More Adherence To A Mediterranean Dietary Pattern is Associated With A Lower Insomnia Score

Background: Previous studies has shown that low quality diet is correlated with chronic sleep disorders. Mediterranean dietary pattern is considered as a high quality diet which has been shown to have beneficial effects on overall health. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between adherence to Mediterranean dietary pattern and insomnia score in a population of adolescent girls.Methods: Total Data of 734 adolescent girls between 12-18 years old has been considered in this cross-sectional study. To assess dietary intake, a food frequency questionnaire was used. To assess the inherence to Mediterranean dietary style, a modified model of Mediterranean diet was applied and the scores were ranged from 0-9. A valideated version of Insomnia Severity Index questionnaire wss used to assess insomnia. To explore the associations between MED-style diet and insomnia, logistic regression was conducted in crude and adjusted models.Results: The participants with higher adherence to MED-style diet had higher intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, total energy intake, carbohydrate, dietary fiber, potassium, Beta-carotene, vitamin C, iron and folate. A significant inverse association between adherence to the MED-style diet score and insomnia score was obtained in crude model (β= -0.125; P-value = 0.019) and also after adjustment for confounding variables (β= -0.120; P=0.048).Conclusion: There is an inverse relationship between adherence to the Mediterranean dietary style and the prevalence of insomnia among Iranian adolescent girls. Prospective studies are necessary to confirm these results and clarify whether a causal relationship exists.

Benefits of Short-Duration, High-Stocking Rate Opportunistic Grazing on Arid Rangelands During Favorable Conditions

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of short grazing periods with high-stocking density on vegetation during weather conditions favorable to plant growth. Continuous grazing is widely practiced in Tunisian arid rangelands and across most drylands and deserts of the Middle East and North Africa. In the early 1990s, the Tunisian government combined a variety of incentives and restrictions on rangeland grazing practices and initiated a national strategy for rangeland improvement. The strategy emphasizes grazing exclusion for three consecutive years, a practice known locally as gdel. At the end of this period, grazing is allowed with no restrictions or with some guidelines. However, these regulations created discontent among pastoral communities, mainly when local rainfall conditions result in a considerable quantity of green biomass. High stocking-density grazing for a short period would help satisfy pastoralist concerns and achieve the government’s strategic goal. This study was implemented in three arid rangeland types of southern Tunisia that have been under restricted grazing for 2 years. Each area in the study was grazed for short periods in late May (about 7 days) with a flock of 150 head of sheep. Measurements of vegetation cover, forage productivity, density, and species richness were taken before and after grazing. Our results suggest that perennial vegetation is more stable under grazing than annual vegetation. The presence of annual species would enhance rangeland vegetation cover and diversity and at the same time offers an opportunity for livestock to select a high-quality diet rich in protein. Opportunistic grazing, applied to heterogeneous rangelands in late spring and the beginning of the annual temperature increase, encouraged animals to select annual plants due to their higher palatability, higher digestibility, and water content rather than heavily grazing perennial species. Perennial biomass materials that die and do not fall through rapid biological decay tended to decline with increased period of placement, resulting in further oxidation to CO2 which affects photosynthetic performance negatively and may eventually cause plant death. Trampling from high-density stocking enhances the litterfall rates and removes the oxidized plant material. These findings may contribute to strategies for addressing the extreme climatic variations that threaten rangeland and livestock sustainability.

Does Seston Quality Limit the Presence of Mussels on Wellington’s South Coast? FlowCAM investigation of seston particle type

<p>Temperate rocky shores around the world are characterised by so-called ‘universal’ zonation. An interesting exception to this rule can be seen along the shores of Wellington’s South Coast where there is a virtual absence of mussels and poorly developed rocky shore intertidal community. Yet just kilometres away in Wellington Harbour there is a fully developed intertidal community, including extensive multi-species mussel beds. This thesis aims to determine if the quality of seston is limiting the presence of mussels on Wellington’s South Coast. We now have the technology to see what types of particles the mussels are selecting in low and high quality seston conditions using a FlowCAM that allows identification of particle types and their physical properties. This study compared environmental data for Wellington Harbour (seston-rich) and the South Coast (seston-poor). These data included chlorophyll a, turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations and were collected by CTD and satellite remote sensing. Mussel feeding experiments took place under a high and low quality diet during summer, autumn and winter using Perna canaliculus and Mytilus galloprovincialis. The physiological responses recorded were clearance rate, absorption efficiency and net energy balance for individual mussels. Environmental variables recorded were total particulate matter, particulate organic matter and percent organic matter. Water samples were collected during the feeding experiments and processed using the FlowCAM. By comparing the control chambers to chambers that had mussels feeding in them it was possible to see what particles the mussels were selecting. The environmental variables revealed that Wellington Harbour had a much higher quality seston whereas in Cook Strait the seston quality was too low for mussels to be able to inhabit, as the chlorophyll a concentrations did not reach the required levels for mussel growth. Perna canaliculus and Mytilus galloprovincialis both showed physiological responses that would allow them to grow in Cook Strait waters, both species had positive absorption efficiencies and net energy balances. These responses were greater in the high quality diet in the enriched pond water in Nelson during summer and winter. The FlowCAM analysis revealed an inter-specific difference in preferential particle selection, which varied as a function of site and season. With more particles being preferentially selected in the high quality diet compared to when the mussels were feeding on Cook Strait seawater. This new information of particle selection helps to determine why mussels are absent from Wellington’s South Coast and contributes to the extensive information on mussel feeding.</p>

