Nanoscale zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVIs) are known to boost biomass production and lipid yield in Fremyella diplosiphon, a model biodiesel-producing cyanobacterium. However, the impact of ...nZVI-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in F. diplosiphon has not been evaluated. In the present study, ROS in F. diplosiphon strains (B481-WT and B481-SD) generated in response to nZVI-induced oxidative stress were quantified and the enzymatic response determined. Lipid peroxidation as a measure of oxidative stress revealed significantly higher malondialdehyde content (p < 0.01) in both strains treated with 3.2, 12.8, and 51.2 mg L–1 nZVIs compared to untreated control. In addition, ROS in all nZVI-treated cultures treated with 1.6–25.6 mg L–1 nZVIs was significantly higher than the untreated control as determined by the 2′,7′-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate fluorometric probe. Immunodetection using densitometric analysis of iron superoxide dismutase (SOD) revealed significantly higher SOD levels in both strains treated with nZVIs at 51.2 mg L–1. In addition, we observed significantly higher (p < 0.001) SOD levels in the B481-SD strain treated with 6.4 mg L−1 nZVIs compared to 3.2 mg L–1 nZVIs. Validation using transmission electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) revealed adsorption of nZVIs with a strong iron peak in both B481-WT and B481-SD strains. While the EDS spectra showed strong signals for iron at 4 and 12 days after treatment, a significant decrease in peak intensity was observed at 20 days. Future efforts will be aimed at studying transduction mechanisms that cause metabolic and epigenetic alterations in response to nZVIs in F. diplosiphon.
The effects of egg storage duration (ESD) and brooding temperature (BT) on BW, intestine development and nutrient transporters of broiler chicks were investigated. A total of 396 chicks obtained from ...eggs stored at 18°C for 3 days (ESD3-18°C) or at 14°C for 14 days (ESD14-14°C) before incubation were exposed to three BTs. Temperatures were initially set at 32°C, 34°C and 30°C for control (BT-Cont), high (BT-High) and low (BT-Low) BTs, respectively. Brooding temperatures were decreased by 2°C each at days 2, 7, 14 and 21. Body weight was measured at the day of hatch, 2, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42. Cloacal temperatures of broilers were recorded from 1 to 14 days. Intestinal morphology and gene expression levels of H+-dependent peptide transporter (PepT1) and Na-dependent glucose (SGLT1) were evaluated on the day of hatch and 14. Cloacal temperatures of chicks were affected by BTs from days 1 to 8, being the lowest for BT-Low chicks. BT-High resulted in the heaviest BWs at 7 days, especially for ESD14-14°C chicks. This result was consistent with longer villus and larger villus area of ESD14-14°C chicks at BT-High conditions. From 14 days to slaughter age, BT had no effect on broiler weight. ESD3-18°C chicks were heavier than ESD14-14°C chicks up to 28 days. The PepT1 and SGLT1 expression levels were significantly higher in ESD3-18°C chicks than ESD14-14°C on the day of hatch. There was significant egg storage by BT interaction for PepT1 and SGLT1 transporters at day 14. ESD14-14°C chicks had significantly higher expression of PepT1 and SGLT1 at BT-Low than those at BT-Cont. ESD14-14°C chicks upregulated PepT1 gene expression 1.15 and 1.57-fold at BT-High and BT-Low, respectively, compared with BT-Cont, whereas PepT1 expression was downregulated 0.67 and 0.62-fold in ESD3-18°C chicks at BT-High and BT-Low. These results indicated that pre-incubation egg storage conditions and BTs affected intestine morphology and PepT1 and SGLT1 nutrient transporters expression in broiler chicks.
Continued breastfeeding at year 1 is one of the core indicators for assessing global infant and young child feeding practices. The study aims to determine the frequency of breastfeeding after 12 ...months (long-term breastfeeding) according to a number of infant and maternal characteristics and to investigate the effects of long-term breastfeeding on the nutritional habits and growth status of children as seen in the national data. The sample included 1666 children aged 12 to 35 months from the 2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. Only 55.9% of children were breastfed beyond 12 months. The rates of long-term breastfeeding were higher in the presence of the following characteristics: high birth order, long preceding birth interval, religious marriage ceremony, usage of traditional contraceptive methods, mothers aged 30-34 years and overweight mothers. Rates were lower for mothers with tobacco exposure and for bottle-fed infants. Long-term breastfeeding did not affect the consumption of plain yogurt, solid foods and semi-solid foods; however, it was associated with a decreased intake of bottled milk and fruit juice. The rates of long-term breastfeeding were similar in the case of undernourished children and of those with normal growth status. Long-term breastfeeding was related to certain maternal and infant characteristics; however, it did not affect the consumption of complementary food. Breastfeeding promotion programs should include targeted interventions for younger, primiparous and smoking mothers.
Too much screen time is a common and severe threat to child health and excessive screen exposure exists in the early childhood population in Turkey. We aimed to investigate the associations between ...excessive screen time and psychosocial well-being in a sample of Turkish preschool children.
