Beverages consumption influences diet quality in general and has been associated with the development of non-communicable chronic diseases (NCCD). We aimed to verify the association between beverage consumption patterns and the prevalence of NCCD. A cross-sectional household and population-based study was conducted with 489 individuals aged 20 years and older. The presence of NCCD (arterial hypertension, diabetes, cancer and hypercholesterolemia) was obtained by self-report, while obesity was diagnosed by measuring body weight, height and waist circumference. Beverage consumption patterns were obtained by principal component analysis. The association between beverages patterns and the prevalence of NCCD was verified using Poisson regression, expressed as prevalence ratio (PR) and adjusted for potential confounding factors. Three beverage patterns were identified: ‘ultra-processed beverages’, ‘alcoholic beverages’ and ‘healthy beverages’. Individuals with greater adherence to the Ultra-processed Beverages Pattern had a 2·77 times higher prevalence of cancer (PR: 3·77; 95 % CI 1·57, 9·07). Higher adherence to the Alcoholic Beverages Pattern was associated with a higher prevalence of obesity (PR: 1·97; 95 % CI 1·13, 3·44). In contrast, individuals in the second tertile of adherence to the Healthy Beverages Pattern had a 39 % lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (PR: 0·61; 95 % CI 0·40, 0·92), and individuals in the third tertile had a 10 % lower prevalence of abdominal obesity estimated by the waist-to-height ratio (PR: 0·90; 95 % CI 0·83, 0·97). Beverage consumption patterns may be associated with a higher prevalence of NCCD, regardless of other risk factors. It is therefore important to conduct more studies investigating the impact of beverages patterns on health.

In 1901, Correa Moylan Walsh gained renown for writing a groundbreaking monograph on index numbers. His contributions to monetary economics, however, though neglected, transcend his work on index numbers, which was conceived to serve more foundational concerns of his. Therefore, our aim is twofold. First, we want to recover Walsh’s role as an important early twentieth-century economist. Second, we intend to provide a wider account of his incursion into monetary economics. Our argument is that the cornerstone of Walsh’s approach to the science of money is not confined to index numbers but concerns his distinction between different kinds of economic value and the discussion regarding the kind of value that money should measure and store. As such, we identify Walsh’s 1903 book, The Fundamental Problem in Monetary Science, as his archetypical work.

A survey evaluated 2,300 healthcare workers following the first dose of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine in a tertiary-quaternary hospital in São Paulo, Brazil. Adherence to protective measures following vaccination was compared to previous non-work-related behaviors. Younger age, previous COVID-19, and burnout symptoms were associated with reduced adherence to mitigation measures.

Although bovine embryo in vitro production (IVP) is a common assisted reproductive technology, critical points warrant further study, including sperm traits and oxidative status of sperm for in vitro fertilization (IVF). Our aim was to evaluate whether the lipid peroxidation index of commercial bull semen is influenced by sperm traits and oxidative status of sperm populations selected using Percoll® gradient. Semen straws from 48 batches from 14 Nelore bulls were thawed individually, analyzed for motility and subjected to Percoll selection. After Percoll, the lipid peroxidation index of the extender was evaluated, whereas selected sperm were analyzed for motility, acrosome and membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, chromatin resistance and oxidative potential under IVF conditions. Batches were divided retrospectively in four groups according to lipid peroxidation index. Sperm from Group 4 with the lowest index of lipid peroxidation had, after Percoll selection, greater plasma membrane integrity (81.3%; P = 0.004), higher mitochondrial potential (81.1%; P = 0.009) and lower oxidative potential (135.3 ng thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)/ml; P = 0.026) compared with Group 1 with highest lipid peroxidation index (74.3%, 73% and 213.1 ng TBARS/ml, respectively). Furthermore, we observed negative correlations for the lipid peroxidation index with motility, membrane integrity and mitochondrial potential, and positive correlations with oxidative potential. In conclusion, oxidative stress in semen straws, as determined using lipid peroxidation in the extender, is associated with sperm traits and their oxidative potential under IVF conditions. These results provided further insights regarding the importance of preventing oxidative stress during semen handling and cryopreservation, as this could affect sperm selected for IVF. Finally, Percoll selection did not completely remove sperm with oxidative markers.

