Development of lightweight concrete subfloor with ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) aggregates waste to reduce impact sound in flooring system

Comfort and habitability are requirements for housing quality, affected by underfloor system. Thus, this study aims to design lightweight concrete slabs underfloor with the use of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) aggregates, with two grain sizes of conventional aggregates replaced with EVA. The experimental counted on four unit mixes, varying the ratio between EVA coarse and fine aggregates and natural aggregates. The underfloor plates were molded with thickness of 3, 5 and 7 centimeters, and 3cm plus 1cm of conventional coating. Slabs were submitted to specific mass and standardized impact sound pressure level tests. Results showed a correlation between specific masses and impact sound values, being that 7cm thickness slabs with smaller specific mass, with total aggregate replacement, presented noise intensity reductions of 17dB in comparison to same thickness slabs with natural sand and smaller content of EVA coarse aggregate; and a 28dB reduction in relation to the slab without underfloor.Los requisitos de confort y habitabilidad visan la calidad de viviendas, afectada por los contrapisos. Así, este estudio objetiva diseñar losas de hormigón ligero con el uso de etileno-acetato de vinilo (EVA) como agregados en los contrapisos, sustituyendo agregados naturales El programa experimental está compuesto de cuatro mezclas, en que se modifica la relación entre los agregados grandes e pequeños de EVA y los naturales. Las losas de contrapiso tienen espesuras 3, 5 y 7 cm, la losa de 3 cm tuvo 1 cm adicional, con argamasa, simulando el acabamiento. Fueron realizados ensayos de masa específica y nivel de presión de sonido de impacto. Los resultados mostraron que a losa con 7cm y menor peso específico, presentó reducción de ruido de 17 dB, en comparación con aquellas de la misma espesura, con agregados naturales y menor contenido de EVA; y de 28 dB en relación a la losa de referencia

Perspectivas de estudantes acerca do ensino da ciência de animal de laboratório

Durante el estudio de las ciencias biológicas, la convivencia con el uso y la experimentación animal es una constante. Sin embargo, muchas universidades carecen de disciplinas enfocadas en este tema. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de la investigación fue evaluar indicadores que revelaran la necesidad de implementar la disciplina “Bioterismo y Bioseguridad” como componente obligatorio de la matriz curricular de la Carrera de Ciencias Biológicas. Para ello, se entrevistó a 192 estudiantes durante los cuatro años de graduación. En general, la mayoría manifestó interés en el tema de Bioética y Bienestar Animal. Además, se verificó que la mayoría presentaba deficiencia en temas relacionados con el bioterismo y la sintiencia animal. Se pudo notar que la incorporación de una disciplina capaz de abarcar los temas de sintiencia, bioética y bienestar animal surge como una iniciativa promisoria para capacitar e instigar a la reducción de los abusos cometidos con animales de experimentación, además de formar profesionales conscientes y formadores de opinión.Living with animal use and experimentation is constant during the study of biological sciences. However, many universities lack disciplines focused on this theme. Therefore, the research objective was to evaluate indicators that would reveal the need to implement the discipline “Biotherism and Biosafety” as a mandatory component of the curricular matrix of the Biological Sciences Course. For this, 192 students were interviewed during the four years of graduation. In general, the majority expressed interest in the Bioethics and Animal Welfare theme. In addition, it was verified that most of them had a deficiency in articles related to biotherism and animal sentience. It could be noticed that adding a discipline capable of covering the themes of sentience, bioethics, and animal welfare emerges as a promising initiative to train and instigate the reduction of abuses committed with experimental animals, in addition to training conscious professionals and trainers of opinion.Durante o estudo das ciências biológicas, o convívio com o uso animal e a experimentação é constante. Entretanto, muitas universidades carecem de disciplinas voltadas a essa temática. Sendo assim, o objetivo da pesquisa foi avaliar indicadores que revelassem a necessidade da implantação da disciplina “Bioterismo e Biossegurança” como componente obrigatório da matriz curricular do Curso de Ciências Biológicas. Para isso, foram entrevistados 192 estudantes entre os quatro anos de duração da graduação. De maneira geral, a maioria expressou interesse pela temática de Bioética e Bem-estar animal. Ademais, foi verificado que grande parte tinha deficiência em temáticas relacionadas com bioterismo e senciência animal. Pôde-se perceber que a adição de uma disciplina capaz de abarcar os temas da senciência, bioética e bem-estar animal desponta como uma iniciativa promissora para capacitar e instigar a diminuição dos abusos cometidos com animais experimentais, além de formar profissionais conscientes e formadores de opinião

