Insulin resistance does not play a major role in lipid and apolipoprotein profile in obese women

Background: Obesity is associated with increased atherogenesis through alterations in lipids, among other potential factors. Some of those abnormalities might be mediated by insulin resistance (IR). Aims: To compare lipid and apolipoprotein profile between lean and obese women; to evaluate the influence of IR on lipid and apolipoprotein profile, in obese women. Methods: We studied 112 obese and 100 normal-weight premenopausal women without known cardiovascular disease. Both groups were characterized for anthropometrics and a fasting blood sample was collected for assessment of glucose, insulin, triglycerides, cholesterol (total, LDL and HDL), and apolipoproteins A-I, A-II, B, C-II, C-III, and E; IR was assessed by the homeostatic model assessment (HOMA-IR). We compared lipids between obese and lean women; we looked for correlation of those levels with anthropometrics and IR (independently from anthropometrics) in obese women. Results: Obese women were characterized by mean age=34.6±8.3 years, BMI=43.6±7.9 kg/m2, waist circumference (Wc)=117.5±15.1 cm, and HOMA-IR=4.28±3.5. Lean women (age=34.2±8.3 years, BMI=21.4±1.7 kg/m2, Wc=71.7±5.8 cm, and HOMA-IR=1.21±0.76) presented with significantly lower levels of total cholesterol (P=0.001), LDL-cholesterol (P<0.001), and triglycerides (P<0.001); they presented higher levels of HDL-cholesterol (P<0.001), Apo A-I (P<0.001) and Apo A-II (P=0.037). HOMA-IR showed no significant association with apolipoproteins. HOMA-IR was inversely associated with HDL-cholesterol (P=0.048; r=−0.187) but that association disappeared when we adjusted for waist circumference. Only triglycerides were directly associated with HOMA-IR (P<0.001; r=0.343) independently from anthropometrics. Conclusion: We confirm that obese women present worst lipid and apolipoprotein profile. However, with the exception for triglycerides, insulin resistance per se does not play a major role in lipid and apolipoprotein abnormalities observed in obese women.

Ultra-processed foods and the nutritional dietary profile in Brazil

OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of consuming ultra-processed foods on the nutritional dietary profile in Brazil.METHODS Cross-sectional study conducted with data from the module on individual food consumption from the 2008-2009 Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares (POF – Brazilian Family Budgets Survey). The sample, which represented the section of the Brazilian population aged 10 years or over, involved 32,898 individuals. Food consumption was evaluated by two 24-hour food records. The consumed food items were classified into three groups: natural or minimally processed, including culinary preparations with these foods used as a base; processed; and ultra-processed.RESULTS The average daily energy consumption per capita was 1,866 kcal, with 69.5% being provided by natural or minimally processed foods, 9.0% by processed foods and 21.5% by ultra-processed food. The nutritional profile of the fraction of ultra-processed food consumption showed higher energy density, higher overall fat content, higher saturated and trans fat, higher levels of free sugar and less fiber, protein, sodium and potassium, when compared to the fraction of consumption related to natural or minimally processed foods. Ultra-processed foods presented generally unfavorable characteristics when compared to processed foods. Greater inclusion of ultra-processed foods in the diet resulted in a general deterioration in the dietary nutritional profile. The indicators of the nutritional dietary profile of Brazilians who consumed less ultra-processed foods, with the exception of sodium, are the stratum of the population closer to international recommendations for a healthy diet.CONCLUSIONS The results from this study highlight the damage to health that is arising based on the observed trend in Brazil of replacing traditional meals, based on natural or minimally processed foods, with ultra-processed foods. These results also support the recommendation of avoiding the consumption of these kinds of foods.

analytical model and measurements of the target erosion depth profile of balanced and unbalanced planar magnetron cathodes

