Monomorium orientale Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a common structure- and food-infesting ant in Asia. There is only limited information on the biology and habits of this species, especially on the preferred foods and distribution of nutrients in colonies. We conducted a laboratory study on the distribution of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, which were represented by respective food sources, in M. orientale colonies. Three colony conditions were applied: normal, with a balanced ratio of castes, queenless (only workers and brood), and broodless (only queens and workers). Food sources were stained to track the flow of the respective food in the colonies. Results revealed that carbohydrates had rapid distribution, with > 60% of the colony indicated in 24 h, in all colony conditions. Queens in all colonies did not feed on protein. Protein showed a more delayed distribution in the brood in all colony conditions; < 10% of the colony fed on protein by 24 h. Only queens in broodless colonies showed signs of feeding on lipid, with < 10% indicated in 24 h. Workers in all colonies fed on lipid as soon as it was delivered, whereas the brood only began to reveal feeding response after 24 h.
A SYMPOSIUM ON NUTRITION AND COGNITION: Towards research and application for different life stages was held on October 2010 in Malaysia. The influence of diet and nutrition on the cognitive development of the child and on cognitive decline in later life was reviewed. Central to the study of such topics is the assessment of cognitive functioning. Cognitive functioning falls into six main areas: executive functioning, memory, attention, perception, psychomotor and language skills, although each domain can be further subdivided. As it is in the nature of human functioning that the performance on any cognitive test can reflect aspects of many of these domains, ideally a battery of tests should be used to establish the basis of any difference in performance. In intervention studies, frequently there has been a failure to demonstrate a beneficial influence of changes in diet. A possible reason is that studies have failed to acknowledge the time scale and critical ages over which diet has an impact. Diet may have a slow and progressive influence making it difficult for short-term studies to show an improvement. In addition, as many factors influence human behaviour, dietary interventions should only be one part of a coordinated approach; the effect of diet will depend on the social and psychological context in which an individual lives. Placing diet into a broader social and psychological context greatly increases the chance of generating significant findings. This report highlights and reviews presentations and discussions at the symposium.
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of substituting a crude palm oil (CPO) diet with palm-pressed fibre oil (PPFO) on laying hens' performance, egg production, carcass characteristic and egg quality. A total of 150 Hisex Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to five treatments: a basal diet containing 4% CPO (T1-control) and basal diets in which CPO was substituted by 25% (T2), 50% (T3), 75% (T4) or 100% (T5) PPFO. These diets were fed to laying hens ad libitum for 16 weeks. Compared to the T1 diet, dietary treatments T2, T3 and T4 had no significant effect (P > 0.05) on the feed intake, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, egg number, egg production, egg weight and egg mass of the laying hens during the entire experimental period. Nonetheless, a significant (P
This paper investigates the nutritional status of a randomly selected cohort of school children and the factors affecting it. This random survey was conducted in the state of Selangor, involving 1,405 primary students (aged 9-10 years from 54 national primary schools). Physical examination was carried out on all the students. Information on the students was also obtained from the parents. Blood samples were taken by using the finger pricking technique. Body mass index (BMI) was used as a measure of physical growth. The students were mainly from urban areas (82.9%). The mean age was 9.71 years and a higher proportion was females (51%). Malays constituted 83.6%, Indians 11.6% and Chinese 4.2% of the study population. The mean weight and height were 32.30 kg and 135.18 cm respectively. The mean BMI was 17.42 kg/m2, with 1.2% of the students underweight, 76.3% normal BMI, 16.3% overweight and 6.3% were obese. Nutritional status was significantly related to blood pressure, history of breast feeding, eating fast food, taking canned/bottled drinks, income and educational level of parents. Significant differences in nutritional status between sexes and locations (rural/urban) were also found. The prevalence of overweight and obese children was of concern. There is thus an urgent need for the School Health Program to periodically monitor the school children's eating habits and physical growth. Appropriate counselling on nutritional intake and physical activities should be given not only to schoolchildren but also to their teachers and parents or caregivers.
Good nutrition in the first "1000 days," including breastfeeding and appropriate complementary foods, prepares for a healthy childhood and adult life, also contributes to the prevention of the double burden of malnutrition. Exclusive breastfeeding provides all required nutrients until an infant is around 6 months of age when complementary foods are needed. A literature review was undertaken of complementary foods in the Asia Pacific region. The foods being used at present are often of low nutrient density may provide insufficient amounts of some critical nutrients, and generally the variety is limited. Guidelines for complementary feeding are provided to assist in education and in public health planning.
PIP:
The International Fertility Research Program is carrying out several studies focused on breastfeeding's contraceptive protection. A longitudinal study is investigating the relationship between breastfeeding and the return of ovulation and fertility after childbirth. The impact of factors such as the early introduction of supplementary foods, resumption of menses, and sexual practices on the return of ovulation will be analyzed. The study, which will be conducted at 4 geographic sites, will include a total of 100 women who are breastfeeding and a control group of 40 nonlactating mothers. Its ultimate goal will be to determine the optimum time for breastfeeding women with different cultural needs to start using contraceptives. A second study will seek to determine whether progestogen-only oral contraceptives (OCs) have advantages for lactating women. Trials in India, Malaysia, Argentina, and Egypt will compare 1000 lactating women who use progestogen-only OCs with an equal number of women who use nonhormonal contraception in terms of contraceptive acceptance and side effects and infant weight gain. The third study will survey breastfeeding patterns in relation to changing child spacing trends in a sample of 4000 women from Lagos, Nigeria. Analyzed will be the proportions of women who are using a modern method of fertility control, the proportions protected from unwanted pregnancy by the traditional practices of prolonged breastfeeding and sexual abstinence, and determinants of recent changes in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding.
The first 2 years of life is a critical period of rapid growth and brain development. During this period, nutrition and environmental factors play important roles in growth and cognitive development of a child. This report describes the study protocol of early nutrition, growth and cognitive development of infants from birth to 2 years of age.
Restriction of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) in Indonesia reduces broiler production due to bacterial diseases. Some poultry farmers have attempted to replace AGP with phytogenic compounds, such as tannin as an in-feed additive. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of tannin administration on the production performance, viscera weight, and lipoprotein levels of tropically-raised broiler chickens. Cobb Strain broiler chicks aged one day were used in an experiment with a completely random design, three treatments, and four replicate pens, each containing nine birds. Three dietary treatments were assigned to the birds: basal diet (negative control), basal diet+0.03% Zn Bacitracyn (positive control), and basal diet+0.05% tannin for the starter phase of 1-21 days and the grower phase of 22-42 days, respectively. Tannin supplementation significantly increased the feed conversion ratio in all phases relative to the control group. Tannin supplementation in the diet significantly reduced daily feed intake during the grower phase, final body weight, carcass weight, intestine weight, liver weight, and total visceral weight, compared to the control group. Tannin had lower levels of aspartate aminotransferase but higher levels of low-density lipoprotein and alanine aminotransferase. Tannin addition in broiler diets might not improve growth performance and health. Therefore, it is not suggested as a substitute for AGPs in broiler diets.