Energy, protein, calcium, vitamin D and fibre intakes from meals in residential care establishments in Australia

Residents from high level (nursing homes) and low-level care facilities (hostel) being served the three common diet texture modifications (full diet, soft-minced diet and pureed diet) were assessed. Individual plate waste was estimated at three meals on one day. Fifty-six males and 156 females, mean age 82.9+/-9.5 (SD) years, of which 139 lived in nursing homes (NH) and 76 in hostels (H) were included. Mean total energy served from meals was 5.3 MJ/day, 5.1 to 5.6 MJ/day, 95% confidence intervals (CI), in NH which was less than in H, 5.9 MJ/day (CI 5.6 to 6.2 MJ/day) (P=0.007). Protein and calcium intakes were lower in NH, 44.5g (CI 41.5 to 47.5g), 359.0mg (CI 333.2 to 384.8mg), versus 50.5g (CI 46.6 to 54.3g), 480.5mg (CI 444.3 to 516.7mg) in H (P=0.017, P<0.001 respectively). There was no difference in nutrient/energy ratios, except for protein/energy, which was higher in NH 11.7 (CI 11.3 to 12.2) than in H 9.8 (CI 9.4 to 10.3) (P<0.001). Ability to self-feed had no significant effect on nutrient intakes in NH. The self fed group (N=63) had the following nutrient intakes: energy 4.0 MJ (CI 3.6 to 4.3 MJ), protein 44.6g (CI 40.3 to 48.9g), calcium 356.9mg (CI 316.3 to 397.4mg), fibre 14.9g (CI 13.2 to 16.5g). The assisted group (N=64) had the following nutrient intakes: energy 3.9MJ (CI 3.6 to 4.2MJ), protein 46.0g (CI 40.7 to 49.6), calcium 361.9mg (CI 327.8 to 396.1mg), fibre 14.9g (CI 13.2 to 16.1g). Of NH classified as eating impaired, 36% received no assistance with feeding and had lower intakes of protein 37.8g (CI 33.0 to 42.1g) compared to those receiving some assistance 46.1g (CI 41.3 to 50.9g) (P=0.026). Reduced energy intake accounted for the differences in nutrient intakes between nursing homes and hostels, except for protein. Strategies to effectively monitor nutrient intakes and to identify those with eating impairment are required in order to ensure adequate nutrition of residents in nursing homes and hostels.

Strategic review of enhancements and culture-based fisheries

Enhancements are interventions in the life cycle of common-pool aquatic resources. Enhancement technologies include culture-based fisheries, habitat modifications, fertilization, feeding and elimination of predators/competitors. Enhancements are estimated to yield about two million mt per year, mostly from culture-based fisheries in fresh waters where they account for some 20 percent of capture, or 10 percent of combined capture and culture production. Marine enhancements are still at an experimental stage, but some have reached commercial production. Enhancements use limited external feed and energy inputs, and can provide very high returns for labour and capital input. Moreover, enhancement initiatives can facilitate institutional change and a more active management of aquatic resources, leading to increased productivity, conservation and wider social benefits. Enhancements may help to maintain population abundance, community structure and ecosystem functioning in the face of heavy exploitation and/or environmental degradation. Negative environmental impacts may arise from ecological and genetic interactions between enhanced and wild stocks. Many enhancements have not realised their full potential because of a failure to address specific institutional, technological, management and research requirements emanating from two key characteristics. Firstly, enhancement involves investment in common-pool resources and can only be sustained under institutional arrangements that allow regulation of use and a flow of benefits to those who bear the costs of enhancement. Secondly, interventions are limited to certain aspects of the life cycle of stocks, and outcomes are strongly dependent on natural conditions beyond management control. Hence, management must be adapted to local conditions to be effective, and certain conditions may preclude successful enhancement altogether. Governments have a major role to play in facilitating enhancement initiatives through the establishment of conducive institutional arrangements, appropriate research support, and the management of environmental and other impacts on and from enhancements.

Expanding the concept of parental control : a role for overt and covert control in children’s snacking behaviour?

