scholarly journals Energy-based and energy-free food-consumption are correlated in captive non-human-primates: A novel dispenser for feeding and behavioral enrichment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosef Shohat ◽  
Rony Paz ◽  
Raviv Pryluk ◽  
Aryeh H. Taub

AbstractNon-human primates (NHP) provide an important model for studying biological mechanisms that underlie behavior and cognition, and are crucial for supplying translational knowledge that can aid the development of new clinical approaches. At the same time, the importance of the 3Rs to minimize suffering during experiments encouraged the development of environmental enrichment programs. Among them, tools for feeding and foraging are central. However, it remains unclear whether the behavioral enrichment tools are used by the animals only for feeding and to satisfy hunger (and hence for survival), or whether these feeding tools serve also as behavioral enrichment in itself (namely, the animals enjoy it per-se). To answer this, we designed a novel dispenser method – that requires significant yet reasonable energetic effort to obtain food - and tested food consumption via the dispenser compared to free-access, namely that did not require any effort on the animal side. We found that primates consumed food from both the dispenser and when presented in free-access, and importantly, that the consumption via the dispenser was in correlation with the consumption in free-access. This was similar across different subjects, different times during the day, and different types of food. We suggest that monkeys can benefit from using the dispenser for food consumption, but also benefit from it for play (i.e. as behavioral enrichment in itself). Such an approach allows non-human-primates to preserve their natural food procurement activities.

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Martina Nicoletti ◽  
Letizia Chiodo ◽  
Alessandro Loppini

Mechanosensing is a key feature through which organisms can receive inputs from the environment and convert them into specific functional and behavioral outputs. Mechanosensation occurs in many cells and tissues, regulating a plethora of molecular processes based on the distribution of forces and stresses both at the cell membrane and at the intracellular organelles levels, through complex interactions between cells’ microstructures, cytoskeleton, and extracellular matrix. Although several primary and secondary mechanisms have been shown to contribute to mechanosensation, a fundamental pathway in simple organisms and mammals involves the presence of specialized sensory neurons and the presence of different types of mechanosensitive ion channels on the neuronal cell membrane. In this contribution, we present a review of the main ion channels which have been proven to be significantly involved in mechanotransduction in neurons. Further, we discuss recent studies focused on the biological mechanisms and modeling of mechanosensitive ion channels’ gating, and on mechanotransduction modeling at different scales and levels of details.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ho-Cheng Wu ◽  
Yih-Fung Chen ◽  
Ming-Jen Cheng ◽  
Ming-Der Wu ◽  
Yen-Lin Chen ◽  
...  

The mold Monascus has been used as the natural food coloring agent and food additives for more than 1,000 years in Asian countries. In Chinese herbology, it was also used...


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 175883592098765
Author(s):  
Vincenza Conteduca ◽  
Giulia Poti ◽  
Paola Caroli ◽  
Sabino Russi ◽  
Nicole Brighi ◽  
...  

Over the years, an increasing proportion of metastatic prostate cancer patients has been found to experience an initial bone flare phenomenon under both standard therapies (androgen deprivation therapy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, abiraterone, enzalutamide) and novel agents (immunotherapy, bone-targeting radioisotopes). The underlying biological mechanisms of the flare phenomenon are still elusive and need further clarification, particularly in relation to different types of treatment and their treatment response assessment. Flare phenomenon is often underestimated and, in some cases, can negatively affect clinical outcome. In cases with suspected bone flare, the treatment should be continued for a minimum of 12 more weeks before further decisions about efficacy can be taken. Physicians and patients should be aware of this effect to avoid unwarranted anxiety and inadequate early discontinuation of treatment. This review aims at highlighting new evidence on flare phenomenon arising after the introduction of new drugs extending across the biochemical, radiographic and clinical spectrum of the disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 156 ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariadna Yáñez-Pizaña ◽  
Daniel Mota-Rojas ◽  
Ramíro Ramírez-Necoechea ◽  
Manuel Castillo-Rivera ◽  
Patricia Roldán-Santiago ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL4) ◽  
pp. 2903-2909
Author(s):  
Akula sowjanya ◽  
Abhisek Pal

Successful drug therapy depends on the interaction between drug-drug and drug-diet. Drug interactions are a vital reason for causing adverse drug reactions and modify one drug effect by another drug and these kinds of interactions can increase or decrease the effectiveness of the drug. Polypharmacy could be a major risk for Drug-Drug and Drug-food interactions. Food Consumption can alter the effect of drugs by interfering either with their pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics processes. Anti-ulcer drugs are used to treat different types of ulcer and that may interact with another drug showing undesirable effects. GIT medications interfere with another type of medication either with at the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic level. The main objective of this article is to review data regarding common Drug-drug & Drug-food interactions related to GIT medications. Data was collected from Google Scholar, PubMed, and Scopus databases, and they were reviewed for publication on drug-drug & drug-food interactions related to GIT medications. This data is very helpful for pharmacists while reviewing and analyzing prescribed medication, especially in geriatrics prescriptions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. KATSAROU (Α. ΚΑΤΣΑΡΟΥ) ◽  
A. TSIRONI (Α. ΤΣΙΡΩΝΗ) ◽  
M. SERAFETINIDOU (Μ. ΣΕΡΑΦΕΤΙΝΙΔΟΥ) ◽  
C. VOYAZAKI (Χ. ΒΟΓΙΑΤΖΑΚΗ) ◽  
V. BAUMANS ◽  
...  

