Kinds Of Diets Research Articles

The impact of feed type and water quality on the edible viscera and dressing percentage of male and female Ross 308 broiler chickens

During the period of October 20, 2023, to November 25, 2023, a study was conducted in a local field in Nasiriya District/ Dhi Qar Governorate to ascertain how the kind of diet and the water quality affect the dressing percentage and the relative weights of the edible internal organs (heart, liver, and gizzard). In broiler chickens, both male and female. The following six treatments, each consisting of three replicates, were randomly assigned to 300 sexed one-day-old chicks, with an average weight of 40 grams, for a period of 35 days: Drinking tap water and using mash feed for control constitute the first therapy. Providing drinking water (tap water) and pellet feed (control) is the second treatment. The third treatment involves giving out magnetized drinking water and mash meal. Providing magnetized drinking water and pellet feed is the fourth treatment. Providing drinking water (RO) and mash feed is the fifth treatment. The sixth treatment is providing pellet feed and drinking water (RO). The treatment of RO water and magnetized water was superior in the percentage of filtration and the relative weight of the heart, liver, and gizzard over the liquefaction water treatment, as demonstrated by the findings, which indicated a substantial superiority (p0.05) for the quality of drinking water. Regarding fodder, the findings indicated a noteworthy rise in the heart's relative weight, but had no impact on the liver's or gizzards relative weight or the clearance rate.

The Critical Role of Arachidonic Acid on Molting in Spiders

Abstract Spiders frequently suffer abnormal molting and subsequent death when sustained on a monotypic diet of fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster. The fruit flies lack arachidonic acid (AA), a nutrient that may be critical for successful molting of spiders. To test this hypothesis, we compared the survival rates of juvenile wolf spiders, Pardosa pseudoannulata fed on three kinds of diets, midges (Tendipes sp.), fruit flies enriched in AA and fruit flies lacking in AA. In addition, we analyzed the fatty acid composition of spiders feeding on midges and fruit flies enriched in AA and their prey. Juvenile spiders fed on midges and AA-enriched fruit flies reached full maturity without molting issues, whereas nearly all spiders fed the flies lacking in AA did not survive. Among the 35 different fatty acids, only the AA levels in both prey and spiders correlated positively with spider survival. Our findings provide compelling evidence that AA is crucial for the survival and molting of P. pseudoannulata.

Effects of oxidized fish oil diet supplemented with tea polyphenols on intestinal health and liver metabolism of spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus)

In this study, the effects of oxidized fish oil diet supplemented with tea polyphenols (TP) on the intestinal health and liver metabolism of spotted sea bass (Lateolabrax maculatus) were investigated. Five kinds of diets were designed. They were the negative control (NC) group without antioxidants and TP, the positive control (PC) group with antioxidants, three experimental groups were supplemented with 0.05 %, 0.10 %, and 0.15 % TP (TP1, TP2, and TP3). The fish with a mean body weight of 11.43±0.02 g was fed on five diets for 56 days. The results showed that TP1 improved lipase (LPS) activity. The intestinal superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of TP1 was significantly higher than that of the NC group and was not different from that of the PC group. Histological observation of the intestine showed that the height of the intestinal villus was significantly increased and the width of the intestinal villus was significantly decreased in TP1, while the muscular thickness layer did not change significantly. Furthermore, inflammatory symptoms were present in the intestines of all groups, with improvements observed in TP1 and TP3. By intestinal microbial analysis, the results showed that the ACE and Chao1 indexes of TP1 were significantly higher than those of the NC and PC groups, and the Shannon and Simpson indexes were significantly lower than those of the NC and PC groups. Regarding the structure of the microbiome community, there were a lot more Fusobacteriota in TP2 and TP3 at the phylum level, and there were a lot more Cetobacterium at the genus level. The metabolomic analysis of TP1's liver showed that it controls the metabolism of amino acids, nucleotides, cofactors, vitamins, energy, and carbohydrates. The results showed that adding TP to the oxidized fish oil diet enhanced the intestinal health and liver metabolism of spotted sea bass.