The existing literature on parental control and children’s diets is confusing. The present paper reports two studies to explore an expanded conceptualisation of parental control with a focus on overt control which ‘can be detected by the child’ and covert control which ‘cannot be detected by the child’. In study 1, 297 parents of children aged between 4 and 11 completed a measure of overt control and covert control alongside ratings of their child’s snacking behaviour as a means to assess who uses either overt or covert control and how these aspects of parental control relate to a child’s snacking behaviour. The results showed that lighter parents and those with children perceived as heavier were more likely to use covert control and those from a higher social class were more likely to use overt control. Further, whilst greater covert control predicted a decreased intake of unhealthy snacks, greater overt control predicted an increased intake of healthy snacks. In study 2, 61 parents completed the same measure of overt and covert control alongside the three control subscales of the Child Feeding Questionnaire [Birch, L.L., Fisher, J.O., Grimm-Thomas, Markey, C.N., Sawyer, R. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: A measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. Appetite, 36, 201–210] to assess degrees of overlap between these measures. The results showed that although these five measures of control were all positively correlated, the correlations between the new and existing measures indicated a maximum of 21% shared variance suggesting that covert and overt control are conceptually and statistically separate from existing measures of control. To conclude, overt and covert control may be a useful expansion of existing ways to measure and conceptualise parental control. Further, these constructs may differentially relate to snacking behaviour which may help to explain some of the confusion in the literature.

Atopic disease and breastfeeding - cause or consequence?

Background

A number of studies have observed an association between breast-feeding and increased risk of development of asthma and eczema. It has been proposed that these results might be due to early signs of atopic disease in the infant causing mothers to prolong breast-feeding.

Objective

We sought to determine whether early symptoms of atopic disease (eczema, food reaction, or asthma) or positive skin prick test responses reduce the likelihood of ceasing breast-feeding.

Methods

A prospective birth cohort of 620 infants from Melbourne, Australia, was used. Telephone interviews every 4 weeks were conducted until 64 weeks and then again at 78 and 104 weeks to determine duration of breast-feeding (both exclusive and total) and evidence of atopic disease. Because of the varying time of onset of atopic symptoms, they were modeled as time-varying covariates in Cox models.
Results

Only 52 (8.4%) infants did not establish breast-feeding, whereas an additional 103 (25.0%) did not establish exclusive breast-feeding. Early signs of atopic disease or sensitization were independently associated with an approximately 28% reduction in risk of ceasing exclusive breast-feeding (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53-0.97); P = .029), but there was no evidence for a relationship with risk of ceasing breast-feeding completely (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.92-1.37; P = .262).
Conclusion

Early signs of atopic disease might prolong the duration of exclusive breast-feeding. This could mask a protective effect of breast-feeding or even result in breast-feeding appearing to be a risk factor for the development of atopic diseases. Future investigation of the relationship between breast-feeding and atopic diseases should consider this possibility.

Nutritional related aspects of the artificial propagation and larval rearing of Macquarie perch, Macquaria Australasica (Cuvier, 1830)

Studies the underlying role of nutrition in the lack of response of captive fish to hypophysation. Aspects studied include morphological characteristics, histology of ovaries, proximate analysis, fatty and amino acid profiles of oocytes, muscle, liver and diets of wild and tank-reared fish, egg and larval quality, amino acid composition of eggs and larvae at different developmental stages, larval feeding and hormone treatments.

Can dietary lipid source circadian alternation improve omega-3 deposition in rainbow trout?

With the salmonid industry currently exploiting the vast majority of globally available fish oil, there is the need to optimise fish oil utilisation by increasing its efficiency in terms of transferring the health-promoting long chain omega-3 fatty acids (n−3 LC-PUFA) into farmed fish flesh. The aim of this study was to evaluate if dietary fatty acid deposition is affected by the time of feeding, and hence identify possible innovative feeding strategies towardsmore efficient use of dietary fish oil. Over a period of 12 weeks, three diets with different lipid sources, canola oil (CO), fish oil (FO) or a 50/50 blend of the two oils (Mix), were alternated daily and fed to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Six treatments were administered to fish, reference treatment (REF, continuously fed FO), control treatment (CT, continuously fed Mix), am canola oil ration (amCOR), pm canola oil ration (pmCOR), am canola oil satiation (amCOS) and pm canola oil satiation (pmCOS). Fish received either the CO diet in the am or pm feeds and received the FO diet at the opposite time. A significant increase in growth and feed consumption was noted in the pmCOS treatment. Fillet fatty acid profile was modified by associated feeding schedules and was generally reflective of dietary fatty acid profile. No significant increases in n−3 LCPUFA deposition were observed. However, both linoleic acid (18:2n−6) and α-linolenic acid (18:3n−3) contents were significantly higher in pmCOR compared to amCOR and CT. The results of the present study suggest the existence of cyclical circadian patterns in fatty acid deposition in rainbow trout.

