Correlates of sedentary time in children: a multilevel modelling approach.

Background: Sedentary behaviour (SB) has been implicated as a potential risk factor for chronic disease. Since children spend most of their awake time in schools, this study aimed to identify individual- and school-level correlates of sedentary time using a multilevel approach, and to determine if these correlates have a similar effect in normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (O/O) children.

Methods: Sample comprised 686 Portuguese children aged 9-10 years from 23 schools that took part in the ISCOLE project.

Prevalence and diversity of Hepatozoon in native and exotic geckos from Brazil.

Hepatozoon is a genus of hemogregarines constituting the most widespread and common reptile hemoparasite. Although various molecular assessments of these parasites have been conducted in lizards from Africa and Europe, similar studies are needed for South American lizards. Through amplification and sequencing of fragments of the 18S rRNA gene, we assess the prevalence of Hepatozoon parasites in 230 geckos from South America, including the endemic species Hemidactylus agrius, Hemidactylus brasilianus, Lygodactylus klugei, Phyllopezus pollicaris, Phyllopezus periosus, and an exotic species, Hemidactylus mabouia .

Multilevel analyses of school and children's characteristics associated with physical activity.

Background: Children spend most of their awake time at school, and it is important to identify individual and school-level correlates of their physical activity (PA) levels. This study aimed to identify the between-school variability in Portuguese children PA and to investigate student and school PA correlates using multilevel modeling.

Methods: The sample included 1075 Portuguese children of both sexes, aged 6-10 years, from 24 schools.

Molecular assessment of Hepatozoon (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) infections in wild canids and rodents from north Africa, with implications for transmission dynamics across taxonomic groups.

Parasites play a major role in ecosystems, and understanding of host-parasite interactions is important for predicting parasite transmission dynamics and epidemiology. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about the distribution, diversity, and impact of parasites in wildlife, especially from remote areas. Hepatozoon is a genus of apicomplexan parasites that is transmitted by ingestion of infected arthropod vectors.

Salt-induced delay in cotyledonary globulin mobilization is abolished by induction of proteases and leaf growth sink strength at late seedling establishment in cashew.

Seedling establishment in saline conditions is crucial for plant survival and productivity. This study was performed to elucidate the biochemical and physiological mechanisms involved with the recovery and establishment of cashew seedlings subjected to salinity. The changes in the Na+ levels and K/Na ratios, associated with relative water content, indicated that osmotic effects were more important than salt toxicity in the inhibition of seedling growth and cotyledonary protein mobilization.

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy in acute cholecystitis in the elderly.

Background/aims: Benefits of using laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in the elderly with acute cholecystitis (AC) is still questionable. Our aim is to carry out a comparative analysis of that intervention in two groups of patients: under 65 years old, and over or equal to 65 years old.

Methodology: This study corresponds to 249 LCs carried out during 4 years at the Emergency and Surgery Department of Hospital de S.

Trajectories of Bone Remodeling Markers and Bone Mineral Density during Treatment with Strontium Ranelate in Postmenopausal Women Previously Treated with Bisphosphonates.

Objective: To evaluate the responses of C-terminal telopeptide (CTX) and serum osteocalcin after the first 4 months of treatment with strontium ranelate (SR) and demonstrate their association with long-term bone density changes.

Subjects And Methods: A sample of 13 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis was analyzed (mean age 65 ± 7.7 years), who were treated with SR for an average of 2.

Genotype by energy expenditure interaction and body composition traits: The Portuguese Healthy Family Study.

Background And Aims: Energy expenditure has been negatively correlated with fat accumulation. However, this association is highly variable. In the present study we applied a genotype by environment interaction method to examine the presence of Genotype x by Total Daily Energy Expenditure and Genotype x by Daily Energy Expenditure interactions in the expression of different body composition traits.

Identifying the ideal body size and shape characteristics associated with children's physical performance tests in Peru.

We used allometric models to identify the optimal body size/shape characteristics associated with physical and motor performance tests in Peruvian schoolchildren. The sample consisted of 3624 subjects (1669 boys and 1955 girls) aged 11-17 years from 31 public schools belonging to four cities located in the three natural regions in central Peru. Motor performance included 12-min run, standing long jump, grip strength, curl-ups, shuttle run, and sit and reach.

Electrophysiologic characteristics of tremor in Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.

Unlabelled: Tremor in essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) usually present specific electrophysiologic profiles, however amplitude and frequency may have wide variations.

Objective: To present the electrophysiologic findings in PD and ET.

Method: Patients were assessed at rest, with posture and action.

A comparison of multiple methods for estimating parasitemia of hemogregarine hemoparasites (apicomplexa: adeleorina) and its application for studying infection in natural populations.

Identifying factors influencing infection patterns among hosts is critical for our understanding of the evolution and impact of parasitism in natural populations. However, the correct estimation of infection parameters depends on the performance of detection and quantification methods. In this study, we designed a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay targeting the 18 S rRNA gene to estimate prevalence and intensity of Hepatozoon infection and compared its performance with microscopy and PCR.

