Frequency of food intake by adolescent schoolchildren in Cantabria, Spain. Comparison with the consensus document: Food Guidelines for the Spanish Population

OBJECTIVE: To analyze food consumption patterns among schoolchildren in Cantabria and to compare results obtained with Spanish food guidelines for this population group. METHODS: A food frequency questionnaire was the chosen method, with some 53 food types divided into 15 groups. A total of 1,205 teenagers of both sexes aged between 14 and 18 attending 18 secondary schools in Cantabria completed the questionnaire. RESULTS: Milk, bread, fruit, greens and vegetables are the foodstuffs mostly consumed at the recommended frequencies. On the other hand, fish, meat, eggs, dairy products and pulse make up the least adequately consumed categories. Alcoholic drinks are imbibed to a high degree, with beer being the alcoholic most frequently drunk. Spirits are also drunk in larger quantities than wine. Alcohol consumption (beer, wines and spirits) increases significantly with age, being higher among males than females. CONCLUSIONS: Cantabrian schoolchildren follow a food consumption pattern which, generally speaking, does not tally with Spanish food recommendations for their age group. Educational and interventional strategies need to be developed with the aim of modifying such inappropriate food consumption.     

Dietary sources of vitamin A, C, E and beta-carotene in a adult Mediterranean population

OBJECTIVE: Estimation of vitamin A, C, E and beta-carotene food sources, as well as its nutritional intake and density in adult Catalonian population. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted over 2,346 individuals obtained from the sample of Catalonian Survey of Nutritional Status aged 18 to 75 years old to estimate usual dietary intake of vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene using two 24 hour dietary recalls administered in two periods (june-july and november-december of 1992). Replicated 24 hour Recalls allowed for estimation of usual intake. Calculation of food sources for vitamins encompassed three phases: foods transformation into nutrients, aggregation of foods in categories and sum of nutrients by food categories. RESULTS: Intake of vitamin A (equivalents of retinol of provitamin A and vitamin A), E, C were closely near or higher than RDA. Nutritional density of vitamin C, E and beta-carotene were higher in female group. Nutritional density was positively associated to age for vitamins C, E and beta-carotene. Addition fat was the first source of vitamin E and it reached 33.8% of total vitamin E intake. Vegetables contributed in 17.3 % to the total vitamin C, whereas fruits accounted for 57.9%. Fruits recached 40.6% of the total beta-carotene intake, whereas vegetables accounted for 34.8%. The major contributors of vitamin A were milk and dairy products. CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional intake of vitamin A, C and E are over the RDA parameters suggesting an healthy nutritional status that must be confirmed and ratify by biochemical assessment. Nutritional densities were higher in female gender than in males in vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene possibly due to a higher intake of total lipids in male gender than in females. Nutritional density was positively associated to age in the same group of vitamins, suggesting a higher intake of empty calories in younger group. Fruits and Vegetables accounted for more than 70% of vitamin C and beta-carotene and major contributors were citrics, carrots, tomatoes, spinach, and cauliflower, highlighting their importance in elaboration of dietary guide lines.     

Variations in the survival probabilities of the PVC-protected red mangrove propagules: testing the encased replanting technique

The EcoEléctrica Mangrove Planting Project, a five-year voluntary effort, has the purpose of testing a recently developed mangrove planting technique at the EcoEléctrica site in Pe?uelas, Puerto Rico. The goal of the project is to provide empirical validation to promote or improve the technique to be used in recovering mangrove ecosystems in Puerto Rico and United States. The research presented herein analyzed the information collected on the first two years of the project. The proportions of remaining casings and seeds per study zone were compared using the chi-square distribution. Zone 1 had the least pipes lost while Zone 4 had the most (p < 0.05). Forty-three percent of the seeds in Zone 1 remained in the casing, while 26% remained in Zone 2 (p = 0.03). Median growth rates of seeds per study zone showed that Zone 1 had the highest median growth rates. Survival analysis described the survival experience of the seeds, and differences in survival probabilities were compared with the log-rank test. Zone 1 seeds had a better survival experience compared to Zones 2, 3 and 4 (p < 0.0001). Survival probabilities for being free of spots were over 60% during the whole study period. No significant differences were observed in the survival experience with the use-or-no use of casing extensions (p = 0.40), and the use-or-no use of nursed seeds (p = 0.26). Differences in survival probabilities might be attributed to variations in wave energy, depth or substrate conditions. This hypothesis will be evaluated in the second phase of the study.     

