Effects of Different Phospholipid Sources on Growth and Gill Health in Atlantic Salmon in Freshwater Pre-Transfer Phase.

Growth and histological parameters were evaluated in Atlantic salmon (74 g) that were fed alternative phospholipid (PL) sources in freshwater (FW) up to 158 g and were transferred to a common seawater (SW) tank with crowding stress after being fed the same commercial diet up to 787 g. There were six test diets in the FW phase: three diets with different doses of krill meal (4%, 8%, and 12%), a diet with soy lecithin, a diet with marine PL (from fishmeal), and a control diet. The fish were fed a common commercial feed in the SW phase.

Kidney disease risk factors do not explain impacts of low dietary protein on kidney function and structure.

The kidneys balance many byproducts of the metabolism of dietary components. Previous studies examining dietary effects on kidney health are generally of short duration and manipulate a single macronutrient. Here, kidney function and structure were examined in C57BL/6J mice randomized to consume one of a spectrum of macronutrient combinations (protein [5%-60%], carbohydrate [20%-75%], and fat [20%-75%]) from weaning to late-middle age (15 months).

Nutritional geometry of paternal effects on embryo mortality.

Well-established causal links exist between maternal nutritional deficits and embryo health and viability. By contrast, environmental effects operating through the father that could influence embryo mortality have seldom been examined. Yet, ejaculates can require non-trivial resource allocation, and seminal plasma components are increasingly recognized to exert wide-ranging effects on females and offspring, so paternal dietary effects on the embryo should be expected.

Diet-Microbiome Interactions in Health Are Controlled by Intestinal Nitrogen Source Constraints.

Diet influences health and patterns of disease in populations. How different diets do this and why outcomes of diets vary between individuals are complex and involve interaction with the gut microbiome. A major challenge for predicting health outcomes of the host-microbiome dynamic is reconciling the effects of different aspects of diet (food composition or intake rate) on the system.

The Effects of Dietary Macronutrient Balance on Skin Structure in Aging Male and Female Mice.

Nutrition influences skin structure; however, a systematic investigation into how energy and macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) affects the skin has yet to be conducted. We evaluated the associations between macronutrients, energy intake and skin structure in mice fed 25 experimental diets and a control diet for 15 months using the Geometric Framework, a novel method of nutritional analysis. Skin structure was associated with the ratio of dietary macronutrients eaten, not energy intake, and the nature of the effect differed between the sexes.

Genetic improvement of feed conversion ratio via indirect selection against lipid deposition in farmed rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss Walbaum).

In farmed fish, selective breeding for feed conversion ratio (FCR) may be possible via indirectly selecting for easily-measured indicator traits correlated with FCR. We tested the hypothesis that rainbow trout with low lipid% have genetically better FCR, and that lipid% may be genetically related to retention efficiency of macronutrients, making lipid% a useful indicator trait. A quantitative genetic analysis was used to quantify the benefit of replacing feed intake in a selection index with one of three lipid traits: body lipid%, muscle lipid% or viscera% weight of total body weight (reflecting visceral lipid).

Defining the Nutritional and Metabolic Context of FGF21 Using the Geometric Framework.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is the first known endocrine signal activated by protein restriction. Although FGF21 is robustly elevated in low-protein environments, increased FGF21 is also seen in various other contexts such as fasting, overfeeding, ketogenic diets, and high-carbohydrate diets, leaving its nutritional context and physiological role unresolved and controversial. Here, we use the Geometric Framework, a nutritional modeling platform, to help reconcile these apparently conflicting findings in mice confined to one of 25 diets that varied in protein, carbohydrate, and fat content.

The effects of increasing dietary levels of amino acid-supplemented soy protein concentrate and constant dietary supplementation of phosphorus on growth, composition and immune responses of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).

Diets with 50 (SPC50), 65 (SPC65) and 80 % (SPC80) substitution of prime fish meal (FM) with soy protein concentrate (SPC) were evaluated against a commercial type control feed with 35 % FM replacement with SPC. Increases in dietary SPC were combined with appropriate increases in methionine, lysine and threonine supplementation, whereas added phosphorus was constant among treatments. Diets were administered to quadruplicate groups of 29 g juvenile Atlantic salmon were exposed to constant light, for 97 days.

Macronutrient balance, reproductive function, and lifespan in aging mice.

In invertebrates, reproductive output and lifespan are profoundly impacted by dietary macronutrient balance, with these traits achieving their maxima on different diet compositions, giving the appearance of a resource-based tradeoff between reproduction and longevity. For the first time in a mammal, to our knowledge, we evaluate the effects of dietary protein (P), carbohydrate (C), fat (F), and energy (E) on lifespan and reproductive function in aging male and female mice. We show that, as in invertebrates, the balance of macronutrients has marked and largely opposing effects on reproductive and longevity outcomes.

The Influence of Macronutrients on Splanchnic and Hepatic Lymphocytes in Aging Mice.

There is a strong association between aging, diet, and immunity. The effects of macronutrients and energy intake on splanchnic and hepatic lymphocytes were studied in 15 month old mice. The mice were ad-libitum fed 1 of 25 diets varying in the ratios and amounts of protein, carbohydrate, and fat over their lifetime.

Effects of functional feeds on the lipid composition, transcriptomic responses and pathology in heart of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) before and after experimental challenge with Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV).

Background: Cardiomyopathy syndrome (CMS) is a severe cardiac disease of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) recently associated with a double-stranded RNA virus, Piscine Myocarditis Virus (PMCV). The disease has been diagnosed in 75-85 farms in Norway each year over the last decade resulting in annual economic losses estimated at up to €9 million. Recently, we demonstrated that functional feeds led to a milder inflammatory response and reduced severity of heart lesions in salmon experimentally infected with Atlantic salmon reovirus, the causal agent of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI).