Multivariate analysis of lifestyle, constitutive and body composition factors influencing bone health in community-dwelling older adults from Madeira, Portugal.

This study describes the association between habitual physical activity (PA), other lifestyle/constitutive factors, body composition, and bone health/strength in a large sample of older adults from Madeira, Portugal. This cross-sectional study included 401 males and 401 females aged 60-79 years old. Femoral strength index (FSI) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the whole body, lumbar spine (LS), femoral neck (FN), and total lean tissue mass (TLTM) and total fat mass (TFM) were determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-DXA.

Abscisic acid (ABA) sensitivity regulates desiccation tolerance in germinated Arabidopsis seeds.

During germination, orthodox seeds lose their desiccation tolerance (DT) and become sensitive to extreme drying. Yet, DT can be rescued, in a well-defined developmental window, by the application of a mild osmotic stress before dehydration. A role for abscisic acid (ABA) has been implicated in this stress response and in DT re-establishment.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity and molecular docking study of 1-nitro-2-phenylethane, the main constituent of Aniba canelilla essential oil.

The odoriferous principle of Aniba canelilla (H.B.K.

Evaluation of a (99m) Tc-labelled meso-bisphenylporphyrin as a tumour image agent.

Porphyrins are excellent agents for photodynamic treatment of various types of cancer and also good metal chelators that form highly stable metallo-complexes with different radionuclides. Therefore, radiolabelled porphyrins could also be potentially used as tumour imaging agents. In this context, the aim of this work was the radiolabelling of meso-bis[3,4-bis(carboxymethyleneoxy)phenyl]porphyrin, 2CPP, with Technetium-99 m ((99m) Tc) and the evaluation of its radiochemical and biological properties in vitro and in vivo.

Assessment of fatigue thresholds in 50-m all-out swimming.

Context: It is essential to determine swimmers' anaerobic potential and better plan training, understanding physiological effects of the fatigue.

Purpose: To study changes in the characteristics of the intracyclic velocity variation during an all-out 50-m swim and to observe differences in speed and stroking parameters between these changes.

Methods: 28 competitive swimmers performed a 50-m front-crawl all-out test while attached to a speedometer.

Patterns of genetic diversity in Hepatozoon spp. infecting snakes from North Africa and the Mediterranean Basin.

Species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 are blood parasites most commonly found in snakes but some have been described from all tetrapod groups and a wide variety of hematophagous invertebrates. Previous studies have suggested possible associations between Hepatozoon spp. found in predators and prey.

Wiki as a tool for microbiology teaching, learning and assessment.

Introduction: Evidence suggests that cooperative learning and peer-assessment fosters students' ability to work with others and may lead to better cognitive outcomes and higher achievement. This work aimed to assess the use of an online collaborative tool for the teaching/learning and assessment of Microbiology.

Materials And Methods: A total of 144 students were grouped and assigned to create wiki entries as well as to peer review wikis created by colleagues (peer-assessment process) using the Wiki module from Moodle Virtual Learning Environment (MVLE).

Does ulnar variance change with age and what is the influence of training and biological characteristics in this change? A short-term longitudinal study in Portuguese artistic gymnasts.

Objective: To analyze the variability and longitudinal stress-related changes in ulnar variance (UV) in a group of immature artistic gymnasts. The relationship between UV and a group of biological and training variables was also investigated.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Essential oils composition of croton species from the Amazon.

The essential oils of leaves and twigs from the Euphorbiaceous Croton draconoides, C. urucurana and Julocroton triqueter were obtained and analyzed by GC and GC-MS. In total, 101 volatile constituents were identified, comprising an average of 90% of the oil, mostly made up of mono- and sesquiterpenes.

Molecular survey of parasites in introduced Pelophylax perezi (Ranidae) water frogs in the Azores.

Water frogs, Pelophylax perezi, that are introduced in the Azores, were screened for parasites using PCR primers known to amplify Apicomplexa parasites, and using nematode-specific primers. With the former, three different organisms were detected: Hepatozoon, a trichodinid protozoan ciliate and a possible Stramenopile. Using the latter set of primers, a single unknown spirurid nematode was also detected.

Genotype by energy expenditure interaction with metabolic syndrome traits: the Portuguese healthy family study.

Moderate-to-high levels of physical activity are established as preventive factors in metabolic syndrome development. However, there is variability in the phenotypic expression of metabolic syndrome under distinct physical activity conditions. In the present study we applied a Genotype X Environment interaction method to examine the presence of GxEE interaction in the phenotypic expression of metabolic syndrome.

Telemedicine application in the care of diabetes patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The impact of telemedicine application on the management of diabetes patients is unclear, as the results are not consistent among different studies. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the impact of telemedicine interventions on change in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure, LDL cholesterol (LDL-c) and body mass index (BMI) in diabetes patients.

Methods: Electronic databases MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and LILACS were searched to identify relevant studies published until April 2012, supplemented by references from the selected articles.