The objective of the research was to determine the blood pressure (BP) lowering effects in older people of 50 g carbohydrate drinks with varying carbohydrate content using a randomised, cross-over study with ten (six females) healthy older subjects (mean age 72·20 (SEM 1·50) years). BP, heart rate and glucometer-derived blood glucose levels were determined at baseline and following the ingestion of equal volumes (300 ml) of water and carbohydrate drinks with varying nutrient content (glucose, sucrose and fructose). A significant decline in BP over the first 60 min was seen following glucose (systolic BP (SBP) P,0·01, diastolic BP (DBP) P,0·01, mean arterial BP (MAP) P¼ 0·03) and sucrose (SBP P,0·01, DBP P,0·01, MAP P,0·01) ingestion, although the decrease occurred earlier after glucose than sucrose ingestion (SBP 7·33 (SEM 2·19) v. 21·00 (SEM 4·30) min (P¼0·03) and MAP 11·22 (SEM 3·10) v. 17·00 (SEM 3·78) min (P¼0·03)). BP increased after water ingestion (SBP P¼ 0·04, DBP P¼ 0·18, MAP P¼ 0·02) but did not change after fructose ingestion (SBP P¼0·36, DBP P¼ 0·81, MAP P¼ 0·34). Post hoc analyses revealed that the BP (SBP, DBP and MAP) decrease following glucose and sucrose ingestion were similar but significantly greater than following fructose or water ingestion. Sucrose, which is used widely (table sugar), reduces BP as much as glucose. In contrast to this, fructose ingestion causes no change in BP. Further studies are required to determine if the substitution of glucose or sucrose with fructose may be beneficial in the medical management of older people with severe symptomatic postprandial hypotension.

The particle sizes of Nanocoll, Nanocis and Hepatate are very stable throughout their period of validity. For Nanocoll, 95% of particles have a diameter <16 nm, with a mean diameter around 8 nm. There are small (< or =1 nm) but significant variations on the mean diameter depending on the volume of pertechnetate used in its preparation. For Nanocis, 95% of particles have a diameter <70 nm, with a mean around 24 nm, and are independent of the volume of pertechnetate used in their preparation. For Hepatate, the upper size limit for 95% of particles is between 190 and 255 nm, with a mean between 72 and 88 nm, depending on the volume of pertechnetate used in its preparation. This tin colloid could be a good candidate for evaluating clinical suitability in sentinel node localization.

Background Understanding the role of children in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is critical to guide decision-making for schools in the pandemic. We aimed to describe the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among children and adult staff in summer schools. Methods During July 2020 we prospectively recruited children and adult staff attending summer schools in Barcelona who had SARS-CoV-2 infection. Primary SARS-CoV-2 infections were identified through: (1) surveillance program in 22 summer schools’ of 1905 participants, involving weekly saliva sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR during 2-5 weeks; (2)cases identified through the Catalonian Health Surveillance System of children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. All centres followed prevention protocols: bubble groups, hand washing, facemasks and conducting activities mostly outdoors. Contacts of a primary case within the same bubble were evaluated by nasopharyngeal RT-PCR. Secondary attack rates and effective reproduction number in summer schools(R*) were calculated. Results Among the over 2000 repeatedly screened participants, 30children and 9adults were identified as primary cases. A total of 253 close contacts of these primary cases were studied (median 9 (IQR 5-10) for each primary case), among which twelve new cases (4.7%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The R* was 0.3, whereas the contemporary rate in the general population from the same areas in Barcelona was 1.9. Conclusions The transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 infection among children attending school-like facilities under strict prevention measures was lower than that reported for the general population. This suggests that under preventive measures schools are unlikely amplifiers of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and supports current recommendations for school opening.

The data suggest that gynecomastia among HIV-infected patients is related to hypogonadism, rather than to an adverse effect of antiretroviral drugs.