Biochemical and haematological parameters in owl monkeys infected and uninfected with Trypanoxyuris sp.

The objective of the present study was to report the occurrence of Trypanoxyuris in owl monkeys, using data from clinical and haematological examinations, as well as clinical chemistry (blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)) of infected and uninfected animals. Twenty animals in apparently good clinical health were studied. The coproparasitological examinations showed eggs compatible with Trypanoxyuris sp.

Maternal supplementation with retinyl palmitate during immediate postpartum period: potential consumption by infants.

Objective: To assess the effect of maternal supplementation with a single dose of retinyl palmitate during the postpartum period, in order to provide vitamin A for the infant.

Methods: A clinical trial was conducted in Natal (Northern Brazil), between March and December 2007, on 85 women distributed randomly into two groups. The postpartum supplements of retinyl palmitate consisted of a single dose of 200,000 IU (experimental group) and zero IU (control group).

Identification of three distinguishable phenotypes in golden retriever muscular dystrophy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a human disease characterized by progressive and irreversible skeletal muscle degeneration caused by mutations in genes coding for important muscle proteins. Unfortunately, there is no efficient treatment for this disease; it causes progressive loss of motor and muscular ability until death. The canine model (golden retriever muscular dystrophy) is similar to DMD, showing similar clinical signs.

Benzodiazepine and opioid use and the duration of intensive care unit delirium in an older population.

Objective: There is a high prevalence of delirium in older medical intensive care unit (ICU) patients and delirium is associated with adverse outcomes. We need to identify modifiable risk factors for delirium, such as medication use, in the ICU. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of benzodiazepine or opioid use on the duration of ICU delirium in an older medical population.

Prevalence of sleep disturbances in a cohort of older drivers.

Background: Lower levels of driving capacity in older persons are typically attributed to cognitive, visual, and/or physical impairments, with sleep disturbances rarely considered. This is in contrast to the general adult population for whom sleep disturbances are established risk factors for crashes. We thus set out to determine the prevalence of sleep disturbances in the form of insomnia symptoms, daytime drowsiness, and sleep apnea risk in a cohort of older drivers and to assess how these relate to self-reported driving capacity.

Ascorbic acid retaining using a new calcium alginate-Capsul based edible film.

This work aimed to produce a new calcium alginate-Capsul edible film with antioxidant incorporated in matrix. The vitaminic stability was evaluated in the films during their storage under different conditions for 140 days. The films were characterized with respect to their mechanical properties and surface morphology.

[Clinical findings and mutational spectrum in Venezuelan patients with delayed diagnosis of phenylketonuria].

Introduction: Massive neonatal screening for phenylketonuria (PKU) began in developed countries in 1963, and eventually disappeared as a cause of mental retardation. Yet, this is not the case in most developing countries.

Aim: To describe the phenotype and the genotype of PKU patients with a delayed diagnosis in order to draw attention to the importance of neonatal studies and molecular diagnosis.

The use of missingness screens in clinical epidemiologic research has implications for regression modeling.

Objective: Properly handling missing data is a challenge, especially when working with older populations that have high levels of morbidity and mortality. We illustrate methods for understanding whether missing values are ignorable and describe implications of their use in regression modeling.

Study Design And Setting: The use of missingness screens such as Little's missing completely at random "MCAR test" (1988) and the "Index of Sensitivity to Nonignorability (ISNI)" by Troxel and colleagues (2004)introduces complications for regression modeling, and, particularly, for risk factor selection.

A randomized trial of an education program to enhance older driver performance.

Background: This study was designed to determine whether an education program consisting of classroom and on-road training could enhance driving performance.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial with blinded endpoint assessment enrolled 126 community-living drivers 70 years old or older who were recruited from clinic and community sources. Treatment assignment was concealed until eligibility was established.

Characteristics associated with delirium in older patients in a medical intensive care unit.

Background: Delirium is a highly prevalent disorder among older patients in the intensive care unit.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of 304 patients 60 years or older admitted from September 5, 2002, through September 30, 2004, to a 14-bed ICU in an urban university teaching hospital. The main outcome measure was ICU delirium that developed within 48 hours of ICU admission.

Evaluation of retinol levels in human colostrum in two samples collected at an interval of 24 hours.

Objective: To evaluate retinol concentration in colostrum samples collected with a 24 hour interval.

Method: Colostrum was collected from 24 recently-delivered mothers at two points in time, 0 hours (T0) and 24 hours later (T24), and a pooled sample of colostrum from T0 and T24 was also analyzed. Fat content was determined by creamatocrit, and retinol assayed by high performance liquid chromatography.

