Understanding money and its use: the functional and structural reasons behind the use of money

Project / JEL Classification: E51, E58The objective of the current essay is to understand the functional and structural reasons behind people’s use of money. Within this perspective, it explores the origins of money, the evolution of its concept and functionalities since early civilizations, its role within society, and lastly how is it created and controlled and the consequences of the current monetary system to the modern society. This research explains how people use money not only as a consequence of the historical functionalities that it has been fulfilling, but also as consequence of the current structure of the financial and monetary system that generates a dependency and addiction of the modern economy and its populations on this resource. A collateral conclusion of the current essay is the privileged position that commercial banks face in the modern economic system, that not only benefit from a constant transfer of wealth and accumulation of purchasing power from the rest of the economy to the banking sector, but also gives commercial banks a tremendous power to influence and shape most economy. The understanding of the concepts and research explored within the current essay, is fundamental to comprehend and properly lead with the root causes of some of the biggest problems of modern civilizations.O objetivo do presente ensaio é compreender as razões funcionais e estruturais que explicam a necessidade do uso do dinheiro. Dentro desta perspetiva, o presente texto explora as razões por de trás das origens deste objeto, a evolução do seu conceito e funcionalidades ao longo da história, bem como o seu processo de criação, controlo e as eventuais consequências do presente sistema monetário na sociedade moderna. Esta pesquisa explica que a população não só usa dinheiro devido às funcionalidades históricas que este têm vindo a desempenhar, mas também como uma consequência do atual método através do qual este utensilio é criado, que é responsável pela dependência das economias modernas e sua população ao papel desempenhado por este. Um resultado colateral do presente ensaio é a evidência duma posição privilegiada desempenhada pelos bancos comercias, que não só beneficiam duma constante transferência de riqueza e acumulação de poder de compra do resto da economia para o sector bancário, mas que também detêm um enorme poder para influenciar o funcionamento e estrutura da restante economia. A compreensão de alguns destes e outros conceitos explorados na presente tese é fundamental para uma abordagem mais eficaz à eliminação das causas de alguns dos maiores problemas da sociedade moderna

Prevalence of asymptomatic urethritis by Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae and associated risk factors among males living with HIV-1

Objectives The increase in HIV transmissibility in non-ulcerative sexually transmitted infection is already well-established. It is estimated that symptomatic carriers of N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis have a relative risk of 4.8-fold and 3.6-fold, respectively, for the sexual acquisition of HIV. This type of evaluation for asymptomatic urethritis is necessary to reinforce strategies to combat HIV transmission. This study aims to assess the prevalence of patients with asymptomatic urethritis among men diagnosed with HIV-1 and determine the risk factors associated with this infection. Methods We enrolled a total of 115 male patients aged 18 years or older who have been diagnosed with HIV infection and have no symptoms of urethritis or other sexually transmitted infections and who have been evaluated between May and August 2015 in a follow-up visit at the Immunology Outpatient Clinic of a Brazilian University Hospital. Results Four asymptomatic patients were positive for C. trachomatis and were considered asymptomatic carriers of urethritis. Prevalence was 3.47%. Patients who were positive for C. trachomatis urethritis had a lower mean age (p = 0.015). Conclusion The presence of asymptomatic sexually transmitted infection is a challenge in clinical practice. We recommend that, in outpatient practice, the habit of inquiring on previous sexual behavior to obtain more information about risks and associations with asymptomatic sexually transmitted infection, a routine physical examination and complementary tests to detect STI pathogens should be performed to discard these conditions. The development of rapid tests for this purpose should also be encouraged

Chlamydia trachomatis asymptomatic urethritis recurrence among males living with HIV-1

A prevalence of 3.47% of asymptomatic Chlamydia trachomatis urethritis has been previously reported among males living with HIV infection in Brazil. This study aims to assess the recurrence of C. trachomatis urethritis three years later in the same cohort of patients and analyze associated risk factors. A total of 115 male patients diagnosed with HIV infection, with no symptoms of urethritis and observed since May of 2015 in followup visits were enrolled. They had urine samplers tested by PCR for C. trachomatis and N. gonorrhoeae between February and March 2018. Results: Three of the four patients who had asymptomatic C. trachomatis urethritis three years before were recurrently positive for C. trachomatis urethritis. Two new patients were diagnosed as positives, accounting for a total asymptomatic C. trachomatis urethritis prevalence of 4.34%. The prevalence during the whole study was 5.21%. The relative risk for a new urethritis episode among those previously diagnosed with urethritis is RR=41.62 (95% CI: 9.42-183.84), p < 0.01. Patients who presented asymptomatic urethritis anytime and who were recurrently positive for C. trachomatis had a lower mean age (p<0.01). Married individuals were protected regarding asymptomatic urethritis [p<0.01, OR = 0.04 (0.005-0.4)] and had lower risk to develop recurrence [p<0.01, RR = 0.86 (0.74-0.99)]. Illicit drugs users had risk associated to asymptomatic urethritis [p=0.02, OR= 5.9 (1.03-34)] and higher risk to develop recurrence [p<0.01, RR=1.1 (1-1.22)]. Conclusion: The recurrence of asymptomatic C. trachomatis urethritis after treatment among males living with HIV infection in Brazil can be considered high and should not be neglected

Validation Of The Ebmt Risk Score In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia In Brazil And Allogeneic Transplant Outcome.

