Assessing fundamental motor skills in Belgian children aged 3-8 years highlights differences to US reference sample

AIM: This study aimed to understand the fundamental motor skills (FMS) of Belgian children using the process-oriented Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition (TGMD-2) and to investigate the suitability of using the United States (USA) test norms in Belgium. METHODS: FMS were assessed using the TGMD-2. Gender, age and motor performance were examined in 1614 Belgian children aged 3-8 years (52.1% boys) and compared with the US reference sample. RESULTS: More proficient FMS performance was found with increasing age, from 3 to 6 years for locomotor skills and 3 to 7 years for object control skills. Gender differences were observed in object control skills, with boys performing better than girls. In general, Belgian children had lower levels of motor competence than the US reference sample, specifically for object control skills. The score distribution of the Belgian sample was skewed, with 37.4% scoring below average and only 6.9% scoring above average. CONCLUSION: This study supported the usefulness of the TGMD-2 as a process-oriented instrument to measure gross motor development in early childhood in Belgium. However, it also demonstrated that caution is warranted when using the US reference norms

The application of single-cell ingredients in aquaculture feeds-a review

Single-cell ingredients (SCI) are a relatively broad class of materials that encompasses bacterial, fungal (yeast), microalgal-derived products or the combination of all three microbial groups into microbial bioflocs and aggregates. In this review we focus on those dried and processed single-cell organisms used as potential ingredients for aqua-feeds where the microorganisms are considered non-viable and are used primarily to provide protein, lipids or specific nutritional components. Among the SCI, there is a generalised dichotomy in terms of their use as either single-cell protein (SCP) resources or single-cell oil (SCO) resources, with SCO products being those oleaginous products containing 200 g/kg or more of lipids, whereas those products considered as SCP resources tend to contain more than 300 g/kg of protein (on a dry basis). Both SCP and SCO are now widely being used as protein/amino acid sources, omega-3 sources and sources of bioactive molecules in the diets of several species, with the current range of both these ingredient groups being considerable and growing. However, the different array of products becoming available in the market, how they are produced and processed has also resulted in different nutritional qualities in those products. In assessing this variation among the products and the application of the various types of SCI, we have taken the approach of evaluating their use against a set of standardised evaluation criteria based around key nutritional response parameters and how these criteria have been applied against salmonids, shrimp, tilapia and marine fish species

Achieving sustainable aquaculture: Historical and current perspectives and future needs and challenges

Important operational changes that have gradually been assimilated and new approaches that are developing as part of the movement toward sustainable intensive aquaculture production systems are presented via historical, current, and future perspectives. Improved environmental and economic sustainability based on increased efficiency of production continues to be realized. As a result, aquaculture continues to reduce its carbon footprint through reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Reduced use of freshwater and land resources per unit of production, improved feed management practices as well as increased knowledge of nutrient requirements, effective feed ingredients and additives, domestication of species, and new farming practices are now being applied or evaluated. Successful expansion into culture of marine species, both off and on shore, offers the potential of substantial increases in sustainable intensive aquaculture production combined with integrative efforts to increase efficiency will principally contribute to satisfying the increasing global demand for protein and food security needs

The Application of Single-Cell Ingredients in Aquaculture Feeds—A Review

Single-cell ingredients (SCI) are a relatively broad class of materials that encompasses bacterial, fungal (yeast), microalgal-derived products or the combination of all three microbial groups into microbial bioflocs and aggregates. In this review we focus on those dried and processed single-cell organisms used as potential ingredients for aqua-feeds where the microorganisms are considered non-viable and are used primarily to provide protein, lipids or specific nutritional components. Among the SCI, there is a generalised dichotomy in terms of their use as either single-cell protein (SCP) resources or single-cell oil (SCO) resources, with SCO products being those oleaginous products containing 200 g/kg or more of lipids, whereas those products considered as SCP resources tend to contain more than 300 g/kg of protein (on a dry basis). Both SCP and SCO are now widely being used as protein/amino acid sources, omega-3 sources and sources of bioactive molecules in the diets of several species, with the current range of both these ingredient groups being considerable and growing. However, the different array of products becoming available in the market, how they are produced and processed has also resulted in different nutritional qualities in those products. In assessing this variation among the products and the application of the various types of SCI, we have taken the approach of evaluating their use against a set of standardised evaluation criteria based around key nutritional response parameters and how these criteria have been applied against salmonids, shrimp, tilapia and marine fish species.</jats:p

Hypoxia does not change responses to dietary omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, but rather reduces dietary energy demand by Atlantic salmon

