Food security and fruit and vegetable consumption among preschoolers: an exploratory study during the COVID-19 pandemic

Studies that assess food insecurity and its association with the consumption of fruits, legumes, and vegetables (FLV) can help identify groups and risk factors of inadequate food consumption, in order to propose assertive nutritional interventions. The aim of this study was to describe FLV consumption by children in different food security situations. This is an exploratory cross-sectional study, conducted with parents/guardians of 44 children from zero to four years old. The short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale and a Food Frequency Questionnaire were applied to parents/guardians via a telephone interview. The children were 2.6 years old on average, 56.8% were female, 67.5% were eutrophic, and 70.5% of the families were in a situation of food insecurity. For households in a situation of food security, the median consumption of FLV was 213.4 g/day (P25=97.89;P75=425.91). As for those in a situation of food insecurity, the median FLV was 105.4 g/day (P25=33.58;P75=205.16). It was concluded that the consumption of FLV by children from families in a situation of food security is higher than that of children in a situation of food insecurity, who are strongly influenced by the offer of cheap food with low nutritional quality. Public policies are needed to favor the guarantee of access to FLV of quality and at an affordable cost for all families.

Praise the alarm: Spain's coronavirus approach

There was dancing in the streets in Spain at midnight, as 9 May turned into 10 May 2021, and the state of emergency lapsed - in the official argot, a "state of alarm," under which the Spanish government had imposed nationwide Coronavirus restrictions. The first COVID-19 lockdown lasted 94 days. The second one went on for nearly seven months. This chapter examines the challenge and the response of Spanish law, government, and society to the unprecedented global pandemic in 2020-2021, especially in the aspect of the state of emergency as government in the extreme. Spain - as in: Spanish law and society - maintains a peculiar or perhaps peculiarly Spanish relationship to emergency laws, which, broadly speaking, prove troublesome in other democracies, particularly those with totalitarian or authoritarian legacies within a human memory. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Duration of symptoms caused by COVID-19 in patients discharged from tertiary hospitals in Ceará

Despite advances in knowledge about COVID-19, little is known about the course of the disease and its long-term outcomes. Therefore, post-pandemic research has focused on the sequelae and complications caused by the Coronavirus. Thus, the objective was to investigate symptomatological remains and their duration of discharged patients hospitalized for COVID-19 from three regional hospitals in Ceará. This is a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach carried out from August to October 2021 through telesurvey. The final sample consisted of 49 patients in the first wave of the pandemic and 153 in the second, totaling 202 participants. Data were tabulated in an Excel® spreadsheet and analyzed according to descriptive statistics. There is a prevalence of male patients, 31 (63.3%) in the first period investigated, and 86 (56.2%) in the second wave. In the investigation of physical symptoms, fatigue/tiredness stood out, identified in 23 (46.9%) and 69 (45.1%) individuals according to the wave, followed by a lack of appetite in 13 (26.5%) and (40.5%). Shortness of breath was highlighted in the second period among 39 (25.5%) individuals. Symptoms such as memory loss, cough, and chest pain appear to be the most lasting, and were prevalent for up to 4 months after hospital discharge. While in the 2nd wave chest pain was cited lasting up to 6 months. In this context, this study exposes the main symptoms reported, pointing to the imminent need for public strategies for monitoring and intervention services with these patients. © 2022 Centro Universitario Sao Camilo. All rights reserved.

Severe Sars-Cov 2 Lung Infection in a 2-Year-Old Girl Undergoing Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case Report

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Sars-CoV-2 infection can lead to severe pulmonary impairment at all ages, however, the best therapy in children is not established. Our objective is to discuss a severe pulmonary case in a pediatric oncology patient who presented good clinical evolution and the therapeutic measures chosen in its management. METHOD(S): Case report and literature review. RESULT(S): A 2-year-old girl undergoing chemotherapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia had received cytarabine and methotrexate one week before being admitted to the ward for febrile neutropenia, identified with Sars-Cov-2 infection by RT-PCR. Referred to pediatric intensive care on day 3 of symptoms when she was prostrate and antibiotics switched to a broader spectrum. On day 8 of symptoms she rapidly developed respiratory failure and required mechanical ventilation at high parameters, CT scan showed lesions in ground glass in 75% of the lung parenchyma. On day 9, she was still feverish and showed altered inflammatory tests, such as ferritin 4492 mcg/L D-dimer 5909 ng/dL CRP 28 mg/ dL. Cardiac, hepatic and renal functions remained stable. At that moment, the patient received gammaglobulin 2g/kg in a single dose and methylprednisolone 2mg/kg/day for 5 days. Substantial improvement was observed 48 hours after the introduction of anti-inflammatory therapy, allowing for weaning and extubation after 7 days of mechanical ventilation. 72 hours after extubation, she was discharged home, breathing normally on room air. CONCLUSION(S): Severe Sars-Cov-2 lung infection in a pediatric oncology patient with markedly high inflammatory tests was treated with anti-inflammatory therapies such as steroids and gammaglobulin, with rapid and favorable recovery (Figure Presented).

