Lessons learned from the risk-informed urban development initiative in the SADC region.

Unlabelled: This study presents the systemisation of lessons learned from the urban sector in which the measures based on the guiding principle of risk-informed development (RID) have been implemented in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region at the national and/or sub-national levels. Despite notable risks in the region, these are not adequately considered in urban development planning and programming. Aiming at strengthening RID in the SADC region, the objectives of this peer-to-peer exchange were achieved through virtual workshops, roundtables and briefings on a cloud-based and open-source BigBlueButton Web conferencing system.

Empirical validation of the CRAFFT Abuse Screening Test in a Spanish sample.

The CRAFFT Substance Abuse Screening Instrument, developed by the Center for Adolescents Substance Abuse Research (CeASAR) (Knight et al., 1999), is a screening tool for high-risk alcohol and drug risk consumption designed for use with adolescents. Since its publication it has been the subject of translations and validations in different countries, populations and contexts that have demonstrated its enormous potential.

Diagnosis of sleep apnea in patients with stable chronic heart failure using a portable sleep test diagnostic device.

Purpose: ApneaLink is a portable device for the screening of sleep apnea, a prevalent and underdiagnosed comorbidity in heart failure patients. A prospective cross-sectional study in patients with chronic heart failure was carried out to assess the sensitivity and specificity of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) measurements using ApneaLink against the standard polysomnography test.

Methods: Adult patients with a prior hospitalization in an acute heart failure hospital unit were recruited for the study.

Prevalence and prognostic impact of anemia and iron deficiency in patients hospitalized in an internal medicine ward: The PRO-IRON study.

Objectives: To assess prevalence, predictive factors, and prognostic impact on in-hospital mortality of anemia, iron deficiency anemia (IDA), iron deficiency with or without anemia (ID), and iron deficiency without anemia (IDWA) in patients admitted to an internal medicine ward.

Methods: This 1-year prospective study collected data on demographics, medical history, and blood tests in 771 consecutive patients on admission.

Results: Most patients were ≥65 years old (80%) and had hypertension (63%), moderate chronic kidney disease (CKD) (43%), and heart failure (41%).

A case of fulminant Type 1 diabetes following anti-PD1 immunotherapy in a genetically susceptible patient.

Programmed cell death-1 protein (PD-1) is an immune checkpoint that has gained popularity in the treatment of several advanced cancers. Inhibiting this checkpoint is known to enhance immune response, but is also known to diminish immune tolerance and to increase autoimmune toxicity. We discuss a case of rapid onset fulminant Type 1 diabetes induced by treatment with anti-programmed cell death-1 monoclonal antibody, nivolumab, in a patient with late-stage non-small-cell lung adenocarcinoma.

Psychometric validation of the POSIT for screening alcohol and other drugs risk consumption among adolescents.

Early detection of alcohol and drug abuse among adolescents is decisive not only for rapid referral and intervention in cases of risk, but also as an indicator for use in the evaluation of prevention programs and public policies to reduce consumption. One of the most widely-used screening instruments in the world is the Problem Oriented Screening Instrument for Teenagers (POSIT) (Rahdert, 1991), whose substance use and abuse subscale (POSITUAS) is a brief tool of enormous applied potential. However, there is still no empirical validation study that would ensure its good psychometric performance in Spain.

Mutagenic assessment of Prestige fuel oil spilled on the shore and submitted to field trials of bioremediation.

The mutagenicy of the slightly weathered fuel oil from the Prestige oil spill and the effects of different bioremediation products (nutrients and/or microorganisms and biodiesel) on the potential mutagenic activity of this heavy fuel oil spilled on the shore were evaluated for a period of 1 year using the Ames Salmonella assay with strains TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537 in the absence and presence of exogenous metabolic activation (S9 fraction from rat liver). The in situ bioremediation experiment was performed using tiles located in the supra-littoral and intertidal zones of a beach seriously affected by the fuel oil spill. The results obtained showed the mutagenic activity of the slightly weathered fuel oil extracts at the beginning of the experiment in strain TA98 that persisted for more than 150 days in both the untreated control and treated tiles independently of the zone of the beach considered.

Comparison among pulmonary function test results, the Shwachman-Kulczycki score and the Brasfield score in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Objective: To study correlations among pulmonary function, chest radiology and clinical status in cystic fibrosis.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed to evaluate chest X-rays and clinical charts of patients treated at the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. Spirometry findings, Shwachman-Kulczycki (S-K) scores and Brasfield scores were analyzed.

Increased frequency of micronuclei in peripheral blood lymphocytes of subjects infected with Helicobacter pylori.

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated a close association between infection with Helicobacter pylori and the development of gastric carcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas in humans. The cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay was performed on peripheral blood lymphocytes of H. pylori-infected patients in order to investigate the possible induction of genotoxic damage.

Study on mutagenic effects of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and its derivatives in the Escherichia coli tryptophan reverse mutation assay.

The di-epoxy compound bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), its first and second hydrolysis products (BADGE.H2O and BADGE.2H2O, respectively) and its bis-chlorohydrin derivative (BADGE.

Mutagenic and genotoxic evaluation of bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (BFDGE) in prokaryotic and eukaryotic systems.

The epoxy resin bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (BFDGE), was examined for its mutagenicity in prokaryotic assays (Salmonella typhimurium His(-) and Escherichia coli Trp(-) tests) and its genotoxicity in eukaryotic systems (sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and micronucleus tests in human lymphocytes), in the presence or absence of an exogenous metabolizing system (S9 from rat liver). In the prokaryotic tests, the concentrations of BFDGE ranged between 100 and 5000 micro g per plate, and in the eukaryotic assays from 12.5 to 62.