Para Todxs: Natal - uma introdução à lógica formal

Livro-texto de introdução à lógica, com (mais do que) pitadas de filosofia da lógica, produzido como uma versão revista e ampliada do livro Forallx: Calgary. Trata-se de uma versão rascunho, (0.7), em fase de revisão, e que deverá estar pronta para publicação até o final de 2021. Comentários, críticas, correções e sugestões são muito bem-vindos

Comparative Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing Infections and Disease Progression from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2, Portugal

We estimated comparative primary and booster vaccine effectiveness (VE) of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 lineages against infection and disease progression. During April-June 2022, we implemented a case-case and cohort study and classified lineages using whole-genome sequencing or spike gene target failure. For the case-case study, we estimated the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of vaccination using a logistic regression. For the cohort study, we estimated VE against disease progression using a penalized logistic regression. We observed no reduced VE for primary (aOR 1.07 [95% CI 0.93-1.23]) or booster (aOR 0.96 [95% CI 0.84-1.09]) vaccination against BA.5 infection. Among BA.5 case-patients, booster VE against progression to hospitalization was lower than that among BA.2 case-patients (VE 77% [95% CI 49%-90%] vs. VE 93% [95% CI 86%-97%]). Although booster vaccination is less effective against BA.5 than against BA.2, it offers substantial protection against progression from BA.5 infection to severe disease.The acquisition of sequencing equipment and reagents used in this study by the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge was partially funded by the HERA project (grant no. 2021/PHF/23776) supported by the European Commission through the European Centre for Disease Control, and also partially funded by the GenomePT project (grant no. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020–Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation, Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme, Algarve Portugal Regional Operational, under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund, and by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. Algarve Biomedical Center Laboratory received public funding through the Project ALG-D2-2021-06 Variants Screen in Southern Portugal– Monitoring Variants of Concern in Southern Portugal and the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation national support through the Comprehensive Health Research Center (grant no. UIDP/04923/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