Housing conditions and environmental enrichment of individually caged laboratory rabbits is of great importance for the welfare of the animals and the quality of the experimental results. In order to improve the design of existing environmental enrichment programs for laboratory rabbits, considerable knowledge of the behavioural needs of this species is necessary. Taking this into consideration, the aim of this study was to monitor and analyze the behaviour of juvenile and young adult rabbits in order to establish whether there are any age-dependent differences in grooming, rearing, sniffing, eating, drinking and gnawing. 12 NZW rabbits were divided into two groups: group A consisted of six 6-month-old rabbits (young adults) and group Β consisted of six 2-month-old rabbits (juvenile). All animals were already housed for more than twenty days under the same conditions in the animal facility. Both groups of rabbits were video-recorded between 06:00h - 18:00h for four consecutive days. The frequency of each behaviour was determined and compared in the two groups of rabbits from the video recordings. The frequencies of grooming, eating and gnawing in the young rabbits were significantly greater than those in the older rabbits (p<0.05). No statistical differences were found between the two groups for rearing, sniffing and drinking. From these results, we concluded that even small age differences should be taken into account when designing an environmental enrichment program for individually caged rabbits.


Author(s):  
Amy L. Best

This chapter focuses on Washington High School and its cafeteria, examining the different types of food found there and the role of parents in shaping the cafeteria and students, with specific attention to social class and its consequence for a public food provisioning system. The first part of the chapter sketches the changing set of arrangements in food consumption toward a focus on health that Dan, the food director, labored to bring into being and the role of parental pressure in driving such change. The second part of the chapter shifts attention toward youth, highlighting the way class dispositions shape what kids consume and how they consume, and examining how this same ambivalence finds expression in the types of play students engage in this space.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 511-519
Author(s):  
Yamen Koubaa ◽  
Amira Eleuch

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test for gender-specific effects on odor-induced taste enhancement and subsequent food consumption in olfactory food marketing. Design/methodology/approach Lab experiments conducted among female and male participants using vanillin as a stimulus and ratings of sweetness, taste pleasantness and eating of sugar-free food as measures. Findings Odor-induced taste enhancement is gender-specific. Female consumers outperform male consumers in olfactory reaction and sweetness perception. While men outperform women in food consumption. Research limitations/implications Odor intensity was set to the concentration level of 0.00005per cent according to the findings from (Fujimaru and Lim, 2013). The authors believe that this intensity level is appropriate for both men and women. Still, there may be some gender effects on intensity levels, which are not explored here. The author’s test for the effects of one personal factor, gender and odor-induced taste enhancement of sugar-free food. The authors think that investigating the combined effects of more personal factors such as age, culture and so on adds to the accuracy of the results. Practical implications It seems that the stronger sensory capacities of women in terms of odor detection and recognition already confirmed in the literature extends to the cross-modal effects of this sensory detection and recognition on taste enhancement. It seems appropriate to tailor olfactory food advertising according to the gender of the target audience. Originality/value Odor-induced taste enhancement is still a novel subject in marketing. While most of the research has investigated the effects of smelling congruent odors on taste perception and food consumption among mixed groups of men and women, the value of this paper lies in the investigation of the potential moderating effects of gender on this relationship.


1991 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Salamone ◽  
R. E. Steinpreis ◽  
L. D. McCullough ◽  
P. Smith ◽  
D. Grebel ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 117863881983679
Author(s):  
Amber D Ford ◽  
Sarah E Colby ◽  
Marissa McElrone ◽  
Lisa Franzen-Castle ◽  
Melissa D Olfert ◽  
...  

Background: Increased intakes of ready-made and fast foods paralleled with decreased homemade food consumption have been associated with increased rates of obesity. Researchers have shown associations between cooking self-efficacy (SE) and cooking frequency (CF) with dietary quality and weight status. Some cooking interventions have shown positive associations with dietary outcomes, such as increased fruit and vegetable intake and decreased fast food consumption. There is still much unknown about SE and CF, especially among youth. Objective: Determine baseline SE and CF and the associations with dietary quality and body mass index (BMI) of youth enrolled in iCook 4H. Methods: Youth (n = 228, ages 9-10 years) completed online surveys assessing SE, CF, dietary quality, and demographics. Anthropometrics were collected to calculate BMI-for-age percentiles and weight categories. Descriptive statistics were completed for CF, SE, BMI categories, and demographics. Differences in CF and SE by sex, race, and participation in government assistance programs were determined through independent-sample t tests. Pearson correlations were used to assess the association between dietary quality and CF and SE. Associations between CF and dietary quality were assessed further through 2-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) that included CF and sex and CF and race as independent variables. Associations between SE and CF and BMI were assessed through ANOVAs. Results: Thirty-seven percent of youth were overweight or obese. Females reported significantly higher CF than males ( P = .042). Cooking frequency was positively associated with dietary quality ( P < .001), but BMI was not associated with dietary quality. SE was not associated with dietary quality or BMI. Conclusion: Based on results, CF was positively associated with dietary quality among youth. More research is needed to assess how different types of cooking relate to diet and BMI. Interventions are needed to determine whether increasing CF leads to better diet outcomes.


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