Digital Commons Network^™

Toxoplasma Gondii Igg Associations With Sleepwake Problems, Sleep Duration And Timing, Celine C. Corona, Ma Zhang, Abhishek Wadhawan, Melanie L. Daue, Maureen W. Groer, Aline Dagang, Christopher A. Lowry, Kathleen A. Ryan, Andrew J. Hoisington, John W. Stiller, Dietmar Fuchs, Braxton D. Mitchell, Teodor T. Postolache

Faculty Publications

Background: Evidence links Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a neurotropic parasite, with schizophrenia, mood disorders and suicidal behavior, all of which are associated and exacerbated by disrupted sleep. Moreover, low-grade immune activation and dopaminergic overstimulation, which are consequences of T. gondii infection, could alter sleep patterns and duration. Methods: Sleep data on 833 Amish participants [mean age (SD) = 44.28 (16.99) years; 59.06% women] were obtained via self-reported questionnaires that assessed sleep problems, duration and timing. T. gondii IgG was measured with ELISA. Data were analyzed using multivariable logistic regressions and linear mixed models, with adjustment for age, sex and family …

Deep Sea Biofilms, Historic Shipwreck Preservation And The Deepwater Horizon Spill, Rachel L. Mugge, Melissa L. Brock, Jennifer L. Salerno, Melanie Damour, Robert A. Church, Jason Lee, Leila J. Hamdan

Faculty Publications

Exposure to oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have lasting impacts on preservation of historic shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico. Submerged steel structures, including shipwrecks, serve as artificial reefs and become hotspots of biodiversity in the deep-sea. Marine biofilms on submerged structures support settlement of micro- and macrobiota and may enhance and protect against corrosion. Disruptions in the local environment, including oil spills, may impact the role that biofilms play in reef preservation. To determine how the Deepwater Horizon spill potentially impacted shipwreck biofilms and the functional roles of the biofilm microbiome, experiments containing carbon steels disks (CSDs) …

Nursing Home Quality And Financial Performance: Is There A Business Case For Quality?, Robert Weech-Maldonado, Rohit Pradhan, Neeraj Dayama, Justin Lord, Shivani Gupta

Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between nursing home quality and financial performance to assess whether there is a business case for quality. Secondary data sources included the Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR), Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting (CASPER), Medicare Cost Reports, Minimum Data Set (MDS 2.0), Area Resource File (ARF), and LTCFocus for all free-standing, nongovernment nursing homes for 2000 to 2014. Data were analyzed using panel data linear regression with facility and year fixed effects. The dependent variable, financial performance, consisted of the operating margin. The independent variables comprised nursing home quality measures that capture the three …

Purification, Identification, And Sensory Evaluation Of Kokumi Peptides From Agaricus Bisporus Mushroom, Tao Feng, Yang Wu, Zhiwen Zhang, Shiqing Song, Haining Zhuang, Zhimin Xu, Linyun Yao, Min Sun

Faculty Publications

Agaricus bisporus can enhance the umami and salty taste in chicken soup, and also has a high protein content, which indicates that there might be some kokumi taste compounds in this mushroom. Therefore, through ultrafiltration, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), some peptides in fresh Agaricus bisporus mushroom were isolated. Then, these peptides were identified by sensory evaluation and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled quadruple time of flight mass spectrometry (Q-TOF-MS). The sensory evaluation results showed that the addition of aqueous extract isolated from Agaricus bisporus to model chicken broth did enhance chicken broth's …

B Cell Homeostasis Is Maintained During Long-Duration Spaceflight, Guillaume Spielmann, Nadia Agha, Hawley Kunz, Richard J. Simpson, Brian Crucian, Satish Mehta, Mitzi Laughlin, John Campbell

Faculty Publications

Long-duration spaceflights reportedly induce immune dysregulation, which is considered a risk to astronaut safety and mission success. Recent studies have examined the impact of spaceflight on markers of adaptive and innate immunity, but no study, to date, has comprehensively evaluated humoral immunity and serological markers of B cell function. The aim of this study was to characterize changes in B cell numbers and phenotypes, along with plasma Igs and polyclonal free light chains (FLCs)—near-“real-time” biomarkers of Ig synthesis—in response to an ~6-mo mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Whole-blood samples were collected before flight, during flight (“Early flight,” “Mid-flight,” …

