Predictors of the risk of falls among elderly with chronic atrial fibrillation

OBJECTIVES: Though elderly persons with chronic atrial fibrillation have more comorbidities that could limit indications for the chronic use of anticoagulants, few studies have focused on the risk of falls within this particular group. To evaluate the predictors of the risk of falls among elderly with chronic atrial fibrillation, a cross-sectional, observational study was performed. METHODS: From 295 consecutive patients aged 60 years or older with a history of atrial fibrillation who were enrolled within the last 2 years in the cardiogeriatrics outpatient clinic of the Instituto do Coracao do Hospital das Clinicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Sao Paulo, 107 took part in this study. Their age was 77.9 +/- 6.4 years, and 62 were female. They were divided into two groups: a) no history of falls in the previous year and b) a history of one or more falls in the previous year. Data regarding the history of falls and social, demographic, anthropometric, and clinical information were collected. Multidimensional assessment instruments and questionnaires were applied. RESULTS: At least one fall was reported in 55 patients (51.4%). Among them, 27 (49.1%) presented recurrent falls, with body lesions in 90.4% and fractures in 9.1% of the cases. Multivariate logistic regression showed that self-reported difficulty maintaining balance, use of amiodarone, and diabetes were independent variables associated with the risk of falls, with a sensitivity of 92.9% and a specificity of 44.9%. CONCLUSION: In a group of elderly patients with chronic atrial fibrillation who were relatively independent and able to attend an outpatient clinic, the occurrence of falls with recurrence and clinical consequences was high. Difficulty maintaining balance, the use of amiodarone and a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus were independent predictors of the risk for falls. Thus, simple clinical data predicted falls better than objective functional tests

Dependence and quality of life clinical determinants in elderly attended in an outpatient cardiologic service

INTRODUÇÃO: Com o envelhecimento da população, a prevalência de doenças crônico-degenerativas sofreu aumento progressivo. A repercussão dessas doenças sobre a capacidade funcional foi reconhecida. Outro parâmetro de saúde é a \"qualidade de vida\" ou, preferivelmente, \"qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde. A avaliação destes parâmetros emergiu como parte importante do exame clínico do idoso. Na população idosa, as doenças cardiovasculares destacam-se pelo enorme impacto epidemiológico e clínico. Elas, geralmente, vêm associadas a outras afecções, inclusive neuropsiquiátricas. Esse conjunto de problemas pode comprometer a independência e a qualidade de vida do idoso que busca tratamento cardiológico. Esses parâmetros de saúde têm sido relativamente pouco contemplados pelos cardiologistas. OBJETIVO: Avaliar, em uma população de idosos atendidos em um ambulatório de cardiologia de um hospital de referência, se os determinantes clínicos mais relevantes de dependência e de qualidade de vida são doenças e fatores de risco cardiovascular ou ainda comorbidades, particularmente as neuropsiquiátricas. MÉTODOS: Os idosos deste estudo foram selecionados aleatória e consecutivamente. Aqueles com déficit cognitivo não foram considerados para o cálculo da qualidade de vida. A avaliação clínica dos pacientes foi feita por uma única médica de acordo com os dados obtidos em seus prontuários clínicos. Os pacientes foram ainda atendidos por uma única psicóloga que aplicou um conjunto de quatro questionários: HAQ, SF-36, PRIME-MD e Mini Exame do Estado Mental. RESULTADOS: O estudo incluiu 1020 idosos, 646 (63,3%) mulheres e 374 (36,6%) homens, entre 60 e 97 anos (média: 75,56 ± 6,62 anos). Nesta população, 61,4% mostrou-se independente ou com dependência leve. O escore total de qualidade de vida foi elevado (HAQ: 88,66 ± 2,68). 87,7% dos pacientes apresentou escore total do SF-36 > 66. No domínio emocional, 44,7% apresentou índices elevados de qualidade de vida (SF-36 > 66). Idosos entre 90 e 97 anos apresentaram escores do SF-36 acima da média: 66,66 ± 4,59, no domínio emocional. A regressão logística mostrou que a associação entre os diagnósticos e graus elevados de dependência foi significante (p 66. Regarding emotional domain, 44.7% had high quality of life scores (SF-36 > 66). Elderly between 90 and 97 years had SF-36 scores above the average: 66.66 ± 4.59, regarding emotional domain. The logistic regression model showed a significant association (p<0.05) between high dependence scores and: absence of physical activities (OR: 0.08), obesity (OR: 2.24), stroke (OR: 1.97), cognitive impairment (OR: 3.17), osteoarthritis (OR: 1.64) and major depression (OR: 2.76). The same logistic regression model showed a significant association (p<0.05) between quality of life low scores and: atrial fibrillation (OR: 0.61), osteoarthritis (OR: 1.79), major depression (OR: 6.09) and minor depression (OR: 1.91). CONCLUSION: Among an elderly population attended in an outpatient cardiologic service, dependence and quality of life clinical determinants are not cardiovascular comorbidities, especially the neuro-psychiatric one

