Comparing open and video endoscopic lymphadenectomy for penile cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Objective: To conduct the first meta-analysis using only prospective studies to evaluate whether video endoscopic inguinal lymphadenectomy (VEIL) offers advantages in perioperative outcomes compared to open IL (OIL) in patients with penile cancer.

Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted across multiple databases, including Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica dataBASE (EMBASE), Latin America and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), Scopus, Web of Science, and several trial registries up to June 2024. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies were included.

Single and combined chronic toxicity of cadmium and titanium dioxide nanoparticles in Aquarana catesbeiana (Anura: Ranidae) tadpoles.

The rising production and improper disposal of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO NPs) into aquatic systems present considerable environmental challenges, especially when these particles interact with other contaminants such as cadmium (Cd). Thus, the current study aimed to evaluate the potential toxic effects on the gills, chondrocranium, body growth, and mortality of Aquarana catesbeiana tadpoles. The tadpoles were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of TiO NPs (10 µg L), and CdCl (10 µg L), both individually and in combination, for 30 days (chronic exposure), along with a control group.

Higher levels of plasmatic saturated fatty acid were significantly associated with liver fibrosis in HIV mono-infection: A case-control study.

Background: The relationship between plasmatic fatty acid (FA) composition and liver fibrosis remains scarce in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). We aimed to evaluate the association of plasmatic FAs and liver fibrosis in HIV mono-infected individuals.

Methods: This case-control study included PLWHA with liver fibrosis (cases) and randomly selected subjects without fibrosis (controls) from the PROSPEC-HIV study (NCT02542020).

Ecological Validity of Self-Perceived Voice Quality and Acoustic Measures During Voice Assessments: An Observational Study on Faculty Teachers.

Purpose: This study investigated the ecological validity of conventional voice assessments by comparing the self-perceived voice quality and acoustic characteristics of voice production during these assessments to those in a simulated environment with varying distracting conditions and noise levels.

Method: Forty-two university professors (26 women) participated in the study, where they were asked to produce loud connected speech by reading a 100-word text under four different conditions: a conventional assessment and three virtual classroom simulations created with 360° videos, each with different noise levels, played through a virtual reality headset and headphones. The first video depicted students paying attention in class (40 dB classroom noise); the second showed some students talking, generating moderate conversational noise (60 dB); and the third depicted students talking loudly and not paying attention (70 dB).

Reduced GATA1 levels are associated with ineffective erythropoiesis in sickle cell anemia.

Ineffective erythropoiesis (IE) is defined as the abnormal differentiation and excessive destruction of erythroblasts in the marrow, accompanied by an expanded progenitor compartment and relative reduction in the production of reticulocytes. It is a defining feature of many types of anemia, including beta-thalassemia. GATA1 is an essential transcription factor for erythroid differentiation, known to be implicated in hematological conditions presenting with IE, including beta-thalassemia and congenital dyserythropoietic anemia.

Enhancing CO/N and CO/CH Separation Properties of PES/SAPO-34 Membranes Using Choline Chloride-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents as Additives.

CO separation is an important environmental method mainly used in reducing CO emissions to mitigate anthropogenic climate change. The use of mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) arrives as a possible answer, combining the high selectivity of inorganic membranes with high permeability of organic membranes. However, the combination of these materials is challenging due to their opposing nature, leading to poor interactions between polymeric matrix and inorganic fillers.

Targeting P-selectin and interleukin-1β in mice with sickle cell disease: effects on vaso-occlusion, liver injury and organ iron deposition.

Continuous vaso-occlusive and inflammatory processes cause extensive end-organ damage in adults with sickle cell disease (SCD), and there is little evidence that longterm hydroxyurea therapy prevents this. In initial trials, P-selectin blockade with crizanlizumab reduced SCD vaso-occlusive crisis frequency, and interleukin (IL)-1β inhibition in SCD patients, using canakinumab, lowered inflammatory markers. We used murine SCD models to examine the effects of acute and chronic blockade of Pselectin and of IL-1β on vaso-occlusive events, their inflammatory profile and organ health.

Combining capillary electrophoresis and chemometric tools for the straightforward determination of imidazolinone herbicides in plant-based milks.

Background: Highly polar herbicides, such as imidazolinones, are used for weed control to increase agricultural productivity and crop quality. However, their misapplication can lead to residues in ready-to-eat food with a potential health risk for consumers. Hence, the fast determination of these herbicides is necessary for timely action.

Investigation of biochars derived from waste lignocellulosic biomass and insulation electric cables: A comprehensive TGA and Macro-TGA analysis.

This study investigates the thermochemical decomposition and gasification performance of biochars produced from blends of waste lignocellulosic biomass and waste insulation electrical cables at varying temperatures. Characterization tests revealed changes, particularly in ash content (27.5 %-34 %) and elemental composition, with nitrogen content increasing notably in biochar samples compared to the original feedstock.

IRT/IRT as a newborn cystic fibrosis screening method: optimal cutoff points for a mixed population.

The Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) has incorporated newborn screening for cystic fibrosis since 2001. The protocol involves two samples of immunoreactive trypsinogen (IRT1/IRT2). This study aims to analyze fixed and floating values at the first and second IRT (IRT1/IRT2) cutoff points and assess the accuracy of the IRT/IRT methodology in a population from Northeastern Brazil.

Relationship between geographic accessibility to emergency services and infant mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim: To evaluate the methodological quality of studies that analysed the relationship between accessibility to emergency services and infant mortality.

Methods: A systematic review with meta-analysis, registered on the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) platform under code CRD42021279854. Medline/Pubmed, Embase, SciElo, Lilacs, Scopus and web of science electronic databases were searched between November 2021 and May 2024, without language or publication time restriction.

From Illness to Resilience: Mediating Factors of Quality of Life in Patients with Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of childhood morbidity, with an estimated prevalence of 0.8-1%. However, advances in diagnosis and treatment now allow 90% of childhood CHD patients to survive to adulthood, leading to increased interest in their quality of life (QoL).

Treatment patterns and preferences of people living with HIV starting or switching antiretroviral therapy: Real-world evidence from Portugal.

Background: There is a lack of up-to-date real-life evidence on antiretroviral therapy (ART) strategies among people living with HIV (PLWH) in Portugal. This study aimed to describe the treatment strategy used in PLWH either initiating or switching ART.

Methods: Non-interventional, cross-sectional, multicenter study carried out between December 2019 and October 2021 in Portugal.

Gobionellus stomatus Starks 1913 (Oxudercidae: Gobionellinae): range extension for the coastal zone of the Brazilian Amazon region.

Gobionellus stomatus, a fish species endemic to Brazil, was previously known to occur from the State of Piauí to the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Here we present the first record of this species for the State of Maranhão, specifically for the Upaon-Açu island, extending its distribution further west, to the coastal zone of the Amazon region. This species inhabits estuarine ecosystems susceptible to environmental pressures, such as pollution and the introduction of non-native species.

Popular education in the SUS: current challenges from the perspective of the Observatory of Popular Health Education and the Brazilian Reality.

This paper aims to bring reflections and notes for strengthening Brazilian structuring public policies, focusing on Popular Health Education in the Unified Health System (SUS) from the perspectives built in the Observatory of Popular Health Education and the Brazilian Reality. The Observatory is a valuable space for sharing health professionals' and popular educators' interpretations and experiences about local and Brazilian realities from the perspective of Popular Health Education. During its two years of activity, the Observatory has gathered summary interpretations of Popular Health Education for the crises that traverse the country's recent history in a dialogical and participatory way.

What has been discussed about Popular Health Education in recent years: a narrative review of the literature.

This narrative review aims to analyze the literature on Collective Health to recognize what has been discussed in Popular Health Education (PHE) from 2019 to 2022. Fifty-nine articles were selected, critically analyzed, and separated into six summary categories: popular education practices as promoters of a participatory vision of health; popular education and the valorization of local popular culture knowledge and practices; popular health education as a strategy to support social reconstruction in the face of setbacks in public policies; the importance of national articulation in popular education as a response to its devaluation; popular education as a liberating project thinking about the democratic formation and the fight against institutional and structural violence; popular education in the university health training process. We achieved significant results that elucidate the importance of PHE within the Unified Health System and the academic education of health professionals, fostering respect for ancestral knowledge and care horizontality.

[Temporal pattern, spatial distribution, and factors associated with the incidence of HIV/AIDS among young people in BrazilPatrón temporal, distribución espacial y factores asociados a la incidencia de la infección por el VIH/sida en jóvenes en Brasil].

Objective: To describe temporal and spatial patterns and identify the factors associated with the incidence of HIV/AIDS among young people in Brazil.

Method: Ecological study of young Brazilians aged 15-24 years with reported HIV/AIDS, from 2001 to 2021. The Joinpoint method was used for the temporal analysis.

Coastal plastic pollution: A global perspective.

Coastal ecosystems have ecological importance worldwide and require control and prevention measures to mitigate human pollution. The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review to provide a comprehensive overview of the global issue of coastal plastic pollution. 689 articles were eligible for qualitative synthesis and 31 were considered for quantitative analysis.

Pulmonary arteries in coelacanths shed light on the vasculature evolution of air-breathing organs in vertebrates.

To date, the presence of pulmonary organs in the fossil record is extremely rare. Among extant vertebrates, lungs are described in actinopterygian polypterids and in all sarcopterygians, including coelacanths and lungfish. However, vasculature of pulmonary arteries has never been accurately identified neither in fossil nor extant coelacanths due to the paucity of fossil preservation of pulmonary organs and limitations of invasive studies in extant specimens.

Evaluation of Gastric pH and Gastrin Concentrations in Horses Subjected to General Inhalation Anesthesia in Dorsal Recumbency.

The prevalence of gastric disorders in high-performance horses, especially gastric ulceration, ranges from 50 to 90%. These pathological conditions have negative impacts on athletic performance and health. This study was designed to evaluate changes in gastric pH during a 24 h period and to compare gastrin concentrations at different time points in horses undergoing general inhalation anesthesia and dorsal recumbency.

Taxonomical use of scale ornamentation: Challenges by intraspecific and intra-individual variations in four adult specimens of Polypterus bichir.

Many actinopterygian fish groups, including fossil and extant polypteriforms and lepisosteiforms, fossil halecomorphs, and some basal teleosts, have stout bony scales covered by layers of ganoin-an enamel layer ornamented with minute tubercles. Ganoid scales preserve well as disarticulated remains and notably constitute most of the fossil record for polypteriform in both South America and Africa. Based on two variables (tubercle size and distance between tubercles), some authors reported that the ganoin tubercle ornamentation in these scales is constant within a species and differs between species and allows distinguishing species or at least groups of species.