Changes in older people’s quality of life in the COVID-19 era: a population-based study in Finland

Quality of Life Research - We investigated how quality of life (QoL) changed between 2018 and 2020, and how its related factors, i.e., communication with friends and family, loneliness, and...     

Satiety of Edible Insect-Based Food Products as a Component of Body Weight Control

Among the many aspects determining the nutritional potential of insect-based foods, research into the satiating potential of foods is an important starting point in the design of new functional foods, including those based on edible insects. The aim of this study was to assess the satiating value of products with the addition of freeze-dried insect flour. The test material included wheat pancakes in which corresponding proportions of wheat flour were substituted with 10% Mw, 0% Mw, and 30% Mw of flour from freeze-dried Tenebrio molitor, 10% Bw, 20% Bw, and 30% Bw of flour from Alphitobius diaperinus, and 10% Cr, 20% Cr, and 30% Cr of flour from Acheta domesticus. The study included the characterisation of physico-chemical properties and their effect on the satiating potential of the analysed pancakes. A total of 71 healthy volunteers (n = 39 women, n = 32 men) with no food phobias were qualified for the study. Each subject rated the level of hunger and satiety before and after ingestion at 30 min intervals over the subsequent 180 min on two separate graphical scales. The rating was done on an unstructured 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS). A portion intended for testing had a value of 240 kcal. The highest average satiety values were noted for the pancakes with an addition of 30% Alphitobius diaperinus (Bw) and with the addition of 20% and 30% addition of Acheta domesticus flour (Cr). The Tenebrio molitor-based products were the least satiating. However, the largest addition of 30% of an insect flour for each variant considerably increased the satiating potential as compared to the control sample. Satiety was influenced the most by the protein content in the test wheat pancakes. The results support the idea of a possible usage of insect-based food products in the composition of obesity treatment diets, carbohydrate-limiting diets, and as alternative sources of protein.     

Oxidative Balance Score during Pregnancy Is Associated with Oxidative Stress in the CANDLE Study

The objective of this study was to calculate an oxidative balance score (OBS) utilizing diet and lifestyle information collected from 1322 women during the second trimester of pregnancy in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood study. An energy-adjusted OBS was calculated using nutrient information from a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ), lifestyle measures, and plasma folate and vitamin D levels. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method, 91 food items from the FFQ were selected and they accounted for 82% of the variance in the OBS, with cruciferous vegetables, citrus fruits, fruit juice, and coffee being among the highest anti-oxidant predictors, and red meats and alcohol among the highest pro-oxidant contributors. Urinary F₂-isoprostane, an objective indicator of oxidative stress, was lower with increasing OBS quintiles in a stairstep manner (p for trend = 0.0003), suggesting the possible utility of the OBS as an indicator of oxidative stress. The OBS was moderately correlated with the Healthy Eating Index (correlation coefficient = 0.6076), suggesting it provides a distinct measure of a healthy diet. In conclusion, the OBS may serve as a valid reflective indicator of urinary F₂-isoprostanes and an epidemiological tool to inform intervention studies, in order to minimize oxidative stress during pregnancy.     

Value and consequences of routine intraoperative cholangiography during cholecystectomy

Since the introduction of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), an increase in accidental common bile duct (CBD) injuries of up to 1.2-1.6% has been reported. In the present prospective study of 1,710 patients undergoing cholecystectomy (1,241 LC procedures and 469 open cholecystectomies [OC]), we tested the predicative value of routine intraoperative cholangiography (IOC). The IOC was feasible in 92.4% of the cases in the LC group and in 83% of cases in the OC group and presented a complete depiction of the extrahepatic bile system in 98.3%. Anatomic variations of the bile duct system, which influenced the operative management, were found in 13.2% of cases (13.4% LC versus 12.8% OC). In 2.5% of the patients, preoperatively undetected CBD stones were also found. Method-specific complications did not occur in any of the patients. Additionally, in a controlled subgroup analysis of 163 patients, we evaluated preoperative intravenous cholangiography (IVC) and IOC. Intravenous cholangiography showed only 72.4% of the operation-relevant anatomic variations (vs. 100% by IOC); in 6.1% of the cases, there were reactions to the dye (vs. none in IOC), and in only 28.6% of the patients, CBD stones were detected (vs. 71.4% IOC). There were four bile duct injuries (0.29%) during LC and two (0.4%) during OC. All injuries were detected intraoperatively and fixed in the same setting without postoperative complications. In conclusion, we recommend the use of routine IOC during cholecystectomy. By this technique, anatomic variations of the bile duct system will be visualized and therefore accidental injuries will be avoided.     

Associations of Pre- and Postnatal Air Pollution Exposures with Child Blood Pressure and Modification by Maternal Nutrition: A Prospective Study in the CANDLE Cohort

