By-product of Tropical Vermicelli Waste as a Novel Alternative Feedstuff in Broiler Diets

Two experiments were conducted to determine physical and chemical properties of vermicelli waste (VW) and effect of VW inclusion levels on growth performance of broilers. In experiment 1, VW samples were randomly collected from vermicelli industry in Thailand to analyze nutritional composition. Vermicelli waste contained 9.96% moisture, 12.06% CP, 32.30% crude fiber (CF), and 0.57% ether extract (EE), as DM basis. The ratio of insoluble:soluble non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) was 43.4:8.9. A total of 120 chicks (6 pens per treatment and 10 chicks per pen) were fed a corn-soybean meal-based diet or 20% VW substituted diet to determine the apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen retention (AMEn) of VW. The AMEn of VW was 1,844.7±130.71 kcal/kg. In experiment 2, a total of 1,200 chicks were randomly allotted to 1 of 4 dietary treatments for 42-d growth assay. There were 300 chicks with 6 pens per treatment and 50 chicks per pen. The dietary treatments contained 0%, 5%, 10%, or 15% VW, respectively. All diets were formulated to be isocaloric and isonitrogenous. From 0 to 18 d of age chicks fed VW diets had higher (p<0.001) feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared with those fed the control diet. No difference was observed during grower and finisher phase (19 to 42 d). Chicks fed VW diets had lower relative weight of abdominal fat (p<0.001) but higher relative weight of gizzard (p<0.05) than those of chicks fed the control diet. Increasing VW inclusion levels increased ileal digesta viscosity (p<0.05) and intestinal villus height of chicks (p< 0.001). For apparent total tract digestibility assay, there were 4 metabolic cages of 6 chicks that were fed experimental treatment diets (the same as in the growth assay) in a 10-d total excreta collection. Increasing VW inclusion levels linearly decreased (p<0.05) apparent total tract digestibility of DM and CF

Comparative Effectiveness of Guidelines for the Management of Hyperlipidemia and Hypertension for Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Background: Several guidelines to reduce cardiovascular risk in diabetes patients exist in North America, Europe, and Australia. Their ability to achieve this goal efficiently is unclear. Methods and Findings: Decision analysis was used to compare the efficiency and effectiveness of international contemporary guidelines for the management of hypertension and hyperlipidemia for patients aged 40-80 with type 2 diabetes. Measures of comparative effectiveness included the expected probability of a coronary or stroke event, incremental medication costs per event, and number-needed-to-treat (NNT) to prevent an event. All guidelines are equally effective, but they differ significantly in their medication costs. The range of NNT to prevent an event was small across guidelines (6.5-7.6 for males and 6.5-7.5 for females); a larger range of differences were observed for expected cost per event avoided (ranges, $117,269-$157,186 for males and $115,999-$163,775 for females). Australian and U.S. guidelines result in the highest and lowest expected costs, respectively. Conclusions: International guidelines based on the same evidence and seeking the same goal are similar in their effectiveness; however, there are large differences in expected medication costs. © 2011 Shah et al

