Nurse’s intervention – end of life nutrition approach protocol

Background: To know that nutrition in the present society is increasingly associated with life maintenance and comfort, helps us to understand the complexity of this subject when approached the end of life. Artificial nutrition remains controversial in a palliative context, given the questioning about the quality of life that offers [1]. Protocols help nurses in the decision-making process and increasing their competences. Objective: To present an end-of-life nutrition approach protocol for palliative care. Methods: This study is the result of three integrative literature reviews that intended to measure: which nursing interventions promote end of life nutrition in people without artificial nutrition criteria?; what are the evaluation criteria for the end-of-life person for the nurse’s decision-making of start, don’t start or suspending artificial nutrition?; does the nurse’s interventions towards the end-of-life reduce the risk of therapeutic obstinacy associated with artificial nutrition? Based in Buckman & Spikes Communication Protocol [2], the results were integrated in a protocol form and submitted to the opinion of 13 experts, from 18th October to 6th November 2017, and the respective changes were made. Inclusion criteria of experts were: being health professionals; palliative care experience and/or work development in nutrition subjects. Results: Our experts have on average 37 years old; 10 carry out their activity in Palliative settings, 8 of these have advanced training in Palliative Care. Our protocol considers: I) setting - preparing the environment; II) perception - prior knowledge of the person/family information about nutrition, preferences and considerations regarding the future commitment of feeding and active listening, understanding what the person/family wants to know, especially as to the meaning of nutrition, what that moment represents and invite them to address the subject; III) knowledge - provide adequate information in phases, contextualizing the present symptoms in the disease process (prognosis) and discuss the evaluation criteria before starting artificial nutrition; IV) emotions – attend to the emotions and provide realistic hope; V) strategy – interventions from the patient’s needs are presented in an algorithm form, promoting oral feeding as long as possible. In all process, the person and family autonomy in decision making is preserved. At each step, we identified an element to avoid in the communication process [1,2]. Conclusions: The set of nurse’s interventions in end-of-life nutrition approach systematizes the elements to be considered in decision-making and guarantees the importance of nurses' contribution in risk reduction of therapeutic obstinacy.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Importance of vitamin C evaluation in infant and follow-on formulas

A vitamina C tem um papel crucial no crescimento e desenvolvimento saudáveis de bebés. As fórmulas infantis são muito consumidas por esta faixa etária e como tal, é de extrema importância garantir que esta vitamina esteja presente em concentrações adequadas. No presente trabalho de investigação, determinou-se o teor de vitamina C total, ácido L-ascórbico e ácido desidroascórbico em fórmulas infantis e compararam-se os resultados obtidos com os limites estabelecidos no Regulamento Delegado (UE) 2016/127. Em 2016, foram adquiridas 7 fórmulas infantis, 4 fórmulas para lactentes e 3 fórmulas de transição. Os teores totais de vitamina C determinados variaram entre 65,4 ± 0,28 e 134 ± 1,27 mg/100 g de amostra, encontrando-se dentro dos limites estabelecidos pela legislação em vigor. Uma vez que este tipo de produtos alimentares é muito importante na alimentação de consumidores de uma faixa etária tão jovem e tão vulnerável como são os lactentes, impõe-se a sua regulamentação, segurança e controlo da qualidade.Vitamin C plays a very important role in the healthy growth and development of babies. Infant and follow-on formulas are frequently consumed by this age group and it is extremely important to ensure that this vitamin is present in adequate concentrations in this type of products. This research aimed to determine the total vitamin C, L-ascorbic acid and dehydroascorbic acid contents in infant foods, and compare the results obtained with the limits established in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127. In 2016, 7 infant foods, 4 infant formulas and 3 follow-on formulas, were acquired. All vitamin C contents obtained for the analysed samples, ranged from 65.4 ± 0.28 to 134 ± 1.27 mg/100 g of sample, and were within the established limits. Since this type of food products is very important to a group of consumers belonging to an age group as young and as vulnerable as the infants, regulation, safety and quality control of this type of products is of extreme importance.Este trabalho foi financiado pelo Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge no âmbito do projeto BioCOMP (2012DAN730). Tânia Gonçalves Albuquerque agradece a bolsa de doutoramento (SFRH/BD/99718/2014) financiada pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Fundo Social Europeu e Ministério da Educação e Ciência.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Programa Justicia SÍ, Un Modelo de Gestión para la Reestructuración del Poder Judicial del Ecuador basado en Tecnología de la Información e Inclusión Social

