A new measure of health motivation influencing food choices and its association with food intakes and nutritional biomarkers in European adolescents

Objective:To develop a scale to assess health motivation influencing food choices and to explore its performance in the associations with food intakes and nutritional biomarkers. Design:Psychometric study using cross-sectional self-report questionnaires and nutritional biomarkers. Setting:Multi-centre investigation conducted in ten European cities. Participants:2954 adolescents who were included in the HELENA study and completed the Food Choices and Preferences (FCP) questionnaire. Results:Nineteen out of 124 items of the FCP questionnaire were in the same dimension. Sixteen presented adequate parameters for the Scale of evaluatiOn of Food choIcEs (SOFIE). The scores were positively associated with the intakes of cereals, dairy products, meats and eggs, and fish, as well as with blood concentrations of vitamin C, ß-carotene, n-3 fatty acids, cobalamin, holo-transcobalamin and folate; scores were negatively associated with the intake of alcohol. Conclusions:SOFIE can improve the assessment of motivation influencing food choices based on items with the best performance and is proposed as a new measure to health-related studies

Mapping density, diversity and species-richness of the Amazon tree flora

Using 2.046 botanically-inventoried tree plots across the largest tropical forest on Earth, we mapped tree species-diversity and tree species-richness at 0.1-degree resolution, and investigated drivers for diversity and richness. Using only location, stratified by forest type, as predictor, our spatial model, to the best of our knowledge, provides the most accurate map of tree diversity in Amazonia to date, explaining approximately 70% of the tree diversity and species-richness. Large soil-forest combinations determine a significant percentage of the variation in tree species-richness and tree alpha-diversity in Amazonian forest-plots. We suggest that the size and fragmentation of these systems drive their large-scale diversity patterns and hence local diversity. A model not using location but cumulative water deficit, tree density, and temperature seasonality explains 47% of the tree species-richness in the terra-firme forest in Amazonia. Over large areas across Amazonia, residuals of this relationship are small and poorly spatially structured, suggesting that much of the residual variation may be local. The Guyana Shield area has consistently negative residuals, showing that this area has lower tree species-richness than expected by our models. We provide extensive plot meta-data, including tree density, tree alpha-diversity and tree species-richness results and gridded maps at 0.1-degree resolution

Desempenho e parâmetros nutricionais de fêmeas leiteiras em crescimento alimentadas com silagem de milho ou cana-de-açúcar com concentrado Performance and nutritional parameters of growing heifers fed corn silage or sugar cane with concentrate

Avaliou-se a resposta de novilhas leiteiras alimentadas com dieta à base de silagem de milho e com 1,3 kg/dia de concentrado em comparação a três dietas à base de cana-de-açúcar corrigida com 1% de ureia + sulfato de amônio (9:1) (ureia), com 1,3; 2,0 e 2,7 kg/dia de concentrado. Foram utilizadas 20 novilhas (12 da raça Holandesa e oito da raça Pardo-Suíça) em delineamento de blocos casualizados, com cinco blocos formados de acordo com o peso inicial e a raça dos animais. Os consumos de matéria seca, matéria orgânica e fibra detergente neutro não diferiram entre a dieta à base de silagem de milho e aquelas à base de cana-de-açúcar. Maior consumo de extrato etéreo foi observado quando fornecida a dieta à base de silagem de milho em comparação àquelas à base de cana-de-açúcar. Os consumos de carboidratos totais e carboidratos não-fibrosos diferiram entre a dieta com silagem de milho e as dietas à base de cana-de-açúcar (1,3 e 2,0 kg de concentrado). O consumo de nutrientes digestíveis totais observado com o fornecimento da dieta à base de silagem de milho foi menor que o obtido com a cana-de-açúcar (2,0 kg de concentrado). As dietas tiveram efeito significativo nos coeficientes de digestibilidade de proteína bruta, extrato etéreo, carboidratos totais e fibra em detergente neutro. Não houve diferença significativa no ganho de peso total nem no ganho médio diário entre a dieta à base de silagem de milho e aquela à base de cana-de-açúcar com 2,7 kg de concentrado em relação às dietas com cana-de-açúcar. O pH ruminal não diferiu nos tempos de coleta entre as dietas experimentais. A concentração de nitrogênio amoniacal mais baixa foi observada 3 horas após a alimentação nos animais alimentados com dieta à base de silagem de milho. A cana-de-açúcar corrigida e com maior participação de concentrado (relação volumoso:concentrado ± 45:55, na base seca da dieta) pode ser utilizada em substituição à silagem de milho em sistemas de produção de leite com idade ao parto próxima dos 24 meses.<br>This study evaluated the response of dairy heifers fed corn based silage with 1.3 kg/day of concentrated in comparison with three sugar cane-based diets corrected with 1% of urea + ammonium sulphate (9:1) (urea), with 1.3; 2.0 and 2.7 kg/day of concentrate. A total of 20 heifers were used (12 Holstein breed and 8 Brown Swiss breed heifers) in a randomised block design, with 5 blocks formed on the basis of initial live weight and breed. The consumption of dry matter, organic matter and neutral detergent fiber did not differ between corn-silage based diet and sugar-cane based diet. Higher consumption of ether extract was found when diet based on corn silage was supplied in comparison to those based on sugar cane. Intakes of total carbohydrate and non-fibrous carbohydrates differed between corn silage diet and those based on sugarcane (1.3 and 2.0 kg concentrate). Total digestible nutrient intake observed with supply of the diet based on corn silage was lower than that obtained with sugar cane (2 kg concentrate). Diets had a significant effect on coefficients of digestibility of crude protein, ether extract, total carbohidrates and neutral detergent fiber. There was no significant difference on total weight gain neither on average daily gain between the corn-silage based diet and the sugar-cane diet with 2.7 kg of concentrate in relation to the sugar-cane diets. Ruminal pH did not differ at collection times among experimental diets. The lowest concentration of N-NH3 was observed in animals fed corn silage-based diet 3 hours after feeding compared to the sugar cane-based treatments. A milk production system with heifers calving at 24 months and fed a diet containing moderate to high concentrate levels (± 45:55, forage:concentrate), sugar cane forage added with 1% of a mixture of urea + ammonium sulfate (9:1, urea:ammonium sulphate) can be a substitute for corn silage

