Policy implementation and priorities to create healthy food environments using the Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI): A pooled level analysis across eleven European countries

Background: Food environments have been recognised as highly influential on population diets. Government policies have great potential to create healthy food environments to promote healthy diets. This study aimed to evaluate food environment policy implementation in European countries and identify priority actions for governments to create healthy food environments. Methods: The Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) was used to evaluate the level of food environment policy and infrastructure support implementation in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Spain in 2019–2021. Evidence of implementation of food environment policies was compiled in each country and validated by government officials. National experts evaluated the implementation of policies and identified priority recommendations. Findings: Finland had the highest proportion (32%, n = 7/22) of policies shaping food environments with a “high” level of implementation. Slovenia and Poland had the highest proportion of policies rated at very low implementation (42%, n = 10/24 and 36%, n = 9/25 respectively). Policies regarding food provision, promotion, retail, funding, monitoring, and health in all policies were identified as the most important gaps across the European countries. Experts recommended immediate action on setting standards for nutrients of concern in processed foods, improvement of school food environments, fruit and vegetable subsidies, unhealthy food and beverage taxation, and restrictions on unhealthy food marketing to children. Interpretation: Immediate implementation of policies and infrastructure support that prioritize action towards healthy food environments is urgently required to tackle the burden of obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases in Europe. Funding: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 774548 and from the Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”

The distribution of agglutinins and lytic activity against Trypanosoma rangeli and erythrocytes in Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans tissue extracts and haemolymph

Haemolymph, heads, salivary glands, crops, midguts, hindguts, and Malpighian tubules from Rhodnius prolixus and Triatoma infestans were extracted in phosphate or Tris buffer saline with calcium, and tested for agglutination and lytic activities by microtitration against both vertebrateerythrocytes and cultured epimatigote forms of Trypanosoma rangeli. Haemagglutination activity against rabbit erythrocytes was found in the crop, midgut and hindgut extracts of T. infestans but only in the haemolymph of R. prolixus. Higher titres of parasite agglutinins were found in R. prolixus haemolymph than T. infestans, whilst the converse occurred for the tissue extracts. In addition, the extracts of T. infestans salivary glands, but not those of R. prolixus, showed a trypanolytic activity that was heat-inactivated and was not abolished by pre-incubation with any of the sugars or glycoproteins tested. T. infestans, which is refractory to infection by T. rangeli, thus appears to contain a much wider distribution of agglutinating and trypanolytic factors in its tissues than the more susceptible species, R. prolixu

Elementos figurados da hemolinfa de Dermatobia hominis (Diptera: Cuterebridae): caracterização ao nível de microscopia óptica, em larvas do 2o. e 3o. instares

Foram examinados os hemócitos de larvas do 2º (L2) e 3º(L3) instares de Dermatobia hominis em nível de microscopia óptica e comparados com os de outras espécies encontradas na literatura. Nas L2 e em L3 com peso de até 200mg foram encontrados cinco tipos: Pro-hemócitos, Plasmatócitos, Vermiformes, Oenocitóides e Esfoliativas. A medida em que as L3 foram-se tornando mais idosas apareceram em seqüência os Granulócitos e Adipohemócitos, sendo raro encontrar-se Pro-hemócitos em L3 com peso acima de 500mg. Tipos intermediários entre Pro-hemócitos e Plasmatócitos e entre Granulócitos e Adipohemócitos também foram encontrados, fazendo-se supor que pro-hemócitos dão origem ao Plasmatócito e que este dá origem ao Granulócito que pode acumular grãos de lipídeos transformando-se em Adipohemócito. O Oenocitóide parece ter origem diferente dos demais tipos. Não foram encontradas formas transicionais entre Plasmatócito fusiforme e Vermiforme típica conforme aparece na literatura para algumas espécies. Embora sem ter característica de hemócitos, as células Esfoliativas são elementos que aparecem nos dois instares estudados.Hemocytes of 2nd (L2) and 3rd (L3) instar larvae of Dermatobia hominis were studied and compared with other insect species. In L2 and L3 weighing up to 200mg there are five cell types: Prohemocytes, Plasmatocytes, Vermicytes, Oenocytoids and Squamous. In older L3 Granulocytes and Adipohemocytes begin to appear in this sequence and Prohemocytes are seldom found in L3 weighing more than 500mg. Besides there are cells intermediary between Prohemocytes and Plasmatocytes as well as between Granulocytes and Adipohemocytes; this suggest that Plasmatocytes originate from Prohemocyte, differentiate into Granulocyte that through accumulation of fat droplets become Adipohemocyte. We found no precursos of the Oenocytoids. We found no transitional cells between fusiform Plasmatocytes and typical Vermicytes as has been described in other species. Squamous cells do not have the features of true hemocytes but were found in L2 and L3

