Most evidence for the association between ideal vascular health (IVH) and cognitive performance comes from high income countries. However, little is known about this association in low/middle income ...countries. In 12 271 Brazilians, higher IVH was related to better global cognitive performance. Better cognitive performance with higher IVH was found mainly in older adults, Black/Brown participants and those with lower levels of education.
Background and purpose
Most evidence for the association between ideal vascular health (IVH) and cognitive performance comes from high income countries. The aim was to investigate this association in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.
Methods
Cognition was assessed using the word list, verbal fluency and trail making tests. The IVH score included ideal metrics for body mass index, smoking, physical activity, diet, blood pressure, fasting glucose and total cholesterol. Poor, intermediate and optimal health were characterized in those presenting 0–2, 3–4, 5–7 ideal metrics, respectively. To determine the association between IVH score and cognitive performance, linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, alcohol use, depression and thyroid function were used.
Results
In 12 271 participants, the mean age was 51.3 ± 8.9 years, 54% were women, 57% White and 53% had poor vascular health. Participants with intermediate (β = 0.064, 95% confidence interval 0.033; 0.096) and optimal health (β = 0.108, 95% confidence interval 0.052; 0.164) had better global cognitive Z‐scores. In addition, interactions of IVH score with age, education and race were found, suggesting a better cognitive performance with higher IVH in older adults, Black/Brown participants and those with lower levels of education.
Conclusion
Ideal vascular health was associated with better cognitive performance. Older, Black/Brown and low‐educated participants had better cognition in the presence of higher IVH scores.
Parvoviral enteritis (PVE) can cause either primary or secondary myocardial injury; the latter is associated with systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis. Strain (St) and strain rate (SR) ...are relatively new speckle tracking echocardiographic (STE) variables used to assess myocardial function and are less influenced by preload and volume status than are conventional variables. The aim of this study was to evaluate systolic function in dogs with PVE using two-dimensional STE.
Forty-five client-owned dogs were included.
Dogs were classified into four groups: healthy (n = 9), PVE-mild (n = 15), PVE-severe (n = 13) and PVE-died (n = 8). Left ventricular global and segmental myocardial St and SR were assessed in radial, circumferential and longitudinal axes in the right parasternal transverse and apical 4-chamber views. In the circumferential and longitudinal axes, the value of each segment was determined separately at the endocardial and epicardial levels.
Compared to healthy animals, all dogs with PVE showed significantly impaired St and SR values, mainly for PVE-severe and PVE-died groups. Moreover, the lowest SR value was observed in the circumferential axis at the mid-septal epicardial segment in the PVE-died group. For this variable, a cut-off value of 0.95 s−1 demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing between PVE-severe and PVE-died groups.
In the present study, all dogs with PVE developed systolic dysfunction, which was more severe in non-survivors. Assessment of St and SR in dogs with PVE might be clinically useful for evaluating haemodynamic status and developing suitable therapeutic strategies to improve prognosis.
Identifying patients at increased risk of loss to follow-up (LTFU) is key to developing strategies to optimize the clinical management of tuberculosis (TB). The use of national registry data in ...prediction models may be a useful tool to inform healthcare workers about risk of LTFU. Here we developed a score to predict the risk of LTFU during anti-TB treatment (ATT) in a nationwide cohort of cases using clinical data reported to the Brazilian Notifiable Disease Information System (SINAN).
We performed a retrospective study of all TB cases reported to SINAN between 2015 and 2022; excluding children (< 18 years-old), vulnerable groups or drug-resistant TB. For the score, data before treatment initiation were used. We trained and internally validated three different prediction scoring systems, based on Logistic Regression, Random Forest, and Light Gradient Boosting. Before applying our models we splitted our data into training (~ 80% data) and test (~ 20%) sets, and then compared the model metrics using the test data set.