The Surprising Reach Of Fda Regulation Of Cannabis, Even After Descheduling, Erika Lietzan, Sean M. O'Connor

Faculty Publications

As more states legalize cannabis, the push to "deschedule" it from the Controlled Substances Act is gaining momentum. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first conventional drug containing a cannabinoid derived from cannabis - cannabidiol (CBD) for two rare seizure disorders. This would all seem to bode well for proponents of full federal legalization of medical cannabis. But some traditional providers are wary of drug companies pulling medical cannabis into the regular small molecule drug development system. The FDA's focus on precise analytical characterization and on individual active and inactive ingredients may be …

Knowledge And Awareness Of Human Papillomavirus Among College Students In South Carolina, Salima Kasymova, Sayward Harrison, Caroline Pascal

Faculty Publications

Despite the existence of a safe and effective vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV) remains prevalent in the United States, with late adolescence and early adulthood being periods of increased risk. Thus, targeting college-aged individuals for HPV prevention and vaccination promotion is critical—particularly in regions such as the Deep South where vaccination rates remain low. This study sought to examine awareness and knowledge of HPV as well as experiences and attitudes regarding HPV vaccination among college students in the Deep South. Specifically, we completed a cross-sectional survey of 256 undergraduate students from a large public university in South Carolina. Although a majority …

Impact Of Donor Milk On Short- And Long-Term Growth Of Very Low Birth Weight Infants, Rebecca Hoban, Michael E. Schoeny, Anita Esquerra-Zwiers, Tanyaporn K. Kaenkumchorn, Gina Casini, Grace Tobin, Alan H. Siegel, Kousiki Patra, Matthew Hamilton, Jennifer Wicks, Paula Meier, Aloka L. Patel

Faculty Publications

Mother’s own milk (MOM) reduces the risk of morbidities in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. When MOM is unavailable, donor breastmilk (DM) is used, with unclear impact on short- and long-term growth. This retrospective analysis compared anthropometric data at six time points from birth to 20–24 months corrected age in VLBW infants who received MOM supplements of preterm formula (n = 160) versus fortified DM (n = 161) during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. The cohort was 46% female; mean birth weight and gestational age (GA) were 998 g and 27.3 weeks. Multilevel linear growth models assessed changes …

Dietary Intake Reporting Accuracy Of The Bridge2u Mobile Application Food Log Compared To Control Meal And Dietary Recall Methods, Jennifer Lemacks, Kristen Adams, Ashley Lovetere

Faculty Publications

Mobile technology introduces opportunity for new methods of dietary assessment. The purpose of this study was to compare the reporting accuracy of a mobile food log application and 24 h recall method to a controlled meal among a convenience sample of adults (18 years of age or older). Participants were recruited from a community/university convenience sample. Participants consumed a pre-portioned control meal, completed mobile food log entry (mfood log), and participated in a dietary recall administered by a registered dietitian (24R). Height, weight, and application use survey data were collected. Sign test, Pearson’s correlation, and descriptive analyses were conducted to …

Development And Validation Protocol For An Instrument To Measure Household Water Insecurity Across Cultures And Ecologies The Household Water Insecurity Experiences (Hwise) Scale, Sera L. Young, Shalean M. Collins, Godfred O. Boateng, Torsten B. Neilands, Zeina Jamaluddine, Joshua D. Miller, Alexandra A. Brewis, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Wendy E. Jepson, Hugo Melgar-Quiñonez, Roseanne C. Schuster, Justin B. Stoler, Amber Wutich, Jonathan Maupin, Monet Niesluchowski, Asiki Gershim, Divya Krishnakumar

Faculty Publications

Introduction A wide range of water-related problems contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite the many plausible consequences for health and well-being, there is no validated tool to measure individual- or household-level water insecurity equivalently across varying cultural and ecological settings. Accordingly, we are developing the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household-level water insecurity in multiple contexts.

