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Feeding Performance (feeding + performance)
Selected AbstractsCharacterization of the developmental stages of sucking in preterm infants during bottle feedingACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 7 2000C Lau It is acknowledged that the difficulty many preterm infants have in feeding orally results from their immature sucking skills. However, little is known regarding the development of sucking in these infants. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the bottle-feeding performance of preterm infants is positively correlated with the developmental stage of their sucking. Infants' oral-motor skills were followed longitudinally using a special nipple/bottle system which monitored the suction and expression/compression component of sucking. The maturational process was rated into five primary stages based on the presence/absence of suction and the rhythmicity of the two components of sucking, suction and expression/compression. This five-point scale was used to characterize the developmental stage of sucking of each infant. Outcomes of feeding performance consisted of overall transfer (percent total volume transfered/volume to be taken) and rate of transfer (ml/min). Assessments were conducted when infants were taking 1-2, 3-5 and 6-8 oral feedings per day. Significant positive correlations were observed between the five stages of sucking and postmenstrual age, the defined feeding outcomes, and the number of daily oral feedings. Overall transfer and rate of transfer were enhanced when infants reached the more mature stages of sucking. We have demonstrated that oral feeding performance improves as infants' sucking skills mature. In addition, we propose that the present five-point sucking scale may be used to assess the developmental stages of sucking of preterm infants. Such knowledge would facilitate the management of oral feeding in these infants. [source] DIVERSIFYING COEVOLUTION BETWEEN CROSSBILLS AND BLACK SPRUCE ON NEWFOUNDLANDEVOLUTION, Issue 8 2002Thomas L. Parchman Abstract Coevolution is increasingly recognized as an important process structuring geographic variation in the form of selection for many populations. Here we consider the importance of a geographic mosaic of coevolution to patterns of crossbill (Loxia) diversity in the northern boreal forests of North America. We examine the relationships between geographic variation in cone morphology, bill morphology, and feeding performance to test the hypothesis that, in the absence of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), black spruce (Picea mariana) has lost seed defenses directed at Tamiasciurus and that red crossbills (L. curvirostra) and black spruce have coevolved in an evolutionary arms race. Comparisons of cone morphology and several indirect lines of evidence suggest that black spruce has evolved defenses in response to Tamiasciurus on mainland North America but has lost these defenses on Newfoundland. Cone traits that deter crossbills, including thicker scales that require larger forces to separate, are elevated in black spruce on Newfoundland, and larger billed crossbills have higher feeding performances than smaller billed crossbills on black spruce cones from Newfoundland. These results imply that the large bill of the Newfoundland crossbill (L. c. percna) evolved as an adaptation to the elevated cone defenses on Newfoundland and that crossbills and black spruce coevolved in an evolutionary arms race on Newfoundland during the last 9000 years since glaciers retreated. On the mainland where black spruce is not as well defended against crossbills, the small-billed white-winged crossbill (L. leucoptera leucoptera) is more efficient and specializes on seeds in the partially closed cones. Finally, reciprocal adaptations between crossbills and conifers are replicated in black spruce and Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia), with coevolution most pronounced in isolated populations where Tamiasciurus are absent as a competitor. This study further supports the role of Tamiasciurus in determining the selection mosaic for crossbills and suggests that a geographic mosaic of coevolution has been a prominent factor underlying the diversification of North American crossbills. [source] Evolution of bite performance in turtlesJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2002A. Herrel Abstract Among vertebrates, there is often a tight correlation between variation in cranial morphology and diet. Yet, the relationships between morphological characteristics and feeding performance are usually only inferred from biomechanical models. Here, we empirically test whether differences in body dimensions are correlated with bite performance and trophic ecology for a large number of turtle species. A comparative phylogenetic analysis indicates that turtles with carnivorous and durophagous diets are capable of biting harder than species with other diets. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that an evolutionary increase in bite performance has allowed certain turtles to consume harder or larger prey. Changes in carapace length tend to be associated with proportional changes in linear head dimensions (no shape change). However, maximum bite force tends to change in proportion to length cubed, rather than length squared, implying that changes in body size are associated with changes in the design of the jaw apparatus. After the effect of body size is accounted for in the analysis, only changes in head height are significantly correlated with changes in bite force. Additionally, our data suggest that the ability to bite hard might trade off with the ability to feed on fast agile prey. Rather than being the direct result of conflicting biomechanical or physiological demands for force and speed, this trade-off may be mediated