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This study aimed to estimate the parameters of the length‐weight relationship for 12 freshwater fish species that inhabit lakes in the Negro River basin (Amazonas state, Brazil). The fishes were sampled using gillnets (15 × 2 m, mesh size 30–100 mm between knots), during the hydrologic cycle: low water (dry), flooding, high water (flood), and receding water, from 2008 to 2010, 2012 and 2013. The gillnets were placed in the lakes with a standardized period of 24 hr, with fish removal occurring every 12 hr (2010 to 2010) and 6 hr (2012 and 2013). Measurements were taken for standard length (SL – 0.1 cm precision) and total weight (TW – 0.1 g precision). The parameters a and b of the equation WT = a.LTb were estimated. This study also provides new data on of maximum lengths for three species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Group B Streptococcus sequence type 103 is known primarily as a bovine mastitis pathogen. In Brazil, it has circulated in cattle and humans since the 1990s. It lacks scpB and, in humans, was found only among carriage isolates. Bovine-human interspecies transmission may have contributed to its evolution and spread.

Background and Objectives: Despite the rapid increase in the number of people living with dementia in Brazil, dementia care is limited. This study describes how people living with dementia and their carers access care, treatment, and support, and identifies what characteristics are likely to enable or prevent access., Research Design and Methods: We created 10 vignettes to illustrate fictitious but realistic scenarios involving people living with dementia in Brazil. The vignettes explore a combination of socioeconomic and demographic variables. They were completed using an in-depth desk review of the dementia care landscape in Brazil; a Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the desk review; and expert knowledge. The analysis focused on identifying common sources of service provision, barriers of access to care and support, and specific issues experienced by some population groups., Findings: Access to a dementia diagnosis, care, and support for people living with dementia in Brazil is limited. Demographic and socio-economic circumstances play a role in determining the type of services to which a person might have access. Poor knowledge about dementia, lack of capacity in the health system, and lack of formal long-term care support are among the identified barriers to accessing timely diagnosis, care, and support in the country., Discussion and Implications: Understanding the barriers and facilitators of access to diagnosis, treatment, and support for people with dementia and families with different demographic and socioeconomic characteristics is crucial for designing dementia policies that are context-specific and responsive to the care needs of different socioeconomic groups in Brazil., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STI) and pregnancy can be consequences of sexual violence. In Brazil, around 50% of women victims of sexual violence do not undergo STI prophylaxis or emergency contraception., Objectives: To analyze socio-demographic and epidemiological profile, frequency of procedures performed, frequency of blood-borne infections (BBI), pregnancy, and legal abortion in women assisted by a sexual violence assistance center., Patients and Methods: This 10-year retrospective cohort study (2010-2019) describes the socio-demographic and epidemiological profile and frequencies of clinical procedures, BBI, pregnancies, and legal abortions in 915 women assisted in a sexual violence assistance center in Brazil. We extracted data from the medical records and used descriptive statistics and chi-square and logistic regression., Results: A total of 93.3% (842/915) were residents in the Metropolitan Area of the capital, 80,83% (733/915) were brown-skinned or white, 42.4% (388/915) were adolescents (12-17 years old), 80.4% (736/915) were single, most had no children, average of 1.8 (±1.0 DP) children. About one-third (313/915) had not had previous sexual intercourse, 1.6% (10/653) were pregnant. Rape predominated with 92.0% (841/915), of which 51.5% (471/915) involved a known or related aggressor, mostly an acquaintance, followed by a stepfather or father. Recurrent cases were 24.0% (227/915)., Clinical Procedures: 