Evaluation of Coagulation Parameters in Dogs with Overweight or Obesity

Background: Hemostatic alterations have already been well characterized in humans with body fat excess, being included in the list of obesity related comorbidities. Overweight and obesity are common in dogs; however, there is little information about the blood coagulation parameters in dogs with these conditions. The aim of this study was to compare hematological and coagulation parameters between lean dogs and overweight or obese dogs, including platelets count; prothrombin time (PT); activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), coagulation time (CT) and plasma fibrinogen concentration.Materials, Methods & Results: A total of 22 dogs (aged 1 to 10 years, neutered) were evaluated, 10 of them presented ideal body condition score (BCS 4-5) and formed the group 1 (control) and 12 were overweight or obese (BCS 7-9) and formed the group 2. The dogs were submitted to clinical evaluation and then to blood collection for the following laboratory tests: blood count (performed on automatic analyzer), quantification of plasma proteins by refractometry, determination PT, aPTT and plasma fibrinogen concentration using specific commercial kits, and CT by Lee-White method. Compared to group 1, group 2 presented a lower leukocytes and lymphocytes counts (P < 0.05) and a higher concentration of plasma fibrinogen (P = 0,026), but compatible with reference values. No difference was observed in the erythrogram, platelets count, total plasma protein concentration, PT, aPTT and CT between the groups. BCS was negatively correlated with leukocytes (r = -0.45) and lymphocytes (r = -0.60) counts and positively with plasma fibrinogen concentration (r = +0.56).Discussion: The reduction in lymphocytes led to a lower leukocytes count in the dogs of group 2. The migration of peripheral blood lymphocytes to adipose tissue has been reported in the early phase of the inflammatory process induced by obesity and could justify the reduction of circulating lymphocytes in overweight or obese dogs evaluated in this study; however, cytopathological assessment of adipose tissue was not performed. Fibrinogen has to be converted to fibrin for clot formation, so the concentration of this plasma protein is an important parameter for the evaluation of hemostasis. However, there are reports of increase in plasma fibrinogen as a result of infammatory processes. In group 2, formed by dogs with overweight or obese, the higher value of plasm fibrinogen concentration, associated with lower lymphocyte count, may suggest an early-stage inflammatory process. Similar results were described in obese humans, but also evidenced in obese dogs. Supporting this suggestion, the correlation analysis indicates that the higher the body fat excess (estimated by the BCS), the higher the fibrinogen concentration and the lower the lymphocyte count in evaluated dogs. Despite the higher concentration of plasma fibrinogen in group 2, no change was observed in the hemostasis of overweight or obese dogs, due to the normal values for platelets count, PT, aPTT and CT, excluding a hypercoagulability condition as already hypothesized by other authors for dogs and obese humans. The difference between our findings and the literature may be in the time of evolution of the disease, since we evaluated younger dogs. In conclusion, the body fat excess did not alter the erythrogram and the activity of the clotting factors, estimated by PT, aPTT and CT, but it interfered in the leukogram and increased the plasma concentration of fibrinogen in the evaluated dogs

Efficacy of the Pilates method and the manometric biofeedback in menopausal women with urinary incontinence

The urinary incontinence is an involuntary loss of urine, classified as stress, urge and mixed urinary incontinence. The prevalence of this dysfunction negatively affects people’s life quality and the physiotherapeutic treatment is recommended as the first option. The biofeedback and the Pilates method are among the physiotherapeutic techniques. The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of the physiotherapeutic treatment for urinary incontinence using the Pilates Method and the manometric biofeedback in menopausal women. The study was carried out in the clinic of the State University of Western Paraná and the sample was made up with 14 women, divided in two groups. Group 1 was submitted to the treatment with biofeedback, and group 2, with the Pilates method. Both performed thirty-two sessions and were evaluated before and after the short (after twenty-two sessions), medium (after thirty-two sessions) and long-term treatments (after two months without interventions), by using the Urinary Incontinence Questionnaire ICIQ_SF and a Data Collection Form. Both the groups presented statistically significant results in the intra-group comparison, related to the frequency of the monthly urinary losses, the strength of the pelvic floor rapid fibers, the severity of the urinary incontinence and its impact on women’s life quality. About the duration of the maintained contractions, only the biofeedback presented statistically significant differences. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups. Both the techniques were efficient in the variables analyzed, except in the duration of the maintained contractions