The erosion depth profile of planar targets in balanced and unbalanced magnetron cathodes with cylindrical symmetry is measured along the target radius. The magnetic fields have rotational symmetry. The horizontal and vertical components of the magnetic field B are measured at points above the cathode target with z = 2 x 10(-3) m. The experimental data reveal that the target erosion depth profile is a function of the angle. made by B with a horizontal line defined by z = 2 x 10(-3) m. To explain this dependence a simplified model of the discharge is developed. In the scope of the model, the pathway lengths of the secondary electrons in the pre-sheath region are calculated by analytical integration of the Lorentz differential equations. Weighting these lengths by using the distribution law of the mean free path of the secondary electrons, we estimate the densities of the ionizing events over the cathode and the relative flux of the sputtered atoms. The expression so deduced correlates for the first time the erosion depth profile of the target with the angle theta. The model shows reasonably good fittings to the experimental target erosion depth profiles confirming that ionization occurs mainly in the pre-sheath zone.

Profile of women who carried out smoking cessation treatment: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE Analyze the profile of women, in health services, who carry out treatment for smoking cessation.METHODS Systematic review that used the following sources of information: Cummulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PubMed,Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), Scopus and Web of Science. We included quantitative studies that addressed the characterization of women, in health services, who carried out treatment for smoking cessation, resulting in 12 articles for analysis. The assessment of the methodological quality of the studies was performed using the instrument MAStARI from Joanna Briggs Institute.RESULTS The predominant profile of women who carried out treatment for smoking cessation in health services was composed of white, married, employed, and highly level educated women. Women who carried out the treatment for smoking cessation in specialized services had a more advanced age, were white, were married and had a diagnosis of depression. The quality level of most studies was moderate.CONCLUSIONS The profile of women who carry out treatment for smoking cessation, either in general or specialized health services, is composed of white, married, and highly level educated women. Publications about smoking women are scarce and the lack of Brazilian studies characterizing the profile of women who start treatment for smoking cessation shows the need for studies that explore this subject.

Histological and immunohistochemical aspects of cutaneous leishmaniasis in nicaragua

Sixty skin biopsies of fifty-eight non-treated patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis from Nicaragua were studied. Biopsies were classified according to Ridley's histopathologic groups: 36 (60%) were included in group B (diffuse necrosis), 14 in group C (focal necrosis), 7 (11.6%) in group D (reactive tuberculoid). Only three biopsies remained unclassified. None of our cases could be included in groups A and E. Immunohistochemistry disclosed in 17 cases Russel's bodies secreting IgM and only one IgG positive. There was no correlation between the histopathologic groups and the presence of Russel's bodies. However, we believe the presence of Russel's bodies help the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. Correlation between morphological patterns and the different leishmania species was also considered.

Using the Common Cartridge profile to enhance learning content interoperability

The concept of Learning Object (LO) is crucial for the standardization on eLearning. The latest LO standard from IMS Global Learning Consortium is the IMS Common Cartridge (IMS CC) that organizes and distributes digital learning content. By analyzing this new specification we considered two interoperability levels: content and communication. A common content format is the backbone of interoperability and is the basis for content exchange among eLearning systems. Communication is more than just exchanging content; it includes also accessing to specialized systems and services and reporting on content usage. This is particularly important when LOs are used for evaluation. In this paper we analyze the Common Cartridge profile based on the two interoperability levels we proposed. We detail its data model that comprises a set of derived schemata referenced on the CC schema and we explore the use of the IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) to allow remote tools and content to be integrated into a Learning Management System (LMS). In order to test the applicability of IMS CC for automatic evaluation we define a representation of programming exercises using this standard. This representation is intended to be the cornerstone of a network of eLearning systems where students can solve computer programming exercises and obtain feedback automatically. The CC learning object is automatically generated based on a XML dialect called PExIL that aims to consolidate all the data need to describe resources within the programming exercise life-cycle. Finally, we test the generated cartridge on the IMS CC online validator to verify its conformance with the IMS CC specification.

Differences in the antigenic profile of bloodstream and cell culture derived trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma cruzi

A comparative study of the antigenic profile of bloodstream and cell culture derived trypomastigotes showed many differences in their components. Using mouse anti-T. cruzi antibodies the differences were located mostly in the 120 kDa band, whereas using chagasic patient sera the differences were located in the 85 and 52 kDa bands. These findings might explain known physiological differences between trypomatigotes obtained from cell culture and from infected blood. A brief report of this work has already been published9.

