Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among public municipal elementary school teachers in Cuiabá, Brazil.

Introduction: The demands and conditions of work can lead to development of a range of health conditions, including repetitive stress injuries and work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms and the working conditions of primary school teachers working for the public municipal education system in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with teachers working for the public municipal education system in the capital of Mato Grosso state.

Socio-environmental factors associated with the occurrence of triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in an endemic municipality in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Triatomines are the vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease. The study aimed to evaluate the association between sociodemographic and environmental factors, and changes in land use and cover, with the occurrence and abundance of triatomines by census sectors in an endemic municipality of northern Minas Gerais, Brazil. The study was conducted in Montes Claros, located in the north of Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Sickness absenteeism among health workers in Cuiabá, Brazil.

Introduction: Sickness absenteeism has been considered a complex phenomenon, with multiple etiologies, including factors related to both the environment and the organization of work, as well as individual factors. However, it has been studied in restricted occupational groups.

Objectives: To analyze the profile of sickness absenteeism among workers of a health company in Cuiabá, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, in 2015 and 2016.

High Parasitic Loads Quantified in Sylvatic , a Chagas Disease Vector.

is a sylvatic vector species in Brazil. In We aimed to characterize the discrete typing units (DTUs), the parasitic loads, and the blood meal sources of insects collected in rocky outcrops in rural areas in the state of Minas Gerais. An optical microscope (OM) and kDNA-PCR were used to examine natural infection by , and positive samples were genotyped by conventional multilocus PCR.

Trypanosoma cruzi iron superoxide dismutases: insights from phylogenetics to chemotherapeutic target assessment.

Background: Components of the antioxidant defense system in Trypanosoma cruzi are potential targets for new drug development. Superoxide dismutases (SODs) constitute key components of antioxidant defense systems, removing excess superoxide anions by converting them into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. The main goal of the present study was to investigate the genes coding for iron superoxide dismutase (FeSOD) in T.

TriatoDex, an electronic identification key to the Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), vectors of Chagas disease: Development, description, and performance.

Correct identification of triatomine bugs is crucial for Chagas disease surveillance, yet available taxonomic keys are outdated, incomplete, or both. Here we present TriatoDex, an Android app-based pictorial, annotated, polytomous key to the Triatominae. TriatoDex was developed using Android Studio and tested by 27 Brazilian users.

Effect of Experimental Parameters on the Extraction of Grape Seed Oil Obtained by Low Pressure and Supercritical Fluid Extraction.

Grape seeds are an important byproduct from the grape process. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of experimental parameters (temperature and time of pretreatment with ultrasound) to obtain grape seed oil using low pressure (Soxhlet-Sox and Bligh Dyer-BD) and high pressure (supercritical carbon dioxide-SFE) methods. The best condition for pretreatment of samples was 30 min of sonication at 30 °C before extraction by Sox or BD.

Nanopore Sequencing Significantly Improves Genome Assembly of the Protozoan Parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.

Chagas disease was described by Carlos Chagas, who first identified the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi from a 2-year-old girl called Berenice. Many T. cruzi sequencing projects based on short reads have demonstrated that genome assembly and downstream comparative analyses are extremely challenging in this species, given that half of its genome is composed of repetitive sequences.

Discouraging soft drink consumption reduces blood glucose and cholesterol of Brazilian elementary students: Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational program aimed at discouraging sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages intake on blood fasting glucose and total cholesterol. Forty-seven fourth grade classes in twenty-two schools have participated in a randomized controlled trial aimed at discouraging soft drink intake in order to prevent excessive weight gain during a school year, in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. Of 1140 randomized students, 478 (238 in intervention group and 240 in control group) aged 9-12years old had at least one result on biochemical data and were analyzed to evaluate the effect of the intervention on changes in fasting glucose and total cholesterol at the end of follow-up.

Dietary quality varies according to data collection instrument: a comparison between a food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour recall.

