Obesity: Body Relief Surgeries before Bariatric Surgery for Risk Reduction

Depending on the treatment and weight of the breasts or abdomen, they may exceed volumes considered giant and morbidly obese. In these cases, and when the patient’s BMI is high above 40 kg/m2, the weight of the breasts or abdomen produces what we consider suffocation when the patient is placed in horizontal position on surgical tables, decreasing his respiratory capacity and increasing the difficulty in treating respiratory or embolic risks. An 8-kg breast on the patient’s chest prevents normal breathing. An abdomen with a volume of 30 kg causes difficulties in all senses, making the physiological expansion of the lungs impossible and even preventing surgical assistance to patients. These patients are almost always customers who sleep in the sitting position to breathe better. The gigantic extirpation of the surgical parts facilitates a better respiratory expansion reducing by a large percentage the risk of death, what we call body relief. This relief does not free the patient from bariatric surgery for a possible weight loss, which is vital for the proper functioning of the organs and decreasing arterial hypertension and diabetes.

Genetic Diversity of Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type I (HTLV-I) Infected Individuals

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a frequent pathology among HTLV-I+ individuals being capable of severely compromising the kidneys and bladder. Molecular characteristics of uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) from HTLV-I+ infected individuals are unknown. UPEC isolates from HTVL-I+ individuals, with and without clinical symptoms of myelopathy, were submitted to genetic typing seeking to infer bacterial diversity and potential virulence. 71 bacterial isolates were characterized according to random amplified polymorphic DNA and phylotypes. Phylotyping classified E. coli into four phylogenetic groups: A (18.3%), B1 (16.9%), B2 (39.4%), and D (25.3%) and 8 phylotypes according to the presence of the genetic sequences chuA, yjaA and the DNA fragment TSPE4.C2: ﹣﹣﹣ (5.6%) and ﹣+﹣ (12.6%) in phylogroup A, ﹣﹣+ (7.0%) and ﹣++ (9.8%) in B1, +++ (32.3%) and ++﹣ (7.0%) in B2, +﹣﹣ (15.4%) and +﹣+ (9.8%) in D. The B2 phylogroup was the most prevalent among HTLV﹣ associated myelopathy and asymptomatic individuals. RAPD-PCR typing revealed a high degree of bacterial polymorphism indicating a non-clonal origin. Genotypes were not found to be distributed according to clinical status or epidemiological features. Our results lead us to suggest that the neurological impairment in HTLV-I+ individuals can be a risk factor for urinary infections due E. coli which are caused by distinct bacterial lineages.

Analysis of 472,688 Severe Cases of COVID-19 in Brazil Showed Lower Mortality in Those Vaccinated against Influenza

Objective: To analyze the severe cases of COVID-19 in Brazil in 2020 and compare those vaccinated and unvaccinated against influenza in invasive ventilation, admission in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and deaths. Method: Cross-sectional study with public data from the OpenDataSUS platform, regarding confirmed severe cases for COVID-19 in Brazil in the year 2020. Data were analyzed by SPSS, from the chi-square test of independence and binary logistic regression. Results: The population was 472,688 cases and 177,640 deaths, with a lethality of 37.58% in severe cases. The test of independence was highly significant in vaccinated survivors (<0.0001), and regression showed an almost twofold odds ratio for invasive ventilation, ICU admission, and death in unvaccinated cases. Conclusion: We recommend mass influenza vaccination as an adjuvant in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil.

<i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>as a Model to Confirm the Ability of FTIR to Evaluate the Presence of Protein Aggregates

It is known that the presence of protein aggregates in biological samples is associated with natural aging processes and age-related diseases. The objective of this technical study was to evaluate the potential of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to identify the presence of protein aggregates in Saccharomyces cerevisiae containing high levels of protein aggregates. We acquired ATR-FTIR spectra at mid-infrared range (between 4000 and 600 cm-1) and used multivariate analysis to analyze the data. Significant differences between spectra of wild type and mutant strains in the spectral range assigned to proteins were observed. In particular, an increase in β-sheet structures in mutant strains (spectral signals at 1683 and 1628 cm-1) was observed, indicating the putative presence of protein aggregates. These results prove the capacity of FTIR to evaluate changes in protein conformation, mainly protein aggregation, in a fast, simple and non-expensive way, producing insights on the possible application of this technique to the detection of protein aggregates in human biological samples.

Cystic Degeneration of Peripheral Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: An Atypical Presentation

Cholangiocarcinomas are primary malignant tumors of the liver that arises from the epithelium lining the small intra and extrahepatic bile ducts, and has numerous histologic types and growth patterns. At computed tomography (CT) and magnetic ressonance (MR), it has various appearences which motivated the present study;we present a case within an atypical presentation. The objective is to show the variety of differential diagnoses before an atypical aspect and the importance of the imaging methods for the diagnosis. Cholangiocarcinoma is still an uncommon neoplasm, and CT and MR are crucial for accurate diagnosis and for differentiation from other hepatic tumorous and nontumorous lesions.

