The Omicron Lineages BA.1 and BA.2 ( SARS-CoV-2) Have Repeatedly Entered Brazil through a Single Dispersal Hub.

Brazil currently ranks second in absolute deaths by COVID-19, even though most of its population has completed the vaccination protocol. With the introduction of Omicron in late 2021, the number of COVID-19 cases soared once again in the country. We investigated in this work how lineages BA.

Incidence of Arterial Hypertension is Associated with Adiposity in Children and Adolescents.

Background: The increase of hypertension in children and adolescents has attracted the attention of the scientific community largely due to its association with the obesity epidemic.

Objectives: To describe the incidence of hypertension and its relationship with the cardiometabolic and genetic profile in children and adolescents from a city in southern Brazil in a three-year period.

Methods: This longitudinal study followed 469 children and adolescents, aged 7-17 years old (43.

Early introduction, dispersal and evolution of Delta SARS-CoV-2 in Southern Brazil, late predominance of AY.99.2 and AY.101 related lineages.

The emergence of Variants of Concern (VOC) presenting an unusual number of new mutations is one of the most remarkable features of SARS-CoV-2. The Delta variant, since its appearance, replaced the VOC Gamma, which was responsible for the major COVID-19 wave in Brazil. In this study, we performed a Delta whole-genome sequencing of 183 samples as part of a major genomic surveillance study performed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Physical fitness attenuates the genetic predisposition to obesity in children and adolescents.

Obesity is an important risk factor associated with non-communicable cardiometabolic diseases. Previous studies have indicated that children and adolescents with a predisposed genetic risk for obesity could benefit from an active lifestyle, but there are no studies investigating whether physical fitness moderates the association of genetics and obesity. The aim of this study was to verify the moderating role of physical fitness in the relationship between genetic risk score (GRS) and body mass index (BMI) in children and adolescents.

Biochemical profile, eating habits, and telomere length among Brazilian children and adolescents.

Objectives: Lifestyle, obesity, and eating habits are emerging as determinants for the instability of telomeres. The increase in childhood and adolescent obesity and the association of biochemical profiles and dietary components with telomere length (TL) makes it an important issue in nutritional research. The aim of the present study was to investigate TL and its association with ethnic background, adiposity, clinical and biochemical parameters, and dietary patterns among Brazilian children and adolescents.

Tuberculosis: health care and surveillance in prisons.

Objective: To identify tuberculosis-related health care and surveillance actions in Prison Health Units.

Method: Cross-sectional study, of quantitative, exploratory and descriptive character. We visited 13 Teams of Prison Health, and nurses and technicians were interviewed regarding epidemiological surveillance instruments, physical structure and materials.

CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ACTIVE COMMUTING TO SCHOOL.

Objective: To verify if there is an association between cardiometabolic risk factors and active daily commuting to school among children and adolescents.

Methods: A total of 1,743 schoolchildren aged 7 to 17 years old were evaluated in the city of Santa Cruz do Sul (RS). The way of commuting to school was investigated with a questionnaire, and the cardiometabolic risk factors analyzed were body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, blood glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol (TC) and fractions, LDL and HDL.

Overweight and Obesity in Schoolchildren: Hierarchical Analysis of Associated Demographic, Behavioral, and Biological Factors.

Studies focused on the mechanisms involved in the development of obesity in children and adolescents have reported associations between this condition and birth weight, sedentary lifestyle, and hereditary conditions. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated these factors. This cross-sectional study aims to identify demographic, behavioral, and biological factors associated with overweight/obesity in children and adolescents.

Hyperuricemia is associated with low cardiorespiratory fitness levels and excess weight in schoolchildren.

Objective: To evaluate the possible association between hyperuricemia and cardiorespiratory fitness levels/nutritional profile, grouped into a single variable, in schoolchildren.

Method: Cross-sectional study of 2335 students from Elementary schools, aged 7-17 years of both genders, stratified by conglomerates of a municipality in Southern Brazil. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was assessed by the 6-minute run/walk test.

Tuberculosis among prison staff in Rio Grande do Sul.

Objective: to evaluate the risk of infection and illness caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis among health care and security staff in prisons in two regions of Rio Grande do Sul (RS).

Method: cross-sectional study involving prison staff. An interview and sputum smear microscopy and culture were performed.

DNA damage and repair capacity in lymphocyte of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases patients during physical exercise with oxygen supplementation.

