Effect of image resolution manipulation in rearfoot angle measurements obtained with photogrammetry

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of image resolution manipulation on the photogrammetric measurement of the rearfoot static angle. The study design was that of a reliability study. We evaluated 19 healthy young adults (11 females and 8 males). The photographs were taken at 1536 pixels in the greatest dimension, resized into four different resolutions (1200, 768, 600, 384 pixels) and analyzed by three equally trained examiners on a 96-pixels per inch (ppi) screen. An experienced physiotherapist marked the anatomic landmarks of rearfoot static angles on two occasions within a 1-week interval. Three different examiners had marked angles on digital pictures. The systematic error and the smallest detectable difference were calculated from the angle values between the image resolutions and times of evaluation. Different resolutions were compared by analysis of variance. Inter- and intra-examiner reliability was calculated by intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). The rearfoot static angles obtained by the examiners in each resolution were not different (P > 0.05); however, the higher the image resolution the better the inter-examiner reliability. The intra-examiner reliability (within a 1-week interval) was considered to be unacceptable for all image resolutions (ICC range: 0.08-0.52). The whole body image of an adult with a minimum size of 768 pixels analyzed on a 96-ppi screen can provide very good inter-examiner reliability for photogrammetric measurements of rearfoot static angles (ICC range: 0.85-0.92), although the intra-examiner reliability within each resolution was not acceptable. Therefore, this method is not a proper tool for follow-up evaluations of patients within a therapeutic protocol

Contributions of common genetic variants to risk of schizophrenia among individuals of African and Latino ancestry

Schizophrenia is a common, chronic and debilitating neuropsychiatric syndrome affecting tens of millions of individuals worldwide. While rare genetic variants play a role in the etiology of schizophrenia, most of the currently explained liability is within common variation, suggesting that variation predating the human diaspora out of Africa harbors a large fraction of the common variant attributable heritability. However, common variant association studies in schizophrenia have concentrated mainly on cohorts of European descent. We describe genome-wide association studies of 6152 cases and 3918 controls of admixed African ancestry, and of 1234 cases and 3090 controls of Latino ancestry, representing the largest such study in these populations to date. Combining results from the samples with African ancestry with summary statistics from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) study of schizophrenia yielded seven newly genome-wide significant loci, and we identified an additional eight loci by incorporating the results from samples with Latino ancestry. Leveraging population differences in patterns of linkage disequilibrium, we achieve improved fine-mapping resolution at 22 previously reported and 4 newly significant loci. Polygenic risk score profiling revealed improved prediction based on trans-ancestry meta-analysis results for admixed African (Nagelkerke’s R2 = 0.032; liability R2 = 0.017; P < 10−52), Latino (Nagelkerke’s R2 = 0.089; liability R2 = 0.021; P < 10−58), and European individuals (Nagelkerke’s R2 = 0.089; liability R2 = 0.037; P < 10−113), further highlighting the advantages of incorporating data from diverse human populations

Project pro-natal: Population-based study of perinatal and infant mortality in natal, Northeast Brazil

The Pro-Natal project is a collaborative initiative that aims to improve maternal and infant health in a deprived community in Natal, Northeast Brazil. To assess the perinatal and infant mortality in this population of 40,000, we have collected over a 2-year period a consecutive series of 39 autopsy examinations on deaths under 1 year of age. During this period there were 2212 live births in the study population. The 14 perinatal deaths are described using the Wrigglesworth classification, and the 25 infant deaths, using a clinicopathological system. The contribution of normally formed stillbirths was small (14%), which probably reflects the underreporting of stillbirths in this community. The most common cause of death in the live births was complications of prematurity (43%). Specific causes (22%) of perinatal deaths were predominantly infections, including one case of congenital syphilis. Perinatal asphyxia was diagnosed in 14%, and there was one case (7%) of a chromosome abnormality. Infant deaths were predominantly due to respiratory (45%) and gastrointestinal infections (28%), with chronic malnutrition as an underlying cause in 80% of cases. Prenatal care could theoretically have prevented three of the perinatal deaths, and a further six deaths could have been avoided by improved management of labor and the immediate neonatal period. Prevention of malnutrition and improved treatment of acute infections would contribute to a reduction in infant mortality in this population. The Pro-Natal project will use these data to design preventative interventions to reduce perinatal and infant mortality in this community

Estimativas da mortalidade infantil no Brasil, década de oitenta: proposta de procedimento metodológico Estimates of infant mortality in Brazil in the 80's: a proposal for a methodological procedure

Propõe-se um procedimento para a estimativa da mortalidade infantil, no Brasil, na década de 80, baseado apenas na distribuição etária dos óbitos registrados, possibilitando o acompanhamento da evolução deste indicador de forma contínua, ano a ano, em diversas subáreas do País. Analisa-se a distribuição espaço-temporal das principais causas de óbito e discute-se a sensibilidade do risco de morrer entre os menores de um ano face às condições de vida da população brasileira, no período de 1979 a 1989.<br>A procedure for the estimation of the infant mortality rate in Brazil, in the 1980's, based only on the age distribution of registered deaths, is here proposed. Using this technique, it is possible to estimate the probabilities of dying in the first year of life in a continuous way, year by year, for different regions of the country. The space-time distribution of the main causes of infant deaths is analysed and the relevance of using this coefficient to express the social and economic conditions of the Brazilian population from 1979 to 1989 is discussed

Esofagite por refluxo e laringite por refluxo: Estágios clínicos diferentes da mesma doença? Reflux esophagitys and reflux laryngitis: Different stages of the same disease?