Effect of nicotinic acid supplementation on digestion, metabolism, microbiome, and production in late-lactation Holstein cows

The purpose of this experiment was to determine if nicotinic acid (NA) effects on dairy cows and rumen microbial characteristics are forage type dependent (corn silage, CS; grass silage, GS). Four late lactation (days in milk = 225 +/- 12 d) Holstein cows were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. The main effects were a CS (66.10% CS) based diet or a GS (79.59%) based diet with or without 12 g/d NA. Each experimental period lasted for 28 d. Milk production and milk components, blood metabolites, apparent total-tract nutrient digestibilities, minutes rumen pH were below 5.8 as an indicator of ruminal acidosis, and body temperature changes were analyzed as indicators of heat stress. Nicotinic acid supplementation did not improve apparent total-tract nutrient digestibility. Feeding a GS-based diet improved NDF and hemicellulose digestibility. Feeding a CS-based diet increased the apparent total-tract digestibility of fat, and minutes rumen pH below 5.8 for a greater proportion of the time. The CS-based diet also improved milk yield, milk fat and protein yields, and energy-corrected milk yield; however, somatic cell count and BHB were also increased. Supplementing NA tended to decrease nonesterified fatty acids, especially when combined with GS where DMI was low. There was a trend for the total protozoa population to increase when GS and NA were fed but decreased when CS and NA were fed. Nicotinic acid tended to decrease rumen protozoal populations of Dasytricha, but increased populations of Ophryoscolex and Diplodiniinae with GS diets and decreased with CS diets. Entodiniinae were increased with CS but NA had no effect. Body temperature was increased when a CS-based diet was fed when compared with a GS-based diet. More research is needed to determine how NA can affect rumen microbial protein synthesis and what kind of diets will provide the optimum effect.

Yarrowia lipolytica as a promising protein source for Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) diet: impact on growth performance, metabolism, antioxidant capacity, and apparent digestibility

Exploring alternatives to fishmeal (FM) in aquaculture nutrition remains a hot topic in this area. Yarrowia lipolytica (YL), a promising single-cell protein source, has yet to be evaluated for its use on the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) diet. This investigation assessed the effects of YL on growth performance, metabolism, antioxidant capacity, and nutrient digestibility in shrimp. Seven diets with equal protein and lipid contents were prepared, incorporating gradient YL (dry matter basis): 0% (control), 1.50%, 3.00%, 4.50%, 6.00%, 9.00%, and 12.00%. During a 56-day feeding trial involving shrimp, with an initial average weight of 0.32 ± 0.02 g, each kind of diet was randomly assigned to six tanks. It was observed that the growth performance improved initially but then exhibited a declining trend as the dietary inclusion of YL increased. Regression analysis indicated 2.68% as the optimal YL percentage for a specific growth rate (SGR), accounting for 10.54% of the dietary FM content. A higher YL (over 6.00%), which is equivalent to replacing over 23.6% of the FM, led to increased feed intake and conversion ratios, possibly correlating with decreased YL digestibility. However, YL inclusion across the studied range had no detrimental impact on intestinal or hepatopancreatic morphology. Notably, higher YL levels significantly enhanced hepatopancreatic trypsin activity and reduced serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels. The inclusion of YL notably augmented antioxidant defense mechanisms in shrimp, as evidenced by increased total antioxidant capacity and catalase activities, as well as reduced malondialdehyde levels in the hepatopancreas, possibly due to the presence of β-glucan and mannan oligosaccharides in YL. These findings support YL being viable as a protein source in shrimp feeds.

Analysis of gut microbiota of ladybug beetle (Harmonia axyridis) after feeding on different artificial diets

