Development and validity of a questionnaire to test the knowledge of primary care personnel regarding nutrition in obese adolescents.

Background: In light of its epidemic proportions in developed and developing countries, obesity is considered a serious public health issue. In order to increase knowledge concerning the ability of health care professionals in caring for obese adolescents and adopt more efficient preventive and control measures, a questionnaire was developed and validated to assess non-dietitian health professionals regarding their Knowledge of Nutrition in Obese Adolescents (KNOA).

Methods: The development and evaluation of a questionnaire to assess the knowledge of primary care practitioners with respect to nutrition in obese adolescents was carried out in five phases, as follows: 1) definition of study dimensions 2) development of 42 questions and preliminary evaluation of the questionnaire by a panel of experts; 3) characterization and selection of primary care practitioners (35 dietitians and 265 non-dietitians) and measurement of questionnaire criteria by contrasting the responses of dietitians and non-dietitians; 4) reliability assessment by question exclusion based on item difficulty (too easy and too difficult for non-dietitian practitioners), item discrimination, internal consistency and reproducibility index determination; and 5) scoring the completed questionnaires.

Diet composition modulates expression of sirtuins and renin-angiotensin system components in adipose tissue.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of RAS components and SIRTs enzymes in the adipose tissue of mice fed diets with different macronutrient composition.

Design And Methods: The body weight, food intake, and energy intake (kcal) were evaluated. Blood parameters (insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance, total cholesterol, HDL-C triglyceride, and glucose levels) were also assessed.

Comparative analysis of the geographic distribution of the histopathological spectrum and Leishmania species of American cutaneous leishmaniasis in Brazil.

Background: Knowledge of the relationship between specific geographical differences and histopathology of the American cutaneous leishmaniasis is limited because host-parasite interactions in space and time are complex.

Objective: To describe the geographic analysis of the histopathological pattern of localized American cutaneous leishmaniasis and the relationship with Leishmania species.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study of a sample consisting of 55 patients of municipal districts of Montes Claros and 32 of Caratinga, Minas Gerais, by comparing with other endemic regions in Brazil, assessing historical and microregional data and developing confidence intervals.

Developmental biology of the Brazilian 'Armed' spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891): microanatomical and molecular analysis of the embryonic stages.

Phoneutria (Ctenidae) is among the most dangerous venomous spiders in Brazil. Its venom is composed of a mixture of pharmacologically active components, some of which have been quite extensively studied due to their potentiality as models for new pharmaceutical drugs. Nevertheless, literature data on the venom-producing glands are very limited.

Structural analysis of the venom glands of the armed spider Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891): microanatomy, fine structure and confocal observations.

Spiders belonging to the genus Phoneutria (Perty, 1833), most commonly known as 'armed' spiders, are among the most dangerous species in Brazil due to high toxicity of their venom, associated with their habit of invading domestic or specific areas such as banana plantations. The venom of Phoneutria spiders is secreted by a pair of venom glands located inside their cephalothoraxes and connected to the chelicerae by two independent ducts. In the present study, the microanatomy and histological structure of the venom glands of Phoneutria nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891) were examined in detail by histochemical and conventional stains with laser confocal, scanning and transmission electron microscopies.

Role of egg buster in hatching of Aedes aegypti: scanning electron microscopy study.

Egg hatching has been studied in Aedes aegypti (L.) through scanning electron microscopy. The first sign of egg hatching is a small protrusion on the eggshell in the anterior pole.