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Introduction: The Araguainha Dome, in south-central Brazil, is a 40 km impact structure, formed at ca. 254 Ma close to the time of the Permian-Triassic boundary. It offers a stratigraphic window into the sedimentary sequences and to the basement of the Paraná Basin. The basement crops out in the central part of the structure and is surrounded by a belt of polymict impact breccias (PIB), and strata from the lowermost part of the Paraná Basin: the Rio Ivaí Group (Ordovician-Silurian) and Furnas and Ponta Grossa formations (Devonian). The PIB at the Araguainha impact structure, well exposed in the northern and southern sectors of the central uplift, has been shown to be composed of a particulate matrix containing a heterogeneous population of lithic and mineral clasts, and cogenetic melt parti-cles; it, thus, represents suevite. Field study has indicated that the breccia contains large mega-clasts from the metasedimentary basement, mainly phyllite - some with evidence of contact metamorphism against the alkali granite, as well as metasandstone and metapelite. Quartz pebbles, conglomerates, and sandstones and pelites prob-ably derived from the lower part of the basin are also abundant as clasts. Until now, two types of impact melt rock, the so-called type-I and type-II, of different composition and emplacement styles, were identified. Type-I is the more abundant and the first one that was recognized; it is of granitic composition and always occurs in the granite core. The so-called type-II, subdivided into low silica content (LS <68%wt. SiO2) and high silica content (HS >80%wt. of SiO2), is always present as melted clasts in the suevite. In order to characterize the two types of IMR and to understand the relationship between them and the potential target rocks, geochemical and isotopic (Sr-Nd and U-Pb in zircon) data from the two types of impact melt rocks, target rocks, sedimentary units from the lower part of the Paraná basin and samples from the suevites (melted clasts plus matrix) were obtained. Results and conclusions: In the SiO2 vs. MgO diagram: the IMR type-I have a restricted geochemical composition, similar with the porphyritic granite, whereas the LS and HS IMR type-II have more heterogeneous geochemical composition but always similar with Cuiabá Group. The suevite matrix has a similar composition with the lower part of the Paraná basin, specifically the Furnas Formation. In the 87Sr/86Sr(251.5) vs. εNd(251.5) diagram, the granite has high 87Sr/86Sr and less negative εNd of ~9. The lower part of the Paraná basin has lowest 87Sr/86Sr ratios and more negative εNd of ~13. The samples from the Cuiabá Group and the two types of IMR show compositions between these two extremes. Eighty-eight concordant U-Pb isotope data were. The results, together with published data for the basement (Cuiabá Group) and the lower stratigraphic units of the Paraná Basin, were analyzed by multidimensional scaling (MDS) and with the kernel density estimation (KDE). Both suevite samples show a bimodal age population with the main peak at ~640 Ma and a second peak at 2000-2500 Ma. The MDS and KDE plots indicate that the provenance for the two suevite samples is similar to the zircon age populations for the formation in the lower part of the Paraná Basin sequence, very similar to the age population for the Furnas Formation. Based on these geochemical, isotopic and first U-Pb provenance results, we can conclude that: 1) the composition of the melted clast (IMR type-II) looks similar to the Cuiabá Group but the matrix shows a composition and provenance data similar with the lower part of the basin, it means that our field observations that initially favored a strong contribution of clastic material from the Cuiabá Group to the suevite need to be considered with caution and 2), possibly the two IMR do not have the same origin and they are not coming from the same type of target rocks, whereas the IMR type-I is clearly similar to the granite. 3) The IMR type-II is similar in composition to the Cuiaba Group samples or alternatively it represents a mixture between the Furnas and Rio Ivai formations. Finally, our geochemical, isotopic and provenance studies need to be extended statistically. These results will be very useful in determining how deep the transient cavity at Araguainha was excavated, and how deep the projectile may have penetrated into the target. Moreover, the results will contribute to modeling of the cratering processes related to the formation of the Araguainha impact structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the variable effectiveness, this parameter was estimated at 100% for hysterectomies, and LNG-IUS effectiveness was calculated from 10% to 100% in order to identify the viability point. The relevant literature shows that LNG-IUS has > 70% effectiveness in bleeding volume reduction, thus the cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated for one and two devices in women aged 40-50 years. [Extracted from the article]

The National Agency of Health is the regulatory agency in Brazil that determines which procedure-related costs health insurance must cover. Methods Cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was developed using the tree decision model in 70- to 85-year-old patients who were treated for severe AVS between 2015 and 2018 at Unimed Campinas Health Insurance. [Extracted from the article]

