Population Of Northeastern Brazil Research Articles

Dietary Patterns and Wheezing in the Midst of Nutritional Transition: A Study in Brazil.

To assess the influence of dietary patterns on the prevalence of wheezing in the child and adolescent population in Northeastern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study of male and female students, 6-12 years old, from the public elementary schools of São Francisco do Conde, Bahia, Northeastern Brazil. The report of wheezing in the past 12 months was collected using a questionnaire from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Program phase III, adapted to Portuguese. Consumption patterns were derived from principal component analysis based on the frequency of consumption of 97 food items by the food frequency questionnaire. We also obtained the anthropometric status, level of physical activity, pubertal development, and socioeconomic information, for each participant. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the associations of interest. Of the children surveyed, 10.6% reported having wheezing. We identified 2 dietary patterns named Western and Prudent. We found a positive statistically significant association of the Western pattern with wheeze (odds ratio=1.77, 95% confidence interval: 1.10-2.84) after adjustment for total energy intake and controlling for potential confounders. The results showed that the Western dietary pattern was associated with wheezing. Our result is according with previous findings reported in several other studies.

Population genetics data on 15 STR markers in the population of Ceará State, Northeast Region of Brazil

In order to complement data obtained by other researchers who aimed to provide genetic data on the population of northeastern Brazil, the allele frequency of 15 short tandem repeats (STRs) obtained from 590 non-related individuals originating from different areas of Ceará State was determined. This group represents a hybrid population with a mixture of Native Americans, Caucasians and Africans. Our data demonstrate that the most polymorphic loci are D21S11 and Penta E. The statistical tests demonstrate that the frequency distributions of the loci analyzed are in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium.

Protective effect of Chresta martii extract on ethanol-induced gastropathy depends on alpha-2 adrenoceptors pathways but not on nitric oxide, prostaglandins or opioids

Ethnopharmacological relevanceSpecies of Chresta genus- are recognized by the population of northeastern Brazil as traditional herbs used to treat gastric diseases and other disorders. Aim of the studyThis work aimed to find out the action mechanism of Chresta martii hydro alcoholic extract gastro protective effect in the model of ethanol-induced gastropathy. Material and methodsGastropathy was assessed by percentual damaged area determination in photographs of mice opened stomachs. Fasted mice treated with ethanol 99.9% (0.2 ml/animal, p.o.) were pre-treated with Chresta martii hydro alcoholic extract (HAE) (50, 100 or 200 mg/kg, p.o.), ranitidine (80 mg/kg, p.o.) or saline (5 ml/kg; p.o.) in different experimental sets, in which pharmacological tools (naloxone, indomethacin, Nω-Nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) or yohimbine) were added in order to clarify a possible action mechanism. Animals were sacrificed 30 min after ethanol challenge to stomach analysis. Determination of non-protein sulfhydryl groups and tissue hemoglobin, besides histological assessment (H&E) were taken to fully characterize the HAE gastro protective effect. ResultsHAE (100 and 200 mg/kg) was able to protect mucosa against ethanol gastropathy in presence of three (naloxone, indomethacin and L-NAME) of four antagonist/inhibitor tools. The HAE effect was reversed only by yohimbine, showing the alpha-2 adrenoceptors participation on gastro protective effect of this extract. HAE histological characteristics, NP-SH and Hb were compatible with the protective effects. ConclusionsHAE possesses gastroprotective effects in an ethanol-induced gastropathy model in mice, corroborating the traditional use of this family of plants to treat gastric disorders. This activity is mediated by alpha-2 adrenoceptors activation, but not by nitric oxide release, opioid receptor activation or prostaglandin synthesis. HAE also has antioxidant activity that is thought to either play a role in this biological activity or to be a byproduct of alpha-2 adrenergic complex activation.

Tapping Masculinity: Labor Recruitment to the Brazilian Amazon during World War II

Tapping Masculinity: Labor Recruitment to the Brazilian Amazon during World War II

Leukocytosis and blood eosinophilia in a polyparasitised population in north-eastern Brazil

It has long been known that leukocytosis and blood eosinophilia are common in the tropical environment, but data derived from population-based studies are scarce. A study was undertaken in a fishing village in north-east Brazil where both intestinal helminthiases and parasitic skin diseases are common. Of 409 individuals studied, 128 (31.3%) were infected with one intestinal helminth or ectoparasite species, 93 (22.7%) with two, 61 (14.9%) with three, 25 (6.1%) with four and 11 (2.7%) with more than four species; no parasites were found in 91 (22.2%) individuals. Leukocyte counts ranged between 3,300 cells/microl and 16,100 cells/microl (median, 7,200 cells/microl) and eosinophil counts between 40 cells/microl and 5,460 cells/microl (median, 455 cells/microl). Eosinophilia (>500/microl) was detected in 44.7% of the individuals, and hypereosinophilia (>1,000/microl) in 12.9%. Thirty-six (8.8%) individuals showed leukocytosis. While 75% of individuals with normal eosinophil counts were considered parasite-free, only 14% with eosinophilia and 11% with hypereosinophilia did not have enteroparasites or ectoparasites. Multivariate regression showed that the probability of eosinophilia and hypereosinophilia, but not of leukocytosis, increased with the number of parasite species present. The data show that eosinophilia occurs in almost one-half of the individuals from a resource-poor setting and that it is significantly associated with the presence of intestinal helminths, but not with the presence of ectoparasites.

