Cross-sectional and prospective associations between moderate to vigorous physical activity and sedentary time with adiposity in children.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity (PA) and sedentary time (SED) have both been suggested as potential risk factors for adiposity in children. However, there is paucity of data examining the temporal associations between these variables. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the cross-sectional and prospective associations between PA, SED and body composition in children. METHODS: A total of 510 children (age at baseline 10.1±0.8, age at follow-up 11.8±0.9) from six Portuguese schools from the Oeiras Municipality participated in this study. PA and SED were measured by accelerometry and trunk fat mass (TFM) and body fat mass (BFM) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Fat mass index (FMI) was calculated as BFM divided by height squared. Several regression models adjusted for age, sex, maturity status, follow-up duration, baseline levels of the outcome variable and SED or moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) were performed. RESULTS: MVPA (min per day) was cross-sectionally inversely associated with adiposity indexes (FMI, TFM and BFM). Adiposity indexes were inversely associated with time in MVPA. In prospective analyses, MVPA was associated with a lower levels of FMI (β=-0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.49 to -0.26, P<0.001), TFM (β=-0.20, 95% CI: -0.29 to -0.10, P<0.001) and BFM (β=-0.37, 95% CI: -0.49 to -0.26, P<0.001). When the model was adjusted for age, sex, maturity status and for baseline levels of the outcome variables MVPA remained a significant predictor of lower adiposity indexes (FMI: β=-0.09, 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.01, P<0.05; TFM: β=-0.08, 95% CI: -0.15 to -0.01, P<0.05; BFM: β=-0.07, 95% CI: -0.15 to 0.00, P<0.05). Adiposity was not associated with MVPA when modeled as the exposure in prospective analyses. SED was not related with adiposity indexes, except for the relationship with FMI. CONCLUSIONS: In cross-sectional and prospective analyses, MVPA is associated with lower adiposity independent of covariates and SED. Results suggest that promoting MVPA is important for preventing gain in adiposity in healthy children.The study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology. Support/grant: PTDC/DES/108372/2008.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.16

Application of hyaluronic acid in non-surgical treatment of periodontitis

Poster apresentado no 2º Congresso Internacional do CiiEM: Translational Research and Innovation in Human in health Sciences. 11-13 Junho 2017, Campus Egas Moniz, Caparica, PortugalN/

Classic Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Reference Values for Assessing Body Composition in Male and Female Athletes

Bioimpedance standards are well established for the normal healthy population and in clinical settings, but they are not available for many sports categories. The aim of this study was to develop reference values for male and female athletes using classic bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA). In this study, 1556 athletes engaged in different sports were evaluated during their off-season period. A tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analyzer was used to determine measurements of resistance (R) and reactance (Xc). The classic BIVA procedure, which corrects bioelectrical values for body height, was applied, and fat-free mass, fat mass, and total body water were estimated. In order to verify the need for specific references, classic bioelectrical values were compared to the reference values for the general male and female populations. Additionally, athletes were divided into three groups: endurance, velocity/power, and team sports. In comparison with the general healthy male and female populations, the mean vectors of the athletes showed a shift to the left on the R-Xc graph. Considering the same set of modalities, BIVA confidence graphs showed that male and female endurance athletes presented lower body fluids, fat mass, and fat-free mass than other sets of modalities. This study provides BIVA reference values for an athletic population that can be used as a standard for assessing body composition in male and female athletes

