Microbial, Chemical, and Functional Components in Kefir, Natto, and Feed Ingredients

Kefir grains were purchased from online, home kitchen vendors in the United States (n = 22), inoculated into UHT milk, and incubated at 25°C for 22 hours. Results indicated lactobacilli, lactococci and yeast in all samples. Six out of 11 samples contained coliform, and all samples contained pseudomonal and staphylococcal species. Using targeted genome sequencing (16S) of kefir grain samples 1, 2, and 3 revealed that lactobacilli were the predominant genera of bacteria. ITS sequencing revealed different fungal species in each grain. Results indicated potential presence of menaquinone-4 and menaquinone-7 by UPLC-MS/MS analysis. The fermentation of whole and ground soybeans, chickpeas, and lentils by Bacillus subtilis natto was examined. Day 1 post-fermentation microbial counts on TGY media were significantly different (P P P P = 0.3498). Whole lentils and ground lentils were significantly different (P1, menaquinone-4, and menaquinone-7. The boron content was measured in a variety of different rendered animal products (n = 66) and plant feedstuffs (n = 23). There was a significant difference in boron content among rendered animal products where meat and bone meal (MBM) had the greatest boron content (2.54 ± 0.24 mg/kg), and feather meal (FM) had the lowest boron content (0.33 ± 0.13 mg/kg) (P

Insights in nutrition programs for the developing ruminant

As the world population grows and resources for food animal production become more limited, animal efficiency must increase. The dairy industry has made progress in reducing age at first calving from 27 to 25 mo., but heifers remain unproductive for over half of their life while still consuming resources. As pre-ruminants, offering restricted amounts of milk to neonatal heifers (conventional system) increases concentrate consumption which drives rumen development. However, accelerated milk programs improve pre-weaning growth rate and the balance between these two systems is still under continuous investigation. Solid feed is important for papillary and musculature development in addition to establishment of a microbial population, which increase transition success when calves are weaned gradually. Furthermore, the optimal target weight for calving is 550 kg at 23 to 24.5 mo., which increases 305-d lactation yield. Increased milk production is desired, but a costly rearing period without producing milk only increases as age at first calving increases, which also increases total number of replacement heifers and total herd green-house emissions. Strategies to achieve desired body weight and age at first calving while reducing input include, using compensatory growth, restricting intake and precision feeding. Compensatory growth can increase average daily gain and feed efficiency; moreover, precision feeding increases feed efficiency even further by reducing nutrient metabolic costs in comparison to ad- libitum systems. Restricting intake provides increased rumen retention time for fiber, non-structural carbohydrates, protein, and other nutrients to be highly digested. Nutrient digestibility is important when comparing these feeding methods because dry matter intake has the greatest impact on efficiency, specifically when different amounts of forages are fed. Using different strategies during the weaning, pre-pubertal and post-pubertal period of dairy heifers can significantly improve performance, nutrient and resources utilization during this conditioning growing phase of dairy cattle.A medida que la población mundial crece y los alimentos se vuelven más limitados, la eficiencia animal debe aumentar. La industria láctea ha progresado en la reducción de la edad al primer parto de 27 a 25 meses, pero las vaquillas siguen siendo improductivas durante más de la mitad de su vida mientras consumen recursos. Como pre-rumiantes, ofrecer cantidades restringidas de leche a las vaquillas neonatales (sistema convencional) aumenta el consumo de concentrado, lo que impulsa el desarrollo del rumen. Sin embargo, los programas acelerados de leche mejoran la tasa de crecimiento previo al destete y el equilibrio entre estos dos sistemas aún está bajo investigación continua. La alimentación sólida es importante para el desarrollo papilar y la musculatura, además del establecimiento de una población microbiana, que aumenta el éxito de la transición cuando los terneros se destetan gradualmente. El peso objetivo para el parto es 550 kg de 23 a 24.5 meses, lo que aumenta el rendimiento de lactancia de 305 días. Si no se reduce el periodo de cría, aumenta el número de vaquillas de reemplazo y las emisiones totales de gases invernadero. Las estrategias para lograr el peso corporal y la edad deseados al primer parto al tiempo que se reducen los insumos incluyen el uso de crecimiento compensatorio, la restricción de la ingesta y la alimentación de precisión. El crecimiento compensatorio puede aumentar la ganancia diaria promedio y la eficiencia alimenticia; Además, la alimentación de precisión aumenta aún más la eficiencia alimenticia al reducir los costos metabólicos de los nutrientes en comparación con los sistemas ad-libitum. La ingesta restringida proporciona un mayor tiempo de retención del rumen para que la fibra, los carbohidratos no estructurales, las proteínas y otros nutrientes sean altamente digeridos