Short stature, obesity and arterial hypertension in a very low income population in North-eastern Brazil

This cross-sectional study involved the adult population (age >18 and <60 years) of a 315-shack slum on the outskirts of the city of Maceió in North-eastern Brazil. The purpose was to investigate whether short stature in adults (an indicator of undernutrition in early life) is associated with arterial hypertension and obesity. We collected the subjects socio-economic data, and arterial hypertension (AH), weight, height, waist circumference and waist/hip (W/H) circumference ratio measurements. Hypertension was diagnosed as diastolic AH f 90 mmHg and/or systolic AH f 140 mmHg. The body mass index (BMI) was used to determine nutritional status, with overweight/obesity being defined on the basis of a cut-off point of 25 kg/m2. A W/H ratio of f 0.80 for women or f 0.95 for men was considered indicative of abdominal obesity. Short stature was defined as falling into the 1st quartile (Q) of height distribution. Hypertension was prevalent in 28.5% of the population (women=38.5%; men=18.4%). The systolic and diastolic AH readings were significantly higher in women in the 1st Q than in those in the 4th Q, and the same was true of W/H. The prevalence of hypertension was statistically significant for the first two Q's in comparison with the last two: 22.1% vs 14.6% (men), and 42.4% vs 34.6% (women). Hypertension was more prevalent in women who were obese and short (50%) than in those who were obese but not short (OR=1.98; CI=1.22-2.96). Living conditions were extremely precarious and the prevalence of hypertension was quite high. Stature negatively correlated with hypertension and overweight in women but not in men.

Importance of ambient saturation deficits in an epizootic of the fungus Neozygites floridana in cassava green mites (Mononychellus tanajoa).

The mite-pathogenic fungus Neozygites floridana Fisher (Entomophthorales: Neozygitaceae) is considered to have potential for the biological control of the cassava green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar). However, its activity is sporadic and laboratory data suggest a strong dependence on night-time saturation deficits for transmission. We report on an epizootic of this fungus in a mite population in northeastern Brazil. During the epizootic, host populations appeared to he limited by a combination of the pathogen and a predatory mite Neoseiulus idaeus (Acari: Phytoseiidae). When temperatures increased, the epizootic finished and the host population began to grow. Abiotic conditions could not explain the variation in host mortality following pickup of infective propagules in this epizootic. However, night-time saturation did help to explain the variation in transmission from infective cadavers to newly killed hosts. This supports laboratory observations that horizontal transmission between hosts is determined mainly by saturation deficits, while the process of infection is little affected by abiotic conditions. A further field observation was the near-absence of resting spores in dead mites (ca. 0.1% of cadavers), suggesting that the pathogen population was unsuccessful in producing inoculum to infect future M. tanajoa populations. The implications are that this pathogen will only be effective as a biological control agent in periods of high relative humidity, and establishment in new areas may be limited by resting spore formation.

Mutations in the growth hormonereleasing hormone receptor: a new form of dwarfism in humans

We describe a recently identified new form of dwarfism due to isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency, secondary to inactivating mutations in the GH-releasing hormone receptor (GHRHR) gene. The identical nonsense mutations in the extracellular domain of the GHRHR (E72X or E50X, depending on whether the signal peptide is included in the numbering) has been independently described in three families residing on or originating from the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, the Bombay region, and Delft near Sri Lanka). Another inactivating mutation, involving the donor splice site of intron 1, has been identified in a population in north-eastern Brazil. Genetic transmission is autosomal recessive; the gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 7. Affected subjects have severe isolated GH deficiency and postnatal growth failure, with a mean adult height of 130 cm for men and 114 cm for women (7-8 standard deviations below the norm). Dwarfism is proportional; a characteristic feature is relative microcephaly, which results in a 'miniaturized adult', eumorphic aspect. Bone age and puberty are delayed, but fertility appears normal. This new syndrome corresponds to the human homologue of the previously identified 'little mouse'.

Frequencies of Atypical Serum Cholinesterase in a Mixed Population of Northeastern Brazil

Frequencies of the CHE1*A allele were estimated in 84 Whites and 772 Negroids from a random sample of Salvador, Bahia. The overall frequency of this gene in Negroids was estimated as 0.842 +/- 0.233%. This indicates that this sample presents around 50 +/- 17% of White admixture and that the estimate of the risk of developing prolonged apnoea in individuals submitted to suxamethonium is around 0.035%, that is about 1 out of 2,900.