FITOTERÁPICOS NO TRATAMENTO E CONTROLE DA OBESIDADE: UMA REVISÃO SISTEMÁTICA

Obesity results from the excessive accumulation of fat in an individual's body, which can harm health and reduce the population's quality of life. In this context, Phytotherapy emerged as an alternative method, with low cost and with a less aggressive action compared to traditional medicines. Many have antioxidant action, so they moderate the appetite and increase the metabolism of those who use them. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of herbal medicines in the control of obesity. A systematic literature review was carried out, in which seven articles were selected by active search in the Publisher Medline, Virtual Health Library and Google Scholar databases from the Health Sciences Descriptors in English: “Phytotherapy”, “Obesity”, “Therapeutic” and “Efficacy”, articulated through the Boolean operator “AND”. Among the inclusion criteria were applied: articles from 2015 to 2021, written in Portuguese and English, and exclusion criteria: articles repeated in more than one database and that did not represent the topic in question. As a result, it was evidenced that there are positive effects of the use of herbal medicine in the treatment and control of obesity through the reduction, in considerable percentages, of body fat in the individuals participating in the analyzed clinical trials. It was found, therefore, that herbal medicines have been considered an excellent alternative to replace medications traditionally used in the treatment of obesity, contributing to an improvement in the patient's quality of life.  La obesidad es el resultado de la acumulación excesiva de grasa en el cuerpo de un individuo, lo que puede dañar la salud y reducir la calidad de vida de la población. En este contexto, la Fitoterapia surgió como un método alternativo, con bajo costo y con una acción menos agresiva en comparación con los fármacos tradicionales. Muchos tienen acción antioxidante, por lo que moderan el apetito y aumentan el metabolismo de quienes hacen uso de ellos. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la eficacia de las hierbas medicinales en el control de la obesidad. Se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura, en la que se seleccionaron siete artículos por búsqueda activa en las Bases de Datos Editorial Medline, Biblioteca Virtual en Salud y Google Scholar de los Descriptores en Ciencias de la Salud en Inglés: "Fitoterapia", "Obesidad", "Terapéutica" y "Eficacia", articuladas a través del operador booleano "AND". A través de los criterios de inclusión se aplicaron los siguientes: artículos de 2015 a 2021, escritos en portugués e inglés, y exclusión: artículos repetidos en más de una base de datos y que no representaban el tema en cuestión. Como resultado, se evidenció que existen efectos positivos del uso de la fitoterapia en el tratamiento y control de la obesidad al reducir, en porcentajes considerables, la grasa corporal en los individuos participantes en los ensayos clínicos analizados.A obesidade decorre do acúmulo excessivo de gordura no organismo de um indivíduo, podendo prejudicar a saúde e reduzir a qualidade de vida da população. Nesse contexto, a Fitoterapia surgiu como um método alternativo, com baixo custo e com uma ação menos agressiva comparada aos medicamentos tradicionais. Muitos têm ação antioxidante, de modo que moderam o apetite e aumentam o metabolismo de quem faz uso deles. Portanto, objetivou-se avaliar a eficácia dos fitoterápicos no controle da obesidade. Foi realizada revisão sistemática da literatura, em que foram selecionados sete artigos pela busca ativa nas bases de dados Publisher Medline, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde e Google Scholar a partir dos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde em inglês: “Phytotherapy”, "Obesity", “Therapeutic” e "Efficacy", articulados por meio do operador booleano “AND”. Foram aplicados em meio aos critérios de inclusão: artigos de 2015 a 2021, escritos em português e inglês, e aos de exclusão: artigos repetidos em mais de uma base de dados e que não representassem o tema em questão. Como resultado, evidenciou-se que há efeitos positivos do uso da fitoterapia no tratamento e controle da obesidade por meio da redução, em porcentagens consideráveis, de gordura corporal nos indivíduos participantes dos ensaios clínicos analisados. Constatou-se, portanto, que os Fitoterápicos vêm sendo considerada uma alternativa excelente para substituir as medicações tradicionalmente utilizadas no tratamento da obesidade, contribuindo para uma melhoria na qualidade de vida do paciente.A obesidade decorre do acúmulo excessivo de gordura no organismo de um indivíduo, podendo prejudicar a saúde e reduzir a qualidade de vida da população. Nesse contexto, a Fitoterapia surgiu como um método alternativo, com baixo custo e com uma ação menos agressiva comparada aos medicamentos tradicionais. Muitos têm ação antioxidante, de modo que moderam o apetite e aumentam o metabolismo de quem faz uso deles. Portanto, objetivou-se avaliar a eficácia dos fitoterápicos no controle da obesidade. Foi realizada revisão sistemática da literatura, em que foram selecionados sete artigos pela busca ativa nas bases de dados Publisher Medline, Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde e Google Scholar a partir dos Descritores em Ciências da Saúde em inglês: “Phytotherapy”, "Obesity", “Therapeutic” e "Efficacy", articulados por meio do operador booleano “AND”. Foram aplicados em meio aos critérios de inclusão: artigos de 2015 a 2021, escritos em português e inglês, e aos de exclusão: artigos repetidos em mais de uma base de dados e que não representassem o tema em questão. Como resultado, evidenciou-se que há efeitos positivos do uso da fitoterapia no tratamento e controle da obesidade por meio da redução, em porcentagens consideráveis, de gordura corporal nos indivíduos participantes dos ensaios clínicos analisados. Constatou-se, portanto, que os Fitoterápicos vêm sendo considerada uma alternativa excelente para substituir as medicações tradicionalmente utilizadas no tratamento da obesidade, contribuindo para uma melhoria na qualidade de vida do paciente

Pharmaceutical development of tablets containing a spray-dried optimized extract from Lippia origanoides H. B. K.: influence of excipients and toxicological assessment

Lippia origanoides is a honey shrub which has showed hypotensive potential assessed by in vivo studies. The aim of this work is the development of a pharmaceutical formulation composed by an optimized extract obtained from aerial parts of L. origanoides. The quantification of the naringenin marker in the dry extract and tablets developed was performed, as well as the assessment of the oral acute toxicity in rats. The hydroalcoholic extract of L. origanoides was spray-dried with the addition of colloidal silicon dioxide (Lo-HAE/CSD), and then applied in the preparation of eight different lots of tablets. The influence of the diluent (cellulose or babassu mesocarp), the presence of binder, and the percentage of lubricant, as well as organoleptic and physicochemical characteristics were screened. For the quantification of the marker content both in Lo-HAE/CSD and in the tablets, an analytical curve of the naringenin standard was fitted, and the samples were then analyzed in UFLC. The toxicological assessment was performed in female Wistar rats according to the Acute Toxic Class Method from OECD. The developed tablets produced meet acceptable macroscopic characteristics, and the presence of babassu as diluent provided improved physicochemical properties. The best content of Lo-HAE/CSD in the tablet (100.27%) was identified for the lot containing babassu, composed by 1.0% magnesium stearate, without PVP binder in its formulation. Moreover, Lo-HAE/CSD showed no signs of toxicity. Therefore, the babassu mesocarp powder is a promising pharmaceutical excipient for the development of herbal tablets containing the Lippia origanoides extract

