Nutrition
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Based on previous evidence showing that early weaning disturbs the ontogenesis of rat gastric glands, which are the major site of ghrelin synthesis, we investigated the distribution of ghrelin and its receptor (GHS-R) in the rat gastric epithelium during postnatal development and evaluated the effects of early weaning on their levels. Additionally, we studied the contribution of ghrelin to gastric growth during the abrupt nutrient transition. ⋯ The present study demonstrated that ghrelin and GHS-R are distributed in gastric mucosa during the postnatal development, indicating that they can signal and function in epithelial cells. We concluded that early weaning increased ghrelin levels in the stomach, and it takes part of cell proliferation control that is essential for stomach growth. Therefore, among the many effects previously described for early weaning, this abrupt nutrient transition also changed ghrelin levels, which might represent an additional element in the complex mechanism that coordinates stomach development.
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Historical Article
The Japanese diet from 1975 delays senescence and prolongs life span in SAMP8 mice.
Life expectancy in Japan is high, suggesting that the Japanese diet, Nihon shoku (Japanese food), has significant health benefits. However, these benefits have been called into question over the past 50 y, during which time the Japanese diet has become increasingly Westernized. The aim of the present study was to focus on senescence delay and to examine the effects of Japanese diets from different years to identify which Japanese diet is most effective in enhancing life expectancy and delaying senescence. ⋯ The results of the present study suggested that the traditional Japanese diet is more effective in enhancing life expectancy and delaying senescence than the current Japanese diet.
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Myanmar (Burma) is a developing country in South East Asia. While Myanmar is among the 20 countries where 80% of the world's malnourished children live, its military consumes the majority of the national budget. ⋯ The three micronutrient deficiencies can cost about 2.4% of the country's GDP. Children are the future of Myanmar and persistent micronutrient deficiencies will hamper its economic growth and lower its GDP.
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Measuring malnutrition in hospitalized patients is difficult in all settings. I evaluated associations of items in the mini nutritional assessment short-form (MNA-sf), a nutritional-risk screening tool previously validated in the elderly, with malnutrition among hospitalized patients in Uganda. I used results to construct two simplifications of this tool that may be applicable to young and middle-aged adults. ⋯ The MNA-sf simplifications described may provide an improved measure of malnutrition in hospitalized young and middle-aged adults.