42.6% (390/915) were attended within 72 hours and received STI prophylaxis 43.4% (392/904); emergency contraception 38.6% (349/904); blood collection 71.6% (647/904). Prevalence: syphilis 0.3% (2/653); hepatitis B 0.2% (1/653); pregnancy 1.6% (10/653). Incidences: syphilis 1.1% (7/633); hepatitis B 0.8% (5/633); hepatitis C 0.6% (4/633); pregnancy 27.2% (172/633). There were no HIV cases. Trichomoniasis at 1.9% (2/108), HPV-induced cytological lesions at 4.7% (5/108), and bacterial vaginosis at 20.0% (21/108) were found on cervicovaginal samples. There were 129 legal abortions., Conclusions: The socio-demographic aspects and the characteristics of the aggressions in the studied population are like those described in the Brazilian national database, including the remarkable number of adolescents. STI prophylaxis and emergency contraception were performed in less than half of the women. The incidence of pregnancy was higher among those women reporting firearms threats and lower among those receiving STI prophylaxis. The frequency of legal abortion was higher than in national data. Public policies ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health rights and strategies to improve the quality of care for women victims of sexual violence and education improvement may decrease vulnerability to STI and unintended pregnancies., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Musso Ribeiro de Oliveira Souza et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: International and market forces are key drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, with transnational and market-based solutions in land-use and forest governance often missing economic, distributive, and environmental targets. Methods: This paper tackles both the framing and effectiveness of transnational initiatives affecting forest lands and peoples in the Global South, and the quality of relationships between institutions in the Global North and the Global South. Through more equitable research partnerships, this paper draws lessons from case studies in Indonesia (legality verification system in different forest property regimes), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (lifting of a moratorium on new logging concession), and Brazil (FSC in the Amazon region and the Amazon Fund). Results: International partnerships have privileged market-based instruments and commodity exchange between Global South and Global North countries, and the benefits of such mechanisms are unevenly distributed. Complementary and alternative policy instruments are discussed for each geography. Conclusions: Glocalizing land-use and forest governance implies in advancing equitable research partnerships between institutions in the Global South and Global North, and strengthening a community of practice for critical enquiry and engagement in partnerships for sustainable development. Land-use, climate and forest governance mechanisms must redress power dynamics, and partnership models, and commit to improving well-being and sustainable livelihood outcomes., Competing Interests: No competing interests were disclosed., (Copyright: © 2023 Kanashiro Uehara T et al.)

Haemagogus (Haemagogus) janthinomys (Dyar, 1921), the major neotropical vector of sylvatic yellow fever virus, is notoriously difficult to maintain in captivity. It has never been reared beyond an F 1 generation, and almost no experimental transmission studies have been performed with this species since the 1940s. Herein we describe installment hatching, artificial blood feeding, and forced-mating techniques that enabled us to produce small numbers of F 3 generation Hg. janthinomys eggs for the first time. A total of 62.8% (1562/2486) F 1 generation eggs hatched during ≤10 four-day cycles of immersion in a bamboo leaf infusion followed by partial drying. Hatching decreased to 20.1% (190/944) in the F 2 generation for eggs laid by mosquitoes copulated by forced mating. More than 85% (79/92) female F 2 mosquitoes fed on an artificial blood feeding system. While we were unable to maintain a laboratory colony of Hg. janthinomys past the F 3 generation, our methods provide a foundation for experimental transmission studies with this species in a laboratory setting, a critical capacity in a region with hyper-endemic transmission of dengue, Zika, and chikungunya viruses, all posing a risk of spillback into a sylvatic cycle.