Methods and analysis After domain specification and item development, items were assessed for both content and face validity. Retained items are being asked in surveys in 28 sites globally in which waterrelated problems have been reported (eg, shortages, excess …

Portable Medical Order Sets (Polst®): Ethical And Legal Landscape, Sharona Hoffman

Faculty Publications

Anyone who has observed the dying of a loved one or who has thought about medical care in the final months of life may be concerned about end-of-life care. How can individuals ensure that their care fits their needs and preferences if they cannot express these because of dementia, confusion, or other frailties? Some worry that they will receive care that is painful and aggressive in the last stages of disease even though they would prefer comfort care only. By contrast, others worry that physicians will withhold therapeutic care because they assume that such care is unwanted by patients who …

Diversity And Shifts Of The Bacterial Community Associated With Baikal Sponge Mass Mortalities, Sergei Belikov, Natalia Belkova, Tatiana Butina, Lubov Chernogor, Alexandra Martynova-Van Kley, Armen Nalian, Colin Rorex, Igor Khanaev, Olga Maikova, Sergey Feranchuk

Faculty Publications

The disease of freshwater sponges was first discovered in 2011, when pink samples were found in the Central Basin of Lake Baikal. Subsequently, the visible signs of the disease have changed, and now sponges appear with various symptoms of damage to the body, such as discoloration, tissue necrosis, the formation of brown patches and dirty-purple biofilms on some branches. These signs of the disease are accompanied by the mass death of sponges. We identified differences in microbiomes by sequencing 16S rRNA genes and found changes in the consortium of microorganisms of freshwater Baikal sponges. We found that the observed imbalance …

Move It Or Lose It: Interspecific Variation In Risk Response Of Pond-Breeding Anurans, Philip Matich, Christopher M. Schalk

Faculty Publications

Changes in behavior are often the proximate response of animals to human disturbance, with variability in tolerance levels leading some species to exhibit striking shifts in life history, fitness, and/or survival. Thus, elucidating the effects of disturbance on animal behavior, and how this varies among taxonomically similar species with inherently different behaviors and life histories is of value for management and conservation. We evaluated the risk response of three anuran species—southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus), Blanchard’s cricket frog (Acris blanchardi), and green tree frog (Hyla cinerea)—to determine how differences in microhabitat use (arboreal vs …

Variation In Carbon Concentrations And Allocations Among Larix Olgensis Populations Growing In Three Field Environments, Jiang Ying, Yuhi Weng, Brian P. Oswald, Hanguo Zhang

Faculty Publications

Key message Variation in carbon concentration among Larix olgensis A. Henry provenances and tree tissues was significant, suggesting importance of such variation to carbon stock calculation. Provenance variation in carbon allocation was only significant in allocations to some tissues, including stem wood, and was strongly site-specific. Some allocation patterns correlated significantly with provenance growth and were related to geographic/climatic variables at the provenance origins.

Context Understanding variation in carbon concentrations and allocations to tree tissues among genetic entries is important for assessing carbon sequestration and understanding differential growth rates among the entries. However, this topic is poorly understood, in particular …

Naringenin Promotes Thermogenic Gene Expression In Human White Adipose Tissue, Candida J. Rebello, Frank L. Greenway, Frank H. Lau, Yuan Lin, Jacqueline M. Stephens, William D. Johnson, Ann A. Coulter

Faculty Publications

© 2018 The Obesity Society Objective: Naringenin, a citrus flavonoid, prevents diet-induced weight gain and improves glucose and lipid metabolism in rodents. There is evidence that naringenin activates brown fat and increases energy expenditure in mice, but little is known about its effects in humans. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of naringenin on energy expenditure in adipose tissue. Methods: Human white adipocyte cultures (hADSC) and abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (pWAT) were treated with naringenin for 7 to 14 days. Expression (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunoblotting) of candidate genes involved in thermogenesis and glucose metabolism …

