Food Uptake Research Articles

Identification of Bioactive Substances Derived from the Probiotic-Induced Bioconversion of Lagerstroemia speciosa Pers. Leaf Extract That Have Beneficial Effects on Diabetes and Obesity.

Lagerstroemia speciosa L. (Banaba) has been used as a functional food because of its diuretic, decongestant, antipyretic, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-adipogenic activities. Triterpene acids, including corosolic acid, oleanolic acid, and asiatic acid, are the principal phytochemicals in Banaba and are potentially anti-diabetic substances, owing to their effect on blood glucose concentration. Bioconversion of Banaba leaf extract (BLE) by Lactobacillus plantarum CBT-LP3 improved the glucose uptake, insulin secretion, and fat browning of this functional food. Furthermore, we identified asiatic acid, which was found to be increased by 3.8-fold during the L. plantarum CBT-LP3-mediated bioconversion process using metabolite profiling. Most previous studies have focused on corosolic acid, another triterpene acid that is a known anti-diabetic compound and is used to standardize BLE preparations. However, asiatic acid is the second most common of the triterpene acids and is also well known to have anti-diabetic properties. The present study has provided strong evidence that asiatic acid represents an alternative to corosolic acid as the most important active compound. These results suggest that the probiotic-mediated bioconversion of BLE may improve the anti-diabetic effects of this functional food. This implies that the consumption of a probiotic should be encouraged for people undergoing BLE treatment to improve its anti-diabetic effects.

Critical review on unveiling the toxic and recalcitrant effects of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems and their degradation by microbes.

Production of synthetic plastic obtained from fossil fuels are considered as a constantly growing problem and lack in the management of plastic waste has led to severe microplastic pollution in the aquatic ecosystem. Plastic particles less than 5mm are termed as microplastics (MPs), these are pervasive in water and soil, it can also withstand longer period of time with high durability. It can be broken down into smaller particles and can be adsorbed by various life-forms. Most marine organisms tend to consume plastic debris that can be accumulated easily into the vertebrates, invertebrates and planktonic entities. Often these plastic particles surpass the food chain, resulting in the damage of various organs and inhibiting the uptake of food due to the accumulation of microplastics. In this review, the physical and chemical properties of microplastics, as well as their effects on the environment and toxicity of their chemical constituents are discussed. In addition, the paperalso sheds light on the potential of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae whichplaya pivotal role in the process of microplasticsdegradation. The mechanism of microbial degradation, the factors that affect degradation, and the current advancements in genetic and metabolic engineering of microbes to promote degradation are also summarized. The paper also provides information on the bacterial, algal and fungal degradation mechanism including the possible enzymes involved in microplastic degradation. It also investigates the difficulties, limitations, and potential developments that may occur in the field of microbial microplastic degradation.

Effect of micro-plastic particles on coral reef foraminifera

Foraminifera are single-celled protists which are important mediators of the marine carbon cycle. In our study, we explored the potential impact of polystyrene (PS) microplastic particles on two symbiont-bearing large benthic foraminifera species—Heterostegina depressa and Amphistegina lobifera—over a period of three weeks, employing three different approaches: investigating (1) stable isotope (SI) incorporation—via 13C- and 15N-labelled substrates—of the foraminifera to assess their metabolic activity, (2) photosynthetic efficiency of the symbiotic diatoms using imaging PAM fluorometry, and (3) microscopic enumeration of accumulation of PS microplastic particles inside the foraminiferal test. The active feeder A. lobifera incorporated significantly more PS particles inside the cytoplasm than the non-feeding H. depressa, the latter accumulating the beads on the test surface. Photosynthetic area of the symbionts tended to decrease in the presence of microplastic particles in both species, suggesting that the foraminiferal host cells started to digest their diatom symbionts. Compared to the control, the presence of microplastic particles lead to reduced SI uptake in A. lobifera, which indicates inhibition of inorganic carbon and nitrogen assimilation. Competition for particulate food uptake was demonstrated between algae and microplastic particles of similar size. Based on our results, both species seem to be sensitive to microplastic pollution, with non-feeding H. depressa being more strongly affected.

