ASSOCIAÇÃO DA ATIVIDADE FÍSICA DE ADOLESCENTES, FAMILIARES E PARES: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA

Objetivo: Analisar a associação entre a atividade física (AF) de pais, irmãos e pares à AF de adolescentes brasileiros por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura. Métodos: Realizou-se revisão sistemática em duas etapas, em junho de 2013 e fevereiro de 2014, nas bases de dados PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, EBSCO e LILACS, utilizando-se quatro grupos de descritores, sendo estes “influência de pais e irmãos”, “atividade física”, “tipo de amostra” e “nacionalidade”, nos idiomas inglês e português, que atendesse aos seguintes critérios: (i) indivíduos saudáveis; (ii) adolescentes brasileiros; (iii) estudos abordando a AF; e (iv) estudos publicados entre janeiro de 2008 e fevereiro de 2014. Resultados: A busca nas bases de dados resultou em 2.094 títulos de artigos potencialmente relevantes, mas apenas 7 atenderam a todos os critérios de inclusão. Há uma associação positiva entre a AF de pais e filhos, porém, ao estratificar por sexo, esta é encontrada apenas no feminino, tanto para a inatividade quanto para estar fisicamente ativo. O apoio social possui grande influência na AF de crianças e adolescentes, no entanto, tal associação não foi encontrada em estudos longitudinais. Conclusão: Existe uma associação positiva entre a atividade física do pai e da mãe com suas filhas, tanto para a inatividade quanto para serem ativos, mas não foram encontradas associações entre os pais e os filhos, fato também observado para com irmãos inativos. O apoio social mostrou-se eficaz para aumentar o nível de atividade física de adolescentes.

Variation, correlation and heritability of interest characters for selection of African eggplant

The eggplant ( Solanum aethiopicum ) is the species of the Solanum genus, whose geographical distribution is broadest. It is grown throughout tropical Africa, and includes three groups of cultivars commonly called African or indigenous eggplant. Kumba group or “bitter eggplant” is an important Solanaceous vegetable crop in Burkina Faso. The objective of this study was to determine genetic variability, strength of association and level of heritability among agronomic interest traits. Phenotypic and genotypic variations and heritability of 14 traits were estimated in 61 accessions at Institut de Développement Rural (IDR), Gampela in Burkina Faso. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation were observed for fruit diameter, number of seeds per fruit, fruit weight, leaf blade length and width, and height at flowering. In addition, genetic and phenotypic variances were high for the number of seed, fruit weight, plant height at flowering and days to 50% flowering. High heritability estimates were recorded for all traits. Fruit weight showed a positive association with fruit diameter and thickness. The fifty percent flowering cycle registered positive correlations with plant height and fruit diameter. Fruit number showed a negative association with fruit weight and diameter, and 50% flowering cyle.

Characterization of polymorphisms of genes ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2 and CYP2E1 and relationship to the alcoholism in a Colombian population

Objective: Identify and characterize polymorphisms of genes ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2 and CYP2E1 in a Colombian population residing in the city of Bogotá and determine its possible relationship to the alcoholism. Methods: ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2, and CYP2E1 genotypes a population of 148 individuals with non-problematic alcohol and 65 individuals with alcoholism were determined with TaqMan probes and PCR-RFLP. DNA was obtained from peripheral blood white cells. Results: Significant difference was found in family history of alcoholism and use of other psychoactive substances to compare alcoholics with controls. When allelic frequencies for each category (gender) were considered, frequency of A2 allele carriers in ADH2 was found higher in male patients than controls. In women, the relative frequency for c1 allele in CYP2E1 was lower in controls than alcoholics. The ALDH2 locus is monomorphic. No significant differences in allele distributions of the loci examined to compare two populations were observed, however when stratifying the same trend was found that these differences tended to be significant. Conclusions: This study allows us to conclude the positive association between family history of alcoholism and alcoholism suggesting that there is a favorable hereditary predisposition. Since substance dependence requires interaction of multiple genes, the combination of genotypes ADH2*2, CYP2E1*1 combined with genotype homozygous ALDH2*1 found in this study could be leading to the population to a potential risk to alcoholism.

