Adaptive Content Tuning of Social Network Digital Health Interventions Using Control Systems Engineering for Precision Public Health: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Social media has emerged as an effective tool to mitigate preventable and costly health issues with social network interventions (SNIs), but a precision public health approach is still lacking to improve health equity and account for population disparities.

Objective: This study aimed to (1) develop an SNI framework for precision public health using control systems engineering to improve the delivery of digital educational interventions for health behavior change and (2) validate the SNI framework to increase organ donation awareness in California, taking into account underlying population disparities.

Methods: This study developed and tested an SNI framework that uses publicly available data at the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) level to uncover demographic environments using clustering analysis, which is then used to guide digital health interventions using the Meta business platform.

Sustainable production of bioemulsifiers, a critical overview from microorganisms to promising applications.

Microbial bioemulsifiers are molecules of amphiphilic nature and high molecular weight that are efficient in emulsifying two immiscible phases such as water and oil. These molecules are less effective in reducing surface tension and are synthesized by bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi. Unlike synthetic emulsifiers, microbial bioemulsifiers have unique advantages such as biocompatibility, non-toxicity, biodegradability, efficiency at low concentrations and high selectivity under different conditions of pH, temperature and salinity.

Modified Trans-Sinusal Transglabellar Approach for Anterior Cranial Fossa Meningiomas: Technical Note and Literature Review.

 Currently, skull base surgery faces the dilemma of achieving the maximum possible tumor resection through less aggressive approaches and with minimal retraction of brain tissue. The objective of this work is to report a minimally invasive step-by-step approach to anterior cranial fossa tumors and to perform a literature review.  In our work, we describe a step-by-step approach, with images, which is a variation of the transglabellar approach.

Production, Kinetic/Thermodynamic Study, and Evaluation of the Influence of Static Magnetic Field on Kinetic Parameters of β-Fructofuranosidase from Kita UCP 1279 Produced by Solid-State Fermentation.

β-fructofuranosidases (FFases) are enzymes involved in sucrose hydrolysis and can be used in the production of invert sugar and fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS). This last is an important prebiotic extensively used in the food industry. In the present study, the FFase production by Kita UCP 1279 was assessed by solid-state fermentation using a mixture of wheat and soy brans as substrate.

Role of Neural Plasticity of Motor Cortex in Gliomas Evaluated by Brain Imaging and Mapping Techniques in Pre- and Postoperative Period: A Systematic Review.

Background:  Resection of infiltrative neuroepithelial primary brain tumors, such as low-grade gliomas (LGGs) remains a neurosurgical challenge. Usual lack of clinical deficit despite LGGs growing in eloquent brain areas may be explained by reshaping and reorganization of functional networks. The development of modern diagnostic imaging techniques could disclose better understanding of the rearrangement of the brain cortex; however, mechanisms underlying such compensation and how it occurs in the motor cortex remain unclear.

Surgical management of severe pediatric blunt abdominal trauma.

A 3-year-old male patient was brought to the Emergency Department with a traumatic blunt lesion in the liver. Due to hemodynamic instability and a severe lesion of a grade IV liver injury shown on the CT, the chosen conduct was to perform a hepatorrhaphy with oxidized cellulose.

Chemokine receptors on human regulatory T cells during cutaneous leishmaniasis.

The aim of this work was to define the population of regulatory T cells (Tregs) which are circulating in the blood of Leishmania infected individuals clinically displaying a lesion (active disease-AD) and sub-clinical (SC) ones. We have individually collected blood samples, processed the PBMC and stained with fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies against CD3, CD4, Foxp3, CD25, CTLA-4, Ki-67, CCR4, CCR5, and CCR7. Cells were analyzed by flow cytometry.

Decompressive craniectomy: Comparative analysis between surgical time and better prognosis.

