Dietary patterns express the combination and variety of foods in the diet. The partial least squares method allows extracting dietary patterns related to a specific health outcome. Few studies have ...evaluated obesity-related dietary patterns associated with telomeres length. This study aims to identify dietary patterns explaining obesity markers and to assess their association with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a biological marker of the ageing process.
Cross-sectional study.
University campuses in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
478 participants of a civil servants' cohort study with data on food consumption, obesity measurements (total body fat, visceral fat, BMI, leptin and adiponectin) and blood samples.
Three dietary patterns were extracted: (1) fast food and meat; (2) healthy and (3) traditional pattern, which included rice and beans, the staple foods most consumed in Brazil. All three dietary patterns explained 23·2 % of food consumption variation and 10·7 % of the obesity-related variables. The fast food and meat pattern were the first factor extracted, explaining 11-13 % variation of the obesity-related response variables (BMI, total body fat and visceral fat), leptin and adiponectin showed the lowest percentage (4·5-0·1 %). The healthy pattern mostly explained leptin and adiponectin variations (10·7 and 3·3 %, respectively). The traditional pattern was associated with LTL (
= 0·0117; 95 % CI 0·0001, 0·0233) after adjustment for the other patterns, age, sex, exercise practice, income and energy intake.
Leukocyte telomere length was longer among participants eating a traditional dietary pattern that combines fruit, vegetables and beans.
Biomaterial scaffolds have served as the foundation of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, scaffold systems are often difficult to scale in size or shape in order to fit ...defect‐specific dimensions, and thus provide only limited spatiotemporal control of therapeutic delivery and host tissue responses. Here, a lithography‐based 3D printing strategy is used to fabricate a novel miniaturized modular microcage scaffold system, which can be assembled and scaled manually with ease. Scalability is based on an intuitive concept of stacking modules, like conventional toy interlocking plastic blocks, allowing for literally thousands of potential geometric configurations, and without the need for specialized equipment. Moreover, the modular hollow‐microcage design allows each unit to be loaded with biologic cargo of different compositions, thus enabling controllable and easy patterning of therapeutics within the material in 3D. In summary, the concept of miniaturized microcage designs with such straight‐forward assembly and scalability, as well as controllable loading properties, is a flexible platform that can be extended to a wide range of materials for improved biological performance.
Novel 3D printed microcages that can be easily assembled via simple stacking to fit the complexity of various tissue defects are introduced. Individual microcage units allow for spatial loading of biomolecules to instruct site‐specific cell migration three‐dimensionally and facilitate neovascularization in vivo, thus accelerating the process of healing.
Novelty influences hippocampal‐dependent memory through metaplasticity. Mismatch novelty detection activates the human hippocampal CA1 area and enhances rat hippocampal‐dependent learning and ...exploration. Remarkably, mismatch novelty training (NT) also enhances rodent hippocampal synaptic plasticity while inhibition of VIP interneurons promotes rodent exploration. Since VIP, acting on VPAC1 receptors (Rs), restrains hippocampal LTP and depotentiation by modulating disinhibition, we now investigated the impact of NT on VPAC1 modulation of hippocampal synaptic plasticity in male Wistar rats. NT enhanced both CA1 hippocampal LTP and depotentiation unlike exploring an empty holeboard (HT) or a fixed configuration of objects (FT). Blocking VIP VPAC1Rs with PG 97269 (100 nM) enhanced both LTP and depotentiation in naïve animals, but this effect was less effective in NT rats. Altered endogenous VIP modulation of LTP was absent in animals exposed to the empty environment (HT). HT and FT animals showed mildly enhanced synaptic VPAC1R levels, but neither VIP nor VPAC1R levels were altered in NT animals. Conversely, NT enhanced the GluA1/GluA2 AMPAR ratio and gephyrin synaptic content but not PSD‐95 excitatory synaptic marker. In conclusion, NT influences hippocampal synaptic plasticity by reshaping brain circuits modulating disinhibition and its control by VIP‐expressing hippocampal interneurons while upregulation of VIP VPAC1Rs is associated with the maintenance of VIP control of LTP in FT and HT animals. This suggests VIP receptor ligands may be relevant to co‐adjuvate cognitive recovery therapies in aging or epilepsy, where LTP/LTD imbalance occurs.
Altered endogenous VIP VPAC1 receptor modulation of hippocampal CA1 synaptic plasticity following mismatch novelty training. The study suggests that VIP receptor ligands may be useful to co‐adjuvate cognitive stimuli therapies based on mismatch novelty, aiming at the cognitive rescue of aged individuals or epilepsy patients.
