The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed challenges to health systems and institutions, which had to quickly create conditions to meet the growing health needs of the population. Thus, this study aimed to ...assess the impact of COVID-19 on professional nursing practice environments and to identify the variables that affected their quality. Quantitative, observational study, conducted in 16 Portuguese hospitals, with 1575 nurses. Data were collected using a questionnaire and participants responded to two different moments in time: the pre-pandemic period and after the fourth critical period of COVID-19. The pandemic had a positive impact on the Structure and Outcome components, and a negative trend in the Process component. The variables associated with the qualification of the components and their dimensions were predominantly: work context, the exercise of functions in areas of assistance to COVID-19 patients, length of professional experience and length of experience in the service. The investment in professional practice environments impacted the improvement of organizational factors, supporting the development of nurses' work towards the quality of care. However, it is necessary to invest in nurses' participation, involvement and professional qualifications, which are aspects strongly dependent on the institutions' management strategies.
Abstract
Objective
To review the evidence about universal iron supplementation in pregnancy to prevent maternal anemia.
Methods
Bibliographic research of randomized and controlled clinical trials, ...meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical guidelines, published between August 2009 and August 2019, using the MeSH terms:
iron;
therapeutic use
;
pregnancy
;
anemia
,
prevention
and
control
.
Results
We included six clinical guidelines, three meta-analyses and one randomized controlled clinical trial.
Discussion
Most articles point to the improvement of hematological parameters and reduction of maternal anemia risk, with supplementary iron. However, they do not correlate this improvement in pregnant women without previous anemia with the eventual improvement of clinical parameters.
Conclusion
Universal iron supplementation in pregnancy is controversial, so we attribute a SORT C recommendation strength.
Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a neurodegenerative spinal cord disease with upper motor neurons, with progressive and chronic clinical signs, similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). DM has a ...complex etiology mainly associated with SOD1 gene mutation and its toxic role, with no specific treatment. Daily intensive rehabilitation showed survival time near 8 months but most animals are euthanized 6-12 months after clinical signs onset.
This prospective controlled blinded cohort clinical study aims to evaluate the neural regeneration response ability of DM dogs subjected to an intensive neurorehabilitation protocol with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation. In total, 13 non-ambulatory (OFS 6 or 8) dogs with homozygous genotype DM/DM and diagnosed by exclusion were included. All were allocated to the intensive neurorehabilitation with MSCs protocol (INSCP) group (
= 8) or to the ambulatory rehabilitation protocol (ARP) group (
= 5), which differ in regard to training intensity, modalities frequency, and MSCs transplantation. The INSCP group was hospitalized for 1 month (T0 to T1), followed by MSCs transplantation (T1) and a second month (T2), whereas the ARP group was under ambulatory treatment for the same 2 months.
Survival mean time of total population was 375 days, with 438 days for the INSCP group and 274 for the ARP group, with a marked difference on the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. When comparing the literature's results, there was also a clear difference in the one-sample
-test (
= 0.013) with an increase in time of approximately 70%. OFS classifications between groups at each time point were significantly different (
= 0.008) by the one-way ANOVA and the independent sample
-test.
This INSCP showed to be safe, feasible, and a possibility for a long progression of DM dogs with quality of life and functional improvement. This study should be continued.
Water temperature variations affect fish growth and health, often leading to huge losses in fish production, especially during the cold season. To alleviate this constraint, fish farmers can use a ...water heating system driven by solar energy during daytime. This action will cause a water temperature drop during the night period, making it important to understand the physiological response of fish exposed to the resulting day/night temperature oscillations. To investigate this scenario, gilthead seabream juveniles (96.3 ± 1.0 g) were exposed to different thermal regimes for 67 days: Tconstant and Tdaily cycles. The latter group was exposed to daily water temperature oscillations between ~19 and 13 °C compared with a constant temperature of ~19 °C for the other experimental group. Temperature fluctuations compromised fish growth efficiency and reduced the proportion of fatty acids in several tissues, with implications for the whole proximate composition. Moreover, temperature oscillations influenced several blood parameters. These results favor the usage of a constant water temperature of ~19 °C for optimal gilthead seabream juvenile production instead of a day/night water temperature oscillating regime. Nevertheless, the type of energy used to warm the water will depend on the operational conditions and/or business strategy of fish farmers.