Mothers and their healthy children aged 2–5 years who applied to general pediatric outpatient clinics for well-child examinations were enrolled in this descriptive cross-sectional study. Children with a daily screen time of less than 1 h (low) or more than or equal to 4 h (excessive) were included. Psychosocial well-being was assessed using the parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
In all, 220 mother–child pairs participated in this study. Emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer relationship problems, and total difficulties scores were significantly higher in the children with excessive screen time (p<0.05), while the hyperactivity-inattention and prosocial scores were not different between the low and excessive screen time groups (p>0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, the children with excessive screen time had significantly increased odds ratios for having conduct and peer relationship problems (OR 95% CI: 2.62 1.11–6.19, p = 0.028 and 2.57 1.25–5.26, p = 0.010, respectively).
Turkish preschool children with excessive screen time were significantly more likely to have poor psychosocial well-being. Preschool children with behavioral problems should be evaluated for excessive screen time.
The many benefits of breastfeeding for both the mother and infant are well known. Therefore, the conditions that influence breastfeeding are important. Therefore, we investigated the frequency of ...breast refusal in the newborn period and the associated maternal perinatal risk factors at an Şan Med Hospital in Şanlurfa. A total of 407 mother-infant pairs fulfilling the study’s inclusion criteria were enrolled. The percentage of breast refusal in infants was higher in young maternal and paternal age (<25 years), being the first child, and active or passive smoking exposure of the mother during pregnancy. The percentage of breast rejection was lower when the baby started to be breastfed within the first hour of birth. The percentages of infants experiencing breast rejection were found to be significantly higher in the absence of skin-to-skin contact following delivery and in the presence of prelactal feeding at the first 3 days than in their counterparts. The rate of breast rejection was found to be higher in infants fed with mixed or formula compared with infants fed only breast milk during the last 24 h. Multiple logistic regression analysis determined that the risk of breast rejection was higher in maternal smoking/exposure during pregnancy adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 3.19, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01-10.06 and delayed initiation of breastfeeding after the first hour (aOR: 3.45, 95% CI: 1.09-11.0). Being in a smoke-free environment for pregnant women should be supported by an indoor smoking ban, and early initiation of breastfeeding in the first hour after birth should be encouraged.
In recent years, researchers have given emphasis on the differences in physiological parameters between early and late hatched chicks within a hatch window. Considering the importance of intestine ...development in newly hatched chicks, however, changes in gene expression of nutrient transporters in the jejunum of early hatched chicks within a hatch window have not been studied yet. This study was conducted to determine the effects of egg storage duration before incubation and hatch window on intestinal development and expression of PepT1 (H+-dependent peptide transporter) and SGLT1 (sodium-glucose co-transporter) genes in the jejunum of early hatched broiler chicks within a 30 h of hatch window. A total of 1218 eggs obtained from 38-week-old Ross 308 broiler breeder flocks were stored for 3 (ES3) or 14 days (ES14) and incubated at the same conditions. Eggs were checked between 475 and 480 h of incubation and 40 chicks from each egg storage duration were weighed; chick length and rectal temperature were measured. The chicks were sampled to evaluate morphological parameters and PepT1 and SGLT1 expression. The remaining chicks that hatched between 475 and 480 h were placed back in the incubator and the same measurements were conducted with those chicks at the end of hatch window at 510 h of incubation. Chick length, chick dry matter content, rectal temperature and weight of small intestine segments increased, whereas chick weight decreased during the hatch window. The increase in the jejunum length and villus width and area during the hatch window were higher for ES3 than ES14 chicks. PepT1 expression was higher for ES3 chicks compared with ES14. There was a 10.2 and 17.6-fold increase in PepT1 and SGLT1 expression of ES3 chicks at the end of hatch window, whereas it was only 2.3 and 3.3-fold, respectively, for ES14 chicks. These results suggested that egg storage duration affected development of early hatched chicks during 30 h of hatch window. It can be concluded that the ES14 chicks would be less efficiently adapted to absorption process for carbohydrates and protein than those from ES3 at the end of the hatch window.
Recent data have revealed an inverse relationship between insulin resistance, which is associated with fatty liver disease, and blood 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels. The aim of the present ...study was to determine the association of vitamin D levels with the presence and stage of fatty liver disease among non-obese subjects and to determine the effect of vitamin D status on fatty liver disease development. A total of 613 non-obese (body mass index <30 kg/m2) gastroenterology and internal medicine outpatients (472 women and 141 men) were enrolled in the study. The patients’ laboratory values, including liver function tests, lipid profiles, C-reactive protein, fasting blood glucose, insulin, calcium and 25(OH)D levels were studied. Low vitamin D levels, higher triglyceride levels and higher alanine aminotransferase levels were found to be the significant determinants for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. When the patients were evaluated as low or normal vitamin D groups, low vitamin D levels was determined to be a risk factor for fatty liver disease, with an odds ratio of −1.59 (confidence interval −1.22 to −1.97). The increased risk for fatty liver disease among patients with low vitamin D status may be suggestive of mechanisms promoting fat flow and accumulation in the liver. Molecular studies are warranted to elucidate the action of vitamin D on the liver with respect to fat metabolism.
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