To evaluate the effectiveness of a school-based intervention involving the families and teachers that aimed to promote healthy eating habits in adolescents; the ultimate aim of the intervention was ...to reduce the increase in body mass index (BMI) of the students.
Paired cluster randomized school-based trial conducted with a sample of fifth graders.
Twenty classes were randomly assigned into either an intervention group or a control group.
From a total of 574 eligible students, 559 students participated in the study (intervention: 10 classes with 277 participants; control: 10 classes with 282 participants). The mean age of students was 11 years.
Students attended 9 nutritional education sessions during the 2010 academic year. Parents/guardians and teachers received information on the same subjects.
Changes in BMI and percentage of body fat.
Intention-to-treat analysis showed that changes in BMI were not significantly different between the 2 groups (β = 0.003; p = 0.75). There was a major reduction in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and cookies in the intervention group; students in this group also consumed more fruits.
Encouraging the adoption of healthy eating habits promoted important changes in the adolescent diet, but this did not lead to a reduction in BMI gain. Strategies based exclusively on the quality of diet may not reduce weight gain among adolescents.
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01046474.
This double-blind randomized clinical trial evaluated the influence of pre-treatment with proanthocyanidins (PA) from grape seed extract on the clinical behavior of a simplified etch-and-rinse ...adhesive placed in non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) over 6- and 24-months.
A total of 135 restorations were randomly inserted in 45 subjects. The NCCLs were etched with 37 % phosphoric acid for 15 s and distributed into 3 groups: Control (PA0) - adhesive ExciTE F applied as per the manufacturer's recommendations; PA2 and PA5 groups – 2 wt% and 5 wt% PA solution, respectively, were applied for 60 s and washed for 30 s prior to application of the adhesive. The resin composite was placed incrementally and light-cured. The restorations were evaluated at baseline, 6 months (6 m) and 24 months (24 m) using both the FDI and USPHS criteria. Statistical analyses were carried out using Friedman repeated-measures analysis of variance by rank and the Wilcoxon test (α = 0.05).
The retention rates were 98 % (PA0), 98 % (PA2) and 83 % (PA5) after 6 m and 93 % (PA0), 89 % (PA2) and 70 % (PA5) after 24 m. Only PA5 resulted in a significant lower retention rate at 6 m and at 24 m compared with that of baseline (p = 0.03). All groups resulted in a significantly worse marginal adaptation and marginal staining for the FDI criteria when the baseline vs. the 24 m recall data were compared. These differences were considered clinically acceptable under the FDI criteria.
The application of PA as a primer did not result in clinical advantages after 24 m of clinical service, regardless of the concentration used.
It has been reported that PA, a collagen crosslinking agent, increases the durability of the dentin-resin interface. However, no effects were found clinically after 24 months.
The present study is a systematic review of empirical literature from the last 35 years on families' responses to economic distress in the context of macroeconomic crises. Thirty-nine studies ...published between 1983 and 2015 in 12 countries were identified, resulting in 3 main findings. First, economic distress was associated with negative changes in family dynamics, specifically couple relationships and parenting. Second, protective factors were found to buffer the adverse effects of economic distress on family and individual outcomes. Third, the results suggest that individual responses to macroeconomic crises may be moderated by sex. Implications for future research encompass using validated assessment instruments, including participants beyond 2-parent families with adolescent children and conducting both longitudinal and qualitative studies that focus on the processes and meanings of adaptation within this risk context. Conclusions highlighted the need to assist families dealing with macroeconomic crises' demands, encouraging the development and validation of macrosystemic intervention programs.