Phenylketonuria: Protein content and amino acids profile of dishes for phenylketonuric patients. The relevance of phenylalanine

Phenylketonuria is an inborn error of metabolism, involving, in most cases, a deficient activity of phenylalanine hydroxylase. Neonatal diagnosis and a prompt special diet (low phenylalanine and natural-protein restricted diets) are essential to the treatment. The lack of data concerning phenylalanine contents of processed foodstuffs is an additional limitation for an already very restrictive diet. Our goals were to quantify protein (Kjeldahl method) and amino acid (18) content (HPLC/fluorescence) in 16 dishes specifically conceived for phenylketonuric patients, and compare the most relevant results with those of several international food composition databases. As might be expected, all the meals contained low protein levels (0.67–3.15 g/100 g) with the highest ones occurring in boiled rice and potatoes. These foods also contained the highest amounts of phenylalanine (158.51 and 62.65 mg/100 g, respectively). In contrast to the other amino acids, it was possible to predict phenylalanine content based on protein alone. Slight deviations were observed when comparing results with the different food composition databases.

The role of functional polymorphisms in immune response genes as biomarkers of BCG Immunotherapy outcome in bladder cancer: Establishment of a predictive profile in a Southern Europe population

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the predictive value of genetic polymorphisms in the context of BCG immunotherapy outcome and create a predictive profile that may allow discriminating the risk of recurrence. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a dataset of 204 patients treated with BCG, we evaluate 42 genetic polymorphisms in 38 genes involved in the BCG mechanism of action, using Sequenom MassARRAY technology. Stepwise multivariate Cox Regression was used for data mining. RESULTS: In agreement with previous studies we observed that gender, age, tumor multiplicity and treatment scheme were associated with BCG failure. Using stepwise multivariate Cox Regression analysis we propose the first predictive profile of BCG immunotherapy outcome and a risk score based on polymorphisms in immune system molecules (SNPs in TNFA-1031T/C (rs1799964), IL2RA rs2104286 T/C, IL17A-197G/A (rs2275913), IL17RA-809A/G (rs4819554), IL18R1 rs3771171 T/C, ICAM1 K469E (rs5498), FASL-844T/C (rs763110) and TRAILR1-397T/G (rs79037040) in association with clinicopathological variables. This risk score allows the categorization of patients into risk groups: patients within the Low Risk group have a 90% chance of successful treatment, whereas patients in the High Risk group present 75% chance of recurrence after BCG treatment. CONCLUSION: We have established the first predictive score of BCG immunotherapy outcome combining clinicopathological characteristics and a panel of genetic polymorphisms. Further studies using an independent cohort are warranted. Moreover, the inclusion of other biomarkers may help to improve the proposed model.

Ultrasound velocity profile (UVP) measurements in shallow open-channel flows

1st European IAHR Congress, 6-4 May, Edinburgh, Scotland

Experimental dam-break waves profile analysis: horizontal mobile bed

River Flow, Vol. 2

Lysotypes and plasmidial profile of Salmonella Serovar Typhimurium isolated from children with enteric processes in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, and Salvador, BA - Brazil

The lysotypes, plasmidial profiles, and profiles of resistance to antimicrobial agents were determined in 111 Salmonella Typhimurium strains isolated from feces and blood of children treated in Rio de Janeiro and in Salvador. Six distinct lysotypes (19, 41, 97, 105, 120 and 193) were recognized, with a predominance of lysotype 193 (59.7%) in Rio de Janeiro and of phage type 105 (38.4) in Salvador. Approximately 86.7% of the lysotype 193 strains presented multiple resistance to more than six antimicrobial agents, whereas 93% of lysotype 105 strains were fully susceptible. More than 90% of the strains presented plasmids distributed into 36 different profiles in Rio de Janeiro and into 10 profiles in Salvador. A 40 MDa plasmid was the most frequent (47%) in the strains from Rio de Janeiro, whereas a 61 MDa plasmid predominated (14.5%) in Salvador. Combined analysis of plasmid profile and classification into lysotypes (especially those belonging to types 105 and 103, proved to be more discriminatory than the other methods applied).

