The influence of recipe disaggregation in dietary assessment: results from the national food consumption survey in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

It is not always the case that recipe disaggregation is performed in dietary surveys. This investigation aimed to assess the influence of recipe disaggregation in the 2020-2021 national dietary survey in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and provide recommendations for future assessments. A total of 1,004 individuals provided information on their food consumption obtained using 24-h dietary recalls, and 442 recipes were reported.

Inflammatory response to bioceramic and epoxy resin-based endodontic sealers implanted in mice subcutaneous tissue: An in vivo study.

To evaluate the inflammatory tissue response to BioRoot™ RCS (BR) and AH Plus Jet (AHPJ) sealers implanted in mice subcutaneous tissue. It was hypothesized that the inflammatory tissue response to BR would be milder than to AHPJ. An in vivo study was carried out using isogenic mice.

Interventions for American cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.

Background: On the American continent, cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (CL and MCL) are diseases associated with infection by several species of Leishmania parasites. Pentavalent antimonials remain the first-choice treatment. There are alternative interventions, but reviewing their effectiveness and safety is important as availability is limited.

Embedding implementation research to enhance health policy and systems: a multi-country analysis from ten settings in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Background: Progress towards universal health coverage requires health policies and systems that are informed by contextualised and actionable research. Many challenges impede the uptake of evidence to enhance health policy implementation and the coverage, quality, efficiency and equity of health systems. To address this need, we developed an innovative model of implementation research embedded in real-world policy and programme cycles and led directly by policy-makers and health systems decision-makers.

Risk factors for chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes: a systematic review.

Objectives: To evaluate the potential associations between chronic kidney disease of uncertain or non-traditional etiology (CKDnT) and agrochemicals, heat stress, heavy metals, and other factors identified in the literature in any region of the world and at any time.

Methods: This was a systematic review of the most frequent exposures suspected to be possible causes of CKDnT. A search was conducted of PubMed, LILACS, World Wide Science electronic databases, among other sources.

Subjects' Perception in Quantifying Printed and Digital Photos of Food Portions.

Although digital photos have the potential to improve the precision of reported portions in dietary assessment, there are few studies investigating its accuracy in comparison to printed photos. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of adults in quantifying food portion sizes using printed and digital photos, displayed on computer-screens and tablets. In total, 1165 evaluations were performed for 60 photos of portion sizes in Brazil.

Prevalence of asymptomatic Zika virus infection: a systematic review.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review to estimate the prevalence of asymptomatic Zika virus infection in the general population and in specific population groups.

Methods: We searched PubMed®, Embase® and LILACS online databases from inception to 26 January 2018. We included observational epidemiological studies where laboratory testing was used to confirm positive exposure of participants to Zika virus and in which Zika virus symptom status was also recorded.

[Establishing research priorities for chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes in Central AmericaDeterminação de prioridades em pesquisa da doença renal crônica associada a causas não tradicionais na América Central].

Introduction: In 2013, the PAHO Member States recognized the epidemic of chronic kidney disease of non-traditional causes (CKDnT) as a serious public health problem. This article describes the establishment of research priorities to comprehensively address CKDnT in Central America.

Methods: Following a search of the literature for research studies carried out in Central America and prior research agendas on CKD, a virtual survey was conducted using the Delphi methodology.

Adherence to clinical trial registration in countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2015.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of clinical trial registration in the International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP) for studies from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and to identify the key characteristics that lead to prospective and retrospective registration.

Methods: A cross-sectional study identified published, clinical trial studies through a search of PubMed, LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Studies were included if published on 1 January - 31 December 2015, at least one author was affiliated with at least one LAC country, the clinical trial was conducted in at least one LAC site, and the full text of the article was available.

[Incorporating health equity into implementation research: review of conceptual modelsIncorporação da igualdade em saúde na pesquisa de implementação: revisão de modelos conceituais].

Objective: Search for conceptual frameworks or models that incorporate aspects of health equity into implementation research and prepare a systematic synthesis of them.

Methods: A systematic search was done of MEDLINE-PubMed, Embase, and LILACS (1965-2016), and Scopus (1998-2016) databases, employing, in addition, a snowball strategy and gray literature search. Article type was assessed, along with elements that were included on implementation research, the science of implementation, and health equity.

Correction: Risk of bias and confounding of observational studies of Zika virus infection: A scoping review of research protocols.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

An overview of financial sources being utilized to support Zika Virus published research.

Background: Since its initial detection in Brazil in 2015, Zika Virus (ZIKV) has spread rapidly throughout most of the Caribbean and South, Central and North America. An upsurge in congenital syndrome associated with ZIKV and Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) has been associated with the increase in ZIKV. This amplification in numbers led to the need for funded research initiatives focusing on various countries globally and on specific experimental types.

Risk of bias and confounding of observational studies of Zika virus infection: A scoping review of research protocols.

Introduction: Given the severity and impact of the current Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in the Americas, numerous countries have rushed to develop research studies to assess ZIKV and its potential health consequences. In an effort to ensure that studies are comprehensive, both internally and externally valid, and with reliable results, the World Health Organization, the Pan American Health Organization, Institut Pasteur, the networks of Fiocruz, the Consortia for the Standardization of Influenza Seroepidemiology (CONSISE) and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC) have generated six standardized clinical and epidemiological research protocols and questionnaires to address key public health questions on ZIKV.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search of ongoing study protocols related to ZIKV research.