Mercury in the aquatic environment can lead to exposure of the human population and is a known toxic metal due to its capacity for accumulation in organs. We aimed to evaluate the mercury level in the blood and urine of fishermen and correlate it with the level of oxidative stress in blood cells. We show in this case-control study that the fishermen of the exposed group (case) of Mundaú Lagoon (Maceió - Alagoas, Brazil) have higher concentrations of total mercury in the blood (0.73-48.38 μg L -1 ) and urine (0.430-10.2 μg L -1 ) than the total mercury concentrations in blood (0.29-17.30 μg L -1 ) and urine (0.210-2.65 μg L -1 ) of the control group. In the blood cells of fishermen, we observed that the lymphomononuclear cells produced high levels of reactive oxygen species (61.7%), and the erythrocytes presented increased lipid peroxidation (151%) and protein oxidation (41.0%) and a decrease in total thiol (36.5%), GSH and the REDOX state (16.5%). The activity of antioxidant system enzymes (SOD, GPx, and GST) was also reduced in the exposed group by 26.9%, 28.3%, and 19.0%, respectively. Furthermore, hemoglobin oxygen uptake was decreased in the exposed group (40.0%), and the membrane of cells presented increased osmotic fragility (154%) compared to those in the control group. These results suggest that mercury in the blood of fishermen can be responsible for causing impairments in the oxidative status of blood cells and is probably the cause of the reduction in oxygen uptake capacity and damage to the membranes of erythrocytes., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Protected areas (PAs) are the cornerstone of global conservation policy and have expanded dramatically over the last century. Though unequivocally beneficial for biodiversity, gazetting land for protecting nature can also be seen as an 'opportunity cost' that some politicians are unwilling to pay. One of the most effective strategies to increase the political resilience of PAs in the face of such threats is to demonstrate their broader value to society. This is one of the objectives of the recently proposed 'PA asset framework'. The framework conceptualizes PAs as being composed of suites of biophysical, human, infrastructure, institutional and cultural assets that interact with individuals and institutions to generate different forms of tangible and intangible value. Here, we test the utility of the framework by conducting an asset-based analysis of Brazilian National Parks (NPs) at two different scales (NP system and NP unit). Assets were identified at the system level through a systematic review of 49 Management Plans (MPs) using a typology of PA asset classes as a tool for characterising the presence and state of assets in or associated with NPs. At the NP unit level, assets were identified through semi-structured interviews with local managers of the Chapada Diamantina National Park. Biophysical and infrastructure assets were the most represented asset classes at both scales. Our analysis successfully revealed: (i) which assets can be managed to generate wider forms of values at local scale (e.g. natural spectacles, iconic species, park volunteers) (ii) relational values between assets (e.g. trails and outdoor recreational features), and (iii) value generating practices (VGPs) to capture values from the interaction between different assets (i.e. restoration of degraded areas through voluntary programmes, etc.). We conclude by discussing how the PA asset framework can be operatively integrated into NP management to improve the future allocation of limited financial resources., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: A project aimed at developing new classification criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is based on weighted criteria that include both laboratory and clinical items. Combinations of certain symptoms may occur commonly in SLE, which provides an argument against independently counting these items. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the interrelationship between candidate criteria items in the International Early SLE cohort and in the Euro-Lupus cohort., Methods: The International Early SLE cohort included 389 patients, who were diagnosed within 3 years prior to the study. Data on the ACR's 1997 update of the SLE revised criteria, the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics 2012 criteria, and on 30 additional items were collected. To evaluate the interrelationship of the criteria, a tetrachoric correlation was used to assess the degree of association between different manifestations in the same organ system. The correlations identified in the International Early SLE cohort were validated in the Euro-Lupus cohort., Results: A few relevant correlations were observed among specific clinical cutaneous manifestations (in particular, malar rash correlated with photosensitivity, alopecia, and oral ulcers) and serologic manifestations (anti-Sm and anti-double-stranded DNA and anti-RNA polymerase, anti-Ro and anti-La, and antiphospholipid antibodies), and these results were validated in the Euro-Lupus cohort. The associations within the mucocutaneous domain, hematologic and the specific autoantibodies suggest that within a single domain only the highest ranking item should be counted to avoid overrepresentation., Conclusion: Some of the candidate SLE criteria cluster within domains. Given these interrelationships, multiple criteria within a domain should not be independently counted. These results are important to consider for the structure of new SLE classification criteria., (© 2020, American College of Rheumatology.)