BackgroundHarmonia axyridis is an effective natural enemy insect to a variety of phloem-sucking pests and Lepidopteran larvae, such as aphids, scabies, and phylloxera, while its industrial production is limited due to unmature artificial diet. Insect intestinal microbiota affect host development and reproduction. The aim of this study is to understand intestinal microbiota composition of H. axyridis and screen effective probiotics on artificial diet. Considering the role of the components and composition of the diet on the structure and composition of the intestinal microbiome, four kinds of diets were set up: (1) aphid; (2) basic diet; (3) basic diet + glucose; (4) basic diet + trehalose. The gut microbiota of H. axyridis was detected after feeding on different diets.ResultsResults showed that the gut microbiota between artificial diet group and aphid groups were far apart, while the basic and glucose groups were clearly clustered. Besides, the glucose group and trehalose group had one unique phylum, Cryptophyta and Candidatus Saccharibacteria, respectively. The highest abundance of Proteobacteria was found in the aphid diet. The highest abundance of Firmicutes was found in the basic diet. However, the addition of glucose or trehalose alleviated the change. In addition, the relative abundance of Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Enterobacteriaceae_unclassified, Enterobacteriales_unclassified and Serratia in the aphid group was higher than other groups. Moreover, the function of gut genes in each group also showed clear differences.ConclusionThese results have offered a strong link between artificial diets and gut microbes, and also have provided a theoretical basis for the screening of synergistic probiotics in artificial diet.

The Ketogenic Diet in the Prevention of Migraines in the Elderly

Migraines display atypical age dependence, as the peak of their prevalence occurs between the ages of 20–40 years. With age, headache attacks occur less frequently and are characterized by a lower amplitude. However, both diagnosis and therapy of migraines in the elderly are challenging due to multiple comorbidities and polypharmacy. Dietary components and eating habits are migraine triggers; therefore, nutrition is a main target in migraine prevention. Several kinds of diets were proposed to prevent migraines, but none are commonly accepted due to inconsistent results obtained in different studies. The ketogenic diet is featured by very low-carbohydrate and high-fat contents. It may replace glucose with ketone bodies as the primary source of energy production. The ketogenic diet and the actions of ketone bodies are considered beneficial in several aspects of health, including migraine prevention, but studies on the ketogenic diet in migraines are not standardized and poorly evidenced. Apart from papers claiming beneficial effects of the ketogenic diet in migraines, several studies have reported that increased levels of ketone bodies may be associated with all-cause and incident heart failure mortality in older adults and are supported by research on mice showing that the ketogenic diets and diet supplementation with a human ketone body precursor may cause life span shortening. Therefore, despite reports showing a beneficial effect of the ketogenic diet in migraines, such a diet requires further studies, including clinical trials, to verify whether it should be recommended in older adults with migraines.

The common bed bug Cimex lectularius synthesizes hemozoin as an essential defense against the toxic effects of heme

The common bed bug Cimex lectularius (Linnaeus 1758) is an ectoparasite that feeds preferably on human blood, being considered an important public health issue. Blood-feeding is a challenging process for hematophagous organisms, and one of the inherent risks with this kind of diet is the liberation of high doses of free heme after the digestion of hemoglobin. In order to deal with this potent cytotoxic agent, such organisms have acquired different defense mechanisms. Here, we use UV–visible spectrophotometry and infrared spectroscopy to show that C. lectularius crystalizes free heme to form the much less dangerous compound, hemozoin. According to our results, the peak of formation of hemozoin in the intestinal contents occurred 4–5 days after the blood meal, primarily in the posterior midgut. The quantification of the rate of conversion of heme to hemozoin revealed that at the end of digestion all the heme was in the form of hemozoin. Inhibition of the synthesis of hemozoin using the anti-malarial drug quinine led to an increase in both catalase activity in the intestinal epithelium and the mortality of the bed bugs, indicating that the insects were unable to cope with the oxidative stress generated by the overload of free heme. The data presented here show for the first time how C. lectularius deals with free heme, and how the process of formation of hemozoin is essential for the survival of these insects. Since resistance to insecticides is a common feature among field populations of bed bugs, there is an urgent need to develop alternative control methods. Thus, targeting the synthesis of hemozoin emerges as a possible novel strategy to fight bed bugs.

