Food Quality and Nutritional Profile of Students from a Public School in Brazil

Feeding is directly related to nutritional status and alterations as obesity and malnutrition, affecting human body and increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of children and adolescents in a public school located in Uberaba MG Brazil by comparing macro and micronutrients on the school menu with PNAE (Brazilian government program) recommendations. A descriptive cross-sectional study including 547 individuals was carried out. Nutritional assessment was done based on anthropometric Z-score analysis. Only the food ingestion made at the school was considered, in order to verify if the meals offered by the school meet the percentage of nutrients recommended by PNAE. With regard to the nutritional status, there was a small proportion of students (0.18%) with low weight (-3 ? Z < -2). There was 15% prevalence of overweight (overweight, obesity, and severe obesity) among students. Menus composition revealed that macronutrients, fiber, and energy intake was lower than that recommended by PNAE for all age groups studied. The prevalence of a considerable number of overweight students is a warning for interventions to prevent obesity. A small percentage of students classified as low weight represents a nutritional transition trend in recent years

Nanofiltration combined with ozone-based processes for the removal of antineoplastic drugs from wastewater effluents

Over the past years, there has been an increasing concern about the occurrence of antineoplastic drugs in water bodies. The incomplete removal of these pharmaceuticals from wastewaters has been confirmed by several scientists, making it urgent to find a reliable technique or a combination of techniques capable to produce clean and safe water. In this work, the combination of nanofiltration and ozone (O3)-based processes (NF + O3, NF + O3/H2O2 and NF + O3/H2O2/UVA) was studied aiming to produce clean water from wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) secondary effluents to be safely discharged into water bodies, reused in daily practices such as aquaculture activities or for recharging aquifers used as abstraction sources for drinking water production. Nanofiltration was performed in a pilot-scale unit and O3-based processes in a continuous-flow column. The peroxone process (O3/H2O2) was considered the most promising technology to be coupled to nanofiltration, all the target pharmaceuticals being removed at an extent higher than 98% from WWTP secondary effluents, with a DOC reduction up to 92%. The applicability of the clean water stream for recharging aquifers used as abstraction sources for drinking water production was supported by a risk assessment approach, regarding the final concentrations of the target pharmaceuticals. Moreover, the toxicity of the nanofiltration retentate, a polluted stream generated from the nanofiltration system, was greatly decreased after the application of the peroxone process, which evidences the positive impact on the environment of implementing a NF + O3/H2O2 process

Divergent trophic responses to biogeographic and environmental gradients

Following environmental changes, communities disassemble and reassemble in seemingly unpredictable ways. Whether species respond to such changes individualistically or collectively (e.g. as functional groups) is still unclear. To address this question, we used an extensive new dataset for the lake communities in the Azores' archipelago to test whether: 1) individual species respond concordantly within trophic groups; 2) trophic groups respond concordantly to biogeographic and environmental gradients. Spatial concordance in individual species distributions within trophic groups was always greater than expected by chance. In contrast, trophic groups varied non-concordantly along biogeographic and environmental gradients revealing idiosyncratic responses to them. Whether communities respond individualistically to environmental gradients thus depends on the functional resolution of the data. Our study challenges the view that modelling environmental change effects on biodiversity always requires an individualist approach. Instead, it finds support for the longstanding idea that communities might be modelled as a cohort if the functional resolution is appropriate

The diseases we cause: Iatrogenic illness in a department of internal medicine

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence, main causes, and risk factors of iatrogenic disease occurring in a department of internal medicine. METHODS: Over a 1-year period, physicians systematically filled out a 2-page questionnaire for all patients admitted to the ward. A database was created and the data were statistically analyzed. Patients undergoing immunosuppressive, chemo-, or radiation therapy were excluded. Missing data were completed by reviewing the patients' charts. The patients were then divided into two groups: those with and those without iatrogenic disease. The groups were compared using several parameters including gender, age, social features, days of hospitalization, associated illness, functional status, medical impression, prognosis, associated renal or liver function impairment, drugs taken daily, and outcome. In the group with iatrogenic disease, the type, severity, and predictability were also analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 879 patients admitted to the ward, 445 completed questionnaires and were included in the study. A total of 102 patients (22.9%) developed 121 iatrogenic events. Forty-four patients (43.1%) were admitted for iatrogenic illness, 10 (9.8%) developed life-threatening events, and in 3 (6.8%) it was the cause of death. Fifty-eight patients (56.8%) registered 77 episodes of iatrogenic disease during their hospital stay, 20 (19.6%) developed life-threatening events, and 9 (11.7%) died, 4 (5.2%) of an iatrogenic cause (nosocomial infections). Significant differences were found in 20 out of 26 parameters studied (p<0.005 for all cases; 95% confidence interval). Eighteen percent of all iatrogenic disease was severe, 61.9% predictable, 54.5% avoidable, and 59% drug-related, 80% of which was due to side effects or adverse reactions. Infection and metabolic and electrolyte disorders were the most frequent effects. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to identify risk factors for iatrogenic events. Chronically ill elderly inpatients are the main target of iatrogenic events

Antineoplastic drugs in urban wastewater: Occurrence, nanofiltration treatment and toxicity screening*

