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BackgroundSocial networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook have the potential to enhance online public health interventions, in part, as they provide social exposure and reinforcement. ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to evaluate whether social exposure provided by SNSs enhances the effects of online public health interventions. MethodsAs a sample intervention, we developed Food Hero, an online platform for nutritional education in which players feed a virtual character according to their own nutritional needs and complete a set of virtual sport challenges. The platform was developed in 2 versions: a "private version" in which a user can see only his or her own score, and a "social version" in which a user can see other players’ scores, including preexisting Facebook friends. We assessed changes in participants’ nutritional knowledge using 4 quiz scores and 3 menu-assembly scores. Monitoring feeding and exercising attempts assessed engagement with the platform. ResultsThe 2 versions of the platform were randomly assigned between a study group (30 members receiving the social version) and a control group (33 members, private version). The study group's performance on the quizzes gradually increased over time, relative to that of the control group, becoming significantly higher by the fourth quiz (P=.02). Furthermore, the study group's menu-assembly scores improved over time compared to the first score, whereas the control group's performance deteriorated. Study group members spent an average of 3:40 minutes assembling each menu compared to 2:50 minutes in the control group, and performed an average of 1.58 daily sport challenges, compared to 1.21 in the control group (P=.03). ConclusionsThis work focused on isolating the SNSs' social effects in order to help guide future online interventions. Our results indicate that the social exposure provided by SNSs is associated with increased engagement and learning in an online nutritional educational platform.

The study, conducted at São Paulo State University feedlot, Dracena campus, Brazil, was designed to evaluate the effects of either nutritional restriction or intake of concentrate feedstuffs before beginning the adaptation period on rumen morphometrics and rumenitis of Nellore cattle. The experiment was designed as a completely randomized block, replicated 8 times (4 animals/pen), in which ninety-six 22-mo-old yearling Nellore bulls (365.5 ± 39.2 kg) were fed in 24 pens according to the treatments: Restriction (Tifton hay fed at 1.4% of BW + mineral supplement), Control (Tifton hay fed ad libitum + mineral supplement), and Concentrate (Tifton hay fed ad libitum + 0.5% of BW of a mix of concentrate feedstuffs and mineral supplement). This study lasted 144 d, divided into 2 periods: 32 d of pre-adaptation, in which cattle were submitted to the treatments previously described, and 112 d of feeding high-concentrate diets, where cattle were fed the same diets. The adaptation program consisted of ad libitum feeding of two diets over the adaptation period with concentrate level increasing from 72% to 86% of diet DM. The finishing diet contained 73.5% cracked corn grain, 14.0% sugarcane bagasse, 9.0% cottonseed meal, 1.5% supplement, 1.2% urea, and 0.8% limestone (DM basis). At the end of pre-adaptation period, one animal per pen (n = 24) was slaughtered for rumen evaluations. The remaining 72 animals were harvested after 112 d of feeding high-concentrate diets. At harvest, rumenitis was determined, on the entire washed rumen, using a scale of 0 (no lesions noted) to 10 (severe ulcerative lesions). A 1-cm² fragment of each rumen was collect from the cranial sac. The number of papillae per cm² of rumen wall (NOP) was determined, as well as the mean papillae area (MPA). The rumen wall absorptive surface area (ASA) was calculated as follows: 1 + (NOP*MPA) - (NOP*0.002). No significant (P > 0.10) treatment effect was observed for rumenitis (Restriction = 1.65, Control = 1.79, Concentrate = 1.55). Cattle submitted to nutritional restriction had greater (P < 0.10) NOP (Restriction = 72.76a, Control = 63.28b, Concentrate = 62.99b) and larger ASA in cm² (Restriction = 26.89a, Control = 22.29b, Concentrate = 22.30b). Also, a significant (P = 0.05) interaction between treatment and period was observed for MPA, where no differences were observed at the end of the pre-adaptation period, but cattle submitted to nutritional restriction presented larger MPA than animals in a control group after 112 d of feeding high-concentrate diets. Thus, cattle should be submitted to nutritional restriction prior to a period of feeding high-concentrate diets because it led to greater rumen epithelium development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of Eucalyptus citriodra essential oil on OM digestion, microbial efficiency, pH, and ammonia levels using the continuous culture system technique were evaluated. Three Eucalyptus inclusions (0; 500 and 1,000 mg/kg of DM) were randomly assigned to continuous culture flasks (experimental unit; n = 9; 3 per treatment) following a completely randomized design. Culture flasks (1 L) were equipped with drainage system for effluent (which was collected and kept under refrigeration) and CO2 plug on the lid. Inoculum (rumen fluid) for culture system was collected from 3 donors (steers; BW = 520 ± 30kg) for all batches (n = 2). Steers were fed diets containing 37% steam-flaked corn, 35% wet corn gluten feed, 25% roughage, and 3% supplement (DM basis). A 7-d incubation period was used for each batch, in which the first 3 d were used for the system adaptation followed by 4 d of collections. Continuous culture substrate was added twice daily, and contents collected at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 12 h post-feeding. