Knowledge and perception about the welfare and mistreatment of dogs in Brazil

by Gabriela Ferreira Siano, Camila Stefanie Fonseca de Oliveira, Felipe Gaia de Sousa, Suzane Lilian Beier, Adriane Pimenta da Costa-Val

Animal welfare encompasses the overall well-being of an animal, spanning both its physical and mental health, assessable through potential measurements. It stands in contrast to mistreatment, which involves actions, direct or indirect, that endanger an animal’s well-being. This study sought to appraise the factors influencing the Brazilian population’s understanding of dog welfare and mistreatment. The survey questions were adapted from the Animal Welfare Examination Protocol, utilized by veterinarians to evaluate suspected passive abuse cases in dogs. Out of 1377 responses, 1353 were valid and analyzed. Among the 19 assessed indicators, 15 demonstrated an adequate response rate surpassing 90% of all 1353 responses. However, for three questions related to comfort, a smaller yet notable percentage of responses were only minimally adequate. Moreover, in one question within the comfort assessment, 186 participants (13.74%) provided inadequate responses. This implies that these people could potentially subject animals to a state of low Animal Welfare. Lack of knowledge emerged as a potential root of passive abuse, specifically negligence. In the assessment of nutritional indicators, water supply and quality received unanimous adequate responses. In evaluating comfort perceptions, significant associations were noted between gender, dog ownership, family income, and responses regarding resting surface. Regarding health indicators, the majority responded appropriately. Female gender and dog ownership correlated with providing the appropriate response, while not owning a dog was associated with minimally adequate responses. In the context of comfort indicators, "Hitting the Dog" also demonstrated an association with gender, with females tending towards appropriate responses. Given the lack of significant correlation between educational levels and the most suitable responses, it underscores the urgency of implementing environmental education programs in schools with a focus on animal protection.

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity are associated with sedentary and unhealthy eating behaviors: A nationwide study with Brazilian Schoolchildren

by Giovanna Angela Leonel Oliveira, Vivian Siqueira Santos Gonçalves, Eduardo Yoshio Nakano, Natacha Toral

Background

Consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity are risk factors for chronic diseases.

Aim

To evaluate the association between food consumption and sedentary and unhealthy eating behaviors of Brazilian schoolchildren between 6 and 11 years old.

Methods

Cross-sectional study. A prevalence sample was calculated considering the number of children enrolled in elementary school. This sample was distributed proportionally to Brazil’s macro-regions and the type of school (public or private). The questionnaire was developed in Google Forms and disseminated through the snowball technique. The questionnaire was filled in by the children’s parents, with information about the child’s identification and health. Afterward, the child completed a questionnaire by her/himself. We used the previously validated Illustrated Questionnaire on Food Consumption for Brazilian Schoolchildren and the Illustrated Questionnaire on Eating and Sedentary Behaviors. Food consumption was analyzed using the NOVA score and the dietary diversity score. Poisson’s regression with robust variance was performed (p Results

The study included 2,021 dyads. Of these, 27.6% of children reported eating five or more ultra-processed foods and 39.0% four or fewer natural or staple foods the previous day. Using screens, proxy of sedentary behavior (Prevalence Ratio–PR = 1.8, Confidence Interval–CI_95%1.2–2.8) and eating at irregular hours (PR = 1.6, CI_95%1.2–2.2) were risk factors for high consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity in schoolchildren. In addition, eating the three main meals on the previous day (PR = 0.6, CI_95%0.4–0.8) was identified as protective factors against the consumption of ultra-processed foods and in favor of dietary diversity among schoolchildren.

Conclusion

Sedentary and unhealthy eating behaviors were associated with the consumption of ultra-processed foods and low dietary diversity in Brazilian schoolchildren.

Impact of an intervention program on drug adherence in patients with ulcerative colitis: Randomized clinical trial

by Mila Pacheco, Pedro Sá, Gláucia Santos, Ney Boa-Sorte, Kilma Domingues, Larissa Assis, Marina Silva, Ana Oliveira, Daniel Santos, Jamile Ferreira, Rosemeire Fernandes, Flora Fortes, Raquel Rocha, Genoile Santana

Aims

Evaluate the impact of an intervention program in non-adherent patients with ulcerative colitis.

