An early feeding practices intervention for obesity prevention

Objective - Report long term outcomes of the NOURISH randomized controlled trial (RCT) that evaluated a universal intervention commencing in infancy to provide anticipatory guidance to first-time mothers on ‘protective’ complementary feeding practices which were hypothesized to reduce childhood obesity risk. Subjects and Methods - The NOURISH RCT enrolled 698 mothers (mean age 30.1 years, SD=5.3) with healthy term infants (51% female). Mothers were randomly allocated to usual care or to attend two 6-session, 12-week group education modules. Outcomes were assessed five times: baseline (infants 4.3 months); 6 months after module 1 (infants 14 months); 6 months after module 2 (infants 2 years) and at 3.5 and 5 years of age. Maternal feeding practices were self-reported using validated questionnaires. BMI Z-score was calculated from measured child height and weight. Linear Mixed Models evaluated intervention (group) effect across time. Results - Retention at 5 years of age was 61%. Across ages 2-5 years, intervention mothers reported less frequent use of non-responsive feeding practices on 6/9 scales. At 5 years they also reported more appropriate responses to food refusal on 7/12 items (Ps ≤.05). No statistically significant group effect was noted for anthropometric outcomes (BMI Z-score: P=.06), or the prevalence of overweight/obesity (control 13.3% vs. intervention 11.4%, P=.66). Conclusions - Anticipatory guidance on complementary feeding resulted in first-time mothers reporting increased use of protective feeding practices. These intervention effects were sustained up to five years of age and were paralleled by a non-significant trend for lower child BMI Z-scores at all post-intervention assessment points.

Extending the validity of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire

Background Feeding practices are commonly examined as potentially modifiable determinants of children’s eating behaviours and weight status. Although a variety of questionnaires exist to assess different feeding aspects, many lack thorough reliability and validity testing. The Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire (FPSQ) is a tool designed to measure early feeding practices related to non-responsive feeding and structure of the meal environment. Face validity, factorial validity, internal reliability and cross-sectional correlations with children’s eating behaviours have been established in mothers with 2-year-old children. The aim of the present study was to further extend the validity of the FPSQ by examining factorial, construct and predictive validity, and stability. Methods Participants were from the NOURISH randomised controlled trial which evaluated an intervention with first-time mothers designed to promote protective feeding practices. Maternal feeding practices (FP) and child eating behaviours were assessed when children were aged 2 years and 3.7 years (n=388). Confirmatory Factor analysis, group differences, predictive relationships, and stability were tested. Results The original 9-factor structure was confirmed when children were aged 3.7±0.3 years. Cronbach’s alpha was above the recommended 0.70 cut-off for all factors except Structured Meal Timing, Over Restriction and Distrust in Appetite which were 0.58, 0.67 and 0.66 respectively. Allocated group differences reflected behaviour consistent with intervention content and all feeding practices were stable across both time points (range of r= 0.45-0.70). There was some evidence for the predictive validity of factors with 2 FP showing expected relationships, 2 FP showing expected and unexpected relationships and 5 FP showing no relationship. Conclusions Reliability and validity was demonstrated for most subscales of the FPSQ. Future validation is warranted with culturally diverse samples and with fathers and other caregivers. The use of additional outcomes to further explore predictive validity is recommended as well as testing construct validity and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire.

Dietary intake of children aged 12-16 months and associations with maternal feeding beliefs and practices

This thesis provides the first detailed data describing the dietary intake of first-born Australian children aged 12-16 months. Overall, quality of intake could improve, with toddlers being exposed to energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods which may adversely affect the development of long-term healthy food preferences and growth trajectory. The leaner, but healthy weight toddler who exhibited more frequent food refusal was described a fussy eater or prompted higher maternal concern. However these behaviours are consistent with typical child development during the second year of life. Mothers can be supported to understand food refusal as manifestation of children's ability to self-regulate energy intake.