Growth And Development Symposium: Stem And Progenitor Cells In Animal Growth: The Regulation Of Beef Quality By Resident Progenitor Cells, Xing Fu, Chaoyang Li, Qianglin Liu, Kenneth W. Mcmillin

Faculty Publications

© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. The intramuscular adipose tissue deposition in the skeletal muscle of beef cattle is a highly desired trait essential for high-quality beef. In contrast, the excessive accumulation of crosslinked collagen in intramuscular connective tissue contributes to beef toughness. Recent studies revealed that adipose tissue and connective tissue share an embryonic origin in mice and may be derived from a common immediate bipotent precursor in mice and humans. Having the same linkages in the development of adipose tissue and connective tissue …

Multidimensional Poverty Of The Ethnic Tibetan Farm And Herder Households In Gansu Province, China, Fan Yang, Krishna Paudel, Tianhui Zhuang, Yao Jiang

Faculty Publications

© 2019, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. All rights reserved. Ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households (FHH) in Gansu Province, China are stricken with poverty. Solving the poverty problem in this or other poverty pockets across China has special importance for the country’s political stability, ethnic unity, social well-being, and ecological security. This paper calculates the multidimensional poverty situation of ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households of Gansu Province, China by using the Alkire-Foster method. Twelve indicators are included in the multidimensional poverty indicator system. Results showed that 1) in the single indicator measure, the adult family members received at …

Dosage Compensation And Gene Expression Of The X Chromosome In Sheep, Jingyue Duan, Kaleigh Flock, Nathanial Jue, Mingyuan Zhang, Amanda Jones, Sahar Al Seesi, Ion Mandoiu, Sambhu Pillai, Maria Hoffman, Rachel O'Neill, Steven Zinn, Kristen Govoni, Sarah Reed, Hesheng Jiang, Zongliang Jiang, Xiuchun Tian

Faculty Publications

© 2019 by the Genetics Society of America. Ohno's hypothesis predicts that the expression of the single X chromosome in males needs compensatory upregulation to balance its dosage with that of the diploid autosomes. Additionally, X chromosome inactivation ensures that quadruple expression of the two X chromosomes is avoided in females. These mechanisms have been actively studied in mice and humans but lag behind in domestic species. Using RNA sequencing data, we analyzed the X chromosome upregulation in sheep fetal tissues from day 135 of gestation under control, over or restricted maternal diets (100%, 140% and 60% of National Research …

Children’S Environmental Health In South And Southeast Asia: Networking For Better Child Health Outcomes, Peter D. Sly, Brittany Trottier, David Carpenter, Ubon Cha’On, Stephania Cormier, Betsy Galluzzo, Samayita Ghosh, Fiona Goldizen, Michelle Heacock, Paul Jagals, Hari Datt Joshi, Prachi Kathuria, Le Thai Ha, Melina S. Magsumbol, Panida Navasumrit, Poornima Prabhakaran, Banalata Sen, Chris Skelly, Inoka Suraweera, Sathiarany Vong, Chador Wangdi, William A. Suk

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Author(s). Children are particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards because they receive higher doses of pollutants in any given environment and often do not have equitable access to social protection mechanisms such as environmental and health care services. The World Health Organization established a global network of collaborating centres that address children’s environmental health (CEH). The network developed a focus on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and is broadening its reach by conducting regional workshops for CEH. Objective: This paper reports on the outcomes of a workshop held in conjunction with the 17th International Conference (November 2017) of …

Larval Pollen Stress Increases Adult Susceptibility To Clothianidin In Honey Bees, Christina L. Mogren, Robert G. Danka, Kristen B. Healy

Faculty Publications

Neonicotinoid insecticides have come under scrutiny for their potential role in honey bee declines. Additionally, reduced access to forage in agricultural areas creates the potential for risk interactions with these pesticides in regions critical for honey production. In this study, we sought to determine whether sufficient access to pollen during larval development could mitigate stress associated with oral clothianidin exposure in honey bee adults. An apiary was established where pollen traps deprived half of the colonies of pollen, which was then supplemented to the others. Adults were fed 0, 10, 40, 200, or 400 µg/L clothianidin in the laboratory, and …

