Metal levels in waste pickers in Brasilia, Brazil: hair and nail as exposure matrices.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare workplace conditions and metal exposures in 431 waste pickers who worked nearby at the Estrutural Dump in Brasilia utilizing hair ( = 310) and nail ( = 355) as matrices of exposure. Waste pickers were grouped according to their workplace (open waste dump: G1 and sorting plants: G2). Hair and nail samples were collected and analyzed using ICP-MS.

A descriptive analysis of hospitalized adolescents facing chronic illnesses with different durations of disease.

Objectives: To assess characteristics of hospitalized adolescents facing chronic diseases, correlating the perceptions of their illness, quality of life and the prevalence of risk behaviors, considering gender and the diseases' durations.

Methods: The sample consisted of 61 adolescents, aged between 10 and 19 years, with chronic diseases, hospitalized at the University Hospital of the State University of Londrina. They answered a questionnaire and the scales World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ).

COVID-19 vaccination and case fatality rates: a case report in a Brazilian municipality.

Vaccination campaigns played a crucial role in reducing the incidence of COVID-19. However, a scant number of studies evaluated the impact of vaccination on case fatality rates (CFRs), including in Brazil. Our study aimed to compare CFRs according to vaccination status among subjects living in Arapongas (Paraná State, Brazil), considering the age composition of the population.

Machine learning and comorbidity network analysis for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in a city in Southern Brazil.

The large amount of data generated during the COVID-19 pandemic requires advanced tools for the long-term prediction of risk factors associated with COVID-19 mortality with higher accuracy. Machine learning (ML) methods directly address this topic and are essential tools to guide public health interventions. Here, we used ML to investigate the importance of demographic and clinical variables on COVID-19 mortality.

Cognitive impairment, childhood trauma, sedentary behaviour, and elevated C-reactive protein levels in major affective disorders.

Elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were associated with cognitive decline, sedentary behaviour, and childhood trauma in patients with major affective disorders. This study aims to examine the association of peripheral CRP levels, cognitive function, childhood trauma, sedentary behaviour, and quality of life in individuals with major affective disorders, including bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and individuals without mood disorders (controls). We included outpatients with BD (n = 42), MDD (n = 27), and healthy controls (n = 40).

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination on case fatality rates in a city in Southern Brazil.

Background: Recent studies have established that vaccination plays a significant role in reducing COVID-19-related deaths. Here, we investigated differences in COVID-19 case fatality rates (CFRs) among vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, and analyzed whether the age composition of confirmed cases has a significant effect on the variations in the observed CFRs across these groups.

Methods: The study considered 59,853 confirmed cases and 1,687 deaths from COVID-19, reported between January 1 to October 20, 2021, by the Health Department of Londrina, a city in Southern Brazil.

Relationship between actinic keratosis and malignant skin lesions on the eyelid.

Purpose: To evaluate the variables possibly related to actinic keratosis and malignant skin lesions on the eyelid.

Methods: A prospective study of patients with suspected eyelid malignancy was conducted. The participants underwent a 2-mm punch biopsy at two opposite sites of the lesion for diagnosis, and the results were compared with those of the histopathological study of the surgical excised specimen.

Meteorological parameters and cases of COVID-19 in Brazilian cities: an observational study.

Meteorological parameters modulate transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, the causative agent related to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) development. However, findings across the globe have been inconsistent attributed to several confounding factors. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between reported meteorological parameters from July 1 to October 31, 2020, and the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in 4 Brazilian cities: São Paulo, the largest city with the highest number of cases in Brazil, and the cities with greater number of cases in the state of Parana during the study period (Curitiba, Londrina and Maringa).

Risk factors associated with COVID-19-induced death in patients hospitalized in intensive care units (ICUs) in a city in Southern Brazil.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to address risk factors associated with death after hospitalization in intensive care units (ICUs) in 728 COVID-19 patients in Londrina, the second most populated city in the State of Paraná - Brazil, between March and December 2020.

Methods: Statistical analysis, including multiple logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors associated with death in these patients.

Results: The results showed that age (60 years or more, O.

Growth hormone directly favors hepatic ketogenesis in persons with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with empagliflozin.

Purpose: Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors increase glucagon secretion by pancreatic alpha cells and the susceptibility to ketoacidosis. On the other hand, growth hormone (GH) stimulates peripheral lipolysis and provides free fatty acids (FFA) for ketogenesis; however, it remains unresolved whether GH directly impacts hepatic ketogenesis. We aimed to investigate the role of physiologic GH levels in promoting ketogenesis in prediabetic or type 2 diabetic patients under empagliflozin treatment.

An updated systematic review on the association between Cd exposure, blood pressure and hypertension.

