Varicella Admissions in Children and Adolescents in Portugal: 2000-2015

OBJECTIVES Varicella is a common, usually benign, and autolimited disease in children but can lead to severe complications and hospitalization. With this study, we aim to analyze all varicella hospitalizations to provide epidemiological information to help outline preventive policies. METHODS We assessed all varicella hospitalizations in children aged 0 to 17 years, from 2000 to 2015, in mainland, public Portuguese hospitals using a Portuguese administrative database. Seasonality, geographic distribution, severity, complications, risk factors, use of diagnostic and treatment procedures and hospitalization costs were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 5120 hospitalizations were registered, with an annual rate of 17.3 hospitalizations per 100 000 inhabitants. A higher number of hospitalizations occurred during the summer period and in Southern regions. The median length of stay was of 4 days (interquartile range: 3.0–7.0). We found a high rate of severe complications, mostly dermatologic (19.6%), neurologic (6.0%), and respiratory (5.1%). Of the total number of patients, 0.8% were immunocompromised and 0.1% were pregnant. Total direct hospitalization costs during the 16-year period were estimated to be 7 110 719€ (8 603 970 USD), with a mean annual cost of 444 419.92€ (537 748.10 USD). CONCULSIONS This is the first national study in which useful epidemiological data to evaluate the burden and impact of varicella in Portugal is provided.No external funding

A MIRAGEM DO LUSO-TROPICALISMO EM BREVIÁRIO DO BRASIL E CASA-GRANDE E SENZALA

 Este artigo pretende abordar os reflexos de Casa-grande e senzala (1933), ensaio sociológico do brasileiro Gilberto Freyre, na representação do Brasil expressa no diário de viagem Breviário do Brasil (1991), da renomada escritora portuguesa Agustina Bessa-Luís, a partir de três ideias recorrentes em ambas as obras, a saber: a) não existe racismo no Brasil; b) o português foi um colonizador menos agressivo; c) o erotismo permeia as relações entre os brasileiros. A obra de Gilberto Freyre é elogiada em Breviário do Brasil, sendo que Casa-grande e senzala constitui para Bessa-Luís uma “cartilha maravilhosa”, isto é, um texto de referência, para a investigação da realidade brasileira. Considerando isso, o objetivo deste trabalho é refletir sobre como o diálogo entre as referidas obras pode levar ao reforço de estereótipos e até mesmo de preconceitos sobre o Brasil e seu povo e, a partir dessa discussão, pensar sobre as armadilhas dos conceitos de luso-tropicalismo e de comunidade luso-brasileira, com o auxílio de pensadores como Eduardo Lourenço e Roberto Vecchi. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Literatura portuguesa. Pós-colonialismo. Luso-tropicalismo.

The importance of serological assays in diagnosing acute pulmonary histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis is a systemic mycosis caused by inhalation of Histoplasma capsulatum microconidia. The disease does not normally affect immunocompetent individuals after a single, transient inhalation exposure. However, longer exposure may cause chronic or disseminated acute pulmonary infection. Herein, we report the case of a 24-year-old immunocompetent patient, who presented fever, cough and dyspnea for one month. The chest radiography revealed interstitial infiltrate and diffuse micronodules. The patient reported having had close and prolonged contact with bats. Diagnosis was confirmed by positive double immunodifusion and immunoblotting assays. She was treated with ketoconazole (400 mg) and there was complete resolution of the disease

Parametric and Model Uncertainties Induced by Reduced Order Chemical Mechanisms for Biogas Combustion

This study investigates the impact of chemical kinetic uncertainties on biogas combustion using a Uncertainty Quantification (UQ)-based methodology. The results indicate that the variation of physicochemical properties introduced by composition variability introduces smaller uncertainties in the resulting flame properties than the Arrhenius parameters involved in the kinetics used to describe the oxidation process. We demonstrate that the use of reduced mechanisms for methane-air oxidation could be a starting point to develop optimized schemes for biogas combustion. In that regard, we adopted an embedded discrepancy approach to understanding the limits of the use of a reduced mechanism for methane/air in this renewable fuel. This strategy provides a way to reduce systematically the cost of reaction kinetics in simulations, while quantifying the accuracy of predictions of important target quantities. Finally, we develop a surrogate model for biogas flame propagation using machine learning techniques to make feasible a broader UQ analysis.The research leading to these results had received funding from the European Union’s Horizon2020 Programme (2014-2020) and from Brazilian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation through Rede Nacional de Pesquisa (RNP) under the HPC4E Project (www.hpc4e.eu), grant agreement number 689772Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Hepatitis C virus infection in Brazilian long-distance truck drivers