Justicia Sí es un programa de reestructuración destinado a conseguir una mayor inclusión social y transparencia de los procedimientos judiciales, reforzando los principios democráticos de la República del Ecuador para garantizar la justicia a todos los ciudadanos mediante los más avanzados mecanismos de tecnología de la información y de la gestión de proyectos. Actualmente, el sistema judicial de Ecuador está poco informatizado, los procesos son físicos y de difícil gestión, perjudicando la elaboración de los indicadores de eficiencia de la gestión y del trabajo de los jueces. Además, se crea una sensación de inseguridad en el ciudadano al no tener el conocimiento sobre lo que ocurre en el sector judicial. Por lo tanto, este programa se estructuró en tres ejes principales: Transformación de Recursos Humanos, Desmaterialización y Sistematización de la Justicia y Nueva infraestructura Predial y TICS para la Justicia. El enfoque principal de este trabajo es la sistematización y la desmaterialización de la justicia con el uso de las TICS. Para la ejecución del Programa Justicia Sí se contará con una coordinación que gerencia todos sus proyectos e iniciativas de forma integrada para implementar las mejores prácticas para el desarrollo y entrenamiento de todos los jueces y funcionarios del poder Judicial de Ecuador, incluidos los abogados y ciudadanos que son usuarios del sistema judicial.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Modelling tree density effects on provisioning ecosystem services in Europe

Agroforestry systems, in which trees are integrated in arable or pasture land, can be used to enable sustainable food, material, and energy production (i.e. provide provisioning ecosystem services) whilst reducing the negative environmental impacts associated with farming. However, one constraint on the uptake of agroforestry in Europe is a lack of knowledge on how specific agroforestry designs affect productivity. A process-based biophysical model, called Yield-SAFE, was used: (1) to quantify the food, material and biomass energy production of four contrasting case study systems in Europe in a common energy unit (MJ ha−1), and (2) to quantify how tree density determined the supply of provisioning ecosystem services. The Yield-SAFE model was calibrated so that simulated tree and crop growth fitted observed growth data for reference monoculture forestry, pasture, and arable systems. The modelled results showed that including trees in pasture or arable systems increased the overall accumulated energy of the system in comparison with monoculture forestry, pasture, and arable systems, but that the accumulated energy per tree was reduced as tree density increased. The greatest accumulated energy occurred in the highest tree density agroforestry system at all the case study sites. This suggests that the capture of environmental resources, such as light and water, for obtaining provisioning services is most effective in high density agroforestry systems. Further modelling should include tree canopy effects on micro-climatic and the impact this has on pasture, crop, and livestock yields, as well as the impact of tree density on the economic value and management of the different systems

Sandpiles with height restrictions

We study stochastic sandpile models with a height restriction in one and two dimensions. A site can topple if it has a height of two, as in Manna's model, but, in contrast to previously studied sandpiles, here the height (or number of particles per site), cannot exceed two. This yields a considerable simplification over the unrestricted case, in which the number of states per site is unbounded. Two toppling rules are considered: in one, the particles are redistributed independently, while the other involves some cooperativity. We study the fixed-energy system (no input or loss of particles) using cluster approximations and extensive simulations, and find that it exhibits a continuous phase transition to an absorbing state at a critical value zeta_c of the particle density. The critical exponents agree with those of the unrestricted Manna sandpile.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figure

ZmOrphan94 Transcription Factor Downregulates ZmPEPC1 Gene Expression in Maize Bundle Sheath Cells

Spatial separation of the photosynthetic reactions is a key feature of C4 metabolism. In most C4 plants, this separation requires compartmentation of photosynthetic enzymes between mesophyll (M) and bundle sheath (BS) cells. The upstream region of the gene encoding the maize PHOSPHOENOLPYRUVATE CARBOXYLASE 1 (ZmPEPC1) has been shown sufficient to drive M-specific ZmPEPC1 gene expression. Although this region has been well characterized, to date, only few trans-factors involved in the ZmPEPC1 gene regulation were identified. Here, using a yeast one-hybrid approach, we have identified three novel maize transcription factors ZmHB87, ZmCPP8, and ZmOrphan94 as binding to the ZmPEPC1 upstream region. Bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays in maize M protoplasts unveiled that ZmOrphan94 forms homodimers and interacts with ZmCPP8 and with two other ZmPEPC1 regulators previously reported, ZmbHLH80 and ZmbHLH90. Trans-activation assays in maize M protoplasts unveiled that ZmHB87 does not have a clear transcriptional activity, whereas ZmCPP8 and ZmOrphan94 act as activator and repressor, respectively. Moreover, we observed that ZmOrphan94 reduces the trans-activation activity of both activators ZmCPP8 and ZmbHLH90. Using the electromobility shift assay, we showed that ZmOrphan94 binds to several cis-elements present in the ZmPEPC1 upstream region and one of these cis-elements overlaps with the ZmbHLH90 binding site. Gene expression analysis revealed that ZmOrphan94 is preferentially expressed in the BS cells, suggesting that ZmOrphan94 is part of a transcriptional regulatory network downregulating ZmPEPC1 transcript level in the BS cells. Based on both this and our previous work, we propose a model underpinning the importance of a regulatory mechanism within BS cells that contributes to the M-specific ZmPEPC1 gene expression

