Short-Term Evaluation in Growing Rats of Diet Containing Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ia12 Entomotoxin: Nutritional Responses and Some Safety Aspects

The Cry1Ia12 entomotoxin from a Brazilian Bacillus thuringiensis strain is currently being expressed in cotton cultivars to confer resistance to insect-pests. The present study aimed to assess the effects of a diet containing Cry1Ia12 protein on growing rats. A test diet containing egg white and Cry1Ia12 (0.1% of total protein) as a protein source was offered to rats for ten days. In addition, an acute toxicity bioassay was performed in rats with a single oral dose of the entomotoxin (12 mg/animal). No adverse effects were observed in the animals receiving the test diet when compared to those receiving a control diet (egg white). The analysed parameters included relative dry weight of internal organs, duodenum histology, blood biochemistry, and nutritional parameters. The results of the acute toxicity test showed no mortality or behaviour alteration. Thus, Cry1Ia12 toxin at the tested concentration does not cause deleterious effects on growing rats when incorporated in the diet for 10 days

Uso Terapêutico de Tecnologias Assistivas: direitos das pessoas com deficiência e visão [2015]

Este curso integra um conjunto de quatro qualificações sobre o tema geral Uso terapêutico de tecnologias assistivas, organizado com esta finalidade. Por meio deste módulo, o objetivo é promover a atualização dos participantes sobre o emprego dessas tecnologias no âmbito da habilitação e da reabilitação de cegos e pessoas com baixa visão. Os temas abordados são: aspectos epidemiológicos da baixa visão e perda visual; avaliação oftalmológica na baixa visão – criança com baixa visão, exame refracional, avaliação visual na criança; estratégias de reabilitação visual – métodos de magnificação da imagem, uso de auxílios, perda do globo ocular, classificação da cavidade anoftálmica congênita ou adquirida; e trabalho protético e acompanhamento – síndrome da cavidade anoftálmica e condições e cuidados com próteses oculares.2015Ministério da Saúd

Protocol Proposal For The Care Of The Person With Venous Ulcer

Objective: To propose a care protocol for the care of the person with a venous ulcer in highly complex services. Methods and results: This is a methodological study, in three stages: literature review, validation of content and validation in the clinical context. The literature review was carried out from June to August/2011, being the basis for the construction of the Protocol for Venous Ulcers. The content validation included 53 judges (44 nurses, 8 physicians and 1 physiotherapist) selected through the Lattes platform to evaluate the items of the protocol. Validation in the clinical context occurred at the University Hospital Onofre Lopes, in Natal/RN with four judges (nurses), who worked in pairs, evaluating 32 patients with venous ulcers. The protocol was validated with 15 categories: sociodemographic data; anamnesis; examinations; ulcer characteristics; care with the lesion and perilesional area; medicines used to treat the lesion; evaluation and treatment of pain; surgical treatment of chronic venous disease; recurrence prevention (clinical and educational strategies); reference; counter-reference; and quality of life. Conclusion: The validated protocol regarding content and clinical context was applicable. Its implementation is a viable measure that assists in the reorientation of the team in high complexity services, aiming at wound healing and restoration of the patient´s integral health. Keywords: Varicose ulcer; Tertiary Health Care; Protocols; Validation studies

Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal

Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Paediatric Cohort (MERG-PC): A Cohort Profile.

This cohort profile aims to describe the ongoing follow-up of children in the Microcephaly Epidemic Research Group Paediatric Cohort (MERG-PC). The profile details the context and aims of the study, study population, methodology including assessments, and key results and publications to date. The children that make up MERG-PC were born in Recife or within 120 km of the city, in Pernambuco/Brazil, the epicentre of the microcephaly epidemic. MERG-PC includes children from four groups recruited at different stages of the ZIKV microcephaly epidemic in Pernambuco, i.e., the Outpatient Group (OG/n = 195), the Microcephaly Case-Control Study (MCCS/n = 80), the MERG Pregnant Women Cohort (MERG-PWC/n = 336), and the Control Group (CG/n = 100). We developed a comprehensive array of clinical, laboratory, and imaging assessments that were undertaken by a 'task force' of clinical specialists in a single day at 3, 6, 12, 18 months of age, and annually from 24 months. Children from MCCS and CG had their baseline assessment at birth and children from the other groups, at the first evaluation by the task force. The baseline cohort includes 711 children born between February 2015 and February 2019. Children's characteristics at baseline, excluding CG, were as follows: 32.6% (184/565) had microcephaly, 47% (263/559) had at least one physical abnormality, 29.5% (160/543) had at least one neurological abnormality, and 46.2% (257/556) had at least one ophthalmological abnormality. This ongoing cohort has contributed to the understanding of the congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) spectrum. The cohort has provided descriptions of paediatric neurodevelopment and early epilepsy, including EEG patterns and treatment response, and information on the frequency and characteristics of oropharyngeal dysphagia; cryptorchidism and its surgical findings; endocrine dysfunction; and adenoid hypertrophy in children with Zika-related microcephaly. The study protocols and questionnaires were shared across Brazilian states to enable harmonization across the different studies investigating microcephaly and CZS, providing the opportunity for the Zika Brazilian Cohorts Consortium to be formed, uniting all the ZIKV clinical cohorts in Brazil

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

MODIFICAÇÕES NOS INDICADORES SOCIAIS DA REGIÃO NORDESTE APÓS A IMPLEMENTAÇÃO DA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA

Resumo O objetivo foi descrever a implementação da Atenção Primária à Saúde no Nordeste brasileiro e sua correlação com os indicadores sociais. Trata-se de estudo ecológico com dados do Departamento de Atenção Básica do Ministério da Saúde e Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, tendo como variável de estudo o número de Agentes Comunitário de Saúde, Equipes de Saúde da Família e Núcleos de Apoio à Saúde da Família. O cálculo da tendência temporal de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde e Equipes de Saúde da Família foi realizado por regressão joinpoint de Poisson. Foi observada correlação forte (r ≥ 0,7) entre os indicadores sociais e a implantação da Atenção Primária à Saúde e do Núcleo de Saúde da Família na região Nordeste, esgotamento sanitário ina-dequado, taxa de fecundidade total, domicílio com água encanada, percentual de domicílios com coleta de lixo, esperança de vida ao nascer, taxa de envelhecimento e probabilidade de sobreviver até 60 anos. As variáveis de desenvolvimento e de saúde apresentaram modificação no coeficiente de correlação e de determinação, com significância estatística (p < 0,05). Há uma tendência temporal de crescimento na implantação da Atenção Primária à Saúde no Nordeste, bem como a existência de forte correlação entre os indicadores sociais e de saúde