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Abstract Background Previous studies found high prevalence of inadequate intakes of vitamins E, D and K, calcium and potassium among Brazilian pre-school children, with suboptimal consumption of dairy products. Dietary modelling was applied to determine the theoretical impact of improving dairy products consumption on nutrient adequacy in 4–5-year-old Brazilian children. Methods Adherence to the dairy recommendation of two servings/day was calculated using data from the Brazil Kids Nutrition and Health Study (KNHS) (n = 228). Two modelling scenarios were applied to test the impact on nutrient intakes of (1) adding one or two servings of a frequently consumed cow’s milk or a widely available fortified alternative: pre-school children milk (PCM), and of (2) substituting the current milk consumed by PCM. Mean nutrient intakes and percentage of children adhering to the nutrient recommendations were determined at baseline and after applying modelling scenarios. Results Seventy-six percent (n = 174) of children did not meet the recommended daily two servings of dairy products, 56% had less than one serving of dairy products on the day of recall. The mean consumption of whole milk (fortified and unfortified) was 147 g/d, yoghurt 114 g/d and cheese 34 g/d. The addition of one serving of cow’s milk demonstrated a 17% reduction in calcium inadequacy, 18% reduction in vitamin A and 3% reduction in zinc inadequacy. Adding one serving of PCM further reduced calcium inadequacy from 87 to 41%, vitamin E from 81 to 37%, and zinc inadequacy by 10%. Replacing the child’s current milk with a PCM resulted in further reduction of micronutrient inadequacies, including calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E. Conclusions Dairy products consumption in pre-school children should be encouraged to reduce nutrient inadequacies. In particular, consumption of PCM would help to reduce calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E inadequacy, nutrients of concern in this population.

IntroductionPlants and their insect herbivores represent a large fraction of the species in Amazonian forests and are often directly implicated in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity at local and regional scales. How these interactions may change over geographic distance is unknown because very few studies have investigated the herbivore fauna and defense chemicals of any host plant species at multiple sites in tropical forests. One hypothesis, the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution, predicts that if herbivore assemblages turn over in different parts of a plant’s range, then plant defense chemicals should also change, reflecting local selection pressures.MethodsWe tested this theory by studying 12 species of Protium (Burseraceae) trees that occur in both Iquitos, Peru, and Manaus, Brazil, in rainforests separated by 1500 km. We surveyed all insects observed directly feeding on the plants in both locations for 48 weeks in Manaus and 64 weeks in Iquitos. We analyzed the secondary metabolites in the leaves of all species in both locations using GC/MS and HPLC.Results and DiscussionAlthough in both locations we found that Protium herbivores were dominated by insects from the orders Hemiptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, we found almost complete turnover in the herbivore species composition in the two sites, and each host plant species had a different assemblage of herbivores in each location. Comparing the phylogenetic beta-diversity, we found low similarity in herbivore phylogenetic relatedness between host plant species in the two locations. However, the secondary metabolites found within a Protium species were similar across the two locations. We found no strong evidence that individuals from a host plant species in Iquitos or Manaus expressed locally-adapted defense chemicals, as individuals from geographic locations did not form clusters when looking at patterns of chemical similarity. These results are not consistent with the Geographic Mosaic Theory of Coevolution. The most intriguing pattern we found was a strong correlation between the diversity of herbivores per host plant species in both locations. We also found that plants with high chemical richness had lower numbers of herbivore species and numbers of total herbivores in both locations. We conclude that high chemical diversity is the most effective strategy for Protium trees to reduce insect herbivore attacks. We speculate that each secondary metabolite is effective at repelling only a few insect herbivores, and that different chemicals are likely effective in different parts of a plants’ geographic range. Future studies should investigate additional locations and additional natural enemies (i.e., fungal pathogens) to test the hypothesis that chemical diversity reduces attack from natural enemies and may explain the ecological and evolutionary success of rainforest trees over time and space.

Considering economics and environmental sustainability, recycling of critical metals from end-of-life devices should be a priority. In this work the hydrometallurgical treatment of a spent automotive catalytic converter (SACC) using HCl with CaCl2 as a leaching medium, and solvent extraction (SX) with a thiodiglycolamide derivative, is reported. The aim was to develop a leaching scheme allowing high Pt recoveries and minimizing Al dissolution, facilitating the application of SX. The replacement of part of HCl by CaCl2 in the leaching step is viable, without compromising Pt recovery (in the range 75–85%), as found for the mixture 2 M CaCl2 + 8 M HCl when compared to 11.6 M HCl. All leaching media showed good potential to recover Ce, particularly for higher reaction times and temperatures. Regarding SX, results achieved with a model solution were promising, but SX for Pt separation from the real SACC solution did not work as expected. For the adopted experimental conditions, the tested thiodiglycolamide derivative in toluene revealed a very good loading performance for both Pt and Fe, but Fe removal and Pt stripping from the organic phases after contact with the SACC solution were not successfully accomplished. Hence, the reutilization of the organic solvent needs improvement.

The objectives were to evaluate the properties of refined (ROO) and extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) in their natural state (fresh) and after heating, while comparing them with each other and with refined soybean (SBO) and refined sunflower seed oil (SFO). The methodology was designed to simulate, in controlled laboratory conditions, the home-frying process, while evaluating fatty acid profile (fatty acid methyl esters were separated by gas chromatography), concentration of phenolic compounds (Gallic acid dosage), antioxidant activity (DPPH), and production of polar compounds (thin layer chromatography) before and after heating to 200 °C for six minutes. It was observed that, before and after heating, SBO and SFO are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA) and ROO and EVOO are rich in monounsaturated FA. Fresh or heated, ROO and EVOO do not have trans FA, which are present in SBO and SFO, and increase in SBO after heating (+ 32.8%). The concentrations of phenolic compounds are always higher in olive oils, despite the decrease that occurs after heating (-7.5% in the ROO and -24.6% in EVOO). Antioxidant activity is greater when olive oils are fresh and remains present in EVOO after heating. The concentration of polar compounds was similar for all oils after heating. In conclusion, ROO and EVOO are the richest in monounsaturated FA even after heating, with no production of saturated or trans FA. Despite losing some antioxidant activity, heated EVOO remains richer in monounsaturated FA than ROO, SBO and SFO in the fresh version. All oils suffer similar rates of degradation.

Design: Observational cross-sectional. Objectives: To compare the lipid and glycemic profiles of obese children and adolescents, followed at a public or a private health service. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 113 obese patients, aged 7 to 18 years, conducted at two clinics, one public (n = 51) and the other private ( n = 62). Anthropometric data and blood samples were collected and glucose, insulin, HOMA and lipid profile have been compared between groups. Results: regarding averages, it was observed differences only for HDL, with lower values for public service. The prevalence of indicators outside the normal range, has always been above 45%, with the exception of hyperglycemia witch was rare. Only the prevalence of individuals with low HDL was different between groups, being lower at the private service. Conclusions: there was almost no hyperglycemia, but the prevalence of dyslipidemia and insulin resistance were high in both services. HDL was the only indicator that showed differences between the two groups and, considering that it is the most sensitive to the quality of nutrition and physical activity, it may be suggested that at the public health and on the individual management, these aspects should be better managed in lower income populations