A randomized trial of a physical conditioning program to enhance the driving performance of older persons.

Background: As the number of older drivers increases, concern has been raised about the potential safety implications. Flexibility, coordination, and speed of movement have been associated with older drivers' on road performance.

Objective: To determine whether a multicomponent physical conditioning program targeted to axial and extremity flexibility, coordination, and speed of movement could improve driving performance among older drivers.

Clinical-epidemiological profile of children with schistosomal myeloradiculopathy attended at the Instituto Materno-Infantil de Pernambuco.

The most critical phase of exposure to schistosomal infection is the infancy, because of the more frequent contact with contaminated water and the immaturity of the immune system. One of the most severe presentations of this parasitosis is the involvement of the spinal cord, which prognosis is largely dependent on early diagnosis and treatment. Reports on this clinical form of schistosomiasis in children are rare in the literature.

[Spatial analysis of Biomphalaria glabrata foci and human cases of mansoni schistosomiasis in Porto de Galinhas, Pernambuco State, Brazil, in the year 2000].

This article provides information on the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis, correlating snail foci with human cases using spatial analysis. The locations studied were Merepe III, Pantanal, Salinas, and Socó, comprising 70% of the populated area of Porto de Galinhas. Malacological and parasitological surveys by a CPqAM/ FIOCRUZ team at the location where an epidemic occurred in 2000 identified 15 foci of infected B.

Improved self-confidence was a mechanism of action in two geriatric trials evaluating physical interventions.

Objective: To evaluate the mechanisms of action in two successful geriatric clinical trials that tested multicomponent physical conditioning programs and to determine whether the pathways for overall benefit were through improvement in physical ability and/or self-confidence.

Study Design And Setting: PREHAB and DRIVER were conducted by the Yale Pepper Center. PREHAB participants received an individualized program that focused on the impairments present (standardly tailored design); DRIVER participants received the entire intervention (global design).

A research algorithm to improve detection of delirium in the intensive care unit.

Introduction: Delirium is a serious and prevalent problem in intensive care units (ICU). The purpose of this study was to develop a research algorithm to enhance detection of delirium in critically ill ICU patients using chart review to complement a validated clinical delirium instrument.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 178 patients 60 years and older admitted to the Medical ICU.

Assessing defense structure in school-age children using the Response Evaluation Measure-71-Youth version (REM-Y-71).

This study used the Response Evaluation Measure-Youth (REM-Y-71), a self-report measure of 21 defense reactions, among school-age children. Participants were elementary and middle school students (n = 290; grades 3-8; age range: 8-15; mean = 11.73).

Balance between education- and research-oriented publications from a Brazilian University Hospital.

We analyzed the trends of scientific output of the University Hospital, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. A total of 1420 publications were classified according to pattern and visibility. Most were non-research publications with domestic visibility.

[Relation between phonologic and pragmatic habilities in specific language impairment].

Background: Specific language impairment.

Aim: To establish relations between the performance of subjects in phonologic and pragmatic tests.

Method: Tabulation and analyses of the data of phonologic and pragmatic tests of 20 children with ages raging from 3:0 to 5:11 years, with the diagnoses of Specific Language Impairment (SLI).

Modifiable impairments predict progressive disability among older persons.

Unlabelled: Our purpose was to determine the extent to which a predetermined set of modifiable impairments predicted progression of disability.

Method: We conducted a 3-year follow-up of two community-based cohorts of older adults. The impairment areas included lower extremity, upper extremity, hearing, vision, and affect.

A case study found that a regression tree outperformed multiple linear regression in predicting the relationship between impairments and Social and Productive Activities scores.

Objective: Many important physiologic and clinical predictors are continuous. Clinical investigators and epidemiologists' interest in these predictors lies, in part, in the risk they pose for adverse outcomes, which may be continuous as well. The relationship between continuous predictors and a continuous outcome may be complex and difficult to interpret.

Spatial distribution of schistosomiasis foci on Itamaracá Island, Pernambuco, Brazil.

Acute cases of schistosomiasis have been found on the coastal area of Pernambuco, Brazil, due to environmental disturbances and disorderly occupation of the urban areas. This study identifies and spatially marks the main foci of the snail host species, Biomphalaria glabrata on Itamaracá Island. The chaotic occupation of the beach resorts has favoured the emergence of transmission foci, thus exposing residents and tourists to the risk of infection.