Estrategias para mejorar el valor nutricional de los menús ofertados en residencias públicas para personas mayores / Strategies for improving nutritional value of the meals offered by public nursing homes for the elderly

Introducción: En los países desarrollados, las personas mayores constituyen un grupo de alto riesgo nutricional,siendo los ancianos institucionalizados los más vulnerables de este colectivo.Objetivos: Se ha valorado nutricionalmente los menús ofertados en diferentes residencias públicas de personas mayores de la Región de Murcia (España), con el fin de estudiar su adecuación a las recomendaciones y diseñar posibles estrategias que permitan mejorar el estado nutricional de los residentes. Métodos: Se estudiaron un total de 252 menús ofertados en seis residencias y se valoró el aporte de energía y de macronutrientes, el perfil calórico, la calidad de la grasa y el contenido de fibra y colesterol. Los resultados obtenidos fueron comparados con las recomendaciones españolas para personas mayores y con las de la dieta equilibrada y mediterránea. Resultados y Discusión: El aporte energético medio de los menús superó ampliamente las cantidades recomendadas.El perfil calórico fue adecuado en proteínas, deficitario en carbohidratos y excesivo en lípidos. La calidad de la grasa se adecuó a la recomendada tanto en la dieta equilibrada como en la dieta mediterránea. Por el contrario,el aporte medio de fibra fue inferior y el de colesterol superior a los valores recomendados. Conclusiones: Entre las posibles estrategias para mejorar el valor nutricional de los menús estaría reducir el contenido de grasa y colesterol de los mismos e incrementar el de hidratos de carbono y fibra, sustituyendo algunos platos de carnes rojas por platos de legumbres,pan y cereales refinados por integrales, y productos lácteos enteros por semidesnatados (AU)

Background: In developed countries, elderly people are considered a group of high risk for possible nutritional imbalances, particularly if they are institutionalized. Objectives: In the present study, the nutritional valueof the meals offered by public nursing homes for the elderly in province of Murcia (Spain) was assessed, to compare the results with Spanish recommendations and to propose possible strategies for improving the nutritiona lstatus of the residents. Methods: We studied 252 meals offered by six nursing homes, evaluating the energy and macronutrient contents, caloric profile, fat quality and cholesterol and fiber contents. The results were compared with Spanish recommendations for elderly people, and recommendations for a balanced and Mediterranean diet. Results and Discussion: The average energy content of the meals widely fulfilled the amounts of Recommended Dietary Intake for the elderly population. The caloric profile was adequate as regards proteins, low in carbohydrates and high in lipids. The fat quality was adequate, the cholesterol content was higher and the fiber content lower that the recommended amounts. Conclusions: Among possible strategies to improve the nutritional value of the meals, could be a reduction in the fat and cholesterol contents and an increase in carbohydrate and fiber contents, by replacing some red meat dishes by legumes, bread and refined cereals by whole meal foods, and fat full dairy products by low fat equivalents (AU)

[Strategies for improving nutritional value of the meals offered by public nursing homes for the elderly]. / Estrategias para mejorar el valor nutricional de los menús ofertados en residencias públicas para personas mayores.

BACKGROUND: In developed countries, elderly people are considered a group of high risk for possible nutritional imbalances, particularly if they are institutionalized. OBJECTIVES: In the present study, the nutritional value of the meals offered by public nursing homes for the elderly in province of Murcia (Spain) was assessed, to compare the results with Spanish recommendations and to propose possible strategies for improving the nutritional status of the residents. METHODS: We studied 252 meals offered by six nursing homes, evaluating the energy and macronutrient contents, caloric profile, fat quality and cholesterol and fiber contents. The results were compared with Spanish recommendations for elderly people, and recommendations for a balanced and Mediterranean diet. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The average energy content of the meals widely fulfilled the amounts of Recommended Dietary Intake for the elderly population. The caloric profile was adequate as regards proteins, low in carbohydrates and high in lipids. The fat quality was adequate, the cholesterol content was higher and the fiber content lower that the recommended amounts. CONCLUSIONS: Among possible strategies to improve the nutritional value of the meals, could be a reduction in the fat and cholesterol contents and an increase in carbohydrate and fiber contents, by replacing some red meat dishes by legumes, bread and refined cereals by wholemeal foods, and fat full dairy products by low fat equivalents.

Rosmarinic acid, a photo-protective agent against UV and other ionizing radiations.

Solar UV and other ionizing radiations cause a generation of reactive oxygen species, induce cellular DNA damage and alter skin homeostasis. The use of exogenous antioxidants is increasingly frequents, we attempt to demonstrate that a rosmarinic acid extract acts as photo-protector; both free radical scavenger as an inducer of the body's own endogenous defence mechanisms by regulating tyrosinase activity and stimulating melanin production. Malonyldialdehyde formation (TBARS) was delayed when RA was used. The protection factor was 3.24 times vs AA. TEAC value for RA was 1.6 times vs AA. The radioprotective-antimutagenic effects of RA were measure using the micronucleus test. The level of micronucleous for treatments before irradiation was: RA [14]

Identification of immunoreactive proteins of Chlamydia trachomatis by Western blot analysis of a two-dimensional electrophoresis map with patient sera.

