Comparative growth rate in two Grey Starling chicks, artificially raised with animal and plant foods

Associations between microalbuminuria and animal foods, plant foods, and dietary patterns in the Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Understanding the diet of threatened wildlife is vital for species-specific conservation and habitat management measures. The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a vulnerable bird distributed in Northeast Asia. Previous dietary studies of this bird focused mainly on its plant food composition based on field observations and microhistological identification. Herein, a total of 45 fecal samples were collected in November, December and January (15 fecal samples each month) from wintering cranes, and then subjected to a high throughput sequencing meta-barcoding approach to determine the primary plant (rbcL) and animal (COI) food items in their diet. A total of 230 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of plant foods and 371 OTUs of animal foods were obtained. The main plant foods in the wintering period were Miscanthus, Zea, and Hordeum genera, which were similar to those in the breeding and the migration periods. Both agricultural and natural plants were detected, indicating a relatively broad dietary niche for this crane species. However, the main animal foods were representatives of Theridiidae, Megascolecidae, and Agelenidae, in sharp contrast to previous studies. The higher number of small terrestrial arthropods in animal foods might be due to the indirect intake of plants. The composition of both plant and animal foods in the diet showed the highest diversity in December, while it was homogeneous in January. The plant of Zea genus became the main source of nutrition in late winter, as supplementary feeding was performed in the reserve, which could help Red-crowned Cranes to get through the cold season. The results obtained in this work would contribute to the development of effective conservation strategies for the Red-crowned Crane.

A More Focused Approach to Phosphorus Nutrition Education for the Adolescent Kidney Patient.

Understanding the dietary preferences and ecological niche characteristics of mammals not only reveals their adaptive strategies under environmental changes but also reveals the interspecific relationships and coexistence mechanisms among sympatric species. Nevertheless, such data are scarce for rodents inhabiting areas spanning a wide altitude range. This study employed DNA metabarcoding technology to analyze the stomach contents of Apodemus ilex, Apodemus chevrieri, and Niviventer confucianus, aiming to investigate their dietary compositions and diversity in the Meili Snow Mountain in Yunnan Province, China. Levins's and Pianka's indices were used to compare the interspecific niche breadth and niche overlaps. The results revealed the following: (1) Insecta (relative abundance: 59.4-78.4%) and Clitellata (relative abundance: 5.2-25.5%) were the primary animal food sources for the three species, while Magnoliopsida (relative abundance: 90.3-99.9%) constitutes their main plant food source. Considerable interspecific differences were detected in the relative abundance of primary animal and plant foods among the three species; (2) There was partial overlap in the genus-level animal food between A. ilex and N. confucianus (Ojk = 0.4648), and partial overlap in plant food between A. ilex and A. chevrieri (Ojk = 0.3418). However, no overlap exists between A. chevrieri and N. confucianus, either in animal or plant food; (3) There were no significant interspecific differences in the α-diversity of animal and plant foods among the three species. The feeding strategies and ecological niche variations of these rodents support the niche differentiation hypothesis, indicating that they have diversified in their primary food sources. This diversification may be a strategy to reduce competition and achieve long-term coexistence by adjusting the types and proportions of primary foods consumed.

Human ancestral diets changed substantially approximately four to five million years ago with major climatic changes creating open grassland environments. We developed a larger brain balanced by a smaller, simpler gastrointestinal tract requiring higher-quality foods based around meat protein and fat. Anthropological evidence from cranio-dental features and fossil stable isotope analysis indicates a growing reliance on meat consumption during human evolution. Study of hunter-gatherer societies in recent times shows an extreme reliance on hunted and fished animal foods for survival. Optimal foraging theory shows that wild plant foods in general give an inadequate energy return for survival, whereas the top-ranking food items for energy return are large hunted animals. Numerous evolutionary adaptations in humans indicate high reliance on meat consumption, including poor taurine production, lack of ability to chain elongate plant fatty acids and the co-evolution of parasites related to dietary meat.

In a world of limited non renewable natural resources those materials which can be renovated or recycled become crucial to ecological equilibrium. Moreover plant photosynthesis represents at present the only significant mechanism available for capturing solar energy. These facts explain why plants directly or indirectly are the key component of the mammalian food system. Human survival and evolution have been largely oriented by food availability. Present and future human welfare individually and socially is partly determined by the satisfaction of nutritional needs. Plant foods represent the major source of nutrients for humans [1]. They have been traditionally associated with the satisfaction of energy" needs but undoubtedly they provide valuable amino nitrogen for maintenance and growth as well as specific essential vitamins and minerals. The dilemma of producing animal versus plant foods is commanded by the economic realities of the market place on a global scale and not by ecological, biological, political or ethical considerations. The human demand for protein is not equally satisfied by plant or animal foods. The consumer in the industrialized as well as in the developing world prefers animal protein and is willing to pay considerably higher prices if he can afford it [2]. The preference of animal over vegetable protein is in part derived from the consumer's perception of quality and satisfaction. These subjective sensations are related to food beliefs and habits established early on in life and to the sociocultural environment where they are inserted. The biological quality of a given protein is weakly correlated with the market price. Nevertheless nutritional quality is a necessary condition in gaining consumer preference over time. We must stress that this is a necessary but insufficient condition. There are many examples of massive

