt, Steven L. Mulrooney, Graham O'Neill, E. Dolores O'Riordan, Aifric M. O'Sullivan

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In-vitro evidence suggests that the lipid component of foods alters vitamin D absorption. This single-blinded, cross-over postprandial study examined the effect of changing the lipid component of a 20 µg vitamin D3 fortified dairy drink on postprandial 25(OH)D concentrations. Participants consumed one dairy drink per visit: a non-lipid, a pre-formed oleic acid micelle, an olive oil and a fish oil dairy drink. There was a significant time*drink*baseline status effect on 25(OH)D concentrations (p = 0.039). There were no time*drink, time or drink effects on 25(OH)D in vitamin D sufficient participants (>50nmol/L). However, there was an effect of time …

Upscaling Of Apple By-Product By Utilising Apple Seed Protein As A Novel Wall Material For Encapsulation Of Chlorogenic Acid As Model Bioactive Compound, Asir Gani, Zanoor Ul Ashraf, Asima Shah, Azza Silotry Naik, Idrees Ahmed Wani, Adil Gani

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Encapsulation is a versatile technique used to protect sensitive bioactive compounds under gastrointestinal conditions. In this study, nanoencapsulation of chlorogenic acid into the apple seed protein matrix was performed using the green technique ultrasonication to protect it from harsh gastric conditions and increase its biological activity and bioavailability upon digestion. Both nano (Nano-Chl) and native capsules (NT-Chl) were characterised by particle size, charge, structure, and morphology. The encapsulation efficiency, release behaviour, antioxidant and antidiabetic properties were also evaluated. The experimental results show that the particle size of the NT-Chl and Nano- Chl was found in the range of 1.4m to …

Modulation Of Gut Microbiota By Bioactive Compounds For Prevention And Management Of Type 2 Diabetes, Basista Rabina Sharma, Swarna Jaiswal, P.V. Ravindra

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. Gut microbiota (GM) are specific groups of microbes colonized in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. They profoundly influence health, disease protection, and associated with metabolic activities, and play a vital role in the production of functional metabolites from dietary substances. Dysbiosis of GM has been linked to the onset of T2DM and can be altered to attain eubiosis by intervention with various nutritional bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, prebiotics, and probiotics. This review presents an overview of the evidence and underlying mechanisms by which bioactive …

Impact Of Dry, Particle-Size Fractionation On Protein And Amino Acid Content Of Three Seaweed Species, Laura Healy, Xianglu Zhu, Milica Pojic, Mahesa Poojary, James Curtin, Uma Tiwari, Carl Sullivan, Brijesh K. Tiwari

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Market demand for “clean and green” food products is increasing, and so there is growing opportunity for the seaweed aquaculture industry to take a position as a key food producer in this area. In this study, in order to investigate the impact of dry fractionation on seaweed protein qualities, dried and milled seaweed powder from three seaweed species was sieved into 6 fractions (F1 to F6) of different particle size from >710 μm toμm. True protein, total protein and amino acid profiles were analyzed to evaluate the protein content and quality of three brown seaweed species commercially harvested in Ireland; …

Cook Like A Boss Online: An Adapted Intervention During The Covid-19 Pandemic That Effectively Improved Children’S Perceived Cooking Competence, Movement Competence And Wellbeing, Lynsey Hollywood, Johann Issartel, David Gaul, Amanda Mccloat, Elaine Mooney, Clare Elizabeth Collins, Fiona Lavelle

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The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated physical inactivity, poor dietary intake and reduced mental wellbeing, contributing factors to non-communicable diseases in children. Cooking interventions are proposed as having a positive influence on children’s diet quality. Motor skills have been highlighted as essential for performance of cooking skills, and this movement may contribute to wellbeing. Additionally, perceived competence is a motivator for behaviour performance and thus important for understanding intervention effectiveness. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the effectiveness of an adapted virtual theory-based cooking intervention on perceived cooking competence, perceived movement competence and wellbeing.

