Artificial Neural Networks to Predict Metabolic Syndrome without Invasive Methods in Adolescents.

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing worldwide, and an increasing number of cases are diagnosed in younger age groups. This study aimed to propose predictive models based on demographic, anthropometric, and non-invasive clinical variables to predict MetS in adolescents. : A total of 2064 adolescents aged 18-19 from São Luís-Maranhão, Brazil were enrolled.

DENV-2 Outbreak Associated With Cosmopolitan Genotype Emergence in Western Brazilian Amazon.

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) causes an important disease and directly affects public health, being the arbovirus that presents the highest number of infections and deaths in the Western Brazilian Amazon. This virus is divided into 4 serotypes that have already circulated in the region.

Methodology: Molecular characterization of a cohort containing 841 samples collected from febrile patients between 2021 and 2023 was analyzed using a commercial kit to detect the main arboviruses circulating in Brazil: Zika, DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, DENV-4 and, Chikungunya.

COVID-19 death risk predictors in Brazil using survival tree analysis: a retrospective cohort from 2020 to 2022.

Purpose: This study analyses the survival of hospitalized patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) due to COVID-19 and identifies the risk groups for death due to COVID-19 from the identification of potential interactions between its predictors.

Methods: This was a retrospective longitudinal study with data from 1,756,917 patients reported in the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System from 26 February 2020 to 31 December 2022. In this study, all adult and older (≥ 20 years) patients were hospitalized with SARS due to COVID-19, with death as the outcome.

Outbreak of Oropouche virus in frontier regions in western Amazon.

Oropouche virus (OROV) is characterized as a re-emerging arbovirus of great concern for public health, being responsible for several outbreaks of acute fever identified in Latin American countries, registering more than half a million reported cases. The incidence of reports of this virus is intrinsically favored by environmental conditions, in which such characteristics are related to the increase and distribution of the vector population to areas of human traffic. Moreover, there is a problem regarding the lack of diagnosis in Brazil that aggregates the success of the etiologic agent.

Prediction of deciduous teeth eruption in Brazilian children: A cross-sectional study nested in a prospective birth cohort (BRISA).

Background: Dental eruption is part of a set of children´s somatic growth phenomena. The worldwide accepted human dental eruption chronology is still based on a small sample of European children. However, evidence points to some population variations with the eruption at least two months later in low-income countries, and local standards may be useful.

Consumption of ultraprocessed foods through item response theory.

Objective: This is a psychometric study aimed at proposing a scale for estimating the consumption of ultraprocessed foods using item response theory.

Methods: Food consumption data from a representative sample of 2515 adolescent individuals aged 18 and 19 from the third phase of the Ribeirão Preto, Pelotas, and São Luís Brazilian Birth Cohorts Consortium were used. The instrument used was a validated food frequency questionnaire.

[COVID-19 mortality in metropolitan areas vs. other regions of Brazil, 2020 to 2021Mortalidad por COVID-19 en las regiones metropolitanas y en el interior de Brasil, 2020-2021].

Objective: To compare hospital mortality rates (HMR) due to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated with COVID-19 recorded in metropolitan areas and other regions (interior) of Brazil in 2020 and 2021.

Method: This ecological study used public data available on OpenDataSUS. The information was accessed in May 2022.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in adolescents based on three diagnostic definitions: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: There is no consensus as to the best criterion for the evaluation of metabolic syndrome (MS), impairing the estimation of its prevalence. This study aims to compare MS estimates using three recommended definitions for adolescents based on a cross-sectional study nested in the Consortium of Brazilian Birth Cohorts in São Luís, Maranhão.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 2,515 adolescents aged between 18 and 19 years were evaluated.

Sex-Dependent Effects of the Intake of NOVA Classified Ultra-Processed Foods on Syndrome Metabolic Components in Brazilian Adults.

Longitudinal studies evaluating the relationship between UPF consumption and the incidence of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) and its components are still scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of UPF consumption on the incidence of MetS and its components in adults. A prospective study was conducted with 896 participants from the 1978/79 Ribeirão Preto cohort, São Paulo, Brazil.

Visceral adiposity indicators and cardiovascular risk in hemodialytic patients.

Objective: Cardiovascular diseases represent the main cause of death in chronic kidney disease (CKD). We aimed to evaluate the prevalence and association of the hypertriglyceridemia-waist phenotype (HWP) and visceral adiposity index (VAI) with cardiometabolic risk factors (CR) in patients with CKD on hemodialysis (HD).

Methods: The study is based on a cross-sectional design with 265 HD patients in two cities in northeastern Brazil.

Skin-to-skin contact and deaths in newborns weighing up to 1800 grams: a cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate the association between dose of skin-to-skin contact (SSC) per day and initiation time with the occurrence of deaths in newborns with weight up to 1800g.

Method: Multicentric cohort in five Brazilian neonatal units, including newborns with a birth weight of ≤1800g. The time of SSC was registered in individual file, by the team or family during the hospitalization.

A mhealth application for automated detection and diagnosis of strabismus.

Background And Objective: Amblyopia is a public health problem, and strabismus is its primary cause. Our objective is to evaluate the concordance of the diagnosis of strabismus between strabismus expert ophthalmologist and the mhealth application developed for this purpose.

Methods: We evaluated the concordance of the diagnosis of strabismus between the expert ophthalmologist and the mhealth application by screening 224 children and adolescents in the 5-15 years age group, with snapshots of patients' eyes and their analysis thereof.

Variability in Hemoglobin Levels and the Factors Associated with Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients: A 78-Month Follow-Up Study.