Over 116 days, Atlantic salmon postsmolts of 183 ± 5 g were fed diets with high or low levels of lipid (230 or 180 g/kg) with high or low levels of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA; 14 or 7 g/kg). Fish were reared under hypoxic and normoxic conditions (6.7 or 8.0 mg/L), as an environmental stressor. Higher levels of lipid and n-3 in the diet increased final weight and weight gain, although no lipid x n-3 interaction was found across both environments. Hypoxia led to reduced growth, which can be explained by reduced feed intake, with no effects on FCR being observed. High lipid diets improved protein and energy retention in the fish carcass as well as improved the digestibility of lipid and LC-PUFA, including EPA and DHA. High n-3 diets also improved retention and digestibility of LC-PUFA, and transcriptomic analysis showed that the liver had reduced levels of expression of fatty acid synthesis genes, for example fads2d5 and elovl2 in those treatments. A clear relationship between performance and energy intake, independent of n-3 LC-PUFA intake, shows that energy demand under hypoxia was an over-riding feature of the nutritional responses in this study

Growth performance, hepatic gene expression, and plasma biochemistry of rainbow trout fed full-fat meal, defatted meal, oil and chitin from black soldier flies

Insects, such as black soldier flies (BSF), are sustainable alternatives to fishmeal and fish oil that have been shown maintain fish growth performance, especially at low dietary inclusions. However, BSF is commonly processed to remove chitin and oil that may have additional benefits to the immune response and disease resistance of fish. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatic gene expression and plasma biochemistry of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed BSF meals and BSF components. A three-month feeding trial was performed where rainbow trout (90.0 ± 4.0g; mean ± SD) were fed either a control diet or diets that contained: 10 % full-fat BSF, 10 % defatted BSF, 4 % BSF oil, and 1 % BSF chitin. Liver was analyzed for gene expression via qPCR and plasma was analyzed for 21 biochemical markers. The 4 % oil and 1 % chitin diets had the highest effect on growth performance, i.e. final weight (p=0.043) and feed intake (p=0.017), compared to the control diet, while no effects of these diets were found on hepatic gene expression. The 10 % full-fat BSF diet affected gene expression, specifically upregulating the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-8 (p=0.033), which may be due to the higher content of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and subsequently immune cell activity in the fish or the combination of the SFA and antimicrobial peptides in BSF that stimulate the innate immune system. No other immune and oxidative stress genes, or 21 plasma biochemical markers were found to be significantly affected (p>0.05). This research provides support to include and not remove oil and chitin from BSF since these components can improve growth performance and immune response of rainbow trout

Hypoxia does not change responses to dietary omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, but rather reduces dietary energy demand by Atlantic salmon

Over 116 days, Atlantic salmon postsmolts of 183 ± 5 g were fed diets with high or low levels of lipid (230 or 180 g/kg) with high or low levels of omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA; 14 or 7 g/kg). Fish were reared under hypoxic and normoxic conditions (6.7 or 8.0 mg/L), as an environmental stressor. Higher levels of lipid and n-3 in the diet increased final weight and weight gain, although no lipid x n-3 interaction was found across both environments. Hypoxia led to reduced growth, which can be explained by reduced feed intake, with no effects on FCR being observed. High lipid diets improved protein and energy retention in the fish carcass as well as improved the digestibility of lipid and LC-PUFA, including EPA and DHA. High n-3 diets also improved retention and digestibility of LC-PUFA, and transcriptomic analysis showed that the liver had reduced levels of expression of fatty acid synthesis genes, for example fads2d5 and elovl2 in those treatments. A clear relationship between performance and energy intake, independent of n-3 LC-PUFA intake, shows that energy demand under hypoxia was an over-riding feature of the nutritional responses in this study.submittedVersio

The effectiveness of a community-based fundamental motor skill intervention in children aged 3–8 years: Results of the “Multimove for Kids” project

Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a 30-week fundamental motor skill program in typically developing young children and to investigate possible sex differences. Design A multicenter quasi experimental design was set up for this study which involved 992 children aged 3–8 years. Methods All participants received their typical Physical Education curriculum and habitual movement activities. The intervention group (n = 523; 53.5% boys) received a weekly 60-min motor skill session provided by trained local instructors in existing child settings; the control group (n = 469; 49.7% boys) received no additional practice. Fundamental motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd Edition before and after the intervention. To assess the effect of the intervention and possible sex differences, hierarchical linear regressions analyses were conducted for locomotor and object control gain scores. Results The intervention group demonstrated a higher gain in both locomotor (β = 3.78, SE = 1.08, p < 0.001) and object control (β = 4.46, SE = 1.06, p < 0.001) skills than the control group. Girls demonstrated a lower gain in object control skills (β = −3.50, SE = 0.49, p < 0.001) and higher gain in locomotor skills (β = 1.01, SE = 0.44, p = 0.022) than boys, regardless of group. Conclusions The present study demonstrated the effectiveness of a wide-scale community-based intervention in typically developing children. The sex differences reported may indicate the need to use different pedagogical and instructional strategies to enable boys and girls to develop and master a wide range of motor skills