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a global public health problem. Long-distance truck drivers live apart from their family for long periods of time, a lifestyle that favors at-risk behaviors such as unprotected sex with multiple partners and illicit drug use. As data concerning HCV infection in this population are still rare, this paper aims to investigate the prevalence, genotypes/subtypes, and the factors associated with HCV infection in long-distance truck drivers in Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out with 641 Brazilian long-truck drivers who were recruited at a major truck stop located at kilometer 1,296 of the BR-153 highway, which is considered to be one of the longest roads in Brazil. All individuals were interviewed, and their serum samples were tested for the presence of antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV) by ELISA and immunoblot. Anti-HCV positive samples were tested for HCV RNA by PCR amplification of the 5' NC and NS5B regions and were genotyped using the LiPA assay and nucleotide sequencing, respectively. Factors associated with HCV infection were identified with logistic regression. The prevalence of HCV infection was 1.4% (95% CI: 0.7-2.8). History of blood transfusion, sharing of personal hygiene tools, illicit drug use and HBV status were factors independently associated with HCV infection in the study population. HCV RNA was detected in 8/9 anti-HCV positive samples, in which genotypes 1 (n = 3), 2 (n = 2), and 3 (n = 3) were determined by LiPA. Using phylogenetic tree analysis of the NS5B region, subtypes 1a (n = 1), 1b (n = 2), 2b (n = 2) and 3a (n = 3) were identified. These data show that the prevalence of HCV infection among Brazilian truck drivers was similar to that observed for the general population. History of blood transfusion, sharing of personal hygiene tools, illicit drug use and HBV status were predictors of HCV infection. The HCV genotypes/subtypes identified in the study population are consistent with those circulating in Brazil

APOE polymorphism is associated with lipid profile, but not with arterial stiffness in the general population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the main cause of death and disability in developed countries. In most cases, the progress of CVD is influenced by environmental factors and multifactorial inheritance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between <it>APOE </it>genotypes, cardiovascular risk factors, and a non-invasive measure of arterial stiffness in the Brazilian population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 1493 urban Brazilian individuals were randomly selected from the general population of the Vitoria City Metropolitan area. Genetic analysis of the <it>APOE </it>polymorphism was conducted by PCR-RFLP and pulse wave velocity analyzed with a noninvasive automatic device.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Age, gender, body mass index, triglycerides, creatinine, uric acid, blood glucose, blood pressure phenotypes were no different between ε2, ε3 and ε4 alleles. The ε4 allele was associated with higher total-cholesterol (p < 0.001), LDL-C (p < 0.001), total-cholesterol/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), LDL/HDL-C ratio (p < 0.001), lower HDL-C values (p < 0.001) and higher risk to obesity (OR = 1.358, 95% CI = 1.019-1.811) and hyperuricemia (OR = 1.748, 95% CI = 1.170-2.611). Nevertheless, pulse wave velocity (p = 0.66) measures were no different between genotypes. The significant association between APOE genotypes and lipid levels persisted after a 5-year follow-up interval, but no interaction between time and genotype was observed for lipids longitudinal behavior.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The ε4 allele of the <it>APOE </it>gene is associated with a worse lipid profile in the Brazilian urban population. In our relatively young sample, the observed effect of <it>APOE </it>genotype on lipid levels was not translated into significant effects in arterial wall stiffness.</p

Selective enzymatic lipophilization of anthocyanin glucosides from blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) skin extract and characterization of esterified anthocyanins

Anthocyanins (ANC) are hydrophilic and water-soluble polyphenolic plant pigments. The current barriers to successful application of ANC in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries are predominantly related to performance, stability, formulation properties, and color. Enzymatic acylation of ANC could increase their stability without compromising bioactivity and chromatic features. Lipophilization of ANC-rich blackcurrant skin extract with Candida antarctica lipase B and octanoic acid was selective to cyanidin and delphinidin glucosides, but not the corresponding rutinosides. The reaction was chemo- and regioselective for acylation at the primary alcohol of the glucose moieties, greatly facilitating separation of the different glycoside derivatives

Natural Growth Promoters Replacing Traditional Growth Promoters in Diets for Light Replacement Pullets: A Systematic Approach

ABSTRACT The effect of using natural growth promoters (NGP) to replace traditional antimicrobials on performance, biometry of digestive and reproductive organs, sexual maturity and bone characteristics of replacement pullets was evaluated; and the relationship between these variables according to the diets was verified. Eight-week-old birds were randomly assigned to a completely randomized design and fed different diets: negative control (without growth promoters); positive control - conventional growth promoter; organic acids (OA); symbiotic (S); essential oil (EO); OA + S; and EO + S. The performance, relative weight of digestive and reproductive organs and length intestines, height and crest length, sternum length, bone quality and sexual maturity of birds were similar (p>0.05) between treatments. The heat map combined with cluster analysis showed a uniform static pattern with the formation of three horizontal groups formed by the treatments: 1) negative control, S and OA + S; 2) positive control and OE and 3) OA and OE + S. A null relationship between the treatments and the variables under study was observed. The principal components analysis revealed an association of variables in three components with 60.55% of variation. NGP can replace traditional promoters, as they do not interfere with performance, biometrics or sexual maturity. Height and length are predictive variables for the development of reproductive organs, especially the oviduct. A similarity was identified through multivariate techniques between symbiotic and organic + symbiotic acids; positive control and essential oils; and organic and symbiotic acids + essential oils

Comfort from the perspective of families of people hospitalized in the intensive care unit

This study aimed at understanding the meaning of comfort to the families of people in intensive care units. It consists of a qualitative study carried out in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Salvador-Bahia. Fourteen family members were interviewed. The authors utilized the theoretical principles of symbolic interactionism and the technique of qualitative data analysis. Results indicated that the categories Safety, Receptiveness, Information, Proximity, Social and Spiritual Support, Convenience and Integration expressed the meaning of comfort, which was comprised of reliability in terms of technical-scientific competence and a supportive and sensitive attitude of the team, chance of recovery, access to information and the opportunity to be close to the patient, support of people in their social life, spiritual sources and the environmental structure of the hospital, preservation of self-care and routine activities. It was concluded that the family is important as objects and subjects of the actions in healthcare and must be the focus in public health policies and programs in Brazil