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Objectives The new incremental step test (IST) is a field test that was developed for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), based on the characteristics of the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT); however, its measurement properties still need to be determined. We aimed, first, to assess the construct validity (through the comparison with the ISWT), within-day reliability and measurement error of the IST in people with COPD; and, second, to identify whether the participants have a learning effect in the IST.Design Cross-sectional study, conducted according to COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement INstruments guidelines.Setting A family health unit in Portugal, April 2022 to June 2023.Participants and analysis 63 participants (67.5±10.5 years) attended two sessions to perform two IST and two ISWT, separately. Spearman’s correlations were used to compare the best performances between the IST and the ISWT. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) was used for reliability, and the SE of measurement (SEM), minimal detectable change at 95% CI (MDC95) and Bland and Altman 95% limits of agreement (LoA) were used for measurement error. The learning effect was explored with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.Results The IST was significant and strongly correlated with the ISWT (0.720.05).Conclusions The IST can be suggested as a valid and reliable test to assess exercise capacity in people with COPD, with no learning effect when two IST are performed on the same day. The measurement error of the IST is considered indeterminate.Trial registration number NCT04715659.

Assessment instruments for functioning in general and quality of life in particular often involve discrete scales with three, four, or five values, or Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) with a range 0–100. VAS scales often need to be downsized and discretized using intervals or clusters. Cutoff points for these intervals/clusters need to be carefully selected and justified. Our objective was to underline the importance of providing clear interpretations of many-valuedness appearing in quality-of-life (QoL) instruments, and to present a methodology for the provision of such clearness. Doing so, we view QoL scales as originating within the World Health Organization (WHO).

Diets with a low glycemic index (GI) and a low glycemic load (GL) can improve glycemic control, blood lipids, blood pressure and BMI in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but evidence regarding other aspects of cardiometabolic health is limited. We searched the literature for RCTs published from 2013 to 2023 and reviewed the evidence on low-GI/GL diets and their effects on different aspects of health in prediabetes and T2DM, aiming to build a report on all relevant outcomes included in the studies. We included 14 RCTs with 1055 participants, who were mostly middle-aged individuals with T2DM. Interventions were mostly low GI and lasted 1–36 months. Low-GI/GL foods and diets showed benefits in terms of short-term glycemic control, weight and adiposity. Longer-term trials would be necessary to determine whether these benefits persist over time and/or lead to lower CVD risk and mortality. Effects on lipid profile were inconsistent. Some studies also reported positive effects of low-GI/GL interventions on blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, renal function and gut microbiota composition. Future trials should focus on some of these novel outcome measures, which may provide important insights into the metabolic effects of low-GI diets on individuals with diabetes.

Oxalate is an antinutrient present in a wide range of foods, with plant products, especially green leafy vegetables, being the main sources of dietary oxalates. This compound has been largely associated with hyperoxaluria, kidney stone formation, and, in more severe cases, systematic oxalosis. Due to its impact on human health, it is extremely important to control the amount of oxalate present in foods, particularly for patients with kidney stone issues. In this review, a summary and discussion of the current knowledge on oxalate analysis, its extraction conditions, specific features of analytical methods, reported occurrence in foods, and its health implications are presented. In addition, a brief conclusion and further perspectives on whether high-oxalate foods are truly problematic and can be seen as health threats are shown.

This study explored the view that distributors have towards the most valued wine attributes by consumers in the US market, applying the discrete choice experiments technique. Furthermore, to explore the extent to which the distributors’ perspective may reflect consumers’ preferences, the results are analyzed considering previous evidence with consumers in the same market. The results from a scaled multinomial logit, mixed logit and generalized logit models reveal similarities with consumer studies’ findings, especially for the influence of medals/awards, the origin of the wine, grape variety, and price, and it also identifies possible trends in the market. This evidence suggests that data collected using the knowledge and experience of wine distributors generates valuable information through a smaller sample at a lower cost than through applying consumer surveys, which is relevant in large markets with a higher number of consumers.

