Artificial neural networks to estimate the sorption and desorption of the herbicide linuron in Brazilian soils.

Generally, herbicides used in Brazil follow manufacturer's recommendations, which often do not consider soil attributes. Statistical models that include the physicochemical properties of the soil involved in herbicide retention processes could enable greater precision in herbicide dose decision-making. This study evaluated the potential of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the sorption and desorption of the herbicide linuron in Brazilian soils with different attributes.

Maternal exposure to nicotine causes oxidative stress and inflammatory changes in the ovaries of adult rats' offspring.

Nicotine is one of the most toxic substances found in cigarettes, but also found in chewing tobacco gum, patches and vaping products (electronic cigarettes). In addition to being a highly addictive chemical, it is capable of reducing fertility in men and women. In the ovaries, it can induce morphological changes and impair the formation of follicles, being a possible cause of changes in the reproductive cycle and anticipation of menopause in women whose mothers smoked during pregnancy.

Hospitalizations for depressive disorders in Ecuador: An eight-year nationwide analysis of trends and demographic insights.

Background: Sociodemographic characteristics and limited mental health care access may contribute to higher depression rates in low- and middle-income countries. This study aimed to analyze nationwide depressive disorder hospitalizations in Ecuador.

Methods: We assessed the sociodemographic characteristics, severity, recurrence, and duration of hospitalizations for depressive disorders.

Liver lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, and inflammation in glutamine-supplemented ob/ob mice.

Glutamine availability may be reduced in chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-induced by obesity. Herein, the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and lipid metabolism effects of chronic oral glutamine supplementation in its free and dipeptide form were assessed in ob/ob mice. Adult male C57BL/6J ob/ob mice were supplemented with L-alanyl-L-glutamine (DIP) or free L-glutamine (GLN) in the drinking water for 40 days, whilst C57BL/6J Wild-type lean (WT) and control ob/ob mice (CTRL) received fresh water only.

Validation of an Aerobic Fitness Questionnaire to estimate VO peak in a cohort of adult cardiac patients - Is it enough?

Introduction And Objectives: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for quantifying aerobic functional capacity, yet it is costly and not widely available. The CLINIMEX Aerobic Fitness Questionnaire (C-AFQ) may be a practical alternative as it estimates oxygen consumption at peak exercise (VO peak) based on patients' responses to a list of activities with known energy requirements. However, its applicability in cardiac patients is unclear and has not yet been studied.

Understanding the Concept of Patient Safety Culture: Constitutive and Operational Definitions for Health Care Organizations.

Background: Patient safety culture is crucial for improving health care quality, however, there is no consensus on its definition.

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify and update the concept of patient safety culture.

Methods: We employed Norris' 6-step concept clarification method.

Discovery of a DNA methylation profile in individuals with Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome.

Pathogenic heterozygous variants in CHD4 cause Sifrim-Hitz-Weiss syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with brain anomalies, heart defects, macrocephaly, hypogonadism, and additional features with variable expressivity. Most individuals have non-recurrent missense variants, complicating variant interpretation. A few were reported with truncating variants, and their role in disease is unclear.

Sexual function after treatment with non-invasive radiofrequency device for improvement of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause: A multi-arm randomized clinical trial.

Background: Several anatomical and functional changes occur during menopause and lead to female sexual dysfunction (FSD). The use of energy-based devices to improve women's sexual health brings an innovative scenario.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of non-invasive radiofrequency (RF) treatment compared to vaginal estrogen therapy (E) and vaginal moisturizer (M) in postmenopausal women with FSD.

Forest restoration improves habitat and water quality in tropical streams: A multiscale landscape assessment.

Forest restoration has been a common practice to safeguard water quality and stream health but it is unclear to which extent and pace forest restoration recovers stream ecosystem structure and functions. Also, stream health might be affected by the forest restoration type and the quality of the interventions. Here, we sought to evaluate the recovery of stream habitat and water quality through forest restoration in catchments dominated by pasturelands, and explored the relationship between landscape structure and stream ecosystem recovery.

Extreme droughts in the Amazon Basin during cyclic ENSO events coupled with Indian Ocean Dipole modes and Tropical North Atlantic warming.

The teleconnections between El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), and Tropical North Atlantic warming (+TNA) play a critical role in characterizing extreme drought events in the Amazon Basin (AB). This study examines the seven most recent drought extreme events up to 2023, using seasonal composites of the sea surface temperature and atmospheric variables over a five-quarter period starting at the austral spring(-1) of the year preceding that when the lowest water level at Manaus port was recorded. Two distinct patterns emerge, driven by consecutive ENSO events with opposite phases, referred to as cyclic La Niña-El Niño and cyclic El Niño-La Niña drought events.

Impedimetric multi-sensor system with gold and silver nanoparticles applied for basic taste assessment compared with human threshold method sensory analysis.

Threshold determination forms an integral part of sensory and consumer studies applied for product control and development. The authors examined the potential of an impedimetric electronic tongue to discriminate basic tastes and consider limitations pertaining to the sensory evaluation process. Three samples at lower, medium, and higher concentration levels of basic taste compounds were prepared and subjected to consumer studies (n = 60) using the difference from-control (DFC) test.

Encapsulation of black soldier fly larvae oil in zein ultrafine fibers via electrospinning: Characterization and antioxidant properties.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) have several advantages, such as rapid growth and sustainable production. The electrospinning encapsulation shows promise for encapsulating oils, as it does not use high temperatures, preventing degradation. This study analyzed the incorporation of oil (15, 30, and 45 % w/w) from BSFL into fibers by electrospinning using zein (20 and 25 % w/v).

