First trimester aneuploidy screening program for preeclampsia prediction in a portuguese obstetric population.

Objective. To evaluate the performance of a first trimester aneuploidy screening program for preeclampsia (PE) prediction in a Portuguese obstetric population, when performed under routine clinical conditions. Materials and Methods.

High-sensitivity dispersive Mach-Zehnder interferometer based on a dissimilar-doping dual-core fiber for sensing applications.

A dual-core fiber in which one of the cores is doped with germanium and the other with phosphorus is used as an in-line Mach-Zehnder dispersive interferometer. By ensuring an equal length but with different dispersion dependencies in the interferometer arms (the two cores), high-sensitivity strain and temperature sensing are achieved. Opposite sensitivities for high and low wavelength peaks were also demonstrated when strain and temperature was applied.

Prevalence of Candida albicans and non-albicans isolates from vaginal secretions: comparative evaluation of colonization, vaginal candidiasis and recurrent vaginal candidiasis in diabetic and non-diabetic women.

Context And Objective: Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is caused by abnormal growth of yeast-like fungi on the female genital tract mucosa. Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) are more susceptible to fungal infections, including those caused by species of Candida. The present study investigated the frequency of total isolation of vaginal Candida spp.

The influence of women's attachment style on the chronobiology of labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect.

Circadian variation in biological rhythms has been identified as affecting both labour pain and the pharmacological properties of analgesics. In the context of pain, there is also a growing body of evidence suggesting the importance of adult attachment. The purpose of this study was to examine whether labour pain, analgesic consumption and pharmacological effect are significantly affected by the time of day and to analyse whether this circadian variation is influenced by women's attachment style.

The role of maternal attachment in the experience of labor pain: a prospective study.

Objective: To examine the influence of attachment dimensions and sociodemographic and physical predictors in the experience of labor pain.

Methods: Eighty-one pregnant women were assessed during their third trimester of pregnancy and during labor. The perceived intensity of pain in the early stages of labor (3 cm of cervical dilatation) and before the administration of patient-controlled epidural analgesia was measured using a visual analog scale.

Resistance markers and genetic diversity in Acinetobacter baumannii strains recovered from nosocomial bloodstream infections.

In this study, phenotypic and genotypic methods were used to detect metallo-β-lactamases, cephalosporinases and oxacillinases and to assess genetic diversity among 64 multiresistant Acinetobacter baumannii strains recovered from blood cultures in five different hospitals in Brazil from December 2008 to June 2009. High rates of resistance to imipenem (93.75%) and polymyxin B (39.

Attachment styles, pain, and the consumption of analgesics during labor: a prospective observational study.

Unlabelled: Individuals with less secure attachment styles have been shown to experience more pain than people with more secure attachment styles; however, attachment styles have not yet been examined in the context of labor pain and analgesic consumption. The purpose of this prospective observational study was to assess the influence of the mother's attachment style on the perception of labor pain, as assessed by a visual analog scale and analgesic consumption. Eighty-one pregnant women with a mean age of 32 years (standard deviation = 5.

Is L-glutathione more effective than L-glutamine in preventing enteric diabetic neuropathy?

Background: Diabetes and its complications appear to be multifactorial. Substances with antioxidant potential have been used to protect enteric neurons in experimental diabetes.

Aim: This study evaluated the effects of supplementation with L-glutamine and L-glutathione on enteric neurons in the jejunum in diabetic rats.

[Maternal mortality from hemorrhage in the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil].

Hemorrhage represents a set of causes that focuses on women during the pregnancy and puerperal period, and that, with improper attention, results in death. The authors aimed to analyze maternal deaths related to hemorrhage that occurred in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The data were obtained from the Mortality Information System and Live Births Information System from the Brazilian Ministry of Health.

Mobile health platform for pressure ulcer monitoring with electronic health record integration.

Pressure ulcers frequently occur in patients with limited mobility, for example, people with advanced age and patients wearing casts or prostheses. Mobile information communication technologies can help implement ulcer care protocols and the monitoring of patients with high risk, thus preventing or improving these conditions. This article presents a mobile pressure ulcer monitoring platform (mULCER), which helps control a patient's ulcer status during all stages of treatment.

Comparison of automated methods for measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Background: The objective of the study was to compare the analytical performance of three automated immunoassays for the determination of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Methods: Quantitative determination of serum 25(OH)D were performed by "Vitamin D total" (n = 131) and "Vitamin D3(25-OH)" (n = 77) assays (Roche Diagnostics) on a Cobas e411 and by "25-OH Vitamin D" (n = 131) assay (Abbott Laboratories) on an Architect. The inter-assay precision was calculated and methods were compared by the Passing Bablok regression and Bland-Altman analysis.

Effects of terlipressin and naloxone compared with epinephrine in a rat model of asphyxia-induced cardiac arrest.

Objective: To evaluate the hemodynamic and metabolic effects of terlipressin and naloxone in cardiac arrest.