through the constraints imposed by the need to retract the head into the shell for defensive purposes. [source] Feeding success of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti: the effects of group size and kleptoparasitismJOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, Issue 2 2005C. Carbone Abstract Longer-term ecosystem level dynamics are often neglected in conservation studies involving single species. In this study, a retrospective analysis is presented on the feeding performance of African wild dogs Lycaon pictus in the Serengeti in relation to a competing species, the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, to test whether hyenas had an effect on feeding performance of wild dogs in this ecosystem. Our analysis is based on observations of over 700 wild dog kills recorded over a 20-year period (from 1964 to 1987) during which time there was a decline in wild dog numbers (ending with their local extinction in 1991) and a twofold increase in hyena density. Overall, the amount of time that dogs had access to the kill (access time) decreased with increasing numbers of hyenas attending kills, but access time increased with increasing hunting-group size of dogs and carcass mass. In addition, in the 1980s, dogs spent longer at kills than in the 1970s for a given set of conditions, including when hyenas were absent. Our analysis demonstrates a greater potential for group benefits than was found in a previous study (Carbone, Du Toit et al., 1997). Hunting-group sizes of between two and six dogs performed best when hyenas attended dog kills because the benefits of increased defence outweighed the costs of having to share the carcass with more dogs. Hunting-group sizes of wild dog and levels of hyena attendance at the kill broadly paralleled the population trends in these species, with hunting-group sizes of wild dog declining, followed by hyena attendance increasing. Despite the combined effects of increased hyena attendance and reduced hunting-group size, dogs in the 1980s typically spent longer feeding and consumed more of the carcass including the poorest sections. This suggests that dogs in the 1980s may have been under greater energetic stress. [source] Prediction for developmental delay on Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale in preterm infants without brain lesionPEDIATRICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2010Sen-Wei Tsai Abstract Background:, Preterm infants often have difficulty in achieving a coordinated sucking pattern. To analyze the correlation between preterm infants with disorganized sucking and future development, weekly studies were performed of 27 preterm infants from initiation of bottle feeding until a normal sucking pattern was recognized. Methods:, A total of 27 preterm infants without brain lesion participated in the present study. Neonatal Oral Motor Assessment Scale (NOMAS) was utilized to evaluate the sucking pattern. Infants who were initially assessed as having disorganized sucking on NOMAS and regained a normal sucking pattern by 37 weeks old were assigned to group I; infants with a persistent disorganized sucking pattern after 37 weeks were assigned to group II. The mental (MDI) and psychomotor (PDI) developmental indices of Bayley Scales of Infant Development, second edition were used for follow-up tests to demonstrate neurodevelopment at 6 months and 12 months of corrected age. Results:, At 6 months follow up, subjects in group I had a significantly higher PDI score than group II infants (P= 0.04). At 12 months follow up, group I subjects had a significantly higher score on MDI (P= 0.03) and PDI (P= 0.04). There was also a higher rate for development delay in group II at 6 months (P= 0.05). Conclusion:, NOMAS-based assessment for neonatal feeding performance could be a helpful tool to predict neurodevelopmental outcome at 6 and 12 months. Close follow up and early intervention may be necessary for infants who present with a disorganized sucking pattern after 37 weeks post-conceptional age. [source] Utilization and nutrient digestibility of mango seeds and palm kernel meal by juvenile Labeo senegalensis (Antheriniformes: Cyprinidae)AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 9 2001E Omoregie Abstract In the present study, utilization and nutrient digestibility of mango seeds and palm kernel meal by juvenile Labeo senegalensis (Antheriniformes: Cyprinidae) were investigated under laboratory conditions. The two ingredients were incorporated at separate levels of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30%. The feeding period lasted for 12 weeks. In general, best growth and feeding performance was obtained with the control diet (0% of mango seeds and palm kernel meal), but results were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from those obtained with the 10% palm kernel meal inclusion level. Weight gain of fish fed all diets was above 120%. With the exception of the 20% and 30% mango seed inclusion level, the specific growth rate (SGR) of the fish was above 1% day,1. The protein productive values were not significantly (P > 0.05) different between the experimental diets. Protein and carbohydrate digestibility was above 86% and 45%, respectively, in all diets. Proximate composition of fish carcass, hepato-somatic index, liver glycogen and plasma glucose after the feeding trials revealed no evidence of nutritional pathology. It was concluded, that at appropriate levels, palm kernel meal and, to a lesser extent, mango seeds can be incorporated into diets of juvenile L. senegalensis without significant depression of growth and health of the fish. [source] Combined effect of incubation and ambient temperature on the feeding performance of a small ectothermAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 8 2006JOKE BILCKE Abstract Many ectothermic animals are subject