Cardiovascular disease by diabetes status in five ethnic minority groups compared to ethnic Norwegians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The population in Norway has become multi-ethnic due to migration from Asia and Africa over the recent decades. The aim of the present study was to explore differences in the self-reported prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated risk factors by diabetes status in five ethnic minority groups compared to ethnic Norwegians.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pooled data from three population-based cross-sectional studies conducted in Oslo between 2000 and 2002 was used. Of 54,473 invited individuals 24,749 (45.4%) participated. The participants self-reported health status, underwent a clinical examination and blood samples were drawn. A total of 17,854 individuals aged 30 to 61 years born in Norway, Sri-Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Vietnam or Turkey were included in the study. Chi-square tests, one-way ANOVAs, ANCOVAs, multiple and logistic regression were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Age- and gender-standardized prevalence of self-reported CVD varied between 5.8% and 8.2% for the ethnic minority groups, compared to 2.9% among ethnic Norwegians (p < 0.001). Prevalence of self-reported diabetes varied from 3.0% to 15.0% for the ethnic minority groups versus 1.8% for ethnic Norwegians (p < 0.001). Among individuals without diabetes, the CVD prevalence was 6.0% versus 2.6% for ethnic minorities and Norwegians, respectively (p < 0.001). Corresponding CVD prevalence rates among individuals with diabetes were 15.3% vs. 12.6% (p = 0.364). For individuals without diabetes, the odds ratio (OR) for CVD in the ethnic minority groups remained significantly higher (range 1.5-2.6) than ethnic Norwegians (p < 0.05), after adjustment for age, gender, education, employment, and body height, except for Turkish individuals. Regardless of diabetes status, obesity and physical inactivity were prevalent in the majority of ethnic minority groups, whereas systolic- and diastolic- blood pressures were higher in Norwegians. In nearly all ethnic groups, individuals with diabetes had higher triglycerides, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), and body mass index compared to individuals without diabetes. Age, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and WHR were significant predictors of CVD in both ethnic Norwegians and ethnic minorities, but significant ethnic differences were found for age, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ethnic differences in the prevalence of CVD were prominent for individuals without diabetes. Primary CVD prevention including identification of undiagnosed diabetes should be prioritized for ethnic minorities without known diabetes.</p

The effect of feeding a novel multistrain yeast fraction on European seabass (Dicentrachus labrax) intestinal health and growth performance

© Copyright by the World Aquaculture Society 2019 Fish were fed a single-strain yeast fraction (SsYF; 2 g/kg) or a multistrain yeast fraction (MsYF; 0.8 g/kg) for 10 weeks. The results demonstrated significant (p ≤ 0.03) elevations in weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio, and feed conversion ratio in fish fed the yeast fraction-supplemented diets. In the distal intestine, a significant elevation in microvilli density was observed after 5 and 10 weeks of dietary supplementation with MsYF and SsYF, respectively, compared to control fed fish (p < 0.001). A significant elevation (p = 0.02) in the perimeter ratio was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. After 10 weeks of feeding on the experimental diets, Rt-qPCR demonstrated a significant downregulation (p < 0.05) in the stress response genes, heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (pcna), in fish fed diets supplemented with the yeast fractions. Significant (p < 0.05) elevations in interleukin 1-beta (il1β) and interleukin-10 (il10) gene expression were observed in fish fed diets supplemented with the MsYF compared to the other dietary groups. These findings suggest that feeding an MsYF specifically at a lower incorporation rate < 1 g/kg, compared to a commercial SsYF at 2 g/kg, is effective in improving the intestinal health status and growth performance of European seabass

Predictors of Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease in European Primary Care

Contains fulltext : 96207.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risk management plays an important role in primary care. In patients at high risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) lifestyle and, where appropriate, medical interventions are recommended in guidelines. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is an important outcome in clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the HRQoL of this patient group and to investigate the impact of both patients' characteristics and practice quality scores on their assessments of HRQoL. METHODS AND FINDINGS: An observational study in 218 general practices from 8 European countries was conducted. 2142 patients at risk for CVD (33.5% female) with a mean age of 66.3 (SD 9.1) years completed a questionnaire including the EQ-5D instrument and provided data from medical record. Validated quality indicators of general practices were assessed using practice questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. A hierarchical multilevel analysis was performed to identify predictors of EQ-5D scores at patient and practice level. The mean EQ-5D score was 0.78 (SD 0.19). Female gender (r = -0.03, p<0.0016), age (r = -0.01, p = 0.0387) and lower educational level (r = -0.03, p<0.0001) were correlated negatively with EQ-5D scores. Clinically more important was the correlation of HRQoL with the frequency of practice contacts (r = -0.12, p<0.0001) and the number of uncontrolled risk factors (r = -0.01, p<0.0039). Medication adherence (r = 0.032, p<0.0001), and physical activity (r = 0.02, p<0.0001) were identified as positive predictors of HRQoL. The EUPROPEP-score category 'organization' (r = 0.02, p<0.0001) was positively related to EQ-5D scores, whereas other practice scores were not correlated to EQ-5D-scores. CONCLUSIONS: In patients at risk for CVD, good medication adherence, regular physical activity, controlling of biomedical risk factor levels and patient-centered practice organization have been shown to be positively correlated to HRQoL and should therefore be targeted in interventions not only to reduce morbidity but also to sustain or even to ameliorate HRQoL