Of the 243,726 cases included, 41,373 experienced LTFU whereas 202,353 were successfully treated. The groups were different with regards to several clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. The directly observed treatment (DOT) was unbalanced between the groups with lower prevalence in those who were LTFU. Three models were developed to predict LTFU using 8 features (prior TB, drug use, age, sex, HIV infection and schooling level) with different score composition approaches. Those prediction scoring systems exhibited an area under the curve (AUC) ranging between 0.71 and 0.72. The Light Gradient Boosting technique resulted in the best prediction performance, weighting specificity and sensitivity. A user-friendly web calculator app was developed ( https://tbprediction.herokuapp.com/ ) to facilitate implementation.
Our nationwide risk score predicts the risk of LTFU during ATT in Brazilian adults prior to treatment commencement utilizing schooling level, sex, age, prior TB status, and substance use (drug, alcohol, and/or tobacco). This is a potential tool to assist in decision-making strategies to guide resource allocation, DOT indications, and improve TB treatment adherence.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are implicated in several central nervous system (CNS) pathologies including Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases. In the face-off of AGE menace, we have ...attempted to investigate the zinc oxide nanoparticle (ZnONP) role in inhibition of AGE formation. Synthesized ZnONPs were used to investigate the inhibitory effects on AGE formation. The inhibitory effects of ZnONPs on AGE formation were determined by biophysical immunological and biochemical techniques. The results showed that ZnONP is a potential anti-glycating agent inhibiting AGE formation as well as protecting the protein structure from change. Therefore, our findings suggest ZnONPs may be used as a therapeutic in resolving the AGE role in CNS-related complications.
In the past 30 years, knowledge about end-stage renal disease and the use of maintenance hemodialysis for patients with the disease have both increased dramatically, and technological developments in ...dialyzer membranes, dialysis machines, and vascular access have made hemodialysis a common procedure. Nonetheless, it remains potentially hazardous, because of mechanical malfunctions and human error.
1
Hemodialysis may be especially hazardous in places where municipal water treatment or appropriate infection-control practices are inadequate.
2
Furthermore, water used for hemodialysis may contain various harmful agents, including toxins produced by naturally occurring cyanobacteria (i.e., blue-green algae). These toxins can have anticholinesterase activity (e.g., anatoxin-a(s)) or . . .
The aim of the study was to evaluate in vitro the antileishmanial activity of triterpenes and sterols isolated from Musa paradisiaca (banana) fruit peel used traditionally to treat leishmaniasis. The ...compounds were isolated from the ethanolic extract of the peel of the banana fruit by column chromatography. The chemical structure of compounds was determined by 1H and 13C – nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The cytotoxicity was measured in RAW 264.7 cells and LLC-MK2. Leishmanicidal activity against L. infantum chagasi promastigotes was performed by the MTT colorimetric method and activity against amastigotes was assayed in mammalian cells using in situ ELISA method. Five compounds were identified, consisting of three triterpenes: cycloeucalenone, 31-norcyclolaudenone and 24-methylene-cicloartanol and a mixture of two sterols: beta-sitosterol and stigmasterol. With the exception of cycloeucalenone, all compounds showed statistically similar activity against promastigote to pentamidine. While, acting against amastigotes, excluding 31-norcyclolaudenone, other compounds showed activity similar to amphotericin B. All compounds showed low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells.
This study partially confirms the use of Musa paradisiaca in folk medicine against leishmaniasis. Further in vivo studies are necessary to evaluate the efficacy.