Transcriptional and hormonal control of adipose Treg heterogeneity and function.

Adipose tissue stores excess energy and produces a broad range of factors that regulate multiple physiological processes including systemic energy homeostasis. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) plays a particularly important role in glucose metabolism as its endocrine function underpins food uptake and energy expenditure. Caloric excess triggers VAT inflammation which can impair insulin sensitivity and cause metabolic deregulation. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) that reside in the VAT suppress inflammation and protect from metabolic disease. The cellular components of VAT and its secretory products play a vital role in fostering the differentiation and maintenance of VAT Tregs. Critically, the physiology and inflammatory tone of VAT exhibit sex-specific disparities, resulting in substantial VAT Treg heterogeneity. Indeed, cytokines and sex hormones promote the differentiation of distinct populations of mature VAT Tregs, each characterized by unique phenotypes, homeostatic requirements, and functions. This review focuses on key findings that have significantly advanced our understanding of VAT Treg biology and the current state of the field, while also discussing open questions that require further exploration.

Rutaecarpine Protects Against Cigarette Smoke-Induced Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Rats.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic lung inflammatory disease that causes restricted airflow and breathing difficulties.In this work, we attempted to explore the salutary effects of rutaecarpine on COPD-induced rats. Healthy Wistar rats were employed in this study and exposed to cigarette smoke to initiate COPD. The rutaecarpine was given to the rats at 20 and 30mg/kg dosages, respectively, for 12 weeks. Body weight gain, food uptake, and food efficiency were assessed after treatment completion. The grip strength test was performed to assess muscle strength. The C-reactive protein (CRP), leptin, inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative stress markers were assessed using the corresponding assay kits. The inflammatory cells on the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were counted using Wright-Giemsa staining. The respiratory functions of the experimental rats were measured. The histopathological analysis was done on the lung tissues.The rutaecarpine treatment effectively increased body weight gain, food uptake, and food efficiency in the COPD rats. The levels of leptin were increased, and CRP was reduced by the rutaecarpine. The rutaecarpine regulated the respiratory functions and reduced the inflammatory cell counts and pro-inflammatory markers in the COPD rats. The levels of antioxidants were increased by the rutaecarpine treatment in the COPD rats. The findings of the lung histopathological study also demonstrated the therapeutic effects of rutaecarpine.Overall, the findings of the current study witness the salutary role of rutaecarpine against cigarette smoke-induced COPD in rats. Therefore, it was clear that rutaecarpine could be a promising salutary candidate to treat COPD.

Parenting Approaches on Children Food Uptake and Nutrition Status in Kiambu County, Kenya

Parental use of reward and punishment is a key to reinforcement or deterrence of food choices among children an aspect that affects nutritional status throughout an individual’s life span. Kenya has a population of 47,564,296 people according to demographic survey of Kenya 2019, of whom 1.4 % are school-going children aged 6-years in Juja Sub-County of Kiambu, (Kenya National Beural of Statistics,2019). Cross-sectional analytical research design was adopted on 384 parent-child pairs, who were disproportionately sampled. Researcher-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. SРSS software version 26.0 was used to analyse the data with significance p<.05. Anthropometry data was analysed using WHO Anthro-Plus Survey Analyzer and compared to BMI-for-age (BAZ), weight-for-age (WAZ) and height-for-age (HAZ) Scores for the target population. Pearson’s correlation (r) was used to establish association. Boys were 48.0% while girls were 52.0% with a mean age of 6.4± 0.1. Almost half the index children (45.1%) were born first. Mean household size was 5.0± 1.66 with maternal mean age at 34± 4.9 years and that of the fathers at 39± 4.8 years. The majority of mothers (73.0%) and fathers (76.1%) had tertiary level of education with more fathers than the mothers in the formal sector of employment, with a higher income. All (100%) children reported being rewarded by receiving incentives like praise words (60.1%), while majority of them (92.0%) reported being punished in multiple ways by the mothers when they refused to feed yet a third of fathers (61.0%) praised and gifted their children to feed. Prevalence of stunting (6.9%), underweight (7.1%), wasting (7.2%), overweight (16.4%) and obesity (11.7%) was observed in the study population. A positive strong significant relationship (p=0.05, x2=5.2) between age of the mothers and punishment was noted, also shouting threats, grounding, inflicting pain & withdrawal of privileges (p=0.05, x2=9.6) was common among the married mothers. More parents with tertiary education (74.6%) and higher incomes (40.5%) gifted and gave special permissions which had a stronger positive relationship to food choices (p=0.06, x2=4.33) and nutritional status (p=0.04, x2=5.9). Food choices had a strong positive relationship to nutritional status (p=0.05) and so did dietary diversity (p=0.6). Majority of the parents reported that the demographic characteristics (83.8%) and Socio-economic characteristics (90.7%) affected their food choices as a household. Almost all mothers (98.8%) and more than half of the fathers (55.4%) felt that rewarding and punishing the study children in relation to food had an effect on their food choices and approaches

