No abstract

The study was designed to produce acceptable extruded snack of high nutritional quality and iron content. Different extruded snacks were prepared by fortifying corn with iron rich foods like moth bean, lotus stem (LS), karonda (KP), garden cress and niger seeds (GC and NS), amaranth and Bengal gram leaves (AL and BL). The LS, KP, GC, NS, AL and BL were added to the different extruded snacks in four levels i.e. 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 %. Moth bean was added to all the extruded snacks at 20 % level. Organoleptic evaluation of the snacks revealed that LS and KP incorporated extruded snacks were acceptable till the level of 10 % showing overall acceptability of 7.81 and 7.56 respectively. The GC, NS, BL and AL incorporated snacks were acceptable till the levels of 7.5%, 5% and 7.5% with the overall acceptability scores 7.40, 7.96, 7.46, 7.6 respectively. The developed supplemented snacks had higher protein, ash, iron and low carbohydrate in comparison to the control (corn snacks). They also had significantly higher iron content ranging from 15.4 to 21.3 g/100g DM, compared to the control having 3.9 mg/ 100g DM.

Purpose: This study surveyed physiotherapists working at Canadian CF specialized centres to investigate the current practice, barriers to, and facilitators of exercise testing and training. Method: Physiotherapists were recruited from 42 Canadian CF centres. They responded to an e-questionnaire regarding their practice. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Eighteen physiotherapists responded (estimated response rate of 23%); median years of clinical experience was 15 (range, min-max,3-30) years. Aerobic testing was administered by 44% of respondents, strength testing by 39%, aerobic training by 78%, and strength training by 67%. The most frequently reported barriers across all four types of exercise testing and training were insufficient funding (reported by 56-67% of respondents), time (50-61%) and staff availability (56%). More late career than early career physiotherapists reported utilizing aerobic testing by (50% vs. 33% of respondents), strength testing (75% vs 33%), aerobic training (100% vs. 67%), and strength training (100% vs. 33%). Conclusions: Exercise testing and training is underutilized in Canadian CF centres. Experienced PTs reported utilizing exercise testing and training more than less-experienced physiotherapists. Post-graduate education and mentorship, especially for less-experienced clinicians, are recommended to emphasize the importance of exercise testing and training. Barriers of funding, time, and staff availability should be addressed to further improve quality of care.