Abstract Objective To review the evidence about universal iron supplementation in pregnancy to prevent maternal anemia. Methods Bibliographic research of randomized and controlled clinical trials, ...meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical guidelines, published between August 2009 and August 2019, using the MeSH terms: iron; therapeutic use; pregnancy; anemia, prevention and control. Results We included six clinical guidelines, three meta-analyses and one randomized controlled clinical trial. Discussion Most articles point to the improvement of hematological parameters and reduction of maternal anemia risk, with supplementary iron. However, they do not correlate this improvement in pregnant women without previous anemia with the eventual improvement of clinical parameters. Conclusion Universal iron supplementation in pregnancy is controversial, so we attribute a SORT C recommendation strength.
Appendectomy and Crohn's Disease Loureiro, Ana Catarina Caetano Fonseca; Barbosa, Laura Elisabete Ribeiro
Journal of Coloproctology,
12/2019, Letnik:
39, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Crohn's Disease is a chronic and idiopathic inflammatory process with transmural invasion that can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract. The etiopathogenesis of this pathology is not fully ...understood and studies have been carried out to understand the influence of different kind of factors on its development, including appendectomy. This monograph aims to address the possible existence of a link between appendectomy and Crohn's Disease, and the possible causes and clinical consequences of this association.
This monograph was based on the research of original scientific articles in MEDLINE database via PubMed, restricted to articles in Portuguese and English during the period between 1991 and 2017.
Appendectomy seems positively associated with the development of Crohn's Disease, especially in the first years of surgery, regardless of whether or not there is inflammation of the appendix. In fact, the appendix plays important roles in gastrointestinal integrity, acting in the development of an adequate immune response, maintaining and regulating the intestinal flora.
The appendix is important for intestinal homeostasis, preventing the development of certain pathologies. Its resection, regardless of whether or not there is an inflammation after surgery, increases the risk of Crohn's Disease and worsens the prognosis of this pathology, so appendectomy should be avoided in the absence of appendicitis.
A Doença de Crohn é um processo inflamatório crónico e idiopático com atingimento transmural que pode afetar todo o trato gastrointestinal. A etiopatogenia desta patologia não está completamente esclarecida pelo que se tem vindo a realizar estudos para perceber a influência de diferentes fatores no seu desenvolvimento, entre os quais a apendicectomia. Esta monografia visa abordar a existência de uma possível relação entre apendicectomia e Doença de Crohn e as possíveis causas e consequências clínicas desta associação.
Esta monografia foi elaborada com base em artigos científicos originais pesquisados na base de dados MEDLINE via PubMed, com restrição a artigos em português e inglês com limite temporal de 1991 a 2017.
A apendicectomia parece associar-se positivamente ao desenvolvimento da Doença de Crohn, principalmente nos primeiros anos após a cirurgia, independentemente de haver ou não inflamação do apêndice. De facto, o apêndice desempenha importantes funções na integridade gastrointestinal, com influência no desenvolvimento de uma resposta imunológica adequada e na manutenção e regulação da flora intestinal.
O apêndice é importante na homeostasia intestinal, prevenido o desenvolvimento de determinadas patologias. A sua ressecção, independentemente do facto de haver ou não inflamação aquando da cirurgia, aumenta o risco de Doença de Crohn e piora o prognóstico desta patologia, pelo que a apendicectomia deve ser evitada na ausência da doença.