Supported Decision-Making: Potential And Challenges For Older Persons, Morgan K. Whitlatch, Rebekah Diller

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In recent years, supported decision-making (SDM) has gained traction as a recognized alternative to guardianship for persons with disabilities in the United States. To date, SDM has not been as widely recognized as an alternative for older people, particularly those struggling with cognitive decline. This paper explores some of the obstacles that have prevented SDM from being used more broadly by older people, identifies ways of surmounting some of those obstacles, and makes recommendations for ways that SDM can be used in the aging context.

Biomolecular Corona Stability In Association With Plasma Cholesterol Level, Duong N. Trinh, Meda Radlinskaite, Jack Cheeseman, Gunther Kuhnle, Helen M.I. Osborn, Paula Meleady, Daniel I.R. Spencer, Marco P. Monopoli

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Biomolecular corona is spontaneously formed on the surface of nanoparticles (NPs) when they are in contact with biological fluids. It plays an important role in the colloidal stability of NPs, which is of importance for most of their medical applications and toxicity assessment. While typical studies use either blood plasma or serum from a pooled biobank, it is unclear whether differences in the media, such as cholesterol level or protein concentration, might affect the NP colloidal stability and corona composition. In this study, the silica corona was prepared at particularly low plasma concentrations (3%, v/v–1.98 mg/mL) to identify the critical …

Social Media Influencers (Smis) In Context: A Literature Review, Charles Alves De Castro, Isobel O'Reilly Dr, Aiden Carthy

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This review focused on three main areas, "Social Media Influencers (SMIs) in Context, The Impact of SMIs on Adolescents, and Consumer Behaviour in a Digital Era – Generation Z in Perspective". This article aims to further the overall understanding of SMIs and outlines the impact of SMIs on adolescents‘ lives. Thus, the main objective of this literature review is to raise awareness within the marketing field about the influence of social media influencers on adolescents and how brands promote their products and content through social media influencers. The review comprised a regular search using electronic journal databases and secondary data …

Provenance: An Intermediary-Free Solution For Digital Content Verification, Bilal Yousuf, M. Atif Qureshi, Brendan Spillane, Gary Munnelly, Oisin Carroll, Matthew Runswick, Kirsty Park, Eileen Culloty, Owen Conlan, Jane Suiter

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The threat posed by misinformation and disinformation is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century. Provenance is designed to help combat this threat by warning users when the content they are looking at may be misinformation or disinformation. It is also designed to improve media literacy among its users and ultimately reduce susceptibility to the threat among vulnerable groups within society. The Provenance browser plugin checks the content that users see on the Internet and social media and provides warnings in their browser or social media feed. Unlike similar plugins, which require human experts to provide evaluations and …

Optimization Of Unit Operations For Microencapsulating Ferrous Fumarate During Scale-Up Of Double Fortification Of Salt With Iron And Iodine, Oluwasegun Modupe, Kiruba Krishnaswamy, Yao Olive Li, Levente L. Diosady

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Objectives: This study evaluates factors responsible for the floating of iron premix in double fortified salt (DFS), which initially affected the large-scale implementation of the salt fortification program in India, and provides solutions to the scale-up of the technology.

Materials and Methods: To mitigate this time-sensitive scale-up challenge. First, the iron premix samples were obtained from the industrial scale-up pilot studies in India, evaluated for the impact of the amount of coating material (5 per cent, 7.5 per cent, and 10 per cent (in weight)), type of formulation (soy stearin, SEPIFILM and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose), amount of titanium dioxide (25-35 per …

Quantifying Parent Engagement In The Randomized Fuel For Fun Impact Study Identified Design Considerations And Bmi Relationships, Barbara A. Lohse, Leslie Cunningham-Sabo

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Background: Parent participation in children’s health interventions is insufciently defned and measured. This project quantifed parent participation to enable future examination with outcomes in an intervention focused on 4th graders, aged 9–11 years, and their families living in northern Colorado.

