Association between osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis in women: a cross-sectional study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES: Osteoporosis has frequently been observed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The present study was undertaken in order to evaluate factors associated with osteoporosis among women with rheumatoid arthritis. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study, carried out in a public hospital in São Paulo. METHODS: The participants were 83 women with rheumatoid arthritis (53.7 ± 10.0 years old). Bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The patients were divided into three groups according to BMD: group 1, normal BMD (n = 24); group 2, osteopenia (n = 38); and group 3, osteoporosis (n = 21). Tests were performed to compare differences in means and correlations, with adjustments for age, duration of disease and cumulative corticosteroid. The relationships between clinical factors, physical activity score, dietary intake, body composition and biochemical parameters were analyzed using linear regression models. RESULTS: Mean calcium, vitamin D and omega-6 intakes were lower than the recommendations. Associations were found between BMD and age, disease duration, parathyroid hormone concentration and fat intake. The linear regression model showed that being older, with more years of disease and lower weight were negatively correlated with BMD [Total femur = 0.552 + 0.06 (weight) + 0.019 (total physical activity) - 0.05 (age) - 0.003 (disease duration); R² = 48.1; P < 0.001]. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that nutritional factors and body composition are associated with bone mass in women with rheumatoid arthritis.

Effects of an intervention in eating habits and physical activity in Japanese-Brazilian women with a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome in Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil

We evaluated the impact of a lifestyle intervention on the cardiometabolic risk profile of women participating in the Study on Diabetes and Associated Diseases in the Japanese-Brazilian Population in Bauru. This was a non-controlled experimental study including clinical and laboratory values at baseline and after a 1-year intervention period. 401 Japanese-Brazilian women were examined (age 60.8±11.7 years), and 365 classified for metabolic syndrome (prevalence = 50.6%). Subjects with metabolic syndrome were older than those without (63.0±10.0 vs. 56.7±11.6 years, p < 0.01). After intervention, improvements in variables were found, except for C-reactive protein. Body mass index and waist circumference decreased, but adiposity reduction was more pronounced in the abdominal region (87.0±9.7 to 84.5±11.2cm, p < 0.001). Intervention-induced differences in total cholesterol, LDL, and post-challenge glucose were significant; women who lost more than 5% body weight showed a better profile than those who did not. The lifestyle intervention in Japanese-Brazilian women at high cardiometabolic risk improved anthropometric and laboratory parameters, but it is not known whether such benefits will persist and result in long-term reduction in cardiovascular events.

Evaluation of left ventricular diastolic echocardiographic parameters in healthy dogs by pulsed-wave Doppler

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction plays an important role on heart failure progression. In order to obtain additional reference values of left ventricular diastolic parameters and investigate influence of common variables, peak E wave (peak E), peak A wave (peak A), E/A ratio (E/A), E wave deceleration time (EDT) and isovolumic relaxation time (IRVT) were studied in 40 clinically healthy dogs, by pulsed wave Doppler. The following values were obtained: peak E = 0.747 ± 0.117 m/s, peak A = 0.487 ± 0.062 m/s, E/A = 1.533 ± 0.198, EDT = 88.7 ± 9.2 ms and IRVT = 0.080 ± 0.009 s. Some parameters were influenced by heart rate (peak E, peak A and IRVT), by age (peak A and E/A) and by body weight (TRIV). Gender influence was absent. Values obtained can be used as reference for canine specimens but its interpretation should consider on the influence of related variables.

Parâmetros genéticos para idade ao primeiro parto estimados por diferentes modelos para rebanhos da raça Nelore

Com objetivo de estimar parâmetros genéticos e estudar a utilização de diferentes efeitos em avaliações genéticas para idade ao primeiro parto (IPP) por diferentes modelos, foram utilizados registros de IPP de animais da raça Nelore, nascidos entre os anos de 1990 e 2005. Foram considerados os seguintes modelos (M): M1, incluindo o efeito fixo de GC1 (constituído pelos animais nascidos na mesma fazenda e ano), além da covariável, peso aos 365 dias de idade (efeito linear e quadrático), totalizando 24.263 registros de IPP; M2, considerando os efeitos fixos de GC1, ano e estação de parição, totalizando 59.792 registros de IPP e M3, incluindo os efeitos fixos de GC2 (agrupando os animais nascidos na mesma fazenda, ano e que conceberam no mesmo manejo reprodutivo), ano e estação de parição, totalizando 59.792 registros de IPP. As estimativas dos componentes de variância e herdabilidade e os valores genéticos (VG) foram obtidos pelo método da máxima verossimilhança restrita, com a inclusão da matriz de parentesco disponível. As diferenças esperadas na progênie (DEPs) foram obtidas dividindo os VG por dois. Após a obtenção desses resultados, foram realizadas correlações entre os VG e o ranqueamento das DEPs dos reprodutores para IPP, utilizando-se o procedimento PROC CORR (SAS, 2003). Ao se considerar o ano e a estação de parto nos modelos de análise (M2 e M3), esses produziram um maior R², indicando que tais modelos conseguiram explicar, em maior grau, as diferenças existentes entre os animais para IPP. As herdabilidades estimadas foram de baixa magnitude (0,14 e 0,15). As correlações entre os VG obtidas por diferentes modelos foram 0,73 (M1 x M2); 0,91 (M2 x M3) e 0,66 (M1 x M3).