Background: We hypothesized that the use of oxygen supplementation during aerobic exercise induces less DNA damage than exercise alone. The aim of this study is to assess the level of DNA damage induced by physical exercise with and without oxygen supplementation in chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) patients.

Methods: Peripheral blood was collected before and after aerobic exercise in two conditions: (I) aerobic exercise without oxygen supplementation (AE group) and (II) with oxygen supplementation (AE-O group).

Recent transmission of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a prison population in southern Brazil.

We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective study, characterized by classical and molecular epidemiology, involving M. tuberculosis isolates from a regional prison in southern Brazil. Between January of 2011 and August of 2014, 379 prisoners underwent sputum smear microscopy and culture; 53 (13.

Low-grade inflammation markers in children and adolescents: Influence of anthropometric characteristics and CRP and IL6 polymorphisms.

Overweight and obesity are associated with chronic and subclinical inflammation due to an imbalance of inflammatory mediators. However, the association with gene polymorphism has been rarely studied in children. The aim of this study was to determine if serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are related to the IL6 rs1800795, IL6 rs2069845 and CRP rs1205 polymorphisms (SNPs) according to body mass index (BMI) in a sample of children and adolescents.

Metabolic risk in schoolchildren is associated with low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, obesity, and parents' nutritional profile.

Objective: Verify the association between metabolic risk profile in students with different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness and body mass index, as well as the nutritional status of their parents.

Methods: A cross-sectional study comprising 1.254 schoolchildren aged between seven and 17 years.

Dyslipidemia is Associated with Unfit and Overweight-Obese Children and Adolescents.

Background: Both poor aerobic fitness and obesity, separately, are associated with abnormal lipid profiles.

Objective: To identify possible relationships of dyslipidemia with cardiorespiratory fitness and obesity, evaluated together, in children and adolescents.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,243 children and adolescents (563 males and 680 females) between 7 and 17 years of age from 19 schools.

DNA damage and cellular abnormalities in tuberculosis, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB), Lung Cancer (LC) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) affect millions of individuals worldwide. Monitoring of DNA damage in pathological situations has been investigated because it can add a new dimension to clinical expression and may represent a potential target for therapeutic intervention. The aim of this study was to evaluate DNA damage and the frequency of cellular abnormalities in TB, LC and COPD patients by comparing them to healthy subjects.

Obesity parameters as predictors of early development of cardiometabolic risk factors.

The scope of this study was to verify the association between different overweight and obesity parameters and the metabolic risk profile among school-age students. The randomized cross-sectional study included 1254 children and adolescents, aged 7 to 17, from a city in southern Brazil. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and percentage of fat (PF), measured at the triceps and based on subscapular skinfold thickness, were used as the parameters to evaluate overweight/obesity status.

Polymorphisms of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes in breast cancer susceptibility: a case-control study.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency of homozygous deletion of GSTM1 and GSTT1 genes and their combinations between patients with breast cancer and healthy individuals, associating them with disease susceptibility.

Methods: This is a case-control study in which 49 women diagnosed with breast cancer confirmed by pathological examination and 49 healthy women with no evidence of cancer and no prior family history of breast cancer were invited to participate. All of them answered a questionnaire with epidemiological data and were submitted to blood sample collection.

Antibiotic resistance and detection of the sul2 gene in urinary isolates of Escherichia coli in patients from Brazil.

Introduction: The present study aimed to assess the antibiotic resistance profiles and detect the presence of the sul2 gene in sulfamethoxazole-susceptible and resistant isolates of Escherichia coli obtained from outpatients and inpatients with urinary tract infections.

Methodology: The resistance profiles of 739 strains were assessed and the presence of the sul2 gene in 100 isolates was tested.

Results: The antibiotics with the highest resistance rates were ampicillin (57.

Evaluation of DNA damage in COPD patients and its correlation with polymorphisms in repair genes.

Background: We investigated a potential link between genetic polymorphisms in genes XRCC1 (Arg399Gln), OGG1 (Ser326Cys), XRCC3 (Thr241Met), and XRCC4 (Ile401Thr) with the level of DNA damage and repair, accessed by comet and micronucleus test, in 51 COPD patients and 51 controls.

Methods: Peripheral blood was used to perform the alkaline and neutral comet assay; and genetic polymorphisms by PCR/RFLP. To assess the susceptibility to exogenous DNA damage, the cells were treated with methyl methanesulphonate for 1-h or 3-h.