Actively foraging lizards are capable of identifying prey using only chemical cues sampled by tongue-flicking, and the relatively few omnivorous and herbivorous lizards tested similarly can identify both animal and plant foods from chemical cues. Whether lizards that eat plants respond to cues specific to preferred plant types and whether there is geographic variability in responses to cues from various plants correlated with the importance of those plants in local diets is unknown. In three populations of an omnivorous lacertid, the Balearic lizard Podarcis lilfordi, we studied chemosensory sampling and feeding responses to chemical cues from plant and animal foods presented on cotton swabs. Each lizard population is endemic to one islet off the coast of Menorca, Balearic Islands, Spain. Lizards in all three populations discriminated chemical cues from plant and animal foods from control substances. Our results extend findings of prey chemical discrimination and plant chemical discrimination in omnivores, increasing confidence that correlated evolution has occurred between plant diet and chemosensory response to palatable plants. There were no consistent differences among populations in tongue-flicking and biting responses to stimuli from flowers of syntopic and allopatric plant species. The lizards may respond to cues indicative of palatability in a wide range of plant species rather than exhibiting strong responses only to locally available plant species. Nevertheless, tongue-flicking and biting frequencies varied among plant species, perhaps indicating food preferences. In addition, there were differences among populations in tongue-flick rates, latency to bite, and licking behavior. Licking was observed in only one lizard population as a response to floral chemicals from only one of the plants species tested, raising the possibility of a population-specific linkage between identification of a particular plant species and performance of an appropriate feeding response.

REMOVAL of water and exclusion of air are amongst the most effective conditions for the preservation of animal and vegetable foods. If you coat an egg with collodion you may keep it a year, and yet will find it perfectly sound at the last. By dipping a mutton-chop in melted paraffin, putrefaction will be prevented. But in both these examples of preservative processes, dependent upon the exclusion of air, you make use of materials which are costly and uneatable. There are analogous drawbacks to all similar plans for preventing injurious changes in articles of food. The tinning method, and the method of simple desiccation in warm dry air, are satisfactory in their results; but the range of alimentary substances amenable to such treatment is not very extensive. In Dr. Campbell Morfit's new “Gelatin Process” we seem to see several points of superiority over most of the older plans for attaining the same end. It is true that chemists have not been in the habit of looking upon gelatin (or indeed any other similar complex nitrogenous body) as likely to prevent or arrest decay. On the contrary, few solutions afford a more suitable nidus for the development of fungoid germs than a liquid containing gelatin. But the experience of a good many months tends to show that food-preparations containing gelatin, if once dried so as not to contain more than 10 or 12 per cent, of moisture, do not become mouldy even when exposed to warm and moist air. A large number of Dr. Morfit's experimental mixtures have been so exposed for some weeks, lying on my office table: yet they have not suffered any decided deterioration. They comprise many perishable foods, such as cabbage, tomato, milk, and meat. Though not of equal merit as specimens of the gelatin process, all are edible, and some positively palatable. Further experiment will doubtless enable the inventor to improve his process by modifying it still further, so as to suit a greater variety of vegetable and animal foods.

Fat uptake during deep-fat frying of coated and uncoated foods

The food habits of adult lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) and blue-winged teal (Anas discors) were compared through analysis of monthly samples of gullet contents in an area of typical breeding habitat in the Saskatchewan River Delta. Lesser scaup consumed an average of 66 percent animal food and 34 percent plant food, whereas blue-winged teal used animal and plant foods in nearly equal amounts. Significant changes in the proportions of plant and animal foods occurred between months; they appeared to be correlated with changing abundance of food items. Major foods of lesser scaup were invertebrates and aquatic seeds abundant throughout the shallow eutrophic lakes of the Delta. Main foods of blue- winged teal were snails and seeds of emergent and other marsh plants associated chiefly with the lake shorelines. These differences in the diets reduce competition between the two species and contribute to their ecological separation within the habitat. Water levels constantly held high to increase duck nesting success will not diminish the food supply for scaup but, in the long run, will be detrimental to the food supply for teal. This paper compares the diets of adult lesser scaup and blue-winged teal, the most abundant diving and dabbling ducks in a marsh complex in the Saskatchewan River Delta. The data were obtained as part of a larger study of the capability of that area to support wildlife production and the fea- sibility of intensive wildlife management within an integrated land-use project (Dir- schl et al. 1967). Very little information is yet available on the food habits of adult ducks on the breed-