Review article on Viruddha Ahara

Ahara (food) is the prime need for the sustaining of life. Ayurveda explained about Trividha Upasthambha (sub-pillars of body) and Ahara (food) is one of the important pillars for healthy living being. For healthy living Ayurveda emphasizes on consuming right kind of diet which provide health and nutrition. The diet which disturbs the balance among the body elements is called Viruddha Ahara (Incompatible diet). Consuming two food items together or a particular type of diet may tend to toxicity; it is termed as incompatible diet. Even incompatible diet should be considered similar to Gara Visha (Artificial poison). Viruddha (Incompatible diet) means substances which when consumed cause for aggravations of Doshas but do not expel them out of the body and bring about abnormalities in Dhatu (tissues of the body). The incompatible diet could be considered similar to poison and artificial poisoning if taken simultaneously and continuously. Due to western lifestyle there is extensive exposure to toxins. The present article deals with the review of Viruddha Ahara (Incompatible diet) referred in context of Viruddha Aaharajanit Vyadhis (Incompatible food induced diseases) and its prevention in Brihattrayi.

Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS): Do They Matter to Aquatic Ecosystems?

Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of anthropogenic chemicals with an aliphatic fluorinated carbon chain. Due to their durability, bioaccumulation potential, and negative impacts on living organisms, these compounds have drawn lots of attention across the world. The negative impacts of PFASs on aquatic ecosystems are becoming a major concern due to their widespread use in increasing concentrations and constant leakage into the aquatic environment. Furthermore, by acting as agonists or antagonists, PFASs may alter the bioaccumulation and toxicity of certain substances. In many species, particularly aquatic organisms, PFASs can stay in the body and induce a variety of negative consequences, such as reproductive toxicity, oxidative stress, metabolic disruption, immunological toxicity, developmental toxicity, cellular damage and necrosis. PFAS bioaccumulation plays a significant role and has an impact on the composition of the intestinal microbiota, which is influenced by the kind of diet and is directly related to the host's well-being. PFASs also act as endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) which can change the endocrine system and result in dysbiosis of gut microbes and other health repercussions. In silico investigation and analysis also shows that PFASs are incorporated into the maturing oocytes during vitellogenesis and are bound to vitellogenin and other yolk proteins. The present review reveals that aquatic species, especially fishes, are negatively affected by exposure to emerging PFASs. Additionally, the effects of PFAS pollution on aquatic ecosystems were investigated by evaluating a number of characteristics, including extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) and chlorophyll content as well as the diversity of the microorganisms in the biofilms. Therefore, this review will provide crucial information on the possible adverse effects of PFASs on fish growth, reproduction, gut microbial dysbiosis, and its potential endocrine disruption. This information aims to help the researchers and academicians work and come up with possible remedial measures to protect aquatic ecosystems as future works need to be focus on techno-economic assessment, life cycle assessment, and multi criteria decision analysis systems that screen PFAS-containing samples. New innovative methods requires further development to reach detection at the permissible regulatory limits.

Partial substitution of red or processed meat with plant-based foods and the risk of type 2 diabetes

High consumption of red and processed meat has been associated with increased type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. These kinds of diets are also environmentally unsustainable. We examined a modeled association between a partial substitution of red meat or processed meat with plant-based foods (legumes, vegetables, fruit, cereals, or a combination of these) and T2D risk among Finnish adults. We used pooled data from five Finnish cohorts (n = 41,662, 22% women, aged ≥ 25 years, 10.9 years median follow-up with 1750 incident T2D cases). Diet was assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire. In the substitution models, 100 g/week of red meat or 50 g/week of processed meat were substituted with similar amounts of plant-based substitutes. Cohort-specific hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards multivariable model and pooled using a two-staged random-effects model. We observed small, but statistically significant, reductions in T2D risk in men when red or processed meat were partially substituted with fruits (red meat: HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.97–1.00, P = 0.049, processed meat: 0.99, 0.98–1.00, P = 0.005), cereals (red meat: 0.97, 0.95–0.99, P = 0.005, processed meat: 0.99, 0.98–1.00, P = 0.004) or combination of plant-based foods (only processed meat: 0.99, 0.98–1.00, P = 0.004) but not with legumes or vegetables. The findings of women were similar but not statistically significant. Our findings suggest that even small, easily implemented, shifts towards more sustainable diets may reduce T2D risk particularly in men.