Lead is a priority pollutant introduced in the aquatic environment by different sources commonly located in estuarine regions, such as ports, marinas and industries. Environmental agencies around the world set the maximum allowable concentration of lead in effluents, surface water and sediment, but few studies reported its accumulation and chronic toxicity in mangrove benthic invertebrates using concentrations believed to be safe. In the case of Brazilian mangrove environments, Ucides cordatus is a crab species of choice to be used in bioaccumulation studies. We have assessed biomarkers' responses (DNA strand breaks, micronucleated cells, metallothioneins, enzymatic activity of aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and neutral red retention time) and the total bioaccumulation in six tissues of U. cordatus crabs resident to mangrove areas under different conservation status during a 28-day period bioassay. We also investigated Pb subcellular partition and biomarkers' responses using a supposedly safe concentration (10 μg L -1 ). During the Pb exposure, the highest concentration of Pb was observed in crab gills. Crabs also showed a high ability to allocate Pb in detoxified forms. Multivariate analysis pointed out that bioaccumulation (total, active and detoxified) is linked to biomarkers. Even in supposedly safe dosage, U. cordatus triggered its defense mechanisms expressing more metallothioneins and presented relevant cyto-genotoxic damage. Our data suggest the development of biological tolerance to Pb in crabs from polluted areas. Our results provided a new insight about lead toxicity even at concentrations considered environmentally safe, which could support new strategies to manage estuarine areas considering their respective conservation status., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: To develop and validate a prediction model to forecast long-term stability of early treatment with rapid maxillary expansion (RME) and facemask (FM) in a large sample of Class III growing patients., Methods: The Brazilian Group (BG) consisted of 73 consecutively treated Caucasian Class III patients (41 females and 32 males). Mean age at T0 (before treatment) was 7.1 ± 1.6 years, while mean age at T1 (long-term follow-up) was 21.8 ± 3.2 years. The Italian Group (IG, validation cohort) comprised 28 consecutively treated Caucasian Class III patients (14 females and 14 males, mean age at T0 9.0 ± 1.3 years and mean age at T1 18.2 ± 1.4 years). Cephalometric analysis was performed on lateral cephalograms at T0. Gender and cephalometric variables, chronologic age, and dentition phase at T0 were used as predictors for long-term unsuccessful treatment at T1. All predictors for unsuccessful treatment in the BG were subjected to bivariate logistic regression. Only those statistically significant predictors in the bivariate logistic regression entered mixed stepwise logistic regression with P = 0.05 to enter and to leave. The validity of the prediction model derived from the BG was then tested on the IG., Results: The prediction model consisted of only one cephalometric variable: the angle between the Condylar Axis and the Mandibular Plane (CondAx-MP) (odds ratio: 1.52, 95% confidence interval: 1.25-1.85, P < 0.0001). Unsuccessful treatment at T1 was predicted for values of CondAx-MP at T0 greater than the cut-off value of 147.8 degrees. BG patients predicted incorrectly were 3 out of 22 for the unsuccessful cases and 1 out of 51 for the successful cases. Therefore, accuracy was 0.95, sensitivity 0.86, specificity 0.98, and positive and negative predictive values were 0.95 and 0.94. When the predictive model was applied on IG, all five unsuccessful cases were predicted correctly, while only 1 out of 23 successful patients was predicted incorrectly., Conclusion: CondAx-ML was identified as a reliable predictor for long-term stability of early Class III treatment with RME and FM., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

When effectively managed, Protected Areas (PAs) are capable of generating multiple forms of value, both tangible and intangible, for individuals and institutions. However, the value-generating potential of many PAs may be going unrecognized and underutilized due to a limited view of management objectives as codified within the parks' Management Plan. Here, we test the hypothesis that PAs are undervalued by evaluating the degree to which Management Plans from four different Brazilian designations (National Parks, Ecological Stations, Environmental Protected Areas and National Forests) recognize different categories of nature-related assets (entities, attributes and relationships that can be protected, managed and/or invested in to generate forms of value). Based on a recently proposed PA Asset Framework, we identify what assets are mentioned by Management Plans and what assets are under-represented. Our results indicate that Human and Cultural assets are the least represented of the major asset classes (Biophysical, Human, Infrastructural, Institutional and Cultural) and that many asset sub-categories that should reasonably be expected to be present in Management Plans are frequently not mentioned. Assets that are not being considered in Management Plans are, by extension, less likely to be managed and/or invested in. Given the strong similarities between PA Management Plans in different countries, these results probably reflect a general trend. A simple way to ensure that PAs maximize the