Diferentes comportamentos do estilo de vida de Universitários do curso de Educação Física

O objetivo deste estudo foi de identificar os perfis de acadêmicos do curso de bacharelado em educação física conforme o estilo de vida (EV). Participaram deste estudo 157 universitários de uma universidade pública brasileira. Os instrumentos de pesquisa foram: a “Escala do Estilo de Vida Fantástico” e um questionário sociodemográfico. Para a análise de dados utilizou-se a Análise de Cluster e os testes de Kruskal-Wallis e Qui-Quadrado. Em todas as analises adotou-se nível de significância de 95%. Os resultados evidenciaram quatro grupos distintos no que se refere ao estilo de vida, sendo que o Grupo 1 apresentou EV positivo nas dimensões: atividade física e estresse. O Grupo 2 apresentou o EV positivo nas dimensões: família, estresse, drogas ilícitas, comportamento, introspecção e trabalho. No Grupo 3 os estudantes apresentaram comportamento negativos do EV nas dimensões: estresse, introspecção, drogas ilícitas, comportamento, introspecção e trabalho. Por fim, os discentes no Grupo 4 apresentaram comportamentos negativos do EV nas dimensões: atividade física e estresse. Destaca-se que faixa etária apresentou associação significativa com os grupos de estudantes, sendo que os Grupos 1 e 2 eram compostos por universitários mais velhos. Os diferentes perfis de estudantes de Educação Física podem estar vinculados ao fenômeno espelhado na maioria das dimensões compostas na avaliação do instrumento, sendo que a idade é um fator preponderante para diferenciar os grupos que apresentaram comportamentos positivos e negativos frente ao EV

EXPERIMENTAL PARACOCCIDIOIDOMYCOSIS IN PREGNANT RATS

Paracoccidioidomicose (PCM), causada pelo fungo dimórfico Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb) é a micose sistêmica de maior prevalência na América Latina. Há poucos relatos na literatura sobre os danos da doença durante a gestação e as alterações para os conceptos e reprodutoras. O estudo avaliou as implicações da PCM durante o período gestacional sobre a prole e genitora em ratas Wistar. Grupos de ratas foram submetidos à infecção sistêmica por Pb, por meio de infusão intraperitoneal e acasaladas, 30 dias após a data da infecção. Imediatamente após o nascimento, as ratas e neonatos foram sacrificados para obtenção dos órgãos para exames histológicos padrão, análise de morfometria, recuperação de fungos por plaqueamento (UFC) e dosagem de anticorpos anti-Pb por ELISA. Não houve natimortos ou abortos, porém, os conceptos advindos de prenhas infectadas apresentaram menor peso corporal e dos órgãos, entre os grupos e a taxa de fecundidade foi de 100%. O maior número de UFC foi recuperado dos órgãos das ratas prenhas, o exame anátomo-patológico revelou infeção mais grave, no mesmo grupo, além do maior número de granulomas e fungos por campo. Pode-se concluir que a PCM ocorreu de modo mais grave no grupo de ratas prenhas, com implicações sobre o peso da prole.Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM), caused by the dimorphic fungus Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (Pb), is the most prevalent systemic mycosis in Latin America. There are few reports in the literature about the disease damages during pregnancy and the consequences to the fetuses and breeding. This study evaluated the implications of PCM during pregnancy on offspring and mothers in Wistar rats. Groups of rats were submitted to systemic Pb infection, by intraperitoneal infusion, and mated 30 days after the infection date. Immediately after birth, rats and neonates were sacrificed to obtain organs for standard histological examination, morphometric analysis, fungi recovery by plating (CFU) and dosing of anti-Pb antibodies by ELISA. There were no stillbirths or miscarriages, however, the fetuses from infected pregnant rats had lower body and organ weight but the fertility rate was 100%. The largest number of CFU was recovered from the organ of pregnant rats, the pathological examination revealed more severe infection in the same group, further on the largest number of granulomas and fungal field. It can be concluded that the PCM was more severe in the group of pregnant rats, with implications to the weight of offspring