Background: Limited data suggest air pollution exposures may contribute to pediatric high blood pressure (HBP), a known predictor of adult cardiovascular diseases.Methods: We investigated this association in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) study, a sociodemographically diverse pregnancy cohort in the southern United States with participants enrolled from 2006 to 2011. We included 822 mother–child dyads with available address histories and a valid child blood pressure measurement at 4–6 y. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressures (DBP) were converted to age-, sex-, and height-specific percentiles for normal-weight U.S. children. HBP was classified based on SBP or DBP ≥90th percentile. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter ≤2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) estimates in both pre- and postnatal windows were obtained from annual national models and spatiotemporal models, respectively. We fit multivariate Linear and Poisson regressions and explored multiplicative joint effects with maternal nutrition, child sex, and maternal race using interaction terms.Results: Mean PM2.5 and NO2 in the prenatal period were 10.8 [standard deviation (SD): 0.9] μg/m3 and 10.0 (SD: 2.4) ppb, respectively, and 9.9 (SD: 0.6) μg/m3 and 8.8 (SD: 1.9) ppb from birth to the 4-y-old birthday. On average, SBP percentile increased by 14.6 (95% CI: 4.6, 24.6), and DBP percentile increased by 8.7 (95% CI: 1.4, 15.9) with each 2-μg/m3 increase in second-trimester PM2.5. PM2.5 averaged over the prenatal period was only significantly associated with higher DBP percentiles [β= 11.6 (95% CI: 2.9, 20.2)]. Positive associations of second-trimester PM2.5 with SBP and DBP percentiles were stronger in children with maternal folate concentrations in the lowest quartile (pinteraction= 0.05 and 0.07, respectively) and associations with DBP percentiles were stronger in female children (pinteraction= 0.05). We did not detect significant association of NO2, road proximity, and postnatal PM2.5 with any outcomes.Conclusions: The findings suggest that higher prenatal PM2.5 exposure, particularly in the second trimester, is associated with elevated early childhood blood pressure. This adverse association could be modified by pregnancy folate concentrations. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7486     

Identification of Inflamed Atherosclerotic Lesions In Vivo Using PET-CT

Inflammation plays a major pathogenetic role in the development of atherosclerotic plaques and related thromboembolic events. The identification of vulnerable plaques is of the utmost importance, as this may allow the implementation of more effective preventive and therapeutic interventions. Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) has been shown to be useful for tracing inflammation within plaques. However, its relationship to immunohistochemical findings in different territories of the peripheral circulation was not completely elucidated. We aimed to determine whether plaque inflammation could be measured by PET in combination with computer tomography (CT) using FDG and what is the relationship between FDG uptake and immunohistochemical findings in the removed atherosclerotic lesions of the femoral and carotid arteries. The study included 31 patients, 21 patients with high-grade stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and 10 patients with occlusion of the common femoral artery (CFA), all of whom underwent endarterectomy. Before endarterectomy in all patients, FDG-PET/CT imaging was performed. FDG uptake was measured as the maximum blood—normalized standardized uptake value, known as the target to background ratio (TBR max). TBR max amounted to 1.72?±?0.8, and in patients with ICA, stenosis was not significantly different from patients with CFA occlusion. Immunohistochemical and morphometric analyses of the plaques obtained at endarterectomy showed that the density of T lymphocytes and macrophages (number of cells per square millimeter) was significantly higher in subjects with stenosis of the ICA than in subjects with occlusion of the femoral arteries: lymphocytes, 1.26?±?0.21 vs. 0.77?±?0.29; p?=?0.02 and macrophages, 1.01?±?0.18 vs. 0.69?±?0.23; p?=?0.003. In the whole group of patients, the density of inflammatory cells significantly correlated with FDG uptake represented by PET-TBR max: T lymphocytes, r?=?0.60; p?<?0.01 and macrophages, r?=?0.65; p?<?0.01. The results of our study show that FDG uptake is related to the accumulation of inflammatory cells in atherosclerotic lesions. This finding suggests that FDG uptake reflects the severity of atherosclerotic vessel wall inflammation, and in stenotic lesions, it could be an indicator of their vulnerability. However, data from large outcome studies is needed to estimate the usefulness of this technique in identifying the most dangerous atherosclerotic lesions and vulnerable patients.     

The quality of mother–child shared reading: its relations to child’s storytelling and home literacy environment

In the present study, we analysed the relations among the quality of mother–child shared reading, child’s storytelling and family literacy environment. The sample included 20 mother–child dyads, with 5-year-old children, who were recorded during shared reading. The quality of shared reading was assessed with the Scale for Observing Shared Reading while children’s storytelling was assessed with the textless book Frog Goes to Dinner. We found that the quality of mother–child shared reading was related to the coherence of children’s stories and to the factors of home literacy environment. Child’s age when parents started reading to him, the number of all books and children’s books in child’s home together explained 43.1% of the variance in the quality of shared reading. The findings give an insight into the process of the quality of the interactive reading between a child and an adult and emphasize the importance of shared reading for child’s storytelling.     

Orexins Protect Neuronal Cell Cultures Against Hypoxic Stress: an Involvement of Akt Signaling

Orexins A and B are peptides produced mainly by hypothalamic neurons that project to numerous brain structures. We have previously demonstrated that rat cortical neurons express both types of orexin receptors, and their activation by orexins initiates different intracellular signals. The present study aimed to determine the effect of orexins on the Akt kinase activation in the rat neuronal cultures and the significance of that response in neurons subjected to hypoxic stress. We report the first evidence that orexins A and B stimulated Akt in cortical neurons in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Orexin B more potently than orexin A increased Akt phosphorylation, but the maximal effect of both peptides on the kinase activation was very similar. Next, cultured cortical neurons were challenged with cobalt chloride, an inducer of reactive oxygen species and hypoxia-mediated signaling pathways. Under conditions of chemical hypoxia, orexins potently increased neuronal viability and protected cortical neurons against oxidative stress. Our results also indicate that Akt kinase plays an important role in the pro-survival effects of orexins in neurons, which implies a possible mechanism of the orexin-induced neuroprotection.