Inhibition of rat corneal angiogenesis by 16-kDa prolactin and by endogenous prolactin-like molecules.

PURPOSE: The cornea is an avascular organ, where induction of new blood vessels involves the turn-on of proangiogenic factors and/or the turn-off of antiangiogenic regulators. Prolactin (PRL) fragments of 14 kDa and 16 kDa bind to endothelial cell receptors and inhibit angiogenesis. This study was designed to determine whether antiangiogenic PRL-like molecules are involved in cornea avascularity. METHODS: Sixteen-kDa PRL and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) or anti-PRL antibodies were placed into rat cornea micropockets and neovascularization evaluated by the optical density associated with capillaries stained by the peroxidase reaction and by the number of vessels growing into the implants. Prolactin receptors in corneal epithelium were investigated by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: bFGF induced a dose-dependent stimulation of corneal neovascularization. This effect was inhibited by coadministration of 16-kDa PRL, as indicated by a 65% reduction in vessel density and a 50% decrement in the incidence of angiogenic responses. Corneal angiogenic reactions of different intensities were induced by implantation of polyclonal and monoclonal anti-PRL antibodies. Corneal epithelial cells were labeled by several anti-PRL receptor monoclonal antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that exogenous 16-kDa PRL inhibits bFGF-induced corneal neovascularization and suggest that PRL-like molecules with antiangiogenic actions function in the cornea. PRL receptors in the corneal epithelium may imply that PRL in the cornea derives from lacrimal PRL internalized through an intracellular pathway. These observations are consistent with the notion that members of the PRL family are potential regulators of corneal angiogenesis.     

A model for the intracortical origin of orientation preference and tuning in macaque striate cortex.

We report results of numerical simulations for a model of generation of orientation selectivity in macaque striate cortex. In contrast to previous models, where the initial orientation bias is generated by convergent geniculate input to simple cells and subsequently sharpened by lateral circuits, our approach is based on anisotropic intracortical excitatory connections which provide both the initial orientation bias and its subsequent amplification. Our study shows that the emerging response properties are similar to the response properties that are observed experimentally, hence the hypothesis of an intracortical generation of orientation bias is a sensible alternative to the notion of an afferent bias by convergent geniculocortical projection patterns. In contrast to models based on an afferent orientation bias, however, the "intracortical hypothesis" predicts that orientation tuning gradually evolves from an initially nonoriented response and a complete loss of orientation tuning when the recurrent excitation is blocked, but new experiments must be designed to unambiguously decide between both hypotheses.     

New quinoxaline 1,4-di-N-oxides for treatment of tuberculosis

Some quinoxaline 1,4-di-N-oxides derivatives with very different substituents in 2, 3, 6 and 7 positions have been synthesized in order to obtain new hypoxia selective agents. Some of these products have been tested as antituberculosis agents and very interesting results have been obtained from the first screening.     

Increased toxicity of cocaine on human hepatocytes induced by ethanol: role of GSH.

Increased toxicity of cocaine to human hepatocytes is observed when cells are simultaneously incubated with ethanol. Ethanol might exacerbate cocaine hepatocyte toxicity by three different pathways: a) by increasing the oxidative metabolism of cocaine and hence the oxidative damage; b) by the formation of a more toxic metabolite, namely cocaethylene; or c) by decreasing the defence mechanisms of the cell (i.e. GSH). In the present study, experiments were conducted to investigate the feasibility of these hypotheses. In hepatocytes preincubated for 48 hr with ethanol, neither significant changes in cocaine metabolism nor cytotoxicity were found despite differences in hepatocyte p-nitrophenol hydroxylase (largely CYP2E1 activity). Cocaethylene, the transesterification product of cocaine and ethanol, was found to be more toxic than cocaine for human hepatocytes (3x). However, the small amount formed when human hepatocytes were incubated with cocaine and ethanol would hardly explain the increased toxicity observed. On the other hand, the simultaneous presence of cocaine and ethanol caused a sustained decline in the intracellular GSH content that was larger than that observed in cocaine- or ethanol-treated cultures. Parallel to this phenomenon, a significant increase in lipid peroxidation was observed, as compared to cells treated with equimolar amounts of cocaine, ethanol, or cocaethylene. Finally, depletion of hepatocyte GSH with diethylmaleate down to levels similar to those found in ethanol-treated cells made hepatocytes more susceptible to cocaine. Taken together, the results of this research suggest that by decreasing GSH levels, ethanol makes human hepatocytes more sensitive to cocaine-induced oxidative damage.