Isoenzyme profile as parameter to differentiate pathogenic strains of Entamoeba histolytica in Brazil

The isoenzyme profiles (IP) of 33 strains of Entamoeba histolytica isolated from patients and carriers of two regions in Brazil (Amazonia and Southeast) were determined. The enzymes phosphoglucomutase, glucose-phosphate isomerase, hexokinase and malic enzyme were considered. IP of the strains was correlated with culture conditions, time of maintenance in laboratory and clinical history of patients. The strains were maintained under polyxenic, monoxenic and axenic culture conditions: 27 polyxenic, 1 polyxenic and monoxenic, 1 polyxenic, monoxenic and axenic and 4 axenic only. The patients were symptomatic and asymptomatic. The symptomatic patients presented either non dysenteric (NDC) or dysenteric colitis (DC), associated or not with hepatic abscess (HA). One patient presented anal amoeboma (AM). The analysis of IP for isolates maintained in polyxenic culture showed non pathogenic IP (I) for strains from carriers and patients with NDC, while the strains isolated from patients presenting DC, HA and AM resulted in isolates II or XIX pathogenic IP. This parameter was not able to differentiate strains from carriers from symptomatic patients when these strains were found in axenic or monoxenic culture. All these strains displayed pathogenic IP (II), demonstrating the inability of this parameter to classifying for virulence since it showed identical IP for strains isolated from carriers or symptomatic patients.

An Evaluation of clinical, serologic, anatomopathologic and immunohistochemical findings for fifteen patients with mucosal leishmaniasis before and after treatment

Treatment of mucosal leishmaniasis (ML) can be controlled by clinical examination and by serologic titers by the indirect immunofluorescence serologic reaction (IISR). We studied the correlation between the presence of antigen in tissue determined by immunohistochemistry, the IISR titers and the anatomopathologic findings in fifteen patients with ML before and after healing of the lesions as determined by otorhinolaryngologic evaluation, and evaluated these parameters to determine which of them could be useful during follow-up. Tissue antigens became negative in four patients (group A) after treatment, with a statistically significant reduction or negativity of IISR titers (p<0.05). This did not occur in patients in whom the antigen persisted after treatment (group B), suggesting that serologic follow-up should be performed together with the search for tissue antigen, a combination which, to our knowledge, has not been used in previous studies. The negativity of tissue antigens and the behavior of IIRS titers in group A patients probably indicate a lower possibility of recurrence. Upon anatomopathologic examination the inflammatory process was found to persist after treatment even in group A, suggesting that the permanence of inflammatory activity even in clinically healed lesions is possibly correlated with the presence of the antigen or of some unknown factor.

HEPATITIS B VIRUS INFECTION PROFILE IN CENTRAL BRAZILIAN HEMODIALYSIS POPULATION

Hepatitis B has proved to be a major health hazard in hemodialysis patients. In order to investigate the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection profile in the hemodialysis population of Goiânia city - Central Brazil, all dialysis patients (N=282) were studied. The prevalence of any HBV marker (HBsAg, anti-HBs, and anti-HBc) was 56.7% (95% CI: 51.1-62.7), ranging from 33.3% to 77.7% depending on dialysis unit. HBV-DNA was detected in 67.6% and 88.2% of the HBsAg-positive serum samples, in 91.3% and 100% of the HBsAg/HBeAg-positive samples, and in 18.2% and 63.6% of the HBsAg/anti-HBe-reactive sera by hybridization and PCR, respectively. The length of time on hemodialysis was significantly associated with HBV seropositivity. Only 10% of the patients reported received hepatitis B vaccination. The findings of a high HBV infection prevalence in this population and the increased risk for HBV infection on long-term hemodialysis suggest the environmental transmission, emphasizing the urgent need to evaluate strategies of control and prevention followed in these units.