Ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequency of the saphenous nerve for knee osteoarthritis pain: a pilot randomized trial

Aim: Knee osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease complicated by pain and functional limitation. Newer pain-relieving interventions include pulsed radiofrequency (PRF), but studies on its efficacy have limitations including lack of control group and retrospective design that prevent sound conclusions. Materials & methods: We conducted a blind prospective randomized sham-controlled crossover pilot trial according to the CONSORT guidelines, to evaluate the efficacy of ultrasound-guided saphenous nerve PRF in gonarthritis pain. Results: Sixteen patients completed the study. Pain and function significantly improved after real PRF (numerical rating scale mean difference = 3.31), which was superior to sham PRF over time for pain (3 months) and function (6 months). Conclusion: PRF of the saphenous nerve is an alternative to relieve pain in gonarthritis. Our results provide data to support a sample size calculation for future trials. Clinical trial registration: NCT04454710

Feasibility of romiplostim discontinuation in adult thrombopoietin-receptor agonist responsive patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia: an observational retrospective report in real life clinical practice

Thrombopoietin mimetics are new treatment options for patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Because of their mechanism of action, long-term administration was envisioned in order to maintain effective thrombopoiesis. We report on 30 romiplostim treated patients: 13/27 responders (48%) achieved stable platelet counts on a mean romiplostim dose of 2.43 μg/kg and were able to stop romiplostim after a mean of 44.3 weeks (range 12-122) on therapy with sustained response maintained at a mean of 26 months (range 12-52). No bleeding events occurred during the observational period. No specific patient’s features nor pattern of early response seemed to predict for sustained response. However, patients achieving safe platelet counts at lower dosages are probably worth a try of therapy tapering and discontinuation. Our observations support feasibility of romiplostim safe suspension in a relevant proportion of ITP patients

Phenology, production and quality of blueberry cultivars

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o comportamento fenológico, a produtividade e a qualidade de oito cultivares de mirtilo do grupo rabbiteye (Bluegem, Bluebelle, Powderblue, Florida, Delite, Briteblue,Climax e Woodard), na região de Pelotas, RS. O trabalho foi realizado durante os ciclos produtivos de 2003/2004, 2004/2005 e 2005/2006. As plantas foram dispostas no pomar em blocos varietais aleatórios, com 16 plantas por cultivar, no total de quatro linhas, com duas cultivares por linha. Para a análise das características dos frutos, a média de cada ano de avaliação foi considerada como uma repetição. Foram observadas as datas de início e fi m da fl oração, início e fi nal de colheita, massa, diâmetro longitudinal dos frutos, número de frutos por planta, teor de sólidos solúveis totais, produção média por planta e produtividade estimada por hectare. Não houve diferença entre as cultivares avaliadas quanto às características massa, diâmetro médio de frutos e teoresde sólidos solúveis totais. Na região de Pelotas, há viabilidade técnica para o cultivo de mirtilo, cujas cultivares Bluebelle, Briteblue e Bluegem são as mais produtivas.The aim of this work was to evaluate the yield and quality of blueberry cultivars from the rabbiteye group (Bluegem, Bluebelle, Powderblue, Florida, Delite, Briteblue, Climax and Woodard), in Pelotas County,Southern of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, during three growing seasons: 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006. The plants were set in randomized varietal blocks in the orchard, with 16 plants per cultivar,totaling four lines, with two cultivars per line. For statistic analysis of the fruits characteristics, each year of evaluation was considered as one repetition. The characteristics evaluated were the start and the end of fl owering, beginning and end of harvest, mass, longitudinal diameter of fruits, number of fruit per plant, content of total soluble solids, average production by plant, and the estimated productivity per hectare. There was no difference among the cultivars evaluated for the characteristics mass, mean diameter of fruits and levels oftotal soluble solids. In the region of Pelotas, there is technical viability for growing blueberry, whose cultivars Bluebelle, Briteblue and Bluegem are the most productive

A gestão dos recursos hídricos aplicada a áreas de regularização fundiária / Water resources management aplied to areas of environmental regularization

Com o aumento da população nas grandes cidades, a população menos favorecida é impelida a ocupar áreas inadequadas para o uso, entre elas, Áreas de Preservação Permanente-APP tais como margens de cursos d’água e encostas de morros. O Departamento Municipal de Habitação da Prefeitura de Porto Alegre, com mais de 50 anos de existência, atua nestas áreas inadequadas, visando a sua regularização e reordenamento territorial. Vamos nos focar nas áreas de margens de cursos d’água onde são feitos estudos hidrológicos-hidrodinâmicos visando a identificação das áreas de cheias para quatro tempos de retorno e identificação de moradias em áreas de risco. Sendo este um estudo necessário para a compatibilização da ocupação urbana nestas áreas com os cursos d’água, o que pode indicar a possibilidade dos limites das APPs serem reduzidos ou aumentados, visando o seu convívio harmônico, levando-se em conta o princípio da não transferência de cheias para áreas a jusante e preservação e recomposição das matas ciliares e que os recursos naturais não são inesgotáveis, como diretriz geral

Bibliometric Network Analysis on Rapid-Onset Opioids for Breakthrough Cancer Pain Treatment

Background and Objectives. Proper breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) management is of pivotal importance. Although rapid-acting, oral and nasal transmucosal, fentanyl formulations (rapid-onset opioids, ROOs) are licensed for BTcP treatment, not all guidelines recommend their use. Presumably, some research gaps need to be bridged to produce solid evidence. We present a bibliometric network analysis on ROOs for BTcP treatment.Methods. Documents were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) online database. The string was "rapid onset opioids" or "transmucosal fentanyl" and "breakthrough cancer pain". Year of publication, journal metrics (impact factor and quartile), title, document type, topic, and clinical setting (in-patients, outpatients, and palliative care) were extracted. The software tool VOSviewer (version 1.6.17) was used to analyze the semantic network analyzes, bibliographic coupling, journals analysis, and research networks.Results. 502 articles were found in WOS. A declining trend in published articles from 2014 to 2021 was observed. Approximately 50% of documents regard top quartile (Q1) journals. Most articles focused on ROOs efficacy, but abuse and misuse issues are poorly addressed. With respect to article type, we calculated 132 clinical investigations. The semantic network analysis found interconnections between the terms "breakthrough cancer pain," "opioids," and "cancers." The top co-cited article was published in 2000 and addressed pain assessment. The largest number of partnerships regarded the United States, Italy, and England.Conclusion. In this research area, most articles are published in top-ranked journals. Nevertheless, paramount topics should be better addressed, and the implementation of research networks is needed. (C) 2022 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Yield and quality of differents strawberry cultivars.

The work has the purpose to generate and provide technical information for sustainable production of strawberry in the southern of Rio Grande do Sul, aimed to improve the quality of strawberry produced and diversification of agricultural ownership. The work was composed of four experiments, in which were evaluated: experiment 1- agronomic seasonality of strawberry cultivars and nutraceutical quality of fruits; 2- yield of strawberry cultivars Camarosa and Festival under different levels of chemical fertilization in pre-planting; experiment 3- productive aspects of strawberry cultivar submitted to environmental conditions of Pelotas-RS; experiment 4- sensory characterization of fresh strawberry; was performed the sensory characterization of strawberry fruits of third experiment, which evaluated taste and visual attributes of fruits. All the experiments were performed at field on covered beds with black polyethylene film and low tunnel, except the fourth experiment, which was conducted at laboratory technology and sensory analysis of foods at Embrapa Clima Temperado. It was observed that the peak production for cultivars occurred in November The Camarosa, Festival e Ventana cultivars were the most productive, however, the cultivars Albion, Camino Real e Ventana reached higher rates of overall quality in the sensory analysisO trabalho teve como objetivo gerar e disponibilizar informações técnicas para a produção sustentável de morangueiro na região Sul do Rio Grande do Sul, visando à melhoria da qualidade do morango produzido e a diversificação da propriedade agrícola. O trabalho foi composto por quatro experimentos, nos quais foram avaliados: experimento 1- sazonalidade agronômica e fitoquímica de cultivares de morangueiro; experimento 2- produtividade de morangueiro Camarosa e Festival sob diferentes níveis de adubação química em pré-plantio; experimento 3- aspectos produtivos de cultivares de morangueiro submetidas às condições edafoclimáticas de Pelotas; experimento 4- caracterização sensorial de morangos frescos, através de análise sensorial das frutas das cultivares estudadas no experimento 3, onde foram avaliados atributos gustativos e visuais das frutas.Todos os experimentos foram realizados a campo sobre canteiros cobertos com filme de polietileno preto e túnel baixo, exceto o experimento 4 que foi realizado no Laboratório de Tecnologia e Análise Sensorial de Alimentos da Embrapa Clima Temperado. Observou-se que o pico de produção para as cultivares avaliadas ocorreu no mês de novembro. As cultivares Camarosa, Festival e Ventana foram as mais produtivas, porém as cultivares Albion, Camino Real e Ventana alcançaram índices superiores de qualidade geral na análise sensorial