EVALUATION OF QUALITY INDICATORS OF SCREENING COLONOSCOPY PERFORMED IN A PRIVATE QUARTERNARY HOSPITAL IN BRAZIL.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer in Brazil, despite the availability of screening methods that reduce its risk. Colonoscopy is the only screening method that also allows therapeutic procedures. The proper screening through colonoscopy is linked to the quality of the exam, which can be evaluated according to quality criteria recommended by various institutions. Among the factors, the most used is the Adenoma Detection Rate, which should be at least 25% for general population. AIMS: To evaluate the quality of the screening colonoscopies performed in a quarternary private Brazilian hospital. METHODS: This is a retrospective study evaluating the quality indicators of colonoscopies performed at a private center since its inauguration. Only asymptomatic patients aged over 45 years who underwent screening colonoscopy were included. The primary outcome was the Adenoma Detection Rate, and secondary outcomes included polyps detection rate and safety profile. Subanalyses evaluated the correlation of endoscopic findings with gender and age and the evolution of detection rates over the years. RESULTS: A total of 2,144 patients were include with a mean age of 60.54 years-old. Polyps were diagnosed in 68.6% of the procedures. Adenoma detection rate was 46.8%, with an increasing rate over the years, mainly in males. A low rate of adverse events was reported in 0.23% of the cases, with no need for surgical intervention and no deaths. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that high quality screening colonoscopy is possible when performed by experienced endoscopists and trained nurses, under an adequate infrastructure.

Diabetes as risk factor to severity of dengue in naïve patients.

Background: Dengue cases can progress to severe ant life-threating forms particularly in subsequent heterologous infections. However, recent studies had explored additional risk factors, including underlying health conditions, even in individuals without prior exposure to dengue, notably, in patients with endothelial dysfunction and chronic inflammation. This study examines the link between diabetes and the development of severe dengue disease in dengue-naive patients during the 2019 dengue outbreak in São Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil. Methodology: We enrolled 529 laboratory-confirmed dengue cases, identified through DENV RT-PCR or NS1 antigen assays in a hospital cohort of acute febrile illness. Subsequently, we investigated the presence of anti-dengue and anti-Zika IgG antibodies. Samples testing positive for Zika were excluded from the analyses. Two groups were analyzed: naïve (DV-), and dengue history (DV+). Results: Initially, presence of diabetes and kidney disease, as well as being dengue-naive, were associated with a higher frequency of severe and potentially severe clinical outcomes. Multivariate analysis identified diabetes as a risk factor, while the presence of anti-dengue antibodies was considered protective. Analysis of dengue naïve samples, highlighted diabetes as an independent risk factor to severe forms of dengue disease. In DV+ patients, no condition was highlighted as a risk factor by univariate analysis or multivariate analysis. Conclusions: We investigated and confirmed diabetes as a risk factor for severe dengue disease in individuals without prior dengue or Zika exposure. Our conclusions raise significant concerns given diabetes' ever increasing global prevalence and its potential impact on patients with or previous dengue exposure.

Effects of 15-minutes physical exercise on physical fitness of adolescents: A protocol study / Efeitos de 15 minutos de exercícios físicos na aptidão física de adolescentes: Estudo de protocolo

Overweight, obesity, and low physical fitness (PF) are conditions associated with physical and mental health problems in children and adolescents. Schools and physical education (PE) classes provide ideal environments for promoting physical exercise, improving levels of PF, and preventing obesity in this population. This article outlines the protocol of an experimental study whose primary objective is to assess the effects of a 15-minute physical exercise program implemented during elementary school physical education classes on PF and anthropometric markers of overweight and obesity (AMOO). Enrolled students in 6th to 9th-grade classes within rural elementary schools located in a Southern city in Brazil will participate of the study. The participants will be randomized into the intervention group and control group. The intervention will last for 12 weeks with two sessions per week. Various components of PF and AMOO will be the primary dependent variables. Physical activity level, rec-reational screen time, sleep duration, physical self-concept, motivation for participating in PE classes, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress will be secondary dependent variables. Sociodemographic information and somatic maturation will serve as covariates. All variables will be measured pre and post-intervention. The study's findings will contribute to a better understanding of the potential of school PE classes to improve PF, AMOO, and, secondarily, health-related behaviors, motivation for participating in PE classes, and the mental health of students