Endothelial specific prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 deficiency attenuates aging-related obesity and exercise intolerance

Obesity and exercise intolerance greatly reduce the life quality of older people. Prolyl hydroxylase domain-containing protein 2 (PHD2) is an important enzyme in modulating hypoxia-inducible factor-alpha (HIF) protein. Using vascular endothelial cell-specific PHD2 gene knockout (PHD2 ECKO) mice, we investigated the role of endothelial PHD2 in aging-related obesity and exercise capacity. Briefly, PHD2 ECKO mice were obtained by crossing PHD2-floxed mice with VE-Cadherin (Cdh5)-Cre transgenic mice. The effect of PHD2 ECKO on obesity and exercise capacity in PHD2 ECKO mice and control PHD2f/f mice were determined in young mice (6 to 7 months) and aged mice (16–18 months). We found that aged PHD2 ECKO mice, but not young mice, exhibited a lean phenotype, characterized by lower fat mass, and its ratio to lean weight, body weight, or tibial length, while their food uptake was not reduced compared with controls. Moreover, as compared with aged control mice, aged PHD2 ECKO mice exhibited increased oxygen consumption at rest and during exercise, and the maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2 max) during exercise. Furthermore, as compared with corresponding control mice, both young and aged PHD2 ECKO mice demonstrated improved glucose tolerance and lower insulin resistance. Together, these data demonstrate that inhibition of vascular endothelial PHD2 signaling significantly attenuates aging-related obesity, exercise intolerance, and glucose intolerance.

Determinants of iron-rich food deficiency among children under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa: a comprehensive analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys

BackgroundIron deficiency is a major public health problem that affects the physical and cognitive development of children under 5 years of age (under-5 children) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the...

Role of immigrant males and muzzle contacts in the uptake of a novel food by wild vervet monkeys.

The entry into and uptake of information in social groups is critical for behavioral adaptation by long-lived species in rapidly changing environments. We exposed five groups of wild vervet monkeys to a novel food to investigate the innovation of processing and consuming it. We report that immigrant males innovated in two groups, and an infant innovated in one group. In two other groups, immigrant males imported the innovation from their previous groups. We compared uptake between groups with respect to the initial innovator to examine the extent to which dispersing males could introduce an innovation into groups. Uptake of the novel food was faster in groups where immigrant males ate first rather than the infants. Younger individuals were more likely overall, and faster, to subsequently acquire the novel food. We also investigated the role of muzzle contact behavior in information seeking around the novel food. Muzzle contacts decreased in frequency over repeated exposures to the novel food. Muzzle contacts were initiated the most by naïve individuals, high rankers, and juveniles; and were targeted most towards knowledgeable individuals and high rankers, and the least towards infants. We highlight the potential importance of dispersers in rapidly exploiting novel resources among populations.

