Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota: A Review of Experimental Studies and Clinical Trials

The consumption of sugar-free foods is growing because of their low-calorie content and the health concerns about products with high sugar content. Sweeteners that are frequently several hundred thousand times sweeter than sucrose are being consumed as sugar substitutes. Although nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) are considered safe and well tolerated, their effects on glucose intolerance, the activation of sweet taste receptors, and alterations to the composition of the intestinal microbiota are controversial. This review critically discusses the evidence supporting the effects of NNSs, both synthetic sweeteners (acesulfame K, aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, neotame, advantame, and sucralose) and natural sweeteners (NSs; thaumatin, steviol glucosides, monellin, neohesperidin dihydrochalcone, and glycyrrhizin) and nutritive sweeteners (polyols or sugar alcohols) on the composition of microbiota in the human gut. So far, only saccharin and sucralose (NNSs) and stevia (NS) change the composition of the gut microbiota. By definition, a prebiotic is a nondigestible food ingredient, but some polyols can be absorbed, at least partially, in the small intestine by passive diffusion: however, a number of them, such as isomaltose, maltitol, lactitol, and xylitol, can reach the large bowel and increase the numbers of bifidobacteria in humans. Further research on the effects of sweeteners on the composition of the human gut microbiome is necessary

Adaptation and psychometric study of the scale for the measurement of fear and anxiety of COVID-19 disease in pregnant women (AMICO_Pregnant)

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1225822/full#supplementary-materialObjective: The aim of this research was to adapt and explore the psychometric properties of a specific scale to assess the levels of fear and anxiety of COVID-19 disease in pregnant women. Methods: An adaptation phase, by a panel of experts, and a psychometric descriptive cross-sectional study were carried out on the final version of the 16- item, self-administered AMICO_Pregnant scale. Univariate and bivariate analyses were carried out, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The consistency of the scale was assessed using the Omega coefficient and Cronbach’s Alpha. Results: With a sample of 1,013 pregnant women living in Spain and over 18 years of age, the mean age was 33 years. The scale showed a bifactor structure (anxiety and fear) that was confirmed with good fit parameters. Reliability was assessed in terms of internal consistency by calculating Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (0.95) and McDonald’s Omega coefficient (0.94) as indicators of robustness of the scale’s reliability. Conclusion: The AMICO_Pregnant scale of 16 items with scores ranging from 1 to 10 is a valid and reliable tool to assess levels of anxiety and fear of COVID_19 in Spanish pregnant women. Pregnant women have shown moderate levels of anxiety and fear regarding the COVID_19 disease in the final phase of the pandemic

Influence of Pregnancy on Sexual Desire in Pregnant Women and Their Partners: Systematic Review

Objectives: Pregnancy is a stage in which different physical and psychological changes take place that can affect the sexuality of the couple. The aim of the study is to identify how the physical and psychological changes derived from pregnancy affect the sexual desire of women and men. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was carried out in five databases, from which a total of 16,126 documents were obtained. After applying the PRISMA selection criteria, a total of 19 documents were selected. Results: Levels of sexual desire fluctuate during pregnancy, being the second trimester of gestation the period in which desire is at its highest and in which physical limitations and emotional changes decrease. Women have lower levels of sexual desire in the first trimester, while men have the lowest levels of desire in the third trimester. Conclusion: Pregnancy is a stage marked by physiological and psychological changes that modify several areas, including sexuality. Healthcare professionals should promote a healthy sexuality, avoiding the appearance of fears or sexual dysfunctions caused by the changes that occur during pregnancy

Antenatal Fear of Childbirth as a Risk Factor for a Bad Childbirth Experience

Giving birth is one of the most impressive experiences in life. However, many pregnant women suffer from fear of childbirth (FOC) and experience labour in very different ways, depending on their personality, previous life experiences, pregnancy, and birth circumstances. The aim of this study was to analyse how fear of childbirth affects the childbirth experience and to assess the related consequences. For this, a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 414 women between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022. The Birth Anticipation Scale (BAS) was used to measure fear of childbirth and the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ-E) was applied to measure satisfaction with the childbirth experience. Fear of childbirth negatively and significantly predicted the childbirth experience. In addition, women who were more fearful of childbirth were found to have worse obstetric outcomes and a higher likelihood of having a caesarean delivery (p = 0.008 C. I 95%). Fear behaved as a risk factor for the birth experience, so the greater the fear, the higher the risk of having a worse birth experience (OR 1.1). Encouraging active listening and support strategies may increase pregnant women's confidence, thus decreasing their fear of the process and improving their childbirth experience

Edulcorantes y microbiota

VIII Congreso Iberoamericano de Nutrición. ¿Nutrición basada en la videncia o en la evidencia

Assessment of levels of anxiety and fear of Covid-19 in a population of pregnant women in Spain

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the levels of fear and anxiety in the particularly vulnerable population group of women during pregnancy.Methods: Cross-sectional study between March 2022 and July 2022 involving 978 pregnant women aged 16 to 50 years. It was carried out based on the scale for the assessment of fear and anxiety in pregnant women (AMICO_Pregnant) and the collection of sociodemographic data. Normality analysis was performed prior to univariate and bivariate statistical analysis.Results: The sample was composed of a total of 978 pregnant women. The mean of the AMICO_Pregnant scale was intermediate (5.04 points; SD=2.36). The bivariate analysis showed a statistically significant relationship between the AMICO_Pregnant scale and the following variables: vaccination schedule status, contact with the disease, weeks of gestation, altered delivery or birth plan.Conclusion: Women with pregnancies closer to term, with no contact with the disease, without a complete vaccination schedule, or who had undergone changes in their delivery or birth plans, showed higher levels of fear and anxiety.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fear and Anxiety in Pregnant Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the impact of the 2020–2022 pandemic on the levels of fear and anxiety in pregnant women and to identify risk and protective factors.Methods: A systematic review was conducted. Electronic databases were consulted for studies published between January 2020 and August 2022. The methodological quality was assessed using a critical appraisal tool for non-randomised studies.Results: Seventeen studies were included in the review. A high prevalence of levels of fear and anxiety were observed. Risk factors such as unplanned pregnancy, poor support from partners, or intolerance of uncertainty were identified for high levels of fear. Regarding anxiety, risk factors such as maternal age, social support, financial status, or concern about being able to maintain antenatal follow-ups were identified.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental health of pregnant women through increased levels of fear and anxiety. It has not been possible to establish a relationship between significant factors such as gestational age or health emergency control measures with high levels of fear or anxiety

Burial taphonomy and megalithic ritual practices in Iberia: the Panoría cemetery

Supplementary Information The online version contains supplemen- tary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-023-01716-5.Our ability to build precise narratives regarding megalithic funerary rituals largely depends on an accurate understanding of bone assemblage formation. The cemetery of Panoría offers an excellent opportunity for exploring the ritual variability through the study of funerary taphonomy, as four of the nine recently excavated dolmens are remarkably well-preserved. Based on a multi-proxy approach that includes the contextual archaeological features, skeletal preservation and representation indexes, taphonomic processes, and radiocarbon chronology, three main ritual practices can be outlined: (i) primary sequential inhumations followed by the differential in situ decomposition of skeletal remains; (ii) the selective removal of crania and long bones; and (iii) the curation of subadult crania and probably long bones. The use-life of tombs, the intensity of mortuary depositions, and the intentional protection of specific bones appear as key aspects for understanding the variability in bone assemblage formation.Funding for open access publishing: Universidad de Granada/ CBUAEuropean Regional Development Fund FEDER–programme–University of Granada (A-HUM- 123-UGR18 and B-HUM-174-UGR20)Regional Government of Andalusia (P18-FR-4123)Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2020-114282 GB-I00

End of the use of masks in public spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic: impact on the mental health of pregnant women