to fluctuating environmental temperatures during incubation as well as post-birth. Numerous studies examined the effects of incubation temperature or ambient temperature on various aspects of offspring phenotype. We investigated whether incubation temperature and ambient temperature have an interactive effect on offspring performance. Our study animal, the ectothermic vertebrate Lampropholis delicata (common garden skink; De Vis 1888), experiences fluctuating environmental temperatures caused by differential invasion of an exotic plant Vinca major (blue periwinkle). In the laboratory, eggs from wild-caught females were assigned to different incubation temperatures that mimicked variation in natural nests. The feeding performance and digestion time of each hatchling was tested at ambient temperatures that represented environments invaded to different degrees by periwinkle. Incubation and ambient temperature interacted to affect a lizard's mobility, the time that it took to capture, subdue and handle a prey, and the number of handling ,errors' that it made while foraging. For a number of these characteristics, incubation-induced changes to a lizard's mass significantly affected this relationship. Irrespective of size, no interaction effect was found for digestion time: lizards digested food faster at warmer temperatures, regardless of incubation temperature. Thus, temperatures experienced during incubation may alter an animal's phenotype so that the surrounding thermal environment differentially affects aspects of feeding performance. Our results also demonstrate that incubation environment can induce changes to morphology and behaviour that carry over into a lizard's early life, and that in some cases these differences in phenotype interact to affect performance. We suggest that the immediate removal of exotic plants as part of a weed control strategy could have important implications for the foraging performance, and presumably fitness, of ectothermic animals. [source] The preterm piglet , a model in the study of oesophageal development in preterm neonatesACTA PAEDIATRICA, Issue 2 2010S Rasch Abstract Aim:, Preterm infants have difficulty in attaining independent oral feeding. This can ensue from inadequate sucking, swallowing and/or respiration. In impeding bolus transport, immature oesophageal motility may also be a cause. As studies on the development of oesophageal motility are invasive in preterm infants, the preterm piglet was investigated as a potential research model. Methods:, Oesophageal motility (EM) of term (n = 6) and preterm (n = 15) piglets were monitored by manometry for 10 min immediately following bottle feeding on days 1,2 and 3,4 of life. Results:, Piglets' oral feeding performance and EM were similar to those of their human counterparts. Term piglets readily completed their feeding, whereas their preterm counterparts did not. They also presented with greater peristaltic activity and propagating velocity. Peristaltic activity remained unchanged over time in preterm piglets, but an increase in synchronous and decrease in incomplete motor activity were noted. Preterm piglets that developed symptoms analogous to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) demonstrated uncharacteristic oesophageal activity. Conclusion:, Immature EM may cause oral feeding difficulties. NEC-like symptoms may adversely affect EM. The piglet is a valid research model for studying human infant oral feeding and oesophageal development. [source] DIVERSIFYING COEVOLUTION BETWEEN CROSSBILLS AND BLACK SPRUCE ON NEWFOUNDLANDEVOLUTION, Issue 8 2002Thomas L. Parchman Abstract Coevolution is increasingly recognized as an important process structuring geographic variation in the form of selection for many populations. Here we consider the importance of a geographic mosaic of coevolution to patterns of crossbill (Loxia) diversity in the northern boreal forests of North America. We examine the relationships between geographic variation in cone morphology, bill morphology, and feeding performance to test the hypothesis that, in the absence of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), black spruce (Picea mariana) has lost seed defenses directed at Tamiasciurus and that red crossbills (L. curvirostra) and black spruce have coevolved in an evolutionary arms race. Comparisons of cone morphology and several indirect lines of evidence suggest that black spruce has evolved defenses in response to Tamiasciurus on mainland North America but has lost these defenses on Newfoundland. Cone traits that deter crossbills, including thicker scales that require larger forces to separate, are elevated in black spruce on Newfoundland, and larger billed crossbills have higher feeding performances than smaller billed crossbills on black spruce cones from Newfoundland. These results imply that the large bill of the Newfoundland crossbill (L. c. percna) evolved as an adaptation to the elevated cone defenses on Newfoundland and that crossbills and black spruce coevolved in an evolutionary arms race on Newfoundland during the last 9000 years since glaciers retreated. On the mainland where black spruce is not as well defended against crossbills, the small-billed white-winged crossbill (L. leucoptera leucoptera) is more efficient and specializes on seeds in the partially closed cones. Finally, reciprocal adaptations between crossbills and conifers are replicated in black spruce and Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta ssp. latifolia), with coevolution most pronounced in isolated populations where Tamiasciurus are absent as a competitor. This study further supports the role of Tamiasciurus in determining the selection mosaic for crossbills and suggests that a geographic mosaic of coevolution has been a prominent factor underlying the diversification of North American crossbills. [source] | |||||||||||||