Prospects of ZnS and ZnO as smart semiconductor materials in light-activated antimicrobial coatings for mitigation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 infection.

We carried out theoretical and experimental analyses of ZnO and ZnS nanoparticles as smart semiconductor materials in light-activated antimicrobial coating for application in masks. We used low-cost hydrothermally processable precursors to direct the growth of the coatings on cotton fabric. Both ZnO and ZnS coatings had high reactivities as disinfection agents in photocatalysis reactions for the degradation of a methylene blue dye solution. Also, these coatings showed excellent UV protection properties. For understanding at the molecular level, the broad-spectrum biological activities of the ZnO and ZnS coatings against Fusarium Oxysporum fungi, Escherichia coli bacteria, and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and their variants, were investigated computationally. Hexagonal Zn6O6 and Zn6S6 clusters were used as models for the simulations through excited- and ground-state calculations. The theoretical findings show that changes in the local chemical environment in these excited systems have a profound impact on their physical and chemical properties and thus, can provide a better understanding to engineer new functional materials in light-activated antimicrobial coatings for the mitigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Dynamics of Leukocyte Subpopulations Reconstitution Predict Infection Propensity in a Multiethnic Real World Cohort Treated with Anti-CD19 CAR-T Cell Therapy (Axicabtagene-Ciloleucel)

Background: Adoptive immunotherapy using CD19-targeted Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cells (CAR-T) has revolutionized the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We have demonstrated the efficacy of FDA-approved axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) in a multiethnic New York City underserved population with 80% complete response (CR) rate in the first ten patients treated at our institution (Abbasi et al., 2020). There is limited data on the propensity of infections and lymphohematopoietic reconstitution after Day 30 (D30) following CAR-T cell therapy. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and nature of infectious complications in an expanded cohort of DLBCL patients treated with CD19 CAR-T therapy and its association with the dynamics of leukocyte subpopulation reconstitution post-CAR-T cell therapy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients who received CAR-T therapy at our institution between 2018-2020. Variables collected include patient demographics, absolute neutrophil (ANC), lymphocyte (ALC) and monocyte counts (AMC) at Day 30, hematologic reconstitution (ANC≥ 1500/µL) at Day 90 (D90), presence or absence of infections after D30 by clinical and/or microbiological parameters. Associations between presence of infection and D30 ANC, ALC, AMC, ANC/ALC ratio, AMC/ALC ratio were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis test. Association between infection and hematologic reconstitution at D90 was done using Chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier curves with log-rank test were used to evaluate overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Results: Nineteen patients were evaluated in our study, consisting of 42% (8) Hispanic, 32% (6) Caucasian, 21% (4) African-American, and 5% (1) Asian subjects. Based on clinical and microbiologic data, 47% (9) developed an infection after D30 (infection group) while 53% (10) of subjects remained infection-free after D30 (non-infection group). The most common infection type observed was viral (11 patients) followed by bacterial (8 patients) and fungal (3 patients) (Table 1). Of 25 total infectious events, 44% (11) were grade 1 or 2 and 48% (12) were grade 3 with 10 being viral in etiology. Two deaths occurred due to an infectious process. Three patients tested SARS-CoV-2 positive and were hospitalized with COVID-19 pneumonia. Median OS and PFS has not been reached in either group. To determine the kinetics of lymphohematopoietic reconstitution and its association with infection risk, we evaluated the relationship between cytopenias and rates of infection after D30. Notably, compared to non-infection group, infection group had a higher median ALC (1000/µL vs 600/µL p=0.04), a lower median ANC/ALC ratio (1.4 vs 4.5 p<0.01) and a lower median AMC/ALC at D30 (0.36 vs 1.33, p=0.01) (Table 2). In addition, patients in the infection group had a lower rate of hematologic reconstitution (ANC >1500/µL) at D90. We observed that only 22% (2) of patients had recovered ANC > 1500/µLin the infection group as opposed to 80% (8) in the non-infection group at D90 (p= 0.038). Rates of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) were comparable between the two groups (55.6% vs 70% p=0.52). Surprisingly, rates of immune-effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) was lower (55.6%) in the infection group compared to (90%) non-infection group (p=0.09). Fourteen of 19 patients had follow-up over one year, of which 8 (57%) remained in complete remission (CR). Conclusions: We demonstrate an infection rate of 47% (9) beyond D30 in patients undergoing CD19 CAR-T. Increased ALC, lower ANC/ALC and AMC/ALC ratios at D30 may be predictive of infectious complications. Median OS has not been reached in our cohort. Given the potential clinical impact, our observations should be corroborated using larger datasets. [Formula presented] Disclosures: Steidl: Pieris Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy;Bayer Healthcare: Research Funding;Stelexis Therapeutics: Consultancy, Current equity holder in private company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Ai eron Therapeutics: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Janakiram: ADC Therapeutics, FATE therapeutics, TAKEDA pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Verma: BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding;acceleron: Consultancy, Honoraria;Janssen: Research Funding;stelexis: Current equity holder in private company;Medpacto: Research Funding.