Pediatric tuberculosis in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro

Aim: To evaluate the clinical characteristics, diagnostic approach, and treatment outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in children living in a high-burden metropolitan area. Methods: This was a retrospective study, based on a medical chart review, involving children under 15 years old treated for TB between 2007 and 2016, in four primary health units (PHU) and three reference centers (RC) in five cities of Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area. Factors associated with TB treatment setting, microbiological diagnosis, and treatment outcomes were evaluated. Results: A total of 544 children were enrolled; 71% were treated in PHU, 36% were under 5 years old, and 72% had pulmonary TB (PTB). The HIV prevalence was 10% (31/322). Fifty-three percent had at least one microbiological test for TB, 68% of them (196/287) had TB confirmed. Among 222 children with previous TB contact, information on LTBI was available for 78 (35%), and only 17% (13/78) were treated. Extrapulmonary TB (56% vs 32%), microbiologically confirmed TB (77% vs 60%), and HIV positivity (18.5% vs 4.0%) were significantly more frequent in RC. Treatment in RC (odds ratio (OR) 3.08, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.74–5.44) and PTB (OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.34–4.56) were independently associated with a microbiological diagnosis of TB. The treatment success rate was 85%. In the logistic regression analysis, HIV-infected children had a 2.5-fold higher risk of an unfavorable outcome (OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.0–6.38; p = 0.05). Conclusions: Opportunities for TB prevention and early TB treatment are missed due to suboptimal close contact screening. Microbiological diagnosis of TB and drug susceptibility testing in children should be made available through more sensitive and accessible tests

Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in children and adolescents: comparison of two versions of the Brazilian Ministry of Health scoring system

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between two versions of the scoring system (2011 and 2019), recommended by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in children and adolescents. A retrospective descriptive study was performed to assess the medical records of children and adolescents with PTB, in TB units from Brazilian cities located in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Parana States, from January 1st, 2004, to December 1st, 2018. Patients aged 0 to 18 years old with a diagnosis of PTB were included. The comparison between the two scoring systems showed a moderate concordance according to the κ coefficient value = 0.625. Fourteen patients showed a reduction in the TB score, going from 30 points in the 2011, to 25 points or less in the 2019 one. Seventy one percent of these 14 patients had radiological changes suggestive of PTB and 86% had tuberculin skin tests greater than 10 mm. The study concluded that a moderate agreement was observed between the 2011 and 2019 scoring systems, with an increase in the number of patients scoring 25 points or less in 2019, which can eventually hinder the diagnosis of PTB

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. © 2018 by the The Authors. Ecology © 2018 The Ecological Society of Americ

microbeMASST: A Taxonomically-informed Mass Spectrometry Search Tool for Microbial Metabolomics Data

microbeMASST, a taxonomically informed mass spectrometry (MS) search tool, tackles limited microbial metabolite annotation in untargeted metabolomics experiments. Leveraging a curated database of >60,000 microbial monocultures, users can search known and unknown MS/MS spectra and link them to their respective microbial producers via MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Identification of microbe-derived metabolites and relative producers without a priori knowledge will vastly enhance the understanding of microorganisms’ role in ecology and human health

A Taxonomically-informed Mass Spectrometry Search Tool for Microbial Metabolomics Data

MicrobeMASST, a taxonomically-informed mass spectrometry (MS) search tool, tackles limited microbial metabolite annotation in untargeted metabolomics experiments. Leveraging a curated database of >60,000 microbial monocultures, users can search known and unknown MS/MS spectra and link them to their respective microbial producers via MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Identification of microbial-derived metabolites and relative producers, without a priori knowledge, will vastly enhance the understanding of microorganisms’ role in ecology and human health

Performance comparison between the mycobacteria growth indicator tube system and Löwenstein-Jensen medium in the routine detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis at public health care facilities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: preliminary results of a pragmatic clinical trial