Estudo do papel dos Controllers de Gestão em Portugal

Este estudo tem por base um trabalho de investigação realizado no Reino Unido, nos anos 1990, pelos professores Scapens, Ezzamel e Burns em colaboração com o Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) e pretende compreender a importância que o Controlo de Gestão tem vindo a assumir nas empresas, ao longo dos últimos anos, bem como analisar a natureza e causas de eventuais mudanças ocorridas no papel dos Controllers de Gestão. Nesse sentido, pretendemos responder à seguinte questão de investigação: «Qual o papel dos Controllers de Gestão nas empresas portuguesas, no Séc. XXI». Para esse efeito, utilizámos um inquérito dirigido aos gestores de 142 empresas e aplicámos a técnica univariada (frequências relativas, média, moda e mediana). Posteriormente, comparámos os resultados das empresas portuguesas com os resultados do Reino Unido. Em conformidade com os resultados obtidos, concluímos que o papel actual dos Controllers de Gestão é diferente do tradicional. No passado, os Controllers de Gestão eram encarados como controladores da «performance» financeira. Contudo, actualmente, estão mais concentrados na integração das diferentes fontes de informação, de natureza financeira e não financeira, e encontram-se crescentemente envolvidos nas estratégias de gestão

Relative sit-to-stand power: aging trajectories, functionally relevant cut-off points, and normative data in a large European cohort

Background: A validated, standardized, and feasible test to assess muscle power in older adults has recently been reported: the sit-to-stand (STS) muscle power test. This investigation aimed to assess the relationship between relative STS power and age and to provide normative data, cut-off points, and minimal clinically important differences (MCID) for STS power measures in older women and men. Methods: A total of 9320 older adults (6161 women and 3159 men) aged 60–103 years and 586 young and middle-aged adults (318 women and 268 men) aged 20–60 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Relative (normalized to body mass), allometric (normalized to height squared), and specific (normalized to legs muscle mass) muscle power values were assessed by the 30 s STS power test. Body composition was evaluated by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis, and legs skeletal muscle index (SMI; normalized to height squared) was calculated. Habitual and maximal gait speed, timed up-and-go test, and 6 min walking distance were collected as physical performance measures, and participants were classified into two groups: well-functioning and mobility-limited older adults. Results: Relative STS power was found to decrease between 30–50 years (-0.05 W·kg-1·year-1; P &gt; 0.05), 50–80 years (-0.10 to -0.13 W·kg-1·year-1; P &lt; 0.001), and above 80 years (-0.07 to -0.08 W·kg-1·year-1; P &lt; 0.001). A total of 1129 older women (18%) and 510 older men (16%) presented mobility limitations. Mobility-limited older adults were older and exhibited lower relative, allometric, and specific power; higher body mass index (BMI) and legs SMI (both only in women); and lower legs SMI (only in men) than their well-functioning counterparts (all P &lt; 0.05). Normative data and cut-off points for relative, allometric, and specific STS power and for BMI and legs SMI were reported. Low relative STS power occurred below 2.1 W·kg-1 in women (area under the curve, AUC, [95% confidence interval, CI] = 0.85 [0.84–0.87]) and below 2.6 W·kg-1 in men (AUC [95% CI] = 0.89 [0.87–0.91]). The age-adjusted odds ratios [95% CI] for mobility limitations in older women and men with low relative STS power were 10.6 [9.0–12.6] and 14.1 [10.9–18.2], respectively. MCID values for relative STS power were 0.33 W·kg-1 in women and 0.42 W·kg-1 in men. Conclusions: Relative STS power decreased significantly after the age of 50 years and was negatively and strongly associated with mobility limitations. Our study provides normative data, functionally relevant cut-off points, and MCID values for STS power for their use in daily clinical practice. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders

Predictors of Psychological Well-Being during Behavioral Obesity Treatment in Women

This study examined the association of autonomy-related variables, including exercise motivation, with psychological well-being and quality of life, during obesity treatment. Middle-aged overweight/obese women (n = 239) participated in a 1-year behavioral program and completed questionnaires measuring need support, general self-determination, and exercise and treatment motivation. General and obesity-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL), self-esteem, depression, and anxiety were also assessed. Results showed positive correlations of self-determination and perceived need support with HRQOL and self-esteem, and negative associations with depression and anxiety (P < .001). Treatment autonomous motivation correlated positively with physical (P = .004) and weight-related HRQOL (P < .001), and negatively with depression (P = .025) and anxiety (P = .001). Exercise autonomous motivation was positively correlated with physical HRQOL (P < .001), mental HRQOL (P = .003), weight-related HRQOL (P < .001), and self-esteem (P = .003), and negatively with anxiety (P = .016). Findings confirm that self-determination theory's predictions apply to this population and setting, showing that self-determination, perceived need support, and autonomous self-regulation positively predict HRQOL and psychological well-being

