Novos requisitos técnicos para rotulagem nutricional nos alimentos embalados: overview de revisões

Introduction: Personal food preferences, purchasing decisions and eating behaviors are shaped by price, marketing, availability and accessibility, which are influenced by health policies and regulations. The National Health Surveillance Agency in Brazil (Anvisa) published in 2009 a public consultation on the proposal for a Normative Instruction that establishes the technical requirements for declaring nutrition labeling in packaged foods. However, the path through which a legislative proposal is implemented is permeated by several possibilities, being subject to disputes by interest groups, such as consumers and food companies. Objective: to carry out a comparison between the new technical requirements for declaring nutrition labeling in packaged foods with the literature on the standardization of food labels and the effects on the influence on the population’s food choices. Method: An overview of systematic reviews was conducted to carry out a comparative study between the scientific evidence and the new technical requirements for declaring nutrition labeling proposed by Anvisa. Results: Of the 99 studies identified, six systematic reviews, published from 2011 to  2018, were included. The reviews reported positive results in the presentation of nutritional information on food labels, especially when dealing with healthy choices by consumers. Based on this outcome, Anvisa’s regulation follows international labeling standards so that consumers can have more information, which favors the promotion of healthy food choices. Conclusions: The Public Consultation on nutritional labeling of foods is based on the interventions studied and on the current evidence, which ensures reliability for decision-making by the Ministry of Health and Anvisa.   Introdução: As preferências alimentares pessoais, as decisões de compra e os  comportamentos alimentares são moldados pelo preço, marketing, disponibilidade e acessibilidade, os quais são influenciados por políticas e regulamentações sanitárias. A Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa) publicou em 2009 uma consulta pública da  proposta de Instrução Normativa que estabelece os requisitos técnicos para declaração da rotulagem nutricional nos alimentos embalados. No entanto, o percurso pelo qual uma proposta de legislação passa a ser implementada é permeado por diversas possibilidades, estando sujeita a disputas por parte de grupos de interesse, como consumidores e empresas alimentícias. Objetivo: Realizar uma comparação entre os novos requisitos técnicos para declaração da rotulagem nutricional nos alimentos embalados com a literatura sobre a padronização de rotulagens de alimentos e os efeitos sobre a influência nas escolhas  alimentares da população. Método: Foi conduzida um overview de revisões sistemáticas para realização de um estudo comparativo entre as evidências científicas e os novos requisitos técnicos para declaração da rotulagem nutricional propostos pela Anvisa. Resultados: Dos 99 estudos identificados, foram incluídas seis revisões sistemáticas, publicadas de 2011 a 2018. As revisões reportaram resultados positivos na apresentação de informações nutricionais nos rótulos dos alimentos, principalmente se tratando de escolhas saudáveis por parte dos consumidores. Baseados nesse desfecho, a regulação da Anvisa segue os padrões de rotulagem internacionais para que assim os consumidores  possam ter mais informações, o que favorece a promoção de escolhas alimentares saudáveis. Conclusões: As consultas públicas sobre rotulagem nutricional de alimentos estão fundamentadas nas intervenções estudadas e nas evidências atuais, o que assegura confiabilidade para a tomada de decisão do Ministério da Saúde e da Anvisa

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron is an immune escape variant with an altered cell entry pathway

Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron (B.1.1.529), the fifth VOC to be described, harbours multiple amino acid mutations in spike, half of which lie within the receptor-binding domain. Here we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralization by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 variants in vitro using sera from individuals vaccinated with ChAdOx1, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273. These data were mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that was partially restored by booster vaccination. The Omicron variants BA.1 and BA.2 did not induce cell syncytia in vitro and favoured a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway, these phenotypes mapping to distinct regions of the spike protein. Impaired cell fusion was determined by the receptor-binding domain, while endosomal entry mapped to the S2 domain. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant

Genomic assessment of quarantine measures to prevent SARS-CoV-2 importation and transmission

Mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from international travel is a priority. We evaluated the effectiveness of travellers being required to quarantine for 14-days on return to England in Summer 2020. We identified 4,207 travel-related SARS-CoV-2 cases and their contacts, and identified 827 associated SARS-CoV-2 genomes. Overall, quarantine was associated with a lower rate of contacts, and the impact of quarantine was greatest in the 16–20 age-group. 186 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sufficiently unique to identify travel-related clusters. Fewer genomically-linked cases were observed for index cases who returned from countries with quarantine requirement compared to countries with no quarantine requirement. This difference was explained by fewer importation events per identified genome for these cases, as opposed to fewer onward contacts per case. Overall, our study demonstrates that a 14-day quarantine period reduces, but does not completely eliminate, the onward transmission of imported cases, mainly by dissuading travel to countries with a quarantine requirement

Investigation of hospital discharge cases and SARS-CoV-2 introduction into Lothian care homes

Background The first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Scotland resulted in high case numbers and mortality in care homes. In Lothian, over one-third of care homes reported an outbreak, while there was limited testing of hospital patients discharged to care homes. Aim To investigate patients discharged from hospitals as a source of SARS-CoV-2 introduction into care homes during the first epidemic wave. Methods A clinical review was performed for all patients discharges from hospitals to care homes from 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020. Episodes were ruled out based on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test history, clinical assessment at discharge, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data and an infectious period of 14 days. Clinical samples were processed for WGS, and consensus genomes generated were used for analysis using Cluster Investigation and Virus Epidemiological Tool software. Patient timelines were obtained using electronic hospital records. Findings In total, 787 patients discharged from hospitals to care homes were identified. Of these, 776 (99%) were ruled out for subsequent introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes. However, for 10 episodes, the results were inconclusive as there was low genomic diversity in consensus genomes or no sequencing data were available. Only one discharge episode had a genomic, time and location link to positive cases during hospital admission, leading to 10 positive cases in their care home. Conclusion The majority of patients discharged from hospitals were ruled out for introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into care homes, highlighting the importance of screening all new admissions when faced with a novel emerging virus and no available vaccine

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission

AbstractUnderstanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission in higher education settings is important to limit spread between students, and into at-risk populations. In this study, we sequenced 482 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the University of Cambridge from 5 October to 6 December 2020. We perform a detailed phylogenetic comparison with 972 isolates from the surrounding community, complemented with epidemiological and contact tracing data, to determine transmission dynamics. We observe limited viral introductions into the university; the majority of student cases were linked to a single genetic cluster, likely following social gatherings at a venue outside the university. We identify considerable onward transmission associated with student accommodation and courses; this was effectively contained using local infection control measures and following a national lockdown. Transmission clusters were largely segregated within the university or the community. Our study highlights key determinants of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and effective interventions in a higher education setting that will inform public health policy during pandemics.</jats:p