Analysis of the degree of precision of a computer-assisted dietary survey method

A computer-assisted method for the registration of food intakes in real time according to a concise and simple procedure was subjected to a series of controls in order to assess precision. The method employs the 'portion' of a composite dish as unit of measure. The constancy of the portion was tested. The results show that the recipes of the diet of a subject may be stored and utilized in deferred time without loss of precision: data to be recorded in real time are then very limited. The length of period of analysis was also studied. The time of investigation should not be shorter than two weeks to obtain precise information on the feeding habits of an individual subject, whereas for a group of subjects the diary of a single day provides information of sufficient precision.     

Metabolic response to beet fibre test meals

Test meals with 10.9 g dietary fibre from sugar beet and corresponding control meals were given to eight healthy subjects, aged 67 ± 9 years. The postprandial glucose, triglyceride, hormone and glycerol responses were monitored during 3 hours. After the beet fibre meal the insulin and C-peptide areas were reduced by 28 ( P < 0.01) and 22% ( P > 0.025), respectively, and the somatostatin levels increased by approximately 30% ( P > 0.05). Further, the maximum relative postprandial reduction of plasma glycerol levels was less evident after the fibre-rich meal than after the control meal (36 ± 4% v. 46 ± 4%, P < 0.05). There was no apparent difference in the overall glycaemic response between the meals. The triglyceride levels were similar after both test meals.
Suspension of beet fibre bread given to rats by oro-gastric intubation induced lower blood glucose response than a control bread at 15 and 30 min ( P < 0.001), respectively, but a similar insulin response.
The results suggest an effect of beet fibre on the rate of carbohydrate absorption, expressed as a lower insulin response in the healthy volunteers and a reduced glucose response in the rat.
The mechanism behind this effect in healthy subjects could possibly be mediated by an increased somatostatin response.     

Body fat in normal adults estimated by oxygen-18- and deuterium-dilution and by anthropometry: a comparison

We estimated body fat in 20 normal adults (10 males and 10 females) from 18O- and 2H-dilution spaces and from the equations of Durnin & Womersley and Pollock, Schmidt & Jackson based on skinfold thickness measurements. Differences between methods for body fat estimation were found to be sex-dependent: subsequent analyses indicated significant differences between methods within each sex. Regardless of sex, the highest fat estimates were obtained with the 18O-dilution method, followed by those obtained with the 2H-dilution method or the Durnin & Womersley equation. The lowest fat estimates were obtained using the Pollock, Schmidt & Jackson equation. The 18O-dilution method and the Durnin & Wormersley anthropometric method are both suitable and appropriate for body fat estimation in adults studied under field conditions.     

Hybridization of Aedes (protomacleaya) zoosophus with Ae. (Pro.) triseriatus group species: hybrid morphology

Morphology of hybrids between Aedes (Protomacleaya) zoosophus and Ae. (Pro.) triseriatus group species is described. Adult females of hybrids key to Ae. zoosophus. Hybrids are differentiated from Ae. zoosophus by the dark longitudinal medial or submedial lines on the thorax and by the reduced width of the light tarsal and abdominal bands. The transverse band of light scales on the anterior scutum is complete in Ae. hendersoni/Ae. zoosophus hybrids and incomplete in Ae. triseriatus/Ae. zoosophus hybrids. Aedes brelandi/Ae. zoosophus hybrids are similar to Ae. hendersoni/Ae. zoosophus hybrids. However, due to the allopatric distributions of Ae. brelandi and Ae. zoosophus, such hybrids are not expected.     

Immunopathologic study of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome

We studied an enucleated eye from a patient with a 30-year history of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome using both conventional and immunohistochemical techniques. Clinically, the eye was in the end stage of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome, and was characterized by the absence of inflammation, large areas of chorioretinal scarring, and pigmentary changes. Histopathologic examination showed marked retinal gliosis, extensive chorioretinal adhesion and scar formation, migration of pigment into the retina, and severe retinal pigment epithelial changes. However, foci of mild to moderate nongranulomatous inflammation of the uvea were observed. These foci contained infiltrating cells that were mainly T lymphocytes with B lymphocyte aggregates at the center. Scattered macrophages were also noted in the uvea and retina. These findings suggest that both the cell-mediated and humoral immune arms may play roles in the pathogenesis of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome.     

Impact of a Pharmacist-Based Consult Service on Nutritional Rehabilitation of Nonambulatory Patients with Severe Developmental Disabilities

A pharmacist consult service was developed to evaluate the appropriateness of enteral feeding through a permanent ostomy in 24 nonambulatory patients with severe developmental disabilities. Several problems with enteral nutrition were identified. Policies to improve them were instituted, and several educational presentations were made. Pharmacists' actions were implemented, including assessment of energy needs by indirect calorimetry and rearrangement of enteral feeding schedules to achieve optimal nutrition support and pharmacotherapy administration. By the fourth month of the consult service, body weight in these patients increased from 101 ± 6% of baseline to 109 ± 7% (p<0.05). Weight continued to increase through the seventh month of the consult service to 116 ± 12% of baseline (p<0.0001). Measured resting energy expenditure for the group was 889 ± 170 kcal/day compared with the predicted 1055 ± 163 kcal/day.     

Synthesis and Antitumour Activity of New Derivatives of Flavone-8-acetic Acid (FAA). Part 2: Ring-Substituted Derivatives

A range of 18 derivatives of flavone-8-acetic acid (FAA) with substituents on the 2-phenyl group have been prepared and their anti-tumour activity evaluated in vitro against a panel of human and murine tumour cell lines and in vivo against MAC 15A. There was no clear-cut relationship between in vitro and in vivo activity but the activity in each situation was found to be very sensitive to the precise substitution pattern with closely related isomers giving widely different activities. Some of the compounds, notably 10b,cj , and r , were active in vivo and these require further studies in order to evaluate their potential for development.     

Gastric emptying patterns of a liquid meal in newborn infants measured by epigastric impedance

Epigastric impedance was used to measure the gastric emptying patterns of a liquid non-caloric meal (5 mL water kg⁻¹) in 30 healthy newborn infants. Twenty-six mature infants were examined in the first eight days of life, and four preterm infants were examined within 6 weeks after birth. The recordings consisted of two components: the emptying signal (the DC component), and a phasic 3 cycles per minutes (CPM) signal (the AC component). In some of the infants the phasic 3 CPM signal was also seen during the fasting state.
For mature infants the median half emptying time (T₅₀) was 6.9 min. For a second meal given within one hour after the first meal the half emptying time was 5.5 min ( P  < 0.01). In preterm infants the emptying times were not significantly different from mature infants.
Day-to-day variation was low with a coefficient of variation of 17% in nine infants.
A periodic change of the impedance signal, the phasic 3 CPM signal, was observed after a meal in 24 of the infants. The median frequency was 3.0 CPM in 20 mature and 2.9 CPM in four preterm infants. In nine infants a phasic 3 CPM signal was also observed during the fasting state, with a median frequency of 2.9 CPM.
Measurement of gastric emptying pattern with epigastric impedance is a simple investigation for the evaluation of gastric emptying time and phasic activity in mature and preterm infants. However, the method is sensitive to spontaneous movements of the children, resulting in non-valid measurements in around one fourth of the infants.