Sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with physical activity in Brazilian adolescents

Background\ud Physical activity in adolescents is associated with short- and long-term health benefits. Physical activity can occur in various domains and is influenced by a complex network of factors. The aims of this study are 1) to describe the physical activity of Brazilian adolescents in physical education classes, during leisure time, and during active commuting and 2) to investigate the socio-demographic and behavioral factors associated with physical activity.\ud \ud \ud Methods\ud The representative sample included 109,104 Brazilian students in the final year of elementary school from 2,842 schools. The weekly frequency and duration of physical activity were assessed. A variety of socio-demographic and behavioral factors were studied. A multiple Poisson regression analysis was used to test for associations between physical activity and the socio-demographic and behavioral variables.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud Most of the students (97.0%) engaged in physical activity in at least one of the domains studied, especially physical education at school (81.7%) and leisure time physical activity (67.5%). However, only 29% of the adolescents reached the recommended level of physical activity. Among the adolescents who reached the minimum recommended time for physical activity, the various domains contributed the following proportions to total physical activity: leisure time physical activity (PR 12.5; 95% CI 11.17-13.97), active commuting (PR 1.63; 95% CI 1.59-1.67), and physical education at school (PR 1.36; 95% CI 1.29-1.44). The weekly frequency of all activities was greater among boys than among girls. Moreover, nearly two-thirds (61.8%) of students spent more than two hours per day engaging in sedentary behaviors; the prevalence of sedentary behaviors was similar between boys and girls (59.0 and 64.5%, respectively).\ud Total level of physical activity, leisure time physical activity, and active commuting were associated with higher nutritional scores.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud Physical activity is important in any health promotion program. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in policies and interagency initiatives that promote all domains and to ensure that the general population helps determine the scope and design of such policies.USP/FM/PROAP CAPES/PROAP - 055/2013 Medicina Preventiva/\ud CGC.63.025.530/0018-5

Educational inequality in consumption of in natura or minimally processed foods and ultra-processed foods: The intersection between sex and race/skin color in Brazil

BackgroundIt remains uncertain how the intersection between educational, gender, and race/skin color inequalities influences food consumption in Brazil. In this study, we examined the educational inequality in the consumption of in natura/minimally processed and ultra-processed foods by Brazilians with an intersectional perspective between sex and race/color.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the Telephone Surveillance System (VIGITEL 2019), comprising 52,443 participants ≥ 18 years. Daily food consumption was considered high when consumption of ≥5 foods for each food group was reported the day before the survey. Educational inequality in food consumption was assessed by the slope index of inequality (SII) and the relative index of inequality (RII) according to sex and race/color (White; Black/Brown). Positive SII and RII values > 1.0 indicate higher food consumption among more educated participants.ResultsThe consumptions of in natura/minimally processed and ultra-processed foods were more prevalent in those with the highest level of education (≥12 years) and intermediate education (9–11 years), respectively. However, highly educated White women had higher consumption of in natura/minimally processed foods than Black women with the same education level, and White men in low and intermediate school levels had higher consumption of these foods than Black men with the same education levels. We found higher absolute educational inequality for in natura/minimally processed foods among White women (SII 21.8, 95% CI 15.3, 28.4) and Black/Brown men (SII 19.3, 95% CI 12.5, 26.1). Black/Brown men (SII 7.3, 95% CI 0.5, 14.0) and Black/Brown women (SII 5.6, 95% CI 1.0, 10.2) had higher absolute educational inequality than White men (SII −3.3, 95% CI −10.9, 4.3; P = 0.04) in the consumption of ultra-processed foods.ConclusionEducational inequalities influenced the consumption of in natura/minimally processed more than ultra-processed foods, and, for the latter, inequalities were greater among Black/Brown men and women than among White men

Flow Biocatalysis: A Challenging Alternative for the Synthesis of APIs and Natural Compounds.

Santi M, Sancineto L, Nascimento V, et al. Flow Biocatalysis: A Challenging Alternative for the Synthesis of APIs and Natural Compounds. International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;22(3): 990.Biocatalysts represent an efficient, highly selective and greener alternative to metal catalysts in both industry and academia. In the last two decades, the interest in biocatalytic transformations has increased due to an urgent need for more sustainable industrial processes that comply with the principles of green chemistry. Thanks to the recent advances in biotechnologies, protein engineering and the Nobel prize awarded concept of direct enzymatic evolution, the synthetic enzymatic toolbox has expanded significantly. In particular, the implementation of biocatalysts in continuous flow systems has attracted much attention, especially from industry. The advantages of flow chemistry enable biosynthesis to overcome well-known limitations of "classic" enzymatic catalysis, such as time-consuming work-ups and enzyme inhibition, as well as difficult scale-up and process intensifications. Moreover, continuous flow biocatalysis provides access to practical, economical and more sustainable synthetic pathways, an important aspect for the future of pharmaceutical companies if they want to compete in the market while complying with European Medicines Agency (EMA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and green chemistry requirements. This review focuses on the most recent advances in the use of flow biocatalysis for the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), pharmaceuticals and natural products, and the advantages and limitations are discussed

Growth hormone-releasing hormone-secreting pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor associated with pituitary hyperplasia and somatotropinoma

Acromegaly caused by ectopic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)-secreting tumor is exceedingly rare. We report a case of acromegaly secondary to GHRH secretion by an incidentally diagnosed pulmonary neuroendocrine tumor (NET) and review 47 similar cases in literature. A 22-year-old male patient presented with symptoms of pituitary apoplexy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed apoplexy of a pituitary adenoma. Routinely prior to surgery, a chest radiography was performed which revealed a mass in the left lung. During investigation, the patient was diagnosed with metastatic GHRH-secreting pulmonary NET. In retrospect, it was noted that the patient had pituitary hyperplasia 20 months prior to the MRI which showed the presence of a pituitary adenoma. The histological findings confirmed somatotroph hyperplasia adjacent to somatotropinoma. This case suggests that GHRH secretion can be associated with pituitary hyperplasia, which may be followed by pituitary adenoma formation.Ye