Introdução: O refluxo gastro-esofágico (RGE) é uma entidade decorrente de falha anatômica e/ou funcional dos mecanismos de contenção do conteúdo gástrico. As manifestações otorrinolaringológicas do RGE são globus em orofaringe, regurgitação, disfonia, pirose orofaríngea, disfagia e tosse crônica. Objetivo: Pretende-se avaliar os sintomas otorrinolaringológicos do refluxo em pacientes com indicação cirúrgica de hérnia hiatal e comparar com pacientes apenas com queixas laríngeas do RGE. Forma de Estudo: prospectivo clínico randomizado. Material e método: Foram avaliados dois grupos. O grupo A, com 18 pacientes admitidos nos Serviços de Cirurgia do Aparelho Digestivo e Cirurgia Geral que necessitavam de tratamento cirúrgico de esofagite graus III e IV, quanto aos sintomas otorrinolaringológicos do RGE. O grupo B, com 44 pacientes do Serviço de Otorrinolaringologia com queixas laríngeas de RGE. Os pacientes foram submetidos a um protocolo, videolaringoscopia e endoscopia digestiva alta (EDA). Os dados obtidos foram tabulados e comparados com a literatura. Resultados: Os sintomas referidos pelos pacientes do grupo B foram os mesmos do grupo A, porém, disfonia, tosse, regurgitação e pirose em orofaringe foram mais prevalentes no grupo B. As alterações laringoscópicas dos pacientes do grupo B foram mais significativas. As alterações de EDA foram mais prevalentes nos pacientes do grupo A. A partir destes dados nota-se que não existe correlação entre a doença esofageana e os sintomas laríngeos. Conclusão: O trabalho demonstrou a correlação entre sintomas otorrinolaringológicos e o refluxo gastro-esofágico, porém a comparação entre os dois grupos permitiu concluir que, apesar dos quadros apresentarem fisiopatologia semelhante, não se tratam de estágios evolutivos da mesma doença.<br>Introduction: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GRD) is an entity due to anatomical or functional failure of contention mechanisms of gastric content. Otolaryngology manifestations of GRD are oropharynx globus, dysphonia, oropharyngeal pirosis, dysfagia, chronic cough. The research intends to evaluate the otolaryngology symptoms of reflux in patients with surgical indication of hiatal hernia and compare the patients’ complaints. Study design: prospective clinical randomized. Material and method: The patients were divided in two groups. Group A, with 18 patients admitted in the General Surgery Service with surgical treatment indication for esophagitys, degrees III and IV and group B, with 40 patients of the Otolaryngology Service with reflux laryngitis complaints. Patients were submitted to a protocol, videolaryngoscopy and upper endoscopy (UE). Obtained data were tabulated and compared to the literature. Results: Symptoms referred by the patients of group B were the same of the group A, but dysphonia, cough, oropharynx pirosis were more prevalent in group B. The laryngoscopic evaluation of group B has shown more altered findings than group A. Altered UE were more prevalent in patients of the group A. Considering the results it is possible to verify that the degree of esophageal disease has no correlation with laryngeal disease. Conclusion: The comparison among the two groups allowed concluding that, despite the similarity of the clinical picture and fisiopatology, the gastroesophageal reflux and the laryngeal reflux must not be considered different stages of the same disease

Microbiota cérvico-vaginal de ovelhas mestiças e sua susceptibilidade aos antibióticos

A criação de ovinos tem se desenvolvido nas últimas décadas, entretanto ainda são escassas informações sobre a composição e potencial patogênico da microbiota cérvico-vaginal de ovelhas. O presente estudo teve como objetivo conhecer os microrganismos constituintes da microbiota cérvico-vaginal de ovelhas, bem como sua susceptibilidade aos antimicrobianos. Foram realizadas coletas em 60 animais sadios, pertencentes a rebanhos de Petrolina e região. Foi realizado o isolamento bacteriano em ágar sangue e ágar MacConkey, sendo os microrganismos identificados de acordo com características morfológicas, tintoriais e bioquímicas. As amostras foram submetidas ao teste de difusão em disco para determinar o perfil de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos: sulfametazina, enrofloxacina, doxiciclina, tetraciclina, penicilina, amoxicilina, cefalotina e lincomicina. Foram obtidos 94 isolados, sendo constatada uma maior frequência de Staphylococcus spp. (32,97%), Escherichia coli e Micrococcus spp., sendo observado ainda, isolados de Acinetobacter spp., Shigella spp., Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp. e Streptococcus spp. Os isolados apresentaram alta sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos testados sendo observado o menor percentual de sensibilidade para lincomicina. A presença de microrganismos oportunistas de potencial patogênico, na microbiota, como Staphylococcus spp e Escherichia coli, remete a uma análise criteriosa em relação ao diagnóstico de infecções genitais. Os isolados bacterianos obtidos neste estudo são sensíveis à maioria dos grupos de drogas antimicrobianas testadas, demonstrando o potencial de utilização desses princípios ativos, além da disponibilidade de escolha, visto a ausência de multirresistência