Ultra-Processed Food Consumption Is Related to Higher Trans Fatty Acids, Sugar Intake and Micronutrient-Impaired Status in Schoolchildren of Bahia, Brazil

Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption impacts nutrient intake and plays an important role in non-communicable diseases (NCD), even among schoolchildren. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterize the food consumption of this population and its relationship with laboratory and anthropometric aspects. A sample of 190 subjects aged 5 to 19 y was randomly selected for dietary, laboratory, and anthropometric assessment. Statistical inference was calculated using Spearman’s correlation. Excess weight was observed in 34%, a high Waist-to-Height Ratio in 9%, and hypertriglyceridemia in 17% of the subjects, higher among those from urban schools (45%, p = 0.011; 15%, p = 0.015; 24%, p = 0.026, respectively). UPF consumption represented 21% of caloric intake and showed a positive correlation with trans fatty acids (r = 0.70) and sugar (r = 0.59) intake. Unprocessed food consumption showed a weak, but significant, correlation with Body Mass Index (r = 0.22) and Waist Circumference (r = 0.23), while processed meat showed a negative correlation with serum ferritin (r = −0.16) and vitamins D (r = −0.20) and B12 (r = −0.15). These findings highlight the need for public policies to promote Food and Nutritional Security for schoolchildren to prevent NCD and nutritional deficiencies

Accuracy of the urine point-of-care circulating cathodic antigen assay for diagnosing Schistosomiasis mansoni infection in Brazil: a multicenter study

Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde / Fundo Nacional de Saúde / Ministério da Saúde - [TED/FNS: 118/2017; SIAFI: 691919 / 25000.479741/2017-05Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Insumos Estratégicos. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Parasitoses Intestinais, Esquistossomose e Malacologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo. Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Unidade de Doenças Infecciosas. Vitória, ES, Brasil / Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Universidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Medicina. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Yale University. School of Public Health. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases. New Haven, CT, USA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Educação em Ambiente e Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Ciência, Tecnologia, Inovação e Insumos Estratégicos. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Parasitoses Intestinais, Esquistossomose e Malacologia. Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Universidade Federal do Ceará. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas. Fortaleza, CE, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil.Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul. Laboratório de Parasitologia Biomédica. Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto René Rachou. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil.Background: The World Health Organization recommends a market-ready, urine-based point-of-care diagnostic test for circulating cathodic antigens (CCA) to determine the prevalence of S. mansoni. This study evaluated the performance of the URINE CCA (SCHISTO) ECO TESTE® (POC-ECO), which is currently available in Brazil. Methods: Residents from eight sites with different prevalence estimates provided one urine sample for POC-ECO and one stool sample for Kato-Katz (KK) and Helmintex® (HTX) testing as an egg-detecting reference for infection status. Results: None of the study sites had significantly higher POC-ECO accuracy than KK. Conclusions: POC-ECO is not currently recommended in Brazilian schistosomiasis elimination programs

Functional Polymorphisms in IL13 Are Protective against High Schistosoma mansoni Infection Intensity in a Brazilian Population

IL-13 is a signature cytokine of the helper T cell type 2 (TH2) pathway which underlies host defense to helminthic infection and activates production of IgE in both parasitized populations and in urban settings after allergen exposure.Two functional polymorphisms in IL13, rs1800925 (or c.1-1111C>T) and rs20541 (or R130Q) were previously found to be associated with Schistosoma hematobium infection intensity. They have not been thoroughly explored in S. mansoni-endemic populations, however, and were selected along with 5 tagging SNPs for genotyping in 812 individuals in 318 nuclear families from a schistosomiasis-endemic area of Conde, Bahia, in Brazil. Regression models using GEE to account for family membership and family-based quantitative transmission disequilibrium tests (QTDT) were used to evaluate associations with total serum IgE (tIgE) levels and S. mansoni fecal egg counts adjusted for non-genetic covariates. We identified a protective effect for the T allele at rs20541 (P = 0.005) against high S. mansoni egg counts, corroborated by QTDT (P = 0.014). Our findings also suggested evidence for protective effects for the T allele at rs1800925 and A allele at rs2066960 after GEE analysis only (P = 0.050, 0.0002).The two functional variants in IL13 are protective against high S. mansoni egg counts. These markers showed no evidence of association with tIgE levels, unlike tIgE levels previously studied in non-parasitized or atopic study populations

Evaluation of Cardiometabolic Parameters among Obese Women Using Oral Contraceptives

BackgroundCombined oral contraceptive (COC) use has been associated with an unfavorable impact on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in diverse populations of normal weight and obese women. The present study aimed to evaluate the cardiometabolic and inflammatory profiles of women in northeastern Brazil with respect to COC use and obesity.MethodsWe performed a cross-sectional study to verify cardiovascular parameters, including blood pressure (BP), fasting serum glucose, lipid, and inflammatory profile, in a population of women aged 15–45 years, considering obesity and COC use. Our sample consisted of 591 women, 481 women who were COC users, and 110 age-matched women who were COC non-users, classified as obese and non-obese according to BMI.ResultsCOC use and obesity were associated with increased systolic (p ≤ 0.001) and diastolic BP (p = 0.001), blood glucose (p ≤ 0.001), total cholesterol (p = 0.008), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p ≤ 0.001), very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p ≤ 0.001), triglycerides (p ≤ 0.001), ferritin (p = 0.006), C-reactive protein (CRP) (p ≤ 0.001), and nitric oxide metabolites (p ≤ 0.001), as well as decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (p ≤ 0.001) in comparison to controls. CRP and HDL-c levels in obese COC users were determined to be outside reference range values. The odds of having lower levels of HDL-c and elevated CRP increased among obese COC users. COC use was independently associated with low levels of HDL-c, especially second-generation progestins (p < 0.001; OR = 8.976; 95% CI 2.786–28.914).ConclusionObesity and COC use were associated with alterations in lipid and inflammatory cardiometabolic parameters, particularly increased CRP levels and decreased HDL-c, which are considered markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Given the need to prevent unintended pregnancy among obese women, together with weight loss counseling, it is important to evaluate the most effective and safest contraceptive methods to avoid the potential risk of developing CVD