Step tests are important in community- and home-based rehabilitation programs to assess patients’ exercise capacity. A new incremental step test was developed for this purpose, but its clinical interpretability is currently limited. This study aimed to establish a reference equation for this new incremental step test (IST) for the Portuguese adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on people without disabilities. Sociodemographic (age and sex), anthropometric (weight, height, and body mass index), smoking status, and physical activity (using the brief physical activity assessment tool) data were collected. Participants performed two repetitions of the IST and the best test was used to establish the reference equation with a forward stepwise multiple regression. An analysis comparing the results from the reference equation with the actual values was conducted with the Wilcoxon test. A total of 155 adult volunteers were recruited (60.6% female, 47.8 ± 19.7 years), and the reference equation was as follows: steps in IST = 475.52 − (4.68 × age years) + (30.5 × sex), where male = 1 and female = 0, and r2 = 60%. No significant differences were observed between the values performed and those obtained by the equation (p = 0.984). The established equation demonstrated that age and sex were the determinant variables for the variability of the results.

Aim of study: This study aims to analyse how psychological factors related to the Covid-19 lockdown affected the frequency of wine consumption among Iberian consumers. Area of study: To achieve this goal, we used data collected from an online survey in Europe comprising 4489 observations from Portuguese and Spanish samples. Material and methods: Using an ordered probit model, we analysed the wine consumption frequency as a function of a set of explanatory variables related to psychological factors and also sociodemographic variables, motivation-related variables and consumption characterisation. Main results: For Spanish respondents the fear of isolation was a decisive factor in increasing the probability of a higher frequency of wine consumption. Meanwhile, in Portugal, the fear of an economic crisis was the psychological factor leading to a higher consumption frequency. Research highlights: In both countries, psychological factors influenced the frequency of wine consumption during the lockdown due to Covid-19. However, the impact of the Covid-19 crisis has been felt differently in Spain and Portugal. Differences can be observed in both psychological and behavioural attitudes that have influenced the frequency of wine consumption and could also indicate significant cultural differences.

Price is a core component of both wine firms’ and consumers’ decision-making and so there has been a lot of analysis of the determinants of wine price. Most of the research has used the hedonic price function and assumed that the wine market is homogeneous with respect to both distribution channel and price segments. In this paper, a hedonic price function is estimated using data from a specialist retailer and a large supermarket, i.e., retailers in two different consumer market segments, niche and mass market, respectively. We conclude that the wine market is heterogeneous, and the importance of the various price determinants differs between distribution channels and, in the case of the specialist retailer, throughout the conditional statistical distribution of the price. This result may help the wine companies to place themselves in the market value chain.

Objetivo: O consumo de estatinas tem aumentado ao longo dos anos, tendo sido descritas alterações na função cognitiva. Sabe-se que o cérebro contém cerca de 25% do colesterol presente no corpo humano. O objetivo desta revisão é avaliar os efeitos laterais cognitivos das estatinas em adultos que tomam esta classe de antidislipidémicos. Fontes de dados: National Guideline Clearinghouse, Guidelines Finder da National Electronic Library for Health do NHS britânico, Canadian Medical Association Practice Guidelines Infobase, The Cochrane Library, Bandolier, DARE, Clinical Evidence e PubMed. Métodos de revisão: Pesquisa de artigos publicados entre janeiro de 2013 e janeiro de 2018, nas línguas portuguesa e inglesa, utilizando os termos MeSH Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors e Cognitive Dysfunction. Utilizou-se a escala Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT), da American Academy of Family Physicians, para atribuição dos níveis de evidência e forças de recomendação. Resultados: Foram encontrados 58 artigos, dos quais oito cumpriam os critérios de inclusão e exclusão: duas revisões sistemáticas, quatro revisões, um estudo observacional e um artigo de opinião. Após leitura destes estudos verificaram-se resultados contraditórios: uns mostram efeitos laterais das estatinas na cognição, outros não mostram qualquer diferença quando comparados com o placebo e outros ainda sugerem em efeito protetor na demência. Vários estudos não apresentam poder estatístico para avaliar os riscos. Conclusões: São necessários estudos prospetivos controlados para avaliar os efeitos das estatinas na função cognitiva a curto e a longo prazo. A evidência não apoia a alteração das guidelines, mas defende que as queixas não sejam desvalorizadas.

