In 2006, Brazil began routine immunization of infants <15 wk of age with a single-strain rotavirus vaccine. We evaluated whether the rotavirus vaccination program was associated with declines in ...childhood diarrhea deaths and hospital admissions by monitoring disease trends before and after vaccine introduction in all five regions of Brazil with varying disease burden and distinct socioeconomic and health indicators.
National data were analyzed with an interrupted time-series analysis that used diarrhea-related mortality or hospitalization rates as the main outcomes. Monthly mortality and admission rates estimated for the years after rotavirus vaccination (2007-2009) were compared with expected rates calculated from pre-vaccine years (2002-2005), adjusting for secular and seasonal trends. During the three years following rotavirus vaccination in Brazil, rates for diarrhea-related mortality and admissions among children <5 y of age were 22% (95% confidence interval 6%-44%) and 17% (95% confidence interval 5%-27%) lower than expected, respectively. A cumulative total of ~1,500 fewer diarrhea deaths and 130,000 fewer admissions were observed among children <5 y during the three years after rotavirus vaccination. The largest reductions in deaths (22%-28%) and admissions (21%-25%) were among children younger than 2 y, who had the highest rates of vaccination. In contrast, lower reductions in deaths (4%) and admissions (7%) were noted among children two years of age and older, who were not age-eligible for vaccination during the study period.
After the introduction of rotavirus vaccination for infants, significant declines for three full years were observed in under-5-y diarrhea-related mortality and hospital admissions for diarrhea in Brazil. The largest reductions in diarrhea-related mortality and hospital admissions for diarrhea were among children younger than 2 y, who were eligible for vaccination as infants, which suggests that the reduced diarrhea burden in this age group was associated with introduction of the rotavirus vaccine. These real-world data are consistent with evidence obtained from clinical trials and strengthen the evidence base for the introduction of rotavirus vaccination as an effective measure for controlling severe and fatal childhood diarrhea.
Pneumonia is most problematic for children in developing countries. In 2010, Brazil introduced a 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) to its National Immunization Program. To assess the ...vaccine's effectiveness for preventing pneumonia, we analyzed rates of hospitalization among children 2-24 months of age who had pneumonia from all causes from January 2005 through August 2011. We used data from the National Hospitalization Information System to conduct an interrupted time-series analysis for 5 cities in Brazil that had good data quality and high PCV10 vaccination coverage. Of the 197,975 hospitalizations analyzed, 30% were for pneumonia. Significant declines in hospitalizations for pneumonia were noted in Belo Horizonte (28.7%), Curitiba (23.3%), and Recife (27.4%) but not in São Paulo and Porto Alegre. However, in the latter 2 cities, vaccination coverage was less than that in the former 3. Overall, 1 year after introduction of PCV10, hospitalizations of children for pneumonia were reduced.
The hydrogen absorption and desorption properties of a MgH2 – 1 mol.% Nb(V) ethoxide mixture are reported. The material was prepared by hand mixing the additive with previously ball-milled MgH2. Nb ...ethoxide reacts with MgH2 during heating, releasing C2H6 and H2, and producing MgO and Nb or Nb hydride. Hydriding and dehydriding are greatly enhanced by the use of the alkoxide. At 250 °C the material with Nb takes up 1.8 wt% in 30 s compared with 0.1 wt% of pure Mg, and releases 4.2 wt% in 30 min, whereas MgH2 without Nb does not appreciably desorb hydrogen. The absorption and desorption activation energies are reduced from 153 kJ/mol H2 to 94 kJ/mol H2, and from 176 kJ/mol H2 to 75 kJ/mol H2, respectively. The hydrogen sorption properties remain stable after 10 cycles at 300 °C. The kinetic improvement is attributed to the fine distribution of amorphous/nanometric NbHx achieved by the dispersion of the liquid additive.
•Niobium ethoxide is incorporated by hand milling to pre-milled magnesium hydride.•Magnesium hydride H-sorption kinetics is significantly improved.•Liquid additive produces well dispersed nanometric NbHx that catalyzes H-sorption.•Hydrogen sorption properties remain stable after ten absorption/desorption cycles.
Light-based bioprinter manufacturing technology is still prohibitively expensive for organizations that rely on accessing three-dimensional biological constructs for research and tissue engineering ...endeavors. Currently, most of the bioprinting systems are based on commercial-grade-based systems or modified DIY (do it yourself) extrusion apparatuses. However, to date, few examples of the adoption of low-cost equipment have been found for light-based bioprinters. The requirement of large volumes of bioinks, their associated cost, and the lack of information regarding the parameter selection have undermined the adoption of this technology. This paper showcases the retrofitting and assessing of a low-cost Light-Based 3D printing system for tissue engineering. To evaluate the potential of a proposed design, a manufacturability test for different features, machine parameters, and Gelatin Methacryloyl (GelMA) concentrations for 7.5% and 10% was performed. Furthermore, a case study of a previously seeded hydrogel with C2C12 cells was successfully implemented as a proof of concept. On the manufacturability test, deviational errors were found between 0.7% to 13.3% for layer exposure times of 15 and 20 s. Live/Dead and Actin-Dapi fluorescence assays after 5 days of culture showed promising results in the cell viability, elongation, and alignment of 3D bioprinted structures. The retrofitting of low-cost equipment has the potential to enable researchers to create high-resolution structures and three-dimensional in vitro models.