Depression as a Clinical Determinant of Dependence and Low Quality of Life in Elderly Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Background:The aging process promotes a progressive increase in chronic-degenerative diseases. The effect of these diseases on the functional capacity has been well recognized. Another health parameter concerns &#8220;quality of life related to health&#8221;. Among the elderly population, cardiovascular diseases stand out due to the epidemiological and clinical impact. Usually, these diseases have been associated with others. This set of problems may compromise both independence and quality of life in elderly patients who seek cardiologic treatment. These health parameters have not been well contemplated by cardiologists.Objective:Evaluating, among the elderly population with cardiovascular disease, which are the most relevant clinical determinants regarding dependence and quality of life.Methods:This group was randomly and consecutively selected and four questionnaires were applied: HAQ, SF-36, PRIME-MD e Mini Mental State.Results:The study included 1,020 elderly patients, 63.3% women. The group had been between 60 and 97 years-old (mean: 75.56 ± 6.62 years-old). 61.4% were independent or mild dependence. The quality of life total score was high (HAQ: 88.66 ± 2.68). 87.8% of patients had a SF-36 total score > 66. In the multivariate analysis, the association between diagnoses and high degrees of dependence was significant only for previous stroke (p = 0.014), obesity (p < 0.001), lack of physical activity (p = 0.016), osteoarthritis (p < 0.001), cognitive impairment (p < 0.001), and major depression (p < 0.001). Analyzing the quality of life, major depression and physical illness for depression was significantly associated with all domains of the SF-36.Conclusion:Among an elderly outpatient cardiology population, dependence and quality of life clinical determinants are not cardiovascular comorbidities, especially the depression

Chemical characterisation of the constituents of Eugenia protenta McVaugh and leishmanicidal activity of dimethylxanthoxylin

Universidade Federal do Pará. Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará. Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Belém, PA, Brazil / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Coordenação de Botânica. Programa de Capacitação Institucional. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará. Laboratório de Protozoologia e Biologia Estrutural. Belém, PA, Brazil / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará. Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará. Laboratório de Protozoologia e Biologia Estrutural. Belém, PA, Brazil / Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Pará. Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Belém, PA, Brazil / Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Belém, PA, Brazil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia em Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagem. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil / Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Microscopia Eletrônica. Belém, PA, Brazil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Microscopia Eletrônica. Belém, PA, Brasil.Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Instituto Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Microscopia Eletrônica. Belém, PA, Brasil.The chemical study of Eugenia protenta McVaugh extracts performed by classical and high-performance liquid chromatography techniques and spectral methods has led to the identification of known triterpenoids, flavonoids and an acetophenone derivative (dimethylxanthoxylin). The effect of dimethylxanthoxylin on Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis was evaluated against the promastigotes forms after 96 h of treatment. Dimethylxanthoxylin reduced 57 and 59% of the promastigotes growth when treated with 50 and 100 μg/mL solutions, respectively (IC50 117.35 μg/mL or 52.3 μM). Cytotoxicity experiments using MTT assays showed that this substance did not promote cell death after 24 h of treatment. Dimethylxanthoxylin was active on the promastigotes and could be a promising agent for treating leishmaniasis

Das caixas da casa colonial às arcas do Museu Paulista

A partir de uma pesquisa desenvolvida no Museu Paulista da Universidade de São Paulo sobre o espaço doméstico e a cultura material em São Paulo colonial, buscaremos problematizar o ofício do historiador ao lidar com documentos de natureza diversa. Comentaremos como se estabeleceu e se conformou, ao longo do trabalho, um diálogo crítico entre as fontes tridimensionais - as peças do acervo - e as fontes textuais produzidas no contexto de origem dos artefatos domésticos - sobretudo inventários. Com base na catalogação de acervo, pretendemos discutir situações de aproximação e incompatibilidade colocadas, muitas vezes, entre os termos utilizados pelos coevos para designar determinadas peças de mobiliário nos séculos XVIII e XIX e a classificação das peças em instituições museológicas. Para tanto, jogaremos luzes sobre caixas e arcas, pois esses móveis de conter e de guardar eram onipresentes nas casas setecentistas do império português.This paper analyzes the way historians deal with different types of historical documents (considering their origins) based on a research conducted at the Paulista Museum of the University of São Paulo on the theme of domestic space and material culture in colonial São Paulo. We will discuss how a critical dialogue was established between the tridimensional sources - the pieces of the collection - and the textual sources produced in the original context of the domestic artifacts - especially inventories. Based on the cataloging of the collection, we analyze situations of approximation and incompatibility often created by the use of the terms by the contemporaries to designate certain pieces of furniture in the 18th and 19th centuries and the terms used in the process of pieces classification in museological institutions. In order to do so, we will shed light on boxes and chests, because these kind of furniture to contain and store were ubiquitous in the 18th century houses of the Portuguese Empire

AMAZONIA CAMTRAP: A data set of mammal, bird, and reptile species recorded with camera traps in the Amazon forest

The Amazon forest has the highest biodiversity on Earth. However, information on Amazonian vertebrate diversity is still deficient and scattered across the published, peer-reviewed, and gray literature and in unpublished raw data. Camera traps are an effective non-invasive method of surveying vertebrates, applicable to different scales of time and space. In this study, we organized and standardized camera trap records from different Amazon regions to compile the most extensive data set of inventories of mammal, bird, and reptile species ever assembled for the area. The complete data set comprises 154,123 records of 317 species (185 birds, 119 mammals, and 13 reptiles) gathered from surveys from the Amazonian portion of eight countries (Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela). The most frequently recorded species per taxa were: mammals: Cuniculus paca (11,907 records); birds: Pauxi tuberosa (3713 records); and reptiles: Tupinambis teguixin (716 records). The information detailed in this data paper opens up opportunities for new ecological studies at different spatial and temporal scales, allowing for a more accurate evaluation of the effects of habitat loss, fragmentation, climate change, and other human-mediated defaunation processes in one of the most important and threatened tropical environments in the world. The data set is not copyright restricted; please cite this data paper when using its data in publications and we also request that researchers and educators 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

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data