Australian waterbirds : time and space travellers in dynamic desert landscapes

Australia’s waterbirds are mostly nomadic, capitalising on highly variable aquatic resources in the arid interior (70% of the continent) for feeding and breeding. Waterbirds, unlike most aquatic organisms, can move between catchments, exploiting habitat wherever it occurs. In Australia, patterns of resource availability for waterbirds are mostly pulsed with peaks of productivity, coinciding with flooding and differing in time and space, affecting individuals, species and functional groups of waterbirds. Australian waterbirds are no different from waterbirds elsewhere, with their behaviour reflecting broad-scale resource availability. They respond to changing patterns of resource distribution, with rapid movements at spatial and temporal scales commensurate with the dynamics of the resource. The most serious conservation threat to waterbirds is a bottleneck in resource availability, leading to population declines, increasingly forced by anthropogenic impacts. River regulation and other threats (e.g. draining) reduce the availability of wetland habitat and decrease the probability of viable resource patches. It is axiomatic that waterbirds need water and such population bottlenecks may occur when the availability of water across the continent is limited. The rehabilitation of regulated rivers with environmental flows and protection of naturally flowing rivers in the arid region are essential for long-term sustainability of Australia’s waterbird populations.

Hampered foraging and migratory performance in swans infected with low-pathogenic avian influenza A virus

It is increasingly acknowledged that migratory birds, notably waterfowl, play a critical role in the maintenance and spread of influenza A viruses. In order to elucidate the epidemiology of influenza A viruses in their natural hosts, a better understanding of the pathological effects in these hosts is required. Here we report on the feeding and migratory performance of wild migratory Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii Yarrell) naturally infected with low-pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses of subtypes H6N2 and H6N8. Using information on geolocation data collected from Global Positioning Systems fitted to neck-collars, we show that infected swans experienced delayed migration, leaving their wintering site more than a month after uninfected animals. This was correlated with infected birds travelling shorter distances and fuelling and feeding at reduced rates. The data suggest that LPAI virus infections in wild migratory birds may have higher clinical and ecological impacts than previously recognised.

Progression of cardiovascular and endocrine dysfunction in a rabbit model of obesity

In rabbits, mean arterial pressure (MAP) increases in response to fat feeding, but does not increase further with progressive weight gain. We documented the progression of adiposity and the alterations in endocrine/cardiovascular function in response to fat feeding in rabbits, to determine whether stabilization of MAP after 3 weeks could be explained by stabilization of neurohormonal factors. Rabbits were fed a control diet or high-fat diet for 9 weeks (n¼23). Fat feeding progressively increased body mass and adiposity. Heart rate (HR) was elevated by week 3 (15±3%) but changed little thereafter. The effects of fat feeding on MAP were dependent on baseline MAP and peaked at 3 weeks. From baseline, MAP p80mmHg, MAP had increased by 8.1±1.3, 4.7±1.7 and 5.6±1.2mmHg, respectively, 3, 6 and 9 weeks after commencing the high-fat diet, but by only 2.6±1.5, 3.0±1.7 and 3.9±1.4mmHg, respectively, in control rabbits. Fat feeding did not increase MAP from a baseline 480mmHg. Plasma concentrations of leptin and insulin increased during the first 3–6 weeks of fat feeding and then stabilized (increasing by 111±17% and 731±302% by week 9, respectively), coinciding with the pattern of changes in MAP and HR. Plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, renin activity, aldosterone and atrial natriuretic peptide were not significantly altered by fat feeding. Given that the changes in plasma leptin and insulin mirrored the changes in MAP and HR, leptin and insulin may be important factors in the development of hypertensionand tachycardia in the rabbit model of obesity.