Feeding sorghum ergot (Claviceps africana) to sows before farrowing inhibits milk production

Objective: To assess the impact of feeding different amounts of sorghum ergot to sows before farrowing. Design: Fifty-one pregnant sows from a continually farrowing piggery were sequentially inducted into the experiment each week in groups of four to seven, as they approached within 14 days of farrowing. Diets containing sorghum ergot sclerotia within the range of 0 (control) up to 1.5% w/w (1.5% ergot provided 7 mg alkaloids/kg, including 6 mg dihydroergosine/kg) were randomly allocated and individually fed to sows. Ergot concentrations were varied with each subsequent group until an acceptable level of tolerance was achieved. Diets with ergot were replaced with control diets after farrowing. Post-farrowing milk production was assessed by direct palpation and observation of udders, and by piglet responses and growth. Blood samples were taken from sows on three days each week, for prolactin estimation. Results: Three sows fed 1.5% ergot for 6 to 10 days preceding farrowing produced no milk, and 87% of their piglets died despite supplementary feeding of natural and artificial colostrums, milk replacer, and attempts to foster them onto normally lactating sows. Ergot inclusions of 0.6% to 1.2% caused lesser problems in milk release and neo-natal piglet mortality. Of 23 sows fed either 0.3% or 0.6% ergot, lactation of only two first-litter sows were affected. Ergot caused pronounced reductions in blood prolactin, and first-litter sows had lower plasma prolactin than multiparous sows, increasing their susceptibility to ergot. Conclusion: Sorghum ergot should not exceed 0.3% (1 mg alkaloid/kg) in diets of multiparous sows fed before farrowing, and should be limited to 0.1 % for primiparous sows, or avoided completely.

Concentrate feeding strategies for growing and finishing dairy bulls offered grass silage-based diets

The first aim of this thesis was to produce data for evaluating, developing and recommending biologically and economically efficient energy and protein feeding strategies for growing and finishing dairy bulls offered grass silage-based diets. The second aim was to calculate the energy and protein supplies of the dairy bulls fed different grass silage-cereal-based diets and, based on this, to estimate the possible need to revise the current Finnish energy and protein recommendations for growing dairy bulls. The third aim was to demonstrate the phosphorus supply of dairy bulls fed grass silage-cereal-based diets with or without protein supplementation in relation to current feeding recommendations for phosphorus. The results indicate that protein supplement is not needed for finishing dairy bulls (live weight more than 250 kg) when they are fed good-quality grass silage (digestible organic matter more than 650 g/kg dry matter, restricted fermentation with low concentrations of fermentation acids and ammonia N) and grain-based concentrate with a moderate (300-700 g/kg dry matter) concentrate level. The results also suggest that with total mixed ration feeding it is possible to use rather high concentrate proportions (700 g/kg dry matter) in feeding dairy bulls. According to this study, barley fibre is a suitable energy supplement with good-quality silage for growing dairy bulls. The results suggest that 50% of barley grain can be replaced with barley fibre without affecting growth. Also oats is a suitable energy supplement for dairy bulls. However, as a consequence of decreased energy intake, the gain and feed conversion of the bulls were slightly reduced in this study when barley grain was replaced by oats in the diet. Ultimately, the rationality of the use of barley fibre and oats in the future will depend on the price in relation to other concentrates. During the feeding experiments the calculated supply of energy was 10% higher than in the Finnish feeding recommendations for the present growth rate. This indicates that there is a need to update the Finnish feeding recommendations for dairy-breed growing bulls, and further calculations are needed for the energy supply of growing dairy bulls. The calculated supply of AAT (amino acids absorbed from the small intestine) was 38% higher than in the Finnish feeding recommendations for the present growth. Possibly, the present AAT-PBV system is not an optimal protein evaluation system for growing dairy bulls more than 250 kg live weight. The calculations based on the feeding experiments and the Finnish feeding recommendations indicate that in most cases the dairy bulls (live weight more than 250 kg) received enough P from the basic grass silage cereal-based diets without additional mineral feeds. Therefore there is no need to add P in the form of mineral mixtures.

