1,721,141 research outputs found
In vitro effect of dietary protein level and nondigestible oligosaccharides on feline fecal microbiota
No full textThe aim of the present study was to evaluate in vitro the effect of some prebiotic substances and 2 dietary protein levels on the composition and activity of feline fecal microbiota. Two in vitro studies were conducted. First, 6 nondigestible oligosaccharides were studied; treatments were control diet (CTRL), gluconic acid (GA), carrot fiber (CF), fructooligosaccharides (FOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), lactitol (LAC), and pectins from citrus fruit (PEC). Substrates were added to feline fecal cultures at 2 g/L for 24 h incubation. Compared with the CTRL, ammonia had been reduced (P < 0.05) by GOS (–9%) after 6 h and by GA (–14%), LAC (–12%), and PEC (–10%) after 24 h. After 24 h, all treatments had resulted in a lower pH versus the CTRL. Putrescine concentrations at 24 h were greater (P < 0.05) in cultures treated with FOS (+90%), GOS (+96%), and LAC (+87%). Compared with the CTRL, total VFA were higher (P < 0.05) in bottles containing CF (+41%), whereas the acetic to propionic acid ratio was reduced by LAC (–51%; P < 0.05). After 24 h, Enterobacteriaceae had been reduced (P < 0.05) by LAC and PEC. In a second study, LAC and FOS were selected to be tested in the presence of 2 diets differing in their protein content. There were 6 treatments: low-protein (LP) CTRL with no addition of prebiotics (CTRL-LP), high-protein (HP) CTRL with no addition of prebiotics (CTRL-HP), LP diet plus FOS, CTRL-HP plus FOS, LP diet plus LAC, and CTRL-HP plus LAC. Both FOS and LAC were added to feline fecal cultures at 2 g/L for 24 h incubation. Ammonia at 24 h was affected (P < 0.05) by the protein level (36.2 vs. 50.2 mmol/L for LP and HP, respectively). The CTRL-HPs resulted in a higher pH and increased concentrations of biogenic amines were found after 6 and 24 h of incubation (P < 0.05); putrescine at 24 h showed an increase (P < 0.05) in cultures treated with FOS. Total VFA were influenced (P < 0.05) by the protein level (40.9 vs. 32.6 mmol/L for LP and HP, respectively). At 24 h, the CTRL-HPs were associated with increased Clostridium perfringens and reduced Lactobacillus spp. and enterococci counts (P < 0.05). The results from the present study show that different prebiotics exert different effects on the composition and activity of feline intestinal microbiota and that high dietary protein levels in a cat’s diet can have negative effects on the animal intestinal environment
Changes in food during Covid-19 pandemic: the different role of stress and depression in women and men.
No full texthe recent pandemic has changed various aspects of lifestyle, heavily affecting, above all, food-related choices. Various factors influence food choice; among these, socioeconomic conditions and stress were prominent during the pandemic [2], [3], [4]. With this in mind, we believe that the points discussed in the article by Grieger and coworkers have an important role in clinical practice
Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Sport and the Immune System Response. A Review
Get PDFImmunity is the consequence of a complex interaction between organs and the environment. It is mediated the interaction of several genes, receptors, molecules, hormones, cytokines, antibodies, antigens, and inflammatory mediators which in turn relate and influence the psychological health. The immune system response of heavily trained athletes resembles an even more complex conditions being theorized to follow a J or S shape dynamics at times. High training loads modify the immune response elevating the biological markers of immunity and the body susceptibility to infections. Heavy training and/or training in a cold environment increase the athletes' risk to develop Upper Respiratory Tract Infections (URTIs). Therefore, athletes, who are considered healthier than the normal population, are in fact more prone to infections of the respiratory tract, due to lowering of the immune system in the time frames subsequent heavy training sessions. In this revision we will review the behavioral intervention, including nutritional approaches, useful to minimize the "open window" effect on infection and how to cope with stressors and boost the immune system in athletes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
In vitro influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on metabolism of canine fecal microbiota
Get PDFBackground: The present in vitro study investigated whether the utilization of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) may influence canine fecal microbial population in presence of diets differing in their protein content and digestibility. Fresh fecal samples were collected from five adult dogs, pooled, and incubated for 24h with the undigested residue of three diets: 1, Low protein high digestibility diet (LP HD, crude protein (CP) 229g/kg); 2, High protein high digestibility diet (HP HD, CP 304g/kg); 3, High protein low digestibility diet (HP LD, CP 303g/kg) that had been previously subjected to enzymatic digestion. In the in vitro fermentation study, there were six treatments: 1) LP HD; 2) HP HD 3) HP LD; 4) LP HD+FOS; 5) HP HD+FOS; 6) HP LD+FOS. Fructooligosaccharides were added at the final concentration of 1.5g/L. Samples of fermentation fluid were