The VAMOS program was effective in improving eating habits and quality of life in patients with hypertension.

Pachyrhizus erosus seeds were analysed for proximate composition, minerals, protein fractions, antinutritional factors, and rotenoids. The seeds showed a high content of proteins, lipids, Fe and Ca, in comparison to other legumes. Glutelins constitute the highest protein fraction, followed by globulins. Antinutritional substances detected as tannins, hemagglutinating activity and trypsin inhibitory activity, were in low concentrations. Seeds were also processed to obtain a flour which showed proper characteristics, good in vitro digestibility, significant rotenoid reduction level and amino acid composition rich in essential amino acids, except methionine.

The aim of this study is to describe and relate nutritional and inflammatory status and prognostic indexes with postoperative complications and clinical outcome of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. Twenty-nine patients were evaluated; nutritional assessment was carried out by subjective and objective parameters; albumin, pre-albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) were determined. To assess prognosis, the Glasgow scale, the Prognostic Inflammatory Nutritional Index (PINI), and CRP/albumin ratio were used; the clinical outcomes considered were hospital discharge and death. A high Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) score was associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications: 73% of the patients with postoperative complications had the highest SGA score, but only 6% of those without postoperative complications had the highest SGA score (P < 0.001). Greater occurrence of death was observed in patients with a high SGA score, low serum albumin, increased CRP, PINI > 1, and Glasgow score 2. There was a positive correlation between weight loss percentage with serum CRP levels (P = 0.002), CRP/albumin (P = 0.002), PINI (P = 0.002), and Glasgow score (P = 0.000). This study provides evidence that the assessment of the nutritional status and the use of prognostic indexes are good tools for predicting postoperative complications and clinical outcome in patients with gastrointestinal neoplasia.

Introduction: Even with current highly active antiretroviral therapy, individuals with AIDS continue to exhibit important nutritional defi cits and reduced levels of albumin and hemoglobin, which may be directly related to their cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cell counts. The aim of this study was to characterize the nutritional status of individuals with human immunodefi ciency virus/acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and relate the fi ndings to the albumin level, hemoglobin level and CD4 cell count. Methods: Patients over 20 years of age with AIDS who were hospitalized in a university hospital and were receiving antiretroviral therapy were studied with regard to clinical, anthropometric, biochemical and sociodemographic characteristics. Body mass index, percentage of weight loss, arm circumference, triceps skinfold and arm muscle circumference were analyzed. Data on albumin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and CD4 cell count were obtained from patient charts. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test, Student's t-test for independent variables and the Mann-Whitney U-test. The level of signifi cance was set to 0.05 (α = 5%). Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0 software for Windows. Results: Of the 50 patients evaluated, 70% were male. The prevalence of malnutrition was higher when the defi nition was based on arm circumference and triceps skinfold measurement. The concentrations of all biochemical variables were signifi cantly lower among patients with a body mass index of less than 18.5kg/m². The CD4 cell count, albumin, hemoglobin and hematocrit anthropometric measures were directly related to each other. Conclusions: These fi ndings underscore the importance of nutritional follow-up for underweight patients with AIDS, as nutritional status proved to be related to important biochemical alterations.

Carbohydrate-protein interactions play a key role in many biological processes. Cramoll is a lectin purified from Cratylia mollis seeds that is taxonomically related to concanavalin A (Con A). Although Cramoll and Con A have the same monosaccharide specificity, they have different glycoprotein binding profiles. We report the primary structure of Cramoll, determined by Edman degradation and mass spectrometry and its 1.77 A crystallographic structure and compare it with the three-dimensional structure of Con A in an attempt to understand how differential binding can be achieved by similar or nearly identical structures. We report here that Cramoll consists of 236 residues, with 82% identity with Con A, and that its topological architecture is essentially identical to Con A, because the Calpha positional differences are below 3.5 A. Cramoll and Con A have identical binding sites for MealphaMan, Mn2+, and Ca2+. However, we observed six substitutions in a groove adjacent to the extended binding site and two in the extended binding site that may explain the differences in binding of oligosaccharides and glycoproteins between Cramoll and Con A.

Severe brain damage associated with Zika-related microcephaly (ZRM) have been reported to result in oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD); however, it is unknown if OPD presents in children with prenatal Zika virus (ZIKV) exposure but only mild or undetectable abnormalities. The aims of this study were: to compare the frequency and characteristics of OPD in children with ZRM and in children without microcephaly born to mothers who tested polymerase chain reaction positive (PCR+) for ZIKV during pregnancy; and to investigate the concordance of caregiver reports of OPD with the diagnosis from the clinical swallowing assessment (CSA). Between Mar/2017 and May/2018, we evaluated 116 children (n = 58 with microcephaly, n = 58 children without microcephaly born to ZIKV PCR + mothers) participating in the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group (MERG) cohort of children born during the 2015-2016 ZIKV epidemic in Pernambuco, Brazil. To assess OPD we used: a CSA; a clinical assessment of the stomatognathic system; and a questionnaire administered to caregivers. The frequency of OPD was markedly higher in children with ZRM (79.3%) than in the exposed but normocephalic group (8.6%). The children with microcephaly also presented more frequently with anatomic and functional abnormalities in the stomatognathic system. There was a high degree of agreement between the caregiver reports of OPD and the CSA (κ = 0.92). In conclusion, our findings confirm that OPD is a feature of Congenital Zika Syndrome that primarily occurs in children with microcephaly and provide support for policies in which children are referred for rehabilitation with an OPD diagnosis based on caregiver report.

Anthropometric measures of adiposity, such a body mass index, waist-to-stature ratio, arm circumference and waist circumference,should be considered in the clinical evaluation of obese adolescents.

Resumo Contexto A amputação de membros pode ser definida como um procedimento que consiste em separar do corpo um membro ou segmento dele. Objetivos Descrever o perfil dos procedimentos de amputações de membros realizados em um hospital estadual de grande porte. Métodos Estudo transversal do tipo descritivo e retrospectivo realizado em um hospital de grande porte da cidade de Recife (PE). Os dados foram coletados em registros de pacientes que foram submetidos à amputação no ano de 2017. Foram incluídos pacientes que tiveram seu membro amputado em 2017 e excluídos aqueles com informações ilegíveis ou incompletas. Resultados Foram realizados 328 procedimentos em 274 pacientes, a maioria do gênero masculino (57,7%). Houve predominância de amputações em membros inferiores (64,2%), de causa não traumática (86,5%) e atendimentos de urgência (96,4%). A maioria dos pacientes submetidos a amputações ficaram internados por um período de 11 a 25 dias (32,1%). Este estudo mostrou que a maioria das pessoas amputadas recebeu alta (69,7%) e uma parte foi a óbito, sendo os óbitos, no caso das amputações de membros inferiores, principalmente de pessoas idosas na faixa etária de 60 a 90 anos (76%), do sexo feminino (55%), e submetidas a uma amputação (91%). Conclusões Os dados apresentados neste estudo são alarmantes, principalmente ao se considerar que muitas das amputações poderiam ter sido evitadas, visto que foram decorrentes de complicações de doenças cuja prevenção e controle podem ser realizados em outros níveis de complexidade do sistema e com custo relativamente baixo.