The Liver Plays a Major Role in Clearance and Destruction of Blood Trypomastigotes in Trypanosoma cruzi Chronically Infected Mice

This deposit is composed by a publication in which the IGC's authors have had the role of collaboration (it's a collaboration publication). This type of deposit in ARCA is in restrictedAccess (it can't be in open access to the public), and can only be accessed by two ways: either by requesting a legal copy from the author (the email contact present in this deposit) or by visiting the following link: http://journals.plos.org/plosntds/article?id=10.1371/journal.pntd.0000578Intravenous challenge with Trypanosoma cruzi can be used to investigate the process and consequences of blood parasite clearance in experimental Chagas disease. One hour after intravenous challenge of chronically infected mice with 5x10(6) trypomastigotes, the liver constituted a major site of parasite accumulation, as revealed by PCR. Intact parasites and/or parasite remnants were visualized at this time point scattered in the liver parenchyma. Moreover, at this time, many of liver-cleared parasites were viable, as estimated by the frequency of positive cultures, which considerably diminished after 48 h. Following clearance, the number of infiltrating cells in the hepatic tissue notably increased: initially (at 24 h) as diffuse infiltrates affecting the whole parenchyma, and at 48 h, in the form of large focal infiltrates in both the parenchyma and perivascular spaces. Phenotypic characterization of liver-infiltrating cells 24 h after challenge revealed an increase in Mac1(+), CD8(+) and CD4(+) cells, followed by natural killer (NK) cells. As evidence that liver-infiltrating CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells were activated, increased frequencies of CD69(+)CD8(+), CD69(+)CD4(+) and CD25(+)CD122(+)CD4(+) cells were observed at 24 and 48 h after challenge, and of CD25(-)CD122(+)CD4(+) cells at 48 h. The major role of CD4(+) cells in liver protection was suggested by data showing a very high frequency of interferon (IFN)-gamma-producing CD4(+) cells 24 h after challenge. In contrast, liver CD8(+) cells produced little IFN-gamma, even though they showed an enhanced potential for secreting this cytokine, as revealed by in vitro T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation. Confirming the effectiveness of the liver immune response in blood parasite control during the chronic phase of infection, no live parasites were detected in this organ 7 days after challenge

Gender differences in the distribution of children’s physical activity: evidence from nine countries

Background: Physical activity in childhood is thought to influences health and development. Previous studies have found that boys are typically more active than girls, yet the focus has largely been on differences in average levels or proportions above a threshold rather than the full distribution of activity across all intensities. We thus examined differences in the distribution of physical activity between girls and boys in a multi-national sample of children. // Methods: We used the harmonised International Children Accelerometry Database (ICAD), including waist-worn accelerometry data from 15,461 individuals (Boys: 48.3%) from 9 countries. Employing Generalised Additive Models of Location, Shape, and Scale (GAMLSS) we investigated gender differences in the distribution of individuals, including comparisons of variability (SD) and average physical activity levels (mean and median) and skewness. We conducted this analysis for each activity intensity (Sedentary, Light, and Moderate-to-Vigorous (MVPA)) and a summary measure (counts per minute (CPM)). // Results: Sizable gender differences in the distribution of activity were found for moderate to vigorous activity and counts per minute, with boys having higher average levels (38% higher mean volumes of MVPA, 20% higher CPM), yet substantially more between-person variability (30% higher standard deviation (SD) for MVPA, 17% higher SD for CPM); boys’ distributions were less positively skewed than girls. Conversely, there was little to no difference between girls and boys in the distribution of sedentary or light-intensity activity. // Conclusions: Inequality in activity between girls and boys was driven by MVPA. The higher mean volumes of MVPA in boys occurred alongside greater variability. This suggests a need to consider the underlying distribution of activity in future research; for example, interventions which target gender inequality in MVPA may inadvertently lead to increased inequality within girls