Professor Jian Ge:the road to the success of scientific research

Professor Jian Ge(Figure 1)currently is member of standing committee of the Asia Pacific Glaucoma Society,Honorary Chairman of the Chinese Ophthalmologic Society,Vice chairman of the Chinese Eye Doctor Association,Former Chairman of the Chinese Glaucoma Society。

Combined Hepatocellular-Cholangiocarcinoma with Stem Cell Features—Case Report

Combined hepatocholangiocarcinoma is a rare and unique form of primary hepatic neoplasm, expressing histopathological and phenotypic aspects of hepatocellularcarcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma in the same tumor. Diagnosis may be performed by imaging, showing typical features of both components. We present a case of a 55-year-old woman presenting with abdominal pain and a hepatic mass. The patient underwent surgery and combined hepatocholangiocarcinoma with stem cells features was confirmed on pathological analysis. There are no signs of recurrence to date. Combined hepatocholangiocarcinoma requires a preoperative diagnosis, since it is a unique entity with higher rates of local and lymph node recurrence, compared to isolated forms.

Proteolysis in the Subtropical Woody Tree <i>Anadenanthera colubrina</i>(Angico) Seeds during and after Germination

Proteolysis of seed storage proteins (SSP) during germination provides a steady supply of amino acids to the embryo development into seedling. This process is coordinated by different peptidases that act sequentially and overlaid mode. These enzymes are an ancient group evolved separately in a wide structural and functional diversity and have many applications in medicine, pharmacy and industry. However, the knowledge about seed peptidases during germination was obtained from studies almost restricted to the cultivated species. This restriction implies caution about generalizations made from these studies, as well limits the biological knowledge about plant kingdom and technological use from plant peptidases. In this work, a scan of the proteolytic activity was held in germinating seeds of a leguminous subtropical woody tree. Eleven proteolytic activities were detected in protein extracts from embryonic axis and cotyledons. The presence and intensity of these activities varied over time and between these tissues. There was indication that aspartyl-endopeptidases (phytepsins) and cysteine-carboxypeptidases (plant cathepsins) were involved in A. colubrina SSP hydrolysis. These peptidases differ to that commonly involved in germination of the cultivated leguminous. In addition, one of detected phytepsins showed stability on pH scale, which is important for industrial uses. There was also detected a metallo-carboxypeptidase activity, which has been not described in plants. These peptidases must be isolated to confirm or not these indications. However, these data indicate the biological and technological importance of extending the studies about plant peptidases on a diverse genetic basis.

On an Exact Cylindrically Symmetric Solution in a Born-Infeld Type Theory of Gravity

In this work, we derive an exact vacuum solution for a cylindrically symmetric metric in an extended gravity theory developed by Novello, De Lorenci and Luciane (hereafter referred to as the NDL theory) which is inspired in the Born-Infeld theory. The main goal of this paper is to nd a cosmic string solution for the NDL theory. However, a careful analysis of the metric shows that it is asymptotically singular and therefore does not represent a cosmic string solution.

An Optimal Control Approach to HIV Immunology

This paper introduces a mathematical model which describes the dynamics of the spread of HIV in the human body. This model is comprised of a system of ordinary differential equations that involve susceptible cells, infected cells, HIV, immune cells and immune active cells. The distinguishing feature in the proposed model with respect to other models in the literature is that it takes into account cells that represent two distinct mechanisms of the immune system in the defense against HIV: the non-HIV-activated cells and the HIV-activated cells. With a view at minimizing the side effects of a treatment that employs a drug combination designed to attack the HIV at various stages of its life cycle, we introduce control variables that represent the infected patient’s medication. The optimal control rule that prescribes the medication for a given time period is obtained by means of Pontryagin’s Maximum Principle.

Pattern of Alcohol Consumption in Registered Users of a Family Health Unit

The alcohol abuse is associated with a wide range of social, health and legal problems to analyze the pattern of alcohol consumption of users of a Family Health Unit. A descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, conducted with 207 users of a Family Health Unit who responded the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Data were analyzed with the aid of the STATA/SE 12.0 software. To analyze the association of the variables, the chi-square and Fisher’s exact test were used. Of the participants, 40.6% presented abusive consumption of alcohol, which is strongly associated to the male sex, single, between 18 and 30 years of age, who have no religion and some sort of occupation. There was no relation with monthly income and education. Screening and prevention programs to alcohol abuse are important for the most vulnerable group in the primary health care.

On the Jebsen-Birkhoff Theorem in a Born-Infeld Type Theory of Gravity

In this paper we work with a special theory of gravity|the Novello-Di Lorenci-Luciane (hereby called NDL theory) which extends the Feynman-Deser standard theoretical-fi eld approach to General Relativity. In the so-called NDL theory, matter interacts universally with gravity in accordance with the Weak Equivalence Principle, while gravitons have a nonlinear self-interaction. Our main aim in this work is to show that, though the NDL theory does not admit a Schwarzschild solution, the Jebsen-Birkhoff theorem is still valid in this framework.