Garden cress oil as a vegan source of PUFA: Achieving through optimized supercritical carbon dioxide extraction

With more people shifting to healthier and environment-friendly lifestyles, the vegan diet has recently gained popularity. Nevertheless, this kind of diet comes with its own limitations in terms of adequate availability of nutrients, for example, essential fatty acids. The primary source for these includes fish and other marine animals, hence not accepted by the vegan population. The plant source is limited. The present work focuses on exploring garden cress (GC) seed oil - an easily available seed, with considerable polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Conventionally, Soxhlet extraction of vegetable oils is done using solvents like hexane. However, selective extraction of PUFA, phytosterols, and tocopherols could be done by supercritical-CO2 (SC-CO2) extraction of oil from the GC seeds with proper optimization of extraction parameters. The PUFA content was found to be 38% in the case of oil extracted with n-hexane. This was enriched to nearly 50% PUFA, when extracted at 350 bar pressure, 60 °C temperature, and 30 g/min flow rate in case of SC-CO2 extraction. At similar conditions, even tocopherol contents were improved significantly from 486 to 1138 ppm. Further, oil enriched with unsaponifiable matter (2.3%) containing major phytosterols like campesterol, stigmasterol, β-sitosterol, and isofucosterol was obtained at 20 g/min flow rate itself. Another major advantage of SC-CO2 extraction is the selective extraction of oil from the seed, leaving behind the phospholipids. This in turn eliminates one step of refining, thereby making the process economically viable. The use of co-solvents resulted in nutritionally enriched GC seed oil at a pressure of 250 bar. It is quite evident from the findings of this study that, careful selection of process parameters of SC-CO2 extraction of GC seed oil can result in a nutritionally enriched vegan source of PUFA, using an emerging cleaner and greener technology. Industrial relevanceThere is a huge demand for newer vegan sources of PUFA. GC seed oil can be one of them. This investigation aimed at process development for extracting PUFA and tocopherol, phytosterol enriched GC oil using eco-friendly SC-CO2 extraction. SC-CO2 extraction is becoming more popular and the economic feasibility is proven for the higher scale of operation. As this oil can be encapsulated and sold at a reasonably good price, this work has significant industrial relevance.

Review of Viruddha Ahara and its Effect on Healthy Life

Ayurveda is a vast and ancient medical science. Unlike other medical sciences, instead of focusing on treatment of any particular disease, Ayurveda focuses more on the healthy living and wellbeing of the patient. For healthy living, Ayurveda emphasizes on consuming right kind of diet which is healthy and nutritious. In Ayurvedic classics, Ahara (food) is mentioned as one among the three Upasthambas (Sub-pillars of body). Ahara is considered to be vital for a human body as it provides the basic nutrients, which are very essential to carry out the basic activities of digestion and metabolism. Ayurveda clearly defines that certain diet and its combinations, which interrupts the metabolism of tissue, which inhibits the process of formation of tissue and which have the opposite property to the tissue are called as Viruddha Ahara or incompatible diet. The concept of Viruddha Ahar is a unique to Ayurveda system. The food that has improper combinations or is wrongly processed is called Viruddha Ahar. Also, a time, season and quantity have their impact. Certain foods not consumed at a right time of a day (kaala), season (ritu) and proper quantities (matra) can also be classified as Viruddha ahar. The food which is incompatible in respect to climate, quantity, method of preparation, combination etc. are described as potent cause of both physical and psychological illnesses.

Soy protein increases cognitive level in mice by modifying hippocampal nerve growth, oxidative stress, and intestinal microbiota.

Three kinds of diet containing chicken protein isolate (CPI), bovine milk protein isolate (BMPI), and soy protein isolate (SPI), respectively, were designed to investigate the influences of proteins on cognitive levels and related mechanisms in mice. A Morris water maze (MWM) test showed that the SPI group had a higher cognitive level than the BMPI group. Immunohistochemical staining and chemical analysis of the hippocampus showed that the SPI group had higher synaptophysin expression, doublecortin-positive cell proportion, superoxide dismutase activity, and lower malondialdehyde content compared with the BMPI group. The same parameters in the CPI group were between those of the BMPI and SPI groups. Microbiome sequencing indicated that the three groups differed significantly at the phylum, genus, and species levels, with higher microbial alpha diversity in the CPI and SPI groups. The association of intestinal microbiota with cognitive improvement was also assessed. The present study suggests that soy protein may increase cognitive function by the gut-brain axis. In contrast with CPI and BMPI, SPI had a better effect on improving the cognitive level in mice, which was achieved through the regulation of hippocampal neural growth, oxidative stress, and intestinal microbiota. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Growth, Muscle Nutrition Composition, and Digestive Enzyme Activities of the Juvenile and Adult Siniperca chuatsi Fed on Live Baits and a Formulated Diet