Does Seston Quality Limit the Presence of Mussels on Wellington’s South Coast? FlowCAM investigation of seston particle type

<p>Temperate rocky shores around the world are characterised by so-called ‘universal’ zonation. An interesting exception to this rule can be seen along the shores of Wellington’s South Coast where there is a virtual absence of mussels and poorly developed rocky shore intertidal community. Yet just kilometres away in Wellington Harbour there is a fully developed intertidal community, including extensive multi-species mussel beds. This thesis aims to determine if the quality of seston is limiting the presence of mussels on Wellington’s South Coast. We now have the technology to see what types of particles the mussels are selecting in low and high quality seston conditions using a FlowCAM that allows identification of particle types and their physical properties. This study compared environmental data for Wellington Harbour (seston-rich) and the South Coast (seston-poor). These data included chlorophyll a, turbidity and suspended sediment concentrations and were collected by CTD and satellite remote sensing. Mussel feeding experiments took place under a high and low quality diet during summer, autumn and winter using Perna canaliculus and Mytilus galloprovincialis. The physiological responses recorded were clearance rate, absorption efficiency and net energy balance for individual mussels. Environmental variables recorded were total particulate matter, particulate organic matter and percent organic matter. Water samples were collected during the feeding experiments and processed using the FlowCAM. By comparing the control chambers to chambers that had mussels feeding in them it was possible to see what particles the mussels were selecting. The environmental variables revealed that Wellington Harbour had a much higher quality seston whereas in Cook Strait the seston quality was too low for mussels to be able to inhabit, as the chlorophyll a concentrations did not reach the required levels for mussel growth. Perna canaliculus and Mytilus galloprovincialis both showed physiological responses that would allow them to grow in Cook Strait waters, both species had positive absorption efficiencies and net energy balances. These responses were greater in the high quality diet in the enriched pond water in Nelson during summer and winter. The FlowCAM analysis revealed an inter-specific difference in preferential particle selection, which varied as a function of site and season. With more particles being preferentially selected in the high quality diet compared to when the mussels were feeding on Cook Strait seawater. This new information of particle selection helps to determine why mussels are absent from Wellington’s South Coast and contributes to the extensive information on mussel feeding.</p>

Diet Quality and Biological Risk in a National Sample of Older Americans

Objectives: Using comprehensive measures of biological risk, this study aims to investigate the relationship between intake of individual dietary components, overall diet quality, and biological dysregulation. Methods: We analyzed nationally representative data from 3734 older adults who participated in the Health and Retirement Study Venous Blood Study in 2016 and Health Care and Nutrition Survey in 2013. Results: Eleven out of 13 individual dietary components were associated with lower biological risk. Respondents with poor/suboptimal quality diet had higher biological risk than those with good quality diet. Discussion: Findings from this study emphasize the importance of healthy eating in improving health of older adults. Encouraging intake of fruits, greens and beans, whole grains, and fatty acids, while limiting consumption of sodium, added sugar, and saturated fat would improve overall diet quality and contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases and morbidity.

Anthropometric Profile of Latin American Population: Results From the ELANS Study

Background: Latin America has experienced changes in lifestyle since 1960.Aim: The aim was to determine the prevalence of obesity and stunting among eight countries of Latin American and to identify the determinant risk factors for obesity.Subjects and Methods: Data were obtained from 9,218 participants of the Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health (ELANS), a multicenter cross-sectional study of the representative samples in eight Latin American countries. All the participants completed a standard protocol to investigate the nutrient intake and anthropometric variables (weight, height, and circumferences) analyzed by country, gender, age, and socioeconomic status.Results: The prevalence of obesity was higher in Costa Rica and Venezuela (29%) and lower in Colombia (16%), stunting was reported higher in Peru (47%) and lower in Argentina (17%), and waist and neck circumferences showed the higher values in Costa Rica (43%) and Chile (52%) and lower values in Colombia (23 and 26%).Conclusion: This study indicates an increasing trend toward overweight and obesity that are associated with lower socioeconomic status, being a woman, and concurs with inadequate intakes of calcium, which may be related to poor quality diet and in the long term could constitute risk factors for the chronic diseases and a health burden to the region.

