Five years of the biggest outbreak of human toxoplasmosis in Santa Maria, Brazil: a review.

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by infection with the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. In 2018, the first cases of people with clinical signs of acute febrile syndrome were reported, and in the same year, the largest outbreak of human toxoplasmosis ever described in the literature was reported. In this sense, the present work sought to describe the evolution of the outbreak cases in the municipality of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, as well as the studies conducted and published during and after the outbreak in the municipality (the period between 2018 and 2023). In addition, the discussion of public policies and their modifications after the notification of this outbreak. As a result of this research, verifying the evolution of notified and confirmed cases, the possibility of detection and genotypic characterization of T. gondii and the possibility of co-infections and evaluation of the humoral response is possible. With regard to public policies, the importance of detecting the agent through the heel prick test and increasing the monitoring of water quality to prevent outbreaks.

Detection of anti-Trypanosoma spp. antibodies in cattle from southern Brazil.

Bovine trypanosomosis, caused by Trypanosoma vivax, is a disease that originated in Africa and currently affects cattle in several South American countries, including almost all Brazilian states. Despite the reports on T. vivax infection in southern Brazil, data on its circulation status is currently unavailable. In this study, we aimed to detect anti-Trypanosoma spp. IgG antibodies in cattle from Rio Grande do Sul and suggest areas with T. vivax transmission risk. A total of 691 serum samples from cattle in the intermediate regions of Rio Grande do Sul were analyzed using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA). The overall seroprevalence of anti-Trypanosoma antibodies in cattle was 24.6% (170/691). The detection rate ranged from 0-37.3%, with a high prevalence in the intermediate regions of Ijuí (37.3%), Uruguaiana (30.7%), and Passo Fundo (28.9%). Thus, these regions were suggested as possible bovine trypanosomosis risk areas due to the high seroprevalence. This is the first serological study to determine Trypanosoma spp. infection status in cattle from Rio Grande do Sul, providing data on the epidemiology of trypanosomosis in the state.

Production performance and economic analysis of broiler chickens after vaccination with a live attenuated vaccine against avian coccidiosis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of live attenuated commercial vaccine LIVACOX® T against avian coccidiosis upon parasite exposure through its correlation with productive and economic performance, clinical observation, and oocyst excretion of broiler chickens. For this purpose, 420 1-day-old Cobb chicks were divided into five groups of 84 birds: (G1) unvaccinated and unchallenged control; (G2) vaccinated on day 0; (G3) challenged on day 1; (G4) vaccinated on day 0 and challenged on day 14; and (G5) challenged on day 14. For 28 days, the clinical signs of infection, weight and feed conversion of the birds, and excretion of oocysts in the feces were evaluated. Macroscopic analysis of intestinal lesions in birds was also performed. After vaccination in G2, G3, and G4 as well as after challenge in G3, G4, and G5, there was an increase in oocyst excretion. In the analysis of weight gain, the difference in final weight between groups G3 and G4 is - 105.74 g per bird. Therefore, if we multiply this value by the average number of birds slaughtered per day in a medium/large slaughterhouse (250,000), we have 26,435 kg of chicken meat per day of slaughter, representing 581,570 kg of monthly losses (22 days of slaughter/month), or approximately R$3,489,420.00 (US$872,355.00), considering the commercial value at R$6.00/kg (US$ 1.5/kg). Thus, the productive and economic impact of coccidiosis in broiler chickens is evident, and the importance of vaccination to prevent the occurrence of the disease and reduce subsequent loss is highlighted.

Another unit Burr XII quantile regression model based on the different reparameterization applied to dropout in Brazilian undergraduate courses.

In many practical situations, there is an interest in modeling bounded random variables in the interval (0, 1), such as rates, proportions, and indexes. It is important to provide new continuous models to deal with the uncertainty involved by variables of this type. This paper proposes a new quantile regression model based on an alternative parameterization of the unit Burr XII (UBXII) distribution. For the UBXII distribution and its associated regression, we obtain score functions and observed information matrices. We use the maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters of the regression model, and conduct a Monte Carlo study to evaluate the performance of its estimates in samples of finite size. Furthermore, we present general diagnostic analysis and model selection techniques for the regression model. We empirically show its importance and flexibility through an application to an actual data set, in which the dropout proportion of Brazilian undergraduate animal sciences courses is analyzed. We use a statistical learning method for comparing the proposed model with the beta, Kumaraswamy, and unit-Weibull regressions. The results show that the UBXII regression provides the best fit and the most accurate predictions. Therefore, it is a valuable alternative and competitive to the well-known regressions for modeling double-bounded variables in the unit interval.