Gastric cancer (GC) ranked as the fifth most incident cancer in 2020 and the third leading cause of cancer mortality. Surgical prevention and radio/chemotherapy are the main approaches used in GC ...treatment, and there is an urgent need to explore and discover innovative and effective drugs to better treat this disease. A new strategy arises with the use of repurposed drugs. Drug repurposing coupled with drug combination schemes has been gaining interest in the scientific community. The main objective of this project was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of alternative drugs in GC. For that, three GC cell lines (AGS, MKN28, and MKN45) were used and characterized. Cell viability assays were performed with the reference drug 5-fluororacil (5-FU) and three repurposed drugs: natamycin, nitazoxanide, and benztropine. Nitazoxanide displayed the best results, being active in all GC cells. Further, 5-FU and nitazoxanide in combination were tested in MKN28 GC cells, and the results obtained showed that nitazoxanide alone was the most promising drug for GC therapy. This work demonstrated that the repurposing of drugs as single agents has the ability to decrease GC cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner.
Agreement between mechanical and digital skinfold callipers Faria, Ana Catarina Vaz Pinheiro de Furtado; Martinho, Diogo Vicente; Ribeiro Abreu, Bruno Rafael ...
Nutrition and health (Berkhamsted),
03/2023, Letnik:
29, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Background: Skinfold callipers are often used in clinical practice to estimate subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness. Recently, LipoTool emerged as a potential digital system to measure skinfolds, ...however comparisons with competing equipment are lacking. Aim: The aim of this study was to test the agreement between two competing skinfold callipers (digital and mechanical). Methods: The sample included 22 healthy male adult participants. A certified observer measured eight skinfolds twice using different skinfold callipers (digital and mechanical). Differences between equipment were tested using Wilcoxon signed rank test The distribution of error was examined using the normality test Results: Differences between skinfold callipers were significantly in five skinfolds: triceps (Z = -3.546; P < 0.001), subscapular (Z = -3.984; P < 0.001), suprailiac (Z = 3.024; P = 0.002), supraspinale (Z = 3.885; P < 0.001), abdominal (Z z = −2.937; P = 0.003), thigh (Z = -2.224; P = 0.026) and calf (Z = -2.052; P = 0.040). Differences between callipers were constant. Conclusions: Mechanical and digital callipers tended to record different values of skinfold thickness. Clinical examination should consider equipment-related variation in fat mass estimation.
Diarrhea is a prevalent and economically impactful ailment in cattle herds, resulting in substantial losses attributed to mortality, treatment expenses, and impaired calf growth. The aim of this ...study was to establish data about the occurrence of the main bacterial agents involved in diarrhea in dairy calves in the state of Maranhão, as well as to determine the most effective and/or resistant antibiotics, establishing a foundation for treatment and prevention protocols. The samples were collected with rectal swabs and initially cultivated on sheep blood agar (5%) and MacConkey agar and later on
agar and eosin-methylene blue agar. Gram staining, biochemical tests, and antibiograms were performed on the obtained colonies. Ten municipalities were studied, with 230 calves evaluated from ten dairy farms. A total of 21 animals exhibited clinical signs of diarrhea, representing a frequency of 9.13%. The frequency of positive farms was 35%, and in 50% of municipalities. Bacteria isolated belonged to the
family, with 71.4%
, 14.3%
sp., 9.5%
sp. and 4.8%
sp. On the antibiogram, the bacteria that showed the highest resistance levels were those of the
genus, followed by
sp. and
. The bacteria found are relevant for both animal and human health due to their zoonotic potential and serve as a public health alert since the isolates in this study showed in vitro resistance to several antibiotics, which predisposes them to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria.
Vitamin C, available in its reduced form (ascorbic acid; AA) and in its oxidized form (dehydroascorbic acid; DHA), may act in physiological conditions as an antioxidant or pro-oxidant. The aim of ...this study is to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of pharmacological doses of AA in a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (WiDr) in vitro, through spectrophotometry, clonogenic assays and flow cytometry, and in vivo with xenotransplanted Balb/c nu/nu mice. The results show that the reduced form of vitamin C induces an anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effect in adenocarcinoma colorectal cells under study. The results obtained in vivo after treatment with AA showed a large reduction in the rate of tumor growth. Such understanding can guide decisions about which colorectal cancer patients might potentially benefit from vitamin C pharmacologic therapy.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VSZLJ
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