Obesogenic Clusters Associated with Weight Status in Brazilian Adolescents of the Movimente School-Base Intervention

Background: the relationship between behavior clusters and weight status, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the association between profiles of physical activity (PA), diet and sedentary behavior (SB) with weight status in adolescents from a southern Brazilian city, according to sex. Methods: data from the Movimente Intervention study were analyzed (n = 812 / mean age 13.0 years (sd 1.04). Data on SB hours per day, PA minutes per week and weekly consumption frequencies of fruits, vegetables, salty snacks, candies and soda were self-reported on the validated Movimente questionnaire. Classes of healthy and unhealthy behaviors were derived by latent class analysis. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the associations between adolescents’ weight status and classes. Results: two classes were identified for the whole sample and for boys and girls. All classes had high probabilities of engaging high time in SB. Male adolescents in the unhealthy class had low probabilities of being active and high probability of consuming a low-quality diet. In contrast, girls’ healthiest profile presented lower probabilities of being active compared to boys’ healthiest profiles. No association was found between weight status and classes. Conclusion: All classes had at least one unhealthy behavior, for both the whole sample, and for girls and boys. Girls’ profiles were unhealthier compared to boys’ profiles. Hence, it is recommended that intervention strategies to change behaviors need to be distinct according to sex, targeting more than one obesogenic behavior at the same time.

Role of nutrition in ameliorating the severity of COVID-19: A review update

Transmissible diseases are on the increase worldwide. Viral diseases have continued to emerge and represent a serious issue to public health. In the last twenty years, several viral epidemics such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002 to 2003, and H1N1 influenza in 2009, were recorded. In this study, the role of nutrition in ameliorating the mortality rate of Covid-19 virus infection was reviewed. Nutrition has been confirmed as one factor that can be utilized to inhibit the upshot of viral infection before clinical treatment is received by the patient. For the body to function normally, its nutritional demand must be met in the right proportions. Diet rich in vitamins, minerals and micronutrients are required for the metabolic functioning of the body and immune system, hence effective or adequate nutrition has health benefits to the human body particularly in fighting against infectious diseases including Covid-19. In defining the relationship or interaction between nutrition and infection, nutritionists have conventionally considered only the effects of diet on the host. Contemporary findings, however, stipulates that, at least for an RNA virus, host nutrition can influence the genetic make-up of the pathogen and thereby alter its virulence. Living on a quality diet has a way of improving the body defence mechanism against infectious diseases, Covid-19 virus inclusive. Adequate dietary nutrition could be an effective approach to counter the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, which is yet to have a worldwide scientifically acceptable treatment

Response to Climate Change: Evaluation of Methane Emissions in Northern Australian Beef Cattle on a High Quality Diet Supplemented with Desmanthus Using Open-Circuit Respiration Chambers and GreenFeed Emission Monitoring Systems

The main objective of this study was to compare the effect of supplementing beef cattle with Desmanthus virgatus cv. JCU2, D. bicornutus cv. JCU4, D. leptophyllus cv. JCU7 and lucerne on in vivo methane (CH4) emissions measured by open-circuit respiration chambers (OC) or the GreenFeed emission monitoring (GEM) system. Experiment 1 employed OC and utilized sixteen yearling Brangus steers fed a basal diet of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) hay in four treatments—the three Desmanthus cultivars and lucerne (Medicago sativa) at 30% dry matter intake (DMI). Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was added to the diets to neutralize tannin binding and explore the effect on CH4 emissions. Experiment 2 employed GEM and utilized forty-eight animals allocated to four treatments including a basal diet of Rhodes grass hay plus the three Desmanthus cultivars in equal proportions at 0, 15, 30 and 45% DMI. Lucerne was added to equilibrate crude protein content in all treatments. Experiment 1 showed no difference in CH4 emissions between the Desmanthus cultivars, between Desmanthus and lucerne or between Desmanthus and the basal diet. Experiment 2 showed an increase in CH4 emissions in the three levels containing Desmanthus. It is concluded that on high-quality diets, Desmanthus does not reduce CH4 emissions.