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Bright light therapy to promote sleep in mothers of low-birth-weight infants: a pilot study

Having a low-birth-weight (LBW) infant in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can intensify a mother’s sleep disturbances due to both stress and the dim lighting in the ICU setting, which desynchronizes circadian rhythms. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effectiveness of a 3-week bright light therapy intervention on sleep and health outcomes of mothers with LBW infants in the NICU. Controlled stratified randomization was used to assign 30 mothers to a treatment or control group. Data were collected at pretreatment (second week postpartum) and after the 3-week intervention. Sleep data were assessed by wrist actigraph (total sleep time [TST], circadian activity rhythms [CARs]) and the General Sleep Disturbance scale. Other outcome variables were measured by the Lee’s Fatigue scale, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression scale, and the Medical Outcomes Short Form 36, version 2. Mothers averaged 26.6 (SD = 6.3) years of age, and the majority were Black (73%). The mean gestational age for the infants was 27.7 (SD = 2.0) weeks. Small to large effect sizes were found when comparing the pre- to posttreatment differences between groups. Although none of the differences were statistically significant in this small sample, for mothers in the treatment group nocturnal TST (d = .33), CAR (d = 1.06), morning fatigue (d = .22), depressive symptoms (d = .40), physical health–related quality of life (d = .33), and mental health–related quality of life (d = .60) all improved compared to the control group. Bright light therapy is feasible for mothers with infants in an NICU. Clinically significant improvements have been evidenced; a larger-scale trial of effectiveness is needed

Lipid Oxidation and Sensory Characteristics of Grass-Fed Beef: Effect of Duration of Grazing Prior to Slaughter

Beef from cattle produced from grass has a higher concentration of fatty acids considered to be beneficial to human health than beef produced from more intensive production systems and this increase in fatty acid concentration is dependant on the duration at pasture prior to slaughter (Noci et al., 2003). Improvements in the fatty acid composition of beef must not impair other quality characteristics of beef. Little information is available on the pattern of change of quality characteristics in grazing animals. The objective of this study was to determine the shelf-life and eating quality of beef from cattle produced from a standard Irish grass silage/concentrates finishing system but allowed to graze grass for different periods prior to slaughter

Faecal microRNAs: indicators of imbalance at the host-microbe interface?

The enteric microbiota is characterised by a balance and composition that is unique to the host. It is important to understand the mechanisms through which the host can maintain the composition of the gut microbiota. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are implicated in intercellular communication and have been isolated from bodily fluids including stool. Recent findings suggest that miRNA produced by the host’s intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) participate in shaping the microbiota. To investigate whether miRNA expression was influenced by the gut microbiota we measured the expression of miRNAs expressed by intestinal epithelial cells in faeces. Specifically, we measured miRNA expression in faeces from germ-free (GF) and conventional mice and similarly in a rat model of antibiotic-mediated depletion of the gut microbiota control rats. In adult male GF and conventional mice and adult Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were treated with a combination of antibiotics for 8 weeks; total RNA was extracted from faecal pellets taken at week 0, 2, 4, 6 week 8 and the expression of let-7b-3p, miR-141-3p, miR-200a-3p and miR-1224-5p (miRNAs known to be expressed in IECs) were measured relative to U6 at each time point using qRT-PCR. In GF animals the expression of let-7b, miR-141 and miR-200a in faeces was lower compared to conventional mice. Following antibiotic-mediated depletion of gut microbiota, rats showed two divergent profiles of miRNA expression. Following two weeks of antibiotic treatment, the expression of let-7b and miR-1224 dropped significantly and remained low for the remainder of the study. The expression of miR-200a and miR-141 was significantly higher at week 2 than before antibiotic treatment commenced. Subsequently, the expression of miR-200a and miR-141 decreased at week 4 and continued to decrease at week 6. This data demonstrates that miRNAs can be used as an independent, non-invasive marker of microbial fluctuations along with gut pathology in the intestine

Effects of Supplementary Concentrate Level and Separate or Mixed Feeding of Grass Silage and Concentrates on Carcass Tissue Colour Traits in Steers

The level of supplementary concentrates fed with grass silage and the method of feeding (separate or mixed) may affect carcass tissue colour in steers. The objectives were to determine the effects of (1) supplementary concentrate level with grass silage, and (2) separate or mixed feeding of silage and concentrates, on muscle and fat colour