value generating potential (within the context of their designation) would be to survey their assets and generate a 'PA Asset Management and Investment Plan' to supplement and support existing planning documentation., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Metals are persistent pollutants, able to accumulate in the biota and magnify in trophic web. In the specific case of cadmium contamination, it has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years because of its biological effects and it is one of major pollutant in estuarine areas. Ucides cordatus is considered a mangrove local sentinel crab species in Brazil and there are previous studies reporting crab subpopulations living from pristine to heavily metal impacted areas in São Paulo coast (Southeastern Brazil). Taking into account the background knowledge about these subpopulations, we proposed the hypothesis that crabs from a highly polluted mangrove (Cubatão - CUB) have developed biological tolerance to cadmium compared to animals from an Environmental Protected Area (Jureia - JUR). Aiming to verify this hypothesis, we have investigated total bioaccumulation and subcellular partition of Cd, besides biomarkers' responses during a long-term exposure bioassay (28 days, with weekly sampling) using a supposedly safe Cd concentration (0.0022 mg L -1 ). Specimens from the pristine area (JUR) accumulated higher total Cd, as such as in its biologically active form in gills. Animals living in the polluted site (CUB) presented higher amounts of Cd in the mainly detoxifying tissue (hepatopancreas), which could be considered a pathway leading to tolerance for this metal. Multivariate analysis indicated that bioaccumulation (active, detoxified and total Cd) is linked to geno-cytotoxic damages. CUB subpopulation was considered more tolerant since it presented proportionally less damage and more capacity to allocate Cd in the main detoxifying forms and tissues., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Vale dos Vinhedos appellation of origin has a very recent history as industrial wine making region. In this study we investigated the genetic and phenotypic variability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains isolated from South-Brazilian vineyards in order to evaluate strain fermentation aptitude and copper and sulphites tolerance. Merlot grape bunches were collected from three vineyards and yeast isolation was performed after single bunch fermentation. High genotypic variability was found and most of the genotypes revealed to be vine-specific. No industrial strain dissemination was present in the sampled vineyards, although it has been wildly reported in traditional winemaking countries. From the phenotypic traits analysis these Brazilian native strains showed good fermentation performances, good tolerance to sulphites and, in particular, a high copper tolerance level. Copper is the most important metal in the formulation of fungicides against downy mildew (Plasmopara viticola), one of the most harmful disease of the vines, and other fungal pests. The high tolerance to copper suggests an environmental adaptation to the strong use of copper-based fungicides, requested by the wet subtropical climate.

Since December 2016, Brazil has faced a large outbreak of yellow fever with ca 1,500 confirmed human cases. In the first 2 months of 2018, Brazil reported almost as many cases as in 2017 as a whole. In these 2 months, five imported cases were reported among unvaccinated European travellers. Three had travelled to Ilha Grande, a popular destination among European tourists. Physicians and European travellers visiting Brazil should follow yellow fever vaccination recommendations.

Purpose: Clinical data on patients with intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC) is still scarce., Methods: We collected data from 13 hospitals in Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Greece over a 3-year period (2011-2013) including patients from ICU, medical, and surgical wards., Results: A total of 481 patients were included in the study. Of these, 27% were hospitalized in ICU. Mean age was 63 years and 57% of patients were male. IAC mainly consisted of secondary peritonitis (41%) and abdominal abscesses (30%); 68 (14%) cases were also candidemic and 331 (69%) had concomitant bacterial infections. The most commonly isolated Candida species were C. albicans (n = 308 isolates, 64%) and C. glabrata (n = 76, 16%). Antifungal treatment included echinocandins (64%), azoles (32%), and amphotericin B (4%). Septic shock was documented in 40.5% of patients. Overall 30-day hospital mortality was 27% with 38.9% mortality in ICU. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.07, P < 0.001), increments in 1-point APACHE II scores (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01-1.08, P = 0.028), secondary peritonitis (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.02-2.89, P = 0.019), septic shock (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.88-5.86, P < 0.001), and absence of adequate abdominal source control (OR 3.35, 95% CI 2.01-5.63, P < 0.001) were associated with mortality. In patients with septic shock, absence of source control correlated with mortality rates above 60% irrespective of administration of an adequate antifungal therapy., Conclusions: Low percentages of concomitant candidemia and high mortality rates are documented in IAC. In patients presenting with septic shock, source control is fundamental.