CIPROFLOXACIN RESISTANCE PATTERN AMONG BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM PATIENTS WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED URINARY TRACT INFECTION

SUMMARY Objective: To identify the main bacterial species associated with community-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) and to assess the pattern of ciprofloxacin susceptibility among bacteria isolated from urine cultures. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study in all the patients with community-acquired UTI seen in Santa Helena Laboratory, Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil during five years (2010-2014). All individuals who had a positive urine culture result were included in this study. Results: A total of 1,641 individuals met the inclusion criteria. Despite the fact that participants were female, we observed a higher rate of resistance to ciprofloxacin in males. The most frequent pathogens identified in urine samples were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Antimicrobial resistance has been observed mainly for ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin. Moreover, E. coli has shown the highest rate of ciprofloxacin resistance, reaching 36% of ciprofloxacin resistant strains in 2014. Conclusion: The rate of bacterial resistance to ciprofloxacin observed in the studied population is much higher than expected, prompting the need for rational use of this antibiotic, especially in infections caused by E. coli. Prevention of bacterial resistance can be performed through control measures to limit the spread of resistant microorganisms and a rational use of antimicrobial policy

Estudo do fenótipo, ativação celular e fonte produtora de IL-10 em asmáticos infectados pelo Schistosoma mansoni

Introdução e Objetivos: Alguns estudos vêm demonstrando que as infecções por helmintos são capazes de inibir a resposta ao teste cutâneo para aereoalérgenos e modificar o curso clínico da asma, e que a IL-10, produzida em altos níveis em infecções pelo Schistosoma mansoni, é capaz de modular a resposta imune do tipo 2 envolvida na patogênese da asma. Os objetivos deste estudo foram avaliar a célula produtora de IL-10, o fenótipo celular e a expressão de moléculas co-estimulatórias em asmáticos infectados pelo S. mansoni, comparando estes resultados com os obtidos de asmáticos infectados por outros helmintos e asmáticos não infectados. Métodos e Resultados: O fenótipo celular (CD3, CD4, CD8 e CD14), a ativação celular (CD25 e HLA-DR), as moléculas co-estimulatórias (CTLA-4, CD28, CD40L, CD80 e CD86), ex vivo, e a citocina IL-10 foram avaliados pelo uso de anticorpos monoclonais por citofluorimetria. CMSP estimuladas por 20 horas in vitro com alérgeno (Der p1) foram avaliadas para a expressão intracelular de IL-10. Os resultados foram expressos em percentagem de células positivas (média ± DP) e média de intensidade de fluorescência (MIF) para HLA-DR (média ± DP). A frequência de CTLA-4 em células TCD4+ de asmáticos infectados pelo S. mansoni foi 0,49 ± 0,39%, em asmáticos infectados por outros helmintos foi 0,78 ± 0,25%, enquanto que em asmáticos não infectados foi 0,89 ± 0,56% (p < 0.05). A expressão de CD28 nas células TCD4+ e do seu ligante CD80 em monócitos foi semelhante em todos os grupos, enquanto que a expressão do CD86 foi diferente entre os grupos (95,90 ± 3,47%, 89,66 ± 6,35% e 95,28 ± 4,93%, respectivamente, p < 0,05). A expressão de CD25 em células TCD4+ também não diferiu significativamente entre os grupos (7,45 ± 2,84%, 6,84 ± 2,36% e 7,84 ± 3,38%, respectivamente). Nos indivíduos asmáticos infectados pelo S. mansoni foi observado que as células CD4+ foram as principais produtoras de IL-10, sendo, em percentual, as células CD4+CD25+ as principais produtoras desta citocina. As células TCD8+ juntamente com as CD14+ também representaram importantes fontes de IL-10 nestes pacientes. Conclusões: A principal diferença no estado de ativação celular entre asmáticos com ou sem a infecção pelo S. mansoni foi a maior frequência de células TCD4+ expressando CTLA-4, um marcador de ativação, em asmáticos não infectados. A modulação da resposta imune observada em indivíduos asmáticos cronicamente infectados pelo S. mansoni, envolve mecanismos complexos, que incluem a produção de citocinas, a exemplo da IL-10, e participação de células regulatórias

Microbial Cell Factories

Background: Recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli vectors are generally contaminated with endotoxin. In this study, we evaluated the ability of Polymyxin B to neutralize the effect of LPS present as contaminant on Schistosoma mansoni recombinant proteins produced in E. coli in inducing TNF-α and IL-10. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from individuals chronically infected with S. mansoni were stimulated in vitro with recombinant Sm22.6, Sm14 and P24 antigens (10 μg/mL) in the presence of Polymyxin B (10 μg/mL). Results: The levels of cytokines were measured using ELISA. There was greater than 90 % reduction (p < 0.05) in the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 when Polymyxin B was added to the cultures stimulated with LPS. In cultures stimulated with S. mansoni recombinant proteins in the presence of Polymyxin B, a reduction in the levels of TNF-α and IL-10 was also observed. However, the percentage of reduction was lower when compared to the cultures stimulated with LPS, probably because these proteins are able to induce the production of these cytokines by themselves. Conclusion: This study showed that Polymyxin B was able to neutralize the effect of endotoxin, as contaminant in S. mansoni recombinant antigens produced in E. coli, in inducing TNF-α and IL-10 production