Antineoplastic drugs are pharmaceuticals that have been raising concerns among the scientific community due to: (i) their increasing prescription in the fight against the disease of the twentieth century (cancer); (ii) their recalcitrance to conventional wastewater treatments; (iii) their poor environmental biodegradability; and (iv) their potential risk to any eukaryotic organism. This emerges the urgency in finding solutions to mitigate the entrance and accumulation of these hazardous chemicals in the environment. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been taken into consideration to improve the degradation of antineoplastic drugs in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), but the formation of by-products that are more toxic or exhibit a different toxicity profile than the parent drug is frequently reported. This work evaluates the performance of a nanofiltration pilot unit, equipped with a Desal 5DK membrane, in the treatment of real WWTP effluents contaminated (without spiking) with eleven pharmaceuticals, five of which were never studied before. Average removals of 68 & PLUSMN; 23% were achieved for the eleven compounds, with decreasing risks from feed to permeate for aquatic organisms from receiving waterbodies (with the exception of cyclophosphamide, for which a high risk was estimated in the permeate). Aditionally, no significative impact on the growth and germination of three different seeds (Lepidium sativum, Sinapis alba, and Sorghum saccharatum) were determined for permeate matrix in comparison to the control.& nbsp;This research was financially supported by: (i) Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031297 (CytoStraTech) -funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalizacao (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES; (ii) NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000069 (Healthy Waters) co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) , through North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020) , under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement; (iii) UIDB/04750/2020 (EPIUnit) and LA/P/0064/2020 (ITR) , funded by national funds through the FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P.; (iv) LA/P/0045/2020 (ALiCE) , Base Fundings UIDB/00511/2020 and UIDP/00511/2020 (LEPABE) and UIDB/50020/2020 and UIDP/50020/2020 (LSRE-LCM) , funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) . This work was also funded by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia/Ministerio da Ciencia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT/MCTES, Portugal) through national funds to iNOVA4Health (UIDB/04462/2020 and UIDP/04462/2020) and the Associate Laboratory LS4FUTURE (LA/P/0087/2020) . Teresa I.A. Gouveia and Vanessa Jorge Pereira would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for Ph.D. (SFRH/BD/147301/2019) and CEECIND/02919/2018 grants, respectively

Daily stress and coping among Emergency Response Officers: a case study

Purpose: Police in Europe are facing increased demands and diminished resources, and this is particularly prominent among Emergency Response Officers (EROs) working in poorer countries such as Portugal. Considering that daily stress and limited coping skills can result in detrimental consequences for officers ́ health and society welfare, this study investigated stress and coping among Portuguese EROs. Design: EROs completed daily diaries over 11 working days. Each diary entry included an open- ended stressor, coping section and a Likert-type scale to evaluate coping effectiveness. Data was analyzed using inductive and deductive content analysis procedures. The frequency of stressors, coping and coping effectiveness were calculated. Findings: EROs reported facing more operational stressors, particularly public disorder situations. However, gun situations were perceived as the most intense stressor. Emotion-focused coping (i.e., peer support) was more used than problem-focused. Despite variation in coping effectiveness in accordance to stressor experienced, longitudinal analysis suggests that PF coping is more effective. Research limitations/implications: Longitudinal methodologies should contemplate stress appraisal and coping effectiveness in order to fully understand stress and coping. Future studies should employ this methodology at a larger scale and over longer periods. Practical implications: Intervention programs for EROs should be multidimensional, targeting work conditions and resources, stress management, and coping effectiveness. Originality/value: Findings provide strong recommendations for future research and applied implications for stress prevention and effective coping interventions

Effect of mesoporous silica under Neisseria meningitidis transformation process: environmental effects under meningococci transformation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed the use of mesoporous silica under the naturally transformable <it>Neisseria meningitidis</it>, an important pathogen implicated in the genetic horizontal transfer of DNA causing a escape of the principal vaccination measures worldwide by the capsular switching process. This study verified the effects of mesoporous silica under <it>N. meningitidis </it>transformation specifically under the capsular replacement.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>we used three different mesoporous silica particles to verify their action in <it>N. meningitis </it>transformation frequency.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>we verified the increase in the capsular gene replacement of this bacterium with the three mesoporous silica nanoparticles.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>the mesouporous silica particles were capable of increasing the capsule replacement frequency in <it>N. meningitidis</it>.</p

A substantial prehistoric European ancestry amongst Ashkenazi maternal lineages

The origins of Ashkenazi Jews remain highly controversial. Like Judaism, mitochondrial DNA is passed along the maternal line. Its variation in the Ashkenazim is highly distinctive, with four major and numerous minor founders. However, due to their rarity in the general population, these founders have been difficult to trace to a source. Here we show that all four major founders, similar to 40% of Ashkenazi mtDNA variation, have ancestry in prehistoric Europe, rather than the Near East or Caucasus. Furthermore, most of the remaining minor founders share a similar deep European ancestry. Thus the great majority of Ashkenazi maternal lineages were not brought from the Levant, as commonly supposed, nor recruited in the Caucasus, as sometimes suggested, but assimilated within Europe. These results point to a significant role for the conversion of women in the formation of Ashkenazi communities, and provide the foundation for a detailed reconstruction of Ashkenazi genealogical history

The biological origin of linguistic diversity

In contrast with animal communication systems, diversity is characteristic of almost every aspect of human language. Languages variously employ tones, clicks, or manual signs to signal differences in meaning; some languages lack the noun-verb distinction (e.g., Straits Salish), whereas others have a proliferation of fine-grained syntactic categories (e.g., Tzeltal); and some languages do without morphology (e.g., Mandarin), while others pack a whole sentence into a single word (e.g., Cayuga). A challenge for evolutionary biology is to reconcile the diversity of languages with the high degree of biological uniformity of their speakers. Here, we model processes of language change and geographical dispersion and find a consistent pressure for flexible learning, irrespective of the language being spoken. This pressure arises because flexible learners can best cope with the observed high rates of linguistic change associated with divergent cultural evolution following human migration. Thus, rather than genetic adaptations for specific aspects of language, such as recursion, the coevolution of genes and fast-changing linguistic structure provides the biological basis for linguistic diversity. Only biological adaptations for flexible learning combined with cultural evolution can explain how each child has the potential to learn any human language