Search results for " aspect"
showing 10 items of 1296 documents
Performance of a rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Cryptosporidium spp. in African children admitted to hospital with diarrhea
2020
Background Cryptosporidium is a protozoan parasite that causes mild to severe diarrhoeal disease in humans. To date, several commercial companies have developed rapid immunoassays for the detection of Cryptosporidium infection. However, the challenge is to identify an accurate, simple and rapid diagnostic tool for the estimation of cryptosporidiosis burden. This study aims at evaluating the accuracy of CerTest Crypto, a commercialized rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for the detection of Cryptosporidium antigens in the stool of children presenting with diarrhoea. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in four study sites in Sub-Saharan Africa (Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, and Tanzania), from…
The effects of acceptance and commitment therapy on eating behavior and diet delivered through face-to-face contact and a mobile app: a randomized co…
2018
Background Internal motivation and good psychological capabilities are important factors in successful eating-related behavior change. Thus, we investigated whether general acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) affects reported eating behavior and diet quality and whether baseline perceived stress moderates the intervention effects. Methods Secondary analysis of unblinded randomized controlled trial in three Finnish cities. Working-aged adults with psychological distress and overweight or obesity in three parallel groups: (1) ACT-based Face-to-face (n = 70; six group sessions led by a psychologist), (2) ACT-based Mobile (n = 78; one group session and mobile app), and (3) Control (n = 71; …
Disease severity in patients with visceral leishmaniasis is not altered by co-infection with intestinal parasites
2017
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease that affects the poorest communities and can cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Visceral leishmaniasis is characterized by the presence of Leishmania parasites in the spleen, liver and bone marrow, hepatosplenomegaly, pancytopenia, prolonged fever, systemic inflammation and low body mass index (BMI). The factors impacting on the severity of VL are poorly characterized. Here we performed a cross-sectional study to assess whether co-infection of VL patients with intestinal parasites influences disease severity, assessed with clinical and haematological data, inflammation, cytokine profiles and BMI. Data from VL patients was s…
No pre-zygotic isolation mechanisms between Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma bovis parasites: From mating interactions to differential gene ex…
2021
Species usually develop reproductive isolation mechanisms allowing them to avoid interbreeding. These preventive barriers can act before reproduction, “pre-zygotic barriers”, or after reproduction, “post-zygotic barriers”. Pre-zygotic barriers prevent unfavourable mating, while post-zygotic barriers determine the viability and selective success of the hybrid offspring. Hybridization in parasites and the underlying reproductive isolation mechanisms maintaining their genetic integrity have been overlooked. Using an integrated approach this work aims to quantify the relative importance of pre-zygotic barriers in Schistosoma haematobium x S. bovis crosses. These two co-endemic species cause sch…
Effectiveness of the physical activity intervention program in the PREDIMED-Plus study: a randomized controlled trial
2018
[Background] The development and implementation of effective physical activity (PA) intervention programs is challenging, particularly in older adults. After the first year of the intervention program used in the ongoing PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED)-Plus trial, we assessed the initial effectiveness of the PA component.
Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially sweetened beverages from childhood to adulthood in relation to socioeconomic status – 15 ye…
2018
Background In Norway, social inequalities in health and health-related behaviors have been reported despite the well-developed welfare state. The objective of the present study was to analyze; (i) the development in frequency of consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and artificially sweetened beverages (ASB) from childhood to adulthood; (ii) socioeconomic inequalities in the consumption of SSB and ASB using different indicators of socioeconomic status (SES); (iii) time trends in potential disparities in SSB and ASB consumption among different socioeconomic groups to assess the development in socioeconomic inequality from childhood to adulthood. Methods This study uses data from the…
Antibody trapping: A novel mechanism of parasite immune evasion by the trematode Echinostoma caproni
2017
Background Helminth infections are among the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases, causing an enormous impact in global health and the socioeconomic growth of developing countries. In this context, the study of helminth biology, with emphasis on host-parasite interactions, appears as a promising approach for developing new tools to prevent and control these infections. Methods/Principal findings The role that antibody responses have on helminth infections is still not well understood. To go in depth into this issue, work on the intestinal helminth Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) has been undertaken. Adult parasites were recovered from infected mice and cultured in vi…
Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids intake in children : the role of family-related social determinants
2020
Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids play a central role in neuronal growth and in the development of the human brain, since they are essential elements which depend on intake through diet to ensure an adequate amount. Fish and seafood are the main dietary sources of these fatty acids in Spain and in other countries. In order to assess the effect of the intake of common foods containing high amounts of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, a food frequency questionnaire was administered to parents of children and adolescents attending a primary school in Valencia (Spain), and the intake of dietary omega-3 such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was estima…
Dairy product consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in an elderly Spanish Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.
2015
PURPOSE The possible effects of dairy consumption on diabetes prevention remain controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the dairy consumption and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in an elderly Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS: We prospectively followed 3,454 non-diabetic individuals from the PREDIMED study. Dairy consumption was assessed at baseline and yearly using food frequency questionnaires and categorized into total, low-fat, whole-fat, and subgroups: milk, yogurt, cheeses, fermented dairy, concentrated full fat, and processed dairy. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models. RESU…
Extracellular non-coding RNA signatures of the metacestode stage of Echinococcus multilocularis
2020
Extracellular RNAs (ex-RNAs) are secreted by cells through different means that may involve association with proteins, lipoproteins or extracellular vesicles (EV). In the context of parasitism, ex-RNAs represent new and exciting communication intermediaries with promising potential as novel biomarkers. In the last years, it was shown that helminth parasites secrete ex-RNAs, however, most work mainly focused on RNA secretion mediated by EV. Ex-RNA study is of special interest in those helminth infections that still lack biomarkers for early and/or follow-up diagnosis, such as echinococcosis, a neglected zoonotic disease caused by cestodes of the genus Echinococcus. In this work, we have char…