The present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a formulated diet to replace live baits as feed for Siniperca chuatsi. A 2 × 2 factorial design with three replicates was used to investigate the effects of conventional live baits (LB) and a formulated diet (FD) on the growth, muscle nutrition composition, and digestive enzyme activities of S. chuatsi at two growth stages. The results showed that the feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the FD group was significantly lower than that in the LB group. The final body weight (FBW) and weight gain (WG) were not significantly different between the two feeding modes. However, at the juvenile stage, the specific growth rate (SGR) in the FD group was significantly lower than that in the LB group. Muscle moisture, crude protein, and crude lipid contents were not influenced by dietary treatments. There were no significant differences in ∑EAA, ∑NEAA, and ∑AA compositions of the juvenile and adult stages fed the two kinds of diets. At the juvenile stage, histidine (His) content in the FD group was significantly higher than that in the LB group; at the adult stage, cysteine (Cys) content in the FD group was significantly higher than that in the LB group; at both growth stages, Met content in the FD group was significantly lower than that in the LB group. The FD group showed higher levels of ∑SFA, ∑HUFA, ∑n-3PUFA, n-3/n-6, EPA, and DHA than the LB group did, whilst the opposite occurred in the MUFA levels. In addition, fish fed with LB had significantly higher values of pepsin and intestinal trypsin activities in the juvenile fish compared to the FD group, but the activities were not significantly different between the two feeding modes at the adult stage. The activities of stomach and intestine amylase in the FD group were significantly higher than those in the LB group. Overall, these results showed that under long-term feeding conditions, S. chuatsi fed with the artificial diet had no significant difference in muscle crude protein, crude lipid, amino acid composition, and digestive capacity, but showed superiority in the composition of fatty acids such as EPA and DHA levels compared to the live baits group. Therefore, the artificially formulated diet might be a more appropriate feeding approach for sustainable development of the S. chuatsi industry.

Effects of Carbohydrate and Fats in Turkish Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Aim: This study aimed to assess the effects of different kinds of diet, which were similar in total energy density but different in carbohydrate and fats, on some blood parameters in type 2 diabetics. 
 Materials and Methods: In this study, 33 type 2 diabetics, participants were offered two different kinds of lunches within 7 days intervals. Venous blood samples were collected from the participants half an hour before and after the consumption of these meals (0-180 minutes). Blood parameters such as glucose, insulin, low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C), and triglyceride were analyzed through blood samples.
 Results: There was no significance between the values of the change in blood glucose before and after their consumption of the standard meal and etli ekmek. After the consumption of the etli ekmek difference between the participants’ mean insulin level values at 60 and 90 minutes was lower than the standard meal. The values under the curve (AUC) were found to be significant (p

Research on improving the lunch environment for female workers to build an improved dietary environment

Nutritional health is important and in order to ensure that dietary needs are being met, research on this area, leading to recommendations that can help adjust behaviour, is key. In Japan, the dietary needs of working women are often not met. Professor Satomi Maruyama, Faculty of Human Life and Environment, Kinjo Gakuin University, is a registered dietitian who is investigating the dietary environment of working women in Japan. This includes factors such as where to buy food, whether they cook at home and what kind of diet they choose. Maruyama and her team found that women with a social network have a healthier ‘dietary consciousness’, enjoying meals and having an awareness of the benefits of a balanced diet, while those outside of a social network have poorer diets, leading to negative impacts on health. A key negative impact of interest for the researchers is salt consumption, which is prevalent in Japan. Maruyama conducted a survey on the dietary intake of female workers and found the salt content to be high. The researchers explored the impact of the use of tabletop memos containing information on the negative impact of too much salt and found that having this information on view raised awareness of salt reduction which led to changes in behaviour. A current focus for Maruyama and the team is on how the lunch environment for female workers can be improved.