Monitoring policy and actions on food environments: rationale and outline of the INFORMAS policy engagement and communication strategies

 The International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) proposes to collect performance indicators on food policies, actions and environments related to obesity and non-communicable diseases. This paper reviews existing communications strategies used for performance indicators and proposes the approach to be taken for INFORMAS. Twenty-seven scoring and rating tools were identified in various fields of public health including alcohol, tobacco, physical activity, infant feeding and food environments. These were compared based on the types of indicators used and how they were quantified, scoring methods, presentation and the communication and reporting strategies used. There are several implications of these analyses for INFORMAS: the ratings/benchmarking approach is very commonly used, presumably because it is an effective way to communicate progress and stimulate action, although this has not been formally evaluated; the tools used must be trustworthy, pragmatic and policy-relevant; multiple channels of communication will be needed; communications need to be tailored and targeted to decision-makers; data and methods should be freely accessible. The proposed communications strategy for INFORMAS has been built around these lessons to ensure that INFORMAS's outputs have the greatest chance of being used to improve food environments.

Early-developmental stress, repeatability, and canalization in a suite of physiological and behavioral traits in female zebra finches

Adaptive developmental plasticity allows individuals experiencing poor environmental conditions in early life to adjust their life-history strategy in order to prioritize short-term fitness benefits and maximize reproductive output in challenging environments. Much research has been conducted to test whether such adoption of a "faster" life-history strategy is accompanied by concordant changes in behavior and physiology, with mixed results. As research in this field has focused on comparison of mean-level responses of treatment groups, few studies include repeated measures of response variables and the effect that developmental stress may have on repeatability per se. We investigated how early-developmental stress affects the mean expression of (and repeatability in) a variety of behavioral and physiological traits in female zebra finches. We predicted that: (1) individuals subjected to nutritional restriction in the nestling phase would have higher feeding and activity rates, with associated increases in hematocrit and basal metabolic rates (BMRs), (2) nutritional restriction in early life would alter adults' stress-induced corticosterone level, and (3) developmental stress would, respectively, influence the amount of among-individual and within-individual variation in behavioral and physiological traits, hence affecting the repeatability of these traits. In comparison to control females, stressed females did not differ in activity rate or stress-induced corticosterone level, but they did have higher levels of feeding, hematocrit, and BMR. Among-individual variance and repeatability were generally higher in stressed females than in controls. Finally, we found that developmental dietary restriction significantly reduced the amount of within-individual variance both in activity rate in the novel environment and in stress-induced corticosterone level. Our results not only confirm previous findings on the effect of early-developmental stress on BMR, but also extend its effect to feeding rate and hematocrit, suggesting that developmental plasticity in these traits is ontogenetically linked. Early-developmental stress may disable particular genetic canalizing processes, which would release cryptic genetic variation and explain why repeatability and among-individual variance were generally higher in the stressed groups than in controls. For activity rate in the novel environment and with stress-induced corticosterone level, however, early-developmental stress significantly reduced within-individual variance, which may be a consequence of increased canalization of these traits at the micro-environmental level.

Aspectos econômicos da produção de bovinos de corte

O Brasil ocupa as posições de maior produtor e exportador mundial de carne bovina, com a região Centro-Oeste respondendo por 35% do abate nacional, em 2010. Entretanto, faz-se necessário valorizar o planejamento, o controle e a gestão empresarial nas propriedades produtoras, visando ao lucro na atividade. O presente estudo objetivou analisar e avaliar a viabilidade econômica da produção de bovinos de corte, em Camapuã (MS), a fim de identificar os itens relevantes aos custos da atividade. Como direcionador dos custos variáveis, no custo operacional efetivo, o suplemento mineral fornecido aos animais e a mão de obra mostraram-se relevantes para a gestão do sistema de produção, representando, aproximadamente, 71% dos custos. Com base nos resultados apresentados, pôde-se concluir que a propriedade apresenta boa lucratividade (superior a 20%). Verificou-se, ainda, com base no fluxo de caixa, taxa interna de retorno de 13,13% e capital inicial investido retornando em, aproximadamente, 7 anos, com resultados atrativos para o investimento, neste segmento agropecuário. O estudo proporcionou um parâmetro de custo para o produtor pecuarista, podendo contribuir para um melhor planejamento de atividades, em que, apesar dos altos investimentos iniciais, possivelmente, poderá reduzir seus custos, com o manejo racional no sistema produtivo, o que seria mais atrativo para o mercado, tornando mais viáveis as suas atividades de produção e comercialização do produto.

