Impact of a nutritional counseling program on prevention of HAART-related metabolic and morphologic abnormalities

The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) improved HIV infection prognosis. However, adverse metabolic and morphologic effects emerged, highlighting a lack of investigation into the role of nutritional interventions among this population. The present study evaluated the impact of a nutritional counseling program on prevention of morphologic and metabolic changes in patients living with HIV/AIDS receiving HAART. A 12-month randomized clinical trial was conducted with 53 adults of both genders in use of HAART. Subjects were allocated to either an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). Nutritional counseling was based on the promotion of a healthy diet pattern. Anthropometrical, biochemical, blood pressure, and food intake variables were assessed on four separate occasions. Sub scapular skin-fold results showed a significant tendency for increase between time 1 (Mean IG = 14.9 mm; CG = 13.6 mm), time 3 (Mean IG = 16.7 mm; CG = 18.2 mm), and time 4 (Mean IG = 16.4 mm; CG = 17.7 mm). Lipid percentage intake presented a greater increase among controls (time 1 mean = 26.3%, time 4 mean = 29.6%) than among IG subjects (time 1 mean = 29.1%, time 4 mean = 28.9%). Moreover, participants allocated to the IG presented an increase in dietetic fiber intake of almost 10 grams. The proposed nutritional counseling program proved to be effective in improving diet by reducing fat consumption and increasing fiber intake.

Symptomatic expression of depression among Jewish adolescents: effects of gender and age

Background Depression symptomatology was assessed with the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in a sample of Jewish adolescents, in order to compare the frequency and severity of depression with non-Jewish adolescents as well as examine gender difference of the expression of depressive symptomatology. Method Subjects comprised 475 students from Jewish private schools, aged 13-17 years, who were compared with an age-matched non-Jewish sample (n = 899). Kendall`s definition was adopted to classify these adolescents according to level of depressive symptoms. The frequency of depression was calculated for ethnicity, gender and age strata. Discriminant analysis and principal component analysis were performed to assess the importance of depression-specific and non-specific items, along with the factor structure of the BDI, respectively. Results The overall mean score on the BDI in the Jewish and the non-Jewish sample was 9.0 (SD = 6.4) and 8.6 (SD = 7.2), respectively. Jewish girls and boys had comparable mean BDI scores, contrasting with non-Jewish sample, where girls complained more of depressive symptoms than boys (p < 0.001). The frequency of depression, adopting a BDI cutoff of 20, was 5.1% for the Jewish sample and 6.3% for the non-Jewish sample. The frequency of depression for Jewish girls and boys was 5.5% (SE = 1.4) and 4.6% (SE = 1.5), respectively. On the other hand, the frequency of depression for non-Jewish girls and boys was 8.4% (SE = 1.2) and 4.0% (SE = 1.0), respectively. The female/male ratio of frequency of BDI-depression was 1.2 in the Jewish sample, but non-Jewish girls were twice (2.1) as likely to report depression as boys. Discriminant analysis showed that the BDI highly discriminates depressive symptomatology among Jewish adolescents, and measured specific aspects of depression. Factor analysis revealed two meaningful factors for the total sample and each gender (cognitive-affective dimension and somatic dimension), evidencing a difference between Jewish boys and Jewish girls in the symptomatic expression of depression akin to non-Jewish counterparts. Conclusions Ethnic-cultural factor might play a role in the frequency, severity and symptomatic expression of depressive symptoms in Jewish adolescents. The lack of gender effect on depression, which might persist from adolescence to adulthood among Jewish people, should be investigated in prospective studies.

Low-lying singlet and triplet electronic states of RhB

The low-lying X-1 Sigma(+), a(3)Delta, A(1)Delta, b(3)Sigma(+), B-1 Pi, c(3)Pi, C-1 Phi, D-1 Sigma(+), E-1 Pi, d(1)Phi, and e(3)Pi electronic states of RhB have been investigated at the ab initio level, using the multistate multiconfigurational second-order perturbation (MS-CASPT2) theory, with extended atomic basis sets and inclusion of scalar relativistic effects. Among the eleven electronic states included in this work, only three (the X-1 Sigma(+), D-1 Sigma(+), and E-1 Pi states) have been investigated experimentally. Potential energy curves, spectroscopic constants, dipole moments, binding energies, and chemical bonding aspects are presented for all electronic states.

Photocatalytic decomposition of methylene blue via Fenton mechanisms by silicon wafer doped with Au and Cu: a theoretical and experimental study

In this work, we studied the photocatalytic and the structural aspects of silicon wafers doped with Au and Cu submitted to thermal treatment. The materials were obtained by deposition of metals on Si using the sputtering method followed by fast heating method. The photocatalyst materials were characterized by synchrotron-grazing incidence X-ray fluorescence, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and assays of H(2)O(2) degradation. The doping process decreases the optical band gap of materials and the doping with Au causes structural changes. The best photocatalytic activity was found for thermally treated material doped with Au. Theoretical calculations at density functional theory level are in agreement with the experimental data.

Characterization of banana, sugarcane bagasse and sponge gourd fibers of Brazil

In recent times, increasing attention has been paid to the use of renewable resources particularly of plant origin keeping in view the ecological concerns, renewability and many governments passing laws for the use of such materials. On the other hand, despite abundant availability of lignocellulosic materials in Brazil, very few attempts have been made about their utilization, probably due to lack of sufficient structure/property data. Systematic studies to know their properties and morphology may bridge this gap while leading to value addition to these natural materials. Chemical composition, X-ray powder diffraction, and morphological studies and thermal behavior aspects in respect of banana, sugarcane bagasse sponge gourd fibers of Brazilian origin are presented. Chemical compositions of the three fibers are found to be different than those reported earlier. X-ray diffraction patterns of these three fibers exhibit mainly cellulose type I structure with the crystallinity indices of 39%, 48% and 50% respectively for these fibers. Morphological studies of the fibers revealed different sizes and arrangement of cells. Thermal stability of all the fibers is found to be around 200 degrees C. Decomposition of both cellulose and hemicelluloses in the fibers takes place at 300 degrees C and above, while the degradation of fibers takes place above 400 degrees C. These data may help finding new uses for these fibers. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.