Systematic review of the ingestion of fructooligosaccharides on the absorption of minerals and trace elements versus control groups.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are non-caloric and unconventional sugars that are not metabolized by the human body, but can be fermented by the colonic microbiota, leading to some beneficial effects on the absorption of minerals and trace elements. There is, however, a lack of research that describes the continued consumption of FOS in the diet between healthy and ill individuals and their impact. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence behind the role of FOS in the absorption of minerals and trace elements in the human body. METHODS: The bibliographic research covered the period from January 2000 to August 2020. Four databases were investigated. We follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes (PRISMA). The systematic review protocol was recorded in PROSPERO (139621). Two reviewers examined and extracted data from qualitative and quantitative studies published in the main databases, through a careful analysis. The risk of bias was assessed by four reviewers. RESULTS: Of a total of 1494 texts, 30 complete articles composed this review. Two overarching categories represented the results: animal models and human models (randomized crossover design). Regarding human models, the results showed an improvement in minerals, especially the absorption of calcium, magnesium and iron after the ingestion of FOS, and specifically the absorption of minerals and trace elements in postmenopausal women was improved. CONCLUSIONS: The use of FOS to improve the absorption of minerals and trace elements seems to be beneficial with evidence corroborating both in human and animal studies. However, the literature lacks articles exploring the daily dose and duration for FOS benefits, as well as long-term side effects in healthy or unhealthy subjects. Future research should focus on addressing the extent of the functional effect of this fiber and identifying the impact on overall health.

Impact of copper sulfate application at an urban Brazilian reservoir: A geostatistical and ecotoxicological approach.

A landscape ecotoxicology approach was used to assess the spatial distribution of copper in the recent bottom sediment (surficial sediment) of a Brazilian subtropical reservoir (the Guarapiranga reservoir) and its potential ecotoxicological impacts on the reservoir ecosystem and the local society. We discuss the policies and procedures that have been employed for the management of this reservoir over the past four decades. Spatial heterogeneity in the reservoir was evaluated by means of sampling design and statistical analysis based on kriging spatial interpolation. The sediment copper concentrations have been converted into qualitative categories in order to interpret the reservoir quality and the impacts of management policies. This conversion followed the Canadian Water Framework Directive (WFD) ecotoxicological concentration levels approach, employing sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). The SQG values were applied as the copper concentration thresholds for quantitative-qualitative conversion of data for the surficial sediment of the Guarapiranga. The SQGs used were as follows: a) interim sediment quality guideline (ISQG), b) probable effect level (PEL), and c) regional reference value (RRV). The quantitative results showed that the spatial distribution of copper in the recent bottom sediment reflected the reservoir's management policy and the copper application protocol, and that the copper concentrations varied considerably, ranging from virtually-zero to in excess of 3gcopper/kgds. The qualitative results demonstrated that the recent bottom sediment was predominantly in a bad or very bad condition, and could therefore have impacts on the local society and the ecosystem. It could be concluded that the management policy for this reservoir was mainly determined by the desire to minimize short-term costs, disregarding long-term socioeconomic and environmental consequences.

Analysis of severe feather pecking behavior in a high feather pecking selection line.

Even though feather pecking (FP) in laying hens has been extensively studied, a good solution to prevent chickens from this behavior under commercial circumstances has not been found. Selection against FP behavior is possible, but for a more effective selection across different populations, it is necessary to characterize the genetic mechanism associated with this behavior. In this study, we use a high FP selection line, which has been selected for 8 generations. We present evidence of the presence of a major dominant allele affecting the FP behavior by using an argument based on the presence of mixture in the distribution of the observed FP and by studying the evolution of the proportion of very high FP along the sequence of 8 generations. This hypothesis is further supported by the fact that the gene transcription profile of the birds performing high FP differs from the profile of the other birds performing FP (456 genes differentially expressed from a total of 14,077 investigated genes).