U.S. military veterans have been heavily impacted by the opioid overdose crisis, with drug overdose mortality rates increasing by 53% from 2010-2019. Risk for overdose among veterans is complex and ...influenced by ongoing interaction among physiological/biological, psychological, and socio-structural factors. A thorough understanding of opioid-related overdose among veterans, one that goes beyond simple pharmacological determinism, must examine the interplay of pain, pain treatment, and stress, as well as psychological and social experiences-before, during, and after military service. Comprehensive efforts to tackle the overdose crisis among veterans require interventions that address each of these dimensions. Promising interventions include widespread naloxone distribution and increased provision of low-threshold wrap-around services, including medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and holistic/complementary approaches. Interventions that are delivered by peers - individuals who share key experiential or sociodemographic characteristics with the population being served - may be ideally suited to address many of the barriers to opioid-related risk mitigation common among veterans. Community care models could be beneficial for the large proportion of veterans who are not connected to the Veterans Health Administration and for veterans who, for various reasons including mental health problems and the avoidance of stigma, are socially isolated or reluctant to use traditional substance use services. Interventions need to be tailored in such a way that they reach those more socially isolated veterans who may not have access to naloxone or the social support to help them in overdose situations. It is important to incorporate the perspectives and voices of veterans with lived experience of substance use into the design and implementation of new overdose prevention resources and strategies to meet the needs of this population.
Key messages
U.S. military veterans have been heavily impacted by the opioid overdose crisis, with drug overdose mortality rates increasing by 53% from 2010-2019.
The risks for overdose that veterans face need to be understood as resulting from an ongoing interaction among biological/physiological, psychological, and social/structural factors.
Addressing drug overdose in the veteran population requires accessible and non-judgemental, low threshold, wraparound, and holistic solutions that recognise the complex aetiology of overdose risk for veterans.
São Paulo is a state in Brazil with one of the highest numbers of confirmed and severe cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), with an incidence of 294 hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants. We ...report the clinical characteristics and outcomes of 120,804 hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 from February 26 to October 10, 2020, in São Paulo. Characteristics of patients who died and survived were compared using a survival analysis. The median age was 60 years (interquartile range IQR, 47-72), 67,821 (56.1%) were men, and 61,659 (51.0%) were white. Most hospitalized patients (79,812; 66.1%) reported one or more comorbidities, 41,708 (34.5%) hospitalized patients were admitted to intensive care units, and 33,079 (27.4%) died. Men (hazard ratio HR, 1.22; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.18-1.25), elderly individuals (HR, 3.85; 95% CI, 3.68-4.02), and patients with chronic cardiovascular disease including hypertension (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.08), chronic lung disease (HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.31-1.45), diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.11-1.18), and chronic neurological disease (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.41-1.55) were at higher risk for death from COVID-19.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the spacing of lettuce rows on the production of a lettuce-rocket intercropping system over two growing seasons (11 August to 25 September ...2011 and 12 January to 24 February 2012) in Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil. We evaluated 11 treatments in each season: lettuce-rocket intercrops with five row spacings for the lettuce (0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35 and 0.40 m) and the rocket planted midway between the lettuce rows, sole crops of lettuce at the same five row spacings and a sole crop of rocket. Fresh and dry masses of the lettuce and rocket and number of lettuce leaves per plant were highest with a lettuce row spacing of 0.40 m, but the productivities of the lettuce and rocket were higher with a lettuce row spacing of 0.20 m. The productivities and fresh and dry weights of the lettuce and rocket and the number of lettuce leaves per plant were highest in the sole crops, but the fresh and dry weights of the rocket were higher with intercropping. The land equivalent ratios were >1.0 in both seasons in all intercrops and were highest for the densest crop (1.41). Intercropping was therefore 41% more efficient than sole cropping for the production of lettuce and rocket.
The fundamental concepts of electronic devices are generally taught in the initial courses of electrical and electronics engineering. For students, it is very important to grasp the basic concepts ...that make computers and digital systems possible. Among these concepts, boolean algebra and logic gates stand out. In this paper, a smartphone‐based augmented reality (AR) system is proposed which helps in the adequate learning of logic gate integrated circuits (ICs). The proposed system allows the automatic identification of ICs that enables basic logic operations. It uses a smartphone and a breadboard for the identification of 7 basic logic gate ICs that are: AND gate, OR gate, NOT gate, NAND gate, NOR gate, XOR gate, and XNOR gate. The smartphone takes a picture of the electronic circuit and digitally generates a layer of virtual objects which are then mixed with the original image. The markless paradigm identifies the ICs in a typical circuit and places three objects that are: IC identification, pins information, and logic diagram information. Finally, the smartphone screen displays the image of the logic gate obtained. The entire evaluation of the AR system is presented with a technical efficiency of 97.5 and a qualitative satisfaction study.
Effect of vacuum impregnation (VI) times on quality and healthy potential attributes of fresh‐cut apples was modeled, determining optimal processing times. Mild VI treatments (67.7 mbar vacuum ...pressure, 30 oBrix sucrose osmotic solution containing citric and ascorbic acids) were applied with vacuum (tv) and relaxation (tr) times of 1.14 to 14 min through a central composite design. After VI, respiration rate decreased as tv increased but increased with tr. Bioactive compounds and antioxidant capacity increased with both processing times. Optimal tv and tr obtained for minimizing respiration rate and maximizing the attributes related to sensory quality were 6.18 and 1.14 min. Otherwise, optimal tv and tr for minimizing the respiration rate, maximizing the related sensory properties, and the health potential of fresh‐cut apples were longer (10.18 and 6.21 min). Mild VI, with an antioxidant solution at appropriate VI times, is an adequate technology for obtaining fresh‐cut apples with improved fresh‐like quality and healthy characteristics.
Novelty impact statement
This study showed that mild vacuum impregnation treatment with an antioxidant solution is an adequate technology for processing fresh‐cut apples with improved healthy potential. The optimal vacuum and relaxation times improve the fresh‐cut apple qualities and its health potential after 7 days of storage at 1.5°C if both are suitably selected.
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