Management Of Economically Important Insect Pests Of Millet, Ruparao T. Gahukar, Gadi V.P. Reddy, Tom Royer

Faculty Publications

Grain of various species of millet is a staple food of rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and China. In addition, millet is used as poultry and cattle feed in the United States, and the foliage is fodder for cattle in India. The crop is damaged by at least 150 insect pests during its growth and development. Although the current status of all of these pests is not known, shoot flies, stem borers, leaf-sucking, and the panicle-attacking insects are considered economically important. Control measures include the application of synthetic pesticides (as both seed treatment and foliar applications) and …

Bottom-Up Trait-Mediated Indirect Effects Decrease Pathogen Transmission In A Tritrophic System, Bret D. Elderd

Faculty Publications

© 2018 by the Ecological Society of America A plant's induction of secondary defenses helps to decrease herbivore damage by changing resource quality. While these chemical or physical defenses may directly decrease herbivory, they can also have indirect consequences. In a tritrophic system consisting of a plant, an insect herbivore, and an insect pathogen, plant based trait-mediated indirect effects (TMIEs) can alter host–pathogen interactions and, thereby, indirectly affect disease transmission. In a series of field experiments, individual soybean plants (Glycine max) were sprayed with either a jasmonic acid (JA) solution to trigger induction of plant defenses or a similar control …

Diet Of Lesser Scaup Wintering On Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Clay M. Stroud, Claire E. Caputo, Michael A. Poirrier, Kevin M. Ringelman

Faculty Publications

The lesser scaup Aythya affinis has been a species of conservation concern since continental breeding populations began declining in the 1980s. The causes of this decline are likely multifaceted, but cross-seasonal effects are believed to play a prominent role: females unable to acquire sufficient nutrient reserves during winter and spring migration have poor survival and breeding success. Understanding scaup diet composition and prey selection can help managers not only diagnose mechanisms underlying wintering scaup distributions, but may also help direct management actions to increase forage availability and quality. We evaluated the diet of 60 scaup collected from a major wintering …

Sweetpotato Cultivar Trials On Hawai‘I Island, Susan C. Miyasaka, Marisa Wall, Don Labonte, Alton Arakaki

Faculty Publications

Twelve sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas var. batatas) accessions/cultivars/ landraces (entries) were evaluated for yield, resistance to pests, and quality in five field trials planted at Pepe‘ekeo, Hawai‘i Island, and replicated over time with blocks planted on May and Oct. 2014, Feb. and July 2015, and Jan. 2016. Plots were harvested at 4.5 to 6 months after planting. In the first two field trials, local entries planted were ‘Okinawan’, ‘Mokuau’, and ‘Kona B’, as well as PI 531094, ‘Beauregard’, PI 573309, PI 573330, ‘Darby’, ‘Pelican Processor’, and ‘Picadito’. Yields of ‘Mokuau’ and ‘Kona B’ were low and were replaced in the latter …

Attachment Strength And On-Farm Die-Off Rate Of Escherichia Coli On Watermelon Surfaces, Vijay Singh Chhetri, Kathryn Fontenot, Ronald Strahan, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Cameron Cason, Karuna Kharel, Achyut Adhikari

Faculty Publications

Pre-harvest contamination of produce has been a major food safety focus. Insight into the behavior of enteric pathogens on produce in pre-harvest conditions will aid in developing pre-harvest and post-harvest risk management strategies. In this study, the attachment strength (S R ) and die-off rate of E. coli on the surface of watermelon fruits and the efficacy of aqueous chlorine treatment against strongly attached E. coli population were investigated. Watermelon seedlings were transplanted into eighteen plots. Prior to harvesting, a cocktail of generic E. coli (ATCC 23716, 25922 and 11775) was inoculated on the surface of the watermelon fruits (n …

Inhibition Of Selected Pathogens Inoculated On The Surface Of Catfish Fillets By High Molecular Weight Chitosan Coating, Baris Karsli, Emre Caglak, Dapeng Li, Nancy K. Rubio, Marlene Janes, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul

Faculty Publications

Antibacterial activity of high molecular weight water-soluble (HMWWS) chitosan (800 kDa) was investigated against four Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus) and two Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes) bacteria. Catfish fillets were surface-inoculated with these food-borne pathogens and coated with chitosan dissolved in aspartic acid (AS) or acetic acid (AC) solution at different concentrations (1% or 3%). Samples were stored at 4 °C for 8 days, except for those inoculated with Vibrio species (10 °C for 6 days). Overall, the most effective coating treatment was the 3% HMWWS chitosan in AS solution (800AS3%). Compared with …

Food-Burying Behavior In Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Wenquan Qin, Xuan Chen, Linda M. Hooper-Bùi, Jiacheng Cai, Lei Wang, Zhaohui Sun, Xiujun Wen, Cai Wang

Faculty Publications

The food-burying behavior has been reported in many mammals and birds, but was rarely observed in invertebrates. The red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is an invasive pest in many areas of the world that usually performing food-burying during the foraging processes. However, the impacted factors and measureable patterns of this behavior is largely unknown. In the present study, food-burying vs food-transport behaviors of Solenopsis invicta were observed under laboratory and field conditions. When starved (no food was provided for 37 days) in the laboratory, food (sausage) was consumed by large numbers of ants, and few burying behaviors were …

Greenhouse Gas Emissions As Influenced By Nitrogen Fertilization And Harvest Residue Management In Sugarcane Production, Sanku Dattamudi, Jim Jian Wang, Syam K. Dodla, H. P. Viator, Ron Delaune, April Hiscox, Murali Darapuneni, Changyoon Jeong, Patrick Colyer

Faculty Publications

Core Ideas: Application of urea led to higher N2O emissions than urea–ammonium nitrate in sugarcane. Residue retention led to higher N2O and CH4 emissions irrespective of N source. Both N source and residue management did not affect CO2 emissions. Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a major row-crop in the southern United States with high rates of N-fertilizer application and unique harvest-residue management. A 2-yr field experiment was conducted to investigate different N-fertilizer effects (urea and urea ammonium nitrate, UAN) and harvest-residue managements (residue-retain, RR, and residue-burn, RB) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils under sugarcane production. In 2012, a split-plot …

Nutrition Interventions Integrated Into An Existing Maternal, Neonatal, And Child Health Program Reduce Food Insecurity Among Recently Delivered And Pregnant Women In Bangladesh, Edward A. Frongillo Jr., Phuong H. Nguyen, Tina Sanghvi, Zeba Mahmud, Bachera Aktar, Silvia Alayon, Purnima Menon

Faculty Publications

Background

Antenatal care may be a means to reduce food insecurity in pregnancy and postpartum periods.

Objective

With the use of a cluster-randomized design, we tested whether participation in nutrition-focused antenatal care intending to improve household knowledge about the importance of nutrition for pregnant and lactating women and encourage allocation of household resources to ensure sufficient quality and quantity of foods, without providing food assistance, would reduce household food insecurity.

Methods

Alive & Thrive integrated nutrition interventions into an existing Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (MNCH) program in Bangladesh. The nutrition-focused MNCH package was delivered in 10 subdistricts through antenatal …

Efficacy Of Weight Loss Intervention Can Be Predicted Based On Early Alterations Of Fmri Food Cue Reactivity In The Striatum, Petra Hermann, Viktor Gál, István Kóbor, C. Brock Kirwan, Peter Kovacs, Tama Kitkas, Zsuzsanna Lengyel, Eszter Balint, Balázs Varga, Csongor Cseko, Zoltan Vidnyanszky

Faculty Publications

Increased fMRI food cue reactivity in obesity, i.e. higher responses to high- vs. low-calorie food images, is a promising marker of the dysregulated brain reward system underlying enhanced susceptibility to obesogenic environmental cues. Recently, it has also been shown that weight loss interventions might affect fMRI food cue reactivity and that there is a close association between the alteration of cue reactivity and the outcome of the intervention. Here we tested whether fMRI food cue reactivity could be used as a marker of diet-induced early changes of neural processing in the striatum that are predictive of the outcome of the …