DISCORDANCE BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AMONG HIV-1-INFECTED PATIENTS ON ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY AND WITH LIPOATROPHY/LIPOHYPERTROPHY SYNDROME

Introduction: Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) has improved and extended the lives of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. However, this treatment can lead to the development of adverse reactions such as lipoatrophy/lipohypertrophy syndrome (LLS) and its associated risks. Objective: This study was designed to assess the prevalence of self-reported lipodystrophy and nutritional status by anthropometric measurements in patients with HIV/AIDS. Methods: An observational study of 227 adult patients in the Secondary Immunodeficiencies Outpatient Department of Dermatology, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo (3002 ADEE-HCFMUSP). The sample was divided into three groups; Group 1 = 92 patients on HAART and with self-reported lipodystrophy, Group 2 = 70 patients on HAART without self-reported lipodystrophy and Group 3 = 65 patients not taking HAART. The nutritional status of individuals in the study sample was determined by body mass index (BMI) and percentage of body fat (% BF). The cardiovascular risk and diseases associated with abdominal obesity were determined by waist/hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC). Results: The prevalence of self-reported lipoatrophy/lipohypertrophy syndrome was 33% among women and 59% among men. Anthropometry showed depletion of fat mass in the evaluation of the triceps (TSF) in the treatment groups with HAART and was statistically independent of gender; for men p = 0.001, and for women p = 0.007. Similar results were found in the measurement of skin folds of the upper and lower body (p = 0.001 and p = 0.003 respectively). In assessing the nutritional status of groups by BMI and % BF, excess weight and body fat were more prevalent among women compared to men (p = 0.726). The WHR and WC revealed risks for cardiovascular and other diseases associated with abdominal obesity for women on HAART and with self-reported LLS (p = 0.005) and (p = 0.011). Conclusions: Anthropometric measurements were useful in the confirmation of the prevalence of LLS. BMI alone does not appear to be a good parameter for assessing the nutritional status of HIV-infected patients on HAART and with LLS. Other anthropometric measurements are needed to evaluate patients with the lipoatrophy/lipohypertrophy syndrome.

Normal values of echocardiographic measurements. A population-based study

OBJECTIVE: To describe echocardiographic measurements and left ventricular mass in a population sample of healthy adults inhabitants of the urban region of Porto Alegre. METHODS: An analytical, observational, population-based, cross-sectional study was done. Through a multi-stage probability sample, 114 individuals were selected to be submitted to a M-mode and two-dimensional echocardiogram with color Doppler. The analyses were restricted to healthy participants. Echocardiographic measurements were described by mean, standard deviation, 95 percentile and 95% confidence limits. RESULTS: A total of 100 healthy participants, with several characteristics similar to those from the original population, had a complete and reliable echocardiographic examination. The measurements of aorta, left atrium, interventricular septum, left ventricle in systole and diastole, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass, adjusted or not for body surface area or height, were significantly higher in males. The right ventricle size was similar among the genders. Several echocardiographic measurements were within standard normal limits. Interventricular septum, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass, adjusted or not for anthropometric measurements, and aortic dimensions had lower mean and range than the reference limits. CONCLUSION: The means and estimates of distribution for the measurements of interventricular septum, left posterior wall and left ventricular mass found in this survey were lower than those indicated by the international literature and accepted as normal limits.

Relevance to Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Protocol of Blood Pressure Measurements Taken Before First- Morning Micturition and in the Afternoon

Background: The importance of measuring blood pressure before morning micturition and in the afternoon, while working, is yet to be established in relation to the accuracy of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM). Objective: To compare two HBPM protocols, considering 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (wakefulness ABPM) as gold-standard and measurements taken before morning micturition (BM) and in the afternoon (AM), for the best diagnosis of systemic arterial hypertension (SAH), and their association with prognostic markers. Methods: After undergoing 24-hour wakefulness ABPM, 158 participants (84 women) were randomized for 3- or 5-day HBPM. Two variations of the 3-day protocol were considered: with measurements taken before morning micturition and in the afternoon (BM+AM); and with post-morning-micturition and evening measurements (PM+EM). All patients underwent echocardiography (for left ventricular hypertrophy - LVH) and urinary albumin measurement (for microalbuminuria - MAU). Result: Kappa statistic for the diagnosis of SAH between wakefulness-ABPM and standard 3-day HBPM, 3-day HBPM (BM+AM) and (PM+EM), and 5-day HBPM were 0.660, 0.638, 0.348 and 0.387, respectively. The values of sensitivity of (BM+AM) versus (PM+EM) were 82.6% × 71%, respectively, and of specificity, 84.8% × 74%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 69.1% × 40% and 92.2% × 91.2%, respectively. The comparisons of intraclass correlations for the diagnosis of LVH and MAU between (BM+AM) and (PM+EM) were 0.782 × 0.474 and 0.511 × 0.276, respectively. Conclusions: The 3 day-HBPM protocol including measurements taken before morning micturition and during work in the afternoon showed the best agreement with SAH diagnosis and the best association with prognostic markers.