Characterization of polymorphisms of genes ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2 and CYP2E1 and relationship to the alcoholism in a Colombian population

Objective: Identify and characterize polymorphisms of genes ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2 and CYP2E1 in a Colombian population residing in the city of Bogotá and determine its possible relationship to the alcoholism. Methods: ADH2, ADH3, ALDH2, and CYP2E1 genotypes a population of 148 individuals with non-problematic alcohol and 65 individuals with alcoholism were determined with TaqMan probes and PCR-RFLP. DNA was obtained from peripheral blood white cells. Results: Significant difference was found in family history of alcoholism and use of other psychoactive substances to compare alcoholics with controls. When allelic frequencies for each category (gender) were considered, frequency of A2 allele carriers in ADH2 was found higher in male patients than controls. In women, the relative frequency for c1 allele in CYP2E1 was lower in controls than alcoholics. The ALDH2 locus is monomorphic. No significant differences in allele distributions of the loci examined to compare two populations were observed, however when stratifying the same trend was found that these differences tended to be significant. Conclusions: This study allows us to conclude the positive association between family history of alcoholism and alcoholism suggesting that there is a favourable hereditary predisposition. Since substance dependence requires interaction of multiple genes, the combination of genotypes ADH2*2, CYP2E1*1 combined with genotype homozygous ALDH2*1 found in this study could be leading to the population to a potential risk to alcoholism.

Association of interleukin 17 / angiotensin II with refractory hypertension risk in hemodialysis patients.

Objective: The study was performed to investigate the association of interleukin 17 (IL 17) or angiotensin II (Ang II) with refractory hypertension risk in hemodialysis patients. Methods: Ninety hemodialysis patients were enrolled into this study, and those with hypertension were divided into two groups. The Easy-to-Control Hypertension group (ECHG) had fifty patients, while the refractory hypertension group (RHG) had forty patients. Twenty healthy individuals were recruited as the control group. IL17 and Ang II were determined using a human IL 17 / Ang II enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Serum IL 17 and Ang II concentrations in RHG patients were higher than those in ECHG patients. Results: Serum IL 17 and Ang II concentrations in both patient groups were higher than those in the control group. Linear regression analysis showed a positive correlation between IL 17 and Ang II. In multivariate regression analysis, we found that IL17 and Ang II were associated with refractory hypertension risk in hemodialysis patients. Conclusion: IL17 and Ang II were associated with refractory hypertension risk in hemodialysis patients. There was also a positive correlation between IL 17and Ang II.

Association of ABO blood group and Plasmodium falciparum malaria among Children in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria

The ABO and Rhesus blood group systems are very important clinical tools that are commonly used in blood transfusion and their associations with various disease conditions have been widely reported. This study investigated the distribution of these blood group systems and assessed the association of malaria infection with the ABO blood groups among children in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Blood specimens from deep finger pricks of 730 children aged between 0-2 years were examined for malaria parasites using Field stains method. ABO and Rhesus blood group antigens tests were also performed using standard tile protocols. Of all the children admitted into the study, 445 were sick while 285 were apparently healthy. The prevalence of malaria parasites was significantly higher (P = 0.00047) among the sick children (69.8%) than the apparently healthy children (30.2%). The most prevalent blood group was O (55.7%) and the Rhesus D antigen was positive for 98.4% of all the children. The prevalence of blood group B among the sick children was significantly lower (P = 0.00373) than the other blood group types. There is no association between malaria infection and ABO blood groups but the prevalence of higher malaria parasite density was significantly greater (P = 0.0404) in children with blood group A (7.7%). In conclusion, blood group O was the most prevalent blood group in the study and children with blood group A appeared to be more susceptible to higher level of malaria parasitemia.

Aerobic endurance in HIV-positive young adults and HIV-negative controls in Malawi

Background Aerobic endurance is an important aspect of physical fitness that enables individuals living with HIV to endure in the work place as well as in agricultural operations in order to earn a living and improve their quality of life. However, despite high HIV prevalence rates, the aerobic endurance status of young Malawians living with HIV remains unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the difference in VO2max between HIV-negative and HIV-positive individuals in Blantyre, Malawi. Methods Fifty five participants (17 males and 38 females) who have HIV and were not taking antiretroviral medication and 78 HIV-negative participants (45 males and 33 females) performed the Rockport submaximal treadmill exercise test. Measures of body weight, post-exercise heart rate and time to walk one mile were obtained and used to predict VO2max. Comparisons between groups were adjusted for age differences using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results VO2max was significantly lower in HIV-positive subjects [31.1, 28.7 - 33.5mL.kg-1.min-1(mean, 95% CI)] compared with HIV-negative subjects [56.2, 54.3 - 58.1mL.kg-1.min-1]. Conclusion Aerobic endurance was markedly reduced in HIV-positive participants compared with HIV-negative participants. Findings of the current study implicate factors associated with the HIV infection as contributors to a decreased aerobic endurance in people living with HIV.