Delirium in the elderly admitted to an emergency hospital service.

OBJECTIVE: To check for the presence of delirium in the elderly entering the emergency room (ER) of the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM) and their relationship with sociodemographic variables, reason and time of hospitalization, comorbidities, and death. METHODS: A quantitative, cross-sectional exploratory study, which analyzed data from the sociodemographic profile, Confusion Assessment Method, Charlson Comorbidities Index, and follow-up of the outcomes "in-hospital death" and "length of hospitalization." The period analyzed in the study was between July and December 2019. RESULTS: Of the 732 participants, 394 (53.90%) were men, with an average age of 72 years. The study identified Delirium in 99 (13.52%) participants, and death, in 120 (16.39%). There was an association of this disorder with age, comorbidities, length of hospitalization, death, and some reasons for hospitalization, such as diseases of the circulatory, respiratory and genitourinary systems. CONCLUSION: The results warn of the high incidence of delirium in emergency units and their relationship with a worse prognosis.

Delirium in the elderly admitted to an emergency hospital service / Delirio en ancianos admitidos en un servicio hospitalario de urgencia / Delirium em idosos admitidos em um serviço hospitalar de emergência

ABSTRACT Objective: To check for the presence of delirium in the elderly entering the emergency room (ER) of the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM) and their relationship with sociodemographic variables, reason and time of hospitalization, comorbidities, and death. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional exploratory study, which analyzed data from the sociodemographic profile, Confusion Assessment Method, Charlson Comorbidities Index, and follow-up of the outcomes "in-hospital death" and "length of hospitalization." The period analyzed in the study was between July and December 2019. Results: Of the 732 participants, 394 (53.90%) were men, with an average age of 72 years. The study identified Delirium in 99 (13.52%) participants, and death, in 120 (16.39%). There was an association of this disorder with age, comorbidities, length of hospitalization, death, and some reasons for hospitalization, such as diseases of the circulatory, respiratory and genitourinary systems. Conclusion: The results warn of the high incidence of delirium in emergency units and their relationship with a worse prognosis.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Verificar presencia de delirium en ancianos que ingresan en hospital de urgencias del Hospital Universitario de Santa Maria (HUSM) y su relación con variables sociodemográficas, motivo y tiempo de internación, comorbilidades y óbito. Métodos: Estudio cuantitativo, transversal exploratorio, que analizó datos del perfil sociodemográfico, Confusion Assessment Method, Índice de Comorbilidades de Charlson y seguimiento de los desfechos "óbito hospitalaria" y "tiempo de internación". El período analizado en el estudio fue entre julio y diciembre de 2019. Resultados: Entre los 732 participantes, 394 (53,90%) eran hombres, con edad mediana de 72 años. Delirio fue identificado en 99 (13,52%) participantes; y óbito, en 120 (16,39%). Hubo relación de ese disturbio con edad, comorbilidades, tiempo de internación, óbito y algunos motivos de internación, como enfermedades del aparato circulatorio, respiratorio y genitourinario. Conclusiones: Los resultados alertan para la alta incidencia de delirium en unidades de urgencia y su relación con un peor pronóstico.

RESUMO Objetivo: Verificar a presença de delirium em idosos que ingressam no pronto-socorro (PS) do Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (HUSM) e sua relação com variáveis sociodemográficas, motivo e tempo de internação, comorbidades e óbito. Métodos: Estudo quantitativo, transversal exploratório, que analisou dados do perfil sociodemográfico, Confusion Assessment Method, Índice de Comorbidades de Charlson e seguimento dos desfechos "óbito intra-hospitalar" e "tempo de internação". O período analisado no estudo foi entre julho e dezembro de 2019. Resultados: Dos 732 participantes, 394 (53,90%) eram homens, com idade média de 72 anos. Delirium foi identificado em 99 (13,52%) participantes; e óbito, em 120 (16,39%). Houve associação desse distúrbio com idade, comorbidades, tempo de internação, óbito e alguns motivos de internação, como doenças do aparelho circulatório, respiratório e geniturinário. Conclusões: Os resultados alertam para a alta incidência de delirium em unidades de emergência e sua relação com um pior prognóstico.

The Weibull Burr XII distribution in lifetime and income analysis.

