Fine motor coordination and writing of 6-9 year-old children born preterm and full term

O objetivo deste trabalho consistiu em investigar a relação entre coordenação fina e qualidade da escrita em escolares nascidos pré-termo e a termo. Quanto ao método, utilizou-se de descrição e comparação entre: grupo pré-termo – 28 escolares, com idade gestacional entre 32 e 36 semanas, peso ao nascer ≤ 2.500g, e o grupo a termo – 28 escolares nascidos com idade gestacional ≥ 37 semanas, peso ao nascer ≥ 2.500g, emparelhados por gênero, idade, sala escolar e condição socioeconômica. Os pais dos escolares de ambos os grupos responderam a questionários de desempenho motor e classificação econômica. O desempenho motor e a escrita foram examinados com a Avaliação da Coordenação e Destreza Motora (ACOORDEM) e os professores responderam a questionários para identificar déficits motores (DCDQ–Brasil), de atenção e aprendizagem (EDTAH). Sobre os resultados, constatou-se diferença significativa em alguns itens dos testes de escrita e coordenação fina, e pré-termos tenderam a desempenho inferior na escrita, coordenação fina e global e maior probabilidade de déficit de atenção e hiperatividade. Foi encontrada correlação entre o desempenho na escrita e alguns itens motores. Os resultados apontaram mais probabilidade a dificuldades motoras e na escrita entre escolares pré-termo, com implicações para assistência e educação dessas crianças.Objectives: To investigate the relation between fine motor coordination and the quality of writing in school children born preterm and full term. Method: Description and comparison between the preterm group – 28 school children with gestational ages between 32 and 36 weeks, birth weight ≤ 2500 g; and full term group – 28 school children born at gestational age ≥ 37 weeks, birth weight ≥ 2500 g, paired by gender, age, school class and socioeconomic status. The parents of the school children in both groups completed questionnaires on motor performance and economic classification. Motor performance and writing were assessed by the Motor Coordination and Dexterity Assessment (ACOORDEM), and the teachers completed questionnaires to identify motor cordination difficulties (DCDQ–Brazil), attention, and learning (EDTAH) deficits. Results: There were significant differences in some items of writing and fine coordination tests, and preterm infants tended to underperform in writing, fine and global coordination and were more prone to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. A correlation between performance in writing and some motor items was found. The results indicated greater probability of motor and writing difficulties among preterm school children, with implications for their care and education

Perfil de resistência em bactérias isoladas de superfícies de um hospital público de Juazeiro do Norte-CE.

The present study aimed to evaluate the resistance profile of bacteria isolated on surfaces of a public hospital in the city of Juazeiro do Norte-CE. The samples were collected on different surfaces, and transported in Stuart medium. These were inoculated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) and later seeded in chromogenic medium, where the bacterial species were identified. To perform the resistance profile the disk diffusion method was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute/ NCCLS standard. The identification of the bacteria was performed in triplicate, where of 18 areas surveyed, totaling 54 surfaces, all showed microbial growth: Bacillus sp. (52%), Staphylococcus coagulase negative (14%), Enterococcus sp. (24%), Streptococcusagalactiae (5%) and Acinetobacter sp. (5%). The adoption of good practices for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces effectively reduces the risk of contamination by such vehicles.O presente trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o perfil de resistência das bactérias isoladas em superfícies de um hospital público da cidade de Juazeiro do Norte-CE. As amostras foram coletadas em diferentes superfícies, e transportadas em meio Stuart. Essas foram inoculadas em Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) e posteriormente semeadas em meio cromogênico, onde foram identificadas as espécies bacterianas. Para realização do perfil de resistência foi realizado o método de difusão em disco. A identificação das bactérias foi realizada em triplicata onde em 100% das superfícies houve o crescimento microbiano sendo: Bacillus sp. (52%), Staphylococcus coagulase negativa (14%), Enterococcus sp. (24%), Streptococcus agalactiae (5%) e Acinetobacter sp. (5%).  A implementação da comissão de controle de infecções hospitalares (CCIH) e a adoção de boas práticas de limpeza e desinfecção de superfícies de forma eficaz diminuem os riscos de contaminação por meio desses veículos.Descritores: Microrganismos. Beta-lactamases. Infecção hospitalar. Resistência. Antibióticos

Allergenic Lipid Transfer Proteins from Plant-Derived Foods Do Not Immunologically and Clinically Behave Homogeneously: The Kiwifruit LTP as a Model

BACKGROUND: Food allergy is increasingly common worldwide. Tools for allergy diagnosis measuring IgE improved much since allergenic molecules and microarrays started to be used. IgE response toward allergens belonging to the same group of molecules has not been comprehensively explored using such approach yet. OBJECTIVE: Using the model of lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) from plants as allergens, including two new structures, we sought to define how heterogeneous is the behavior of homologous proteins. METHODS: Two new allergenic LTPs, Act d 10 and Act c 10, have been identified in green (Actinidia deliciosa) and gold (Actinidia chinensis) kiwifruit (KF), respectively, using clinically characterized allergic patients, and their biochemical features comparatively evaluated by means of amino acid sequence alignments. Along with other five LTPs from peach, mulberry, hazelnut, peanut, mugwort, KF LTPs, preliminary tested positive for IgE, have been immobilized on a microarray, used for IgE testing 1,003 allergic subjects. Comparative analysis has been carried out. RESULTS: Alignment of Act d 10 primary structure with the other allergenic LTPs shows amino acid identities to be in a narrow range between 40 and 55%, with a number of substitutions making the sequences quite different from each other. Although peach LTP dominates the IgE immune response in terms of prevalence, epitope recognition driven by sequence heterogeneity has been recorded to be distributed in a wide range of behaviors. KF LTPs IgE positive results were obtained in a patient subset IgE positive for the peach LTP. Anyhow, the negative results on homologous molecules allowed us to reintroduce KF in patients' diet. CONCLUSION: The biochemical nature of allergenic molecule belonging to a group of homologous ones should not be taken as proof of immunological recognition as well. The availability of panels of homologous molecules to be tested using microarrays is valuable to address the therapeutic intervention