Background: In 5 hospitals located in Belo Horizonte city (>3,000,000 inhabitants) a focused survey on surgical site infection (SSI) was performed in patients undergoing CABG surgery. We statistically evaluated such incidences to enable study of the prediction power of SSI through pattern recognition algorithms, in this case the multilayer perceptron (MLP) artificial neural networks. Methods: Data were collected between July 2016 and June 2018 on SSI by the hospital infection control committees (CCIHs) of the hospitals involved in the research. We collected all data used in the analysis during their routine SSI surveillance procedures. The information was forwarded to the NOIS (Nosocomial Infection Study) Project, which uses the SACIH (Automated Hospital Infection Control System) software to collect data from a sample of hospitals participating voluntarily in the project. After data collection, 3 procedures were performed: (1) a treatment of the collected database for use of intact samples; (2) a statistical analysis on the profile of the hospitals collected; and (3) an assessment of the predictive power of 5 types of MLP (ie, backpropagation standard, momentum, resilient propagation, weight decay, and quick propagation) for SSI prediction. MLPs were tested with 3, 5, 7, and 10 hidden layer neurons and a database split for the resampling process (65% or 75% for testing and 35% or 25% for validation). They were compared by measuring the AUC (area under the curve; range, 0–1) presented for each of the configurations. Results: From 666 initial data, only 278 were able for analysis. We obtained the following statistics: 9.35% manifested SSIs; length of stay varied from 1 to 119 days, with ~40% staying between 10 and 19 days; 15.1% of the patients died. Regarding the prediction power of SSI, the experiments have a maximum value of 0.713. Conclusions: Despite the considerable loss rate of >50% of the database samples due to the presence of noise, it was possible to have a relevant sampling to evaluate the profile of hospitals in Belo Horizonte. In addition, for the predictive process, although some configurations had results equal to 0.5, others reached 0.713, which indicates that the automated SSI monitoring framework for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery is promising. To optimize data collection and to enable other hospitals to use the SSI prediction tool (available at www.sacihweb.com), a mobile application was developed.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Background: This research represents an experiment based in surgical site infection (SSI) to patients undergoing abdominal hysterectomy surgery procedures in hospitals in Belo Horizonte, (population, 3 million). We statistically evaluated such incidences and studied the SSI prediction power of pattern recognition algorithms, the artificial neural networks based in multilayer perceptron (MLP). Methods: Between July 2016 and June 2018, data on SSI were collected by the hospital infection control committees (CCIH) of the 3 hospitals involved in the research. They collected all data used in the analysis during their routine SSI surveillance procedures. The information was forwarded to the NOIS (Nosocomial Infection Study) Project, which used SACIH (ie, automated hospital infection control system software) to collect data from a sample of hospitals participating voluntarily in the project. After data collection, 3 procedures were performed for SSI prediction: (1) a treatment of the database collected for the use of intact samples; (2) a statistical analysis on the profile of the hospitals collected; and (3) an assessment of the predictive power of 5 types of MLP (ie, backpropagation standard, momentum, resilient propagation, weight decay, and quick propagation). MLPs were tested with 3, 5, 7, and 10 hidden-layer neurons and a database split for the resampling process (65% or 75% for testing, 35% or 25% for validation). They were compared by measuring area under the curve (AUC; range, 0–1) presented for each of the configurations. Results: From 1,166 records collected, only 665 records were enabled for analysis. Regarding statistical data: the average duration of surgery was 100 minutes (range, 31–180); patients were aged 41–49 years; the SSI rate was low (only 10 cases); the average length of stay was 2 days; and there were no deaths among the cases. Moreover, 29% of the operative sites were contaminated and 57% were potentially contaminated, revealing a high rate of potential contamination in the operative sites. The prediction process achieved 0.995. Conclusions: Despite the noise in the database, it was possible to obtain a relevant sampling to evaluate the profile of hospitals in Belo Horizonte. In addition, for the predictive process, although some settings achieved AUC results of 0.5, others achieved and AUC of 0.995, indicating the promise of the automated SSI monitoring framework for abdominal hysterectomy surgery (available in www.sacihweb.com). To optimize data collection and to enable other hospitals to use the SSI prediction tool, a mobile application was developed.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Background: In 7 hospitals in Belo Horizonte, a city with >3,000,000 inhabitants, a survey was conducted between July 2016 and June 2018, focused on surgical site infection (SSI) in patients undergoing arthroplasty surgery procedures. The main objective is to statistically evaluate such incidences and enable a study of the prediction power of SSI through pattern recognition algorithms, the MLPs (multilayer perceptron). Methods: Data were collected on SSI by the hospital infection control committees (CCIHs) of the hospitals involved in the research. All data used in the analysis during their routine SSI surveillance procedures were collected. The information was forwarded to the NOIS (Nosocomial Infection Study) Project, which used SACIH automated hospital infection control system software to collect data from a sample of hospitals participating voluntarily in the project. After data collection, 3 procedures were performed: (1) a treatment of the database collected for the use of intact samples; (2) a statistical analysis on the profile of the hospitals collected; and (3) an assessment of the predictive power of 5 types of MLP (backpropagation standard, momentum, resilient propagation, weight decay, and quick propagation) for SSI prediction. MLPs were tested with 3, 5, 7, and 10 hidden layer neurons and a database split for the resampling process (65% or 75% for testing and 35% or 25% for validation). The results were compared by measuring AUC (area under the curve; range, 0–1) presented for each of the configurations. Results: Of 1,246 records, 535 were intact for analysis. We obtained the following statistics: the average surgery time was 190 minutes (range, 145–217 minutes); the average age of the patients was 67 years (range, 9–103); the prosthetic implant index was 98.13%; the SSI rate was 1.49%, and the death rate was 1.21%. Regarding the prediction power, the maximum prediction power was 0.744. Conclusions: Despite the considerable loss rate of almost 60% of the database samples due to the presence of noise, it was possible to perform relevant sampling for the profile evaluation of hospitals in Belo Horizonte. For the predictive process, some configurations have results that reached 0.744, which indicates the usefulness of the structure for automated SSI monitoring for patients undergoing hip arthroplasty surgery. To optimize data collection and to enable other hospitals to use the SSI prediction tool (available in www.sacihweb.com ), a mobile application was developed.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None

