Influence of taste sensitivity in diet choices and obesity among children.

Introduction: The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Portugal is about 35% (Rito et al., 2012). Lifestyle and dietary habits are important risk factors for weight gain. Food choice and acceptance greatly relies on food perception. The evaluation of taste sensitivity in children and its relation to dietary choices and Body Mass Index (BMI) will be important in a context of obesity prevention. Nonetheless, methodologies for accessing taste sensitivity in children needs to be optimized and adjusted and in Portugal there is not an established protocol. Objectives: To test and optimize a protocol for sweet and bitter taste sensitivity, in Portuguese children, adapted from a protocol already used in German children (Knof et al., 2011). Methods: 20 children, 12 boys and 8 girls, with ages between 8 and 10 years old, were presented with 5 concentrations of sweet (3 – 16 g/L sucrose) and 5 concentrations of bitter taste solutions (0,05 – 0,25 g/L caffeine) and asked for selected the ones perceived as different from water. Results: Test conditions, both the type of presentation and time of tests, resulted for children with the ages tested. For sweet taste, the number and range of concentrations from test solutions appeared to be adequate in the age group between 8 and 10 years. For bitter taste in 80% of children the answers were not consensual with the range of concentrations. Conclusions: The results from the present work suggest that the concentrations used for access bitter taste sensitivity in children from other countries are not sensed by Portuguese children, showing the importance of adjusting adequate concentrations according to sociocultural habits. This may be possible being due to the complex pathway for bitter taste transduction

Difficulty in performing activities of daily living and the need for help in older adults: evidence on social distancing models from the ELSI-COVID-19 initiative

To analyze whether the older adults with difficulty or need of help to perform basic or instrumentals activities of daily living are more socially distanced in times of COVID-19. A total of 4,035 older adults participated in the telephone interviews from the second wave of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil). Difficulty, need and receiving help were classified into: (1) independents; (2) had difficulty without need for care; (3) had difficulty, needed and have received care from someone within their household; (4) had difficulty, needed and have received care from someone outside their household; and (5) had difficulty and needed care but did not receive it. Social distancing was categorized as follows: did not leave their houses in the last 7 days, left their houses for essential activities and went out for non-essential activities. Multinomial regression model adjusted for age, sex, schooling and great geographical region was performed. Older adults who had difficulty, needed and have received help from within their homes (odds ratio - OR = 2.34 95%CI: 1.25-4.39) or from outside their homes (OR = 3.94; 95%CI: 2.24-6.92) were more socially distanced. Age increased the odds of not going out (OR = 1.06; 95%CI: 1.03-1.09) while be men reduced it (OR = 0.48; 95%CI: 0.33-0.70). Living in the South of Brazil has increased the odds of the respondents going out for essential activities (OR = 1.77; 95%CI: 1.01-3.10). Older adults who had difficulty, needed and have received help from within or outside their homes did not leave their homes in the last 7 days. Even with social distancing, these older adults can not have their exposure to COVID-19 reduced, weakening the theory of selective social distancing

The importance of serological assays in diagnosing acute pulmonary histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a systemic mycosis caused by inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum microconidia. The disease does not normally affect immunocompetent individuals after a single, transient inhalation exposure. However, longer exposure may cause chronic or disseminated acute pulmonary infection. Herein, we report the case of a 24-year-old immunocompetent patient, who presented fever, cough and dyspnea for one month. The chest radiography revealed interstitial infiltrate and diffuse micronodules. The patient reported having had close and prolonged contact with bats. Diagnosis was confirmed by positive double immunodifusion and immunoblotting assays. She was treated with ketoconazole (400 mg) and there was complete resolution of the disease