O sobrepeso, a obesidade e a baixa aptidão física (ApF) são condições associadas à problemas de saúde física e mental em crianças e adolescentes. A escola e as aulas de educação física (EF) são ambientes propícios para a promoção do exercício físico e a melhoria dos níveis de ApF e prevenção de obesidade nesta população. Este artigo descreve o protocolo de um estudo experimental que tem como objetivo primário identificar os efeitos de um programa de 15 minutos de exercícios físicos realizados durante as aulas de EF na ApF e em indicadores antropométricos de sobrepeso e obesidade (IASO) de escolares. Participarão do estudo escolares do 6° ao 9° ano de ambos os sexos de escolas da zona rural de uma cidade do sul do Brasil. Os participantes serão randomizados em grupo intervenção e grupo controle. A intervenção terá duração de 12 semanas com duas sessões semanais. Diferentes componentes da ApF e IASO serão variáveis dependentes primárias. O nível de atividade física, tempo recreativo de tela, tempo de sono, autoconceito físico, motivação para a participação nas aulas de EF, sintomas de ansiedade, depressão e estresse serão variáveis dependentes secundárias. Informações sociodemográficas e maturação somática serão covariáveis. Todas variáveis serão medidas pré e pós intervenção. O resultado do estudo contribuirá para a melhor compreensão do potencial das aulas de EF escolar para a melhoria da APF, de IASO e, de forma secundária, em comportamentos relacionados à saúde, na motivação para participação nas aulas de EF e na saúde mental de estudantes.

Cryptic circulation of chikungunya virus in São Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil, 2015-2019.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has spread across Brazil with varying incidence rates depending on the affected areas. Due to cocirculation of arboviruses and overlapping disease symptoms, CHIKV infection may be underdiagnosed. To understand the lack of CHIKV epidemics in São José do Rio Preto (SJdRP), São Paulo (SP), Brazil, we evaluated viral circulation by investigating anti-CHIKV IgG seroconversion in a prospective study of asymptomatic individuals and detecting anti-CHIKV IgM in individuals suspected of dengue infection, as well as CHIKV presence in Aedes mosquitoes. The opportunity to assess two different groups (symptomatic and asymptomatic) exposed at the same geographic region aimed to broaden the possibility of identifying the viral circulation, which had been previously considered absent. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Based on a prospective population study model and demographic characteristics (sex and age), we analyzed the anti-CHIKV IgG seroconversion rate in 341 subjects by ELISA over four years. The seroprevalence increased from 0.35% in the first year to 2.3% after 3 years of follow-up. Additionally, we investigated 497 samples from a blood panel collected from dengue-suspected individuals during the 2019 dengue outbreak in SJdRP. In total, 4.4% were positive for anti-CHIKV IgM, and 8.6% were positive for IgG. To exclude alphavirus cross-reactivity, we evaluated the presence of anti-Mayaro virus (MAYV) IgG by ELISA, and the positivity rate was 0.3% in the population study and 0.8% in the blood panel samples. In CHIKV and MAYV plaque reduction neutralization tests (PRNTs), the positivity rate for CHIKV-neutralizing antibodies in these ELISA-positive samples was 46.7%, while no MAYV-neutralizing antibodies were detected. Genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed CHIKV genotype ECSA in São José do Rio Preto, SP. Finally, mosquitoes collected to complement human surveillance revealed CHIKV positivity of 2.76% of A. aegypti and 9.09% of A. albopictus (although it was far less abundant than A. aegypti) by RT-qPCR. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data suggest cryptic CHIKV circulation in SJdRP detected by continual active surveillance. These low levels, but increasing, of viral circulation highlight the possibility of CHIKV outbreaks, as there is a large naïve population. Improved knowledge of the epidemiological situation might aid in outbreaks prevention.

The terroir of Brazilian Coffea canephora: Characterization of the chemical composition.

FTIR spectroscopy and multivariate analysis were used in the chemical study of the terroirs of Coffea canephora. Conilon coffees from Espírito Santo and Amazon robusta from Matas of Rondônia, were separated by PCA, with lipids and caffeine being the markers responsible for the separation. Coffees from Bahia, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo did not exhibit separation, indicating that the botanical variety had a greater effect on the terroir than geographic origin. Thus, the genetic factor was investigated considering the conilon and robusta botanical varieties. This last group was composed of hybrid robusta and apoatã. The DD-SIMCA favored the identification of the genetic predominance of the samples. PLS-DA had a high classification performance regarding the conilon, hybrid robusta, and apoatã genetic nature. Lipids, caffeine, chlorogenic acids, quinic acid, trigonelline, proteins, amino acids, and carbohydrates were identified as chemical markers that discriminated the genetic groups.