Background: Since the first report by Perry et al. (1955), most studies affirmed the hypertensive effects of cadmium (Cd) in humans. Nonetheless, conclusions between studies remain inconsistent.

N-acetylcysteine as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation: a randomized clinical trial.

Objective: This randomized controlled trial examined the efficacy and safety of N-acetylcysteine as an adjunctive treatment for smoking cessation.

Methods: Heavy smokers were recruited from smoking cessation treatment for this 12- week randomized controlled trial. Eligible tobacco use disorder outpatients (n=34) were randomized to N-acetylcysteine or placebo plus first-line treatment.

Intensive care unit time and prolonged enucleation to processing interval are associated with donor cornea contamination.

Purpose: To determine donor cornea contamination rate and to determine factors associated with cornea contamination. To assess the effect of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) time, and antibiotic use on corneal contamination rate. To determine the spectrum of the contaminating microorganisms.

Blood cadmium levels and sources of exposure in an adult urban population in southern Brazil.

Background: Cadmium (Cd) is a toxic metal that is widely present in the environment due to geologic and anthropogenic sources. Exposures to high Cd levels may cause nephrotoxicity, carcinogenicity, pulmonary and cardiovascular disease, among others. The goal of this study was to investigate in an adult urban population whether an association exists between sources and levels of Cd exposure and blood Cd concentrations.

Effect of the platelet-rich plasma covering of polypropylene mesh on oxidative stress, inflammation, and adhesions.

Introduction And Hypothesis: Polypropylene mesh (PPM) is often used for urogynecological repair; however, it can cause complications. An approach to reduce complications is to coat PPM with anti-inflammatory and wound-healing molecules. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is inexpensive and improves wound healing.

The effect of water source and soil supplementation on parasite contamination in organic vegetable gardens.

The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with vegetable contamination with zoonotic protozoan. Samples of water, soil and vegetables were collected from July/2014 to May/2016, totaling 83 samples, 21 properties of Londrina region, Paraná, Brazil. DNA amplification of Toxoplasma gondii, Cryptosporidium spp.

Depressed female smokers have higher levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1.

Aim: To examine clinical and biomarkers in depressed female smokers, in order to better clarify the process that link mood disorders, childhood trauma and smoking in women.

Methods: The clinical sample comprised women with unipolar or bipolar depression, divided into subgroups of smokers and never-smoker. The control groups comprised two subgroups non-depressed women, separated into smokers and never-smokers.

Effects of adjunctive N-acetylcysteine on depressive symptoms: Modulation by baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein.

Unlabelled: Outcomes in a RCTs of 12 weeks of theclinical efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjunctive treatment on depression and anxiety symptoms and its effects on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels. A wide array of measures were made. The 17-item version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17); the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A); Sheehan Disability Scale; Quality of Life; Clinical Global Impression (CGI); anthropometrics measures; and vital signs and biochemical laboratory.

Poor Relationships and Physical Violence at School Are Associated With More Forms of Psychological Violence Among Brazilian Teachers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Our purpose was to identify individual and work-related factors that are associated with psychological violence (PV) and are related to a higher number of PV forms among teachers. This cross-sectional study included 789 elementary and high school teachers in a municipality in southern Brazil. Data were obtained through interviews and a self-administered questionnaire.

Blood manganese levels and associated factors in a population-based study in Southern Brazil.

Manganese (Mn) is an essential dietary nutrient for human health serving as a cofactor for many enzymes; however, exposure to excessive quantities of Mn may lead to toxicity with symptoms analogous to Parkinson's disease (PD). Population-based biomonitoring is an effective tool for characterizing the body burden of environmental or occupational pollutants, including Mn. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to (1) estimate reference values (RV) for blood Mn in an adult population and (2) assess the variables that were associated with higher blood metal levels.

Association of lead, cadmium and mercury with paraoxonase 1 activity and malondialdehyde in a general population in Southern Brazil.

Metal exposure is associated with increased oxidative stress (OS), which is considered an underlying mechanism of metal-induced toxicity. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a final product of lipid peroxidation, and it has been extensively used to evaluate metal-induced OS. Pro-oxidant effects produced by metals can be mitigated by paraoxonase 1 (PON1), an antioxidant enzyme known to prevent cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis.

The effects of Pilates method on pelvic floor muscle strength in patients with post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence: A randomized clinical trial.

Aims: To assess the effects of a Pilates exercise program compared to conventional pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) protocol on pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS) in patients with post-prostatectomy urinary incontinence.

Methods: Patients were randomized into three treatment groups (G1: Pilates, G2: electrical stimulation combined with PFMT, and G3: control group). Duration of therapy was 10 weeks.