Effect of intermittent feeding on growth in early juveniles of the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus

Three experiments were conducted with juveniles of the crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus to investigate the effect of intermittent feeding regimes on growth and the ability to tolerate the shortage of food. In experiment 1, stage III juveniles were assigned to one of seven intermittent feeding groups (from FS1: 1 day fed/1 day non-fed to FS7: 7 days fed/7 days non-fed) and two control groups, continuously fed (CF) and continuously starved (CS) animals; this experiment comprised a short-term intermittent feeding period until the first molt, followed by a continuous feeding period. In the experiment 2, stage III juveniles were assigned to one of three intermittent feeding groups (FS2 to FS4) and one control group (CF); it consisted of a prolonged intermittent feeding period, until the end of the experiment In the experiment 3, stage VI and VII juveniles were assigned to one of three intermittent feeding groups (FS2 to FS4) and one control (CF); it also consisted of a prolonged intermittent feeding period. The red claw crayfish juveniles were able to tolerate periods of intermittent feeding and underwent compensatory growth after continuous feed was re-established. The ability of crayfish to tolerate intermittent feeding was influenced by developmental stage and duration of the intermittent feeding period. Stage III juveniles survived, but decreased growth, when subjected to prolonged intermittent feeding. However, they showed full compensatory growth when the intermittent feeding period was short and followed by continuous feeding. on the other hand, stage VI-VII tolerated 60 days of prolonged intermittent feeding without any change in growth and survival. The hepatosomatic index (based on wet weight) values of the treatments and the control were similar, suggesting that intermittent feeding may not be considered a nutritional stress condition. The relative pleon weight (based on wet weight) values of the treatments and control were similar suggesting low use of nutrients from the muscle to increase the chance for survival. The juveniles of C quadricarinatus can tolerate relatively long periods of low food availability and this is an important adaptation for their survival in changing/unpredictable environments and an attribute favorable for the production of the species. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efeito da somatotropina recombinante bovina (rbst) no desempenho de novilhos alimentados com diferentes volumosos

O efeito da somatotropina recombinante bovina (rBST) no desempenho de novilhos alimentados com rações com diferentes volumosos foi avaliado. Quarenta novilhos cruzados e castrados, com 360,2 kg PV médio e 30 meses de idade, foram usados. Os animais foram alimentados com rações contendo diferentes volumosos (silagem de milho, cana-de-açúcar, silagem de milho + cana-de-açúcar e bagaço de cana hidrolisado) e receberam aplicação de 320 mg rBST a cada 28 dias e foram pesados a cada 14 dias durante um periodo experimental de 84 dias. Ganho de peso, consumo de matéria seca e proteína bruta por kg de ganho de peso e conversão alimentar, foram avaliados. Não houve diferença no ganho de peso entre os animais que receberam (1,210 kg/cab dia) ou não (1,062 kg/cab dia) rBST, apesar de os animais que receberam rBST terem apresentado maior ganho de peso nos períodos após a segunda e terceira aplicação. Não houve, também, diferença entre as rações contendo silagem de milho (1,100 kg/cab dia), cana-de-açúcar (1,240 kg/cab dia), cana+silagem (1,064 kg/cab dia) e bagaço hidrolisado (1,138 kg/cab dia). A conversão alimentar foi 9,43 e 9,69 kg MS/kg de ganho de peso para os animais que receberam ou não rBST, respectivamente. O consumo de proteína bruta reduziu com a aplicação de rBST e foi mais expressivo na ração contendo cana-de-açúcar. Não houve interação entre a aplicação do hormônio e o tipo de volumoso.

Causas de variação nos preços de bovinos nelore elite no Brasil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)