Tobacco use in the third trimester of pregnancy and its relationship to birth weight. A prospective study in Spain

Background Few studies have been carried out in Spain examining the use of tobacco amongst expectant mothers and its effect on birth weight. Aims To observe the proportion of expectant mothers who smoke during their pregnancy, and the impact of tobacco consumption on maternal and birth weight. We also aimed to identify the trimester of pregnancy in which tobacco use produced the greatest reduction in birth weight. Methods Prospective observational study in Spain. A random sampling strategy was used to select health centres and participant women. A total of 137 individuals were enrolled in the study. Exposure to tobacco was measured through a self-reported questionnaire. Regressions were performed to obtain a predictive model for birth weight related to smoking. Findings Overall, 35% of study participants were smokers during the pre-gestational period (27% in the first trimester, 21.9% in the second and 21.2% in the third). 38.7% of smoking cessation attempts took place in the third-trimester. Pregnant women who smoked up to the third trimester had a higher risk of giving birth to a baby under 3000 g, compared to non-smokers (OR = 5.94, CI 95%: 1.94–18.16). Each additional unit of tobacco consumed daily in the 3rd trimester led to a 32 g reduction in birth weight. Conclusion An important proportion of pregnant women in Spain smoke during pregnancy. Pregnant women exposed to tobacco have newborns with lower birth weight. Smoking during the 3rd trimester of pregnancy is associated with the greatest risk of lower birth weight

Can Activity Worthwhileness Explain OCB-I Change? The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions

The competitiveness of today's markets requires employees to do more than is formally expected from them by collaborating with others to benefit the organization (e.g., organizational citizenship behavior focused on individuals, OCB-I). Based on the idea that eudaimonic wellbeing positively influences OCB-I, and considering that positive emotions lead to optimal functioning and important work outcomes, this study analyzes the mediating role of positive emotions in the relationship between activity worthwhileness and OCB-I. Results of hierarchical regressions in a two-wave longitudinal study with a sample of 108 white collar employees show that activity worthwhileness indirectly (but not directly) explains change in OCB-I through positive emotions. Therefore, when it comes to improving performance in the workplace, investment in both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing contributes to more effectively benefitting both employees and organizations

Impact of COVID-19 on case reporting for HTLV and HIV-2 in Spain.

The medical demand imposed by COVID-19 has distracted proper care of other illnesses. Herein, we report the impact on new diagnoses of HTLV-1, HTLV-2, and HIV-2 in Spain, where these infections are mostly driven by immigration flows from endemic regions. As expected, case reporting declined for all three retroviral infections with respect to prior years. Furthermore, late presentations were more common. The two major reasons for these observations were significant declines in the arrival of foreigners from endemic regions and a shift in medical resources to prioritize COVID-19

Hepatitis C virus cell-cell transmission and resistance to direct-acting antiviral agents

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted between hepatocytes via classical cell entry but also uses direct cell-cell transfer to infect neighboring hepatocytes. Viral cell-cell transmission has been shown to play an important role in viral persistence allowing evasion from neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, the role of HCV cell-cell transmission for antiviral resistance is unknown. Aiming to address this question we investigated the phenotype of HCV strains exhibiting resistance to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in state-of-the-art model systems for cell-cell transmission and spread. Using HCV genotype 2 as a model virus, we show that cell-cell transmission is the main route of viral spread of DAA-resistant HCV. Cell-cell transmission of DAA-resistant viruses results in viral persistence and thus hampers viral eradication. We also show that blocking cell-cell transmission using host-targeting entry inhibitors (HTEIs) was highly effective in inhibiting viral dissemination of resistant genotype 2 viruses. Combining HTEIs with DAAs prevented antiviral resistance and led to rapid elimination of the virus in cell culture model. In conclusion, our work provides evidence that cell-cell transmission plays an important role in dissemination and maintenance of resistant variants in cell culture models. Blocking virus cell-cell transmission prevents emergence of drug resistance in persistent viral infection including resistance to HCV DAAs

Library of norcoclaurine synthases and their immobilization for biocatalytic transformations