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS; day was used as repeated measure; and orthogonal contrasts were used to evaluate linear and quadric effects of Eucalyptus citriodra inclusion. No interaction treatment x time was observed for in vitro ruminal ammonia and pH (P = 0.98 and 0.99, respectively). Eucalyptus inclusion did not affect (P ≥ 0.83) in vitro ruminal ammonia, while in vitro ruminal pH decreased linearly (P < 0.01); in which 1,000 ppm dose showed a more acidic environment compared to other oil inclusions. Regardless of Eucalyptus inclusion, ruminal ammonia concentration peaked (P < 0.01) at 0.5 and 1h post in vitro system feeding time, while in vitro pH values reached the least (P < 0.01) levels at same collection times. No changes in true digestion of OM (P = 0.88), microbial efficiency (P = 0.31), NH3 flow (P = 0.76), total N digestibility (P = 0.95), and microbial N flow (P = 0.38) were observed. Eucalyptus oil does not appear to negatively affect ruminal in vitro deamination or OM digestion. Increased acidity may confer potential positive effects on ruminal energetic load released within the first hour of fermentation post feeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vitro true digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and ADF with and without inclusion of a fibrolytic enzymes were evaluated in 12 byproducts. Ruminal fluid inoculum was collected from donors (ruminally cannulated beef steers; n = 4; BW = 463 ± 53 kg) during 4 periods (each period consisted in one in vitro batch [experimental unit]). Donors were fed forage-based diets (high and low quality) for 21 d prior collections (each in vitro batch was inoculated with a mixture of rumen fluid from both high and low quality diet donors). Incubations followed a randomized complete block design (block = in vitro batch). Substrates consisted of: corn cobs (CC), intact sorghum grain (ISG), wheat straw (WHST), cotton burrs (CTBR), corn stalks (CSTK), cotton seed hulls (CSH), grape pomace (GRPM), soybean hulls (SBH), high-quality alfalfa (ALFH), low-quality alfalfa (ALFL), sorghum stalks (SRST), and sorghum dry distillers' grains (SDDGS). Samples were incubated in DAISYII Incubator (Ankom Technology, Macedon, NY) with fibrolytic enzyme (0.75 µl/g of substrate DM; ABVista, United Kingdom) within jar (24 bag plus blank). Quadruplicate samples were incubated according to unit instructions. Following 48-h incubations, analyses NDF, ADF, and ash were performed on bags in sequence. Data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedures of SAS, with enzyme, substrate type, and interactions as fixed effect and in vitro batch as random. An enzyme treatment × substrate interaction resulted in a 13.2% increase (P < 0.01) in IVTDMD of ISG as well an observed tendency (P = 0.10) for greater digestion in CSTK. Similarly, IVTOMD of ISG was enhanced (P < 0.01) with addition of enzyme. Sorghum grain also produced an enzyme treatment × ingredient interaction associated with NDF digestibility in which inclusion on enzyme increased (P < 0.01) digestion by 16.35% relative to no enzyme. Regardless of substrate type, addition of enzyme increased (P < 0.01) disappearance of ADF by approximately 13.6%. Ingredient differences (P < 0.01) associated with ADF digestibility resulted in SBHS being the highest (71.78%) whereas CTBR, CSHS, and GRPM had the lowest values (≤ 24.60%). Fibrolytic enzymes positively affected fiber digestion of commonly fed roughage sources in cattle diets, and might have additional benefit when used on sorghum grain-based diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the role of hepatic cytosolic glutathione transferases (cGST) isoforms of three different bivalve species to a Microcystis aeruginosa extract and purified MC-LR exposure (both at 150 μg MC-LR L −1 ) for 24 h. Characterization and alterations of the cytosolic GST activities in Mytilus galloprovincialis , Ruditapes philippinarum and Corbicula fluminea were measured using four class-specific substrates and changes in individual GST isoforms expression were achieved by a subsequent two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis. Evaluation of cGST activity basal levels using the four class-specific substrates denoted quantitative differences between the three bivalves. Purified MC-LR did not induce any significant response from bivalves. On the other hand, cell extracts caused significant alterations according to bivalves and substrates. Among the three bivalves, only R. philippinarum showed a significant induction of cGST activity using generic 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) substrate. However, no