The objective of this study was to assess the agreement between the Brazilian Healthy Eating Index - Revised (BHEI-R), estimated by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and multiple 24-hour recalls (24h-R). The Wilcoxon paired test, partial correlations (PC), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and Bland-Altman method were used. The total BHEI-R scores and its components ("total fruits", "whole fruits", "total vegetables", "integral cereals", "saturated fat", "sodium", and "energy intake derived from solid fat, added sugar, and alcoholic beverages") were statistically different, with the ICC and PC indicating poor concordance and correlation.

Effectiveness of a home-based exercise program on anthropometric and metabolic changes among school cooks.

The scope of this study was to evaluate the anthropometric and metabolic changes after low intensity home-based exercise. In the school year of 2007, 95 school cooks in the city of Niteroi (State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: home-based exercise (n = 47) or control group (n = 48). The home-based exercise program was performed three times a week, during 40 minutes at moderate intensity.

Sociodemographic characteristics determine dietary pattern adherence during pregnancy.

Objective: Sociodemographic factors may affect adherence to specific dietary patterns during pregnancy. The present study aimed to identify dietary patterns during pregnancy and associated factors among Brazilian pregnant women.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis.

Does Triatoma brasiliensis occupy the same environmental niche space as Triatoma melanica?

Background: Triatomines (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) are vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, one of the most important vector-borne diseases in Latin America. This study compares the environmental niche spaces of Triatoma brasiliensis and Triatoma melanica using ecological niche modelling and reports findings on DNA barcoding and wing geometric morphometrics as tools for the identification of these species.

Methods: We compared the geographic distribution of the species using generalized linear models fitted to elevation and current data on land surface temperature, vegetation cover and rainfall recorded by earth observation satellites for northeastern Brazil.

Linalool from rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke) oil inhibits adenylate cyclase in the retina, contributing to understanding its biological activity.

Rosewood oil (RO) (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke) is rich in linalool, a monoterpene alcohol, which has well studied anxiolytic, sedative and anticonvulsant effects. The inhibition of the increases in cAMP protects against seizures in a diversity of models of epilepsy. In this paper, the principal aim was to investigate the effects of RO, (±)-linalool and (-)-linalool) on adenylate cyclase.

Analysis of the geographical distribution of Triatoma vitticeps (Stål, 1859) based on data of species occurrence in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The purpose of this study was to determine the potential for infestation of man-made environments by Triatoma vitticeps, correlating the epidemiological importance of this species with that of others present in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In addition, climatic variables that could help explain the distribution of this species and clarify its population dynamics were sought. This was done by carrying out a historical survey of the presence of T.

School randomised trial on prevention of excessive weight gain by discouraging students from drinking sodas.

Objective: To determine whether an educational programme aimed at discouraging students from drinking sugar-sweetened beverages could prevent excessive weight gain.

Design: Forty-seven classes in twenty-two schools were randomised as intervention or control.

Subjects: Participants were 1140, 9-12-year-old fourth graders (435 in the intervention group and 608 in the control group).

Phylogeny and molecular genetic parameters of different stages of hepatitis B virus infection in patients from the Brazilian Amazon.

A fragment of 600 bp of the gene which codes for the surface antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBV) was amplified and sequenced from patients who were born in five states of the Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas, Pará, Acre, Rondônia and Tocantins). A total of 44 sequences were used for the estimation of molecular genetic parameters and phylogenetic analyses. Compared with patients who were asymptomatic, those who had acute hepatitis and chronic liver disease had higher levels of genetic variability and higher rates of nucleotide substitutions.

[Caffeine intake and food sources of caffeine and prematurity: a case-control study].

Caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) is an alkali that easily crosses the placental barrier and can interfere in the growth and development of fetal cells and compromise fetal oxygenation. Considering the widespread consumption of foods containing caffeine in Brazil, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between total caffeine consumption (including its food sources) and prematurity. A case-control study of 140 cases (newborns with gestational age less than 37 weeks) and 162 controls (newborns with 37 weeks gestational age or greater) evaluated caffeine consumption during pregnancy.

[Prevalence of hepatitis B virus markers within household contacts in the State of Amazonas].

The aim of our investigation was to evaluate, with a prevalence study, the modes of transmission of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), within infected subjects and their household contacts in the State of Amazon, western Brazilian Amazon. We studied 97 index cases and 258 household contacts. Out of the 258 household contacts of HBV, 51.