We study a five-parameter model called the Weibull Burr XII (WBXII) distribution, which extends several models, including new ones. This model is quite flexible in terms of the hazard function, which exhibits increasing, decreasing, upside-down bathtub, and bathtub shapes. Its density function allows different forms such as left-skewed, right-skewed, reversed-J, and bimodal. We aim to provide some general mathematical quantities for the proposed distribution, which can be useful to real data analysis. We develop a shiny application to provide interactive illustrations of the WBXII density and hazard functions. We estimate the model parameters using maximum likelihood and derive a profile log-likelihood for all members of the Weibull-G family. The survival analysis application reveals that the WBXII model is suitable to accommodate left-skewed tails, which are very common when the variable of interest is the time to failure of a product. The income application is related to player salaries within a professional sports league and it is peculiar because the mean of the player's salaries is much higher than for most professions. Both applications illustrate that the new distribution provides much better fits than other models with the same and less number of parameters.

The unit extended Weibull families of distributions and its applications.

In this paper, two new general families of distributions supported on the unit interval are introduced. The proposed families include several known models as special cases and define at least twenty (each one) new special models. Since the list of well-being indicators may include several double bounded random variables, the applicability for modeling those is the major practical motivation for introducing the distributions on those families. We propose a parametrization of the new families in terms of the median and develop a shiny application to provide interactive density shape illustrations for some special cases. Various properties of the introduced families are studied. Some special models in the new families are discussed. In particular, the complementary unit Weibull distribution is studied in some detail. The method of maximum likelihood for estimating the model parameters is discussed. An extensive Monte Carlo experiment is conducted to evaluate the performances of these estimators in finite samples. Applications to the literacy rate in Brazilian and Colombian municipalities illustrate the usefulness of the two new families for modeling well-being indicators.

Análise do perfil de admissão, evolução e desfecho intra-hospitalar de idosos: coorte prospectiva / Analysis of the admission profile, evolution and inthahospital output of older adults: prospective cohort

O envelhecimento populacional é permeado por uma série de desafios para a saúde pública brasileira, desta forma a avaliação do perfil de idosos em internação hospitalar, considerando presença de comorbidades, parâmetros funcionais e presença de fragilidade tornam-se imprescindível. Dessa forma, busca-se avaliar o perfil de idosos na admissão, evolução hospitalar e desfecho e verificar a associação do perfil da admissão com o desfecho da internação. Trata-se de um estudo de coorte prospectiva. Utilizou-se como variáveis da admissão hospitalar o perfil sociodemográfico e perfil clínico-funcional, como variáveis da evolução, o tempo de internação hospitalar e complicações e como desfecho ­ alta hospitalar ou óbito. Realizou-se análise descritiva e teste do qui-quadrado ou teste exato de Fisher para associação das variáveis. Foram avaliados 493 idosos, com maioria de idosos jovens, que moravam sozinhos, admitidos no hospital devido a neoplasia. Houve associação positiva do óbito com a idade, Delirium, índice de Comorbidades de Charlson, risco sênior, Fragilidade e valores da circunferência de panturrilha. Verificou-se que a população idosa que ingressa em emergência hospitalar apresenta multimorbidades, declínios funcionais, fragilidade e maior exposição a eventos adversos, entre eles o óbito. Recomenda-se a elaboração de estratégias, para que o cuidado prestado nesse ambiente contemple as peculiaridades desse grupo etário, possibilitando melhores resultados de saúde.(AU)

Population aging is permeated by a series of challenges for Brazilian public health. In this way, considering the presence of comorbidities, functional parameters and presence of fragility, the evaluation of the profile of older adults in hospital admission becomes essential as a way of subsidizing elaboration of strategies. So that the care provided in this environment contemplates the peculiarities of this age group enables better health outcomes. In this way, the profile of older people in admission, hospital evolution and outcome is evaluated. The association of the admission profile with the outcome of hospitalization is also checked. Hence, it is a prospective cohort study. The sociodemographic profile and the clinical-functional profile were used as variables of hospital admission, as variables of the evolution of hospital stay and complications and as outcome ­ hospital discharge or death. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test or Fisher's exact test were performed for association of variables. A total of 493 elderly individuals, most of whom were young and living alone, were admitted to the hospital because of neoplasia. There was a positive association of death with age, CAM, ICC, ISAR, EFE, and CP. It was verified that the older adult population that entered the hospital emergency presented multimorbidities, functional declines, fragility and greater exposure to adverse events, among them death.(AU)