Background: Malignant ischemic stroke is characterized by the involvement of 2/3 of the area of the middle cerebral artery, associated with cerebral edema, intracranial hypertension (ICH) and cerebral herniation, generating high morbidity and mortality. Over the years, several therapies have been studied in an attempt to reverse or reduce the damage caused by this vascular disorder, including decompressive craniectomy (DC), a surgical technique reserved for cases that evolve with refractory ICH.

Methods: This study seeks to perform a comparative analysis on the effectiveness of decompressive craniectomy using four randomized clinical trials and the results found in the retrospective study conducted in a neurosurgical reference center between 2010 and 2018.

Brain metastasis from a thoracic myxofibrosarcoma: A case report and literature review.

Background: Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is a type of sarcoma that mainly affects elderly people; it represents only 5% of all sarcomas and shows no line of differentiation. Intracranial MFS is a rare condition. At present, limited data exist regarding brain metastasis from MFS.

Mortality of central nervous system tumors in pediatric patients of Brazil from 1979 to 2019.

Purpose: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children from 2001 to 2005 in Brazil. This study aimed to describe the pattern of mortality from central nervous system (CNS) tumors in children in Brazil from 1979 to 2019.

Methods: A descriptive study was carried out using data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Ministry of Health, according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9 and ICD-10), between 1979 and 2019.

Diffusion of Technology in the Teaching of Neuroanatomy in Times of Pandemic: A Medical and Academic Perspective on Learning.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused major changes in many sectors of society worldwide. The issue of medical education stands out since it had to adapt to the rules of social isolation, ensuing discussions about the computerization of teaching methodology, particularly in neuroanatomy. In particular, the latter showed satisfactory adaptability to new technologies and highly promising learning results.

Third Ventricle Craniopharyngioma Intraventricular Tumor: A Case Report and a Brief Literature Review.

Craniopharyngioma is a rare embryonic malformation, usually benign, of the sellar or parasellar regions. In this study, an uncommon case of third ventricle craniopharyngioma and a succinct review of its prevalence are presented. Even with low mortality rates, these injuries involve a high degree of endocrinological, visual, and neuropsychological morbidities, which have a huge impact on the patient's quality of life.

Application of a biosurfactant from Pseudomonas cepacia CCT 6659 in bioremediation and metallic corrosion inhibition processes.

Biosurfactants are capable of meeting the challenges of the oil industry by reducing its social, economic, and environmental impacts. The aim of the present study was to produce a biosurfactant from Pseudomonas cepacia CCT6659 in 2.0-L and 5.

Mortar Bond Strength: A Brief Literature Review, Tests for Analysis, New Research Needs and Initial Experiments.

Despite technological advances in the production processes of the materials for ceramic façade coatings, the problems of detachments are still frequent. Therefore, this work aims to investigate, through a literature review, the existing gaps related to the adhesion ability of adhesive mortars, identifying new research needs that can better explain the behavior of the material. In addition, an experimental procedure was developed to evaluate the mechanical capacity of adhesive mortars when subjected to cyclic stresses.

Content and Usability Validation of an Intelligent Virtual Conversation Assistant Used for Virtual Triage During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil.

This study aimed to describe the development process, content validation, and usability of a COVID-19 screening system incorporated into a chatbot-type intelligent virtual assistant (CoronaBot). This is a methodological research carried out in three phases. The first corresponded to the development of the flowchart and content of the virtual assistant, the second phase consisted of the implementation of the content in chatbot, and the third phase consisted of content validation.

Decompressive Craniectomy for Malignant Ischemic Stroke: An Institutional Experience of 145 Cases in a Brazilian Medical Center.

Background: Malignant ischemic stroke (MIS) occurs in a subgroup of patients with cerebrovascular accident who sustain massive or significant cerebral infarction. It is characterized by neurological deterioration owing to progressive edema, raised intracranial pressure, and cerebral herniation. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a surgical technique that can be used to treat select cases of this condition in the presence of medically refractory intracranial hypertension.