AVALIAÇÃO FITOQUÍMICA, ANTIBACTERIANA E MODULATÓRIA DOS EXTRATOS METANÓLICO E HEXÂNICO DA FOLHA DE Eugenia uniflora L.

Eugenia uniflora L. pertence à família Myrtaceae, no qual é originária da mata atlântica brasileira, é popularmente conhecida como pitangueira sendo muito utilizada no combate de diarréias, reumatismo, febres, distúrbios gastrointestinais, na atividade anti-inflamatória, antimicrobiana e também atua na estratégia hipoglicemiante. Este estudo tem como principal objetivo avaliar a prospecção fitoquímica, antibacteriana e moduladora dos extratos metanólico e hexânico das folhas de E. uniflora L. frente a cepas de bactérias padrões e multirresistentes. Para a análise da atividade antibacteriana dos extratos metanólico e hexânico, foi realizado o teste de microdiluição em caldo para determinação da concentração inibitória mínima (CIM), e a modulação de aminoglicosídeos por meio de gentamicina e amicacina. Os resultados obtidos da CIM pelas bactérias Escherichia coli e Staphylococcus aureus, foram ≥ 1024µg/mL para os dois extratos. Na modulação, houve antagonismo tanto para o extrato metanólico, quanto para o hexânico, frente as bactérias multirresistentes SA 358 e EC 27. Desse modo é essencial realizar novos estudos sobre os produtos naturais utilizados pela população e suas ações sobre os antimicrobianos testados, pois podem apresentar os mesmos efeitos como este, em que, reduz o efeito do antibiótico e assim podendo dificultar o tratamento de diversas doenças

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Familial hypercholesterolaemia in children and adolescents from 48 countries: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately 450 000 children are born with familial hypercholesterolaemia worldwide every year, yet only 2·1% of adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia were diagnosed before age 18 years via current diagnostic approaches, which are derived from observations in adults. We aimed to characterise children and adolescents with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HeFH) and understand current approaches to the identification and management of familial hypercholesterolaemia to inform future public health strategies. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we assessed children and adolescents younger than 18 years with a clinical or genetic diagnosis of HeFH at the time of entry into the Familial Hypercholesterolaemia Studies Collaboration (FHSC) registry between Oct 1, 2015, and Jan 31, 2021. Data in the registry were collected from 55 regional or national registries in 48 countries. Diagnoses relying on self-reported history of familial hypercholesterolaemia and suspected secondary hypercholesterolaemia were excluded from the registry; people with untreated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) of at least 13·0 mmol/L were excluded from this study. Data were assessed overall and by WHO region, World Bank country income status, age, diagnostic criteria, and index-case status. The main outcome of this study was to assess current identification and management of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia. Findings: Of 63 093 individuals in the FHSC registry, 11 848 (18·8%) were children or adolescents younger than 18 years with HeFH and were included in this study; 5756 (50·2%) of 11 476 included individuals were female and 5720 (49·8%) were male. Sex data were missing for 372 (3·1%) of 11 848 individuals. Median age at registry entry was 9·6 years (IQR 5·8-13·2). 10 099 (89·9%) of 11 235 included individuals had a final genetically confirmed diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolaemia and 1136 (10·1%) had a clinical diagnosis. Genetically confirmed diagnosis data or clinical diagnosis data were missing for 613 (5·2%) of 11 848 individuals. Genetic diagnosis was more common in children and adolescents from high-income countries (9427 [92·4%] of 10 202) than in children and adolescents from non-high-income countries (199 [48·0%] of 415). 3414 (31·6%) of 10 804 children or adolescents were index cases. Familial-hypercholesterolaemia-related physical signs, cardiovascular risk factors, and cardiovascular disease were uncommon, but were more common in non-high-income countries. 7557 (72·4%) of 10 428 included children or adolescents were not taking lipid-lowering medication (LLM) and had a median LDL-C of 5·00 mmol/L (IQR 4·05-6·08). Compared with genetic diagnosis, the use of unadapted clinical criteria intended for use in adults and reliant on more extreme phenotypes could result in 50-75% of children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia not being identified. Interpretation: Clinical characteristics observed in adults with familial hypercholesterolaemia are uncommon in children and adolescents with familial hypercholesterolaemia, hence detection in this age group relies on measurement of LDL-C and genetic confirmation. Where genetic testing is unavailable, increased availability and use of LDL-C measurements in the first few years of life could help reduce the current gap between prevalence and detection, enabling increased use of combination LLM to reach recommended LDL-C targets early in life

Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo

Minimal Symptom Expression' in Patients With Acetylcholine Receptor Antibody-Positive Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab

The efficacy and tolerability of eculizumab were assessed in REGAIN, a 26-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG), and its open-label extension

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis