Self-esteem and mood in obese children and their mothers: A pilot study

Objective: A test-retest pilot study was conducted to examine the relationship between overweight/obesity, self-esteem and mood in a group of school-age children, and the degree to which they changed after a tailored psycho-educational intervention. Before and after administering the psycho-educational training, the following aspects were assessed: the child's weight (BMI); the child's and mother's levels of self-esteem and mood; the mother's perception of their child; and the child's general quality of life. Method: Subject to their prior informed consent, 12 overweight/obese children aged between 8 and 13 years, and their mothers were involved in a psycho-educational intervention, which consisted in four meetings with both the children and their mothers. The study consisted in measuring anthropometric parameters and administering specific psychological tests (the CDI, TMA, BDI, B-SE, and CBCL) to both the children and their mothers before and after the psycho-educational intervention. Results: The results showed that a high BMI was associated with depressive symptoms (anhedonia, negative mood) and low self-esteem (family life, body experience). Low levels of self-esteem were also found in 50% of the mothers, with no correlations between the mother's and child's self-esteem. On analyzing the mothers' clinically significant depressive symptoms (cognitive-affective sphere), it emerged that they included the perception of more problems in their child. After the psycho-educational intervention, there were improvements in: the children's BMI; the children's depressive symptoms and self-esteem; the mothers' depressive symptoms and self-esteem; and the mothers' perceptions of their child's problems. Conclusions: Our case series confirmed the association between overweight/obesity and psychological issues. Overweight/obese children need to be also addressed regarding the psychological fallout of their physical condition. Any intervention must also include the parents, to make them more aware, more committed, and better able to help their child change

Implication of Cellular Senescence in Osteoarthritis: A Study on Equine Synovial Fluid Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

: Osteoarthritis (OA) is described as a chronic degenerative disease characterized by the loss of articular cartilage. Senescence is a natural cellular response to stressors. Beneficial in certain conditions, the accumulation of senescent cells has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many diseases associated with aging. Recently, it has been demonstrated that mesenchymal stem/stromal cells isolated from OA patients contain many senescent cells that inhibit cartilage regeneration. However, the link between cellular senescence in MSCs and OA progression is still debated. In this study, we aim to characterize and compare synovial fluid MSCs (sf-MSCs), isolated from OA joints, with healthy sf-MSCs, investigating the senescence hallmarks and how this state could affect cartilage repair. Sf-MSCs were isolated from tibiotarsal joints of healthy and diseased horses with an established diagnosis of OA with an age ranging from 8 to 14 years. Cells were cultured in vitro and characterized for cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, ROS detection assay, ultrastructure analysis, and the expression of senescent markers. To evaluate the influence of senescence on chondrogenic differentiation, OA sf-MSCs were stimulated in vitro for up to 21 days with chondrogenic factors, and the expression of chondrogenic markers was compared with healthy sf-MSCs. Our findings demonstrated the presence of senescent sf-MSCs in OA joints with impaired chondrogenic differentiation abilities, which could have a potential influence on OA progression

Integrated study on production performance and quality traits of European sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax ) fed high plant protein diets

In the issue of fishmeal replacement, besides maintaining optimal growth, a key area of investigation for continuing to improve modern aquafeeds includes the evaluation of the effects of plant ingredients on fish quality. It is generally accepted that farmed fish quality can be influenced by the formulation of composition of their feed. Hence, the aim of the present research was to evaluate plant protein inclusion up to 84% of the overall protein content in an integrated study on growth and quality traits of European sea bass. Three diets were formulated to contain increasing plant protein levels (50, 67 and 84%; 50PP, 67PP and 84PP, respectively), with fishmeal dietary levels at 30, 20 and 10%, respectively. No significant differences due to reducing fishmeal content were observed after 118 days in terms of growth (final body weight and specific growth rate) and feed intake, even though a trend towards lower growth performance at higher fishmeal replacement levels was observed. Fish fed diet 50PP showed lower feed conversion rate in comparison to those fed diet 84PP, while no differences were recorded between diet 50PP and 67PP. No significant differences among treatments were found in protein efficiency rate. On the contrary, fish fed diet 84PP showed lower gross protein efficiency in comparison to those fed diet 50PP and 67PP. No significant differences in biometric indices and fillet composition were observed. No significant differences were found in pH, liquid holding capacity and skin colour measurements between treatments, while regarding fillet colour, significant differences were found only for H\ub0ab. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that dietary plant proteins up to 84% of the overall protein content had no effects on quality traits of European sea bass in comparison with 50% and 67%. All experimental groups showed similar growth even though 84% plant protein inclusion negatively influenced feed and protein utilisation

Perinatal Stress Programs Sex Differences in the Behavioral and Molecular Chronobiological Profile of Rats Maintained Under a 12-h Light-Dark Cycle

Stress and the circadian systems play a major role in an organism’s adaptation to environmental changes. The adaptive value of the stress system is reactive while that of the circadian system is predictive. Dysfunctions in these two systems may account for many clinically relevant disorders. Despite the evidence that interindividual differences in stress sensitivity and in the functioning of the circadian system are related, there is limited integrated research on these topics. Moreover, sex differences in these systems are poorly investigated. We used the perinatal stress (PRS) rat model, a well-characterized model of maladaptive programming of reactive and predictive adaptation, to monitor the running wheel behavior in male and female adult PRS rats, under a normal light/dark cycle as well as in response to a chronobiological stressor (6-h phase advance/shift). We then analyzed across different time points the expression of genes involved in circadian clocks, stress response, signaling, and glucose metabolism regulation in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). In the unstressed control group, we found a sex-specific profile that was either enhanced or inverted by PRS. Also, PRS disrupted circadian wheel-running behavior by inducing a phase advance in the activity of males and hypoactivity in females and increased vulnerability to chronobiological stress in both sexes. We also observed oscillations of several genes in the SCN of the unstressed group in both sexes. PRS affected males to greater extent than females, with PRS males displaying a pattern similar to unstressed females. Altogether, our findings provide evidence for a specific profile of dysmasculinization induced by PRS at the behavioral and molecular level, thus advocating the necessity to include sex as a biological variable to study the set-up of circadian system in animal models

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

Risk factors associated with adverse fetal outcomes in pregnancies affected by Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a secondary analysis of the WAPM study on COVID-19.

Objectives To evaluate the strength of association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics and the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in pregnancies with laboratory confirmed COVID-19. Methods Secondary analysis of a multinational, cohort study on all consecutive pregnant women with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from February 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020 from 73 centers from 22 different countries. A confirmed case of COVID-19 was defined as a positive result on real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay of nasal and pharyngeal swab specimens. The primary outcome was a composite adverse fetal outcome, defined as the presence of either abortion (pregnancy loss before 22 weeks of gestations), stillbirth (intrauterine fetal death after 22 weeks of gestation), neonatal death (death of a live-born infant within the first 28 days of life), and perinatal death (either stillbirth or neonatal death). Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate parameters independently associated with the primary outcome. Logistic regression was reported as odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 30.6+/-9.5 weeks, with 8.0% of women being diagnosed in the first, 22.2% in the second and 69.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. There were six miscarriage (2.3%), six intrauterine device (IUD) (2.3) and 5 (2.0%) neonatal deaths, with an overall rate of perinatal death of 4.2% (11/265), thus resulting into 17 cases experiencing and 226 not experiencing composite adverse fetal outcome. Neither stillbirths nor neonatal deaths had congenital anomalies found at antenatal or postnatal evaluation. Furthermore, none of the cases experiencing IUD had signs of impending demise at arterial or venous Doppler. Neonatal deaths were all considered as prematurity-related adverse events. Of the 250 live-born neonates, one (0.4%) was found positive at RT-PCR pharyngeal swabs performed after delivery. The mother was tested positive during the third trimester of pregnancy. The newborn was asymptomatic and had negative RT-PCR test after 14 days of life. At logistic regression analysis, gestational age at diagnosis (OR: 0.85, 95% CI 0.8-0.9 per week increase; pPeer reviewe

