CASE PRESENTATION: Melioidosis is uncommon in pregnancy but both spontaneous abortion and neonatal melioidosis have been reported. We report a case of bacteraemic melioidosis in a young woman with a subsequent spontaneous abortion, with B. pseudomallei cultured from a high vaginal swab as well as blood.
CONCLUSION: It remains unclear in this and previously reported cases as to whether the maternal melioidosis was sexually transmitted.
METHODS: Body composition, bone mineral density (BMD), and bone mineral content (BMC) at the lumbar spine (LS) and total body (TB) were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Calcium intake was assessed using 1-week diet history, MET (metabolic equivalent of task) score using cPAQ physical activity questionnaire, and serum 25(OH) vitamin D using LC-MS/MS.
RESULTS: The mean calcium intake was 349 ± 180 mg/day and mean serum 25(OH)D level was 43.9 ± 14.5 nmol/L. In boys, lean mass (LM) was a significant predictor of LSBMC (β = 0.539, p
Methods: Participants (9-11 years old) were recruited and randomized into 4 treatment groups (600 mg calcium, 12 g SCF, 12 g SCF plus 600 mg calcium and placebo). Interventions were consumed as a fruit-flavored powdered drink for 1-year. School-based recruitment was effective due to support on study benefits from parents and teachers, peer influence and a 2-weeks study run-in for participants to assess their readiness to commit to the study protocol. Retention strategies focused on building rapport through school-based fun activities, WhatsApp messaging, providing health screening and travel reimbursements for study measurements. Compliance was enhanced by providing direct on-site school feeding and monthly non-cash rewards. Choice of 2 flavors for the intervention drinks were provided to overcome taste fatigue. Satisfaction level on the manner in which the study was conducted was obtained from a voluntary sub-set of participants.
Results: The study successfully enrolled 243 participants within 6 months and retained 82.7% of the participants at the end of 1 year, yielding a drop-out rate of 17.3%. Compliance to the intervention drink was 85% at the start and remained at 78.7% at the end of 1 year. More than 95% of the participants provided good feedback on intervention drinks, rapport building activities, communication and overall study conduct.
Conclusion: Successful strategies focused on study benefits, rapport building, frequent communication using social media and non-cash incentives helped improved compliance and retention rate. The lessons learned to maintain a high retention and compliance rate in this study provide valuable insights for future studies in a similar population.
METHODS: Using a randomized, crossover and double-blinded design, 15 men and 15 women with metabolic syndrome consumed high-fat meals enriched with SFA, MUFA or n-6 PUFA, or a low-fat/high-sucrose (SUCR) meal. C-peptide, insulin, glucose, gastrointestinal peptides and satiety were measured up to 6 h.
RESULTS: As expected, SUCR meal induced higher C-peptide (45 %), insulin (45 %) and glucose (49 %) responses compared with high-fat meals regardless of types of fatty acids (P < 0.001). Interestingly, incremental area under the curve (AUC0-120min) for glucagon-like peptide-1 was higher after SUCR meal compared with MUFA (27 %) and n-6 PUFA meals (23 %) (P = 0.01). AUC0-120min for glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide was higher after SFA meal compared with MUFA (23 %) and n-6 PUFA meals (20 %) (P = 0.004). Significant meal x time interaction (P = 0.007) was observed for ghrelin, but not cholecystokinin and satiety.
CONCLUSIONS: The amount of fat regardless of the types of fatty acids affects insulin and glycemic responses. Both the amount and types of fatty acids acutely affect the gastrointestinal peptide release in metabolic syndrome subjects, but not satiety.