Effects of State Action on Health: a regionalized analysis of Brazil / Efeitos da ação do Estado na saúde: uma análise regionalizada do Brasil

This study investigates the effects of State action on health in Brazil, considering social determinants of health. As a benchmark for population health outcomes, we adopted the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). The research method is quantitative, with a quasi-experimental design. It is an ecological study using the 438 Brazilian health regions as unit of analysis. The data were collected from official government sources. The main statistical technique adopted was multiple logistic regression analysis. An outstanding aspect drawn from the results is that all the dimensions that measure state action used in this study presented statistically significant effects in decreasing the chances of a region being in a high IMR group, depending on the control variables included in the model. The only variable that presented a significant effect, considering all other factors of control, was the prenatal coverage indicator. Another important result was that the socioeconomic situation of the region had a substantial and significant effect on all models tested when the highest income level was compared to the lowest. Thus, for a possible reduction of health inequalities, the very determinants of social inequalities should be taken into account in addition to determinant or associated health factors. However, it should be noted that state action alone in the health area has the potential to act in determining the health conditions of the circumscribed population in each health region, even when considering the unequal distribution of socioeconomic factors in these territories

Projeto "Diverte-te sem álcool"

O álcool é a substância mais consumida entre os jovens adolescentes, sendo que a idade de início de consumo tem sido cada vez menor. Após a realização de um diagnóstico da situação de saúde na Escola Secundária Rainha Santa Isabel de Estremoz, concluímos que a maioria dos jovens inquiridos, já ingeriu bebidas alcoólicas e que o fizerem na companhia dos amigos ou dos pais. As bebidas mais ingeridas por estes jovens são a cerveja e as bebidas destiladas. No seguimento do diagnóstico da situação de saúde, foi desenvolvido um Projeto de Intervenção Comunitária com ações direcionadas aos jovens e à comunidade em geral. Os principais objetivos do projeto foram aumentar os conhecimentos sobre as consequências do consumo de álcool prematuro e excessivo, capacitar grupos de pares para intervirem junto dos colegas e promover eventos que alertem a população adolescente e a comunidade Estremocense para os malefícios do consumo de álcool. Verificou-se uma forte adesão por parte dos jovens às atividades propostas; ### Abstract Alcohol is the most consumed substance for young adolescents, they start consumption younger than some years ago. After conducting an assessment of the health situation in the Secondary School Rainha Santa Isabel in Estremoz, we conclude that most young respondents, have consumed alcoholic beverages and also that they did it in the company of friends or parents. The drinks most ingested by these young people are beer and spirits. The main reasons, for starting the consumption. Following the diagnosis of the health situation, we developed a Community Intervention Project with actions directed to young people and the community in general, in order to prevent premature consumption of alcoholic beverages. The main objectives of the project were to increase knowledge about the consequences of premature and excessive alcohol consumption and enable groups of peers to interfere with colleagues and also promote events to alert the adolescent population and community of Estremoz to the potential damage of alcohol consumption. There was a strong participation from young people to the proposed activities

Hydrodynamics and water quality modelling in a regulated river segment: application on the instream flow definition

The aim of this paper is to present a global study on the hydrodynamics, water quality and their influence on aquatic fauna. The case study was conducted on a segment of the Lima river (North Portugal), downstream of the Touvedo dam, which was mainly constructed for hydroelectric power production.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VBS-4BHVGYD-7/1/7765917f49c0a6b3764cf34a8227cfc

Timing of Fluoride Intake and Dental Fluorosis On Late-Erupting Permanent Teeth

Objective: Very few studies have examined the relationship between timing of fluoride intake and development of dental fluorosis on late-erupting permanent teeth using period-specific fluoride intake information. This study examined this relationship using longitudinal fluoride intake information from the Iowa Fluoride Study. Methods: Participants’ fluoride exposure and intake (birth to 10 years of age) from water, beverages, selected food products, dietary fluoride supplements, and fluoride toothpaste was collected using questionnaires sent to parents at 3- and 4- month intervals from birth to 48 months of age and every 6 months thereafter. Three trained and calibrated examiners used the Fluorosis Risk Index (FRI) categories to assess 16 late-erupting teeth among 465 study participants. A tooth was defined as having definitive fluorosis if any of the zones on that tooth had an FRI score of 2 or 3. Participants with questionable fluorosis were excluded from analyses. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the importance of fluoride intake during different time periods. Results: Most dental fluorosis in the study population was mild, with only four subjects (1%) having severe fluorosis (FRI Score 3). The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis was 27.8%. Logistic regression analyses showed that fluoride intake from each of the individual years from age 2 to 8 plays an important role in determining the risk of dental fluorosis for most late-erupting permanent teeth. The strongest association for fluorosis on the late-erupting permanent teeth was with fluoride intake during the sixth year of life. Conclusion: Late-erupting teeth may be susceptible to fluorosis for an extended period from about age 2 to 8. Although not as visually prominent as the maxillary central incisors, some of the late-erupting teeth are esthetically important and this should be taken into consideration when making recommendations about dosing of fluoride intake