Methods: Cardiac arrest in rats was induced by asphyxia and maintained for 3.5 minutes.

A quantitative TaqMan PCR assay for the detection of Ureaplasma diversum.

Ureaplasma diversum in veterinary studies is an undesirable microbe, which may cause infection in bulls and may result in seminal vesiculitis, balanopostitis, and alterations in spermatozoids, whereas in cows, it may cause placentitis, fetal alveolitis, abortion, and birth of weak calves. U. diversum is released through organic secretions, especially semen, preputial and vaginal mucus, conjunctival secretion, and milk.

Molecular and biological characterization of Trypanosoma cruzi strains isolated from children from Jequitinhonha Valley, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Introduction: The biological diversity of Trypanosoma cruzi strains plays an important role in the clinical and epidemiological features of Chagas disease.

Methods: Eight T. cruzi strains isolated from children living in a Chagas disease vector-controlled area of Jequitinhonha Valley, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were genetically and biologically characterized.

Three dimensional anatomy of the human nucleus accumbens.

Background: The Nucleus accumbens (Acc) is the main structure of the ventral striatum. It acts as a motor-limbic interface, being involved in emotional and psychomotor functions, frequently disturbed in neuropsychiatric disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder and addiction. Most of the studies concerning the Acc were made in animals and those performed in humans are contradictory.

A survey on the occurrence of ochratoxin A in feeds for swine and laying hens.

Results of a 2-year (2009-2010) survey on the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OTA) in swine feed and in feed for laying hens in Portugal are reported. A total of 664 samples (478 swine feed, 186 feed for laying hens) were analyzed by a HPLC method using fluorescence detection with 2 μg kg(-1) as detection limit. In swine feed, 31 samples (6.

Aflatoxin B1 and zearalenone in dairy feeds in Portugal, 2009-2011.

This paper presents 3 years of data (2009-2011) on the occurrence of two mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and zearalenone (ZEA), in samples of feedstuff for dairy cows (n = 963), ewes (n = 42), and goats (n = 131) produced in Portugal. AFB1 was found in 15 samples of cow feed (1.6%), 3 samples of ewe feed (2.

Digoxin in advanced heart failure patients: a question of rhythm.

Background: The impact of digoxin on outcomes of patients with advanced heart failure (HF) remains uncertain and its effect may be different for patients in atrial fibrillation (AF) or sinus rhythm (SR).

Objectives: To determine the impact of digoxin on outcomes of advanced HF patients and to assess whether prognosis differs in patients in AF and SR.

Methods: A total of 268 consecutive patients admitted to an intensive care unit with decompensated HF were evaluated.

Modulation instability-induced fading in phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry.

Phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (φOTDR) is a simple and effective tool allowing the distributed monitoring of vibrations along single-mode fibers. We show in this Letter that modulation instability (MI) can induce a position-dependent signal fading in long-range φOTDR over conventional optical fibers. This fading leads to a complete masking of the interference signal recorded at certain positions and therefore to a sensitivity loss at these positions.

Development of a label-free immunosensor based on surface plasmon resonance technique for the detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies in canine serum.

In this work, a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) immunosensor was developed using an 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (11-MUA) modified gold SPR sensor chip for the detection of anti-Leishmania infantum antibodies. The soluble antigens of L. infantum were securely immobilized on an SPR gold disk by an 11-MUA self-assembled monolayer.

Manchester Triage System version II and resource utilisation in the emergency department.

Emergency department (ED) triage systems aim to direct the best clinical assistance to those who are in the greatest urgency and guarantee that resources are efficiently applied. The study's purpose was to determine whether the Manchester Triage System (MTS) second version is a useful instrument for determining the risk of hospital admission, intrahospital death and resource utilisation in ED and to compare it with the MTS first version. This was a prospective study of patients that attended the ED at a large hospital.

Participation in nighttime activities in the genesis of depression in public school teachers from the State of Pernambuco, Brazil.

Unlabelled: Teachers often undertake nighttime work involving exam corrections, projects and devising lesson plans in their homes. Many present excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and depression.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate EDS and depression in teachers from public schools.

Caseinate protects stallion sperm during semen cooling and freezing.

Extenders with a defined composition containing only components with clearly protective effects on sperm during storage would be an advantage. The aims of the present work were to assess whether caseinate, improves cooled and frozen equine semen quality. Semen from six stallions were suspended with four different cooling extenders C1) Kenney extender; C2) 0.

Prevalence of HPV infection and genotypes in women with normal cervical cytology in the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of the human Papillomavirus (HPV) and its genotypes in women with normal cervical cytology in the state of Paraná, Brazil, and also epidemiological characteristics.

Methods: The enrolled patients were seen at six primary health-care units in Paiçandú City, Paraná. Through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) techniques, 40 HPV genotypes were found, including 15 high risk, 3 undetermined risk and 22 low risk.