Association between food insecurity and overweight: Protocol for a systematic review based on intersectionality of gender and race/color.

Food insecurity violates the right to regular access to quality food, affecting population groups unequally. In Brazil, FI is associated with both malnutrition and increased obesity and is intertwined with racial and gender inequalities, perpetuating cycles of poverty and social exclusion. This protocol aims to select observational studies that evaluate the association between food insecurity and overweight and their intersectional discussions (gender and race/color).

Association between food insecurity and chronic noncommunicable diseases in Brazil: a systematic review.

Objective: To analyze the association of food insecurity (FI) with chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the Brazilian context.

Methods: The review protocol was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The searches were conducted in LILACS and PubMed databases (September/2022).

Reduced expressions of apoptosis-related proteins TRAIL, Bcl-2, and TNFR1 in NK cells of juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus patients: relations with disease activity, nephritis, and neuropsychiatric involvement.

Background: Lupus pathogenesis is mainly ascribed to increased production and/or impaired clearance of dead cell debris. Although self-reactive T and B lymphocytes are critically linked to lupus development, neutrophils, monocytes, and natural killer (NK) cells have also been implicated. This study assessed apoptosis-related protein expressions in NK cells of patients with juvenile-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (jSLE) and relations to disease activity parameters, nephritis, and neuropsychiatric involvement.

Time living with food insecurity and socio-demographic factors: longitudinal analysis in a city in the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil.

Objective: Food insecurity (FI) is the lack of daily access for everyone to quality food in sufficient quantity. In many populations, it presents as a chronic and persistent condition. This study analysed the association between the length of time living with FI and socio-demographic conditions in households in a semi-arid municipality in the Brazilian Northeast between 2011 and 2019.

Health-related quality of life and functionality in primary caregiver of surviving pediatric COVID-19.

Objectives: To prospectively assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL), global functionality, and disability in primary caregivers of surviving children and adolescents after COVID-19.

Methods: A longitudinal observational study was carried out on primary caregivers of surviving pediatric post-COVID-19 patients ( = 51) and subjects without COVID-19 ( = 60). EuroQol five-dimension five-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and 12-question WHO Disability Assessment Schedule 2.

Leishmaniasis: Immune Cells Crosstalk in Macrophage Polarization.

Leishmaniasis is a complex infectious parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the genus , belonging to a group of neglected tropical diseases. It establishes significant global health challenges, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged regions. Macrophages, as innate immune cells, play a crucial role in initiating the inflammatory response against the pathogens responsible for this disease.

Characterization of Regulatory T Cells in Patients Infected by .

High IL-10 levels are pivotal to parasite survival in visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Antigenic stimuli induce IL-10 expression and release of adenosine by CD39/CD73. Due their intrinsic ability to express IL-10 and produce adenosine from extracellular ATP, we evaluated the IL-10, CD39, and CD73 expression by Regulatory T cells (Treg) correlated with VL pathology.

Blood leukocyte transcriptional modules and differentially expressed genes associated with disease severity and age in COVID-19 patients.

Since the molecular mechanisms determining COVID-19 severity are not yet well understood, there is a demand for biomarkers derived from comparative transcriptome analyses of mild and severe cases, combined with patients' clinico-demographic and laboratory data. Here the transcriptomic response of human leukocytes to SARS-CoV-2 infection was investigated by focusing on the differences between mild and severe cases and between age subgroups (younger and older adults). Three transcriptional modules correlated with these traits were functionally characterized, as well as 23 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated to disease severity.

Circulating sTREM-1 as a predictive biomarker of pediatric multisystemic inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C).

The exacerbation of the inflammatory response caused by SARS-CoV-2 in adults promotes the production of soluble mediators that could act as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for COVID-19. Among the potential biomarkers, the soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell-1 (sTREM-1) has been described as a predictor of inflammation severity. The aim was to evaluate sTREM-1 and cytokine serum concentrations in pediatric patients during the acute and convalescent phases of COVID-19.

Monocyte-to-HDL ratio and non-HDL cholesterol were predictors of septic shock in newborns.

Background: The association between lipoprotein levels and late-onset neonatal sepsis has shown controversial results. The aims are to assess lipid profile, cytokines, and Monocyte-to-HDL (M/H) ratio as diagnostic and prognostic markers for late-onset neonatal sepsis.

Methods: This prospective study included 49 septic neonates and 17 controls.

Expanding the Phenotype of 8p23.1 Deletion Syndrome: Eight New Cases Resembling the Clinical Spectrum of 22q11.2 Microdeletion.

Objective: To report the effectiveness of early molecular diagnosis in the clinical management of rare diseases, presenting 8 patients with 8p23.1DS who have clinical features that overlap the phenotypic spectrum of 22q11.2DS.

Maternal vaccination as an additional approach to improve the protection of the nursling: Anti-infective properties of breast milk.

