Health in early adulthood: the contribution of the 1978/79 Ribeirão Preto birth cohort

The increase in non-communicable chronic diseases of adults is due to demographic changes and changes in the risk factors related to physical activity, smoking habits and nutrition. We describe the methodology for the evaluation of persons at 23/25 years of age of a cohort of individuals born in Ribeirão Preto in 1978/79. We present their socioeconomic characteristics and the profile of some risk factors for chronic diseases. A total of 2063 participants were evaluated by means of blood collection, standardized questionnaires, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements, and methacholine bronchoprovocation tests. The sexes were compared by the chi-square test, with alpha = 0.05. Obesity was similar among men and women (12.8 and 11.1%); overweight was almost double in men (30.3 vs 17.7%). Weight deficit was higher among women than among men (8.6 and 2.6%). Women were more sedentary and consumed less alcohol and tobacco. Dietary fat consumption was similar between sexes, with 63% consuming large amounts (30 to 39.9 g/day). Metabolic syndrome was twice more frequent among men than women (10.7 vs 4.8%), hypertension was six times more frequent (40.9 vs 6.4%); altered triglyceride (16.1 vs 9.8%) and LDL proportions (5.4 vs 2.7%) were also higher in men, while women had a higher percentage of low HDL (44.7 vs 39.5%). Asthma and bronchial hyper-responsiveness were 1.7 and 1.5 times more frequent, respectively, among women. The high prevalence of some risk factors for chronic diseases among young adults supports the need for investments in their prevention

Soja integral processada (fermentada e extrusada) e farelo de soja em substituição ao leite em pó em dieta de leitões desmamados aos 14 dias de idade Whole processed (fermented and extruded) soybean and soybean meal in replacement of dried milk in diet of piglets weaned at 14 days of age

O experimento foi realizado para avaliar o efeito da utilização de soja integral fermentada (SIF), soja integral extrusada (SIE) e farelo de soja (FS), em substituição ao leite em pó (LP) da dieta, sobre desempenho e alterações morfológicas do sistema digestivo de leitões dos 14 aos 35 dias e dos 14 aos 56 dias e o seu efeito residual dos 36 aos 56 dias de idade. Foram utilizados 96 leitões machos, mestiços (Landrace x Large White), desmamados aos 14 dias de idade, em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com quatro tratamentos, quatro repetições e seis animais por unidade experimental. A fonte de proteína influenciou o desempenho dos leitões dos 14 aos 35 e dos 14 aos 56 dias de idade. Os animais que receberam dieta com LP apresentaram maior ganho de peso nas três primeiras semanas após o desmame e no período total. No entanto, no período de 36 aos 56 dias, não se observou influência dos tratamentos sobre o desempenho dos animais. Verificou-se efeito da fonte de proteína na altura de vilosidade (AV), na relação vilosidade: cripta dos leitões abatidos aos 21 dias de idade e na AV dos animais abatidos com 35 dias de idade. Os animais que receberam dieta com LP apresentaram maior AV que os dos demais tratamentos. Concluiu-se que o LP pode ser substituído pela SIE e pelo FS nas dietas de leitões desmamados aos 14 dias de idade e os altos níveis de fatores antitripsina na SIF comprometeram os resultados.<br>The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of the use of whole fermented soybean (WFS), whole extruded soybean (WES) and soybean meal (SBM) in replacement to the dried milk (MD) of the diet on the performance, feed intake and morphological alterations on the digestive system of piglets from 14 to 35 day and from 14 to 56 days, and its residual effects from 36 to 56 days of age. Ninety-six crossbreed (Landrace x Large White) piglets weaned at 14 days of age were allotted to a completely randomized experimental design with four treatments, four replicates and six animals per experimental unit. The protein source affected the piglets performance from 14 to 35 days and from 14 to 56 days of ages. The piglets that were fed MD based diet showed better weight gain on the first three weeks after weaning and on the total period. However, from 36 to 56 days of age it was not observed the influence of the treatments on the piglets performance. It was observed effect of protein source on villus height (VH) and villus: cripta ratio of pigs slaughtered at 21 days of age, and on the VH of the piglets slaughtered at 35 days of age; pigs fed MD based diets showed higher VH than other treatments. Whole extrude soybean and SBM can replace the MD in diets of piglets weaned at 14 days of age and that the high level of anti-trypsin factors in the WFS compromised the results

The genome sequence of the plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa

International audienceXylella fastidiosa is a fastidious, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a range of economically important plant diseases. Here we report the complete genome sequence of X. fastidiosa clone 9a5c, which causes citrus variegated chlorosis—a serious disease of orange trees. The genome comprises a 52.7% GC-rich 2,679,305-base-pair (bp) circular chromosome and two plasmids of 51,158 bp and 1,285 bp. We can assign putative functions to 47% of the 2,904 predicted coding regions. Efficient metabolic functions are predicted, with sugars as the principal energy and carbon source, supporting existence in the nutrient-poor xylem sap. The mechanisms associated with pathogenicity and virulence involve toxins, antibiotics and ion sequestration systems, as well as bacterium–bacterium and bacterium–host interactions mediated by a range of proteins. Orthologues of some of these proteins have only been identified in animal and human pathogens; their presence in X. fastidiosa indicates that the molecular basis for bacterial pathogenicity is both conserved and independent of host. At least 83 genes are bacteriophage-derived and include virulence-associated genes from other bacteria, providing direct evidence of phage-mediated horizontal gene transfer