Transmission potential, skin inflammatory response, and parasitism of symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs with visceral leishmaniasis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil is caused by the protozoan <it>Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi </it>and it is transmitted by sandfly of the genus <it>Lutzomyia</it>. Dogs are an important domestic reservoir, and control of the transmission of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) to humans includes the elimination of infected dogs. However, though dogs are considered to be an important element in the transmission cycle of <it>Leishmania</it>, the identification of infected dogs representing an immediate risk for transmission has not been properly evaluated. Since it is not possible to treat infected dogs, they are sacrificed when a diagnosis of VL is established, a measure that is difficult to accomplish in highly endemic areas. In such areas, parameters that allow for easy identification of reservoirs that represents an immediate risk for transmission is of great importance for the control of VL transmission. In this study we aimed to identify clinical parameters, reinforced by pathological parameters that characterize dogs with potential to transmit the parasite to the vector.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The major clinical manifestations of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs from an endemic area were onicogriphosis, skin lesions, conjunctivitis, lymphadenopathy, and weight loss. The transmission potential of these dogs was assessed by xenodiagnosis using <it>Lutzomyia longipalpis</it>. Six of nine symptomatic dogs were infective to <it>Lutzomyia longipalpis </it>while none of the five asymptomatic dogs were infective to the sandfly. <it>Leishmania </it>amastigotes were present in the skin of all clinically symptomatic dogs, but absent in asymptomatic dogs. Higher parasite loads were observed in the ear and ungueal region, and lower in abdomen. The inflammatory infiltrate was more intense in the ears and ungueal regions of both symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs. In clinically affected dogs in which few or none <it>Leishmania </it>amastigotes were observed, the inflammatory infiltrate was constituted mainly of lymphocytes and macrophages. When many parasites were present, the infiltrate was also comprised of lymphocytes and macrophages, as well as a larger quantity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Dogs that represent an immediate risk for transmission of <it>Leishmania </it>in endemic areas present clinical manifestations that include onicogriphosis, skin lesions, conjunctivitis, lymphadenopathy, and weight loss. Lymphadenopathy in particular was a positive clinical hallmark since it was closely related to the positive xenodiagnosis.</p

Inhibitory action of phenothiazinium dyes against Neospora caninum.

Neospora caninum is an Apicomplexan parasite related to important losses in livestock, causing abortions and decreased fertility in affected cows. Several chemotherapeutic strategies have been developed for disease control; however, no commercial treatment is available. Among the candidate drugs against neosporosis, phenothiazinium dyes, offer a low cost-efficient approach to parasite control. We report the anti-parasitic effects of the phenothiaziums Methylene Blue (MB), New Methylene Blue (NMB), 1,9-Dimethyl Methylene Blue (DMMB) and Toluidine Blue O (TBO) on N. caninum, using in vitro and in vivo models. The dyes inhibited parasite proliferation at nanomolar concentrations (0.019-1.83 μM) and a synergistic effect was achieved when Methylene Blue was combined with New Methylene Blue (Combination Index = 0.84). Moreover, the phenothiazinium dyes improved parasite clearance when combined with Pyrimethamine (Pyr). Combination of Methylene Blue + 1,9-Dimethyl Methylene Blue demonstrated superior efficacy compared to Pyrimethamine based counterparts in an in vivo model of infection. We also observed that Methylene Blue, New Methylene Blue and 1,9-Dimethyl Methylene Blue increased by 5000% the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in N. caninum tachyzoites. Phenothiazinium dyes represent an accessible group of candidates with the potential to compound future formulations for neosporosis control

Functional Characterization of the RNA Chaperone Hfq in the Opportunistic Human Pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. [*Roscetto M, *Angrisano T, co-first authors].

Hfq is an RNA-binding protein known to regulate a variety of cellular processes by interacting with small RNAs (sRNAs) and mRNAs in prokaryotes. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an important opportunistic pathogen affecting primarily hospitalized and immunocompromised hosts. We constructed an hfq deletion mutant (Δhfq) of S. maltophilia and compared the behaviors of wild-type and Δhfq S. maltophilia cells in a variety of assays. This revealed that S. maltophilia Hfq plays a role in biofilm formation and cell motility, as well as susceptibility to antimicrobial agents. Moreover, Hfq is crucial for adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells and is required for the replication of S. maltophilia in macrophages. Differential RNA sequencing analysis (dRNA-seq) of RNA isolated from S. maltophilia wild-type and Δhfq strains showed that Hfq regulates the expression of genes encoding flagellar and fimbrial components, transmembrane proteins, and enzymes involved in different metabolic pathways. Moreover, we analyzed the expression of several sRNAs identified by dRNA-seq in wild-type and Δhfq S. maltophilia cells grown in different conditions on Northern blots. The accumulation of two sRNAs was strongly reduced in the absence of Hfq. Furthermore, based on our dRNA-seq analysis we provide a genome-wide map of transcriptional start sites in S. maltophilia

Effects of high fat diet on salivary alpha-amylase serum parameters and food consumption in rats