Methods

Parallel controlled randomized clinical trial (1:1), approved by the ethics committee (No. 3.068.511/2018) and registered at The Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (No. RBR-79dn4k). Non-adherent ulcerative colitis patients according to the Morisky-Green-Levine-test were included. Recruitment began in August 2019 until August 2020, with 6-month follow-up. All participants received standard usual care, and additionally the intervention group received educational (video, educational leaflet, verbal guidance) and behavioral interventions (therapeutic scheme, motivational and reminder type short message services). Researchers were blinded for allocation prior to data collection at Visits 1 and 2 (0 and 6 months). Primary outcome: 180-day adherence rate, with relative risk 95%CI. Secondary outcome: 180-day quality of life according to SF-36 domains, using Student’s t test. Variables with p Results

Forty-six and 49 participants were allocated in control and intervention groups, respectively. Two were excluded due to intervention refusal, and 4 and 6 were lost to follow-up in control and intervention groups. There was no post-intervention adherence rate difference, even after adjustment for type of non-adherence (unintentional/both/intentional) as confounder, or if considered as adherent the intervention group participants lost in follow-up. Interventions promoted better quality of life scores even after multivariate analysis for “Pain”, when adjusted for ulcerative colitis severity, sex, and marital status (β = 18.352, p = 0.004), “Vitality”, when adjusted for ulcerative colitis severity (β = 10.568, p = 0.015) and “Emotional Aspects”, when adjusted for disease severity, income, and education (β = 24.907, p = 0.041).

Conclusions

The intervention program was not able to produce a significant medication adherence rate difference between comparative groups, however, there was a significant improvement in quality of life. Study limitations may include: sample size calculated to identify differences of 30%, leading to a possible insufficient power; non blinded participants, exposing the results to the risk of performance bias; outcomes based on self-reported data.

Indices for measurement of sustainable diets: A scoping review

by Rosa Sá de Oliveira Neta, Severina Carla Vieira Cunha Lima, Lorena Lima do Nascimento, Camila Valdejane Silva de Souza, Clélia de Oliveira Lyra, Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli da Costa Oliveira

Introduction

The current food system is associated with negative impacts on health, food insecurity and environmental harm. Sustainable diets have attracted increasing interest and novel proposals with a global scope have emerged. This scoping review aims to give an overview of the analysis of all the available evidence related to the sustainable diet indices that have been developed based on the EAT-Lancet Commission.

Methods

Searches were conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Science Direct databases. This review was conducted following the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The target population were studies addressed the use of an index or metric for assessing sustainable diets based on the EAT-Lancet Commission Summary Report were included. PCC acronym was used in the design of the study to describe eligibility criteria: P (Population)—Indexes; C (Concept)—Sustainable diets; C (Context)—Knowledge on the structure and applicability of measurement indices of sustainable diets based on EAT-Lancet recommendations available in the literature. Study eligibility criteria were restricted to papers published in English, from January 2019 through October 2022, with no population restriction.

Results

A total of 1,458 papers were retrieved, 14 of which were included in the review. Seven measures of sustainable diets were identified as follow: EAT-Lancet diet score (ELD-I), New EAT-Lancet diet score (EAT), Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), Sustainable Diet Index (SDI), Sustainable-HEalthy-Diet (SHED), novel Nutrient-Based EAT index (NB-EAT) and World Index for Sustainability and Health (WISH). Most studies were conducted in developed countries, where greater adherence to this type of diet was found. Estimated greenhouse gas emissions was the most reported indicator of sustainability, followed by diet quality and the benefits of sustainable diets with regards to health outcomes.

Discussion

We identified barriers that hinder progress towards sustainable diets, including the difficulty of comparing different indices and the tendency to neglect social aspects and the lack of common definitions and metrics. Despite being challenge, we highlight the importance of using indices that assess sustainable diets that harmonize various indicators, as recommended by the EAT-Lancet Commission, in order to promote positive changes towards a more sustainable future.

Use of Nile tilapia (<i>Oreocromis niloticus</i>) processing residues in the production of pâtés with the addition of oregano (<i>Origanum vulgare</i>) essential oil

by Marcos Antonio Matiucci, Iza Catarini dos Santos, Natallya Marques da Silva, Patricia Daniele Silva dos Santos, Gislaine Gonçalves Oliveira, Stefane Santos Corrêa, Elder dos Santos Araujo, Rafaela Said, Jaqueline Ferreira Silva, Ana Paula Sartório Chambó, Talita Aparecida Ferreira de Campos, Oscar Oliveira Santos, Claudete Regina Alcalde, Maria Luiza Rodrigues de Souza, Andresa Carla Feihrmann

