Sudden cardiac death in schizophrenia: should the psychiatrist pay more attention?

UNIFESP-EPMUMCUNIFESP-EPM Departamento de PsiquiatriaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de PsiquiatriaSciEL

Publisher transparency among, communications and library and information science journals: analysis and recommendations

The principal goal of the research study is to analyze the transparency of a selection of academic journals based on an analysis model with 20 indicators grouped into 6 parameters. Given the evident interest in and commitment to transparency among quality academic journals and researchers' difficulties in choosing journals that meet a set of criteria, we present indicators that may help researchers choose journals while also helping journals to consider what information from the editorial process to publish, or not, on their websites to attract authors in the highly competitive environment of today's scholarly communication. To test the validity of the indicators, we analyze a small sample: the Spanish Communications and Library and Information Science journals listed in the Scimago Journal Rank. The results confirm that our analysis model is valid and can be extrapolated to other disciplines and journals

Ozonized oils: a review of its quality control, stability and effectiveness in the treatment of Acne vulgaris

Acne affects most young people and its topical treatment with antibacterials is associated with increased bacterial resistance to antibiotics and adverse effects. As an alternative, ozone therapy stands out through the application of ozonized oils. The objective of this work was to raise the scientific evidence about the effectiveness in the treatment of acne, in addition to the techniques of characterization and stability of ozonated oils. This is an exploratory, descriptive study with a quantitative approach, based on the analysis of scientific references in a bibliographic review of the expository type, of the last 20 years. Among the selected references, only four manuscripts reporting clinical studies of ozone therapy, with controversial results. Seven articles with the physicochemical characterization of ozonated oils were found. The major part of manuscripts reported the use of sunflower, sesame and olive oil. The more common techniques used to characterize the ozonation process are the peroxide value (PV) and the iodine index (Ii), which represents the proportion of unsaturated groups, whose values increase and decrease, respectively with ozonization progress. The viscosity of oils is increased by the formation of polymeric peroxides; the FTIR spectrum, which identifies the decrease in the stretch bands C = C, in addition to ozone formation, monitored by NMR, are also employed. Increased antimicrobial activity has been demonstrated with the ozone level of the oils, but the activity against Cutibacterium acne has not been reported. Only two article reported satisfactory stability for 6 months of refrigerated ozonized oil or kept at room temperature, showing the need for more specific research to support the application of ozonized oils in the treatment of acne and stability data of these products

Mediastinitis: Parotid Abscess Complication.

80268-

Evaluating the performance of commercial whole-genome marker sets for capturing common genetic variation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>New technologies have enabled genome-wide association studies to be conducted with hundreds of thousands of genotyped SNPs. Several different first-generation genome-wide panels of SNPs have been commercialized. The total amount of common genetic variation is still unknown; however, the coverage of commercial panels can be evaluated against reference population samples genotyped by the International HapMap project. Less information is available about coverage in samples from other populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we compare four commercial panels: the HumanHap 300 and HumanHap 550 Array Sets from the Illumina Infinium series and the Mapping 100 K and Mapping 500 K Array Sets from the Affymetrix GeneChip series. Tagging performance is compared among HapMap CEPH (CEU), Asian (JPT, CHB) and Yoruba (YRI) population samples. It is also evaluated in an Estonian population sample with more than 1000 individuals genotyped in two 500-kbp ENCODE regions of chromosome 2: ENr112 on 2p16.3 and ENr131 on 2p37.1.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found that in a non-reference Caucasian population, commercial SNP panels provide levels of coverage similar to those in the HapMap CEPH population sample. We present the proportions of universal and population-specific SNPs in all the commercial platforms studied.</p

The elusive task of biomarkers of renal injury

Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is one of the most promising candidate biomarkers of renal injury, with expression in renal tissue increasing dramatically after ischemia-reperfusion injury but not in the case of pure pre-renal failure. In a recent issue of Critical Care, Di Somma and colleagues reported that NGAL could improve the classification of acute kidney injury compared with clinical assessment and showed that NGAL was associated with poor prognosis. NGAL may therefore carry different information than biomarkers of renal function. This study finally provides additional evidence for the highly complex relationship between renal function and renal injury

Relationship between spiritual well-being and minor psychiatric disorders: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the influence of spiritual well-being in mental health of college students. METHODS: It was interviewed 464 medical and law students of Pelotas, Brazil. Data collection was carried out in groups in the school classroom, 43 absent students were not interviewed and represented a loss of 9.3% of the sample. It was used a self-reported questionnaire with three instruments: 1) Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS), 2) SRQ-20, and 3) a precoded questionnaire with questions on sociodemographic data, religious/spiritual practices, and stressful life events. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square test and logistic regression. RESULTS: Most of the students (80%) declared that they had a spiritual belief and/or religious denomination. The mean score of spiritual well-being was 90.4 with scores 45.6 and 45.1 in the existential and religious subscales, respectively. SWBS showed an association with religious practices, but it was not influenced by sociodemographic and cultural variables. Subjects presenting low and moderate spiritual well-being showed a doubled risk of presenting minor psychiatric disorders (MPD) (OR=0.42; 95%CI: 0.22-0.85). Subjects presenting low or moderate existential well-being showed almost five times more MPD (OR=0.19; 95%CI: 0.08-0.45). CONCLUSIONS: The study reveals spiritual well-being as a protection factor for minor psychiatric disorders, and that the results were mostly due to the Existential Well-Being subscale.OBJETIVO: Examinar a influência do bem-estar espiritual na saúde mental de estudantes universitários. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal com 464 universitários das áreas de medicina e de direito, de Pelotas, RS. A coleta de dados foi realizada em grupos na sala de aula. Os alunos ausentes foram localizados para responderem individualmente; entretanto, 43 não foram encontrados (9,3% de perda). Utilizou-se um questionário auto-aplicável contendo: escala de bem-estar espiritual (SWBS), SRQ-20 (Self-Reporting Questionnaire) e informações sociodemográficas sobre práticas religiosas/espirituais e sobre a ocorrência de eventos de vida produtores de estresse. Para análise estatística, foram utilizados os testes de qui-quadrado e regressão logística. RESULTADOS: A maioria dos alunos (80%) afirma possuir uma crença espiritual ou religião. O escore médio de bem-estar espiritual foi de 90,4, sendo de 45,6 e 45,1 para as sub-escalas existencial e religiosa, respectivamente. A SWBS apresentou associação com a freqüência a serviços religiosos e práticas espirituais, e não demonstrou ser influenciada por variáveis sociodemográficas e culturais. Indivíduos com bem-estar espiritual baixo e moderado apresentaram o dobro de chances de possuir transtornos psiquiátricos menores (TPM) (OR=0,42; IC95% 0,22-0,85). Sujeitos com bem-estar existencial baixo e moderado apresentaram quase cinco vezes mais TPM (OR=0,19; IC95% 0,08-0,45). CONCLUSÕES: O presente estudo mostrou que o bem-estar espiritual atua como fator protetor para transtornos psiquiátricos menores, sendo a sub-escala de bem-estar existencial a maior responsável pelos resultados obtidos.Universidade Católica de Pelotas Curso de Mestrado em Saúde e ComportamentoUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PsiquiatriaUNIFESP, Depto. de PsiquiatriaSciEL