Methods: Indices were developed to measure type (Parent Participation Profle; PPP) and intensity (Parent Engage‑ ment Intensity; PEI) of engagement in Fuel for Fun (FFF), an asymmetric school-and family-based intervention for 4th graders. Study arm-specifc participation opportunities were catalogued and summed to calculate the PPP. An algo‑ rithm considered frequency, efort, convenience, and invasiveness of each activity to calculate PEI. …

Hemp Growth Factors And Extraction Methods Effect On Antimicrobial Activity Of Hemp Seed Oil: A Systematic Review, Klaudia Ostapczuk, Samuel Obeng Apori, Giovani Estrada, Furong Tian

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The bioactive Hemp Seed Oil (HSO) is becoming very popular in the medical and research fields due to its antimicrobial properties against several diseases caused by bacteria and fungi. However, the effect of hemp-growing factors and extraction methods on the bioactivity of HSO does not receive adequate research attention. Therefore, this review aims to investigate the effect of growth factors and extraction methods on the antimicrobial activity of HSO. Articles were retrieved from Google Scholar and the Scopus database and screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study revealed that HSO prefers warm climates and favorable humidity ranging from 20 …

Seaweed Polysaccharide In Food Contact Materials (Active Packaging, Intelligent Packaging, Edible Films, And Coatings), Kalpani Y. Perera, Shubham Sharma, Amit K. Jaiswal, Swarna Jaiswal

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Food contact materials (FCMs) are materials that come in contact with food products such as food packaging which play a significant role in the food quality and safety. Plastic, which is a major food packaging material, harms the eco-system, wildlife, and the environment. As a result, numerous researches have been in progress on alternative polymers, which has similar properties as plastic but is also environmentally friendly (biodegradable). In recent years, the utilization of seaweed polysaccharides has piqued interest due to its biodegradability, non-toxicity, antioxidant capabilities, and excellent film formation ability. However, it has a number of drawbacks such as low …

‘Gilded Gravel In The Bowl’: Ireland’S Cuisine And Culinary Heritage In The Poetry Of Seamus Heaney, Anke Klitzing

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Seamus Heaney’s poetry is rich in detail about agricultural and food practices in his native Northern Ireland from the 1950s onwards, such as cattle-trading, butter-churning, eel-fishing, blackberry-picking or home-baking. Often studied from an ecocritical perspective, the abundance of agricultural and culinary scenes in Heaney’s work makes a gastrocritical focus on food and foodways suitable. Food has been recognized as a highly condensed social fact, and writers have long tapped into its multi-layered meanings to illuminate socio-cultural circumstances, making literature a valuable ethnographic source. A gastrocritical reading of Heaney’s work from 1966 to 2010, drawing on Rozin’s Structure of Cuisine, shows …

Food And The Irish Short Story Imagination, Anke Klitzing

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Short fiction is a format heartily embraced by the Irish literary imagination since the nineteenth century. This paper takes a gastrocritical approach to investigate the role of food in selected stories from the recently published anthology The Art of the Glimpse (2020). It shows that through the years, food and foodways have been valuable tools for Irish writers, providing setting and context, themes and symbols, plot points, conflicts, characterisation, as well as the quintessential epiphanies.

Growth Hormone And Aging: New Findings., Andrzej Bartke, Erin Hascup, Kevin Hascup, Michal M Masternak

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Complex relationships between growth hormone (GH) signaling and mammalian aging continue to attract attention of many investigators. Recent results include evidence that the impact of GH on genome maintenance (DNA damage and repair) is drastically different in normal as compared to cancer cells, consistent with GH promoting aging and cancer progression. Impact of GH on DNA methylation was studied as a possible mechanism linking actions of GH during early life to the trajectory of aging. Animals with reduced or enhanced GH signaling and novel animals with adipocyte-specific deletion of GH receptors were used to elucidate the effects of GH on …

