Concentrations of resveratrol and derivatives in foods and estimation of dietary intake in a Spanish population: European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort

Resveratrol has been shown to have beneficial effects on diseases related to oxidant and/or inflammatory processes and extends the lifespan of simple organisms including rodents. The objective of the present study was to estimate the dietary intake of resveratrol and piceid (R&P) present in foods, and to identify the principal dietary sources of these compounds in the Spanish adult population. For this purpose, a food composition database (FCDB) of R&P in Spanish foods was compiled. The study included 40 685 subjects aged 35-64 years from northern and southern regions of Spain who were included in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-Spain cohort. Usual food intake was assessed by personal interviews using a computerised version of a validated diet history method. An FCDB with 160 items was compiled. The estimated median and mean of R&P intake were 100 and 933 mg/d respectively. Approximately, 32% of the population did not consume RΠ The most abundant of the four stilbenes studied was trans-piceid (53·6 %), followed by trans-resveratrol (20·9 %), cis-piceid (19·3 %) and cis-resveratrol (6·2 %). The most important source of R&P was wines (98·4 %) and grape and grape juices (1·6 %), whereas peanuts, pistachios and berries contributed to less than 0·01 %. For this reason the pattern of intake of R&P was similar to the wine pattern. This is the first time that R&P intake has been estimated in a Mediterranean country.

Postmortem diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and its complications.

Diabetes mellitus has become a major cause of death worldwide and diabetic ketoacidosis is the most common cause of death in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Acute complications of diabetes mellitus as causes of death may be difficult to diagnose due to missing characteristic macroscopic and microscopic findings. Biochemical analyses, including vitreous glucose, blood (or alternative specimen) beta-hydroxybutyrate, and blood glycated hemoglobin determination, may complement postmortem investigations and provide useful information for determining the cause of death even in corpses with advanced decompositional changes. In this article, we performed a review of the literature pertaining to the diagnostic performance of classical and novel biochemical parameters that may be used in the forensic casework to identify disorders in glucose metabolism. We also present a review focusing on the usefulness of traditional and alternative specimens that can be sampled and subsequently analyzed to diagnose acute complications of diabetes mellitus as causes of death.

Congenital tracheal anomalies.

Congenital tracheal lesions are rare, but important, causes of morbidity in infants and children. Consequently, experience in their management is limited and dispersed. Given its small diameter, the juvenile trachea is obstructed easily by various natural causes, or following a surgical intervention. The diagnosis of a congenital, tracheal, obstructive anomaly is based on a high degree of suspicion in infants and children with respiratory distress accompanied by retraction. In this article, the authors discuss the various causes of these conditions, their diagnostic features, and the treatment possibilities.

Incident Hepatitis C Virus Infections in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study : changes in treatment uptake and outcomes between 1991 and 2013

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic is evolving rapidly in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We aimed to describe changes in treatment uptake and outcomes of incident HCV infections before and after 2006, the time-point at which major changes in HCV epidemic became apparent. Methods.  We included all adults with an incident HCV infection before June 2012 in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, a prospective nationwide representative cohort of individuals infected with HIV. We assessed the following outcomes by time period: the proportion of patients starting an HCV therapy, the proportion of treated patients achieving a sustained virological response (SVR), and the proportion of patients with persistent HCV infection during follow-up. Results.  Of 193 patients with an HCV seroconversion, 106 were diagnosed before and 87 after January 2006. The proportion of men who have sex with men increased from 24% before to 85% after 2006 (P < .001). Hepatitis C virus treatment uptake increased from 33% before 2006 to 77% after 2006 (P < .001). Treatment was started during early infection in 22% of patients before and 91% after 2006 (P < .001). An SVR was achieved in 78% and 29% (P = .01) of patients treated during early and chronic HCV infection. The probability of having a detectable viral load 5 years after diagnosis was 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-0.77) in the group diagnosed before 2006 and 0.24 (95% CI, 0.16-0.35) in the other group (P < .001). Conclusions. In recent years, increased uptake and earlier initiation of HCV therapy among patients with incident infections significantly reduced the proportion of patients with replicating HCV.

Efeito da intensidade de poda na produção e qualidade de frutos de pessegueiro

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o comportamento vegetativo e produtivo de pessegueiros quando submetidos a variações na intensidade de desponte dos ramos durante a poda de frutificação. Foram utilizadas plantas de duas cultivares, Riograndense e Leonense, e três intensidades de poda, poda curta (retirada de 2/3 do comprimento do ramo), poda longa (retirada de 1/3 do ramo) e poda sem desponte (manutenção dos ramos íntegros). De acordo com os resultados, as plantas de 'Riograndense' apresentaram frutos com maior diâmetro, já as de 'Leonense' apresentaram maior percentual de frutificação efetiva (40,91 %), firmeza de polpa (7,70 kgf), sólidos solúveis (11,12 ºbrix) e número médio de frutos por planta (70,11). A poda denominada poda curta proporcionou maior diâmetro de frutos e maior volume de massa fresca retirada da poda em verde (3.193,75 g.planta-1). A interação 'Riograndense' e poda curta proporcionou maior percentual de frutos colhidos (91,02 %), maior massa média de frutos (141,62 g) e maior volume de massa fresca na poda de frutificação (3.188,14 g.planta-1), já a maior produtividade foi obtida em plantas de 'Riograndense', que receberam poda sem desponte (10,82 t.ha-1). Os diferentes tipos de poda influenciam no desenvolvimento das plantas, afetando o número de flores e frutos. Nas condições em que o experimento foi conduzido, podemos concluir que características como frutificação efetiva, firmeza de polpa e sólidos solúveis não são alteradas pelos diferentes tipos de poda, já as variáveis relacionadas à produtividade estão intimamente relacionadas com as variações de intensidade de poda de ramos.