Aneurysms of the thoracoabdominal aorta (TAAs) are relatively uncommon in the spectrum of aneurysmal disease, accounting for only 3% of the diagnosed aneurysms in the United States. Results Eighteen patients (mean age 71.5 years) were selected for the CEA (13 EVAR-OS patients and 5 EVAR-CM patients). In reintervention, EVAR-OS has the slight savings advantage of US$ 2,330.00 compared to EVAR-CM (EVAR-OS: US$ 70,697.00 vs EVAR-CM: US$ 73,027.00). [Extracted from the article]

Objectives: To evaluate the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the care of women with pregnancies complicated by gestational or pre-existing diabetes, and their maternal-fetal outcomes., Methods: A cross-sectional panel data conducted in a University Hospital in Southern Brazil. Maternal-fetal outcomes and predictors of care from 235 pregnant women with type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes were evaluated. Two time periods were compared: six months preceding the pandemic, in 2019, and the COVID-19 period from September 2020 to March 2021. Comparisons were performed using analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney U, Fisher's exact and T-tests. Risks were calculated using the Poisson regression with robust estimates., Results: Maternal age was lower (32.1 ± 6.8 vs. 34.4 ± 6.6, p=0.009) and rates of depression/anxiety were higher (16.5 vs. 7.4%, p=0.046) in the group evaluated during the COVID-19. Neonatal hypoglycemia (RR 4.04; 95% CI 1.37-11.98, p=0.012), and SGA rates (RR 4.29; 95% CI 1.93-9.54, p<0.001) were higher in the group assessed before the pandemic., Conclusions: Despite economic, social and structural impacts of the pandemic, parameters of maternal care were similar; diabetes control improved, and neonatal hypoglycemia and SGA rates were lower among pregnant women with diabetes during the pandemic., (© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

Nature safeguards living organisms and the ecosystem functions and services delivered by them. Animal pollination is an important Ecosystem Service since it plays a key role for achieving the sustainable development goals by safeguarding worldwide food production. Thus, conservation of pollination services is a major priority for guaranteeing global food security in the long term. Here we evaluate the crop pollination services in Pará state (Eastern Amazon, Brazil) focusing on two questions: (1) What is the economic value of crop production and pollination service in Pará? (2) Which municipalities are most dependent on pollination services considering local economies? We found 36 crops produced in the state; 20 (55%) crops are dependent on animal pollinators. In 2016, crop production value (CPV) for Pará state was US$ 2.95 billion and total pollination service value (PSV) was US$ 983.2 million, corresponding to 33% of CPV in Pará. Highest PSV value crops were açaí palm (US$635.6 million), cocoa (US$187.6 million), soybean (US$98.4 million), and watermelon (US$26.1 million), accounting for 96% of Pará's PSV. Two municipalities (Medicilândia and Igarapé Miri) presented more than 50% of their GDP based on pollination services. In general, we found low crop diversity in the municipalities of Pará, suggesting an economic rural vulnerability for the state, mainly supported by the high productions of soy and açaí. Pollinator conservation and ecological intensified farming practices are urgent for supporting sustainable development for the state.

Introduction . The remarkable intrinsic resistance of Fusarium species to most antifungal agents results in high mortality rates in the immunocompromised population. Aims . This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology, clinical features and antifungal susceptibility of Fusarium isolates in patients with invasive fusariosis. Methodology . A total of 27 patients admitted to a referral hospital from January 2008 to June 2017 were evaluated. Antifungal susceptibility testing of isolates was performed by broth microdilution according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Results . Haematological malignancy was the predominant underlying condition, with an incidence of invasive fusariosis of 14.8 cases per 1000 patients with acute lymphoid leukaemia and 13.1 cases per 1000 patients with acute myeloid leukaemia. The Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) was the most frequent agent group, followed by the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC). Voriconazole showed the best activity against Fusarium , followed by amphotericin B. Itraconazole showed high minimum inhibitory concentration values, indicating in vitro resistance. Clinical FSSC isolates were significantly ( P <0.05) more resistant to amphotericin B and voriconazole than FOSC isolates. Conclusion . The present antifungal susceptibility profiles indicate a high incidence of fusariosis in patients with haematological malignancy. Species- and strain-specific differences in antifungal susceptibility exist within Fusarium in this setting.

Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of use of analgesics in Brazil; and to characterize this use, according to sociodemographic and health-related characteristics., Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study (National Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines, PNAUM) was conducted between September 2013 and February 2014. A total of 41,433 people of all ages in Brazilian urban households were interviewed. Occasional use (within the last 15 days) and continuous use of non-opioid analgesics, opioid analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were investigated, regardless of whether this use occurred through prescription or self-medication. The main outcome was the use of at least one analgesic., Results: The majority of the individuals were female (52.8%), aged between 20 and 59 years (57.2%), with 1 to 8 years of schooling (45.6%). The overall prevalence of analgesic use was 22.8% [95% CI: 21.4-24.2]. The use of analgesics was significantly higher among women, adults and elderly (20 years or more), highly educated individuals and respondents who referred: diagnosis of one or more chronic diseases, using three or more medications, possession of health insurance and with one or more emergency care admittances or hospitalizations within the last year. Non-opioid analgesics were the agents most used (18.5% of the sample), followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (6.9%) and opioid analgesics (0.5%). The most commonly used drugs were metamizole (37.8% of all analgesics), paracetamol (25.3%) and diclofenac (10.7%). These drugs were used mainly to manage occasional health conditions, particularly pain., Conclusion: One in five Brazilians used some analgesic, especially non-opioid analgesics, to manage acute health problems such as painful conditions., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: There is little information on herpes zoster from hospital registries in South America. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological and clinical aspects of herpes zoster (HZ) in hospitalized patients.', Methods: We searched for hospital-based records during the period from March 2000 to January 2017 in a 700-bed tertiary-care hospital located in southern Brazil. The medical records of all eligible patients were reviewed, and data regarding demographics, medical history, clinical and laboratory characteristics, treatment regimens, and clinical outcomes were collected. Patients were also evaluated for mortality., Results: There were 801 records of herpes zoster according to the proposed criteria. Most patients with HZ presented a cutaneous clinical form of the disease with involvement of a single dermatome (n=589, 73.5%). Additional clinical characteristics included postherpetic neuralgia (22.1%), ophthalmic HZ (7.6%) and meningoencephalitis (2.7%). Most patients presented immunocompromised conditions (64.9%) including HIV, administration of immunosuppressive agents, and malignant neoplasms. During this period, there were 105 (13.1%) deaths, which were mostly unrelated to HZ. Five deaths were related to HZ meningoencephalitis., Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate a high burden of HZ disease in a Brazilian tertiary care hospital in the HZ vaccination era. Awareness of the incidence and comorbidity factors associated with HZ in Latin American countries such as Brazil contribute for adoption and implementation of strategies for immunization in this area., (Copyright © 2019 Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Fungal keratitis is recognized as a significant cause of ocular morbidity and blindness especially in developing countries. In this study, we aimed to present the molecular identification and susceptibility of Fusarium isolates causing fungal keratitis in a university hospital in southern Brazil. The samples were identified using the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase gene (RPB2) and the translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1), while the antifungal susceptibility was tested by the broth microdilution method according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) methodology. The majority of the isolates belonged to the Fusarium solani species complex (F. solani, F. keratoplasticum and F. falciforme) and Fusarium oxysporum species complex. Antifungal susceptibility has shown that amphotericin B and natamycin were the most effective antifungals across all isolates, followed by voriconazole. Variation among Fusarium complexes in their antifungal sensitivities was observed in our study. The identification of Fusarium species from human samples is important not only from an epidemiological viewpoint, but also for choosing the appropriate antifungal agent for difficult-to-treat Fusarium infections such as keratitis., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) was first isolated in Uganda in 1947. In Brazil, the first reported case of ZIKV infection was in May 2015. Additionally, dengue (DENV) is endemic and there has been a recent outbreak of chikungunya (CHIKV). Since the clinical manifestations of different arboviral infections (AI) can be similar, definitive diagnosis requires laboratory testing., Objectives: To determine the prevalence of ZIKV, DENV, and CHIKV infections in a Brazilian cohort of HIV-infected pregnant women, to assess clinical/immunological characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of women with evidence of recent AI., Study Design: Laboratory diagnosis of ZIKV, DENV and CHIKV infections utilized serological assays, RT-PCR and PRNT. The tests were performed at the first visit, 34-36 weeks of gestation and at any time if a woman had symptoms suggestive of AI. Mann-Whitney tests were used for comparison of medians, Chi-square or Fisher's to compare proportions; p< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Poisson regression was used to analyze risk factors for central nervous system (CNS) malformations in the infant according to maternal symptomatology., Results: Of 219 HIV-infected pregnant women enrolled, 92% were DENV IgG+; 47(22%) had laboratory evidence of recent AI. Of these, 34 (72%) were ZIKV+, nine (19%) CHIKV+, and two (4%) DENV+. Symptoms consistent with AI were observed in 23 (10%) women, of whom 10 (43%) were ZIKV+, eight (35%) CHIKV+. No CNS abnormalities were observed among infants of DENV+ or CHIKV+ women; four infants with CNS abnormalities were born to ZIKV+ women (three symptomatic). Infants born to ZIKV+ women had a higher risk of CNS malformations if the mother was symptomatic (RR = 7.20), albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.066)., Conclusions: Among HIV-infected pregnant women with laboratory evidence of a recent AI, 72% were ZIKV-infected. In this cohort, CNS malformations occurred among infants born to both symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women with Zika infection., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Dengue virus (DENV) represents a major threat to public health worldwide. Early DENV diagnosis should not only detect the infection but also identify patients with a higher likelihood to develop severe cases. Previous studies have suggested the potential for NS1 to serve as a viral marker for dengue severity. However, further studies using different sera panels are required to confirm this hypothesis. In this context, we developed a lab-based ELISA to detect and quantitate NS1 protein from the four DENV serotypes and from primary and secondary cases. This approach was used to calculate the circulating NS1 concentration in positive samples. We also tested the NS1 positivity of DENV-positive samples according to the Platelia Dengue NS1 Ag assay. A total of 128 samples were positive for DENV infection and were classified according to the WHO guidelines. The overall NS1 positivity was 68% according to the Platelia assay, whereas all samples were NS1-positive when analyzed with our lab-based ELISA. Fifty-four samples were positive by PCR, revealing a co-circulation of DENV1 and DENV4, and the NS1 positivity for DENV4 samples was lower than that for DENV1. The circulating NS1 concentration ranged from 7 to 284 ng/mL. Our results support previous data indicating the low efficiency of the Platelia assay to detect DENV4 infection. Moreover, this work is the first to analyze NS1 antigenemia using retrospective samples from a Brazilian outbreak.