Human milk constitutes a secretion with unique functions of both nourishing the nursling and providing protection against enteric and respiratory infections, mainly due to its content of secretory IgA antibodies but also due to the presence of a plethora of bioactive factors. Specific IgA antibodies are produced locally by plasma cells derived from B lymphocytes that migrate from other mucosae to the mammary gland during lactation, particularly from the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Therefore, here, the authors will provide a comprehensive review of the content and functions of different nutritional and bioactive anti-infectious components from breast milk, such as oligosaccharides, lactoferrin, haptocorrin, α-lactalbumin, k-casein, lysozyme, lactoperoxidase, mucin, fatty acids, defensins, cytokines and chemokines, hormones and growth factors, complement proteins, leukocytes and nucleic acids, including microRNAs, among many others, and the induction of antibody responses in breast milk after maternal vaccination with several licensed vaccines, including the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccine preparations used worldwide.

Technical performance of a lateral flow immunoassay for detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG in the outpatient follow-up of non-severe cases and at different times after vaccination: comparison with enzyme and chemiluminescent immunoassays.

This study assessed the technical performance of a rapid lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA) for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and compared LFIA results with chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) results and an in-house enzyme immunoassay (EIA). To this end, a total of 216 whole blood or serum samples from three groups were analyzed: the first group was composed of 68 true negative cases corresponding to blood bank donors, healthy young volunteers, and eight pediatric patients diagnosed with other coronavirus infections. The serum samples from these participants were obtained and stored in a pre-COVID-19 period, thus they were not expected to have COVID-19.

Access to governmental programs/benefits and food insecurity in urban and rural areas of Northeast Brazil.

This paper analyzes food insecurity (FI) in urban and rural areas of the Northeast region of Brazil associated with certain social determinants and access to governmental benefits/programs. Data about FI from the National Household Budget Survey (2017-2018) were analyzed, including socio-economic variables and access to government benefits/programs of supplemental income (Bolsa Família, Ongoing transfer benefits, Food voucher and Food basket). Multinomial logistic regression models were performed to assess the relationship between FI and access to government programs/benefits.

Salivary, serological, and cellular immune response to the CoronaVac vaccine in health care workers with or without previous COVID-19.

We investigated the anti-SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccine response through serum and salivary antibodies, serum antibody neutralizing activity and cellular immune response in samples from health care workers who were immunized with two doses of an inactivated virus-based vaccine (CoronaVac) who had or did not have COVID-19 previously. IgA and IgG antibodies directed at the spike protein were analysed in samples of saliva and/or serum by ELISA and/or chemiluminescence assays; the neutralizing activity of serum antibodies against reference strain B, Gamma and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants were evaluated using a virus neutralization test and SARS-CoV-2 reactive interferon-gamma T-cell were analysed by flow cytometry. CoronaVac was able to induce serum and salivary IgG anti-spike antibodies and IFN-γ producing T cells in most individuals who had recovered from COVID-19 and/or were vaccinated.

SARS-CoV-2 and rhinovirus infections: are there differences in clinical presentation, laboratory abnormalities, and outcomes in the pediatric population?

This study aims to assess COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses in pediatric patients. Between April 17 and September 30, 2020, we collected 1,566 respiratory samples from 1,044 symptomatic patients who were younger than 18 years old to assess SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of these, 919 were analyzed for other respiratory pathogens (ORP).

Regulatory T cells in acute and chronic human Chikungunya infection.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection generates strong immune responses that are associated with the disease pathophysiology. Regulatory T cells (Treg-cluster of differentiation (CD)-4CD25forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)) are essential for the induction and maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Thus, they play key roles in determining the patient prognosis by preventing excessive immune responses via different suppression immune mechanisms.

Early Thymectomy Is Associated With Long-Term Impairment of the Immune System: A Systematic Review.

Background And Aims: Congenital heart diseases (CHDs) are diagnosed in approximately 9 in 1,000 newborns, and early cardiac corrective surgery often requires partial or complete thymectomy. As the long-term effect of early thymectomy on the subsequent development of the immune system in humans has not been completely elucidated, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of thymus removal on the functional capacity of the immune system after different periods.

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and Scopus.

A Critical Review on the Standardization and Quality Assessment of Nonfunctional Laboratory Tests Frequently Used to Identify Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI), which were previously termed primary immunodeficiency diseases, represent a large and growing heterogeneous group of diseases that are mostly monogenic. In addition to increased susceptibility to infections, other clinical phenotypes have recently been associated with IEI, such as autoimmune disorders, severe allergies, autoinflammatory disorders, benign lymphoproliferative diseases, and malignant manifestations. The IUIS 2019 classification comprises 430 distinct defects that, although rare individually, represent a group affecting a significant number of patients, with an overall prevalence of 1:1,200-2,000 in the general population.

Persistent symptoms and decreased health-related quality of life after symptomatic pediatric COVID-19: A prospective study in a Latin American tertiary hospital.

Objectives: To prospectively evaluate demographic, anthropometric and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in pediatric patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: This was a longitudinal observational study of surviving pediatric post-COVID-19 patients (n=53) and pediatric subjects without laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 included as controls (n=52) was performed.

Results: The median duration between COVID-19 diagnosis (n=53) and follow-up was 4.

Poor Sleep quality and health-related quality of life impact in adolescents with and without chronic immunosuppressive conditions during COVID-19 quarantine.

Objective: To assess the possible factors that influence sleep quality in adolescents with and without chronic immunosuppressive conditions quarantined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 305 adolescents with chronic immunocompromised conditions and 82 healthy adolescents. Online surveys were completed, which included questions on socio-demographic data and self-rated healthcare routine during COVID-19 quarantine and the following validated questionnaires: the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.