Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder symptoms in children: Associations with child and family variables

This study sought to determine the frequency of possible cases of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in a Portuguese sample of school-aged children and to assess the associations with child’s internalizing problems, BMI z-score and body dissatisfaction, and parents’ eating habits, attitudes and practices. We assessed 330 children through child’s and parents’measures. Fifty-one (15.5%) children were possible cases of ARFID based on their symptom’s presentation. There were no association between sex and possible cases of ARFID, and no significant differences between possible cases of ARFID and nonpossible cases of ARFID regarding age. Lower BMI z-score and anxiety/depression were associated with possible cases of ARFID.     

Resistance Exercise Training Improves Metabolic and Inflammatory Control in Adipose and Muscle Tissues in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet

This study investigates whether ladder climbing (LC), as a model of resistance exercise, can reverse whole-body and skeletal muscle deleterious metabolic and inflammatory effects of high-fat (HF) diet-induced obesity in mice. To accomplish this, Swiss mice were fed for 17 weeks either standard chow (SC) or an HF diet and then randomly assigned to remain sedentary or to undergo 8 weeks of LC training with progressive increases in resistance weight. Prior to beginning the exercise intervention, HF-fed animals displayed a 47% increase in body weight (BW) and impaired ability to clear blood glucose during an insulin tolerance test (ITT) when compared to SC animals. However, 8 weeks of LC significantly reduced BW, adipocyte size, as well as glycemia under fasting and during the ITT in HF-fed rats. LC also increased the phosphorylation of Akt_Ser473 and AMPK_Thr172 and reduced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 beta (IL1-β) contents in the quadriceps muscles of HF-fed mice. Additionally, LC reduced the gene expression of inflammatory markers and attenuated HF-diet-induced NADPH oxidase subunit gp91phox in skeletal muscles. LC training was effective in reducing adiposity and the content of inflammatory mediators in skeletal muscle and improved whole-body glycemic control in mice fed an HF diet.     

Deaths from Tick-Borne Encephalitis,Sweden

We assessed standardized mortality ratio in tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Sweden, 2004–2017. Standardized mortality ratio for TBE was 3.96 (95% CI 2.55–5.90); no cases in patients <40 years of age were fatal. These results underscore the need for further vaccination efforts in populations at risk for TBE.     

Quality and Quantity Assessment of the Water Repellent Properties of Functional Clothing Materials after Washing

The aim of the research was to evaluate the changes in the surface properties of five functional clothing materials with water-repellent finishes (including PFC-free finish) after 1, 5, and 10 washes with three detergents. A new approach to the interpretation of the water-repellent properties of textile materials is presented, based on two techniques, i.e., the spray test method and contact angle measurements. The results showed that washing materials with hydrophobic finishes can cause significant changes in their properties, which are mainly dependent on the composition and structure of the material, as well as the type of hydrophobic finish. The PFC-free finish is the least resistant to washing. For all materials with PFC finishes, the water repellency depends on the fluorine content on the surface and fabric topography. It was also found that increasing washing frequency resulted in a gradual decrease in water repellency. The loss of water repellency below an acceptable level (Grade 3) occurred after the fifth washing for all materials. Significant differences in the interpretation of the results of the spray test and contact angle measurements were observed. Using these methods separately provides information on the changes in the surface properties of the tested materials; however, their parallel application allows for obtaining complementary data, which is important for the proper interpretation of results.     

The Ultra-Processed Food Content of School Meals and Packed Lunches in the United Kingdom

British children have the highest levels of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption in Europe. Schools are posited as a positive setting for impacting dietary intake, but the level of UPFs consumed in schools is currently unknown. This study determined the UPF content of school food in the UK. We conducted a pooled cross-sectional analysis of primary (4–11 years, n = 1895) and secondary schoolchildren (11–18 years, n = 1408) from the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2008–2017). Multivariable quantile regression models determined the association between meal-type (school meal or packed lunch) and lunchtime UPF intake (NOVA food classification system). We showed that on average, UPF intake was high in both primary (72.6% total lunch Kcal) and secondary schoolchildren (77.8% total lunch Kcal). Higher UPF intakes were observed in packed lunch consumers, secondary schoolchildren, and those in lower income households. This study highlights the need for a renewed focus on school food. Better guidance and policies that consider levels of industrial processing in food served in schools are needed to ensure the dual benefit of encouraging school meal uptake and equitably improving children’s diets.     

N-acetylcysteine attenuates renal alterations induced by senescence in the rat

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on renal function, as well as on sodium and water transporters, in the kidneys of aged rats. Normal, 8-month-old male Wistar rats were treated (n = 6) or not (n = 6) with NAC (600 mg/L in drinking water) and followed for 16 months. At the end of the follow-up period, we determined inulin clearance, serum thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), serum cholesterol, and urinary phosphate excretion. In addition, we performed immunohistochemical staining for p53 and for ED-1-positive cells (macrophages/monocytes), together with Western blotting of kidney tissue for NKCC2, aquaporin 2 (AQP2), urea transporter A1 (UT-A1) and Klotho protein. At baseline, the two groups were similar in terms of creatinine clearance, proteinuria, cholesterol, and TBARS. At the end of the follow-up period, NAC-treated rats presented greater inulin clearance and reduced proteinuria, as well as lower serum cholesterol, serum TBARS, and urinary phosphate excretion, in comparison with untreated rats. In addition, NAC-treated rats showed upregulated expression of NKCC2, AQP2, and UT-A1; elevated Klotho protein expression, low p53 expression, and few ED-1 positive cells. In conclusion, we attribute these beneficial effects of NAC (the significant improvements in inulin clearance and in the expression of NKCC2, AQP2, and UT-A1) to its ability to decrease oxidative stress, inhibit p53 expression, minimize kidney inflammation, and stimulate Klotho expression.     

Zoonotic potential of multidrug-resistant extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli obtained from healthy poultry carcasses in Salvador,Brazil

The zoonotic potential to cause human and/or animal infections among multidrug-resistant extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli from avian origin was investigated. Twenty-seven extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli isolates containing the increased survival gene (iss) were obtained from the livers of healthy and diseased poultry carcasses at two slaughterhouses in Salvador, northeastern Brazil. The antimicrobial resistance-susceptibility profiles were conducted with antibiotics of avian and/or human use by the standardized disc-diffusion method. Antimicrobial resistance was higher for levofloxacin (51.8%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (70.4%), ampicillin (81.5%), cefalotin (88.8%), tetracycline (100%) and streptomycin (100%). The minimum inhibitory concentrations above the resistance breakpoints of doxycycline, neomycin, oxytetracycline and enrofloxacin reached, respectively, 88.0%, 100%, 75% and 91.7% of the isolates. Strains with high and low antimicrobial resistance were i.p. administered to Swiss mice, and histopathological examination was carried out seven days after infection. Resistance to goat and human serum complement was also evaluated. The results show that Swiss mice challenged with strain 2B (resistant to 11 antimicrobials) provoked a severe degeneration of hepatocytes besides lymphocytic infiltration in the liver, whereas the spleen showed areas of degeneration of the white and red pulp. Conversely, the spleen and liver of mice challenged with strain 4A (resistant to two antimicrobials) were morphologically preserved. In addition, complement resistance to goat and human serum was high for strain 2B and low for strain 4A. Our data show that multidrug resistance and pathogenesis can be correlated in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli strains obtained from apparently healthy poultry carcasses, increasing the risk for human public healthy.