Correlation between hospitalized patients' demographics, symptoms, comorbidities, and COVID-19 pandemic in Bahia, Brazil.

In this paper, we provide a retrospective cohort study with patients that have been hospitalized for general or intensive care unit admission due to COVID-19, between March 3 and July 29, 2020, in the state of Bahia, Brazil. We aim to correlate those patients' demographics, symptoms and comorbidities, with the risk of mortality from COVID-19, length of hospital stay, and time from diagnosis to definitive outcome. On the basis of a dataset provided by the Health Secretary of the State of Bahia, we selected 3,896 hospitalized patients from a total of 154,868 COVID-19 patients that included non-hospitalized patients and patients with invalid registration in the dataset.

Buriti pulp oil did not improve high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders in c57bl/6 mice.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity are growing in many parts of the world, becoming public health problems. It is proposed that foods with functional properties can assist in the treatment of these diseases. Crude buriti pulp oil (BPO) is a food traditionally consumed by residents in the Pantanal, Cerrado and Brazilian Amazon.

The prognostic influence of tumour budding in Western patients with stage II colorectal cancer.

Background: Tumour budding (TB) refers to loss of tumour cohesiveness and is defined as isolated cells or a cell cluster of up to four tumour cells at the microscopic analysis. The International Tumour Budding Consensus Conference (ITBCC) in 2016 proposed a scoring system to standardise the pathology evaluation of TB in colorectal cancer (CRC) as high (H), intermediate (I) and low (L) TB.

Objective: To evaluate the recurrence-free survival (RFS) of stage II CRC patients as per the ITBCC 2016 classification and associations between TB and clinical pathological features.

Immune profiling of uveal melanoma identifies a potential signature associated with response to immunotherapy.

Background: To date, no systemic therapy, including immunotherapy, exists to improve clinical outcomes in metastatic uveal melanoma (UM) patients. To understand the role of immune infiltrates in the genesis, metastasis, and response to treatment for UM, we systematically characterized immune profiles of UM primary and metastatic tumors, as well as samples from UM patients treated with immunotherapies.

Methods: Relevant immune markers (CD3, CD8, FoxP3, CD68, PD-1, and PD-L1) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry on 27 primary and 31 metastatic tumors from 47 patients with UM.

Development and validation of a Brazilian nomogram to assess sentinel node biopsy positivity in melanoma.

Background: Although well-established, sentinel node biopsy (SNB) for melanoma is not free from controversies and sometimes it can be questionable if SNB should be considered even for patients who meet the criteria for the procedure. Mathematical tools such as nomograms can be helpful and give more precise answers for both clinicians and patients. We present a nomogram for SNB positivity that has been internally validated.

Rh antibodies as a result of altered Rh epitopes on transfused red cells: a case series of seven Brazilian patients.

Background: Rh antibodies produced by patients receiving Rh-matched RBC units may be associated with inheritance of altered RH alleles or a result of altered Rh epitopes on donor red blood cells (RBC). On this background, our aim was to evaluate unexpected Rh antibodies in Brazilian patients receiving regular transfusions and determine the clinical significance of the alloantibody produced.

Material And Methods: We investigated seven patients (5 with sickle cell disease, 1 with myelodysplastic syndrome and 1 with β-thalassaemia) with unexplained Rh antibodies.

Instrumental validity and intra/inter-rater reliability of a novel low-cost digital pressure algometer.

Background: Pain assessment is a key measure that accompanies treatments in a wide range of clinical settings. A low-cost valid and reliable pressure algometer would allow objective assessment of pressure pain to assist a variety of health professionals. However, the pressure algometer is often expensive, which limits its daily use in both clinical and research settings.

Paper-Based In-Situ Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis for Colorimetric, Non-Enzymatic Glucose Level Determination.

Due to its properties, paper represents an alternative to perform point-of-care tests for colorimetric determination of glucose levels, providing simple, rapid, and inexpensive means of diagnosis. In this work, we report the development of a novel, rapid, disposable, inexpensive, enzyme-free, and colorimetric paper-based assay for glucose level determination. This sensing strategy is based on the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by reduction of a gold salt precursor, in which glucose acts simultaneously as reducing and capping agent.

Development of an Improved 3D Intestinal Model to Perform Permeability Studies of Paracellular Compounds.

The small intestine is the primary site of drug absorption following oral administration, making paramount the proper monitoring of the absorption process. tools to predict intestinal absorption are particularly important in preclinical drug development since they are less laborious and cost-intensive and raise less ethical considerations compared to studies. The Caco-2 model is considered the gold standard of intestinal models regarding the prediction of absorption of orally delivered compounds.

[Leprosy-related mortality in the State of Piauí, Brazil: time trends and spatial patterns, 2000-2015].

The study aimed to analyze spatial patterns and time trends in leprosy-related mortality in the State of Piauí, Brazil, from 2000 to 2015. This was a mixed ecological study with a spatial and temporal state-based approach, using data from the Brazilian Mortality Information System. The analysis includes epidemiological characteristics, mortality trends by Joinpoint regression, and spatial analysis, using the state's 224 municipalities (counties) as the geographic unit.

How does the mitotic index impact patients with T1 melanoma? Comparison between the 7th and 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer melanoma staging system.

Background: The mitotic index is no longer used to classify T1 melanoma patients into T1a and T1b, so it should not be used to indicate sentinel node biopsy in these patients.

Objectives: To evaluate patients with T1 melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy and to compare those who were classified as T1a with those classified T1b, according to the 7th and 8th Edition of the melanoma staging system, regarding a positive biopsy result. The authors also aimed to assess whether there is any difference in the results in both staging systems.

Photobiomodulation Therapy Modulates Muscle Gene Expression and Improves Performance of Rats Subjected to a Chronic Resistance Exercise Protocol.

In professional sports activities, the search for increased performance is constant. Electrophysical agents, including photobiomodulation (PBM), have been used in the sports context to accelerate postworkout recovery, prevent injuries, and even to improve performance. This study aims to investigate the effects of infrared laser (904 nm) on skeletal muscle gene expression of performance-related proteins of rats submitted to a chronic resistance training protocol.

DNA Mismatch Repair-Deficient Colorectal Carcinoma: Referral Rate for Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment in a Brazilian Cancer Center.

Background: Approximately 15% of colorectal cancers (CRCs) are deficient in DNA mismatch repair proteins (dMMR), a characteristic that can occur in both sporadic and hereditary CRC. Due to sparse studies on dMMR CRC in the Brazilian population, we conducted a retrospective analysis of referral rates for Genetic Cancer Risk Assessment of this population and also describing clinical and molecular characterization of these tumors.

Methods: A retrospective, longitudinal, and unicenter study that included patients with dMMR CRC detected by IHC analysis from Pathology Database of our institution, from January 2015 to July 2017.

Back pain in elementary schoolchildren is related to screen habits.

Purpose: Verify the influences of physical activity level, nutritional status and screen habits on the prevalence of back pain in Brazilian students.

Methods: The sample consisted of 577 schoolchildren (female = 274; male = 303) aged between 10 and 16 years old, regularly enrolled in the 6 grade of elementary school living in the metropolitan area of the Alto Tietê of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The prevalence, intensity and frequency of pain was verified with the Back Pain Assessment Instrument.

Antibiofilm Activity of Acidic Phospholipase Isoform Isolated from Snake Venom.

Introduction: Bacterial resistance is a worldwide public health problem, requiring new therapeutic options. An alternative approach to this problem is the use of animal toxins isolated from snake venom, such as phospholipases A (PLA), which have important antimicrobial activities. is one of the snake species in the northeast of Brazil that attracts great medical-scientific interest.

S-Nitrosoglutathione Reverts Dietary Sucrose-Induced Insulin Resistance.

The liver is a fundamental organ to ensure whole-body homeostasis, allowing for a proper increase in insulin sensitivity from the fast to the postprandial status. Hepatic regulation of glucose metabolism is crucial and has been shown to be modulated by glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide (NO). However, knowledge of the metabolic action of GSH and NO in glucose homeostasis remains incomplete.

Insulin: Trigger and Target of Renal Functions.

Kidney function in metabolism is often underestimated. Although the word "clearance" is associated to "degradation", at nephron level, proper balance between what is truly degraded and what is redirected to utilization is crucial for the maintenance of electrolytic and acid-basic balance and energy conservation. Insulin is probably one of the best examples of how diverse and heterogeneous kidney response can be.

Gut-Pancreas-Liver Axis as a Target for Treatment of NAFLD/NASH.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) represents the most common form of chronic liver disease worldwide. Due to its association with obesity and diabetes and the fall in hepatitis C virus morbidity, cirrhosis in NAFLD is becoming the most frequent indication to liver transplantation, but the pathogenetic mechanisms are still not completely understood. The so-called gut-liver axis has gained enormous interest when data showed that its alteration can lead to NAFLD development and might favor the occurrence of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Metabolic Footprint, towards Understanding Type 2 Diabetes beyond Glycemia.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) heterogeneity is a major determinant of complications risk and treatment response. Using cluster analysis, we aimed to stratify glycemia within metabolic multidimensionality and extract pathophysiological insights out of metabolic profiling. We performed a cluster analysis to stratify 974 subjects (PREVADIAB2 cohort) with normoglycemia, prediabetes, or non-treated diabetes.

Larvicidal Activity of Essential Oils Against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

The Aedes aegypti is responsible for the transmission of arboviruses, which compromise public health. In the search for synthetic product alternatives, essential oils (OEs) have been highlighted by many researchers as natural insecticides. This systematic review (SR) was performed according to PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) and its objective was to evaluate studies addressing OEs with larvicidal properties against Ae.

Is there a role for rechallenge and reintroduction of anti-EGFR plus chemotherapy in later lines of therapy for metastatic colorectal carcinoma? A retrospective analysis.

Background: Mechanisms of resistance have been described during disease progression (PD) for patients under treatment with anti-EGFR plus chemotherapy (CT). The aim of our study was to evaluate efficacy of anti-EGFR rechallenge (ReCH) and reintroduction (ReIn) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of patients with mCRC that previously received anti-EGFR + CT and interrupted therapy due to PD in the ReCH group and other reasons in the ReIn group.

Mutational Portrait of Lung Adenocarcinoma in Brazilian Patients: Past, Present, and Future of Molecular Profiling in the Clinic.

Approximately 60% of lung adenocarcinomas (LAs) carry mutations that can guide treatment with tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKI) and other targeted therapies. Data on activating mutations in and other tyrosine-kinase receptor (TKR) genes in highly admixed populations, such as that of Brazil, are scarce. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the actionable alteration profile of LA in Brazilian patients.

Adepamycin: design, synthesis and biological properties of a new peptide with antimicrobial properties.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMP) are molecules with a broad spectrum of activities that have been identified in most living organisms. In addition, synthetic AMPs designed from natural polypeptides have been largely investigated. Here, we designed a novel AMP using the amino acid sequence of a plant trypsin inhibitor from Adenanthera pavonina seeds (ApTI) as a template.

Insights from qualitative research on NAFLD awareness with a cohort of T2DM patients: time to go public with insulin resistance?

Background: It is estimated that around 70% of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients (T2DM) have Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Awareness and education are amongst the major shortcomings of the public health response to the increasing threat of NAFLD. Characterizing the specific NAFLD-related information needs of particular high-risk metabolic communities, for instance, T2DM patients, might aid in the development of evidence-based health promotion strategies, ultimately promoting NAFLD-awareness, treatment adherence and therapeutic success rates.