Dietary sources of energy and macronutrient intakes among Flemish preschoolers

This study aims to identify major food sources of energy and macronutrients among Flemish preschoolers as a basis for evaluating dietary guidelines. Three-day estimated diet records were collected from a representative sample of 696 Flemish preschoolers (2.5-6.5 years old; participation response rate: 50%). For 11 dietary constituents, the contribution of 57 food groups was computed by summing the amount provided by the food group for all individuals divided by the total intake of the respective nutrient for all individuals. Bread (12%), sweet snacks (12%), milk (6%), flavoured milk drinks (9%), and meat products (6%) were the top five energy contributors. Sweet snacks were among the top contributors to energy, total fat, all fatty acids, cholesterol, and complex and simple carbohydrates. Fruit juices and flavoured milk drinks are the main contributors to simple carbohydrates (respectively 14% and 18%). All principal food groups like water, bread and cereals, vegetables, fruit, milk and spreadable fats were under-consumed by more than 30% of the population, while the food groups that were over-consumed consisted only of low nutritious and high energy dense foods (sweet snacks, sugared drinks, fried potatoes, sauces and sweet spreads). From the major food sources and gaps in nutrient and food intakes, some recommendations to pursue the nutritional goals could be drawn: the intake of sweet snacks and sugar-rich drinks (incl. fruit juices) should be discouraged, while consumption of fruits, vegetables, water, bread and margarine on bread should be encouraged.     

Fibre intake among the Belgian population by sex-age and sex-education groups and its association with BMI and waist circumference

The objectives of the present study were to assess total dietary fibre intake and the main contributors to fibre intake in the Belgian population by sex-age and sex-education groups and to investigate its relationship with BMI and waist circumference (WC). The participants of the Belgian food consumption survey (2004) were randomly selected. Information about food intake was collected using two repeated, non-consecutive 24 h recall interviews. A total of 3083 individuals ( ≥ 15 years; 1546 men and 1537 women) completed both interviews. The main contributors to total fibre intake (17·8 g/d) were cereals and cereal products (34 %; 5·9 g/d), potatoes and other tubers (18·6 %; 3·3 g/d), fruits (14·7 %; 2·8 g/d) and vegetables (14·4 %; 2·6 g/d). Legume fibre intake was extremely low (0·672 %; 0·139 g/d). In all sex-age and sex-education groups, total fibre intake was below the recommendations of the Belgian Superior Health Council. Men (21 g/d) consumed significantly more fibre than women (17·3 g/d) (P < 0·001). Lower educated men and higher educated women reported the highest fibre intake. A significant inverse association was found between total fibre intake and WC (β = - 0·118, P < 0·001). Fruit-derived fibre was positively associated with WC (β = 0·731, P = 0·001). In summary, total fibre intake was inversely associated with WC, whereas fruit-derived fibre intake was positively associated with WC in the Belgian population.     

抗真菌药物的研究II.C-端含氧代赖氨酸二肽的合成及抗白念珠菌活性

引用违法传递概念设计合成了11个C-末端含氧代赖氨酸二肽,进行抗深部致病菌-白念珠菌活性试验,体外实验结果显示极强的抑菌活性,MIC在12.5～0.8μg/disk之间,较母体氧化赖氨酸大50～135倍(克分子比。     

Belgian health-related data in three international databases

Aims of the study  

This study wants to examine the availability of Belgian healthcare data in the three main international health databases: the World Health Organization European Health for All Database (WHO-HFA), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Health Data 2009 and EUROSTAT.     

Public health in the genomic era: will Public Health Genomics contribute to major changes in the prevention of common diseases?

The completion of the Human Genome Project triggered a whole new field of genomic research which is likely to lead to new opportunities for the promotion of population health. As a result, the distinction between genetic and environmental diseases has faded. Presently, genomics and knowledge deriving from systems biology, epigenomics, integrative genomics or genome-environmental interactions give a better insight on the pathophysiology of common diseases. However, it is barely used in the prevention and management of diseases. Together with the boost in the amount of genetic association studies, this demands for appropriate public health actions. The field of Public Health Genomics analyses how genome-based knowledge and technologies can responsibly and effectively be integrated into health services and public policy for the benefit of population health. Environmental exposures interact with the genome to produce health information which may help explain inter-individual differences in health, or disease risk. However today, prospects for concrete applications remain distant. In addition, this information has not been translated into health practice yet. Therefore, evidence-based recommendations are few. The lack of population-based research hampers the evaluation of the impact of genomic applications. Public Health Genomics also evaluates the benefits and risks on a larger scale, including normative, legal, economic and social issues. These new developments are likely to affect all domains of public health and require rethinking the role of genomics in every condition of public health interest. This article aims at providing an introduction to the field of and the ideas behind Public Health Genomics.     

Intratumoral distribution of two consecutive injections of chimeric antibody G250 in primary renal cell carcinoma: implications for fractionated dose radioimmunotherapy

