The aim of this study was to understand whether high folic acid (HFA) exposure during the perigestational period induces metabolic dysfunction in the offspring, later in life. To do this, female Sprague-Dawley rats (G0) were administered a dose of folic acid (FA) recommended for pregnancy (control, C, 2 mg FA/kg of diet, nZ5) or a high dose of FA (HFA, 40 mg FA/kg of diet, nZ5). Supplementation began at mating and lasted throughout pregnancy and lactation. Body weight and food and fluid intake were monitored in G0 and their offspring (G1) till G1 were 13 months of age. Metabolic blood profiles were assessed in G1 at 3 and 13 months of age (3M and 13M respectively). Both G0 and G1 HFA females had increased body weight gain when compared with controls, particularly 22 (G0) and 10 (G1) weeks after FA supplementation had been stopped. G1 female offspring of HFA mothers had increased glycemia at 3M, and both female and male G1 offspring of HFA mothers had decreased glucose tolerance at 13M, when compared with matched controls. At 13M, G1 female offspring of HFA mothers had increased insulin and decreased adiponectin levels, and G1 male offspring of HFA mothers had increased levels of leptin, when compared with matched controls. In addition, feeding of fructose to adult offspring revealed that perigestational exposure to HFA renders female progeny more susceptible to developing metabolic unbalance upon such a challenge. The results of this work indicate that perigestational HFA exposure the affects long-term metabolic phenotype of the offspring, predisposing them to an insulin-resistant state.

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The impact of indoor environmental quality on human health and wellbeing has been widely documented, as has its impact on worker productivity in settings such as education, healthcare, and manufacturing. In the knowledge worker context, however, there is limited consensus on agreed metrics for productivity measurement, leading to a paucity of research regarding the impact of specific realworkplace interventions on worker performance. This paper presents an organizational benchmarking and evaluation tool to permit such tracking within an organization. Based on the results of a systematic literature review, five dimensions are used to evaluate productivity in this context: absenteeism, presenteeism, engagement, self-assessed (individual) productivity, and objective (office-wide) productivity. This data is collected from organizational reports, individual employee questionnaires, and field data. The resultant tool was refined through a series of public-and private-sector field tests and the evaluation of results was undertaken through post-analysis interviews with organizational partners who provided feedback on the clarity of data aspresented, alignment with known issues, and consistency with other studies. The evaluated tool provides a holistic means of assessing knowledge worker productivity and will support future research to evaluate and quantify the impact of specific interventions in workplace policy and environmental modifications.

Quinoxaline, Its Derivatives and Applications: A State of the Art Review -[63 refs. + subrefs.]. -(PEREIRA, J. A.; PESSOA, A. M.; CORDEIRO, M. N. D. S.; FERNANDES, R.; PRUDENCIO, C.; NORONHA, J. P.; VIEIRA*, M.; Eur. J. Med. Chem. 97 (2015) 664-672, http://dx.