Conséquences à long terme du stress périnatal : rôle du système ocytocinergique dans la prévention précoce des troubles liés au stress

L'environnement périnatal programme le développement de la descendance. Cette programmation perdure jusqu’au vieillissement, période de risque pour les maladies neurodégénératives telles que la maladie d'Alzheimer (MA). De nombreuses études ont montré le rôle anti-stress de l'ocytocine. Pendant la période périnatale, l'ocytocine intervient dans les interactions mère-petit. Le comportement maternel joue un rôle clé dans le développement du SNC de la descendance En utilisant le modèle de stress périnatal chez les rats (PRS), nous avons montré que l'administration postnatale à des mères stressées d’un agoniste du récepteur à l'ocytocine (carbétocine) améliore le comportement maternel et enraye le développement d’un phénotype pathologique. Nous avons également montré qu’un traitement chronique à la carbétocine chez l’adulte corrige les altérations comportementales et neurochimiques des rats PRS. La carbétocine a un effet similaire à celui des antidépresseurs. Au vu de la réduction d’O-GlcNac trouvée dans l’hippocampe des rats PRS âgés, nous nous sommes demandés si un mécanisme similaire pouvait exister dans des modèles de la MA. Nous avons montré que la protéine tau est hypo-O-GlcNAc et hyperphosphorylée dans l'hippocampe de souris 3xTg-AD. L’ensemble de nos résultats montre que le stress périnatal peut être un facteur de risque pour le développement de troubles psychiatriques et neurodégénératifs. Le traitement à la carbétocine peut éliminer ce risque. Cela suggère que les mères exposées à un stress soit pendant la gestation, soit pendant la période postnatale, pourraient être traitées par des agonistes des récepteurs à l'ocytocine afin de prévenir les conséquences néfastes induites par un soin maternel défectueux sur le développement de l'enfant.The perinatal environment contributes to program the developmental trajectory of the offspring. This trajectory extends to the old age, which is the age at maximal risk for the onset of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Mounting evidence revealed the role of oxytocin as an anti-stress factor. During the postpartum period, oxytocin plays a key role in mother-pup interactions that highly contribute to the development of the brain in the offspring. Using the model of perinatal stress in rats (PRS), we showed that postnatal administration of the oxytocin receptor agonist, carbetocin, to stressed mothers improved maternal behavior and prevented the pathological consequences of early-life stress in the offspring. We also demonstrated that chronic carbetocin treatment in adult rats was able to correct the behavioral and neurochemical consequences of PRS, thus mimicking the action of the antidepressants. Because we found a reduction in protein O-GlcNac in the hippocampus of aged PRS rats showing cognitive dysfunction, we also decided to examine whether a similar phenomenon was present in animals modeling AD. We found that tau protein was hypo-O-GlcNac and hyperphosphorylated in the hippocampus of 3xTg-AD mice. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that PRS may represent a risk factor for psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders and that carbetocin administration may eliminate this risk. This raises the attractive possibility that mothers exposed to stress during gestation or in the early postpartum period should be treated with oxytocin receptor agonists to prevent the pathological consequences of a defective maternal care for the developing child

CJEU, 2 April 2020, Joined Cases C-715/17, C-718/17 and C-719/17, EU:C:2020:257: Rebel rebel, how could they know? The boundless imagination of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in opposing the relocation mechanism.

In the case Commission v. Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, the Court of Justice of the EU, upholding the actions for failure to fulfill obligations brought by the European Commission, ruled that the defendant States breached EU law by failing to comply with the relocation decisions adopted in 2015 by the Council. The Court rejects the States’ argumentation as to the need to safeguard their national order and security, adduced as justification for not relocating asylum seekers, and confirms that solidarity is a legally binding obligation. It also does not accept the alleged existence of malfunctioning and flaws of the relocation mechanism as a valid reason not to cooperate and show solidarity: it is exactly when obstacles and difficulties arise that solidarity and a sincere, genuine spirit of cooperation are most needed

What could the Global Compact on Migration mean for Europe?

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