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Elevated D-dimer levels at hospital admission may also indicate a higher likelihood of progressing to a severe or critical state. This study aimed to assess reactive oxygen species (ROS), non-enzymatic antioxidant reduced glutathione (GSH), and D-dimer levels in COVID-19 patients upon admission, examining their association with mortality outcomes. Data was collected from the medical records of 170 patients hospitalized in a referral hospital unit between March 2020 and December 2021. Patients were divided into two groups: the ward bed group ( n = 87), comprising 51% with moderate clinical conditions, and the intensive care unit (ICU) group ( n = 83), comprising 49% with severe conditions. The mean age was 59.4 years, with a male predominance of 52.4%. The overall death rate was 43%, with 30.6% in the moderate group and 69.4% in the severe group. The average time from symptom onset to hospitalization was 6.42 days. Results showed that non-survivors had high D-dimer and ROS counts, longer ICU stays, and worse saturation levels at admission. In conclusion, elevated ROS and D-dimer levels may contribute to worse outcomes in critically ill patients, potentially serving as specific and sensitive predictors of poor outcomes upon admission.

Objectives: Pesticide application has become necessary to increase crop productivity and reduce losses. However, the use of these products can produce toxic effects. Farmers are individuals occupationally exposed to pesticides, thus subject to associated diseases as well as cognitive impairment. However, this relation is not well established in the literature, requiring further investigation. To assess the potential association between farmers' pesticide exposure and cognitive impairment, we followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, considering participants, interventions, comparators, outcomes, and study strategies., Materials and Methods: This study included articles published between 2000 and 2021 on the Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and PubMed databases, retrieved by the terms " pesticides and cognition " and " pesticides and memory .", Results: In total, ten studies fit the established criteria and were included in the sample. All had farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides in their sample and only one study dispensed with a control group. Of the neurobehavioral tests, four studies used mini-mental state examination, six neurobehavioral core test batteries (tests recognized in the area), and the remaining, other tests. We observed that 90% of articles found an association between cognitive impairment and pesticide exposure. Overall, five studies measured the activity of cholinesterases in their sample, of which three found significant differences between groups, confirming intoxication in those exposed., Conclusion: Despite the limited number of trials, we found scientific evidence to support the existence of adverse effects of pesticides on farmers' cognition. We recommend that future studies research similar projects, expanding knowledge on the subject., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (© 2023 Published by Scientific Scholar on behalf of Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice.)

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has recently emerged as a minimally invasive "liquid biopsy" tool in precision medicine. ctDNA-genomic DNA fragments that are released into the bloodstream after the active secretion of microvesicles or tumor cell lysis reflects tumor evolution and the genomic alterations present in primary and/or metastatic tumors. Notably, ctDNA analysis might allow the stratification of patients, the monitoring of the therapeutic response, and the establishment of an opportunity for early intervention independent of detection by imaging modalities or clinical symptoms. As oncology moves towards precision medicine, the information in ctDNA provides a means for the individual management of the patient based on their tumor's genetic profile. This review presents current evidence on the potential role for ctDNA in helping to guide individualized clinical treatment decisions for patients with melanoma, castration-resistant prostate cancer, breast cancer, metastatic colorectal cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer., (©2020 American Association for Cancer Research.)