Dietary Epigenetic Modulators: Unravelling the Still-Controversial Benefits of miRNAs in Nutrition and Disease.

In the context of nutrient-driven epigenetic alterations, food-derived miRNAs can be absorbed into the circulatory system and organs of recipients, especially humans, and potentially contribute to modulating health and diseases. Evidence suggests that food uptake, by carrying exogenous miRNAs (xenomiRNAs), regulates the individual miRNA profile, modifying the redox homeostasis and inflammatory conditions underlying pathological processes, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. The capacity of diet to control miRNA levels and the comprehension of the unique characteristics of dietary miRNAs in terms of gene expression regulation show important perspectives as a strategy to control disease susceptibility via epigenetic modifications and refine the clinical outcomes. However, the absorption, stability, availability, and epigenetic roles of dietary miRNAs are intriguing and currently the subject of intense debate; additionally, there is restricted knowledge of their physiological and potential side effects. Within this framework, we provided up-to-date and comprehensive knowledge on dietary miRNAs' potential, discussing the latest advances and controversial issues related to the role of miRNAs in human health and disease as modulators of chronic syndromes.

The modern methods development for microbiological water quality assessment in lakes

The functional diversity of free-living aquatic protozoans is discussed with respect to the feeding ecology, life strategies and water quality. Heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) are known as most important grazers of bacteria in many aquatic ecosystems. Recent studies of flagellate feeding processes indicated that there are significant species-specific variability regarding the food uptake and food selection of bacterivorous flagellates. The Choanoflagellida have an essential role in microbial food webs contributing to a process of self-purification of water bodies as well as are used in monitoring systems. We show that diversity and relative abundance of ciliates and other protozoans can be used as indicators of toxic pollution and acidification. Multivariate statistics were used to design “the scale of toxicity” across a gradient of toxicant stress and organic compounds. A new index of periphyton flagellates (IPF) as indicator of the trophic status of a water-body and a simplified index for a sublethal toxicity assessment were developed.

Skin epidermal keratinocyte p53 induces food uptake upon UV exposure.

The first cells affected by UVB exposure are epidermal keratinocytes, and p53, the genome guardian, is activated in these cells when skin is exposed to UVB. UVB exposure induces appetite, but it remains unclear whether p53 in epidermal keratinocytes plays a role in this appetite stimulation. Here we found that food intake was increased following chronic daily UVB exposure in a manner that depends on p53 expression in epidermal keratinocytes. p53 conditional knockout in epidermal keratinocytes reduced food intake in mice upon UVB exposure. To investigate the effects of p53 activation following UVB exposure, mice behavior was assessed using the staircase, open-field, elevated-plus maze, and conditioned-place preference tests. In addition to effects on appetite, loss of p53 resulted in anxiety-related behaviors with no effect on activity level. Since skin p53 induces production of β-endorphin, our data suggest that UVB-mediated activation of p53 results in an increase in β-endorphin levels which in turn influences appetite. Our study positions UVB as a central environmental factor in systemic behavior and has implications for the treatment of eating and anxiety-related disorders.

Maintenance of appropriate size scaling of the C. elegans pharynx by YAP-1

Even slight imbalance between the growth rate of different organs can accumulate to a large deviation from their appropriate size during development. Here, we use live imaging of the pharynx of C. elegans to ask if and how organ size scaling nevertheless remains uniform among individuals. Growth trajectories of hundreds of individuals reveal that pharynxes grow by a near constant volume per larval stage that is independent of their initial size, such that undersized pharynxes catch-up in size during development. Tissue-specific depletion of RAGA-1, an activator of mTOR and growth, shows that maintaining correct pharynx-to-body size proportions involves a bi-directional coupling between pharynx size and body growth. In simulations, this coupling cannot be explained by limitation of food uptake alone, and genetic experiments reveal an involvement of the mechanotransducing transcriptional co-regulator yap-1. Our data suggests that mechanotransduction coordinates pharynx growth with other tissues, ensuring body plan uniformity among individuals.

The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function.

