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Objective: Parent use of technology to manage child health issues has the potential to improve access and health outcomes. Few studies have examined how parent health literacy affects usage of Internet and cell phone technologies for health management., Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected as part of a randomized controlled experiment in 3 urban pediatric clinics. English- and Spanish-speaking parents (n = 858) of children ≤8 years answered questions regarding use of and preferences related to Internet and cell phone technologies. Parent health literacy was measured using the Newest Vital Sign., Results: The majority of parents were high Internet (70.2%) and cell phone (85.1%) users (multiple times a day). A total of 75.1% had limited health literacy (32.1% low, 43.0% marginal). Parents with higher health literacy levels had greater Internet and cell phone use (adequate vs low: adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 1.7 [confidence interval, 1.2-2.5]) and were more likely to use them for health management (AOR, 1.5 [confidence interval, 1.2-1.8]); those with higher health literacy levels were more likely to use the Internet for provider communication (adequate vs marginal vs low: 25.0% vs 18.0% vs 12.0%, P = .001) and health-related cell phone apps (40.6% vs 29.7% vs 16.4%, P < .001). Overall preference for using technology for provider communication was high (∼70%) and did not differ by health literacy, although Internet and cell phone apps were preferred by higher literacy parents; no differences were seen for texting., Conclusions: Health literacy-associated disparities in parent use of Internet and cell phone technologies exist, but parents' desire for use of these technologies for provider communication was overall high and did not differ by health literacy., (Copyright © 2019 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The dry matter digestibility (DMD) of sifted granulated maize meal and the digestibility of the protein in yellow haricot beans were determined in intact and caecectomised rats. The experiments were done to ascertain whether microbial activity in the caecum has an effect on the digestibility. Removal of the caecum resulted in a decrease of 9 percentage units in the DMD value but had no appreciable effect on the protein digestibity data.

Involving the most expensive of all the nutrients required by the body, the biological utilization of dietary protein remains an important topic, particularly to Third World countries wherein protein supplies are frequently limited. Protein supplementation of cereals and other foodstuffs is often used as a means of increasing protein intake. Supplementation not only increases protein intake but often also changes the physiological usability of the protein component of the resultant mixture. Employing an updated biological method for assessment of protein nutritive value, the author investigated the nature of the change in protein assimilability as a result of graded changes in the proportions of certain proteins combined pairwise into single mixtures. Data are presented on the basis of which the digestibility and/or assimilability of the protein component of a given mixture can be estimated. Lastly, the author indicates the need to evaluate high-protein foods and protein supplements in terms of, not only protein content relative to cost, but also of inherent nutritive value and complementary effect.

The nutritive value of dietary proteins depends on, inter alia the degree of correspondence between the essential amino acid (EAA) content of the protein and the EAA requirements of the animal in question. In the present study the EAA requirements of the young male rat for the maintenance of nitrogen balance equal to 0; + 100; + 200; or + 300 mg N/100 g body mass/8 days were estimated. It was found that, probably because of time-dependent adaptive changes, there are differences, mainly between the EAA pattern for maintenance of N balance = 100 mg and higher. This finding is discussed with reference to its bearing on the methodology of protein evaluation and on the assessment of EAA requirements in general.

Male weanling rats were used to assess the effect of replacing essential amino acid (EAA) mixtures with non-essential amino acid (NEAA) mixtures on nitrogen balance. Each of 4 essential amino acid mixtures, fed in quantities sufficient to maintain specific states of nitrogen balance, was replaced with a non-essential amino acid mixture on an isonitrogenous basis. The results indicate the following: 1. Within limits, replacement with NEAA mixture caused an increase in the efficiency of utilisation of the amino acid mixture when the nitrogen balance state investigated was + 100, +200 or +300 mg/100 g body mass/8 days, but not when nitrogen balance was zero. 2. In the maintenance of nitrogen balance = 0, the EAA mixture could be replaced with NEAA mixture to a greater extent (83%) than was possible in the maintenance of balance states of + 100, +200 or +300 mg (about 70%). The results support the view that (a) EAAs are converted to NEAAs at the cost of metabolically available nitrogen: and (b) with a decrease in the state of nitrogen balance maintained by the animal, the amino acid requirement is shifted partially from EAAs to NEAAs. The implications of the above findings are discussed with reference to dietary protein evaluation and related questions.