Norcoclaurine synthases (NCS), catalyzing a Pictet-Spengler reaction in plants as one of the first enzymes in the biosynthetic benzylisoquinoline pathway, were investigated for biocatalytic transformations. The library of norcoclaurine synthases available was extended by two novel NCSs from Argemone mexicana (AmNCS1, AmNCS2) and one new NCS from Corydalis saxicola (CsNCS); furthermore, it was shown that the NCS from Papaver bracteatum (PbNCS) is a highly productive catalyst leading to the isoquinoline product with up to >99% e.e. Under certain conditions lyophilized whole E. coli cells containing the various overexpressed NCS turned out to be suitable catalysts. The reaction using dopamine as substrate bears several challenges such as the spontaneous non-stereoselective background reaction and side reactions. The PbNCS enzyme was successfully immobilized on various carriers whereby EziG3 proved to be the best suited for biotransformations. Dopamine showed limited stability in solution resulting in the coating of the catalyst over time, which could be solved by the addition of ascorbic acid (e.g. 1 mg/ml) as antioxidant

Hygienic quality of dehydrated aromatic herbs marketed in Southern Portugal

Dehydrated aromatic herbs are highly valued ingredients, widely used at home level and by food processing industry, frequently added to a great number of recipes in the Mediterranean countries. Despite being considered low-moisture products and classified as GRAS, during pre and post-harvesting stages of production they are susceptible of microbial contamination. In Europe an increasing number of food recalls and disease outbreaks associated with dehydrated herbs have been reported in recent years. In this study the microbial quality of 99 samples of aromatic herbs (bay leaves, basil, coriander, oregano, parsley, Provence herbs, rosemary and thyme) collected from retails shops in the region of Algarve (Southern Portugal) was assessed. All the samples were tested by conventional methods and were assayed for the total count of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive staphylococci and filamentous fungi. Almost 50 % of the herbs did not exceed the aerobic mesophilic level of 104 CFU/g. The fungi count regarded as unacceptable (106 CFU/g) was not found in any of the tested herbs, while 84 % of the samples ranged from ≤102 to 104 CFU/g. No sample was positive for the presence of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli and staphylococci. The results are in compliance with the European Commission criteria although they point out to the permanent need of surveillance on the good standards of handling/cooking practices as well as the importance of avoiding contamination at production, retailing and distribution. The microbiological hazards associated with the pathogenic and toxigenic microbiota of dried herbs remain as a relevant public health issue, due to the fact that they are added to foods not submitted to any following lethal procedure. Control measures should be adopted in order to ensure that all phases of their supply chain respect the food safety standards.FCT: UID/BIA/04325/2019.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 and 2 predict outcomes in advanced chronic kidney disease : a prospective cohort study

Background : Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors 1 (sTNFR1) and 2 (sTNFR2) have been associated to progression of renal failure, end stage renal disease and mortality in early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), mostly in the context of diabetic nephropathy. The predictive value of these markers in advanced stages of CKD irrespective of the specific causes of kidney disease has not yet been defined. In this study, the relationship between sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 and the risk for adverse cardiovascular events (CVE) and all-cause mortality was investigated in a population with CKD stage 4-5, not yet on dialysis, to minimize the confounding by renal function. Patients and methods : In 131 patients, CKD stage 4-5, sTNFR1, sTNFR2 were analysed for their association to a composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or first non-fatal CVE by univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. In the multivariate models, age, gender, CRP, eGFR and significant comorbidities were included as covariates. Results : During a median follow-up of 33 months, 40 events (30.5%) occurred of which 29 deaths (22.1%) and 11 (8.4%) first non-fatal CVE. In univariate analysis, the hazard ratios (HR) of sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 for negative outcome were 1.49 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.28-1.75) and 1.13 (95% CI: 1.06-1.20) respectively. After adjustment for clinical covariables (age, CRP, diabetes and a history of cardiovascular disease) both sTNFRs remained independently associated to outcomes (HR: sTNFR1: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.30-1.77; sTNFR2: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06-1.20). A subanalysis of the non-diabetic patients in the study population confirmed these findings, especially for sTNFR1. Conclusion : sTNFR1 and sTNFR2 are independently associated to all-cause mortality or an increased risk for cardiovascular events in advanced CKD irrespective of the cause of kidney disease