Background: The causal association between persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer has been established, but the mechanisms that favor HPV persistence in cervical cells are still unknown. The diminished capability of the immune system to control and resolve HPV infection is one of several hypotheses. The tolerogenic protein HLA-G has shown aberrant expression in a variety of cancers, which has been suggested as a mechanism for tumor escape from immunosurveillance. In the present study we evaluate the role of epigenetic modification (promoter de-methylation) of the HLA-G gene on susceptibility to HPV infection and development of high-grade cervical lesions., Methods: A case-control study was carried out in Curitiba, Brazil, between February and June 2010. A total of 789 women aged 15-47 years were recruited: 510 controls with normal cervical cytology, and 279 cases with histologically confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2, N = 150) or grade 3 (CIN3, N = 129). All women were administered a questionnaire by interview, which collected information on demographic and lifestyle factors, and a cervical sample was collected. HPV DNA detection was performed by GP5+/GP6+ primer-mediated PCR. HPV-positive samples were genotyped by multiplex PCR. A pilot analysis of HLA-G promoter methylation was carried out in a subset of the study population (96 cases and 76 controls) by pyrosequencing. HLA-G methylation and HPV infection status of cases and controls were compared, and confounding factors were computed by t Student and non-parametric Wilcoxon tests. Comparison of HLA-G methylation between cases and controls was assessed by the Bonferroni correction. The association of HLA-G methylation with CIN2/3 was evaluated by logistic regression., Results: HPV prevalence was 19.6% in controls and 94.3% in CIN2/3 cases. HPV16, 31, 33, 35 and 18 were the most prevalent types. Methylation analysis of seven CpGs in the HLA-G promoter did not reveal any spontaneous de-methylation events in CIN2/3 cases (mean proportion of methylation: 75.8%) with respect to controls (mean 73.7%; odds ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.96, 1.07)., Conclusions: This study did not support the hypothesis that spontaneous de-methylation events in the HLA-G promoter play a primary role in promoting escape from immunosurveillance in the development of precancerous cervical lesions.

Objective: To analyse the data reported by the national surveillance system of Brazil, including data on diarrhoea mortality and hospital admissions before and after rotavirus vaccine introduction, and evaluate the impact of its widespread use under operational conditions., Method: Retrospective analysis of routinely collected data was reported by several surveillance systems of Brazil, comprising an 8-year period of all diarrhoea-related hospitalisations and deaths in children <5 years old (2002-2009). Linear regressions were used to compare trends of diarrhoea hospitalisations and deaths before and after vaccine introduction (2002-2005 vs. 2006-2009)., Results: There was a long-term reduction in hospitalisations that preceded the introduction of the vaccine. This reduction was more marked in <1-year-old than in 1- to 4-year-old children. All-cause diarrhoea hospitalisations decreased further after vaccine introduction and the decrease was larger in <1-year-old (-35.6%) than in 1- to 4-year-old children (-12.3%). The number of deaths was decreasing before vaccine introduction, and the decrease also accelerated after vaccine introduction, with deaths halving in <1-year-old and decreasing by 32.9% in 1- to 4-year-old children. The linear relationships between hospitalisations and deaths were statistically different before and after vaccine introduction., Conclusions: The data demonstrate a decreasing trend in all-cause diarrhoea-related hospitalisations and deaths in children <5 years of age. These reductions were steeper between 2006 and 2009, highlighting the potential beneficial effect of the rotavirus vaccine associated with all-cause diarrhoeal disease., (© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

