Infecções oportunistas em pacientes com aids internados em um hospital universitário do sudeste do Brasil

Opportunistic diseases in HIV-infected patients have changed since the introduction of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART). This study aims at evaluating the frequency of associated diseases in patients with AIDS admitted to an university hospital of Brazil, before and after HAART. The medical records of 342 HIV-infected patients were reviewed and divided into two groups: group 1 comprised 247 patients before HAART and, group 2, 95 patients after HAART. The male-to-female rate dropped from 5:1 to 2:1for HIV infection. There was an increase in the prevalence of tuberculosis and toxoplasmosis, with a decrease in Kaposi's sarcoma, histoplasmosis and cryptococcosis. A reduction of in-hospital mortality (42.0% vs. 16.9%; p = 0.00002) has also occurred. An agreement between the main clinical diagnoses and autopsy findings was observed in 10 out of 20 cases (50%). Two patients with disseminated schistosomiasis and 2 with paracoccidioidomycosis are reported. Overall, except for cerebral toxoplasmosis, it has been noticed a smaller proportion of opportunistic conditions related to severe immunosuppression in the post HAART group. There was also a significant reduction in the in-hospital mortality, possibly reflecting improvement in the treatment of the HIV infection.O espectro das doenças oportunistas em pacientes com aids vem se modificando desde a introdução da terapia antiretroviral altamente eficaz (HAART). O objetivo deste estudo é o de avaliar o perfil das afecções oportunistas em pacientes com aids internados em um hospital universitário do Brasil, comparando os períodos pré e pós-utilização da terapia HAART. Para tanto, revisaram-se os prontuários médicos de 342 pacientes infectados pelo HIV, dividindo-os em dois grupos: grupo 1, composto de 247 pacientes pré-HAART e grupo 2, composto de 95 pacientes pós-HAART. A relação homem-mulher caiu de 5:1 para 2:1. Houve aumento da prevalência da tuberculose e da toxoplasmose, com redução da prevalência do sarcoma de Kaposi, da histoplasmose e da criptococose. Observou-se ainda significativa redução da mortalidade intra-hospitalar (42% vs. 16,9%; p = 0,00002). A concordância entre o principal diagnóstico clínico e anatomopatológico foi observada em 10 de 20 pacientes necropsiados (50%). São relatados dois pacientes com esquistossomose disseminada e dois com paracoccidioidomicose. Em conclusão, excetuando-se a toxoplasmose, houve redução das doenças oportunistas relacionadas à imunossupressão grave nos pacientes pós-HAART. Observou-se significativa redução da mortalidade intra-hospitalar, possivelmente refletindo a melhora do tratamento dos pacientes HIV-positivos em nosso meio

Performance of Canchim and Nellore cattle on pasture.

O presente trabalho teve o objetivo de avaliar o desenvolvimento de animais das raças Canchim e Nelore em regime de pasto. Foram utilizados 128 animais, 64 por ano, divididos em quatro grupos, por raça e sexo, e distribuídos igualmente em piquetes de capim-andropógon (A. gayanus Kunth) e piquetes de capim-andropógon consorciado com calopogônio (C. mucunoides Desc.), em dois anos de experimento. As variáveis estudadas foram os ganhos em peso médio diário (GPD) durante os períodos das águas (A1 e A2), da seca (S1) e total (T), e os pesos, ao final (PF) destes períodos. Os animais Canchim ganharam, em média, mais peso (P<0,01) durante A2 (0,874 x 0,762 kg/an/dia) e durante T (0,530 x 0,495 kg/an/dia) e apresentaram maior peso (P<0,01) ao final de todos os períodos (283 x 255 kg para A1; 294 kg x 269 kg para S1; e 459 kg x 413 kg para A2).This experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of Canchim and Nellore cattle on pasture. One hundred and twenty eight animals, half of each by breed and sex, were alloted to eight pastures of Andropogon gayanusand eight pastures of A. gayanus and Calopogonio mucunoides, in a two year experiment. The traits studied were average daily gain (DG) during the rainy (R1 and R2) and dry (D1) seasons and during the total period (T), and final weights (FW) in each of these periods. The Canchim animals gained, on the average, more (P<0.01) during R2 (0.874 x 0.762 kg/an/day) and T (0.530 x 0.495 kg/an/day) and were heavier (P<0.01) at the end of all periods (253k9 X 255 kg for R1; 294 kg x 269 kg for D1; and 459 kg x 413 kg for R2), as compared to the Nellore ones

Surgical preparation of a permanent carotid transposition in sheep

In large animal research, when frequent sampling of arterial blood is needed, the carotid artery transposition is the most used technique. The objective of this paper is to describe a new technique for carotid artery transposition in sheep and evaluate its effectiveness using the echo-Doppler ultrasound. The animals enrolled in this study had their carotid surgically elevated to the subcutaneous level, by suturing underneath muscles sternocephalic and brachiocephalic. None of the animals that underwent the procedure in this study had trans- or postoperative complications. Six months after the suture removal, all animals presented patent carotids by echo-Doppler ultrasound. This is an easy and safe procedure for carrying out experiments that require the collection of arterial blood

Publishing data to support the fight against human vector-borne diseases

Vector-borne diseases are responsible for more than 17% of human cases of infectious diseases. In most situations, effective control of debilitating and deadly vector-bone diseases (VBDs), such as malaria, dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, Zika and Chagas requires up-to-date, robust and comprehensive information on the presence, diversity, ecology, bionomics and geographic spread of the organisms that carry and transmit the infectious agents. Huge gaps exist in the information related to these vectors, creating an essential need for campaigns to mobilise and share data. The publication of data papers is an effective tool for overcoming this challenge. These peer-reviewed articles provide scholarly credit for researchers whose vital work of assembling and publishing well-described, properly-formatted datasets often fails to receive appropriate recognition. To address this, GigaScience 's sister journal GigaByte partnered with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to publish a series of data papers, with support from the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Here we outline the initial results of this targeted approach to sharing data and describe its importance for controlling VBDs and improving public health