A new strategy for risk assessment of PM2.5-bound elements by considering the influence of wind regimes

For regulatory purposes, air pollution has been reduced to management of air quality control regions (AQCR), by inventorying pollution sources and identifying the receptors significantly affected. However, beyond being source-dependent, particulate matter can be physically and chemically altered by factors and elements of climate during transport, as they act as local environmental constraints, indirectly modulating the adverse effects of particles on the environment and human health. This case study, at an industrial site in a Brazilian coastal city – Joinville, combines different methodologies to integrate atmospheric dynamics in a strategic risk assessment approach whereby the influence of different wind regimes on environmental and health risks of exposure to PM2.5-bound elements, are analysed. Although Joinville AQCR has been prone to stagnation/recirculation events, distinctly different horizontal wind circulation patterns indicate two airsheds within the region. The two sampling sites mirrored these two conditions and as a result we report different PM2.5 mass concentrations, chemical profiles, geo-accumulation, and ecological and human health risks. In addition, feedback mechanisms between the airsheds seem to aggravate the air quality and its effects even under good ventilation conditions. Recognizably, the risks associated with Co, Pb, Cu, Ni, Mn, and Zn loadings were extremely high for the environment as well as being the main contributors to elevated non-carcinogenic risks. Meanwhile, higher carcinogenic risks occurred during stagnation/recirculation conditions, with Cr as the major threat. These results highlight the importance of integrating local airshed characteristics into the risk assessment of PM2.5-bound elements since they can aggravate air pollution leading to different risks at a granular scale. This new approach to risk assessment can be employed in any city's longer-term development plan since it provides public authorities with a strategic perspective on incorporating environmental constraints into urban growth planning and development zoning regulations

Cuidados com a Saúde Autosselecionados pelos Usuários da Atenção Primária

RESUMO Este estudo descreve as mudanças em cuidados com a saúde que usuários da atenção primária escolheram adotar após participarem de uma ação de educação em saúde sobre cuidados com a saúde e determinar o grau de comprometimento desses usuários com essas mudanças autoestabelecidas. Foi desenvolvida uma ação de educação em saúde com usuários da atenção primária sobre cuidados com a saúde. Os indivíduos foram avaliados imediatamente após esta ação e dois a três meses depois, por meio de um questionário semiestruturado. Os relatos foram analisados pela análise de conteúdo. Entre os participantes, 31% tiveram como objetivo praticar atividade física, 28% melhorar a alimentação, 22,9% cuidar da saúde mental, 12,6% emagrecer, 10,3% cuidar da saúde em geral, 6,9% consumir menos álcool, 4,6% parar de fumar, e 1,15% cuidar do meio ambiente. Após dois a três meses, 8,62% não se lembraram e não cumpriram as metas autoestabelecidas, 22,41% as cumpriram totalmente, e 68,97%, apesar de se lembrarem, não as cumpriram. Desses, 77,5% apontaram como motivo para o não cumprimento a falta de disciplina, 17,5% a falta de tempo e 5% problemas de saúde

Extraprensa. Cultura e comunicação na América Latina (vol. 10 no. 2 ene-jun 2017)

A revista Extraprensa é um periódico destinado à publicação da produção científica nas áreas da cultura e da comunicação no Brasil e América Latina, abrangendo temas como a diversidade cultural, cidadania, expressões das culturas populares, artes, mídias alternativas, epistemologia e metodologia em cultura e comunicação