Embedding research to improve program implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In the last 10 years, implementation research has come to play a critical role in improving the implementation of already-proven health interventions by promoting the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based strategies into routine practice. The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research and the Pan American Health Organization implemented a program of embedded implementation research to support health programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in 2014-2015. A total of 234 applications were received from 28 countries in the Americas.

Knowledge of and attitudes toward heel prick screening for sickle cell disease in Saint Lucia.

Objectives: In the Caribbean country of Saint Lucia, umbilical-cord-blood screening for sickle cell disease (SCD) was the testing method that health care workers (HCWs) on the maternity wards of the hospitals preferred until the new heel prick (HP) testing method was introduced in the country in 2014. This SCD study sought to assess HCWs' knowledge of and attitude toward HP screening and also determine new mothers' favorability toward HP screening.

Methods: A total of 70 HCWs and 132 new mothers answered survey questionnaires in three hospitals.

[Health-worker barriers to syphilis screening in pregnant women in Bolivia's Los Andes network].

Objective: Identify health-worker barriers that keep pregnant women who receive prenatal care from being screened for syphilis (Los Andes Health Network, Bolivia).

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were done with 46 health care providers and 249 clinical health records of pregnant women were analyzed in eight public health facilities in the Los Andes network.

Results: Health-worker barriers to syphilis screening in pregnant women included lack of time by personnel to raise awareness of the benefit of syphilis screening; some mentioned that syphilis tests should only be done in facilities that attend deliveries and have a laboratory; lack of communication between clinicians and laboratory personnel; and problems with provision of supplies and reagents.

[Composite Index of health Inequity for a Middle Income Country].

Objective: To develop and validate a composite index of health inequity based on mortality by grouped causes.

Methods: An ecological study in a middle-income Latin American country, with aggregate indicators available from municipalities and departments, which were selected from health observatories, research groups and health authorities. They were divided into intolerable and "not completely avoidable" according to current scientific progress, and were added in categories: traffic accident, aggression, kidney disease, HIV infection, intestinal parasitic diseases, syphilis, fecal / oral transmission disease, tuberculosis, disease Vector-borne diseases, respiratory disease, cerebral hemorrhagic / ischemic events, maternal mortality, lower mortality 5 years, meningitis.

Effect of Vocal Fry on Voice and on Velopharyngeal Sphincter.

Introduction It is known that the basal sound promotes shortening and adduction of the vocal folds and leaves the mucosa looser. However there are few studies that address the supralaryngeal physiological findings obtained using the technique. Objective To check the effectiveness of using vocal fry on the voice and velopharingeal port closure of five adult subjects, whose cleft palate has been corrected with surgery.

Active and latent tuberculosis in Brazilian correctional facilities: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) rates among prisoners are more than 20 times that of the general population in Brazil, yet there are limited data available to facilitate the development of effective interventions in this high-transmission setting. We aimed to assess risk factors for TB infection and evaluate the yield of mass screening for active disease among inmates.

Methods: We administered a questionnaire and tuberculin skin test (TST) to a population-based sample of inmates from 12 prisons in Central-West Brazil and collected sera for HIV testing and two sputum samples for smear microscopy and culture from participants reporting a cough of any duration.

Laparoscopy for the management of acute lower abdominal pain in women of childbearing age.

Background: This is an updated version of the original review, published in Issue 1, 2011, of The Cochrane Library. Acute lower abdominal pain is common, and making a diagnosis is particularly challenging in premenopausal women, as ovulation and menstruation symptoms overlap with symptoms of appendicitis, early pregnancy complications and pelvic infection. A management strategy involving early laparoscopy could potentially provide a more accurate diagnosis, earlier treatment and reduced risk of complications.

Comparison of national health research priority-setting methods and characteristics in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002-2012.

Objective: To compare health research priority-setting methods and characteristics among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during 2002 - 2012.

Methods: This was a systematic review that identified national health research policies and priority agendas through a search of ministry and government databases related to health care institutions. PubMed, LILACS, the Health Research Web, and others were searched for the period from January 2002 - February 2012.

Cleft palate repair: velopharyngeal closure before and during the basal tone.

Unlabelled: Patients with palatine fissure have inadequate velopharyngeal closure (VPC), with consequent vocal hypernasality which can be reduced by a basal tone.

Aim: To compare VPC during a basal tone with the emission of a modal recording, in patients with repaired post-foramen palatine fissure.

Materials And Methods: Case study with four adult men, all with repaired post-foramen palatine fissure.

Brain differentiation and preferred partner characteristics in heterosexual and homosexual men and women.

Objectives: The current study examined and compared the preferred partner characteristics of heterosexual and homosexual men and women in relation to speculated patterns of brain differentiation underlying the preferences. Further, the study compared the preferences of butch versus femme homosexual women.

Methods: Two hundred twelve heterosexual and homosexual men and women completed questionnaires on which they rated themselves and their idealized sexual partners on various morphological and behavioral characteristics.