Understanding progress and challenges in women's health and wellbeing in exemplar countries: a time-series study identifying positive outliers.

Background: Women's health and wellbeing (WHW) forms a multidimensional continuum across the life course, with intersecting power dynamics including socioeconomic and ethnic positioning. The WHW Exemplars project uses robust quantitative approaches to identify best-performing low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) in improving WHW across the entire life course.

Methods: Using the life course approach, we created a list of 32 cross-sectional indicators belonging to nine dimensions based on a conceptual framework to assess progress in WHW.

Improved estimates of foetal growth are associated with perinatal outcomes: A latent modelling approach in a population-based birth cohort.

Background: We aimed to estimate latent foetal growth conditions and explore their determinants among maternal characteristics and ultrasound biometric parameters. We additionally investigated the influence of foetal growth conditions on perinatal variables.

Methods: We used data from live-born singletons in the Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition in Acre, Brazil (MINA-Brazil Study) population-based birth cohort.

Prelacteal feeding and its relationship with exclusive breastfeeding and formula consumption among infants in low- and middle-income countries.

Background: Early feeding practices are important determinants of optimal feeding patterns later in life. We aimed to investigate if giving any fluids or foods other than breast milk during the first three days after birth (prelacteal feeds) affects exclusive breastfeeding and consumption of formula among children under six months of age in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from 85 nationally representative Demographic Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) in LMICs (2010-2019).

Thought on Food: A Systematic Review of Current Approaches and Challenges for Food Intake Detection.

Nowadays, individuals have very stressful lifestyles, affecting their nutritional habits. In the early stages of life, teenagers begin to exhibit bad habits and inadequate nutrition. Likewise, other people with dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or other conditions may not take food or medicine regularly.

First-food systems transformations and the ultra-processing of infant and young child diets: The determinants, dynamics and consequences of the global rise in commercial milk formula consumption.

The inappropriate marketing and aggressive promotion of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) undermines breastfeeding and harms child and maternal health in all country contexts. Although a global milk formula 'sales boom' is reportedly underway, few studies have investigated its dynamics and determinants. This study takes two steps.

Consumption of breast milk, formula and other non-human milk by children aged under 2 years: analysis of eighty-six low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and socio-economic inequalities in breast milk, breast milk substitutes (BMS) and other non-human milk consumption, by children under 2 years in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Design: We analysed the prevalence of continued breast-feeding at 1 and 2 years and frequency of formula and other non-human milk consumption by age in months. Indicators were estimated through 24-h dietary recall.

Synchrotron infrared nanospectroscopy on a graphene chip.

A recurring goal in biology and biomedicine research is to access the biochemistry of biological processes in liquids that represent the environmental conditions of living organisms. These demands are becoming even more specific as microscopy techniques are fast evolving in the era of single cell analysis. In the modality of chemical probes, synchrotron infrared spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) is a technique that is extremely sensitive to vibrational responses of materials; however, the classical optical limits prevent the technique to access the biochemistry of specimens at the subcellular level.

Vitamin A supplementation in Brazilian pregnant and postpartum women: a systematic review.

Objective: To assess the impact of vitamin A supplementation on adult pregnant and puerperal women in Brazil regarding the content of vitamin A and secretory immunoglobulin A on colostrum and breast milk, in child's health conditions, and in mother-child binomial vitamin A status.

Methods: A research was conducted in Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs electronic databases for the studies published between January 2000 and January 2014. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed according to Jadad scale.

Determinants of gestational night blindness in pregnant women from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Objective: To describe the prevalence and determinants of gestational night blindness in pregnant women receiving care in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Design: Cross-sectional study of pregnant and postpartum women receiving care in a public hospital in Rio de Janeiro from 1999 to 2001 (group I; n 225) or from 2005 to 2008 (group II; n 381). Night blindness was identified through a standardized and validated interview (WHO, 1996).

Quantitative (stereological) and qualitative study of rat epididymis after vasectomy and percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration.

Purpose: We investigated whether viable spermatozoa could be obtained from the rat epididymis after vasectomy by up to 5 percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration punctures. We analyzed the inflammatory and scar forming histological alterations to the epididymis due to these punctures. Epididymal smooth muscle fiber and collagen density were also analyzed.

Finasteride-associated male infertility.

Finasteride is a potent and specific inhibitor of the 5alpha-reductase enzyme in men. Clinical studies have shown that finasteride 1mg/day is effective for promoting hair growth in men with male pattern hair loss. However, there is a concern about the use of finasteride, especially in young fertile patients, because of its action on testosterone metabolism.