Notificação imprecisa da ingestão energética na dieta de adolescentes

Objetivos: Examinar a prevalência da sub e supernotificação da ingestão energética em adolescentes e seus fatores associados. Métodos: Estudo transversal com 96 adolescentes na pós-puberdade (47 com peso normal e 49 obesos), com idade média de 16,6±1,3 anos. Peso e altura foram medidos e o índice de massa corporal foi calculado. A composição corporal foi avaliada através de absorciometria por raios X de dupla energia. A ingestão de alimentos foi avaliada por meio de um registro alimentar de 3 dias. Realizou-se uma avaliação bioquímica (níveis séricos de colesterol total, LDL, HDL, glicose plasmática e insulina). Os subnotificadores relataram uma ingestão energética < 1,35 x taxa metabólica basal (TMB), enquanto os supernotificadores relataram uma ingestão energética > 2,4 x TMB. Resultados: Notificação imprecisa (sub ou supernotificação) da ingestão energética foi identificada em 65,6 por cento dos adolescentes (64,6 e 1 por cento de sub e supernotificação, respectivamente). Os adolescentes obesos apresentaram 5.0 vezes mais chances de subnotificar a ingestão energética (IC95 por cento 2,0-12,7) do que os participantes com peso normal. Os subnotificadores apresentaram taxas mais altas de ingestão insuficiente de carboidratos (19,3 versus 12,1 por cento, p = 0,046) e de lipídios (11,3 versus 0 por cento, p < 0,001) do que os notificadores plausíveis. A ingestão de colesterol também foi mais baixa entre os subnotificadores (p = 0,017). Não houve diferenças significativas na composição corporal e nos parâmetros bioquímicos em relação à notificação imprecisa. Conclusões: Os resultados obtidos demonstraram alta porcentagem de notificação imprecisa da ingestão energética entre adolescentes, principalmente entre os obesos, o que sugere que os valores de consumo de nutrientes ajustado para o consumo de energia deveriam ser empregados na análise de risco da relação dieta-doença a fim de contribuir para a redução de erros associados à notificação imprecisa

Yerba Maté (Ilex paraguariensis) aqueous extract decreases intestinal SGLT1 gene expression but does not affect other biochemical parameters in alloxan-diabetic wistar rats

Yerba mate´ (Ilex paraguariensis) is rich in polyphenols, especially chlorogenic acids. Evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols could play a role in glucose absorption and metabolism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antidiabetic properties of yerba mate´ extract in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Animals (n ) 41) were divided in four groups: nondiabetic control (NDC, n=11), and diabetic yerba maté (DY, n = 10). The intervention consisted in the administration of yerba mate´ extract in a 1 g extract/ kg body weight dose for 28 days; controls received saline solution only. There were no significant differences in serum glucose, insulin, and hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase activity between the groups that ingested yerba maté extract (NDY and DY) and the controls (NDC and DC). However, the intestinal SGLT1 gene expression was significantly lower in animals that received yerba maté both in upper (p = 0.007) and middle (p < 0.001) small intestine. These results indicate that bioactive compounds present in yerba maté might be capable of interfering in glucose absorption, by decreasing SGLT1 expression