Sodium valproate/valproic acid (VPA), a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (5-aza-CdR), a DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) inhibitor, induce DNA demethylation in several cell ...types. In HeLa cells, although VPA leads to decreased DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mC) levels, the demethylation pathway involved in this effect is not fully understood. We investigated this process using flow cytometry, ELISA, immunocytochemistry, Western blotting and RT-qPCR in G1 phase-arrested and proliferative HeLa cells compared to the presumably passive demethylation promoted by 5-aza-CdR. The results revealed that VPA acts predominantly on active DNA demethylation because it induced TET2 gene and protein overexpression, decreased 5mC abundance, and increased 5-hydroxy-methylcytosine (5hmC) abundance, in both G1-arrested and proliferative cells. However, because VPA caused decreased DNMT1 gene expression levels, it may also act on the passive demethylation pathway. 5-aza-CdR attenuated DNMT1 gene expression levels but increased TET2 and 5hmC abundance in replicating cells, although it did not affect the gene expression of TETs at any stage of the cell cycle. Therefore, 5-aza-CdR may also function in the active pathway. Because VPA reduces DNA methylation levels in non-replicating HeLa cells, it could be tested as a candidate for the therapeutic reversal of DNA methylation in cells in which cell division is arrested.
Many countries offer a second BCG vaccination to prevent tuberculosis, although there is little evidence of whether this confers additional protection. BCG vaccination is routine in Brazil but BCG ...revaccination procedures vary by state. We studied revaccination efficacy in two Brazilian cities with tuberculosis prevalence representative of Brazil.
We did a cluster-randomised trial of the protection against tuberculosis from BCG revaccination in school-aged children who had had one BCG vaccination as infants. 767 schools in the cities of Salvador and Manaus, Brazil, participated; schools were the unit of randomisation. The study was open label with no placebo. Cases of tuberculosis were identified through record linkage to the Tuberculosis Control Programme. Revaccination status was masked during linkage and validation of cases. The incidence of tuberculosis was the primary outcome. Analysis was by intention to treat.
386 schools (176 846 children) were assigned BCG revaccination and 365 (171 293 children) no revaccination. 42 053 children in the vaccine group and 47 006 in the control group were absent from school on the day of the visit and were excluded. 31 163 and 27 146, respectively were also excluded because they had no BCG scar, two or more scars, or a doubtful scar on assessment. The crude incidence of tuberculosis in the intervention group was 29·3 per 100 000 person years and in the control group 30·2 per 100 000 person-years (crude-rate ratio 0·97; 95% CI 0·76–1·28). The efficacy of BCG revaccination was 9% (−16 to 29%).
Revaccination given to children aged 7–14 years in this setting does not provide substantial additional protection and should not be recommended. Follow-up is ongoing and needed to assess the effect of other factors on revaccination efficacy: time since vaccination, age at vaccination, and high or low prevalence of environmental mycobacteria.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of the Brazilian cash transfer programme (Bolsa Família Programme, BFP) on tuberculosis (TB) incidence in Brazil from 2004 to 2012.DESIGN: We studied tuberculosis ...surveillance data using a combination of an ecological multiple-group and time-trend
design covering 2458 Brazilian municipalities. The main independent variable was BFP coverage and the outcome was the TB incidence rate. All study variables were obtained from national databases. We used fixed-effects negative binomial models for panel data adjusted for selected covariates
and a variable representing time.RESULTS: After controlling for covariates, TB incidence rates were significantly reduced in municipalities with high BFP coverage compared with those with low and intermediate coverage (in a model with a time variable incidence rate ratio = 0.96, 95%CI
0.93-0.99).CONCLUSION: This was the first evidence of a statistically significant association between the increase in cash transfer programme coverage and a reduction in TB incidence rate. Our findings provide support for social protection interventions for tackling TB worldwide.
DAGS: Key encapsulation using dyadic GS codes Banegas, Gustavo; Barreto, Paulo S. L. M.; Boidje, Brice Odilon ...
Journal of mathematical cryptology,
12/2018, Letnik:
12, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Code-based cryptography is one of the main areas of interest for NIST’s Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization call. In this paper, we introduce DAGS, a Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM) based on ...quasi-dyadic generalized Srivastava codes. The scheme is proved to be IND-CCA secure in both random oracle model and quantum random oracle model. We believe that DAGS will offer competitive performance, especially when compared with other existing code-based schemes, and represent a valid candidate for post-quantum standardization.
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