Recombinant Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite surface protein allelic variants: antibody recognition by individuals from three communities in the Brazilian Amazon

Circumsporozoite protein (CSP) variants of P. vivax, besides having variations in the protein repetitive portion, can differ from each other in aspects such as geographical distribution, intensity of transmission, vectorial competence and immune response. Such aspects must be considered to P. vivax vaccine development. Therefore, we evaluated the immunogenicity of novel recombinant proteins corresponding to each of the three P. vivax allelic variants (VK210, VK247 and P. vivax-like) and of the C-terminal region (shared by all PvCSP variants) in naturally malaria-exposed populations of Brazilian Amazon. Our results demonstrated that PvCSP-VK210 was the major target of humoral immune response in studied population, presenting higher frequency and magnitude of IgG response. The IgG subclass profile showed a prevalence of cytophilic antibodies (IgG1 and IgG3), that seem to have an essential role in protective immune response. Differently of PvCSP allelic variants, antibodies elicited against C-terminal region of protein did not correlate with epidemiological parameters, bringing additional evidence that humoral response against this protein region is not essential to protective immunity. Taken together, these findings increase the knowledge on serological response to distinct PvCSP allelic variants and may contribute to the development of a global and effective P. vivax vaccine

The control and prevention of COVID-19 transmission in children : a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: The pandemic following the rapid spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus has hit all continents and caused thousands of deaths worldwide. Evidence has been published on epidemiological and clinical characteristics of population groups considered at risk; however, information for the other population groups, especially for the child population, is needed. In this context, this protocol describes a systematic review that will aim to identify the evidence on control and prevention of COVID-19 transmission among children and adolescents, as well as to describe the epidemiological profile and clinical and immunological characteristics of COVID-19 in this population. Methods: This protocol will be developed in accordance with PRISMA-P. The searches will be conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and Scopus, seeking clinical trials. Observational studies and case reports with Children and adolescents (≤19 years) infected with SARS-CoV-2 will be included whether they report information on the control of prevention and COVID-19 transmission. Two independent researchers will perform the selection of articles, removal of duplication, and screening by Rayyan QCRI application. Cochrane's RoB 2.0, ROBINS-I, and CASP tools will be used to assess the risk of bias. Meta-analysis, subgroup analyses, and/or descriptive analyses will be carried out based on the data conditions included. Results: A high-quality synthesis of the available evidences on the epidemiological profile, the clinical and immunological characteristics involved in children, and adolescents diagnosed with COVID-19, as well as the participation of this population in the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 will be provided. Conclusion: This systematic review has an important relevance in the current context because it has a great potential to help the development of new control and prevention strategies in the pediatric population

Frequency and Burden of Neurological Manifestations Upon Hospital Presentation in COVID-19 Patients: Findings From a Large Brazilian Cohort

BACKGROUND: Scientific data regarding the prevalence of COVID-19 neurological manifestations and prognosis in Latin America countries is still lacking. Therefore, the study aims to understand neurological manifestations of SARS-CoV 2 infection and outcomes in the Brazilian population. METHODS: This study is part of the Brazilian COVID-19 Registry, a multicentric cohort, including data from 37 hospitals. For the present analysis, patients were grouped according to the presence of reported symptoms (i.e., headache; anosmia and ageusia; syncope and dizziness) vs. clinically-diagnosed neurological manifestations (clinically-defined neurological syndrome: neurological signs or diagnoses captured by clinical evaluation) and matched with patients without neurological manifestations by age, sex, number of comorbidities, hospital of admission, and whether or not patients had underlying neurological disease. RESULTS: From 6,635 hospitalized patients with COVID-19, 30.8% presented reported neurological manifestations, 10.3% were diagnosed with a neurological syndrome and 60.1% did not show any neurological manifestations. In patients with reported symptoms, the most common ones were headache (20.7%), ageusia (11.1%) and anosmia (8.0%). In patients with neurological syndromes, acute encephalopathy was the most common diagnosis (9.7%). In the matched analysis, patients with neurological syndromes presented more cases of septic shock (17.0 vs. 13.0%, p = 0.045), intensive care unit admission (45.3 vs. 38.9%, p = 0.023), and mortality (38.7 vs. 32.6%, p = 0.026; and 39.2 vs. 30.3%, p \u3c 0.001) when compared to controls. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 in-hospital patients with clinically defined neurological syndromes presented a higher incidence of septic shock, ICU admission and death when compared to controls