First Report of a Toxic Nodularia spumigena (Nostocales/Cyanobacteria) Bloom in Sub-Tropical Australia. II. Bioaccumulation of Nodularin in Isolated Populations of Mullet (Mugilidae)

Fish collected after a mass mortality at an artificial lake in south-east Queensland, Australia, were examined for the presence of nodularin as the lake had earlier been affected by a Nodularia bloom. Methanol extracts of muscle, liver, peritoneal and stomach contents were analysed by HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry; histological examination was conducted on livers from captured mullet. Livers of sea mullet (Mugil cephalus) involved in the fish kill contained high concentrations of nodularin (median 43.6 mg/kg, range 40.8-47.8 mg/kg dry weight; n = 3) and the toxin was also present in muscle tissue (median 44.0 mu g/kg, range 32.3-56.8 mu g/kg dry weight). Livers of fish occupying higher trophic levels accumulated much lower concentrations. Mullet captured from the lake 10 months later were also found to have high hepatic nodularin levels. DNA sequencing of mullet specimens revealed two species inhabiting the study lake: M. cephalus and an unidentified mugilid. The two mullet species appear to differ in their exposure and/or uptake of nodularin, with M. cephalus demonstrating higher tissue concentrations. The feeding ecology of mullet would appear to explain the unusual capacity of these fish to concentrate nodularin in their livers; these findings may have public health implications for mullet fisheries and aquaculture production where toxic cyanobacteria blooms affect source waters. This report incorporates a systematic review of the literature on nodularin measured in edible fish, shellfish and crustaceans.

Winter feeding strategies for suckler cows in cold climatic conditions

In Finland, suckler cow production is carried out in circumstances characterized by a long winter period and a short grazing period. The traditional winter housing system for suckler cows has been insulated or uninsulated buildings, but there is a demand for developing less expensive housing systems. In addition, more information is needed on new winter feeding strategies, carried out in inexpensive winter facilities with conventional (hay, grass silage, straw) or alternative (treated straw, industrial by-product, whole-crop silage) feeds. The new feeding techniques should not have any detrimental effects on animal welfare in order to be acceptable to both farmers and consumers. Furthermore, no official feeding recommendations for suckler cows are available in Finland and, thus, recommendations for dairy cows have been used. However, this may lead to over- or underfeeding of suckler cows and, finally, to decreased economic output. In Experiment I, second-calf beef-dairy suckler cows were used to compare the effects of diets based on hay (H) or urea-treated straw (US) at two feeding levels (Moderate; M vs. Low; L) on the performance of cows and calves. Live weight (LW) gain during the indoor feeding was lower for cows on level L than on level M. Cows on diet US lost more LW indoors than those on diet H. The cows replenished the LW losses on good pasture. Calf LW gain and cow milk production were unaffected by the treatments. Conception rate was unaffected by the treatments but was only 69%. Urea-treated straw proved to be a suitable winter feed for spring-calving suckler cows. Experiment II studied the effects of feeding accuracy on the performance of first- and second-calf beef-dairy cows and calves. In II-1, the day-to-day variation in the roughage offered ranged up to ± 40%. In II-2, the same variation was used in two-week periods. Variation of the roughages offered had minor effects on cow performance. Reproduction was unaffected by the feeding accuracy. Accurate feeding is not necessary for young beef-dairy crosses, if the total amount of energy offered over a period of a few weeks fulfills the energy requirements. Effects of feeding strategies with alternative feeds on the performance of mature beef-dairy and beef cows and calves were evaluated in Experiment III. Two studies consisted of two feeding strategies (Step-up vs. Flat-rate) and two diets (Control vs. Alternative). There were no differences between treatments in the cow LW, body condition score (BCS), calf pre-weaning LW gain and cow reproduction. A flat-rate strategy can be practised in the nutrition of mature suckler cows. Oat hull based flour-mill by product can partly replace grass silage and straw in the winter diet. Whole-crop barley silage can be offered as a sole feed to suckler cows. Experiment IV evaluated during the winter feeding period the effects of replacing grass silage with whole-crop barley or oat silage on mature beef cow and calf performance. Both whole-crop silages were suitable winter feeds for suckler cows in cold outdoor winter conditions. Experiment V aimed at assessing the effects of daily feeding vs. feeding every third day on the performance of mature beef cows and calves. No differences between the treatments were observed in cow LW, BCS, milk production and calf LW. The serum concentrations of urea and long-chain fatty acids were increased on the third day after feeding in the cows fed every third day. Despite of that the feeding every third day is an acceptable feeding strategy for mature suckler cows. Experiment VI studied the effects of feeding levels and long-term cold climatic conditions on mature beef cows and calves. The cows were overwintered in outdoor facilities or in an uninsulated indoor facility. Whole-crop barley silage was offered either ad libitum or restricted. All the facilities offered adequate shelter for the cows. The restricted offering of whole-crop barley silage provided enough energy for the cows. The Finnish energy recommendations for dairy cows were too high for mature beef breed suckler cows in good body condition at housing, even in cold conditions. Therefore, there is need to determine feeding recommendations for suckler cows in Finland. The results showed that the required amount of energy can be offered to the cows using conventional or alternative feeds provided at a lower feeding level, with an inaccurate feeding, flat-rate feeding or feeding every third day strategy. The cows must have an opportunity to replenish the LW and BCS losses at pasture before the next winter. Production in cold conditions can be practised in inexpensive facilities when shelter against rain and wind, a dry resting place, adequate amounts of feed suitable for cold conditions and water are provided for the animals as was done in the present study.