Study of calcium oxalate monohydrate of kidney stones by X-ray diffraction

X-ray powder diffraction was used to study the phase composition of human renal calculi. The stones were collected from 56 donors in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, southeastern Brazil. An XRD phase quantification revealed that 61% of the studied renal stones were composed exclusively of calcium oxalate [34% formed only by calcium oxalate rnonohydrate (COM) and 27% presents both monohydrate and dihydratate calcium oxalate]. The 39% multi-composed calculi have various other phases such as uric acid and calcium phosphate. Rietveld refinement of XRD data of one apparent monophasic (COM) renal calculus revealed the presence of a small amount of hydroxyapatite. The presence of this second phase and the morphology of the stone (ellipsoidal) indicated that this calculus can be classified as non-papillary type and its nucleation process developed in closed kidney cavities. In order to show some advantages of the X-ray powder diffraction technique, a study of the phase transformation of monohydrate calcium oxalate into calcium carbonate (CaCO(3)) was carried out by annealing of a monophasic COM calculi at 200, 300, and 400 degrees C for 48 h in a N(2) gas atmosphere. The results of the XRD for the heat treated samples is ill good agreement with the thermogravimetric analysis found in the literature and shows that X-ray powder diffraction can be used as a suitable technique to study the composition and phase diagram of renal calculi. (C) 2008 International Centre for Diffraction Data.

Prediction of good glass formers in the Al-Ni-La and Al-Ni-Gd systems using topological instability and electronegativity

A new criterion has been recently proposed combining the topological instability (lambda criterion) and the average electronegativity difference (Delta e) among the elements of an alloy to predict and select new glass-forming compositions. In the present work, this criterion (lambda.Delta e) is applied to the Al-Ni-La and Al-Ni-Gd ternary systems and its predictability is validated using literature data for both systems and additionally, using own experimental data for the Al-La-Ni system. The compositions with a high lambda.Delta e value found in each ternary system exhibit a very good correlation with the glass-forming ability of different alloys as indicated by their supercooled liquid regions (Delta T(x)) and their critical casting thicknesses. In the case of the Al-La-Ni system, the alloy with the largest lambda.Delta e value, La(56)Al(26.5)Ni(17.5), exhibits the highest glass-forming ability verified for this system. Therefore, the combined lambda.Delta e criterion is a simple and efficient tool to select new glass-forming compositions in Al-Ni-RE systems. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3563099]

Trajectory Sensitivity Method and Master-Slave Synchronization to Estimate Parameters of Nonlinear Systems

A combination of trajectory sensitivity method and master-slave synchronization was proposed to parameter estimation of nonlinear systems. It was shown that master-slave coupling increases the robustness of the trajectory sensitivity algorithm with respect to the initial guess of parameters. Since synchronization is not a guarantee that the estimation process converges to the correct parameters, a conditional test that guarantees that the new combined methodology estimates the true values of parameters was proposed. This conditional test was successfully applied to Lorenz's and Chua's systems, and the proposed parameter estimation algorithm has shown to be very robust with respect to parameter initial guesses and measurement noise for these examples. Copyright (C) 2009 Elmer P. T. Cari et al.

Study of metal oxide-semiconductor capacitors with rf magnetron sputtering TiO(x) and TiO(x)N(y) gate dielectric layer

Metal oxide-semiconductor capacitors with TiO(x) deposited with different O(2) partial pressures (30%, 35%, and 40%) and annealed at 550, 750, and 1000 degrees C were fabricated and characterized. Fourier transform infrared, x-ray near edge spectroscopy, and elipsometry measurements were performed to characterize the TiO(x) films. TiO(x)N(y) films were also obtained by adding nitrogen to the gaseous mixture and physical results were presented. Capacitance-voltage (1 MHz) and current-voltage measurements were utilized to obtain the effective dielectric constant, effective oxide thickness, leakage current density, and interface quality. The results show that the obtained TiO(x) films present a dielectric constant varying from 40 to 170 and a leakage current density (for V(G)=-1 V, for some structures as low as 1 nA/cm(2), acceptable for complementary metal oxide semiconductor circuits fabrication), indicating that this material is a viable, in terms of leakage current density, highk substitute for current ultrathin dielectric layers. (C) 2009 American Vacuum Society. [DOI: 10.1116/1.3043537]

WOOD DENSITY VARIATION AND TREE RING DEMARCATION IN Gmelina arborea TREES USING X-RAY DENSITOMETRY

Due to its relationship with other properties, wood density is the main wood quality parameter. Modern, accurate methods - such as X-ray densitometry - are applied to determine the spatial distribution of density in wood sections and to evaluate wood quality. The objectives of this study were to determinate the influence of growing conditions on wood density variation and tree ring demarcation of gmelina trees from fast growing plantations in Costa Rica. The wood density was determined by X-ray densitometry method. Wood samples were cut from gmelina trees and were exposed to low X-rays. The radiographic films were developed and scanned using a 256 gray scale with 1000 dpi resolution and the wood density was determined by CRAD and CERD software. The results showed tree-ring boundaries were distinctly delimited in trees growing in site with rainfall lower than 25 10 mm/year. It was demonstrated that tree age, climatic conditions and management of plantation affects wood density and its variability. The specific effect of variables on wood density was quantified by for multiple regression method. It was determined that tree year explained 25.8% of the total variation of density and 19.9% were caused by climatic condition where the tree growing. Wood density was less affected by the intensity of forest management with 5.9% of total variation.