The effect of the use of Nilo tilapia filleting residues in the production of pâtés with the addition of oregano essential oil stored for 90 days at 4 °C was evaluated. For that, 5 treatments were performed as follows: TSA—control treatment; TES with the addition of sodium erythorbate; and formulation TOE1 with 600 ppm oregano essential oil; TOE2 with 1000 ppm essential oil; and TOE3 with 1400 ppm essential oil. The pâtés showed adequate technological and physicochemical characteristics and microbiological counts within the legislation standards. No significant differences were observed in the luminosity of the pâté formulations during storage, and the addition of oil contributed to the increase in a* values and stability of b* values. Regarding the lipid and protein oxidation, TOE3 showed lower values at the end of the shelf-life. The addition of essential oil did not affect the hardness and cohesiveness of the products. The fatty acids in greater amounts in the samples were linoleic, oleic, palmitic, and stearic acids. The analysis of biogenic amines indicated that only the treatments with the highest amounts of sodium erythorbate (TES and TOE1) showed losses of spermidine. It was observed that decreasing the inclusion of sodium erythorbate and increasing the inclusion of oregano essential oil resulted in a drop in cadaverine values. A total of 46 volatile compounds were detected in the samples with the highest amount of free fatty acids and all the formulations were well accepted sensorially.

Pulmonary expansion manoeuvres compared to usual care on ventilatory mechanics, oxygenation, length of mechanical ventilation and hospital stay, extubation, atelectasis, and mortality of patients in mechanical ventilation: A randomized clinical trial

by Karina da Silva, Cristino Carneiro Oliveira, Leandro Ferracini Cabral, Carla Malaguti, Anderson José

Pulmonary expansion manoeuvres are therapeutic techniques used to prevent and reverse atelectasis; however, no randomized controlled trials have provided evidence supporting the use of this intervention among individuals on mechanical ventilation. Objective: To evaluate the effects of chest compression-decompression and chest block manoeuvres compared to usual care among patients on mechanical ventilation. Methods: The current study was a randomized clinical trial of adult subjects on mechanical ventilation for 12 to 48 hours. The control group received usual care (passive or active mobilization, manoeuvres for airway clearance and tracheal aspiration). The intervention group received usual care plus two lung expansion manoeuvres, i.e., chest decompression and chest block, while remaining on mechanical ventilation. Assessments were performed before and after usual care, immediately after the intervention and 30 minutes after the intervention. The primary outcome was static compliance. The secondary outcomes were the incidence of atelectasis, dynamic compliance, airway resistance, driving pressure, oxygenation, duration of mechanical ventilation, extubation success, length of hospital and ICU stay, and mortality. Results: Fifty-one participants (67±15 years old, 53% men, 26 in the control group and 25 in the intervention group) were evaluated. No differences in static compliance were observed between groups (intervention minus control) before and after expansion manoeuvres [3.64 ml/cmH₂O (95% CI: -0.36–7.65, p = 0.074)]. Peripheral oxygen saturation differed between groups before and after expansion manoeuvres, with more favourable outcome observed in the control group [-1.04% (95% CI: -1.94 –-0.14), p = 0.027]. No differences were found in other outcomes. Conclusion: Chest compression-decompression and chest block manoeuvres did not improve ventilatory mechanics, the incidence of atelectasis, oxygenation, the duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of stay in the ICU and hospital, or mortality in individuals on mechanical ventilation. The findings of this study can be valuable for guiding evidence-based clinical practice and developing a therapeutic approach that provides real benefits for this population.

Perceptions of individuals regarding barriers to participation in a pulmonary rehabilitation program after hospitalization due to COVID-19: A qualitative study

by Rafaella Rabelo Polato, Cristino Carneiro Oliveira, Yuri Augusto de Sousa Miranda, Leandro Ferracini Cabral, Carla Malaguti, Anderson José

Introduction

Several individuals with post-COVID-19 syndrome referred for pulmonary rehabilitation did not participate. This study aimed to explore individuals’ barriers to participating in posthospitalization COVID-19 rehabilitation.

Materials and methods

This was a qualitative, multicenter study performed using semistructured interviews. This study included 20 individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 who refused to participate in a pulmonary rehabilitation program at a university hospital.

Results

Individuals reported difficulties accessing the rehabilitation center, mainly due to distance, transport costs and conditions, and lack of companions. Health problems (e.g., surgeries, pain, and mobility difficulties) and lack of time due to work, commuting, and household work were also reported. Another reported theme was not perceiving the need for rehabilitation due to feeling well. Minor themes included the need for more information about rehabilitation and a lack of interest, motivation, and medical encouragement.

Conclusion

Individuals hospitalized for COVID-19 faced several barriers to participating in a pulmonary rehabilitation program. These barriers included difficulties in accessing the rehabilitation center, health problems, lack of time, and the perception that rehabilitation was unnecessary. There is a need for actions to overcome these barriers to make the program available to a larger number of individuals.