Objective: This study investigated the association between gynecological neoplasms, endometriosis, and adenomyosis in women who underwent surgical treatment for gynecological cancer and uterine leiomyoma during reproductive years or after menopause., Materials and Methods: Information was collected from patient records from the Hospital's database from 1985 to 2007. The study included 502 women, of which 375 were premenopausal and 132 were postmenopausal., Results: A significant association was observed between the occurrence of adenomyosis in cancer in women with four or more pregnancies, and in women aged over 40 years (p < 0.0001). The frequency of adenomyosis was significantly higher than the frequency of endometriosis for cancer in two sites (p = 0.0419) or for leiomyomas (p < 0.0001)., Conclusion: Therefore adenomyosis is more frequently found than endometriosis in women with leiomyomas or cancer in two sites in premenopausal women, and clinicians need to be aware of patients with adenomyosis and the risk of cancer.

Lead exposure is an important issue in the research of several toxic effects resulting from the biochemical interaction between this metal and the organism. Calcium is a fundamental mineral for the maintenance of the organism homeostasis where there is interaction between lead and calcium in metabolic pathways. Environmental lead exposure by verifying the usefulness and applicability of urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (UCa/Cr) in this context was evaluated. This was an extensive socio-demographic study of the nutritional profile, lead exposure biomarkers in blood and the urine and UCa/Cr ratio. The children studied were from a low socio-economic group characterized by unsatisfactory nutritional diet. Lead environmental exposure was shown by biomarkers, with UCa/Cr ratio having positive and significant correlations with both lead and delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine (ALA-U), without colinearity diagnosis. There was a strong association between calcium excretion and lead exposure as a result of linear regression construction models. In children, lead increases calcium excretion which is an additional risk to infantile health. Urinary calcium/creatinine ratio may be a useful tool in the biological monitoring of lead exposure and health promotion programs.

Some epidemiological characteristics of head lice, Pediculus capitis, were studied using two procedures: cut hair analysis and head inspection. Higher prevalence rates were observed in the middle and at the end of the school terms. Both procedures indicated that children were the main reservoir for this type of pediculosis in Uberlândia.

From November 1996 to March 2000, a total of 884 children between 0 and 15 years, from 11 institutions including day care centres, public urban and public rural schools in Uberlândia, State of Minas Gerais, central Brazil, were examined for head louse infestation. Children's sex, race, age and some hairs characteristics were shown to be associated to parasite infestation. A prevalence rate of 35% was found and the highest rates were observed in black, female children, with long, dark, wavy hairs. Hairs density and thickness did not seem to influence significantly the distribution of this pediculosis in Uberlândia's schoolchildren. Differences observed between the prevalence rates of head lice in children from the urban institutions suggest there is a greater epidemiological heterogeneity in this group when compared to the rural schoolchildren.