Inflammation, but not skeletal muscle index, is associated with coronavirus disease 2019 mortality in patients with cancer.

Background & Aims: Patients with cancer and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have characteristics that can cause the most severe forms of the disease and higher mortality. We aimed to assess the association between computed tomography (CT)-derived muscle abnormalities, anthropometric parameters, inflammation, and mortality in patients with cancer and COVID-19.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with cancer and COVID-19 admitted between March 1st and December 31st, 2020.

Nutritional status at hospital admission and prediction of clinical outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer: Results of the Brazilian survey on oncological nutrition in paediatrics.

Background: Changes in nutritional status are recognised as predictors of unfavourable outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer, particularly in developing countries. There have been no studies on children and adolescents with cancer from every region of Brazil or on the impact of nutritional status on clinical outcomes. The aim of this study is to assess the association between the nutritional status of children and adolescents with cancer and the prediction of clinical outcomes.

Association between functional aspects and health-related quality of life in patients with colorectal cancer: can handgrip strength be the measure of choice in clinical practice?

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the association between handgrip strength (HGS) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). A cross-sectional study was conducted including CRC patients.

Methods: We performed an assessment of aspects of functional health using the criteria of frailty phenotype (defined by Fried et al.

Predictive validity of GLIM malnutrition diagnosis in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Considering that the validation of the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) remains unclear in patients with colorectal cancer, the present study aimed to assess the agreement, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and prognostic effect of the GLIM on survival when compared with the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA).

Methods: Patients with colorectal cancer who were scheduled to undergo a routine abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan were recruited. Using the GLIM two-step approach, the patients were first screened for malnutrition by using the PG-SGA Short Form (score ≥3).

Performance of subjective global nutritional assessment in predicting clinical outcomes: Data from the Brazilian survey of pediatric oncology nutrition.

Background: Methods for assessing nutritional status in children and adolescents with cancer is a difficult in clinical practice. The study aimed to evaluate the performance of Subjective Global Nutritional Assessment (SGNA) in predicting clinical outcomes in children and adolescents with cancer in Brazil.

Methods: This was a prospective cohort multicenter study.

Impact of Nutritional Status on Survival in Head and Neck Cancer Patients After Total Laryngectomy.

Malnutrition is an important prognostic indicator of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Retrospective study with head and neck cancer patients who underwent total laryngectomy. 243 patients of both sex were evaluated.

Phase angle as a marker for muscle abnormalities and function in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background And Aims: Considering the applicability of phase angle (PhA) as a marker of muscle mass and function, we aimed to investigate whether PhA is a predictor of muscle abnormalities and function in patients with cancer.

Methods: In a sample of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), PhA was obtained from measurements of resistance and reactance from bioelectrical impedance analysis. Computerized tomography imaging at the third lumbar vertebra was used to evaluate muscle abnormalities by quantifying skeletal muscle index (SMI) and skeletal muscle radiodensity (SMD).

Postoperative complication rate and survival of patients with gastric cancer undergoing immunonutrition: A retrospective study.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of preoperative immunonutrition on the rate of postoperative complication and survival of patients with gastric cancer.

Methods: A retrospective cohort was formed after data collection of patients hospitalized with gastric cancer. Postoperative complications classified according to the Clavien-Dindo classification system, length of hospital stay, readmissions, and rates of survival at 6 mo, 1 y, and 5 y were analyzed.

Comparative Analysis Between Computed Tomography and Surrogate Methods to Detect Low Muscle Mass Among Colorectal Cancer Patients.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the agreement between computed tomography (CT) and surrogate methods applied in clinical practice for the assessment of low muscle mass. In addition, we assessed the association between different muscle-assessment methods and nutrition status, as well as the prognostic value of low muscle mass on survival in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: This is a cohort including 188 CRC patients with 17 months' follow-up (interquartile range: 12-23 months) for mortality.

High prevalence of malnutrition and nutrition impact symptoms in older patients with cancer: Results of a Brazilian multicenter study.

Background: Malnutrition in cancer is an independent factor associated with negative clinical outcomes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition across different age groups in patients with cancer in Brazil and to identify associations with nutrition impact symptoms (NIS).