Maternal vegetable intake during and after pregnancy

Background: Improved understanding of vegetable intake changes between pregnancy and postpartum may inform future intervention targets to establish healthy home food environments. Therefore, the goal of this study was to explore the changes in vegetable intake between pregnancy and the postnatal period and explore maternal and sociodemographic factors that are associated with these changes. Methods: We examined sociodemographic, dietary, and health characteristics of healthy mothers 18-43y from the prospective Infant Feeding Practices II cohort (n = 847) (2005–2012). Mothers completed a modified version of the diet history questionnaire, a food-frequency measure, developed by the National Cancer Institute. We created four categories of mothers, those that were: meeting vegetable recommendations post- but not prenatally (n = 121; improved intake), not meeting vegetable recommendations during pregnancy and postnatally (n = 370; stable inadequate), meeting recommendations pre- but not postnatally (n = 123; reduced intake), and meeting recommendations at both time points (n = 233; stable adequate). To make our results more relevant to public health recommendations, we were interested in comparing the improved vegetable intake group vs. stable inadequate vegetable intake group, as well as those that reduced their vegetable intake compared to the stable adequate vegetable intake group. Separate multivariable-adjusted logistic regression were used to examine sociodemographic predictors of improved vs. stable inadequate and reduced vs. stable adequate vegetable intake. Results: Women with improved vegetable intake vs. stable inadequate smoked fewer cigarettes while women with reduced vegetable intake vs. stable adequate were more likely to experience less pregnancy weight gain. In adjusted models, employed women had greater odds of reduced vegetable intake (OR = 1.64 95% CI 1.14–2.36). In exploratory analyses, employment was associated with greater odds of reduced vegetable intake among low-income (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.03–3.1), but not higher income women (OR = 1.31; 95% CI 0.94–1.84). After further adjustment for paid maternity leave, employment was no longer associated with vegetable intake among lower income women (OR: 1.53; 95% CI: 0.76–3.05). Conclusions: More women with reduced vs. stable adequate vegetable intake were lower income and worked full time. Improved access to paid maternity leave may help reduce disparities in vegetable quality between lower and higher income women

Feeding and Supplementation Strategies During Weaning in Dairy Calves

The objective of this research was to test the role of limiting forage and butyrate supplementation in pre-weaned calves on the incidence of sub-acute ruminal acidosis during the weaning transition. For study 1, mean ruminal pH had a tendency to be lower in limit-fed calves and duration and severity of sub-acute ruminal acidosis were higher in calves limit-fed forage. In study 2, there were no differences in average daily gain, blood plasma glucose or β-hydroxy-butyrate concentrations, or ruminal pH between pre-weaning dietary treatments. For post-weaning calves, calves fed a butyrate supplemented starter tended to have higher starter intake and average daily gain, but lower mean ruminal pH, leading to longer duration of sub–acute ruminal acidosis. Based on these data, limiting forage intake prior to weaning increases sub-acute ruminal acidosis while supplementing butyrate during the weaning transition increases feed intake, weight gain, and sub-acute ruminal acidosis immediately after weaning.masters, M.S., Animal and Veterinary Science -- University of Idaho - College of Graduate Studies, 2018-1

Risk factors for venous thromboembolism in different phases of care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Systematic review investigating risk factors for VTE in different phases of care in patients with IB

Are Constructs of the Transtheoretical Model for Physical Activity Measured Equivalently Between Sexes, Age Groups, and Ethnicities?

Background/purpose: Identifying mediators of physical activity change requires measurement instruments that are reliable, valid, and generalizable to multiple populations. Despite continued application of the transtheoretical model (TTM) to the study of physical activity, the structural components of the TTM measurement instruments have been understudied in diverse populations. Methods: A multiethnic sample (N = 700, M (age) = 47, 63% women, 38% Caucasian) of participants living in Hawaii completed TTM measures. The factor validity and measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) of decisional balance, barrier self-efficacy, temptations, and processes of change instruments were explored between men, women, age groups, and ethnicities. Results/conclusions: Measurement models of barrier self-efficacy and revised models of temptations and processes of change demonstrated sufficient evidence for ME/I among all subgroups. A revised model of decisional balance demonstrated sufficient evidence for ME/I between genders and among ethnicities, but not among age groups. Future research should examine the stability of these constructs across time

Impact of mixed survey modes on physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption: a longitudinal study

"It is recommended that researchers who use mixed modal methods for data collection compare their impact on outcome measures. The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption behaviors of a multiethnic sample of adults, comparing participants who continued a telephone survey and those who transitioned from a telephone to a web-based survey for a follow-up data collection point. This longitudinal study used a random sample of 700 Hawaii residents (63.3% Female; Mean age=47, SD=17.1). At baseline, participants completed a computer-assisted telephone interview assessing the stage, behavior, and decisional balance of both physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption. For the three-month follow-up survey, participants were given the option of completing the survey either on the web or by phone. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed for related physical activity scales and fruit/ vegetable consumption variables to compare the change in response across time between a web group and phone group. For both physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption, all mode-by-time interactions were significant). The participants who preferred the telephone survey maintained their levels, whereas those who preferred the web survey reported a decrease in each variable. These results suggest that changing the mode of a survey may introduce a systematic bias in data and that researchers should proceed with caution when using mixed modes of data collection." (author's abstract

The RISES System: An Innovative and Activity-Based Closed-Loop Framework for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation and Recovery

 As spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts the communication between neural circuitry, electrical stimulation of the spinal cord may improve the rewiring and recovery of the affected pathways. Recent advancements in transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) have shown the potential for neurological enhancements in individuals living with SCI. In this study, we introduce the Reynolds Innovative Spinal Electrical Stimulation (RISES) technology, a person-tailored, task-specific stimulation system with real-time optimization capabilities enabled by its multi-data acquisition and closed-loop capabilities. We piloted the safety and feasibility of the RISES system by implementing the developed technology as part of a clinical trial intervention aimed to apply closed-loop tSCS during activity-based training. The successful use of RISES confirmed its safe and feasible closed-loop tSCS methods, resulting in measurable immediate improvements in proximal muscle activation and with no adverse physiological effects being observed in the preliminary data.</p