This study assessed the family and heath system's costs due to diarrhoea in children <2 years old, before/after the introduction of a rotavirus vaccine in Brazil in 2006. Information on diarrhoea health care costs and morbidity were obtained from the primary health care system, the National Public Health database (2004-2008) and care-givers. Diarrhoea ambulatory consultations and hospitalizations had a declining trend during the entire period, with additional steeper reductions after vaccine introduction. The vaccine thus is associated with reduced diarrhoea consultations and hospitalization costs and families' out-of-pocket expenses. Despite these gains, the overall health system's costs have increased., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease resulting from the interplay between environmental, immunological and genetic factors. In our study, we investigated the role of three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at 5'-UTR of DEFB1 gene, encoding for the human beta defensin-1, on the susceptibility to develop AD in a group of Brazilian children and adolescents., Methods: Three SNPs, -20 G/A (rs11362), -44 C/G (rs1800972), and -52 G/A (rs1799946) at 5'-UTR of DEFB1 gene were genotyped in two groups of children and adolescents, one affected by AD (96 subjects), the other healthy (191 individuals), from northeast Brazil., Results: -44 C/G frequencies were comparable between the two groups. The -20 GG genotype was more frequent in AD subjects than in healthy controls; the -52 GG, conversely, was more frequent in healthy controls than in AD. However, both these differences did not reach statistical significance. Also, association between SNPs and AD severity has been shown. The analysis of DEFB1 haplotypes did not highlight any association of the three SNPs with AD development or disease severity., Conclusions: Our results seem to exclude a role for the -44 C/G DEFB1 SNPs on the pathogenesis and severity of AD, while for the -20 C/G and -52 G/A, even if not statistically significant, we evidenced a slight trend for susceptibility (-20 GG) and protection (-52 GG) for the development of AD. However, as controversial findings have been reported in the literature, the role of DEFB1 in the development of AD and in the severity of the phenotype deserves further investigation.

Autosomal recessive spastic paraplegia with thinning of corpus callosum (ARHSP-TCC) is a complex form of HSP initially described in Japan but subsequently reported to have a worldwide distribution with a particular high frequency in multiple families from the Mediterranean basin. We recently showed that ARHSP-TCC is commonly associated with mutations in SPG11/KIAA1840 on chromosome 15q. We have now screened a collection of new patients mainly originating from Italy and Brazil, in order to further ascertain the spectrum of mutations in SPG11, enlarge the ethnic origin of SPG11 patients, determine the relative frequency at the level of single Countries (i.e., Italy), and establish whether there is one or more common mutation. In 25 index cases we identified 32 mutations; 22 are novel, including 9 nonsense, 3 small deletions, 4 insertions, 1 in/del, 1 small duplication, 1 missense, 2 splice-site, and for the first time a large genomic rearrangement. This brings the total number of SPG11 mutated patients in the SPATAX collection to 111 cases in 44 families and in 17 isolated cases, from 16 Countries, all assessed using homogeneous clinical criteria. While expanding the spectrum of mutations in SPG11, this larger series also corroborated the notion that even within apparently homogeneous population a molecular diagnosis cannot be achieved without full gene sequencing., (2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Two healthy newborns, heterozygous for two different gamma-globin chain mutations, were observed during an electrophoretic screening for hemoglobinopathies in Sassari, North Sardinia (Italy). The variants were characterized by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and sequencing of amplified gamma-globin genes. One of the two abnormalities was a novel (A)gammachain variant and the tetramer was named Hb F-Osilo [(A)gamma119(GH2)Gly-->Ser]. The other was a (G)gamma chain variant, Hb F-Paulinia [(G)gamma80(EF4)Asp-->Tyr], already described in a Brazilian baby of African ancestry. No functional studies could be performed.

This article describes a case of myiasis by Dermatobia hominis diagnosed in a young Italian man returning from a vacation through Brazil. Considering the increasing number of travels to tropical and subtropical areas, clinicians in nonendemic areas must think about the possibility of imported unusual infestations during their daily practice.