Tumor uptake of the chimeric G250 (cG250) monoclonal antibody (mAb) in patients with primary renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is among the highest reported in solid tumors. However, as observed in other tumor types, the intratumoral distribution of the antibody is highly heterogeneous, which may limit the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy. A number of highly dynamic physiological factors have been postulated that may contribute to heterogeneous tumor uptake of antibodies. Their impact on tumor uptake of antibodies may vary from one tumor region to another as well as from one day to the next. Here, we report on a clinical study that was designed to investigate whether the pattern of mAb cG250 uptake within RCC tumors is altered with subsequent injections. Ten patients with a clinical diagnosis of primary RCC were studied. Nine days before surgery, patients received 125I-cG250 (5 mg of cG250, 50 microCi of 125I), followed by a second injection of 131I-cG250 (5 mg of cG250, 3.5 mCi of 131I) 4 days later. Postsurgery, the tumor was cut into (1-cm) thick slices. Slices were imaged on a gamma camera, and the slice with the most pronounced heterogeneity in 131I-cG250 distribution was selected and cut into 1-cm3 cubes. Each cube was analyzed for 121I-cG250 and 131I-cG250 uptake, and the 131I/125I ratio was determined. For each tumor slice, the distribution patterns of both isotopes were reconstructed and compared with each other. All tumors analyzed showed a heterogeneous distribution of both isotopes throughout the tumor slice; focal uptake in some areas of a tumor reached very high levels (up to 0.19% injected dose/g), whereas other tumorous areas of the same slice showed much lower uptake (as low as 0.0047% injected dose/g). Remarkably, in all tumors, the distribution pattern of both injections was identical: without exception, in all samples analyzed (n = 692), the uptake of 125I-cG250 was similar to 131I-cG250 uptake. Overall, the 131I/125I ratio was 1.64+/-0.31 (mean+/-SD). The constant 131I/125I ratios, observed in all tumor samples investigated, indicate that the tumor parameters governing cG250 mAb uptake were not altered significantly within the time period studied. In addition, the results of this study suggest that multiple radiolabeled antibody injections, administered within short time periods, will target the same areas within a tumor and, thus, will not solve the problem of heterogeneous tumor uptake of antibody.     

Pretargeting of renal cell carcinoma: improved tumor targeting with a bivalent chelate.

Radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) can target tumors selectively. Sustained activity levels in nontarget tissues limit their application. Pretargeting approaches using bispecific mAbs (bsmAbs) or the biotinavidin interaction have been proposed to improve tumor:nontumor ratios. Pretargeting a tumor and subsequently administering the radioactivity as a low molecular weight ligand fundamentally changes the pharmacokinetics of the radiolabel. In previous studies, we have shown successful radioimmunotargeting of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) labeled with indium-111 to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after pretargeting in nude mice. In this study, we aimed to optimize further a pretargeting strategy in nude mice with RCC xenografts based on a bispecific anti-RCC x anti-DTPA mAb. Using this two-step approach, we studied whether the use of a bivalent chelate ((111)In-diDTPA) could improve radioimmunotargeting. The (111)In-diDTPA dose greatly affected the uptake of the radiolabeled chelate in the tumor. At a low (111)In-diDTPA dose (< or = 7 pmol), tumor uptake of (111)In-diDTPA was very high [>50% injected dose (ID)/g, 1 h postinjection (p.i.)], whereas at higher doses (> or = 20 pmol), tumor uptake of (111)In-diDTPA decreased (<30% ID/g). With monovalent (111)In-DTPA uptake of the radiolabel in the tumor was much lower (<10% ID/g, 1 h p.i.). Furthermore, the bivalent chelate accreted rapidly in the tumor (78% ID/g, 4 h p.i.) and was virtually completely retained in the tumor during several days p.i. (92% ID/g, 72 h p.i.). Clearance of the (111)In-diDTPA from the blood and kidneys was rapid and complete without the need to clear the bsmAb from the blood, probably due to the relative lability of the univalent bsmAb-diDTPA complexes in the blood. As a result, with this two-step pretargeting approach tumor:blood ratios increased up to values as high as 3500 at 72 h p.i. High doses of diDTPA could be targeted preferentially to the tumor, indicating that this approach could also be used for radioimmunotherapy. Tumors could be imaged up to 1 week p.i. of 50 microCi of (111)In-diDTPA. Quantitative analysis of the images confirmed the biodistribution data and indicated that, at 20 h p.i., 50 +/- 15% of the whole-body activity was localized in the tumor. In conclusion, these studies indicate that the use of bivalent chelates can very effectively optimize two-step targeting of tumors with bsmAbs. Our data indicate that this approach could optimize radioimmunotherapy.     

Isthmic spondylolysis of the lumbar spine: MR imaging at 1.5 T

The appearance on magnetic resonance (MR) images of the normal pars interarticularis in 13 patients was reviewed and contrasted with that of the pars in eight patients with spondylolysis. The pars defect usually had an intermediate signal intensity with all pulse sequences; however, this intensity was somewhat variable depending on the exact ratio of cartilage, fat, and fluid within each bone defect. The pars defect was best seen with spin-echo 600/20 (repetition time msec/echo time msec) images. In three cases, out-of-phase images showed the spondylolysis best, because of extension of fat to the borders of the defect. The sagittal view allowed one to separate spondylolysis from the joint space of posterior facets since the orientation of the defects is perpendicular to the facets; thus, a common pitfall encountered with cross-sectional axial imaging techniques is avoided. MR imaging poorly delineated bone fragments around the defect, which may produce nerve root impingement, but revealed other numerous complications that occur with spondylolysis, including spondylolisthesis and herniation of the disk above.     

Transabdominal versus endovaginal pelvic sonography: prospective study

Transabdominal and endovaginal pelvic sonograms were obtained in 108 nonpregnant patients referred for pelvic sonography. The studies were independently obtained by two radiologists and interpreted on the basis of identical clinical information. The sonograms were then compared for anatomic detail and abnormalities. A determination was made about which examination, if either, was superior. Follow-up was performed through a review of the medical records and follow-up studies. Overall, the endovaginal study was judged superior in 65 cases (60.2%), equal in 39 (36.1%), and inferior in four (3.7%). The authors conclude that the endovaginal examination can effectively replace the transabdominal examination as the initial approach for routine pelvic sonography.