Comparative analysis of Neptunea cumingii growth, related digestive and immune enzyme indicators, and liver transcriptome under different feeding conditions

Neptunea cumingii is a carnivorous snail with a very high market value, but it cannot be cultivated on a large scale at present due to the lack of an appropriate artificial feed. In this study, we fed N. cumingii four kinds of diets (Cristaria plicata meat, Chlamys farreri mantle, Mytilus edulis meat, and artificial feed) for 90 days and then measured growth indexes and digestive and immune enzyme indexes. We also subjected liver samples to transcriptome sequencing to detect significant differences among the four groups at the transcriptome level. The survival rate of N. cumingii fed with each type of feed was > 90%. The weight, shell length, shell height, and weight gain of the N. cumingii in the C. plicata meat group were significantly higher than those of the other treatment groups, while the values in the artificial feed group were significantly lower than those of the other treatment groups. The superoxide dismutase, catalase, amylase, protease, and lipase activities were higher in the stomach, intestine, and liver of snails in the C. plicata meat feeding group than in those of the other treatment groups, and they were significantly higher than those of the artificial feed group (p < 0.05); the opposite was true for malondialdehyde content. A total of 3407 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in the M. edulis meat group vs. C. plicata meat group comparison. A total of 3422 DEGs genes were identified in the artificial feed group vs. C. plicata meat group comparison. A total of 3,929 DEGs were found in the C. plicata meat group vs. C. farreri mantle group comparison. Through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, we found the DEGs in the liver of N. cumingii fed with the different diets were mainly enriched in the energy metabolism, growth, and immunity pathways. Our results indicated that among the four diets tested, C. plicata meat had the best effect on N. cumingii, and they provided an important reference for identification of suitable diets for the development of N. cumingii artificial breeding.

Prevalence of Female and Male Vegan and Non-Vegan Endurance Runners and the Potential Associations of Diet Type and BMI with Performance-Results from the NURMI Study (Step 1).

This study aims to investigate vegetarian and mixed diet type prevalences among distance runners at running events around the world and associations with running-related patterns and performance. Following a cross-sectional approach, linear regression analyses were carried out to identify potential associations among body mass index (BMI), diet type, and average best performance times of half-marathon and marathon events for males and females. From a sample of 3835 runners who completed an online questionnaire, 2864 all-distance runners (age: 37 years; 57% females) were included in inferential analyses and categorized into dietary subgroups according to self-reports: 994 vegans (34.7%), 598 vegetarians (20.9%), and 1272 omnivores (44.4%). Significant associations were identified between kind of diet and best average time to finish (i) half-marathons in females where vegans (p = 0.001) took longer than omnivores, (ii) half-marathons in males where vegans (p < 0.001) and vegetarians (p = 0.002) took longer than omnivores, and (iii) marathons in males where vegans (p < 0.001) and vegetarians (p = 0.043) averaged slower than omnivores. Increased units of BMI (+1.0) in males influenced best runtimes: 2.75 (3.22–2.27) min slower for HM and 5.5 (5.69–4.31) min slower for M. The present study did not take detailed confounders into account such as runner motives or training behaviors; however, the results may provide valuable insight for running event organizers, nutrition experts, coaches, and trainers advising runners who adhere to a general diet type regarding the basic question of who participates in running events around the world.

The carbon footprint of Italian schools meals: An optimal choice of dishes in vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous menus.

This study aims to assess the carbon footprint associated with vegan, vegetarian, and omnivorous menus for primary school lunches in Italy. For this purpose, healthy and acceptable menus with minimal greenhouse gas emissions have been designed by a binary linear programming model. The results show that the adoption of a specific diet may help in reducing the carbon footprint of menus, but it is the optimal selection of dishes that ultimately makes the difference. Interestingly enough, the optimal choice of dishes and the restriction of meat consumption in omnivorous menus can lead up to a 40% emission reduction compared to the current school lunch menu of the municipality of Rome. Moreover, the optimal choice of dishes in vegan menus provides the menu with the lowest carbon footprint among all kinds of diets.