Intervenção viabilizada por WhatsApp® para promoção da adesão às medidas preventivas na pandemia da COVID-19: um estudo piloto / Intervention made possible by WhatsApp® to promote adherence to preventive measures in the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot study

Analisar o potencial de eficácia do envio de mensagens validadas (texto e imagens), via WhatsApp®, na promoção da adesão ao uso de máscaras, distanciamento social e associar às variáveis sociodemográficas. Trata-se de um estudo com desenho quase-experimental, do tipo pré e pós-teste com 132 participantes, acompanhados por 60 dias. As mensagens foram enviadas semanalmente junto com os formulários de adesão. Ao final da intervenção os participantes responderam ao questionário de satisfação da pesquisa. Foram realizados testes de comparação e análises descritivas. Os achados deste estudo demonstraram impacto positivo da intervenção no envio de mensagens validadas, via WhatsApp®, na adesão ao uso de máscaras e distanciamento social durante a pandemia da COVID-19. A intervenção proposta neste estudo apresenta potencial de eficácia para adesão às medidas preventivas contra o vírus do SARS-CoV-2 e constitui uma ferramenta valiosa para profissionais de saúde atuarem no combate à pandemia.

To analyze the potential efficacy of sending validated messages (text and images) via WhatsApp® in promoting adherence to the use of masks and social distancing and to evaluate its association with the sociodemographic variables. This is a study with a quasi-experimental design, of the pre and post test type. 132 participants were enrolled and followed up for 60 days. Validated messages were sent weekly along with the forms referring to adherence. At the end of the intervention, they answered the survey satisfaction questionnaire. Descriptive analyzes and tests were carried out to compare measures of adherence to mask use and social distancing. The findings of this study demonstrated the positive impact of the intervention in sending validated messages via WhatsApp® on adherence to the use of masks and social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention proposed in this study has potential efficacy for adherence to preventive measures against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and constitutes a valuable tool for health professionals to act in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nutritional aspects of non-conventional edible plants from Brazil: Caruru (Amaranthus spinosus L) and trapoeraba (Commelina benghalensis).

Caruru (Amaranthus spinosus L) and trapoeraba (Commelina benghalensis) are NCEPs introduced into Brazil and are widely used by certain communities. Given the lack of information on carotenoids, vitamins, and minerals present in A. spinosus and C. benghalensis grown in Brazil, this study aimed to determine the proximate composition and the micronutrient profile of these two NCEPs obtained from family farming in the Middle Doce River (Médio Rio Doce) region in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The proximate composition was evaluated using AOAC methods, vitamin E by HPLC with fluorescence detection, vitamin C and carotenoids by HPLC-DAD, and minerals by atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma. In summary, the leaves of A. spinosus exhibited a high content of dietary fiber (10.20 g.100 g-1), potassium (708.8 mg·100 g-1), iron (4.0 mg·100 g-1) and ß-carotene (6.94 mg·100 g-1), while the leaves of C. benghalensis were sources of potassium (1399.31 mg·100 g-1), iron (5.7 mg·100 g-1), calcium (163 mg·100 g-1), zinc (1.3 mg·100 g-1), ascorbic acid (23.61 mg·100 g-1), and ß-carotene (31.33 mg·100 g-1). It was therefore concluded that C. benghalensis and A. spinosus, especially, presented excellent potential as important nutritional sources for human consumption, highlighting the gap existing between the available technical and scientific material, thus making them an important and necessary axis of research.

Pesticides as endocrine disruptors: programming for obesity and diabetes.