For the Longer term food-based approaches for controlling vitamin A deficiency and its consequences, become increasingly important. A nutrition survailance system in Central-Java, Indonesia assessed vitamin A intake and serum retinol concentration of lactating women with a child ≤ 36 mo old during crisis. Median vitamin A intake was 319 RE/d and night blindness 0,34%. Serum retinol concentration (mean : 1,23 µ mol/L) was related to vitamin A intake in a dose-concentration manner. The multiple logistic regression model for predicting the chance for a serum retinol concentration > observed median of the population ( ≥ 1,27 µ mol/L) included determinant factors, vitamin A intake from plant foods (OR [95% CI] per quartile, 1st : 1.00, 2nd: 1,63 [0,99-2,80], 3rd: 1,99 [1,58-2,99], and 4th: 2,62 [1,68-4,04], from, animal foods (1st and 2nd: 1,00. 3rd: 1,37 [0,89-2,09] and 4th: 2,86 [1,59-3,98] ). Homegardening (no 1,00, yes 1,88 [1,08-2,68] ) and woman’s education level ( ≤ primary school : 1,00 ≥ secondary school : 1,46 [1,00-2,16] ). Thus, although contributing 16 times more to total vitamin A intake plant foods were as important for vitamin A status as animal foods. Homegardening and woman’s education level seem to reflect longer-term consumption of plant and animal foods respectively. (Med J Indones 2006; 15:259-66) Keywords: Vitamin A intake, plant foods, animal foods, vitamin A status, homegardening, socio-economic status, crisis, Indonesia

Animal foods play an important role in the diet of man. Nutritionally they are important sources of protein of good quality and excellent sources of vitamins and minerals. In addition, animal foods are in general more distinctive in flavor and texture and often more palatable than foods of vegetable origin. However, grains and their products and vegetables continue to constitute the bulk of the diets of most persons because of their lower cost. The feeding of grains to animals and consumption of them as animal products is uneconomical in certain respects, but many plant products can be consumed by human beings only after conversion through the animal. The customary combination of animal and vegetable foods is a sound practice nutritionally because of their supplementary relationship. <h3>PROTEIN</h3> Probably the most important contribution of animal foods to the human diet is the proteins (amino acids) they supply. The animal proteins generally are

Healthful and Unhealthful Plant-Based Diets and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in U.S. Adults

BackgroundAnemia is a major health problem worldwide. Because of health and socioeconomic problems, the prevalence of anemia is higher in developing countries. Children and pregnant women are the most vulnerable groups to anemia. The aim of the present study was to determine the magnitude of anemia among school children.MethodsA cross-sectional household survey was conducted in January 2011 on 423 children, aged 6–14 years, selected through systematic random sampling method. Sociodemographic and anthropometric data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Capillary blood was taken from the fingertip of each child and hemoglobin was measured using HaemoCue digital photometer. All the necessary safety measures were taken during blood collection. Anthropometric indicators were measured using WHO’s guideline. Data analysis was made using SPSS Version 16.0 for Windows. The association between predictors and outcome variables were measured by a stepwise logistic regression model. Ethical permission was obtained; consent of the parents/guardian was taken and confidentiality was maintained.ResultA total of 404 children were studied. The mean age was 10.21(SD ± 1.89) years. The proportion of females was 217(53.7%). The mean hemoglobin level for both sexes was 11.59(SD ± 1.97 g/dl). The current prevalence of anemia was 152(37.6%), out of which, 73(18.1%) had mild while 79(19.6%) of them had moderate anemia. The prevalence of anemia among the age group of 6–11 years was 118(40.5%) while the prevalence among the group of 12–14 years old children was 34(30.1%). Among the selected variables in the logistic regression analysis, low family income [OR = 4.925, 95% CI(1.063,22.820)], mothers’ education [OR = 4.621, 95% CI(1.383,15.439)], intake of plant food [OR = 3.847, 95% CI(2.068, 7.157)] and intake of animal food [OR = 2.37, 95% CI(1.040,5.402)] were significantly and independently associated with anemia.ConclusionAnemia is a moderate public health problem in the study area. Family income, educational status of parents and inadequate plant and animal food intake are the predictors of anemia. Improving the economic status of the family, women education and health education about balanced animal and plant food consumption are recommended strategies to reduce the burden of anemia.

When distributed equally, the total amount of food produced worldwide could sufficiently meet current global demand. Still, malnutrition in the form of nutrient deficiencies continues to prevail in both low- and high-income countries. At the same time, natural resource use for agriculture is reaching or exceeding environmental boundaries. By integrating a comprehensive micronutrient scoring method with data on agricultural water demand, this analysis aims to re-evaluate the global water-use efficiency of dietary nutrient production. A stronger reliance on more nutrient-dense foods could lead to higher water-use efficiencies, though dietary water footprints were likely to increase overall. With a more detailed focus on plant and animal foods, we find that most dietary protein sources show comparable water-use efficiencies, and thus can be drivers for agricultural water demand. Animal foods, besides having a unique nutrient profile, often do not compete directly with crops for the same water resources. However, a significant reduction in the demand for utilizable freshwater resources could be achieved by reducing the amount of feed crops in ruminant diets. Water-use efficiency in the production of food must not only take into account quantities and yields, but also the nutrients and dietary impacts. Animal and plant foods show little difference in this demand efficiency, and best serve as complimentary rather than substitutable foods.