Impact of Hypertension History and Blood Pressure at Presentation on Cardiac Remodeling and Mortality in Aortic Dissection.

Objective: This study compared clinical, echocardiographic, and prognostic characteristics among patients with aortic dissection (AD) with (HypHist) and without (No-HypHist) hypertension history and evaluated the association of blood pressure (BP) at presentation with 1-year mortality, left ventricular (LV) remodeling and renal dysfunction.

Methods: We investigated clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and 1-year mortality among 367 patients with AD (81% HypHist, 66% Type-A) from three Brazilian centers.

Results: Patients with No-HypHist were more likely to have Marfan syndrome, bicuspid aortic valve, to undergo surgical therapy, were less likely to have LV hypertrophy and concentricity, and had similar mortality compared with HypHist patients.

The intergenerational relationship between conditional cash transfers and newborn health.

Background: Lack of nutrition, inadequate housing, low education and limited access to quality care can negatively affect children's health over their lifetime. Implemented in 2003, the Bolsa Familia ("Family Stipend") Program (PBF) is a conditional cash transfer program targeting poor households in Brazil. This study investigates the long-term benefits of cash transfers through intergenerational transmission of health and poverty by assessing the early life exposure of the mother to the PBF.

Pediatric Gunshot Head Injury: Prevalence of Prognostic Factors in Surgical Patients: An Institutional Experience in Ten Years.

This article aims to evaluate the predictive factors of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients who suffered gunshot wounds to the head. We reviewed a series of 43 patients who were admitted to a referential neurosurgical hospital between 2010 and 2019. Data from 43 patients who underwent a surgical treatment in our institution were collected, and the following parameters were considered in the analysis: the initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), age, sex, bullet entry site, and bullet trajectory.

Decompressive hemicraniectomy for acute ischemic stroke: A neurosurgical view in a pandemic COVID-19 time highlights of literature.

: The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which was identified after the outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, has kept the whole world in tenterhooks due to its severe life-threatening nature of the infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 a pandemic in 2020, an unprecedented challenge, having a high contagious life-threatening condition with unprecedented impacts for worldwide societies and health care systems. Neurologic symptoms related to SARS-CoV-2 have been described recently in the literature, and acute cerebrovascular disease is one of the most serious complications.

Online Trolling: The Impact of Antisocial Online Content, Social Media Use, and Gender.

The present study aimed to observe the relationships between online trolling, exposure to antisocial online content, frequency of social media use, and gender, using the GAM as a theoretical framework. Four hundred twenty-nine Brazilian internet users (mean = 25.07 years; SD = 7.

Neck Circumference Predicts Mortality in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients.

We aimed to determine whether neck circumference predicts mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure. We performed a prospective multicenter (Italy and Brasil) study carried out from March to December 2020 on 440 hospitalized COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure. Baseline neck circumference was measured.

The Influence of Lime Solution in Kneading Water Substitution on Cement Roughcast and Mortar Coating.

The understanding of the mechanical fixation behavior of coatings is crucial for a better comprehension of the bonding systems, especially at the interface between the mortar and the substrate. Physical adherence is related, among other things, to the contents of the materials used in the roughcast and mortar coatings, due to the colloidal water penetration into the pores of the substrate. This work evaluated the influence of different lime solution additions replacing the kneading water in the preparation of roughcast and mortar coatings.

Oily water treatment in a multistage tower operated under a novel induced pre-saturation process in the presence of a biosurfactant as collector.

The increase in water-oil separation efficiency as a function of biosurfactant in a novel process of a continuous induced pre-saturation tower (IPST) with stages was described. The pre-saturation of the effluent in a new IPST prior to its entrance in each stage enabled enhancing the effect of the biosurfactant on the flocculation of oil droplets due to the close contact with the air during the formation of microbubbles inside a centrifuge pump. This change of a conventional dissolved-air flotation device enabled each stage to serve as a final flocculation chamber and flotation separator.