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CEKLJ, FFLJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PEFLJ
This study is aimed at evaluating the effects of triclosan-encapsulated halloysite nanotubes (HNT/TCN) on the physicochemical and microbiological properties of an experimental dental composite. A ...resin composite doped with HNT/TCN (8%
/
), a control resin composite without nanotubes (HNT/TCN-0%) and a commercial nanofilled resin (CN) were assessed for degree of conversion (DC), flexural strength (FS), flexural modulus (FM), polymerization stress (PS), dynamic thermomechanical (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The antibacterial properties (M) were also evaluated using a 5-day biofilm assay (CFU/mL). Data was submitted to one-way ANOVA and Tukey tests
There was no significant statistical difference in DC, FM and RU between the tested composites (
> 0.05). The FS and CN values attained with the HNT/TCN composite were higher (
< 0.05) than those obtained with the HNT/TCN-0%. The DMA analysis showed significant differences in the TAN δ (
0.006) and Tg (
0) between the groups. TGA curves showed significant differences between the groups in terms of degradation (
0.046) and weight loss (
0.317). The addition of HNT/TCN induced higher PS, although no significant antimicrobial effect was observed (
0.977) between the groups for CFUs and (
0.557) dry weight. The incorporation of HNT/TCN showed improvements in physicochemical and mechanical properties of resin composites. Such material may represent an alternative choice for therapeutic restorative treatments, although no significance was found in terms of antibacterial properties. However, it is possible that current antibacterial tests, as the one used in this laboratory study, may not be totally appropriate for the evaluation of resin composites, unless accompanied with aging protocols (e.g., thermocycling and load cycling) that allow the release of therapeutic agents incorporated in such materials.
Based on data collected from managers of wine tourism businesses in rural areas in Portugal, this study highlights the equal potential of female leadership in wine tourism. Specifically, women’s ...profiles, management practices and leadership narratives were analyzed and contrasted with corresponding data reported by their male counterparts. Concerning personality traits, no statistical difference between men and women was identified, which was also the case for some management practices, with sustainability concerns being important for both male and female business managers. Differences were found in communication with markets, being dominated by online devices, particularly with social networks in the case of women. As for their leadership position, women further tend to prefer a shared management approach in opposition to a more individualist management style followed by men.
To compare the clinical behavior of Proanthocyanidins (PA)-free and PA-containing two-step etch-and-rinse adhesive used underneath resin composite restorations in non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) ...over a 6- (6 M) and 24-month (24 M) period.
135 restorations were randomly placed in 45 subjects. The NCCLs were conditioned (37% phosphoric acid for 15 s) and distributed into 3 groups: Control (EX0) - ExciTE F (Ivoclar Vivadent) adhesive applied following the manufacturer's recommendations; EX2 and EX5 – 2 wt% and 5 wt% of PA were added to ExciTE F, respectively, and applied as in EX0. Resin composite was placed incrementally and light-cured. The restorations were evaluated at baseline, 6 M and 24 M, using FDI and USPHS criteria. Statistical analyses were performed using Friedman and Wilcoxon tests (α = 0.05).
The retention rates were 98% (95% confidence interval 88–99%) for EX0, 92% (80–97%) for EX2; and 85% (72–93%) for EX5 at 6 M. A significant difference was found only for EX5 at 6 M when compared with the respective baseline findings (p = 0.03) and when compared with EX0 and EX2 (p = 0.001) at 6 M. After 24 M, the retention rates were 98% (88–99%) for EX0, 73% (59–84%) for EX2, and 71% (56–82%) for EX5. Only EX0 did not result in significant difference in retention rate at 24 M when compared with baseline but showed a significant higher retention rate when compared with those of EX2 and EX5 (p = 0.001).
Adding proanthocyanidins to the adhesive solution jeopardized the retention of composite resins restorations in non-carious cervical lesions after 24 months.
In spite of being user-friendlier than when used separately, the incorporation of proanthocyanidins into the adhesive solution impairs the longevity of composite restorations.
Dieting is one of the main target factors for interventions that seek to control and prevent rising blood pressure. This study identified dietary patterns and analyzed their association with ...adolescents' blood pressure.
This is a cross-sectional study with a probabilistic and nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 12-17 years, who participated in the Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents (ERICA), carried out in 2013-2014 with Brazilian adolescents (N = 36 956). Food consumption was assessed by 24 h recall. Dietary patterns were identified using the Reduced Rank Regression method, and considering waist circumference, fasting insulin, and dietary polyunsaturated fat/saturated fat ratio as intermediate variables. Multiple linear regression models stratified by weight were developed; SBP and DBP were the dependent variables, and dietary pattern scores were the independent ones, with adjustment for potential confounding factors.
The following patterns were identified: 'Brazilian common', 'Restricted' and 'Added sugar'. The 'Restricted' pattern, which included diet/light foods, chicken and chicken-based dishes, leafy greens, vegetables and spices, red meats and dishes based on red meats and tubers, was inversely associated with SBP (β = -1.55; 95% CI = -2.26 to -0.83) and DBP (β = -1.19; 95% CI = -1.70 to -0.68) in adolescents with obesity.
In adolescents with obesity, a low-energy density diet was associated with reduced blood pressure. These findings are consistent with international recommendations for preventing elevated blood pressure.
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