Desempenho de animais alimentados com lâminas foliares, em pastagem de capim-marandu Performance of animals fed with green leaf in marandu grass pasture

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de animais, alimentados com lâminas de folhas verdes (LFV) a 4, 8, 12 e 16% do peso vivo por dia, em pastagens de capim-marandu. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com duas repetições. A avaliação do desempenho dos novilhos F1 Nelore e Charolês foi realizada de outubro de 2002 a junho de 2005, nas estações das águas, em Dourados, MS. Cada unidade experimental foi pastejada em regime de pastejo contínuo e carga animal variável, com quatro animais traçadores que permaneceram no experimento dos 15 aos 23 meses de idade, quando foram abatidos. Foi obtido efeito linear entre as ofertas pretendidas e as observadas. A consistência da ingestão de folhas verdes, independentemente das ofertas, foi evidenciada em novilhos fistulados no esôfago. O ganho médio diário apresentou resposta quadrática às ofertas de LFV, com máximo resultado com a oferta de 11,7% do peso vivo. A carga animal e o ganho por hectare apresentaram resposta quadrática negativa ao aumento das ofertas. As ofertas de 8 a 12% do peso vivo permitem que os animais consumam as folhas verdes, com boa qualidade da dieta.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of animals, fed with green leaves at 4, 8, 12 and 16% of live weight per day, in marandu grass pastures. The experimental design was in complete randomized blocks, with two replications. Animal performance evaluations were made from October 2002 to June 2005, with steers F1 Nelore and Charolais, along the rainy seasons, in Dourados County, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Four tester animals - 15 to 23 months old - grazed each experimental unit, under continuous grazing and put-and-take technique; the animals were, afterwards, slaughtered. Linear effect was obtained for the intended and observed forage allowances. The consistency of green leaf ingestions by the animals (independently of the offers) was evidenced in esophagus-fistulated steers. The average daily gain showed quadratic response in relation to the green leaf offers, with its optimum level at 11.7% live weight. Stoking rate and live weight gain per hectare presented a negative quadratic effect to the increase of blade dry matter offers. The offers of 8 to 12% live weight allow animals to feed on green leaf blades and to have a good quality diet

Geography and ecology shape the phylogenetic composition of Amazonian tree communities

Aim Amazonia hosts more tree species from numerous evolutionary lineages, both young and ancient, than any other biogeographic region. Previous studies have shown that tree lineages colonized multiple edaphic environments and dispersed widely across Amazonia, leading to a hypothesis, which we test, that lineages should not be strongly associated with either geographic regions or edaphic forest types. Location Amazonia. Taxon Angiosperms (Magnoliids; Monocots; Eudicots). Methods Data for the abundance of 5082 tree species in 1989 plots were combined with a mega-phylogeny. We applied evolutionary ordination to assess how phylogenetic composition varies across Amazonia. We used variation partitioning and Moran's eigenvector maps (MEM) to test and quantify the separate and joint contributions of spatial and environmental variables to explain the phylogenetic composition of plots. We tested the indicator value of lineages for geographic regions and edaphic forest types and mapped associations onto the phylogeny. Results In the terra firme and várzea forest types, the phylogenetic composition varies by geographic region, but the igapó and white-sand forest types retain a unique evolutionary signature regardless of region. Overall, we find that soil chemistry, climate and topography explain 24% of the variation in phylogenetic composition, with 79% of that variation being spatially structured (R2 = 19% overall for combined spatial/environmental effects). The phylogenetic composition also shows substantial spatial patterns not related to the environmental variables we quantified (R2 = 28%). A greater number of lineages were significant indicators of geographic regions than forest types. Main Conclusion Numerous tree lineages, including some ancient ones (>66 Ma), show strong associations with geographic regions and edaphic forest types of Amazonia. This shows that specialization in specific edaphic environments has played a long-standing role in the evolutionary assembly of Amazonian forests. Furthermore, many lineages, even those that have dispersed across Amazonia, dominate within a specific region, likely because of phylogenetically conserved niches for environmental conditions that are prevalent within regions