Indo na contramão: dos imperativos discursivos da legislação às práticas sociais para os Letramentos Surdos na Educação Básica

This article aims to analyze discursive imperatives enunciated in the Common National Curriculum Base (BNCC) and in Law 10,436/2002, which regulates Libras as a Communication Language, as guides for teaching and learning Portuguese Language (LP) in Basic Education, in order to understand reverberations for deaf school literacy practices. Therefore, the problematic part of the following questions: how the discursive imperatives enunciated in the BNCC and in Law 10,436/2002 guide the teaching of LP as a second language (L2) in Basic Education, as these documents are constituted as guides of practices for the school literacy of deaf students? In this sense, through a qualitative approach, this study is affiliated to Literacy Studies and Discourse Linguistics - due to the representational issue - as a theoretical-methodological contribution to the analysis of BNCC statements and the aforementioned law, documents that constitute the corpus of this work. Therefore, pedagogical methods and devices used to teach LP at school for hearing and/or deaf people should consider the teaching of L2 in the written modality, in order to develop literacy practices that consider its particularities. However, the discussion is limited in the BNCC, while Law 10,436/2002 provides for the LP as L2 for this audience, in order to consider its specificities, such as methodologies for teaching L2, teacher training, didactic material and supportive.Este artigo objetiva analisar imperativos discursivos enunciados na Base Nacional Comum Curricular (BNCC) e na Lei 10.436/2002, que regulamenta Libras como Língua de Comunicação, como orientadores do ensino-aprendizagem de Língua Portuguesa (LP) na Educação Básica, a fim de compreender   reverberações para práticas de letramento escolar surdo. Para tanto, a problemática parte dos seguintes questionamentos: de que forma os imperativos discursivos enunciados na BNCC e na Lei 10.436/2002 orientam o ensino de LP como segunda língua (L2) na Educação Básica, na medida em que esses documentos se constituem como orientadores de práticas para o letramento escolar do aluno surdo? Nesse sentido, por meio da abordagem qualitativa, este estudo filia-se aos Estudos do Letramento e à Linguística do Discurso - pela problemática representacional - como aporte teórico-metodológico  para a realização da análise de enunciados da BNCC e da lei supracitada, documentos que constituem o corpus deste trabalho. Logo, métodos e dispositivos  pedagógicos utilizados para ensinar LP na escola para ouvintes e/ou para surdos devem considerar o  ensino de L2 na modalidade escrita, a fim de desenvolver práticas de letramento que considerem suas particularidades. No entanto, a discussão é limitada na BNCC, ao passo em que a Lei 10.436/2002 prevê a LP como L2 para esse público, de modo a considerar suas especificidades, a exemplo das metodologias para o ensino de L2, formação de professores, material didático e de apoio

Towards a structural understanding of the fibrillization pathway in Machado-Joseph’s disease: trapping early oligomers of non-expanded ataxin-3

Machado-Joseph’s disease is caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion that is translated into an abnormally long polyglutamine tract in the protein ataxin-3. Except for the polyglutamine region, proteins associated with polyglutamine diseases are unrelated, and for all of these diseases aggregates containing these proteins are the major components of the nuclear proteinaceous deposits found in the brain. Aggregates of the expanded proteins display amyloid-like morphological and biophysical properties. Human ataxin-3 containing a non-pathological number of glutamine residues (14Q), as well as its Caenorhabditis elegans (1Q) orthologue, showed a high tendency towards self-interaction and aggregation, under nearphysiological conditions. In order to understand the discrete steps in the assembly process leading to ataxin-3 oligomerization, we have separated chromatographically high molecular mass oligomers as well as medium mass multimers of non-expanded ataxin-3. We show that: (a) oligomerization occurs independently of the poly(Q)-repeat and it is accompanied by an increase in b-structure; and (b) the first intermediate in the oligomerization pathway is a Josephin domain-mediated dimer of ataxin- 3. Furthermore, non-expanded ataxin-3 oligomers are recognized by a specific antibody that targets a conformational epitope present in soluble cytotoxic species found in the fibrillization pathway of expanded polyglutamine proteins and other amyloid-forming proteins. Imaging of the oligomeric forms of the non-pathological protein using electron microscopy reveals globular particles, as well as short chains of such particles that likely mimic the initial stages in the fibrillogenesis pathway occurring in the polyglutamine-expanded protein. Thus, they constitute potential targets for therapeutic approaches in Machado-Joseph’s disease, as well as valuable diagnostic markers in disease settings

Evaluation of the effectiveness of a novel brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention to relieve neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury: Protocol for a single-case experimental design with multiple baselines