Western blots of two-dimensional electrophoretic maps of proteins from Chlamydia trachomatis were probed with sera from 17 seropositive patients with genital inflammatory disease. Immunoblot patterns (comprising 28 to 2 spots, average 14.8) were different for each patient; however, antibodies against a spot-cluster due to the chlamydia-specific antigen outer membrane protein-2 (OMP2) were observed in all sera. The next most frequent group of antibodies (15/17; 88%) recognized the hsp60 GroEL-like protein, described as immunopathogenic in chlamydial infections. Reactivity to the major surface-exposed and variable antigen major outer membrane protein (MOMP) was observed at a relatively lower frequency (13/17; 76%). The hsp70 DnaK-like protein was also frequently recognized (11/17; 64.7%) in this patient group. Besides the above confirmatory findings, the study detected several new immunoreactive proteins, with frequencies ranging from 11/17 to 1/17. Some were characterized also by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and homology searches. Amongst these were a novel outer membrane protein (OmpB) and, interestingly, five conserved bacterial proteins: four (23%) sera reacted with the RNA polymerase alpha-subunit, five (29%) recognized the ribosomal protein S1, eight (47%) the protein elongation factor EF-Tu, seven (41%) a putative stress-induced protease of the HtrA family, and seven sera (41%) the ribosomal protein L7/L12. Homologs of the last two proteins were shown to confer protective immunity in other bacterial infections. The data show that immunological sensitization processes commonly thought to play a role in chlamydial pathogenicity may be sustained not only by the hsp60 GroEl-like protein, but also by other conserved bacterial antigens, some of which may be also considered as potential vaccine candidates.

Characterization of Chlamydia trachomatis l2-induced tyrosine-phosphorylated HeLa cell proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular bacteria, inducing its own uptake in nonprofessional phagocytes either by phagocytosis or pinocytosis. We have previously shown that C. trachomatis L2 induces tyrosine phosphorylation of eukaryotic proteins upon their entry by phagocytosis. In this paper we characterize the tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In immunoblotting with anti-phosphotyrosine antibodies of C. trachomatis L2-infected HeLa cells, but not with uninfected cells, two rows of spots were observed with a molecular mass of 69 and 71 kDa and pI from 5.0 to 5.2. In addition, a single spot of 100 kDa and pI 6.2 was observed.

Mapping of Chlamydia trachomatis proteins by immobiline-polyacrylamide two-dimensional electrophoresis: spot identification by N-terminal sequencing and immunoblotting.

Proteins from purified elementary bodies of Chlamydia trachomatis were separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis on nonlinear wide-range immobilized pH gradients in the first dimension and polyacrylamide gradient gels in the second dimension. The maps obtained with this system are highly reproducible and resolve ca. 600 spots. By using immunoblot analysis with specific antibodies and/or N-terminal amino acid sequencing, we established the map positions of a number of described chlamydial proteins, such as the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) the 60 kDa cystein-rich outer membrane protein (OMP2), the DnaK-like, GroEL-like, and macrophage infectivity potentiator (MIP)-like proteins, the plasmid-encoded pgp3 protein, two ribosomal proteins (S1 and L7/L12), and the protein-elongation factor EF-Tu. Other proteins, for which gene assignment was not possible, have been identified by three parameters (Mr, pI and N-terminal sequence). This work provides a preliminary basis for a future and progressive compilation of a genome-linked database of chlamydial proteins.

Modulation of DNA topology by flaR, a new gene from Listeria monocytogenes.

We report the identification of a previously unknown Listeria monocytogenes gene, flaR, which modulates DNA topology. Through the analysis of a Tn917 non-motile mutant, LOSC1, in which production of flagellin was abolished, we have identified a bacterial component involved in gene regulation. The transposon had inserted in flaR, an open reading frame of 531 bp, followed by a second open reading frame of 1252 bp in reverse orientation. On the L. monocytogenes physical map, flaR was located in a different region from that of the flaA gene encoding flagellin. Transcriptional analysis showed that the flaR gene product affects the flaA expression and negatively regulates its own expression. When expressed in Escherichia coli, flaR encodes a protein of 18 kDa (FlaR) whose transcription is osmoregulated. In addition, FlaR also influences the expression of reporter genes containing supercoiling-sensitive promoters such as proU or ompC. The data presented here suggest that FlaR is a histone-like bacterial protein which acts at specific sites to influence DNA topology and, therefore, transcription. flaR is the first gene of this class to be described in Gram-positive pathogenic bacteria.