A new gall midge of the genus Dentifibula (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a predator of the scale insect Aulacaspis australis feeding on mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza

Dentifibula nigroapicalisKolesik sp. nov., a new species of gall midge, is described whose larvae were found preying on the mangrove scale insect Aulacaspis australisBrimblecombe (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Diaspididae). The mangrove scale was feeding on leaves of the mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Rhizophoraceae) in Queensland. The new species is the first DentifibulaFelt known from Australia. © 2013 Australian Entomological Society.

Fungus-feeding Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripinae of the Idiothrips genus-group in Australia, with nine new species

In a group of fungus-feeding Phlaeothripinae characterized by complex body sculpture, identification keys are provided to three genera and 15 species from Australia, including nine new species. In the genus Azaleothrips one new species is described, and one Asian species is newly recorded from Australia. The genus Stictothrips is recorded from Australia for the first time, with two new species. Within the genus Strepterothrips considerable structural diversity is recorded including three new species in which antennal segment III is greatly reduced and bears no sense cones. Some species in this genus exhibit the unusual condition of having several setae on the pelta, the first abdominal tergite. Problems in the production of generic diagnoses within the Phlaeothripinae are discussed.

The Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire (FPSQ-28): A parsimonious version validated for longitudinal use from 2-5 years

Prospective studies and intervention evaluations that examine change over time assume that measurement tools measure the same construct at each occasion. In the area of parent-child feeding practices, longitudinal measurement properties of the questionnaires used are rarely verified. To ascertain that measured change in feeding practices reflects true change rather than change in the assessment, structure, or conceptualisation of the constructs over time, this study examined longitudinal measurement invariance of the Feeding Practices and Structure Questionnaire (FPSQ) subscales (9 constructs; 40 items) across 3 time points. Mothers participating in the NOURISH trial reported their feeding practices when children were aged 2, 3.7, and 5 years (N = 404). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) within a structural equation modelling framework was used. Comparisons of initial cross-sectional models followed by longitudinal modelling of subscales, resulted in the removal of 12 items, including two redundant or poorly performing subscales. The resulting 28-item FPSQ-28 comprised 7 multi-item subscales: Reward for Behaviour, Reward for Eating, Persuasive Feeding, Overt Restriction, Covert Restriction, Structured Meal Setting and Structured Meal Timing. All subscales showed good fit over 3 time points and each displayed at least partial scalar (thresholds equal) longitudinal measurement invariance. We recommend the use of a separate single item indicator to assess the family meal setting. This is the first study to examine longitudinal measurement invariance in a feeding practices questionnaire. Invariance was established, indicating that the subscales of the shortened FPSQ-28 can be used with mothers to validly assess change in 7 feeding constructs in samples of children aged 2-5 years of age.

