Nutrition

Objectives Matrix differences among serum samples from non-pregnant and pregnant patients could bias measurements. Standard Reference Material 1949, Frozen Human Prenatal Serum, was developed to provide a quality assurance material for the measurement of hormones and nutritional elements throughout pregnancy. Methods Serum from non-pregnant women and women in each trimester were bottled into four levels based on pregnancy status and trimester. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods were developed and applied to the measurement of thyroid hormones, vitamin D metabolites, and vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP)...

INTRODUCTION: The gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a public health issue for its prevalence and association with low life quality and substantial costs. Since most of Italian data refer to over a decade ago, the aim was to provide an updated estimate of GERD symptoms prevalence. Knowledge about appropriate nutrition and behaviours in presence of GERD was assessed. Predictors for symptoms presence and knowledge were explored. METHODS: This study was an online cross-sectional survey that investigated socio-demographics, knowledge about nutrition/behaviours in case of GERD (Knowledge Score KS: percentage of right answers), nutrition/lifestyle attitudes...

The accuracy of methods to determine resting energy expenditure (REE) contributes towards the adequate provision of nutritional support to hospitalized patients. Indirect calorimetry (IC) is considered the gold standard method to determine REE. The aim of this study is evaluated the degree of agreement between the REE measured by IC (REE-IC) and REE estimated by predictive equations in the intensive care unit patients, showing which could be used as an alternative METHODS: : The sample is made up of intensive care unit patients over the age of 18, both male and female, and undergoing nutritional therapy...

BACKGROUND: Patient reported outcome (PRO) measures often address quality of life (QOL) and help improve communication and shared decision making. The home parenteral nutrition patient reported outcome questionnaire (HPN-PROQ) was developed for patients to self-assess factors that influence QOL. The aim of this study was to establish construct validity. METHOD: Responses were analyzed for 77 HPN-dependent patients with chronic and prolonged acute intestinal failure...

In this study, two amendments, poultry waste and ammonium nitrate, were evaluated to condition and stabilize a mine tailing and thus help the vegetation cover settle. Individually, ammonium nitrate was tested as a nitrogen source and chicken bone ash as a phosphate source. For this, laboratory tests were made on soil columns from the area to be remediated. The mobility and availability of metals and nutrients were determined by analyzing their leachates chemically. The results showed that the use of chicken bone ash decreases soluble metal concentrations, particularly in Fe and soluble Mn...

Positive experiences with insect food items that highlight the benefits of insect production and reduce the novelty of entomophagy are needed. Toward this goal, we developed an experiential learning lesson plan that would provide a positive experience with entomophagy and associate key educational content related to insect food items. First, two cricket powder brownie taste-test surveys were conducted with groups of university students to evaluate attitudes relating to insects as food, sustainability of insect production, and nutritional content...

OBJECTIVE: Assimilate evidence for interventions to ameliorate negative changes in physical performance, muscle strength and muscle quantity in hospitalised older adults. METHODS: We searched for articles using MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and Cochrane library using terms for randomised controlled trials, older adults, hospitalisation and change in muscle quantity, strength or physical performance. Two independent reviewers extracted data and assessed risk of bias. We calculated standardised mean differences for changes in muscle function/quantity pre- and post-intervention...

BACKGROUND: Whether a patient's outcomes are better when receiving nutritional counselling during cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has been scarcely described. We compared changes in weight, waist circumference (WC) and blood pressure (BP) in patients attending CR with and without nutritional counselling. METHODS: A retrospective analytical study was conducted in which two groups of patients who completed a phase II CR (36 sessions) were compared: CONTROL [n = 144, mean (SD) age = 59 (12) years, 17% females], comprising patients without nutritional counselling (attended between 2003 and 2009), and NUT [n = 128, mean (SD) age = 60 (13) years, 27% females], comprising patients with dietitian-delivered nutritional counselling (attended between 2010 and 2019)...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Decades of research on nutrition and exercise on athletes and bodybuilders has yielded various strategies to promote anabolism and improve muscle health and growth. We reviewed these interventions in the context of muscle loss in critically ill patients. RECENT FINDINGS: For critically ill patients, ensuring optimum protein intake is important, potentially using a whey-containing source and supplemented with vitamin D and leucine. Agents like hydroxyl β-methylbutyrate and creatine can be used to promote muscle synthesis...