In view of the fact that the World Health Organization has recommended the use of the mycobacteria growth indicator tube (MGIT) 960 system for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and that there is as yet no evidence regarding the clinical impact of its use in health care systems, we conducted a pragmatic clinical trial to evaluate the clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of the use of MGIT 960 at two health care facilities in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the incidence of tuberculosis is high. Here, we summarize the methodology and preliminary results of the trial. (ISRCTN.org Identifier: ISRCTN79888843 [http://isrctn.org/]

Efeito de 12 semanas de treinamento em step sobre o perfil lipídico e glicemia em mulheres

Effects of 12 weeks of step training regarding lipid profile and blood glucose in womenMany papers study the effects of aerobic exercise on lipid profile and blood glucose. The aim was to investigate the effects of 12 weeks of training step on the lipid profile (LP) and glycemic index (GI) in 13 women divided into 2 groups: 8 subjects in the Training Group (TG) and 5 subjects in the sedentary group (SG). Pre and post assessments and results for the TG were: total cholesterol (186.00 ± 38.82mg/dl and 181.00 ± 39.57mg/dl); HDL (59.88 ± 9.77mg/dl and 61.38 ± 6.11mg/dL); LDL (106.13 ± 30.96mg/dl and 99.38 ± 21.49 mg/dl); VLDL (20.00 ± 8.24mg/dl and 20.25 ± 12.15mg/dl); triglycerides (100.00 ± 40.70mg/dl and 101.63  ± 61.22mg/dl) and IG (85.00 ± 6.05mg/dl and 77.25 ± 3.15 mg/dl). For the SG were: total cholesterol (180.4 ± 31.49mg/dl and 166.00 ± 34.74mg/ dl); HDL (54.00 ± 6.93mg dl and 54.4 ± 5.77 mg/dL); LDL (110.4 ± 22.66 mg/dl and 23.33 ± 95.6m /dL); VLDL (16.00 ± 7.62 mg/dl and 16.00 ± 6.78 mg/dL); triglyceride (79.8 ± 37.02 mg/dl and 79.6 ± 34.52 mg/dl) and IG (81.8 ± 3.7 mg/dl and 76.4 ± 5.41 mg dl). We conclude that 12 weeks of training step were not enough to induce changes in the variables.Muitos trabalhos estudam os efeitos dos exercícios aeróbicos sobre o perfil lipídico e glicemia. O objetivo foi investigar os efeitos de 12 semanas de treinamento em step sobre o perfil lipídico (PL) e índice glicêmico (IG) em 13 mulheres divididas em 2 grupos: 8 indivíduos no Grupo Treinado (GT) e 5 indivíduos no Grupo Sedentário (GS). Foram feitas avaliações pré e pós e os resultados para o GT foram: colesterol total (186,00 ± 38,82mg/dl e 181,00 ± 39,57mg/dl); HDL (59,88 ± 9,77mg/dl e 61,38 ± 6,11mg/dl); LDL (106,13 ± 30,96 mg/dl e 99,38 ± 21,49 mg/dl); VLDL (20,00 ± 8,24 mg/dl e 20,25 ± 12,15 mg/dl); triglicerídeo (100,00 ± 40,70mg/dl e 101,63 ± 61,22 mg/dl) e IG (85,00 ± 6,05 mg/dl e 77,25 ± 3,15 mg/dl). Para o GS foram: colesterol total (180,4 ± 31,49mg/dl e 166,00 ± 34,74mg/dl); HDL (54,00 ± 6,93mg/dl e 54,4 ± 5,77mg/dl); LDL (110,4 ± 22,66mg/dl e 95,6 ± 23,33mg/dl); VLDL (16,00 ± 7,62mg/dl e 16,00 ± 6,78mg/dl); triglicerídeo (79,8 ± 37,02mg/dl e 79,6 ± 34,52mg/dl) e IG (81,8 ± 3,7mg/dl e 76,4 ± 5,41mg/dl). Concluímos que 12 semanas de treinamento em step não foram suficientes para induzirem alterações nas variáveis estudadas.