Xenodiagnóstico na Habronemose dos Equídeos: estudo das larvas do Helminto

Xenodiagnosis for habronemosis was 96,6% positive in 87 stud horses at Instituto Oswaldo Cuz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July-November, 1944. The A A. were unable to identify the Habronema larvae obtained from parasitider fly maggots. Measurements and drawings of the larvae are presented.

Acute experimental Trypanosoma cruzi infection: establishing a murine model that utilises non-invasive measurements of disease parameters

Trypanosoma cruzi infection has a large public health impact in Latin American countries. Although the transmission rates via blood transfusions and insect vectors have declined sharply in the past 20 years due to policies of the Southern Cone countries, a large number of people are still at risk for infection. Currently, no accepted experimental model or descriptions of the clinical signs that occur during the course of acute murine infection are available. The aim of this work was to use non-invasive methods to evaluate the clinical signs of Balb/c mice infected with the Y strain of T. cruzi. The infected mice displayed evident clinical changes beginning in the third week of infection. The mice were evaluated based on physical characteristics, spontaneous activity, exploratory behaviour and physiological alterations. We hope that the results presented in this report provide parameters that complement the effective monitoring of trypanocidal treatment and other interventions used to treat experimental Chagas disease.

An analysis of the influence of discount sales promotion in consumer buying intent and the moderating effects of attractiveness

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influence of discount sales promotion in the purchase intention and the moderating effects of attractiveness in the relationship between intention to purchase a discounted product and the impulsiveness, hedonic perception and financial risk. Thus, an experiment involving 613 students was conducted. The hypotheses predicted that a product with discount promotion would relate positively with impulsivity, as well as with a hedonic perception about the good offered, and negatively with the perception of financial risk associated with the product offered with discount. A positive moderation was expected of the perceived attractiveness of the announced discount promotion on the intentions of behaviors. The results confirmed the hypothesis, indicating positive effects of impulsivity and hedonic perception by purchasing the discounted products, in addition to the negative link between the intention of purchasing discounted products and the perception of a financial risk. The moderating effects were not confirmed. Final considerations conclude the work.

Compared performance of penetrometers and effect of soil water content on penetration resistance measurements

Modern agriculture techniques have a great impact on crops and soil quality, especially by the increased machinery traffic and weight. Several devices have been developed for determining soil properties in the field, aimed at managing compacted areas. Penetrometry is a widely used technique; however, there are several types of penetrometers, which have different action modes that can affect the soil resistance measurement. The objective of this study was to compare the functionality of two penetrometry methods (manual and automated mode) in the field identification of compacted, highly mechanized sugarcane areas, considering the influence of soil water volumetric content (θ) on soil penetration resistance (PR). Three sugarcane fields on a Rhodic Eutrudrox were chosen, under a sequence of harvest systems: one manual harvest (1ManH), one mechanized harvest (1MH) and three mechanized harvests (3MH). The different degrees of mechanization were associated to cumulative compaction processes. An electronic penetrometer was used on PR measurements, so that the rod was introduced into the soil by hand (Manual) and by an electromechanical motor (Auto). The θ was measured in the field with a soil moisture sensor. Results showed an effect of θ on PR measurements and that regression models must be used to correct data before comparing harvesting systems. The rod introduction modes resulted in different mean PR values, where the "Manual" overestimated PR compared to the "Auto" mode at low θ.

Energy balance measurements over a banana orchard in the Semiarid region in the Northeast of Brazil

The objective of this work was to evaluate the reliability of eddy covariance measurements, analyzing the energy balance components, evapotranspiration and energy balance closure in dry and wet growing seasons, in a banana orchard. The experiment was carried out at a farm located within the irrigation district of Quixeré, in the Lower Jaguaribe basin, in Ceará state, Brazil. An eddy covariance system was used to measure the turbulent flux. An automatic weather station was installed in a grass field to obtain the reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from the combined FAO-Penman-Monteith method. Wind speed and vapor pressure deficit are the most important variables on the evaporative process in both growing seasons. In the dry season, the heat fluxes have a similar order of magnitude, and during the wet season the latent heat flux is the largest. The eddy covariance system had acceptable reliability in measuring heat flux, with actual evapotranspiration results comparing well with those obtained by using the water balance method. The energy balance closure had good results for the study area, with mean values of 0.93 and 0.86 for the dry and wet growing seasons respectively.