Salivary a-amylase, a major protein in saliva, has been described as a marker for sympathetic nervous system activity, hence for metabolic energy balance. In this context, its expression in overweight and obesity is of interest. Rats fed with a diet enriched with sunflower oil differentially gained weight yielding two subgroups according to their susceptibility (OP) or resistance (OR) to obesity. Elevated plasmatic levels of leptin in the OP subgroup and altered plasmatic lipid profiles (lower triglycerides and higher total choles- terol/HDL ratio compared to controls) in OR subgroup were observed. Animals from OP subgroup presented higher a-amylase expression and activity even prior to the dietary treatment, suggesting that this salivary protein may constitute a putative indicator of susceptibility for fat tissue accumulation. After 18 weeks of high-fat diet consumption, salivary a-amylase levels did not significantly changed in OP subgroup, but increased 3-fold in OR subgroup. The raise of a-amylase for the latter might represent an adaptation to lower starch intake. These results suggest that salivary a-amylase secretion might be useful to predict susceptibility for weight gain induced by high-fat diet consumption.This paper is funded by FEDER Funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors-COMPETE and National Funds through FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology under the Strategic Projects PEst-C/AGR/UI01, PEst-OE/AGR/ UI0115/2014, 15/2011, PEst-C/SAU/LA0001/2011 and PEst-C/QUI/ UI0062/2011. Authors acknowledge also the financial support from the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) in the form of Post- Doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/63240/2009) of Elsa Lamy. The Portu- guese Science Foundation (FCT) played no role in the develop- ment of the present work or upon its submission for publication

Parasites and allergy: observations from Brazil.

Brazil is a middle-income country undergoing the epidemiological transition. Effects of changes in daily life habits, and access to clean water, sanitation and urban services on a growing urban population have contributed to a double burden of both infectious and non-communicable chronic diseases. Studies have indicated that parasite infections may modulate the human immune system and influence the development of allergic conditions such as asthma. However, there is no consensus in the published literature on the effects of parasitic infections on allergy, perhaps as a consequence of factors determining the epidemiology of these infections that vary between populations such as age of first infection, duration and chronicity of infections, parasite burden and species, and host genetic susceptibility. In this review, we discuss the observations from Brazil concerning the relationship between parasite infections and allergy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Impact of the PROFHER trial findings on surgeons' clinical practice : An online questionnaire survey

OBJECTIVES: To explore whether orthopaedic surgeons have adopted the Proximal Fracture of the Humerus: Evaluation by Randomisation (PROFHER) trial results routinely into clinical practice. METHODS: A questionnaire was piloted with six orthopaedic surgeons using a 'think aloud' process. The final questionnaire contained 29 items and was distributed online to surgeon members of the British Orthopaedic Association and British Elbow and Shoulder Society. Descriptive statistics summarised the sample characteristics and fracture treatment of respondents overall, and grouped them by whether they changed practice based on PROFHER trial findings. Free-text responses were analysed qualitatively for emerging themes using Framework Analysis principles. RESULTS: There were complete responses from 265 orthopaedic and trauma surgeons who treat patients with proximal humeral fractures. Around half (137) had changed practice to various extents because of PROFHER, by operating on fewer PROFHER-eligible fractures. A third (43) of the 128 respondents who had not changed practice were already managing patients non-operatively. Those who changed practice were more likely to be younger, work in a trauma unit rather than a major trauma centre, be specialist shoulder surgeons and treat fewer PROFHER-eligible fractures surgically. This group gave higher scores when assessing validity and applicability of PROFHER. In contrast, a quarter of the non-changers were critical, sometimes emphatically, of PROFHER. The strongest theme that emerged overall was the endorsement of evidence-based practice. CONCLUSION: PROFHER has had an impact on surgeons' clinical practice, both through changing it, and through underpinning existing non-operative practice. Although some respondents expressed reservations about the trial, evidence from such trials was found to be the most important influence on surgeons' decisions to change practice.Cite this article: L. Jefferson, S. Brealey, H. Handoll, A. Keding, L. Kottam, I. Sbizzera, A. Rangan. Impact of the PROFHER trial findings on surgeons' clinical practice: An online questionnaire survey. Bone Joint Res 2017;6:590-599. DOI: 10.1302/2046-3758.610.BJR-2017-0170