Child dietary and eating behaviour outcomes up to 3.5 years after an early feeding intervention: the NOURISH RCT

- Objective To evaluate dietary intake impact outcomes up to 3.5 years after the NOURISH early feeding intervention (concealed allocation, assessor masked RCT). - Methods 698 first-time mothers with healthy term infants were allocated to receive anticipatory guidance on protective feeding practices or usual care. Outcomes were assessed at 2, 3.7 and 5 years (3.5 years post-intervention). Dietary intake was assessed by 24-hour recall and Child Dietary Questionnaire. Mothers completed a food preference questionnaire and Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Linear mixed models assessed group, time and time x group effects. - Results There were no group or time x group effects for fruit, vegetables, discretionary food and non-milk sweetened beverages intake. Intervention children showed a higher preference for fruits (74.6% vs 69.0% liked, P<.001), higher Child Dietary Questionnaire score for fruit and vegetables (15.3 vs 14.5, target>18, P=0.03), lower food responsiveness (2.3 vs 2.4, of maximum 5, P=.04) and higher satiety responsiveness (3.1 vs 3.0, of maximum 5, P=.04). - Conclusions Compared to usual care, an early feeding intervention providing anticipatory guidance regarding positive feeding practices led to small improvements in child dietary score, food preferences and eating behaviours up to 5 years of age, but not in dietary intake measured by 24-hour recall.

The First Occurrence in the Fossil Record of an Aquatic Avian Twig-Nest with Phoenicopteriformes Eggs: Evolutionary Implication

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Feeding selectivity of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Loch Ness, Scotland

The aim of this study was to compare statistically the zooplankton assemblage ingested by brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Loch Ness with that of the zooplankton in the water column. This would allow the examination of the apparent paradox that very few copepods appear to be consumed by trout at a time of year when they are numerous and readily available as food. The investigation was limited to the crustacean zooplankters, since the Rotifera are generally so small that they are only of interest to fish in the first few days of life. 25 trout were obtained from anglers, and the stomach contents of non-"ferox" animals analysed. Samples of pelagic zooplankton were obtained approximately monthly from 30-m vertical net-hauls (mesh size 100 km). It is concluded that the variation in dietary composition with trout wet weight indicates an ontogenetic habitat shift producing spatial separation of young and older individuals.

On the feeding of the larvae of Chironomidae during the planktonic period of life [Translation from: Nauch.Dokl.vyssh.Shk.Biol.Nauk 1 19-21, 1965]

It is known that the larvae of Chironomidae in the first stages of life after leaving the egg case, swim for a long time in a body of water. Positive reaction in light, the capability of directed swimming and passive floating in suspension allow the larvae to temporarily carry out a planktonic way of life. This study describes the behaviour of Chironomus dorsalis larvae after leaving the egg case. The feeding of chironomid larvae in the first stages of development was also described.

Study on feeding habits of Piaractus mesopotamicus (Pacu) larvae in fish ponds

A limnological study of the artificial fish pond and an analysis of the stomach contents of pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) larvae of 2 to 45 days age were made for a period of 45 days to evaluate their feeding preferences. A preference for chlorophytes and rotifers were noted, while other planktonic species remained constant in the stomach contents. Some limnological variables were found to have strong influence on the feeding behavior of the pacu. A preference for feeding on smaller species in the first few days of larval development was also noted.