PURPOSE: Exposure to pesticides has been associated with obesity and diabetes in humans and experimental models mainly due to endocrine disruptor effects. First contact with environmental pesticides occurs during critical phases of life, such as gestation and lactation, which can lead to damage in central and peripheral tissues and subsequently programming disorders early and later in life. METHODS: We reviewed epidemiological and experimental studies that associated pesticide exposure during gestation and lactation with programming obesity and diabetes in progeny. RESULTS: Maternal exposure to organochlorine, organophosphate and neonicotinoids, which represent important pesticide groups, is related to reproductive and behavioral dysfunctions in offspring; however, few studies have focused on glucose metabolism and obesity as outcomes. CONCLUSION: We provide an update regarding the use and metabolic impact of early pesticide exposure. Considering their bioaccumulation in soil, water, and food and through the food chain, pesticides should be considered a great risk factor for several diseases. Thus, it is urgent to reformulate regulatory actions to reduce the impact of pesticides on the health of future generations.

Hepatic lipid metabolism in adult rats using early weaning models: sex-related differences.

Non-pharmacological early weaning (NPEW) induces liver damage in male progeny at adulthood; however, pharmacological early weaning (PEW) does not cause this dysfunction. To elucidate this difference in liver dysfunction between these two models and determine the phenotype of female offspring, de novo lipogenesis, ß-oxidation, very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) export, and gluconeogenesis in both sexes were investigated in the adult Wistar rats that were weaned after a normal period of lactation (control group) or early weaned either by restriction of access to the dams' teats (NPEW group) or by reduction of dams' milk production with bromocriptine (PEW group). The offspring received standard diet from weaning to euthanasia (PN180). NPEW males had higher plasma triglycerides and TyG index, liver triglycerides, and cholesterol by de novo lipogenesis, which leads to intracellular lipids accumulation. As expected, hepatic morphology was preserved in PEW males, but they showed increased liver triglycerides. The only molecular difference between PEW and NPEW males was in acetyl-CoA carboxylase-1 (ACC-1) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), which were lower in PEW animals. Both early weaning (EW) females had no changes in liver cholesterol and triglyceride contents, and the hepatic cytoarchitecture was preserved. The expression of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein was increased in both the female EW groups, which could constitute a protective factor. The changes in hepatic lipid metabolism in EW offspring were less marked in females. EW impacted in the hepatic cytoarchitecture only in NPEW males, which showed higher ACC-1 and SCD-1 when compared to the PEW group. As these enzymes are lipogenic, it could explain a worsened liver function in NPEW males.

Short and long-term effects of bisphenol S (BPS) exposure during pregnancy and lactation on plasma lipids, hormones, and behavior in rats.

Bisphenol S (BPS) has replaced bisphenol A (BPA), a known non-persistent endocrine disrupting chemical, in several products. Considering that little is known regarding BPS effects, especially during critical windows of ontogenetic development, and that BPA, which is quite similar to BPS, is know to be transferred to the offspring via the placenta and milk, in the present study we investigated the behavioral, biochemical and endocrine profiles of Wistar rats born from dams that were BPS-exposed [groups: BPS10 (10 µg/kg/day), BPS50 (50 µg/kg/day)] during pregnancy and lactation. Due to the non-monotonic dose-response effect of bisphenol, the data of both BPS groups were directly compared with those of the controls, not to each other. Males and females were analyzed separately. At weaning, male BPS50 offspring had hypotriglyceridemia and hyperthyroxinemia, whereas BPS50 females showed higher 25(OH)D levels. At adulthood, BPS offspring of both sexes had lower food intake. BPS males showed lower visceral adiposity. BPS50 females had smaller fat droplets in brown adipocytes. BPS males showed higher anxiety and higher locomotor activity, while BPS10 females showed lower exploration. During a food challenge test at adulthood, BPS males consumed more high-fat diet at 30 min. BPS10 females initially (at 30 min) consumed more high-fat diet but, after 12 h, less of this diet was consumed. BPS50 males had hypertriglyceridemia and lower plasma T3, while BPS females showed lower plasma T4. BPS10 females had lower progesterone, whereas BPS50 females had higher plasma 25(OH)D. Maternal BPS exposure has adverse effects on the triacylglycerol, hormones levels and behavior of the progeny. Furthermore, the increased preference for the fat-enriched diet suggests an increased risk for obesity and its health consequences in the long term.