collected at 6 and 24h of incubation. Results: Values of pH were reduced by FOS at 6 and 24h (P<0.001); conversely, low protein digestibility and high dietary protein level resulted in higher pH at both sampling times (P<0.001). At 24h, FOS lowered ammonia (-10%; P<0.001) and resulted (P<0.05) in higher concentrations of total volatile fatty acids (VFA) (+43%), acetic acid (+14%), propionic acid (+75%) and n-butyric acid (+372%). Conversely, at 24h, low protein digestibility resulted (P<0.01) in lower concentrations of acetic acid (-26%), propionic acid (-37%) and total VFA (-21%). Putrescine concentrations were increased at 6 and 24h of fermentation by low protein digestibility (+21 and 22%, respectively; P<0.05) and FOS (+18 and 24%, respectively; P<0.01). After 24h of fermentation, high dietary protein level resulted in lower counts of lactobacilli and enterococci (-0.5 and -0.7 log cells/mL, respectively; P<0.05) whereas low protein digestibility tended to increase counts of C. perfringens (+0.2 log cells/mL; P=0.07). Conclusions: Results from the present study showed that diets rich in protein may exert negative influences on the canine intestinal ecosystem, slightly increasing the presence of ammonia and reducing counts of lactobacilli and enterococci. Moreover, the presence of poorly digestible protein resulted in lower concentrations of VFA. Conversely, administration of FOS may improve metabolism of canine intestinal microbiota, reducing ammonia concentrations and enhancing VFA production
PAIR - Physical Activity after knee or hip replacement
No full textAIR project aims to develop and promote a physical activity (PA) exercise program for subjects operated of total knee/hip replacement, to be followed after their discharge and rehabilitation treatment. The subjects will also be monitored about the adherence to the proposed program and in regards to any changes in lifestyle relatively to physical activity. This study will be carried out by involving surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, graduates in movement science and patients, during and beyond the end of the normal health care. The aims of the project are- Identification of a PA exercise program suitable for people with knee/hip replacement, to improve physical function (balance, proprioception, rom, posture, muscular trophism) and quality of life (pain, fear of falling, autonomy during daily activities, socialization and prevention of depressive states).- Data collection through a survey on the consideration and understanding of "everyday" PA in relation to quality of life.- Promotion of the recovery of any sport activity interrupted before the operation.- Raising awareness of stakeholders and decision makers about the promotion of physical and sport activity aimed at subjects who have undergone knee or hip prostheses.- Evaluation of adherence to the proposed PA.- Involvement of the sport community and high education institutions to promote specific courses based on physical activity programs for individuals with total knee or hip arthroplasty. In the scientific literature, there are evidences and experiences on the effectiveness of physical activity but there is no "good practice" shared and accepted within the European system; there is also a lack of adequate promotion to explain the benefits and how to perform physical activity after the operations. The project aims to analyze local experiences in Europe and implement this "good practice", pledging to disseminate it at European level through the partnership structure and other actions
Effects of dietary supplementation with increasing doses of lactose on faecal bacterial populations and metabolites and apparent total tract digestibility in adult dogs
Get PDFThe effect of increasing dietary doses of lactose on canine faecal microbiota and apparent digestibility was evaluated. Fourteen adult healthy dogs [1–5 years of age, mean body weight (BW) of 19.0 kg] were fed with an extruded diet containing silica (5 g/kg) as a digestion marker. After a 20 d adaptation period, increasing doses of lactose were added to the dogs’ diet (0.5, 1 and 2 g/kg BW0.75/d) during three consecutive 20-d supplementation periods. Faeces were collected at the end of each period for analyses. Four dogs refused the diet added with lactose at 0.5 g/kg BW0.75/d and were excluded from the trial, as well as two dogs, which developed acute diarrhoea when lactose was fed at 1 g/kg BW0.75/d. Conversely, eight dogs remained healthy throughout the study. Faecal moisture was influenced by lactose (quadratic, p = .001), while faecal pH and ammonia were not affected by treatments. Lactose supplementations tended to linearly decrease isovalerate (p = .051) and quadratically influence n-valerate (p = .056) in canine faeces. No changes in faecal microbial populations were observed. Apparent digestibility of dry matter, Ca, K, Mn and Fe was influenced by lactose supplementation (quadratic, p < .05). Increasing doses of lactose linearly decreased Mg digestibility (p < .05). Furthermore, coefficients of crude protein, crude ash, P, Mg and Zn digestibility were tendentially affected (quadratic, p = .055, .089, .091, .065 and .065, respectively). In conclusion, 8 of 14 dogs displayed a good tolerance (absence of gastrointestinal signs) up to the highest dose of lactose (2 g/kg BW0.75/d). An evident prebiotic effect was not observed
- …