Which interventions offer best value for money in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease?

BackgroundDespite many decades of declining mortality rates in the Western world, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide. In this research we evaluate the optimal mix of lifestyle, pharmaceutical and population-wide interventions for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease.Methods and FindingsIn a discrete time Markov model we simulate the ischaemic heart disease and stroke outcomes and cost impacts of intervention over the lifetime of all Australian men and women, aged 35 to 84 years, who have never experienced a heart disease or stroke event. Best value for money is achieved by mandating moderate limits on salt in the manufacture of bread, margarine and cereal. A combination of diuretic, calcium channel blocker, ACE inhibitor and low-cost statin, for everyone with at least 5% five-year risk of cardiovascular disease, is also cost-effective, but lifestyle interventions aiming to change risky dietary and exercise behaviours are extremely poor value for money and have little population health benefit.ConclusionsThere is huge potential for improving efficiency in cardiovascular disease prevention in Australia. A tougher approach from Government to mandating limits on salt in processed foods and reducing excessive statin prices, and a shift away from lifestyle counselling to more efficient absolute risk-based prescription of preventive drugs, could cut health care costs while improving population health.<br /

Cell Walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Differentially Modulated Innate Immunity and Glucose Metabolism during Late Systemic Inflammation

BACKGROUND: Salmonella causes acute systemic inflammation by using its virulence factors to invade the intestinal epithelium. But, prolonged inflammation may provoke severe body catabolism and immunological diseases. Salmonella has become more life-threatening due to emergence of multiple-antibiotic resistant strains. Mannose-rich oligosaccharides (MOS) from cells walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have shown to bind mannose-specific lectin of Gram-negative bacteria including Salmonella, and prevent their adherence to intestinal epithelial cells. However, whether MOS may potentially mitigate systemic inflammation is not investigated yet. Moreover, molecular events underlying innate immune responses and metabolic activities during late inflammation, in presence or absence of MOS, are unknown. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a Salmonella LPS-induced systemic inflammation chicken model and microarray analysis, we investigated the effects of MOS and virginiamycin (VIRG, a sub-therapeutic antibiotic) on innate immunity and glucose metabolism during late inflammation. Here, we demonstrate that MOS and VIRG modulated innate immunity and metabolic genes differently. Innate immune responses were principally mediated by intestinal IL-3, but not TNF-α, IL-1 or IL-6, whereas glucose mobilization occurred through intestinal gluconeogenesis only. MOS inherently induced IL-3 expression in control hosts. Consequent to LPS challenge, IL-3 induction in VIRG hosts but not differentially expressed in MOS hosts revealed that MOS counteracted LPS's detrimental inflammatory effects. Metabolic pathways are built to elucidate the mechanisms by which VIRG host's higher energy requirements were met: including gene up-regulations for intestinal gluconeogenesis (PEPCK) and liver glycolysis (ENO2), and intriguingly liver fatty acid synthesis through ATP citrate synthase (CS) down-regulation and ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) and malic enzyme (ME) up-regulations. However, MOS host's lower energy demands were sufficiently met through TCA citrate-derived energy, as indicated by CS up-regulation. CONCLUSIONS: MOS terminated inflammation earlier than VIRG and reduced glucose mobilization, thus representing a novel biological strategy to alleviate Salmonella-induced systemic inflammation in human and animal hosts