Sex-Dependent Effects of the Intake of NOVA Classified Ultra-Processed Foods on Syndrome Metabolic Components in Brazilian Adults

Longitudinal studies evaluating the relationship between UPF consumption and the incidence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and its components are still scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of UPF consumption on the incidence of MetS and its components in adults. A prospective study was conducted with 896 participants from the 1978/79 Ribeirão Preto cohort, São Paulo, Brazil. UPF consumption was evaluated in %kcal and %g at ages 23–25 years. Incidence of MetS and its components were estimated at ages 37–39 years, according to the Joint Interim Statement criteria. Poisson regression was used to assess associations, and interactions with sex were investigated. UPF consumption had no association with MetS (%kcal Adjusted PR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99–1.01; %g Adjusted PR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.99–1.01). However, women with higher UPF consumption, in %kcal and %g, had a higher risk of abdominal obesity (%kcal: p = 0.030; %g: p = 0.003); and women with higher UPF consumption, in %g, had a higher risk of low HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.041). For the other components of MetS, no significant associations were observed in either sex. These findings suggest evidence of no association between UPF consumption and MetS; however, consumption of UPF was associated with increased WC and low HDL-c, but only in women.     

Facial-Skin Hyperpigmentation： Histological and Computer Geometric Assessment

Hyper-pigmentation is a common, acquired dermatological skin-disorder manifesting and identifiable as irregular brown or greyish-brown facial discolouration, and sometimes referred to as melanosis, melasma or hypermelanosis. Purpose and Objective： To identify the site of melanin deposition in skin-layers regarding facial hyper-pigmentation, based on a histological study of full-thickness skin-facial biopsies in aged Caucasian-cadavers. Hypothesis： Recalcitrant hyper-pigmentation, is chiefly characterised by hyper-melanosis restricted to the dermal-layer of the integument. Method： The histological features of facial hyper-pigmentation and solar-lentigenes were evaluated in a pilot-study of 5-randomly selected Caucasian-cadavers with pigmentation （15 facial biopsies）, ranging in age between 75 and 102 years （mean 77-years）. Selection-criteria included, both genders, age 〉 75, focal and confluent hyper-pigmented lesions, involving sun-exposed areas of skin （centrifacial, scalp, malar, mandibular and cervical）. Study groups included （Grp-1： Control skin-histology in otherwise normal aged, human-cadavers; Grp-2： Histology of pigmented facial skin-lesions in man; Grp-3： Comparative histological skin-controls in non-human primates）. No obvious hepatic disease was evident in the cohort studied. Twenty-five histological controls were obtained from non-pigmented areas. Histological evaluation of full-thickness skin-biopsies （including the lesion, edge and peri-]esion skin）, was under a Leitz~-light-microscope, and staining included H＆E, Masson-trichrome, Masson-fontana, Alcian-blue and Verhoef technology. Histological-scoring used was on histological deposition of melanin in skin-layers： epidermal, dermal, mixed, and indeterminate melanin-deposition （score 1-4）. Controls included cadaveric skin-biopsies of human races of colour and non-human primate, Cercopethicus Aethiops （latter is known to have predominantly dermal-melanin deposition）. Pigmented and non-pigmented areas were compared in both species. Results： The majority of clinically visible individual and confluent areas of hyper-pigmentation studied were maeroscopically present on the forehead, frontal scalp in hair-receded cadavers, molar and temporal zones. Histologically, documented features of age-related changes without pigment were present in almost all the embalmed cadaver-skins, with a melanin-score of 1. Computer enhanced skin geometry and biometrics confirmed the presence of an aged-skin, pigmentation and features of solar damage. The human embalmed-tissue was well preserved and minimal autolytic changes were present. Special stains of full-thickness biopsies （Masson-Fontana）, showed that melanin in the subhuman-primate is lodged in the deep dermis （reticular dermis）, within the extra-cellular matrix （ECM） and superficial to the hypodermal adipose-tissue （melanin-score 3）. Fifteen pigmented lesions studied in five （5） aged-cadavers （forehead, molar and mandibular areas） all showed predominantly epidermal-deposition of melanin in the basal, suprabasal and stratum corneum with tiny focal areas of dermal melanosis in single-cell macrophages in the papillary-dermis but not reticular-dermis （melanin-score 2）. A melanin-deposition localization ratio of epidermis to dermis was approximately 98 to 2% in cadavers with hyper-pigmentation. Conclusion： The skin-strata localization of the melanin with regards hyper-pigmentation of the face and forehead in this aged, human adult Caucasian, cadaveric-study, was predominantly in the epidermis and sparse in the papillary dermis.     

Health Implications of PAH Release from Coated Cast Iron Drinking Water Distribution Systems in the Netherlands

Background: Coal tar and bitumen have been historically used to coat the insides of cast iron drinking water mains. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may leach from these coatings into the drinking water and form a potential health risk for humans.Objective: We estimated the potential human cancer risk from PAHs in coated cast iron water mains.Method: In a Dutch nationwide study, we collected drinking water samples at 120 locations over a period of 17 days under various operational conditions, such as undisturbed operation, during flushing of pipes, and after a mains repair, and analyzed these samples for PAHs. We then estimated the health risk associated with an exposure scenario over a lifetime.Results: During flushing, PAH levels frequently exceeded drinking water quality standards; after flushing, these levels dropped rapidly. After the repair of cast iron water mains, PAH levels exceeded the drinking water standards for up to 40 days in some locations.Conclusions: The estimated margin of exposure for PAH exposure through drinking water was > 10,000 for all 120 measurement locations, which suggests that PAH exposure through drinking water is of low concern for consumer health. However, factors that differ among water systems, such as the use of chlorination for disinfection, may influence PAH levels in other locations.     

Age-dependent alteration in muscle regeneration: the critical role of tissue niche

Although adult skeletal muscle is composed of fully differentiated fibers, it retains the capacity to regenerate in response to injury and to modify its contractile and metabolic properties in response to changing demands. The major role in the growth, remodeling and regeneration is played by satellite cells, a quiescent population of myogenic precursor cells that reside between the basal lamina and plasmalemma and that are rapidly activated in response to appropriate stimuli. However, in pathologic conditions or during aging, the complete regenerative program can be precluded by fibrotic tissue formation and resulting in functional impairment of the skeletal muscle. Our study, along with other studies, demonstrated that although the regenerative program can also be impaired by the limited proliferative capacity of satellite cells, this limit is not reached during normal aging, and it is more likely that the restricted muscle repair program in aging is presumably due to missing signals that usually render the damaged muscle a permissive environment for regenerative activity.