The ratio of macronutrients, not caloric intake, dictates cardiometabolic health, aging, and longevity in ad libitum-fed mice.

The fundamental questions of what represents a macronutritionally balanced diet and how this maintains health and longevity remain unanswered. Here, the Geometric Framework, a state-space nutritional modeling method, was used to measure interactive effects of dietary energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate on food intake, cardiometabolic phenotype, and longevity in mice fed one of 25 diets ad libitum. Food intake was regulated primarily by protein and carbohydrate content.

Structure-dynamics relationships in bursting neuronal networks revealed using a prediction framework.

The question of how the structure of a neuronal network affects its functionality has gained a lot of attention in neuroscience. However, the vast majority of the studies on structure-dynamics relationships consider few types of network structures and assess limited numbers of structural measures. In this in silico study, we employ a wide diversity of network topologies and search among many possibilities the aspects of structure that have the greatest effect on the network excitability.

Effect of functional feeds on fatty acid and eicosanoid metabolism in liver and head kidney of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) with experimentally induced heart and skeletal muscle inflammation.

Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI) is an emerging viral disease caused by a novel Atlantic salmon reovirus (ASRV) affecting farmed fish. Primary symptoms associated with HSMI include myocardial and skeletal muscle necrosis indicating a severe inflammatory process. Recently, we applied the concept of clinical nutrition to moderate the long-term inflammatory process associated with HSMI in salmon subjected to experimental ASRV challenge.

Functional feeds reduce heart inflammation and pathology in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L.) following experimental challenge with Atlantic salmon reovirus (ASRV).

Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation (HSMI), recently associated with a novel Atlantic salmon reovirus (ASRV), is currently one of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases in commercial Atlantic salmon farms in Norway. Mortality varies from low to 20%, but morbidity can be very high, reducing growth performance and causing considerable financial impact. Clinical symptoms, including myocarditis, myocardial and red skeletal muscle necrosis, correlate with the intensity of the inflammatory response.

Teleconsultation: changes in technology and costs over a 12-year period.

In our previous study, in 1997, we evaluated the cost of teleconsultations in a primary care centre compared with the cost of the conventional alternative, travelling to the hospital. The results showed that teleconsultations were cheaper than patient travel when the annual workload was more than 110 patients in ophthalmology and 115 patients in dermatology. Using the same method of analysis for 2009 data showed that cost savings would occur if the annual workload was 20 patients in ophthalmology and 17 patients in dermatology.

Information diversity in structure and dynamics of simulated neuronal networks.

Neuronal networks exhibit a wide diversity of structures, which contributes to the diversity of the dynamics therein. The presented work applies an information theoretic framework to simultaneously analyze structure and dynamics in neuronal networks. Information diversity within the structure and dynamics of a neuronal network is studied using the normalized compression distance.

Computational study of noise in a large signal transduction network.

Background: Biochemical systems are inherently noisy due to the discrete reaction events that occur in a random manner. Although noise is often perceived as a disturbing factor, the system might actually benefit from it. In order to understand the role of noise better, its quality must be studied in a quantitative manner.

Quality and production trait genetics of farmed European whitefish, Coregonus lavaretus.

We present here phenotypic and genetic parameters for the major quality and production traits of farmed European whitefish. A total of 70 families were produced by mating each of 45 sires to an average of 1.6 dams and each of the 52 dams to an average of 1.

Genetic potential for the regulation of variability in body lipid and protein content of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus).

Animals may have target levels for lipid and protein stores which they try to maintain by feedback mechanisms. Thus, variation in initial body composition may be related to subsequent feed utilisation, for animals to maintain body composition in homeostasis. We assessed whether such relationships are genetically determined within a farmed population of European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) grown either on fishmeal or soyabean-meal diets.

Dynamics of protein and lipid intake regulation of rainbow trout studied with a wide lipid range of encapsulated diets and self-feeders.

Feed intake in fish is examined extensively but there is not much information about the dynamics of regulation i.e. how fish react to different diets, and how these reactions change, over a longer period of time.

Genetic relationships of body composition and feed utilization traits in European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.) and implications for selective breeding in fishmeal- and soybean meal-based diet environments.

Body composition traits have potential use in fish breeding programs as indicator traits for selective improvement of feed efficiency. Moreover, feed companies are increasingly replacing traditional fish meal (FM) based ingredients in feeds for carnivorous farmed fish with plant protein ingredients. Therefore, genetic relationships of composition and feed utilization traits need to be quantified for both current FM-based and future plant-based aquaculture feeds.

Plasma ghrelin levels in rainbow trout in response to fasting, feeding and food composition, and effects of ghrelin on voluntary food intake.

Ghrelin, a peptide hormone which stimulates growth hormone (GH) release, appetite and adiposity in mammals, was recently identified in fish. In this study, the roles of ghrelin in regulating food intake and the growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) system of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated in three experiments: 1) Pre- and postprandial plasma levels of ghrelin were measured in relation to dietary composition and food intake through dietary inclusion of radio-dense lead-glass beads, 2) the effect of a single intraperitoneal (i.p.

Nonlinear time series analysis of food intake in the dab and the rainbow trout.

Evidence suggests that dab and rainbow trout are able to quickly adjust their food intake to an appropriate level when offered novel diets. In addition day-to-day and meal-to-meal food intake varies greatly and meal timing is plastic. Why this is the case is not clear: Food intake in fish is influenced by many factors, however the hierarchy and mechanisms by which these interact is not yet fully understood.