Ants are a dominant family of eusocial terrestrial insects with a diversity of ecologies, lifestyles and morphologies. Ant diet preferences range from strict carnivory through omnivory to almost complete herbivory in species feeding on seeds or exudates of plant-sucking insects. While several studies have investigated ant feeding performance on different substrates, comparatively little is known about the functional morphology of the structures involved in food uptake or their diversification across the ants. To take stock of our current knowledge, we give an overview of how adult ants ingest food, followed by a morphological description of the mouthparts, preoral space and cephalic sucking pump. The mandibles are the most prominent mouthparts and have received considerable attention in the literature, so we focus on the maxillae and labium here. We present current hypotheses for the movement patterns of these parts and discuss morphological differences among ants that may be related to their ecological diversity. Finally, we give short comparisons of the ant condition with some other insects and vertebrates, as well as an outlook summarizing gaps in our knowledge. This sets the stage for future studies elucidating the connections between ant feeding mechanisms and mouthpart evolution. This article is part of the theme issue 'Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals'.

Diosgenin alleviates NAFLD induced by a high-fat diet in rats via mTOR/SREBP-1c/HSP60/MCAD/SCAD signaling pathway

This study aims to observe the effects of diosgenin on the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR), sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c(SREBP-1c), heat shock protein 60(HSP60), medium-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase(MCAD), and short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase(SCAD) in the liver tissue of the rat model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) and explore the mechanism of diosgenin in alleviating NAFLD. Forty male SD rats were randomized into five groups: a control group, a model group, low-(150 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) and high-dose(300 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) diosgenin groups, and a simvastatin(4 mg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) group. The rats in the control group were fed with a normal diet, while those in the other four groups were fed with a high-fat diet. After feeding for 8 weeks, the body weight of rats in the high-fat diet groups increased significantly. After that, the rats were administrated with the corresponding dose of diosgenin or simvastatin by gavage every day for 8 weeks. The levels of triglyceride(TG), total cholesterol(TC), alanine transaminase(ALT), and aspartate transaminase(AST) in the serum were determined by the biochemical method. The levels of TG and TC in the liver were measured by the enzyme method. Oil-red O staining was employed to detect the lipid accumulation, and hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining to detect the pathological changes in the liver tissue. The mRNA and protein levels of mTOR, SREBP-1c, HSP60, MCAD, and SCAD in the liver tissue of rats were determined by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. Compared with the control group, the model group showed increased body weight, food uptake, liver index, TG, TC, ALT, and AST levels in the serum, TG and TC levels in the liver, lipid deposition in the liver, obvious hepatic steatosis, up-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of mTOR and SREBP-1c, and down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels of HSP60, MCAD, and SCAD. Compared with the model group, the rats in each treatment group showed obviously decreased body weight, food uptake, liver index, TG, TC, ALT, and AST levels in the serum, TG and TC levels in the liver, lessened lipid deposition in the liver, ameliorated hepatic steatosis, down-regulated mRNA and protein le-vels of mTOR and SREBP-1c, and up-regulated mRNA and protein levels of HSP60, MCAD, and SCAD. The high-dose diosgenin outperformed the low-dose diosgenin and simvastatin. Diosgenin may prevent and treat NAFLD by inhibiting the expression of mTOR and SREBP-1c and promoting the expression of HSP60, MCAD, and SCAD to reduce lipid synthesis, improving mitochondrial function, and promoting fatty acid β oxidation in the liver.

Variable diet plasticity in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis): Current versus seasonal food uptake

AbstractDiet plasticity is often studied in Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis), a species commonly described as having generalist populations composed of specialised individuals. Perch diet was examined using gut content analysis (GCA) and stable isotope analysis (SIA), and individual specialisation was calculated in two study lakes within 2 years. Mostly only one diet category was present in the perch stomach, with more variation in the diet in the Most lake compared to the Milada lake between 2013 and 2014. The calculated degree of individual specialisation indicated higher specialisation in the Most lake. Interestingly, despite the different or almost uniform diet composition between the years, the total niche width (based on SIA) of the population remained similar in both lakes. This suggests that the overall variation in the sources utilised by the entire population remained consistent between the years. GCA mostly indicated zooplankton as the prevailing food source, whereas SIA indicated significant utilisation of YOY fish earlier that year, an information that was completely missed by the GCA of fish caught in September. The differences between GCA and SIA results could be attributed to the different time intervals reflected by the methods, but possibly to the conversion of the diet into the body tissues that is reflected by SIA and may depend on the diet's nutritional values rather than the proportion of different prey consumed.