Challenging Domestic Injustice Through International Human Rights Advocacy: Addressing Homelessness In The United States, Eric Tarst, Tamar Ezer, Melanie Ng, David Stuzin, Conor Arevalo

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This Article explores how international human rights norms and procedures can serve as a powerful tool in addressing injustice in the United States context, using work addressing the criminalization of homelessness as a case study. Moreover, it explores how civil and political rights and negative obligations by the government can serve as an entry point for asserting a more robust understanding of rights that includes social and economic rights and affirmative obligations by government. The Article documents and analyzes original work led by the National Homelessness Law Center and other pioneering advocates, reflecting on lessons learned and next steps to …

Novel Facet Of An Old Dietary Molecule? Direct Influence Of Caffeine On Glucose And Biogenic Amine Handling By Human Adipocytes, Wiem Haj Ahmed, Nathalie Boulet, Anaïs Briot, Barry J. Ryan, Gemma K. Kinsella, Jeffrey O’Sullivan, Francisco Les, Josep Mercader-Barceló, Gary T. Henehan, Christian Carpéné

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Caffeine is a plant alkaloid present in food and beverages consumed worldwide. It has high lipid solubility with recognized actions in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues, notably the adipose depots. However, the literature is scant regarding caffeine’s influence on adipocyte functions other than lipolysis, such as glucose incorporation into lipids (lipogenesis) and amine oxidation. The objective of this study was to explore the direct effects of caffeine and of isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX) on these adipocyte functions. Glucose transport into fat cells freshly isolated from mice, rats, or humans was monitored by determining [3H]-2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake, while the incorporation …

Metatheme Analysis: A Qualitative Method For Cross-Cultural Research, Amber Wutich, Melissa Beresford, Cindi Sturtzsreetharan, Alexandra Brewis, Sarah Trainer, Jessica Hardin

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In recent years, there has been a florescence of cross-cultural research using ethnographic and qualitative data. This cutting-edge work confronts a range of significant methodological challenges, but has not yet addressed how thematic analysis can be modified for use in cross-cultural ethnography. Thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative and mixed-methods research, yet is not currently well-adapted to cross-cultural ethnographic designs. We build on existing thematic analysis techniques to discuss a method to inductively identify metathemes (defined here as themes that occur across cultures). Identifying metathemes in crosscultural research is important because metathemes enable researchers to use systematic comparisons to …

Internet Of Medical Things (Iomt): Overview, Emerging Technologies, And Case Studies, Sahshanu Razdan, Sachin Sharma

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No abstract provided.

Raman Spectroscopic Characterisation Of Non Stimulated And Stimulated Human Whole Saliva, Genecy Calado, Isha Behl, Hugh Byrne, Fiona Lyng

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Human saliva is a unique biofluid which can reflect the physiopathological state of an individual. The wide spectrum of molecules present in saliva, compounded by the close association of salivary composition to serum metabolites, can provide valuable information for clinical diagnostic applications through highly sensitive vibrational spectroscopic techniques such as Raman spectroscopy. However, the nature of saliva, in terms of collection and patient-related characteristics, can be considered factors which may strongly affect the Raman spectral profile of salivary samples and disrupt the search for specific salivary biomarkers in the detection of diseases. The main objective of this study was to …

Associations Between Dietary Patterns And Inflammatory Markers During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review, Kuan-Lin Yeh, Amber Kautz, Barbara A. Lohse, Susan W. Groth

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Elevated inflammation in pregnancy has been associated with multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes and potentially an increased susceptibility to future chronic disease. How maternal dietary patterns influence systemic inflammation during pregnancy requires further investigation. The purpose of this review was to comprehensively evaluate studies that assessed dietary patterns and inflammatory markers during pregnancy. This review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses. Included studies were sourced from EMBASE, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus and evaluated using The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Inclusion criteria consisted of human studies published in English between January 2007 …