Oxycalciomicrolite (IMA2019-110), (Ca,Na)2(Ta,Nb,Ti)2O6(O,F), is a new member of microlite-group mineral found in the saprolite of the weathered Fumal pegmatite, located close to the city of Nazareno, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. It occurs as an accessory mineral associated with quartz, albite, microcline, muscovite, columbite-subgroup minerals, cassiterite, hematite, ilmenite, monazite-(Ce), xenotime-(Y), zircon, beryl, spinel, epidote and garnet-group minerals. Oxycalciomicrolite is found as octahedral crystals, occasionally modified to rhombododecahedra, ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 mm in size. The crystals are brownish-yellow to brownish-red and translucent, with white streak and vitreous to resinous lustre. The tenacity is brittle, with a Mohs hardness of 5–5½. Cleavage and parting are not observed; the fracture is conchoidal. Electron microprobe analysis, Raman and infrared spectroscopies and X-ray powder diffraction were applied to characterise this mineral. Oxycalciomicrolite is isotropic, ncalc. = 2.037, and the calculated density is 6.333 g/cm3. The composition is (Ca1.57□0.26Na0.06Sn0.03Sr0.03U0.02Mn0.02Fe0.01Ce0.01)∑2.00(Ta1.79Nb0.18Ti0.03)∑2.00O6.00[O0.64F0.19□0.17]∑1.00 analysed by electron microprobe using wavelength dispersive spectrometry. The unit-cell parameters obtained by Pawley fitting from powder X-ray diffraction data are a = 10.4325(4) Å and V = 1135.46(14) Å3 with Z = 8.

Clarence Ayres was a strong dissenting voice in US economics during the twentieth century. In the 1930s, a debate between Ayres and Frank Knight was published by the International Journal of Ethics. Although the debate focused on ethics, the evolution of economics was also discussed. This paper proposes an understanding of Ayres’s ideas based on the context in which he made them. This context is defined by the 1930s Ayres-Knight debate and the archival correspondence between Ayres and Knight during the 1930s.

Preliminary small studies have shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) reduces craving in alcoholic subjects. It is unclear whether tDCS also leads to changes in clinically meaningful outcomes for alcohol dependence in a properly powered phase II randomized clinical trial. We aimed to investigate whether repetitive tDCS changes the risk of alcohol use relapse in severe alcoholics from outpatient services. Thirty-five subjects were randomized to receive active bilateral [left cathodal/right anodal over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)] repetitive (five consecutive days) tDCS (2 mA, 35 cm2, two times daily stimulation for 13 min with a 20-min interval) or sham-tDCS. There were two dropouts before treatment. From 33 alcoholic subjects, 17 (mean age 45.5 ± 8.9 s.d., 16 males) were randomized to sham and 16 (44 ± 7.8 s.d., 16 males) to real tDCS treatment. By the end of the six months of follow-up, two subjects treated with sham (11.8%) and eight treated with real tDCS (50%) were still alcohol-abstinent [p = 0.02, Long-rank (Mantel-Cox) Test, HR = 0.35 (95% CI, 0.14–0.85)]. No differences with regard to changes on scores of craving, frontal function, global mental status, depressive or anxiety symptoms were observed between groups. However, subjects from the tDCS group improved with regard to their overall perception of quality of life (p = 0.02), and increased their scores in the environment domain (p = 0.04) after treatment. Bilateral tDCS over dlPFC reduces relapse probability in severe alcoholic subjects and results in improved perception of quality of life.

A cDNA encoding a chaperone ClpA homologue of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis was isolated and characterized. The ClpA belongs to a group of ClpATPAses proteins, which are highly conserved, and include several heat inducible molecular chaperones. In this study, a 2879 bp cDNA designated as Pbclpa was obtained which encodes a predicted protein of 927 amino acids. Characteristic consensus motifs of the ClpATPases family are present. The PbClpA middle region was compared to other related ClpA and ClpB proteins from fungi and bacteria. Comparative analysis demonstrated in the middle region the presence of a heptad repeat sequence, characteristic of ClpBs from prokaryotes and fungi, which are absent in ClpAs from prokaryotes but were present in all described fungal ClpAs. Our comparative analysis reveals that one of the criteria typically used to distinguish the prokaryotic subfamilies ClpA and ClpB, the size of the middle sequence, may not be useful in fungi. Phylogenetic analyses were performed with the complete sequences of ClpAs from fungi and bacteria and with the middle regions of those ClpAs present at NCBI and Pfam databases. Our results indicated that both types of analysis can be useful as a tool in the determination of phylogenetic relationships.