Post-feeding transcriptomics reveals essential genes expressed in the midgut of the desert locust.

The digestive tract constitutes an important interface between an animal's internal and external environment. In insects, available gut transcriptome studies are mostly exploratory or look at changes upon infection or upon exposure to xenobiotics, mainly performed in species belonging to holometabolan orders, such as Diptera, Lepidoptera or Coleoptera. By contrast, studies focusing on gene expression changes after food uptake and during digestion are underrepresented. We have therefore compared the gene expression profiles in the midgut of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, between three different time points after feeding, i.e., 24h (no active digestion), 10min (the initial stage of feeding), and 2h (active food digestion). The observed gene expression profiles were consistent with the polyphagous herbivorous lifestyle of this hemimetabolan (orthopteran) species. Our study reveals the upregulation of 576 genes 2h post-feeding. These are mostly predicted to be associated with digestive physiology, such as genes encoding putative digestive enzymes or nutrient transporters, as well as genes putatively involved in immunity or in xenobiotic metabolism. The 10min time point represented an intermediate condition, suggesting that the S. gregaria midgut can react rapidly at the transcriptional level to the presence of food. Additionally, our study demonstrated the critical importance of two transcripts that exhibited a significant upregulation 2h post-feeding: the vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase and the sterol transporter Niemann-Pick 1b protein, which upon RNAi-induced knockdown resulted in a marked increase in mortality. Their vital role and accessibility via the midgut lumen may make the encoded proteins promising insecticidal target candidates, considering that the desert locust is infamous for its huge migrating swarms that can devastate the agricultural production in large areas of Northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. In conclusion, the transcriptome datasets presented here will provide a useful and promising resource for studying the midgut physiology of S. gregaria, a socio-economically important pest species.

1674-P: Increased Glucose Uptake in Brown Fat Promotes Energy Expenditure

Brown and beige fat dissipate energy as heat in response to β3-adrenergic receptor (β3AR) stimulation. Strategies to facilitate this response may be employed to promote weight loss and improve health in patients with metabolic disease. Previously, we discovered that GTPase RalA and its GAP complex RalGAP regulate exocytosis of glucose transporter GLUT4. We demonstrated in vivo, that adipose-tissue specific knockout of RalGAP subunit RalGAPB activates RalA and increases glucose uptake 7 times in brown fat (BAT), leading to improved glucose handling on high fat diet (HFD). Here we seek to test the effect of increased glucose uptake in BAT on energy expenditure (EE), using mice with BAT-specific knockout of RalGAPB (the KO mice). After 8 weeks on 45% HFD, the KO mice and control littermates (Ctr) were injected with β3AR agonist CL-316,243 (CL) or PBS for 8 days. Mice assigned to CL were placed in metabolic cages. Respiratory quotient was increased in the KO mice, indicating increased glucose oxidation (likely by BAT, due to increased glucose uptake). EE at room temperature was elevated in the KO mice. This was compensated by increased food uptake, explaining similar body weights between the KO and Ctr mice. CL injections, as expected, induced spikes in EE. Acute response to CL (arbitrarily defined as EE during 2 hours after CL injection) was consistent between daily CL injections in Ctr mice, and was increased twice in the KO mice compared to Ctr. In Ctr mice, 1st CL injection increased average day and night EE; this response gradually declined with consecutive CL injections. In the KO mice, 1st CL injection elicited similar to Ctr mice increase in average day and night EE; and the response to consecutive CL injections was preserved. As anticipated, CL reduced adiposity in Ctr mice, which was further augmented in the KO mice, consistent with finding on EE. We will further test the role of increased glucose uptake by BAT in EE of the KO mice, and will determine the mechanism of sustained CL responsiveness in the KO mice. Disclosure F.Rezayat: None. J.A.Resnick: None. I.M.Farah: None. Y.Skorobogatko: None. A.Saltiel: Board Member; Elgia Therapeutics. Funding National Institutes of Health (P30DK063491)