significant alterations were detected in these clams by cell extracts using the other specific substrates. In contrast, C. fluminea revealed significant induction of cGST activity when using 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene (DCNB) and ethacrynic acid (EA). In M. galloprovincialis , cell extracts promoted a significant decrease of cGST activity when using EA substrate. Altered protein expression was quantitatively detected upon exposure to cell extracts for one spot in R. philippinarum and another for C. fluminea , both upregulated (2.0 and 8.5-fold, respectively) and identified as a sigma1-class GST in the case of the first. The results showed that the three bivalves presented specific adaptive biotransformation responses to MCs and other cyanobacteria compounds supported by the modulation of distinct cGST classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the surgical rehabilitation of cleft lip and/or palate by the Brazilian public health system. Methods: Retrospective, analytical and comparative ecological study, with information on hospital procedures performed on individuals with cleft lip and/or palate in Centers authorized by the Brazilian public health system, between the years 2008 and 2020. The information was collected in databases Ministry of Health data. Results: Between 2008 and 2020, there was an increase of 8 (36.4%) qualified Centers in Brazil, currently having 30 Centers in 100% of the geographic regions. The surgical procedures performed totaled 68,716; with multiple surgeries being the most frequent. Complete cleft lip and palate was the most frequent type in hospital admissions. The public financial resources invested in the surgical rehabilitation of cleft lip and palate in the qualified Lip and Palate Malformation Treatment Centers were US$ 39,693 million, making an average value per procedure of US$ 577.64. Conclusions: In Brazil, public health system performed and financed, over the years 2008 and 2020, an important volume of surgical procedures for cleft lip and/or palate, which presented a polarization in the Southeast region but with a slight tendency expansion to other regions of the country. The most performed surgical procedures were multiple surgeries and mostly for individuals with cleft lip and palate. The amounts paid showed a heretogeneous distribution in the national territory. Level of evidence: Level 5: Report containing program evaluation data.

Objective:Dietary carotenoids (lutein, lycopene and β-carotene) may be important in preventing or ameliorating prematurity complications. Little is known about carotenoid status or effects of supplementation.Study Design:This randomized controlled multicenter trial compared plasma carotenoid levels among preterm infants (n=203, <33 weeks gestational age) fed diets with and without added lutein, lycopene and β-carotene with human milk (HM)-fed term infants. We assessed safety and health.Result:Plasma carotenoid levels were higher in the supplemented group at all time points (P<0.0001) and were similar to those of term HM-fed infants. Supplemented infants had lower plasma C-reactive protein (P<0.001). Plasma lutein levels correlated with the full field electroretinogram-saturated response amplitude in rod photoreceptors (r=0.361, P=0.05). The supplemented group also showed greater rod photoreceptor sensitivity (least squares means 6.1 vs 4.1; P<0.05).Conclusion:Carotenoid supplementation for preterm infants raises plasma concentrations to those observed in HM-fed term infants. Carotenoid supplementation may decrease inflammation. Our results point to protective effects of lutein on preterm retina health and maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: There is little published data on how to prepare probiotic supplements for enteral delivery in the NICU. The objective of this study was to determine how a three-strain probiotic blend (Bb-02, TH-4® and BB-12®) would behave when mixed and held for 4 hours with saline water, sterile water, dextrose 5% in water (D5W), 24 kcal preterm formula, and human milk. METHODS: A packet of a three-strain probiotic supplement was mixed with 3 mL of saline water, sterile water, D5W, 24 kcal preterm formula, and human milk (tested at 3 mL and 2 mL). Samples were stored at room temperature for 60 minutes then refrigerated for 180 minutes. Probiotic survival, using quantitative enumeration, and pH were monitored over 4 hours. Samples were passed through a 5 French (Fr) feeding tube at the end of the study to evaluate viscosity. RESULTS: The largest variation in total cell count from 0-time was sterile water with a + 0.26 log(CFU)/mL change at 90 minutes and typical variation is considered±0.50 log units indicating no significant change between samples in 4 hours. Saline water had the lowest final pH at 4.88. All samples easily passed through a 5 Fr feeding tube. CONCLUSION: The study showed minimal change in cell counts across solutions for 4 hours of storage, indicating health care facilities may be able to prepare probiotic supplements with a variety of solutions in pharmacies or milk rooms. This allows greater flexibility for probiotic delivery to preterm infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]