Some studies have described that when the hemoglobin levels of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients change, especially in those taking erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESA), they are associated with unfavorable outcomes such as increased morbidity and mortality, mainly due to cardiovascular events. This prospective cohort study included patients with end-stage renal disease currently undergoing hemodialysis. The initial 6-month clinical evaluation provided data of the variability in hemoglobin, associated blood parameters, and the use of erythropoietin.

Effects of water- and land-based exercises on quality of life and physical aspects in women with fibromyalgia: A randomized clinical trial.

Introduction: Fibromyalgia (FM) is consistently associated with fatigue, sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, and anxiety and depression, affecting physical capacities and skills and thereby reducing quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of water-based and land-based therapies as an adjuvant treatment for women with FM in relation to quality of life and physical aspects.

Methods: FM women were randomized into a water-based exercise group (WG) and land-based exercise group (LG).

Genomic profiling reveals the pivotal role of hrHPV driving copy number and gene expression alterations, including mRNA downregulation of TP53 and RB1 in penile cancer.

The incidence of penile cancer (PeCa) is increasing worldwide, however, the highest rates are reported in underdeveloped countries. The molecular mechanisms that underly the onset and progression of these tumors are still unclear. Therefore, our goal was to determine the genome-wide copy number alterations and the involvement of human papiloma virus (HPV) (TP53 and RB1), inflammatory (COX2 and EGFR), and PI3K/AKT pathway (AKT1, AKT2, EGFR, ERBB3, ERBB4, PIK3CA, and PTEN) associated genes in patients with PeCa from a high incidence region in Brazil (Maranhão).

Mixed secondary bacterial infection is associated with severe lesions of chromoblastomycosis in a neglected population from Brazil.

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) is a chronic subcutaneous infection caused by melanotic fungi, affecting mainly rural workers in tropical and subtropical regions. Secondary bacterial infections (SBIs) in CBM lesions bring complications to the disease, but little is known about the agents involved. Fungal and bacterial identification and epidemiological profile of 50 patients with CBM were analyzed in this study.

Association between renal damage markers and carotid atherosclerosis in Afro-descendants with hypertension belonging to a minority ethnic group from Brazil.

Ethnicity appears to play an important role in the prevalence and severity of hypertension, renal disease, and atherosclerosis. A cross-sectional study was conducted, including 206 Afro-descendants with hypertension, living in the remaining quilombo communities. These subjects underwent a carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) assessment.

Usefulness of visceral adipose tissue estimation in the prevention of chronic kidney disease in hypertensive patients in primary health care.

Background: studies have shown an association between obesity and a reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). However, little is known regarding whether this association is related to total fat or, more specifically, to central or visceral fat.

Objective: this study evaluated the correlations among the nutritional indices that measure total, central and visceral obesity with eGFR.

Effectiveness of Acupuncture as Auxiliary Treatment for Chronic Headache.

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of acupuncture as an auxiliary analgesic treatment for chronic headaches and the influence of this treatment on the quality of life, as the effectiveness of acupuncture in chronic headache is still controversial.

Methods: Thirty-four patients selected from a University Hospital Clinic on Chronic Pain were divided into two groups: True acupuncture (Group 1), in which the recommended points of the Traditional Chinese Medicine were used for each type of headache and sham acupuncture (Group 2), in which the needles were inserted into a device (the stick-on moxa), at the same points as Group 1. Both groups used the prescribed preventive medication for pain.

Effect of exercise on pain and functional capacity in breast cancer patients.

Purpose: To assess the influence of combined training on pain, fatigue, maximal oxygen uptake (VO max), body mass index (BMI), flexibility, and strength in patients with breast cancer.

Methods: A controlled pilot study with 28 patients undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and clinical observation in a renowned cancer treatment center; the patients were aged from 30 to 59 years old and were not engaged in physical training for three months previously. The Study Group (SG) underwent 12 weeks of training, including three 60-min sessions of aerobic exercise and resistance training, and two sessions of flexibility training per week; each flexibility exercise lasted 20 s and was performed in sets of three repetitions.

Sodium excretion and associated factors in urine samples of African descendants in Alcântara, Brazil: a population based study.

In most countries, salt intake has been excessive and constitutes one of the main risk factors for disease development, especially hypertension. Factors such as age, gender, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, African descent, obesity, dietary habits and family history of hypertension may be associated with high blood pressure. Studies show a positive association between the excretion of sodium and increased blood pressure.

Hepatitis delta: virological and clinical aspects.

There are an estimated 400 million chronic carriers of HBV worldwide; between 15 and 20 million have serological evidence of exposure to HDV. Traditionally, regions with high rates of endemicity are central and northern Africa, the Amazon Basin, eastern Europe and the Mediterranean, the Middle East and parts of Asia. There are two types of HDV/HBV infection which are differentiated by the previous status infection by HBV for the individual.

A screening system for smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis using artificial neural networks.

Objectives: Molecular tests show low sensitivity for smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). A screening and risk assessment system for smear-negative PTB using artificial neural networks (ANNs) based on patient signs and symptoms is proposed.

Methods: The prognostic and risk assessment models exploit a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and inspired adaptive resonance theory (iART) network.

Metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and other cardiovascular risk factors in university students.

A cross-sectional population-based study using questionnaire and anthropometric data was conducted on 968 university students of São Luís, Brazil, from which 590 showed up for blood collection. In the statistical analysis the Student t-test, Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests were used. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome by the Joint Interim Statement (JIS) criteria was 20.

Treatment of hepatitis delta virus genotype 3 infection with peg-interferon and entecavir.

Objectives: Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is recognized as the most pathogenic and infectious among the hepatotropic viruses. Studies on the treatment of HDV have predominantly included European patients and carriers of genotype 1 (HDV-1) in their clinical protocols. For the Amazon region, data show that infected individuals have mainly Native American ancestry and that >90% of HDV carriers have the genotype 3 (HDV-3).