“More2Eat” in patients at nutritional risk during hospital stay lowers the risk of three-month mortality

Malnutrition is a common problem among hospitalized patients due to increased nutrient requirements and reduced food intake or uptake of nutrients. The aim of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the association of nutritional risk status (at or not at risk by NRS-2002) as well as energy and protein intake, use of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) and snack meals in at risk patients during hospitalization and adverse outcomes (length of stay (LOS), readmissions and mortality) at three-months follow-up. Data were collected at baseline and at three-months follow-up in patients hospitalized at 31 units at a Danish University Hospital. Diet records were performed at baseline by using the nurses' quartile nutrition recording methods. Data about disease and clinical outcomes were collected from electronic medical records at baseline and three-months follow-up. A total of 318 patients were included. Patients at nutritional risk (n=149, 47%) had higher risk of longer LOS (≥20 days (OR=4.24 [1.81;9.95] and ≥30 days OR=2.50 [1.22;5.14])), having one readmission (OR=1.86 [1.15;3.01]) and death (OR=2.56 [1.27;5.20]) compared to patients not at nutritional risk (n=169, 53%). A longer LOS was associated with patients who achieved ≥75% of energy and protein requirements, consumed snack meals incl. and excl. oral nutritional supplements. Readmissions in patients at nutritional risk during the three-months were not associated with food intake during the index hospitalization. Mortality was observed in 43 of the 318 (13.5%) hospitalized patients. A lower mortality was associated with increased energy and protein intake in patients at nutritional risk. The results of this study indicate a longer LOS, higher readmission rate and increased mortality in patients at nutritional risk compared to patients not at risk. Patients at nutritional risk had lower risk of three-month mortality and longer LOS during index hospitalization with increased energy and protein intake. Readmissions in patients at nutritional risk were not affected by food intake. The association of nutritional risk with poorer outcomes indicates that good nutritional care including constant attention to food-intake during hospitalization can be beneficial regarding mortality.

Scenario-based modelling of changes in chemical intake fraction in Sweden and the Baltic Sea under global change

The climate in Europe is warming twice as fast as it is across the rest of the globe, and in Sweden annual mean temperatures are forecast to increase by up to 3–6 °C by 2100, with increasing frequency and magnitude of floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather. These climate change-related environmental factors and the response of humans at the individual and collective level will affect the mobilization and transport of and human exposure to chemical pollutants in the environment. We conducted a literature review of possible future impacts of global change in response to a changing climate on chemical pollutants in the environment and human exposure, with a focus on drivers of change in exposure of the Swedish population to chemicals in the indoor and outdoor environment. Based on the literature review, we formulated three alternative exposure scenarios that are inspired by three of the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). We then conducted scenario-based exposure modelling of the >3000 organic chemicals in the USEtox® 2.0 chemical library, and further selected three chemicals (terbuthylazine, benzo[a]pyrene, PCB-155) from the USEtox library that are archetypical pollutants of drinking water and food as illustrative examples. We focus our modelling on changes in the population intake fraction of chemicals, which is calculated as the fraction of a chemical emitted to the environment that is ingested via food uptake or inhaled by the Swedish population. Our results demonstrate that changes of intake fractions of chemicals are possible by up to twofold increases or decreases under different development scenarios. Changes in intake fraction in the most optimistic SSP1 scenario are mostly attributable to a shift by the population towards a more plant-based diet, while changes in the pessimistic SSP5 scenario are driven by environmental changes such as rain fall and runoff rates.