Deactivation of tannins in raisin stalk by polyethylene glycol-600: Effect on degradation and gas production in vitro

An experiment was conducted to assess the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) and urea on dry and organic matter digestibility (IVDMD and IVOMD, respectively) and gas production in vitro. Raisin stalk contained 8.6% crude protein, 85% dry matter, 7% ash, 13.95% total extractable phenol (TEPH) and 2.13% total extractable tannin (TET). The experimental treatments were: raisin with no supplementation as control (C); supplemented with 3% urea (U 3%), 5% urea (U 5%) or 3% urea plus 5% PEG (U-PEG) per DM. The rumen liquor fluid was obtained from two ruminal-cannulated fat-tailed sheep. TEPH and TET were determined and in vitro incubation was also conducted. The results indicated that the PEG increased IVOMD and IVDMD. The gas produced from time 0 to 3 and 3 to 6 h of incubation were significantly higher in PEG treatment than that of other groups (P < 0.05). The U-PEG treatment increased the total gas production in 96 h, but it was not statistically significant (P = 0.06) Gas production in 96 h incubation using 300 mg fresh sample was significantly higher than 200 mg sample (P < 0.05). It is concluded that the negative effect of tannin on DM and OM digestibility and also gas production of raisin stalk in vitro could be alleviated by PEG treatment.Key words: Raisin stalk, tannin, polyethylene glycol (PEG), urea, gas production, digestibility, in vitro

Sleep patterns and habits in high school students in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sleep patterns and habits in high school students in Iran have not been well studied to date. This paper aims to re-address this balance and analyse sleep patterns and habits in Iranian children of high school age.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 1,420 high school students randomly selected by stratified cluster sampling. This was a self-report study using a questionnaire which included items about usual sleep/wake behaviours over the previous month, such as sleep schedule, falling asleep in class, difficulty falling asleep, tiredness or sleepiness during the day, difficulty getting up in the morning, nightmares, and taking sleeping pills.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean duration of night sleep was 7.7 h, with no difference between girls, boys, and school year (grade). The mean time of waking in the morning was not different between genders. About 9.9% of the girls and 4.6% of the boys perceived their quality of sleep as being bad, and 58% of them reported sleepiness during the day. About 4.2% of the subjects had used medication to enhance sleep. The time of going to bed was associated with grade level and gender. Sleep latency was not associated with gender and grade leve, l and 1.4% experienced bruxism more than four times a week.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results are in contrast with that of previous studies that concluded sleep duration is shorter in Asia than in Europe, that boys woke-up significantly later than girls, and that the frequency of sleep latency category was associated with gender and grade level. The magnitude of the daytime sleepiness, daytime sleepiness during classes, sleep latency, and incidences of waking up at night represent major public health concerns for Iran.</p

A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project (k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach. Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result (d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect (d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation

Spiritual wellbeing of Iranian patients with acute coronary syndromes: a cross-sectional descriptive study

Author's accepted version (post-print)