Consumer interest in foods with enhanced nutritional quality has increased in recent years. The nutritional and bioactive characterization of fruits and their byproducts, as well as their use in the formulation of new food products, is advisable, contributing to decrease the global concerns related to food waste and food security. Moreover, the compounds present in these raw materials and the study of their biological properties can promote health and help to prevent some chronic diseases. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill. (prickly pear) is a plant that grows wild in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world, being a food source for ones and a potential for others, but not properly valued. This paper carries out an exhaustive review of the scientific literature on the nutritional composition and bioactive compounds of prickly pear and its constituents, as well as its main biological activities and applications. It is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins and bioactive compounds. Many of its natural compounds have interesting biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and antimicrobial. The antioxidant power of prickly pear makes it a good candidate as an ingredient of new food products with fascinating properties for health promotion and/or to be used as natural extracts for food, pharmaceutic or cosmetic applications. In addition, it could be a key player in food security in many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, where there are often no more plants.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a saúde ambiental de cinco lagoas: da Prata, do Pau, Vermelha, Silvana e Nova, em uma região do Médio Rio Doce no Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Foram avaliadas a composição e a distribuição de macroinvertebrados bentônicos relacionados com a presença de parâmetros biológicos (grupo coliforme), físicos (temperatura) e químicos (oxigênio dissolvido ― OD, condutividade, pH, potencial de redução) em cada uma das lagoas mencionadas. As amostragens de macroinvertebrados foram realizadas entre dezembro de 2007 e janeiro de 2009. Os táxons identificados foram analisados a partir de índices de diversidade Shannon- Wiener (H’), uniformidade Pielou (e), Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP), Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT), índice biótico de família (IBF) e análise de componentes principais (ACP). Fatores como a abundância das famílias Thiaridae e Physidae, OD, o potencial de redução, a pluviosidade, a presença de macrófitas aquáticas e a contaminação da água por coliformes foram os parâmetros que mais influenciaram na distribuição e composição da assembleia de macroinvertebrados e nas condições de balneabilidade das lagoas estudadas.

Resumo O estilo de vida das famílias tem sofrido alterações profundas, traduzindo-se, entre outros fatores, na redução do tempo para preparação das refeições. Pelo referido, as vendas de alimentos confeccionados, caso dos salgados, têm tido um crescimento contínuo. Este trabalho de investigação teve como objetivos: (1) determinar os teores de sal, gordura total e o perfil em ácidos graxos de salgados prontos para comer; (2) correlacionar os diversos componentes analisados; (3) analisar a evolução da composição dos salgados com base na comparação com os valores da literatura, e (4) estimar os benefícios/riscos para a saúde da população, tendo por base as recomendações de referência. Foram avaliados, em 2015, 12 tipos de salgados prontos para comer. O teor de gordura total foi determinado pelo método de hidrólise ácida, seguido de extração em Soxhlet, com éter de petróleo. O teor de sal foi determinado utilizando-se o método de Charpentier-Volhard. Para o perfil de ácidos graxos, utilizou-se um método de cromatografia gasosa com detecção por ionização em chama. O teor de gordura variou entre 9,14 g/100 g (pataniscas de bacalhau) e 28,9 g/100 g (chamuças de carne). O teor de sal mais elevado foi de 2,13 g/100 g (croquetes de carne). No entanto, uma unidade de empada de requeijão pode contribuir com 45% da ingestão diária de sal recomendada. Os ácidos graxos majoritários, em 58% das amostras analisadas, eram poli-insaturados, e os seus teores variaram entre 3,54 g/100 g (empadas de galinha) e 15,5 g/100 g (chamuças de carne). Todas as amostras analisadas tinham teores de ácidos graxos trans inferiores a 2% do teor de gordura total. De uma forma geral, os salgados prontos para comer analisados tinham teores elevados de gordura e de sal, devendo, por isso, o seu consumo ser moderado. No entanto, na maior parte das amostras, o teor de ácidos graxos insaturados era superior aos saturados. No que se refere aos teores de ácidos graxos trans, estes alimentos podem ser considerados seguros.