Many predictive tools have been reported for assessing osteoporosis risk. The development and validation of osteoporosis risk prediction models were supported by machine learning. INTRODUCTION: Osteoporosis is a silent disease until it results in fragility fractures. However, early diagnosis of osteoporosis provides an opportunity to detect and prevent fractures. We aimed to develop machine learning approaches to achieve high predictive ability for osteoporosis risk that could help primary care providers identify which women are at increased risk of osteoporosis and should therefore undergo further testing with bone densitometry...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Radiotherapy (RT) is a component of therapy for head and neck cancer (HNC) with a negative nutritional impact. Our aim was to compare an early versus a conventional nutritional intervention. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of HNC patients undergoing RT. Evolution before and after the establishment of a fast-track circuit was evaluated. A conventional group (CG) made up of patients submitted to the nutrition unit during RT after nutritional deterioration, was compared to an early group (EG) represented by patients included in a fast-track circuit, starting nutritional follow-up before the beginning of RT...

The alarmone nucleotides guanosine tetraphosphate and pentaphosphate, commonly referred to as (p)ppGpp, regulate bacterial responses to nutritional and other stresses. There is evidence for potential existence of a third alarmone, guanosine-5'-monophosphate-3'-diphosphate (pGpp), with less-clear functions. Here, we demonstrate the presence of pGpp in bacterial cells, and perform a comprehensive screening to identify proteins that interact respectively with pGpp, ppGpp and pppGpp in Bacillus species. Both ppGpp and pppGpp interact with proteins involved in inhibition of purine nucleotide biosynthesis and with GTPases that control ribosome assembly or activity...

Crop improvement is a continuous effort, since some 10,000 years ago when primitive man made the transition from hunting and foraging to domestication and crop cultivation. Since then, man-made interventions have changed the entire scenario of crop evolution, by means of genetic alterations of plants and animals made to satisfy man's needs. The process of domestication has led to dramatic changes in their appearance, quality and productivity that have contributed substantially to global food security. The tremendous decline in cultivable land, freshwater, and increasing risk of biotic and abiotic stress demand immediate attention on crop improvement to cope with the higher demand of ∼ 40% of the food by 2020...

Competition for nutrients in a polymicrobial biofilm may lead to susceptible species being subjected to nutritional stress. The influence of bacterial growth rates and interspecies interactions on their susceptibility and response to nutritional stress is not well understood. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are two prevalent causative pathogens that coexist in biofilm-associated infections. Despite being the slower-growing species, P. aeruginosa dominates in a two-species biofilm by inducing phenotypic switching of S...

Genetically engineered plants have varied applications in agriculture for enhancing the values of food and feed. Genetic engineering aims to introduce selected genetic regions with desirable traits into target plants for both spatial and temporal expressions. Promoters are the key elements responsible for regulating gene expressions by modulating the transcription factors (TFs) through recognition of RNA polymerases. Based on their recognition and expression, RNA polymerases were categorized into RNA pol II and pol III promoters...

Vitellogenesis, including vitellogenin (Vg) production in the fat body and Vg uptake by maturing oocytes, is of great importance for the successful reproduction of adult females. The endocrinal and nutritional regulation of vitellogenesis differs distinctly in insects. Here, the complex crosstalk between juvenile hormone (JH) and the two nutrient sensors insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) and target of rapamycin complex1 (TORC1), was investigated to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of vitellogenesis regulation in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana Our data showed that a block of JH biosynthesis or JH action arrested vitellogenesis, in part by inhibiting the expression of doublesex ( Dsx ), a key transcription factor gene involved in the sex determination cascade...

Football is a global game which is constantly evolving, showing substantial increases in physical and technical demands. Nutrition plays a valuable integrated role in optimising performance of elite players during training and match-play, and maintaining their overall health throughout the season. An evidence-based approach to nutrition emphasising, a 'food first' philosophy (ie, food over supplements), is fundamental to ensure effective player support. This requires relevant scientific evidence to be applied according to the constraints of what is practical and feasible in the football setting...