Evaluation of salt and fat contents in sweet breads and croissants: a contribution to the study of the Portuguese panorama in 2020

Uma alimentação equilibrada e saudável na infância é determinante para o desenvolvimento físico e psíquico da criança, e é sobretudo nesta fase que se desenvolvem os gostos e preferências alimentares, que determinação as escolhas, e que terão, consequentemente, uma influência notória na saúde. Em Portugal, de acordo com o Inquérito Alimentar Nacional e de Atividade Física, em 2017, as crianças (< 10 anos) tinham uma ingestão média de açúcares livres de 41,8 g/dia, de gordura saturada de 21,9 g/dia e de sal de 5,3 g/dia. Em 2020, foi determinado o teor de gordura e de sal de 24 tipos de produtos de pastelaria (pães de leite sem recheio, com recheio e/ou com pepitas; croissants com e sem recheio). Os teores de gordura total variaram entre 9,22 e 29,4 g/100 g e os teores de sal variaram entre 0,537 e 1,17 g/100 g. Todos os produtos analisados encontram- -se acima da meta fixada pela EIPAS (0,3 g de sal por 100 g). Conclui-se que é necessário desenvolver estratégias para a reformulação progressiva destes alimentos e assim possibilitar a oferta de produtos com um perfil nutricional mais adequado às necessidades em saúde pública.A balanced and healthy diet in childhood is crucial for the child's physical and mental development, and it is mainly at this stage that food taste and preferences are developed, which will determine choices and will have a notable influence on health. In Portugal, according to the National Food and Physical Activity Survey, in 2017, children (< 10 years) had an average intake of free sugars of 41.8 g/day, of saturated fat of 21.9 g/day and 5.3 g/day of salt. In 2020, the fat and salt content of 24 types of pastry products (non-filled and/or filled sweet breads; croissants with and without filling) were determined. The total fat contents varied between 9.22 and 29.4 g/100 g, and the salt contents varied between 0.537 and 1.17 g/100 g. All the analyzed products are above the target set by EIPAS (0.3 g of salt per 100 g). In summary, it is necessary to develop strategies for the progressive reformulation of these foods and thus enable to offer products with a nutritional profile more suited to public health needs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Errors in protein synthesis increase the level of saturated fatty acids and affect the overall lipid profiles of yeast

The occurrence of protein synthesis errors (mistranslation) above the typical mean mistranslation level of 10-4 is mostly deleterious to yeast, zebrafish and mammal cells. Previous yeast studies have shown that mistranslation affects fitness and deregulates genes related to lipid metabolism, but there is no experimental proof that such errors alter yeast lipid profiles. We engineered yeast strains to misincorporate serine at alanine and glycine sites on a global scale and evaluated the putative effects on the lipidome. Lipids from whole cells were extracted and analysed by thin layer chromatography (TLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(LC-MS) and gas chromatography (GC). Oxidative damage, fatty acid desaturation and membrane fluidity changes were screened to identify putative alterations in lipid profiles in both logarithmic (fermentative) and post-diauxic shift (respiratory) phases. There were alterations in several lipid classes, namely lyso-phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidic acid, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and triglyceride, and in the fatty acid profiles, namely C16:1, C16:0, C18:1 and C18:0. Overall, the relative content of lipid species with saturated FA increased in detriment of those with unsaturated fatty acids. The expression of the OLE1 mRNA was deregulated, but phospholipid fluidity changes were not observed. These data expand current knowledge of mistranslation biology and highlight its putative roles in human diseases.publishe

Impact of Resistance to Fluconazole on Virulence and Morphological Aspects of Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii Isolates

Cryptococcus spp. are responsible for around one million cases of meningitis every year. Fluconazole (FLU) is commonly used in the treatment of cryptococcosis, mainly in immunocompromised patients and the resistance is usually reported after long periods of treatment. In this study, the morphological characterization and virulence profile of FLU-susceptible and FLU-resistant clinical and environmental isolates of C. neoformans and C. gattii were performed both in vitro and in vivo using the Galleria mellonella model. FLU-susceptible isolates from C. neoformans were significantly more virulent than the FLU-resistant isolates. FLU-susceptible C. gattii isolates showed a different virulence profile from C. neoformans isolates where only the environmental isolate, CL, was more virulent compared with the resistant isolates. Cell morphology and capsule size were analyzed and the FLU-resistant isolates did not change significantly compared with the most sensitive isolates. Growth at 37°C was also evaluated and in both species, the resistant isolates showed a reduced growth at this temperature, indicating that FLU resistance can affect their growth. Based on the results obtained is possible suggest that FLU resistance can influence the morphology of the isolates and consequently changed the virulence profiles. The most evident results were observed for C. neoformans showing that the adaptation of isolates to antifungal selective pressure influenced the loss of virulence