Histoplasmosis in HIV/AIDS patients in Amazonas, Northern Brazil.

Histoplasmosis is commonly observed in AIDS patients as a neglected opportunistic disease that has an important relationship with environmental factors. The present study described the clinical characteristics of HIV/AIDS patients diagnosed with disseminated histoplasmosis in a tertiary healthcare facility in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, and evaluated the patients' homes and urban environmental samples as a source of exposure to Histoplasma capsulatum. A review of medical records from 2017 to 2019 of patients with HIV/AIDS associated with histoplasmosis was carried out, as well as the collection of environmental samples in the homes of these patients.

Incidence and Predictors of Progression to Chagas Cardiomyopathy: Long-Term Follow-Up of -Seropositive Individuals.

Background: There are few contemporary cohorts of -seropositive individuals, and the basic clinical epidemiology of Chagas disease is poorly understood. Herein, we report the incidence of cardiomyopathy and death associated with seropositivity.

Methods: Participants were selected in blood banks at 2 Brazilian centers.

Acute kidney injury in patients with Covid-19 in a Brazilian ICU: incidence, predictors and in-hospital mortality.

Introduction: There is little data in the literature on acute kidney injury (AKI) in Covid-19 cases, although relevant in clinical practice in the ICU, especially in Brazil. Our goal was to identify the incidence of AKI, predictive factors and impact on hospital mortality.

Method: Retrospective cohort of patients with Covid-19 admitted to the ICU.

Determinants of COVID-19 Mortality in Patients With Cancer From a Community Oncology Practice in Brazil.

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic remains a public health emergency of global concern. Determinants of mortality in the general population are now clear, but specific data on patients with cancer remain limited, particularly in Latin America.

Materials And Methods: A longitudinal multicenter cohort study of patients with cancer and confirmed COVID-19 from Oncoclínicas community oncology practice in Brazil was conducted.

Trace metals in estuarine organisms from a port region in southern Brazil: consumption risk to the local population.

Metal contamination is a threat to estuarine environments. They can accumulate in the food chain and cause toxic effects on aquatic organisms and human health. This study evaluated the concentrations of metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in aquatic organisms of Antonina Bay (southern Brazil) to analyze whether the metal concentrations were in accordance with Brazilian food legislation and estimate the human risk of local seafood consumption.

The Influence of Auditory Feedback and Vocal Rehabilitation on Prelingual Hearing-Impaired Individuals Post Cochlear Implant.

Objective: To verify changes in the perceptual and acoustic vocal parameters in prelingual hearing-impaired adults with cochlear implants after vocal rehabilitation.

Hypothesis: Auditory feedback restoration alone after cochlear implant is not enough for vocal adjustments. A targeted and specific voice therapy intervention is required.

The effects of performance status one week before hospital admission on the outcomes of critically ill patients.

Purpose: To assess the impact of performance status (PS) impairment 1 week before hospital admission on the outcomes in patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU).

Methods: Retrospective cohort study in 59,693 patients (medical admissions, 67 %) admitted to 78 ICUs during 2013. We classified PS impairment according to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale in absent/minor (PS = 0-1), moderate (PS = 2) or severe (PS = 3-4).

Electrocardiographic abnormalities in Trypanosoma cruzi seropositive and seronegative former blood donors.

Background: Blood donor screening leads to large numbers of new diagnoses of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, with most donors in the asymptomatic chronic indeterminate form. Information on electrocardiogram (ECG) findings in infected blood donors is lacking and may help in counseling and recognizing those with more severe disease.

Objectives: To assess the frequency of ECG abnormalities in T.

Ten-year incidence of Chagas cardiomyopathy among asymptomatic Trypanosoma cruzi-seropositive former blood donors.

Background: Very few studies have measured disease penetrance and prognostic factors of Chagas cardiomyopathy among asymptomatic Trypanosoma cruzi-infected persons.

Methods And Results: We performed a retrospective cohort study among initially healthy blood donors with an index T cruzi-seropositive donation and age-, sex-, and period-matched seronegatives in 1996 to 2002 in the Brazilian cities of São Paulo and Montes Claros. In 2008 to 2010, all subjects underwent medical history, physical examination, ECGs, and echocardiograms.

GRBAS and Cape-V scales: high reliability and consensus when applied at different times.

Objectives: To evaluate whether the overall dysphonia grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia, and strain (GRBAS) scale, and the Consensus Auditory Perceptual Evaluation-Voice (CAPE-V) scale show the same reliability and consensus when applied to the same vocal sample at different times.

Study Design: Observational cross-sectional study.

Methods: Sixty subjects had their voices recorded according to the tasks proposed in the CAPE-V scale.

Voice analysis of postlingually deaf adults pre- and postcochlear implantation.

Objectives: To ascertain whether cochlear implantation (CI), without specific vocal rehabilitation, is associated with changes in perceptual and acoustic vocal parameters in adults with severe to profound postlingual deafness.