Background: Neuropathic pain is a debilitating secondary condition for many individuals with spinal cord injury. Spinal cord injury neuropathic pain often is poorly responsive to existing pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments. A growing body of evidence supports the potential for brain-computer interface systems to reduce spinal cord injury neuropathic pain via electroencephalographic neurofeedback. However, further studies are needed to provide more definitive evidence regarding the effectiveness of this intervention. Objective: The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a multiday course of a brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention in a gaming environment to provide pain relief for individuals with neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury. Methods: We have developed a novel brain-computer interface-based neuromodulative intervention for spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. Our brain-computer interface neuromodulative treatment includes an interactive gaming interface, and a neuromodulation protocol targeted to suppress theta (4-8 Hz) and high beta (20-30 Hz) frequency powers, and enhance alpha (9-12 Hz) power. We will use a single-case experimental design with multiple baselines to examine the effectiveness of our self-developed brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention for the treatment of spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. We will recruit 3 participants with spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. Each participant will be randomly allocated to a different baseline phase (ie, 7, 10, or 14 days), which will then be followed by 20 sessions of a 30-minute brain-computer interface neuromodulative intervention over a 4-week period. The visual analog scale assessing average pain intensity will serve as the primary outcome measure. We will also assess pain interference as a secondary outcome domain. Generalization measures will assess quality of life, sleep quality, and anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as resting-state electroencephalography and thalamic γ-aminobutyric acid concentration. Results: This study was approved by the Human Research Committees of the University of New South Wales in July 2019 and the University of Technology Sydney in January 2020. We plan to begin the trial in October 2020 and expect to publish the results by the end of 2021. Conclusions: This clinical trial using single-case experimental design methodology has been designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel brain-computer interface neuromodulative treatment for people with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury. Single-case experimental designs are considered a viable alternative approach to randomized clinical trials to identify evidence-based practices in the field of technology-based health interventions when recruitment of large samples is not feasible

CuMV VLPs Containing the RBM from SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Drive Dendritic Cell Activation and Th1 Polarization.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most specialized and proficient antigen-presenting cells. They bridge innate and adaptive immunity and display a powerful capacity to prime antigen-specific T cells. The interaction of DCs with the receptor-binding domain of the spike (S) protein from the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a pivotal step to induce effective immunity against the S protein-based vaccination protocols, as well as the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Herein, we describe the cellular and molecular events triggered by virus-like particles (VLPs) containing the receptor-binding motif from the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells, or, as controls, in the presence of the Toll-like receptors (TLR)3 and TLR7/8 agonists, comprehending the events of dendritic cell maturation and their crosstalk with T cells. The results demonstrated that VLPs boosted the expression of major histocompatibility complex molecules and co-stimulatory receptors of DCs, indicating their maturation. Furthermore, DCs' interaction with VLPs promoted the activation of the NF-kB pathway, a very important intracellular signalling pathway responsible for triggering the expression and secretion of proinflammatory cytokines. Additionally, co-culture of DCs with T cells triggered CD4+ (mainly CD4+Tbet+) and CD8+ T cell proliferation. Our results suggested that VLPs increase cellular immunity, involving DC maturation and T cell polarization towards a type 1 T cells profile. By providing deeper insight into the mechanisms of activation and regulation of the immune system by DCs, these findings will enable the design of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2

O uso da técnica do mata-leão em abordagem policial: um estudo multimodal de fala-em-interação

O uso ético da força em abordagens policiais tem recebido cada vez mais destaque na discussão sobre a violência policial no Brasil e no mundo. Neste artigo, examinamos, à luz da Análise da Conversa Multimodal (ACM), um vídeo postado no YouTube que registra o emprego da técnica de imobilização conhecida popularmente como mata-leão. Os resultados demonstram que a tomada de decisão do uso da força é um processo interpretativo, coconstruído interacionalmente. Considerando-se os protocolos institucionais oficiais sobre o uso progressivo da força, a videoanálise indica adiantamento de condutas corporificadas de coerção dos policiais. Revela também modelos culturais postos em ação na conduta policial. Assim, reivindicamos a relevância dos conhecimentos interacionais como nova chave analítica para se entender a tomada de decisão policial e o uso progressivo da força, destacando-se seu potencial para a formação policial.  Palavras-chave: Análise da Conversa Multimodal; Mata-leão; Violência Policial

Separation of Oligosaccharides from Lotus Seeds via Medium-pressure Liquid Chromatography Coupled with ELSD and DAD

peer-reviewedLotus seeds were identified by the Ministry of Public Health of China as both food and medicine. One general function of lotus seeds is to improve intestinal health. However, to date, studies evaluating the relationship between bioactive compounds in lotus seeds and the physiological activity of the intestine are limited. In the present study, by using medium pressure liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light-scattering detector and diode-array detector, five oligosaccharides were isolated and their structures were further characterized by electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In vitro testing determined that LOS3-1 and LOS4 elicited relatively good proliferative effects on Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus. These results indicated a structure-function relationship between the physiological activity of oligosaccharides in lotus seeds and the number of probiotics applied, thus providing room for improvement of this particular feature. Intestinal probiotics may potentially become a new effective drug target for the regulation of immunity