Mechanisms of OGT-mediated HCF-1 protein maturation

Post-translational protein modifications are crucial for many fundamental cellular and extracellular processes and greatly contribute to the complexity of organisms. Human HCF-1 is a transcriptional co-regulator that undergoes complex protein maturation involving reversible and irreversible post-translational modifications. Upon synthesis as a large precursor protein, HCF-1 undergoes extensive reversible glycosylation with β-N-acetylglucosamine giving rise to O-linked-β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) modified serines and threonines. HCF-1 also undergoes irreversible site-specific proteolysis, which is important for one of HCF-1's major functions - the regulation of the cell-division cycle. HCF-1 O-GlcNAcylation and site-specific proteolysis are both catalyzed by a single enzyme with an unusual dual enzymatic activity, the O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT). HCF-1 is cleaved by OGT at any of six highly conserved 26 amino acid repeated sequences (HCF-1PRO repeats), but the mechanisms and the substrate requirements for OGT-mediated cleavage are not understood. In the present work, I characterized substrate requirements for OGT-mediated cleavage and O-GlcNAcylation of HCF-1. I identified key elements within the HCF-1PRO-repeat sequence that are important for proteolysis. Remarkably, an invariant single amino acid side-chain within the HCF-1PRO-repeat sequence displays particular OGT-binding properties and is essential for proteolysis. Additionally, I characterized substrate requirements for proteolysis outside of the HCF-1PRO repeat and identified a novel, highly O-GlcNAcylated OGT-binding sequence that enhances cleavage of the first HCF-1PRO repeat. These results link OGT association and its O-GlcNAcylation activities to HCF-1PRO-repeat proteolysis.

Frequency of and Risk Factors for Depression among Participants in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS).

OBJECTIVES: We studied the incidence and prevalence of, and co-factors for depression in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study. METHODS: Depression-specific items were introduced in 2010 and prospectively collected at semiannual cohort visits. Clinical, laboratory and behavioral co-factors of incident depression among participants free of depression at the first two visits in 2010 or thereafter were analyzed with Poisson regression. Cumulative prevalence of depression at the last visit was analyzed with logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 4,422 participants without a history of psychiatric disorders or depression at baseline, 360 developed depression during 9,348 person-years (PY) of follow-up, resulting in an incidence rate of 3.9 per 100 PY (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.5-4.3). Cumulative prevalence of depression during follow-up was recorded for 1,937/6,756 (28.7%) participants. Incidence and cumulative prevalence were higher in injection drug users (IDU) and women. Older age, preserved work ability and higher physical activity were associated with less depression episodes. Mortality (0.96 per 100 PY, 95% CI 0.83-1.11) based upon 193 deaths over 20,102 PY was higher among male IDU (2.34, 1.78-3.09), female IDU (2.33, 1.59-3.39) and white heterosexual men (1.32, 0.94-1.84) compared to white heterosexual women and homosexual men (0.53, 0.29-0.95; and 0.71, 0.55-0.92). Compared to participants free of depression, mortality was slightly elevated among participants with a history of depression (1.17, 0.94-1.45 vs. 0.86, 0.71-1.03, P = 0.033). Suicides (n = 18) did not differ between HIV transmission groups (P = 0.50), but were more frequent among participants with a prior diagnosis of depression (0.18 per 100 PY, 95%CI 0.10-0.31; vs. 0.04, 0.02-0.10; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Depression is a frequent co-morbidity among HIV-infected persons, and thus an important focus of care.

Aferição simultânea da pressão abdominal na avaliação ultra-sonográfica de mulheres com incontinência urinária de esforço

OBJETIVO: Determinar a influência da aferição da pressão intra-abdominal na avaliação ultra-sonográfica da junção uretrovesical (JUV) e da uretra proximal (UP) em pacientes com incontinência urinária de esforço (IUE). MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo de corte transversal realizado na Unidade de Pesquisa em Incontinência Urinária da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, de janeiro de 2002 a janeiro de 2005. Trinta e seis pacientes com queixas de IUE foram submetidas a ultra-sonografia perineal para avaliação da JUV e da UP com a bexiga praticamente vazia (< 50 ml), com aferição simultânea de pressão intra-abdominal. Para as avaliações, foi utilizado aparelho de ultra-som com transdutor vaginal de 7 MHz e seletor eletrônico de mensuração de imagem real, equipado com computador e câmera fotográfica de resolução instantânea. Para a medida da pressão intra-abdominal, foi utilizado aparelho de urodinâmica com cateter de 10 fr retal acoplado a um balão de sensor para medida da pressão intra-abdominal. RESULTADOS: As pacientes tinham idade entre 25 e 69 anos (média de 46,4 ± 10,2 anos). À manobra de Valsalva, a pressão intra-abdominal variou entre 7 cmH2O e 193 cmH2O (média de 99,3 ± 51,8 cmH2O; mediana de 99,5 cmH2O). Oito das 31 (25,8%) pacientes com hipermobilidade da JUV apresentaram pressão intra-abdominal inferior a 60 cmH2O. Não foi detectada relação estatisticamente significante entre a variação de pressão intra-abdominal e os parâmetros ultra-sonográficos em questão. CONCLUSÃO: Há um índice específico de pressão de deslocamento uretral para cada mulher com IUE. Porém, não há associação significativa entre o aumento de pressão intra-abdominal e aumento de mobilidade da JUV e UP em mulheres com quadro clínico de IUE.