Síntese, caracterização e análise térmica dos sais de lítio, sódio e potássio do ácido palmítico e do seu éster etílico

Alkaline salts of the palmitic acid were synthesized and characterized from aqueous and ethanolic medium. The salts were characterized by elemental analysis (EA) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). EA and IR, being its synthesis comproved, also characterized the ethyl palmitate. All the salts and the ester were submitted to thermal analysis using thermogravimetry (TG), and differential thermal analysis (DTA) in the temperature ranging from room to 700 ºC under air dynamic atmosphere. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements were taken from -90 ºC up to temperatures close to the starting of the decomposition temperature, determined by thermogravimetry, using heating and cooling cycles.

Kinetic measurements during transient film growth on zinc

The electrochemical behaviour of zinc has been extensively studied in alkaline and acid media, but only a few studies have been reported in neutral solutions, particularly in deaerated media. Zinc passivation in neutral medium and the effect of the ClO4- ion on the nucleation and growth of the passive layer is studied in this paper by a transient technique at different electrolyte concentrations and applied potentials. ZnO growth rate was shown to decrease with increasing electrolyte concentration. Moreover, passive layer growth occurred followed by pitting nucleation and growth. Film growth and pit nucleation are explained by means of the Macdonald and Engell-Stolica models.

Temperature measurements by oh lif and chemiluminescence kinetic modeling for ethanol flames

OH LIF-thermometry was applied to premixed ethanol flames at atmospheric pressure in a burner for three flame conditions. Flame temperatures were simulated from energy equation with PREMIX code of CHEMKIN software package for comparison. A kinetic modeling based on a model validated through chemiluminescence measurements and on a set of reactions for nitrogen chemistry was evaluated. Marinov's mechanism was also tested. Sensitivity analysis was performed for fuel-rich flame condition with Φ = 1.34. Simulated temperatures from both reaction mechanisms evaluated were higher than experimental values. However, the proposed kinetic modeling resulted in temperature profiles qualitatively very close to the experimental.

Nanocompósitos de poliuretana termoplástica e nanotubos de carbono de paredes múltiplas para dissipação eletrostática

Polyurethane/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites have been prepared with nanotube concentrations between 0.01 wt% and 1 wt%. MWCNT as-synthesized samples with ~74 nm diameter and ~7 μm length were introduced by solution processing in the polyurethane matrix. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images demonstrated good dispersion and adhesion of the CNTs to the polymeric matrix. The C=O stretching band showed evidence of perturbation of the hydrogen interaction between urethanic moieties in the nanocomposites as compared to pure TPU. Differential scanning calorimetry and positron anihilation lifetime spectroscopy measurements allowed the detection of glass transition displacement with carbon nanotube addition. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites was significantly increased with the addition of CNT.

Structural and reactivity analyses of 2-benzylamino-1,4-naphthoquinone by X-ray characterization, electrochemical measurements, and dft single-molecule calculations

This study represents an integrated approach towards understanding the electronic and structural aspects of 2-benzylamino-1,4-naphthalenedione, a representative 2-amino-napfthoquinone. To this end, theoretical calculations performed at the B3PW91/6-31+G(d) level of density functional theory, electrochemical and X-ray structural investigation were employed. Two intramolecular H-bonds and other two intermolecular H-bonds were observed, including non-classical interactions. Cyclic voltammogram (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) show two pairs of peaks, being each one a monoelectronic process.

Organic and total mercury determination in sediments by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry: methodology validation and uncertainty measurements

The purpose of the present study was to validate a method for organic Hg determination in sediment. The procedure for organic Hg was adapted from literature, where the organomercurial compounds were extracted with dichloromethane in acid medium and subsequent destruction of organic compounds by bromine chloride. Total Hg was performed according to 3051A USEPA methodology. Mercury quantification for both methodologies was then performed by CVAAS. Methodology validation was verified by analyzing certified reference materials for total Hg and methylmercury. The uncertainties for both methodologies were calculated. The quantification limit of 3.3 µg kg-1 was found for organic Hg by CVAAS.