Mismatch negativity in children with developmental Dyslexia.

Objective: To describe and compare the latencies and amplitudes of Mismatch Negativity between children with and without Developmental Dyslexia.

Methods: Cross-sectional and comparative study, consisting of a study group of 52 children with Developmental Dyslexia and a control group of 52 children with typical development, matched by age and sex, aged between 9 years and 11 years and 11 months of both sexes. All participants underwent Otoscopy, Acoustic Immittance Measurements, Pure Tone Audiometry, Speech Audiometry, Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential and Mismatch Negativity.

The burden of dengue in South American countries, 1990-2019: Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease study 2019.

Objectives: To describe the main dengue metrics generated by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2019 for South American countries between 1990 and 2019.

Study Design: A descriptive study was carried out using the metrics obtained by the GBD Study 2019.

Methods: The metrics of incidence, years of life lost due to premature death (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs) and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were evaluated, grouped by sex and country, between 1990 and 2019.

Investigating polychlorinated alkanes in technical chlorinated paraffin mixtures and polymer products available in Vietnam.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are chemical additives mostly composed of polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs) which may impact on the environment and human health; however, little is known about their presence in Southeast Asia. To fill this knowledge gap, we assessed 74 PCA homolog groups commonly referred to as short-chain (SCCPs: PCAs-C), medium-chain (MCCPs: PCAs-C), and long-chain CPs (LCCPs: PCAs-C) in technical CP mixtures (n = 4) and polymer samples (n = 49), including recycled plastics, collected in Vietnam in 2023. The contents of measured PCA homolog groups in technical CP mixtures were 86,000-930,000 mg/kg for PCAs-C; 85,000-990,000 mg/kg for PCAs-C; and 23,000-180,000 mg/kg for PCAs-C.

A systematic review of participant diversity in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy trials.

A lack of diverse and representative participant samples in mental health intervention research perpetuates mental health disparities. This issue has become a salient concern in studies of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAT), which is emerging as a promising mental health intervention. This systematic review evaluates the reporting, representation, and analysis of participant sociodemographic characteristics in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of PAT.

Lanternfish as bioindicator of microplastics in the deep sea: A spatiotemporal analysis using museum specimens.

We investigated MP ingestion in lanternfishes (Myctophidae), one of the most abundant vertebrates in the world, using archived specimens from museum collections from 1999 to 2017. Microplastics were detected in 55 % of the 1167 specimens analysed (0.95 ± 1.

The impact of vaccination on the length of stay of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Brazil.

Background: The length of hospital stays for severe COVID-19 cases significantly impacts the overall burden on the health system. Current COVID-19 vaccines have proven effective at reducing severe cases. However, the influence of vaccination status on the progression of COVID-19 after hospitalization is not well understood.

Can chick meconium serve as a source of biomarkers linked to hatchling quality and the age of parent stock?

One possible approach to selecting chicks based on quality involves identifying biomarkers in biological samples. Concurrently, understanding the metabolic profile of chicks from different-aged breeders is essential for developing strategies to mitigate the age-related effects on hatchability. This study investigated whether chick quality and breeder age influence the metabolic profile of layer chick meconium.

Risk of sarcopenia: A red flag for cognitive decline in postmenopause?

Objective: To determine if the SARC-F tool, used to screen for sarcopenia risk, can also predict mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosed with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) tool.

Methods: This is a sub-analysis of data from a cross-sectional study carried out in postmenopausal women from Latin America (nine countries) in which sociodemographic, clinical, and anthropometric data were collected, and the SARC-F and MoCA tools administered. From the original sample of 1185 women, analysis was performed only among the 772 with natural menopause.

Coordinated regulation of eosinophil production and migration by glucocorticoids, prostaglandins, and cysteinyl-leukotrienes.

Introduction: The spectrum of eosinophil functions has expanded from fighting helminths to multiple novel roles in malignancy, infection, cancer, and metabolism. In asthma, glucocorticoids, prostaglandins (PG), and cysteinyl-leukotrienes (LT) regulate eosinophil biology through separate signaling pathways. Here we've evaluated the complex interplay between Dexa, PGE2, and CysLTs in eosinopoiesis and eosinophil biology in an allergic asthma model.

Reduced gray matter volume in limbic and cortical areas is associated with anxiety and depression in alcohol use disorder patients.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a multifactorial disease closely related to neurodevelopment and environmental factors that influence behavior. This study explored the relationships between brain volume and behavior from an Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) based on the Research Domain Criteria. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from recent patients with AUD (n = 50) and healthy controls (HC=50).

Kinematic analysis of upper limb fractures: Insights for rehabilitation strategies.

Background: Upper limb fractures significantly alter movement, impacting function and recovery. Three-dimensional motion analysis allows precise assessment of these changes.

Methods: Sixty patients were divided into four groups: shoulder, elbow, wrist fractures, and controls.

Recommendations on NMOSD treatment in Latin America: Utilizing consensus-based RAND/UCLA methodology.

Introduction: Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a serious condition affecting people worldwide, including Latin America (LATAM). Healthcare disparities and economic limitations make effective treatment access challenging. It is crucial to consider the best practice therapeutic decision-making, including emerging long-term preventive therapies, to ensure patients in LATAM and elsewhere can effectively manage their disease all over the world.