Estimation and prediction of parameters and breeding values in soybean using REML/BLUP and Least Squares

The aim of this study was to compare REML/BLUP and Least Square procedures in the prediction and estimation of genetic parameters and breeding values in soybean progenies. F(2:3) and F(4:5) progenies were evaluated in the 2005/06 growing season and the F(2:4) and F(4:6) generations derived thereof were evaluated in 2006/07. These progenies were originated from two semi-early, experimental lines that differ in grain yield. The experiments were conducted in a lattice design and plots consisted of a 2 m row, spaced 0.5 m apart. The trait grain yield per plot was evaluated. It was observed that early selection is more efficient for the discrimination of the best lines from the F(4) generation onwards. No practical differences were observed between the least square and REML/BLUP procedures in the case of the models and simplifications for REML/BLUP used here.

Genome wide scan for quantitative trait loci affecting tick resistance in cattle (Bos taurus x Bos indicus)

Background : In tropical countries, losses caused by bovine tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus infestation have a tremendous economic impact on cattle production systems. Genetic variation between Bos taurus and Bos indicus to tick resistance and molecular biology tools might allow for the identification of molecular markers linked to resistance traits that could be used as an auxiliary tool in selection programs. The objective of this work was to identify QTL associated with tick resistance/susceptibility in a bovine F2 population derived from the Gyr (Bos indicus) x Holstein (Bos taurus) cross. Results: Through a whole genome scan with microsatellite markers, we were able to map six genomic regions associated with bovine tick resistance. For most QTL, we have found that depending on the tick evaluation season (dry and rainy) different sets of genes could be involved in the resistance mechanism. We identified dry season specific QTL on BTA 2 and 10, rainy season specific QTL on BTA 5, 11 and 27. We also found a highly significant genome wide QTL for both dry and rainy seasons in the central region of BTA 23. Conclusions: The experimental F2 population derived from Gyr x Holstein cross successfully allowed the identification of six highly significant QTL associated with tick resistance in cattle. QTL located on BTA 23 might be related with the bovine histocompatibility complex. Further investigation of these QTL will help to isolate candidate genes involved with tick resistance in cattle.

Non-additive genetic effects on weights and performance of a Brazilian Bos taurus x Bos indicus beef composite

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the heterosis effects on weaning weight at 205 days (WW, N = 146,464), yearling weight at 390 days (YW, N = 69,315) and weight gain from weaning to yearling (WG, N = 59,307) in composite beef cattle. The fixed models were: RM, which included contemporary groups, class of age of dam, outcrossing percentages for direct and maternal effects, and additive direct and maternal ( AM) breed effects; R, RM model, minus AM breed effects, and H, RM model, minus additive breed effects. The estimates for W205 were in general positive (P < 0.01). The R and H models resulted in similar estimates, but they were very different from the ones estimated by the RM model. For W390, the R and H models resulted in general positive estimates (P < 0.05). For WG, the RM model resulted in general significant heterosis effects (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that the RM model seems to supply estimates of better quality (P < 0.01).

Evaluation of Antiproliferative, Anti-Type 2 Diabetes, and Antihypertension Potentials of Ellagitannins from Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) Using In Vitro Models

Strawberries represent the main source of ellagic acid derivatives in the Brazilian diet, corresponding to more than 50% of all phenolic compounds found in the fruit. There is a particular interest in the determination of the ellagic acid content in fruits because of possible chemopreventive benefits. In the present study, the potential health benefits of purified ellagitannins from strawberries were evaluated in relation to the antiproliferative activity and in vitro inhibition of alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase, and angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) relevant for potential management of hyperglycemia and hypertension. Therefore, a comparison among ellagic acid, purified ellagitannins, and a strawberry extract was done to evaluate the possible synergistic effects of phenolics. In relation to the antiproliferative activity, it was observed that ellagic acid had the highest percentage inhibition of cell proliferation. The strawberry extract had lower efficacy in inhibiting the cell proliferation, indicating that in the case of this fruit there is no synergism. Purified ellagitannins had high alpha-amylase and ACE inhibitory activities. However, these compounds had low alpha-glucosidase inhibitory activity. These results suggested that the ellagitannins and ellagic acid have good potential for the management of hyperglycemia and hypertension linked to type 2 diabetes. However, further studies with animal and human models are needed to advance the in vitro assay-based biochemical rationale from this study.