Desenvolvimento das gônadas de Dermatobia hominis (Diptera: Cuterebridae)

O trabalho descreve o desenvolvimento das gônadas do berne (D. hominis) durante o período pupal. As pupas desenvolvidas de larvas com peso superior a 650 mg, deram imagos fêmeas, enquanto que as desenvolvidas daquelas pesando entre 500 e 650 mg deram macho, tendo havido um erro ao redor de 5%. Até o oitavo dia de pupação os testículos crescem mais que os ovários; a partir daí diminui o desenvolvimento, parando de crescer entre o vigésimo e vigésimo quinto dias. A espermatogênese inicia por volta do sétimo dia de pupa quando é grande o número de espermatócitos. No décimo dia alguns testículos apresentam considerável número de espermátides e os espermatozóides começam a aparecer por volta do vigésimo dia. A espermiogênese desenvolve-se sem interrupção e ao final da pupação quase toda loja testicular está repleta de espermatózóides. Os machos começam a nascer dois dias antes das fêmeas. Nessas, os ovaríolos aparecem formados por volta do oitavo dia de pupa; os folículos se individualizam por volta do vigésimo dia de pupa onde se distingue os trofócitos com núcleos politênicos e citoplasmas bem basófilos, enquanto o ovócito tem citoplasma mais acidófilo e núcleo com cromatina bastante frouxa. A vitelogênese tem início ao redor do vigésimo quinto dia de pupa e se completa ao nascimento da imago. A ligação das gônadas com suas respectivas estruturas somáticas acontece ao redor do décimo terceiro dia de pupação.<br>Gonadal development of Dermatobia hominis during pupal period is described. Pupae developing from larvae weighing above 650 mg turned into female flies whereas the ones from larvae weighing between 500 and 600 mg turned into males (with plus of minus 5% of error). Up to the 8th day of pupation the testes are larger than the ovaries; from that time on they decrease their speed of development and stop growing between the 20th and 25th day. The spermatogenesis starts around the 7th day when there are numerous spermatocytes. On the 10th day, the majority of testes show many spermatides; spermatozoides appear around the 20th day. The spermiogenesis continues up to the end of the pupal phase, when the whole testes is packed with spermatozoides. Males begin to emerge two days before females. Ovarioles are formed around the 8th day; on the 20th day folicules are individualized surrounded by folicular cells and conteining nurse cells with polytene nuclei and basophilic cytoplasm plus the smaller single ovocyte with acidophilic cytoplasm and loose nucleus. The vitelogenesis starts around the 25th day, and is complete at the time of the emergence of the imago. Connection of gonads with their somatic structures is accomplished around the 13th day of pupation

Histochemical and ultrastructural evidence of lipid secretion by the silk gland of the sugarcane borer Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)

The silk gland in Lepidoptera larvae is responsible for the silk production used for shelter or cocoon construction. The secretion of fibroin and sericin by the different silk gland regions are well established. There are few attempts to detect lipid components in the insect silk secretion, although the presence of such element may contribute to the resistance of the shelter to wet environment. This study characterizes the glandular region and detects the presence of lipid components in the secretion of the silk gland of Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius). The silk gland was submitted to histochemical procedure for lipid detection or conventionally prepared for ultrastructural analyses. Lipid droplets were histochemically detected in both the apical cytoplasm of cell of the anterior region and in the lumen among the microvilli. Ultrastructural analyses of the anterior region showed lipid material, visualized as myelin-like structures within the vesicular Golgi complex and in the apical secretory globules, mixed up with the sericin; similar material was observed into the lumen, adjacent to the microvilli. Lipids were not detected in the cells neither in the lumen of the posterior region. Our results suggest that the silk produced by D. saccharalis has a minor lipid content that is secreted by the anterior region together with the sericin