FUNDAMENTOS // La COVID-19 ha afectado a toda la población, generando un mayor impacto en determinados grupos vulnerables, como es el caso de las mujeres gestantes. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los niveles de miedo y ansiedad a la COVID-19 en la mujer gestante, mediante la escala AMICO_Gestante, en la fase final de la crisis sanitaria causada por dicha enfermedad, marcada por el relajamiento de las medidas de aislamiento en espacios públicos. MÉTODOS // Se realizó un estudio transversal descriptivo mediante el uso de cuestionario autoinformado AMICO_Gestante, desarrolla- do entre el 24 de marzo y el 18 de abril de 2022. Tras ello, se ejecutó un análisis estadístico univariado y bivariado de los datos recogidos. RESULTADOS // Se obtuvieron un total de 479 encuestas de mujeres gestantes de diferente edad gestacional. El análisis bivariado mostró significación estadística en la puntuación de la escala AMICO_Gestante en relación con varias variables en relación al año anterior: contacto con la enfermedad (p=0,025); número de embarazos previos (p=0,019); cambios en el plan de parto (p=0,001); y estado vacunacional (p=0,01). CONCLUSIONES // La pandemia por la COVID-19 tiene un impacto en la salud mental de la mujer gestante, produciendo un efecto negativo en las emociones. La investigación realizada muestra una relación estadísticamente significativa entre los niveles de miedo y ansiedad en la mujer gestante y factores como el número de embarazos previos, el contacto con la enfermedad previa, el nivel de vacunación o las expectativas en relación al plan de parto o nacimiento.BACKGROUND // COVID-19 has affected the entire population, generating a greater impact on certain vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of fear and anxiety regarding the COVID-19 disease in pregnant women, using the AMICO_Pregnant scale, in the final phase of the health crisis caused by the disease, marked by the relaxation of isolation measures in public spaces. METHODS // A descriptive cross-sectional study using the self-reported questionnaire AMICO_Pregnant was developed between March 24 and April 18, 2022. This was followed by a univariate and bivariate statistical analysis of the data collected. RESULTS // A total of 479 surveys of pregnant women of different gestational ages were obtained. The bivariate analysis showed statistical significance in the AMICO_Pregnant scale score about several variables over the previous year: contact with the disease (p=0.025); number of previous pregnancies (p=0.019); changes in the birth plan (p=0.001); and vaccination status (p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS // The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted pregnant women’s mental health, producing a negative effect on emotions. The research carried out shows a statistically significant relationship between the levels of fear and anxiety in pregnant women and factors such as the number of previous pregnancies, contact with the previous disease, vaccination level or expectations regarding the delivery or birth plan

Comparison of the WRF and HARMONIE models ability for mountain wave warnings

Mountain lee waves usually involve aircraft icing and turbulence events. These weather phenomena, in turn, are a threat to aviation safety. For this reason, mountain lee waves are an interesting subject of study for the scientific community. This paper analyses several mountain lee waves events in the south-east of the Guadarrama mountain range, near the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas airport (Spain), using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and the HARMONIE-AROME high-resolution numerical models. For this work, simulated brightness temperature from the optimum WRF parametrization schemes and from the HARMONIE are validated using satellite observations to evaluate the performance of the models in reproducing the lenticular clouds associated to mountain lee waves. The brightness temperature probability density shows interesting differences between both models. Following, a mountain wave characterization is performed simulating some atmospheric variables (wind direction, wind speed, atmospheric stability, liquid water content and temperature) in several grid points located in the leeward, windward and over the summit of the mountains. The characterization results are compared for both numerical models and a decision tree is developed for each to forecast and warn the mountain lee waves, lenticular clouds and icing events with a 24 to 48 h lead time. These warnings are validated using several skill scores, revealing similar results for both models.This work was partially supported by research projects: PID2019- 105306RB-I00, CGL2016-78702-C2-1-R and CGL2016-78702-C2-2-R (SAFEFLIGHT project), FEI-EU-17-16 and SPESMART AND SPESVALE (ECMWF Special Projects). J. Díaz-Fernández acknowledges the grant supported from the MINECO-FPI program (BES-2017)