Methods: In this observational, cross-sectional, multicenter study, the authors evaluated 4783 patients with cancer aged ≥20 years who were admitted to 45 public hospitals in Brazil.

Patient-generated subjective global assessment predicts cachexia and death in patients with head, neck and abdominal cancer: A retrospective longitudinal study.

Background & Aims: Cancer is a complex disease, with poor prognosis when associated with malnutrition. This condition can lead to Cancer Cachexia (CC), a syndrome characterized by loss of muscle mass with or without fat loss, often associated with higher risk of death. Although there are recommended screening tools to assess nutritional status in cancer patients, such as Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA), little is known about CC prediction.

Frailty is associated with myosteatosis in obese patients with colorectal cancer.

Background & Aims: We aimed to explore the determinants of muscle fat infiltration and to investigate whether myosteatosis, assessed as muscle fat infiltration percentage (%MFI) and muscle attenuation from computed tomography (CT), is associated with frailty in a group of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Cross sectional study including CRC patients. CT scan of the third lumbar vertebra was used to quantify body composition and the degree of %MFI (reported as percentage of fat within muscle area).

Effects of ω-3 supplementation on the nutritional status, immune, and inflammatory profiles of gastric cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to study the effect of ω-3 supplementation on the nutritional status and the immune and inflammatory profiles of patients with gastric cancer during antineoplastic pretreatment.

Methods: This was a randomized, open, controlled longitudinal study with intervention in outpatient patients with gastric cancer. Sixty-eight patients were randomized into two groups and received either a formula enriched with ω-3 (intervention group [IG]) or standard formula without ω-3 (control group) for 30 d consecutively.

Factors Associated with Sarcopenia in Patients with Colorectal Cancer.

Introduction; Sarcopenia are frequently observed in cancer patients and was associated with poor prognosis. Objectives; to determine the association of nutritional status, body composition, and clinic parameters with sarcopenia in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods; We conducted a cross-sectional study of 197 patients with CRC.

Undernutrition as independent predictor of early mortality in elderly cancer patients.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the 1-y survival of elderly patients with cancer and the association between undernutrition and mortality.

Methods: This was a cohort study with elderly patients ages ≥65 y admitted between September and October 2014. A nutritionist performed a Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) assessment during 48 h of hospital admission and collected data about potential confounding variables (comorbidities, stage of cancer, treatment in the previous 3 mo, and reason for hospitalization).

Enzymatic potential of heterotrophic bacteria from a neutral copper mine drainage.

Copper mine drainages are restricted environments that have been overlooked as sources of new biocatalysts for bioremediation and organic syntheses. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the enzymatic activities (esterase, epoxide hydrolase and monooxygenase) of 56 heterotrophic bacteria isolated from a neutral copper mine drainage (Sossego Mine, Canaã dos Carajás, Brazil). Hydrolase and monooxygenase activities were detected in 75% and 20% of the evaluated bacteria, respectively.

High-quality draft genome sequence of Kocuria marina SO9-6, an actinobacterium isolated from a copper mine.

An actinobacterial strain, designated SO9-6, was isolated from a copper iron sulfide mineral. The organism is Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, and coccoid. Chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic properties were consistent with its classification in the genus Kocuria.

Bacterial diversity assessment in soil of an active Brazilian copper mine using high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA amplicons.

Mining activities pose severe environmental risks worldwide, generating extreme pH conditions and high concentrations of heavy metals, which can have major impacts on the survival of organisms. In this work, pyrosequencing of the V3 region of the 16S rDNA was used to analyze the bacterial communities in soil samples from a Brazilian copper mine. For the analysis, soil samples were collected from the slopes (geotechnical structures) and the surrounding drainage of the Sossego mine (comprising the Sossego and Sequeirinho deposits).

Differential gene expression in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans LR planktonic and attached cells in the presence of chalcopyrite.

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is commonly used in bioleaching operations to recover copper from sulfide ores. It is commonly accepted that A. ferrooxidans attaches to mineral surfaces by means of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), however the role of type IV pili and tight adherence genes in this process is poorly understood.