The management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has changed radically since the introduction of imatinib therapy. The decision of whether to offer a patient a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) must be based on the probability of success of the procedure. The aim of this retrospective analysis of 1,084 CML patients who received an allogeneic HSCT in 10 Brazilian Centers between February 1983 and March 2003 was to validate the EBMT risk score. The study population comprised 647 (60%) males and 437 (40%) females, with a median age of 32 years old (range 1 - 59); 898 (83%) were in chronic phase, 146 (13%) were in accelerated phase and 40 (4%) were in blast crisis; 151 (14%) were younger than 20 years old, 620 (57%) were between 20 and 40 and 313 (29%) were older than 40; 1,025 (94%) received an HLA fully matched sibling transplant and only 59 (6%) received an unrelated transplant. In 283 cases (26%) a male recipient received a graft from a female donor. The interval from diagnosis to transplantation was less than 12 months in 223 (21%) cases and greater in 861 (79%). The overall survival, disease-free survival, transplant-related mortality and relapse incidence were 49%, 50%, 45% and 25%, respectively. Of the 1084 patients, 179 (17%) had a risk score of 0 or 1, 397 (37%) had a score of 2, 345 (32%) had a score of 3, 135 (12%) had a score of 4 and 28 (2%) a score of 5 or 6. The overall survival (OS) rate in patients with risk scores 0-1 and 2 was similar (58% and 55%, respectively) but significantly better than that in patients with scores 3 or more (score 3 - 44%, 4 - 36 % and 5-6 - 27%, respectively) pp<0.001). Disease-free survival (DFS) and transplant related mortality (TRM) in a patients with a score of 3 or more were 46% and 49%, respectively and the relapse rate beyond score 5-6 was 77%. Disease status had a negative impact on all outcomes (OS, DFS, TRM, and relapse). The OS rate for male recipients of a graft from a female donor was 40% compared to 52% among the other donor-recipient pairs (p=0.004). DFS and TRM were significant for disease phase and female donor-male recipient (p<0.001 and p<0.003, respectively). In our experience, age and interval between diagnosis and transplant did influence OS, DFS, TRM, and relapse rate. Our results validate the EBMT risk score in the context of a developing country and confirm its usefulness for making point decisions in the imatinib era.90232-

Adenomiose: aspectos epidemiológicos, fisiopatológicos e manejo terapêutico

A adenomiose é uma condição benigna do útero caracterizada por glândulas endometriais ectópicas, estroma e alterações miometriais hipertróficas e hiperplásicas. Estudos recentes sugerem uma prevalência de 20-35% entre mulheres na menacme. A etiologia da adenomiose ainda não é reconhecida totalmente, porém, existem três teorias etiológicas consideradas mais relevantes, sendo elas: invaginação, metaplasia e ruptura da interface endométrio/miométrio. No que se refere a fisiopatologia da doença, sabe-se que o tecido endometrial normalmente tem a função de produzir prostaglandinas que causam as contrações menstruais. Os focos ectópicos da adenomiose podem aumentar os níveis destas prostaglandinas, o que causa dismenorreia. O estrogênio também pode agravar a doença. Dessa forma, o aumento da vascularização, o aumento da área da superfície endometrial e a produção de moléculas de sinalização celular contribuem para o sangramento menstrual aumentado. Segundo a grande maioria dos estudos atuais, um terço das pacientes que apresentam adenomiose são assintomáticas. Contudo, naquelas pacientes que possuem sintomas, as queixas mais comuns são: menorragia, sangramento uterino anormal, dor pélvica crônica, dismenorreia, dispareunia e infertilidade. O diagnóstico da doença gira em torno de exames de imagem, principalmente a ultrassonografia e, quando necessário, a ressonância nuclear magnética. O tratamento da doença pode ser feito de forma clínica, por intermédio de antiinflamatórios não esteroidais, progestágenos, DIU e agonistas de GnRH. Ademais, o tratamento cirúrgico também pode ser uma opção quando a terapêutica clínica não foi eficiente, podendo ser feito a histerectomia total, uma opção mais invasiva e com a ressalva de que a mulher perde sua fertilidade, ou pode-se optar por opções menos invasivas, como adenomiomectomia, histerectomia parcial, ablação térmica por ultrassom ou embolização da artéria uterina

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks