Arterial stiffness and atrial fibrillation: A review

Arterial stiffness has been investigated as part of the physiopathology of arterial hypertension since the 1970s. Its role in increasing the “pulsatile load” imposed over the Left Ventricle (LV) has been intensely studied recently and has helped in understanding the mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in hypertensive patients. This paper aims to review the main evidence on this issue and establish possible mechanisms involved in the development of AF in patients with arterial stiffness. A PubMed search was performed, and selected articles were searched for references focusing on this topic. In the long term, lower blood pressure levels allow for arterial wall remodeling, leading to a lower stiffness index. To this day, however, there are no available treatments that directly promote the lowering of arterial wall stiffness. Most classes of anti-hypertensive drugs ‒ with stronger evidence for beta-blockers and diuretics ‒ could be effective in reducing arterial stiffness. There is strong evidence demonstrating an association between arterial stiffness and AF. New studies focusing on arterial stiffness and pre-fibrillatory stages would strengthen this causality relation

Active and latent tuberculosis in Brazilian correctional facilities: a cross-sectional study

Submitted by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2016-07-06T17:19:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Carbone ASS Active and latent tuberculosis....pdf: 656948 bytes, checksum: 20358a6375fe15ab98c0fbc0c89a17e3 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Ana Maria Fiscina Sampaio ([email protected]) on 2016-07-06T17:33:37Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Carbone ASS Active and latent tuberculosis....pdf: 656948 bytes, checksum: 20358a6375fe15ab98c0fbc0c89a17e3 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-06T17:33:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carbone ASS Active and latent tuberculosis....pdf: 656948 bytes, checksum: 20358a6375fe15ab98c0fbc0c89a17e3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-07T19:04:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Carbone ASS Active and latent tuberculosis....pdf.txt: 35956 bytes, checksum: d6c018bc1eeed9eab1932d6ae359841d (MD5) Carbone ASS Active and latent tuberculosis....pdf: 656948 bytes, checksum: 20358a6375fe15ab98c0fbc0c89a17e3 (MD5) license.txt: 2991 bytes, checksum: 5a560609d32a3863062d77ff32785d58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015Federal University of Grande Dourados. University Hospital. Dourados, MS, BrasilFederal University of Grande Dourados. University Hospital. Dourados, MS, BrasilFederal University of Grande Dourados. University Hospital. Dourados, MS, BrasilFederal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences.Federal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Ambiental and Biological Sciences. Dourados, MS, BrasilFederal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Department of Biochemical Pharmacy. Campo Grande, MS, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Campo Grande, MS, BrasilFederal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Faculty of Medicine. Campo Grande, MS, BrasilFederal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. University Hospital. Campo Grande, MS, BrasilFundação Oswaldo Cruz. Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz. Salvador, BA, Brasil / Yale School of Public Health. Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Disease. New Haven, CT, USA.Stanford University School of Medicine. Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine. Stanford, CA, USAFederal University of Grande Dourados. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dourados, MS, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Campo Grande, MS, BrasilBackground: Tuberculosis (TB) rates among prisoners are more than 20 times that of the general population in Brazil, yet there are limited data available to facilitate the development of effective interventions in this high-transmission setting. We aimed to assess risk factors for TB infection and evaluate the yield of mass screening for active disease among inmates. Methods: We administered a questionnaire and tuberculin skin test (TST) to a population-based sample of inmates from 12 prisons in Central-West Brazil and collected sera for HIV testing and two sputum samples for smear microscopy and culture from participants reporting a cough of any duration. Hierarchical Poisson regression models were used to evaluate factors associated with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Results: We recruited 3,380 inmates, of which 2,861 (84.6%) were males from 8 prisons, and 519 (15.4%) were females from 4 prisons. Among the 1,020 (30%) subjects who reported a cough, we obtained sputum from 691 (68%) and identified 31 cases of active TB for a point prevalence of 917 (95% CI, 623–1302) per 100,000 prisoners. Evaluation of the two sputum smear samples failed to identify 74% of the TB cases, and 29% of the cases reported less than 2 weeks of symptoms. Obtaining a second culture identified an additional 7 (24%) cases. The prevalences of LTBI were 22.5% and 11.7% for male and female prisoners, respectively and duration of incarceration (in years) was associated with LTBI in male and female in the multivariable model (1.04, 95% CI, 1.01-1.07 and 1.34, 95% CI, 1.06-1.70, respectively). The prevalence of LTBI is 8.6% among newly incarcerated inmates, among whom LTBI prevalence significantly increased by 5% with each year of incarceration. Conclusions: Although the overall LTBI prevalence among inmates in Central-West Brazil is low, tuberculosis incidence is high (>1,800/100,00), likely due to the high force of infection among a largely susceptible inmate population. Efforts to reduce transmission in prisons may require mass screening for active TB, utilizing sputum culture in case-detection protocols

Update on the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Guideline of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology-2019

sem informação113344966

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data