Hypothesis: Merely restoring auditory feedback could allow the individual to make necessary adjustments in vocal pattern.

Study Design: Prospective and longitudinal.

Comparative analysis of the closed quotient for lip and tongue trills in relation to the sustained vowel /ε/.

Various types of trill exercises have been used for a long time as a tool in the treatment and preparation of the voice. Although they are reported to produce vocal benefits in most subjects, their physiology has not yet been studied in depth. The aim of this study was to compare the mean and standard deviation of the closed quotient in exercises of lip and tongue trills with the sustained vowel /ε/ in opera singers.

Scanning electron microscope evaluation of chlorhexidine gel and liquid associated with sodium hypochlorite cleaning on the root canal walls.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate, by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), the cleaning of the root canal walls after instrumentation and irrigation with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) associated with 2% chlorhexidine (CHX) gel or liquid, combined or not with 17% ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA).

Study Design: Sixty single-root human teeth were subjected to standardized root canal instrumentation with different irrigants (n = 10): G1) NaOCl + CHX liquid; G2) NaOCl + CHX liquid + EDTA + saline solution; G3) NaOCl + CHX gel; G4) NaOCl + CHX gel + EDTA + saline solution; G5) saline solution; G6) saline solution + EDTA.

The relationship between tongue trill performance duration and vocal changes in dysphonic women.

Objective: To assess the relationship between tongue trill performance duration and auditory perception and acoustic changes in dysphonic women.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study, with intrasubject comparison.

Methods: Twenty-seven women who had vocal nodules were in the experimental group (EG) (tongue trills), and 10 were also in the control group (CG) (placebo exercises).

Penetration of 38% hydrogen peroxide into the pulp chamber in bovine and human teeth submitted to office bleach technique.

This study evaluated the pulp chamber penetration of peroxide bleaching agent in human and bovine teeth after office bleach technique. All the teeth were sectioned 3 mm apical of the cement-enamel junction and were divided into 2 groups, A (70 third human molars) and B (70 bovine lateral incisors), that were subdivided into A1 and B1 restored by using composite resin, A2 and B2 by using glass ionomer cement, and A3 and B3 by using resin-modified glass ionomer cement; A4, A5, B4, and B5 were not restored. Acetate buffer was placed in the pulp chamber, and the bleaching agent was applied for 40 minutes as follows: A1-A4 and B1-B4, 38% hydrogen peroxide exposure and A5 and B5, immersion into distilled water.

Vehicle influence on calcium hydroxide pastes diffusion in human and bovine teeth.

The purpose of this study was to compare the pH and calcium ion liberation after use of calcium hydroxide pastes with different paste vehicles in human or bovine teeth. Ninety-two single-rooted human and bovine roots were used. The roots were instrumented and an external cavity preparation was performed.

Effects of Nd:YAG laser irradiation on root canal dentin wall: a scanning electron microscopic study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the effects of Nd:YAG laser irradiation applied perpendicular or parallel to the root canal dentin wall.

Methods: Thirty human teeth were divided into two groups: Group A (20 roots), laser application with circular movements, parallel to the dentin root surface; and Group B (10 roots), roots cut longitudinally and laser applied perpendicular to the root surface. Group A was subdivided into A1 (10 roots), laser application with 100 mJ, 15 Hz and 1.

Vocal and laryngeal effects of voiced tongue vibration technique according to performance time.

Our objective is to study the vocal and laryngeal effect as well as the negative signs and sensations related to the voiced tongue vibration technique (VTVT), regarding the time of performance (from 0 to 7 minutes). Thirty adults (15 men and 15 women) with no vocal complaints nor laryngeal disorders were involved. All subjects underwent laryngostroboscopic and auditory perceptual analysis and answered about the existence of uncomfortable sensations that occurred during the exercise (1, 3, 5, and 7 minutes) and postexercise.

Study of thermocycling effect on the bond strength between an aluminous ceramic and a resin cement.

This study evaluated the effect of thermocycling on the bond strength between Procera AllCeram (Nobel-Biocare) and a resin cement (Panavia F, Kuraray CO). Nine ceramic blocks with dimensions of 5x6x6mm were conditioned at one face with Rocatec System (Espe). After, they were luted with Panavia F to composite resin blocks (Clearfil AP-X, Kuraray CO).

[Oral manifestations, CD4+ T-lymphocytes count and viral load in Brazilian and North-American HIV-infected children].

Oral manifestations related to HIV infection were evaluated in 184 children of both genders, aging 0-13 years. The oral exams were carried out at the Ambulatory of Pediatric AIDS, São Lucas Hospital and at the Clinics Hospital, both in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, and at the University Hospital and School of Dentistry, State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY, USA, from January 1999 to May 2000. A high prevalence of oral manifestations was observed both in Brazilian (72.