Influência do tempo de internação hospitalar sobre a variabilidade da frequência cardíaca pediátrica por meio de método linear / Influence of hospital stay on the variability of pediatric heart rate by linear method / Influencia de la estancia hospitalaria en la variabilidad de la frecuencia cardiaca pediátrica por método lineal

INTRODUÇÃO: A imobilização prolongada acarreta prejuízos sistêmicos que repercute diretamente em maiores agravos aos pacientes, dentre eles se encontra a redução da VFC, indicativo de maior morbimortalidade clínica. OBJETIVO: Analisar se o tempo de internação hospitalar influencia a modulação autonômica da frequência cardíaca em pacientes pediátricos. METODOLOGIA: Estudo longitudinal, quantitativo e prospectivo, realizado em uma enfermaria pediátrica. A amostra foi de pacientes entre 4 a 11 anos, ambos gêneros, internados dentro das primeiras 48 horas. A coleta iniciou após a assinatura do TCLE pelo responsável, seguida do colhimento dos dados pessoais e clínicos dos pacientes seguida da coleta da VFC, repetida no último dia de internação. A captação da VFC foi realizada pelo monitor Polar RS800CX. Os dados foram transferidos e passados por uma análise matemática no programa Kubios HRV2.2. Por fim, os dados foram tabulados e analisados pelo Microsoft Excel 2013 e software BioEstat® 5.3 respectivamente. RESULTADOS: Os valores lineares no domínio do tempo obtiveram média pré (IRR=644,7 com P=0,42; RMSSD= 46,1 com P=0,017 e SDNN=43,5 com P=0,017) e pós (IRR=656,3; RMSSD=34,8; SDNN=35,38) e no domínio da frequência média pré (LF=41,9 com P=0,013; HF=58,0 com P=0,013; LF/HF=1,03 com P=0,04) e pós (LF=52,2; HF=47,7; LF/HF=3,56). A correlação de Pearson na análise tanto de RMSSD pós x tempo de internação, quanto SDNN pós x tempo de internação demonstraram R=0,55 e R=0,59 respectivamente. CONCLUSÃO: Foi observado que o tempo de internação exerce influência negativa sobre a modulação autonômica da frequência cardíaca em pacientes pediátricos.

INTRODUCTION: Prolonged immobilization causes systemic damage that has a direct impact on greater harm to patients, among which is the reduction in HRV, indicative of greater clinical morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether the length of hospital stay influences the autonomic modulation of heart rate in pediatric patients. METHODOLOGY: Longitudinal, quantitative and prospective study, carried out in a pediatric ward. The sample consisted of patients between 4 and 11 years old, both genders, hospitalized within the first 48 hours. The collection began after the signature of the TCLE by the guardian, followed by the collection of the patients' personal and clinical data, followed by the HRV collection, repeated on the last day of hospitalization. HRV capture was performed by the Polar RS800CX monitor. The data were transferred and passed through a mathematical analysis in the Kubios HRV2.2 program. Finally, data were tabulated and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013 and BioEstat® 5.3 software, respectively. RESULTS: Linear values in the time domain obtained mean pre (IRR=644.7 with P=0.42; RMSSD=46.1 with P=0.017 and SDNN=43.5 with P=0.017) and post (IRR=656.3; RMSSD=34.8; SDNN=35.38) and in the pre mean frequency domain (LF=41.9 with P=0.013; HF=58.0 with P=0.013; LF/HF=1,03 with P=0.04) and powders (LF=52.2; HF=47.7; LF/HF=3.56). Pearson's correlation in the analysis of both the RMSSD post x length of stay and the SDNN post x length of stay showed R=0.55 and R=0.59 respectively. CONCLUSION: It was observed that the length of stay has a negative influence on the autonomic modulation of heart rate in pediatric patients.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La inmovilización prolongada provoca daños sistémicos que repercuten directamente en un mayor perjuicio para los pacientes, entre los que se encuentra la disminución de la VFC, indicativa de una mayor morbimortalidad clínica. OBJETIVO: Analizar si la duración de la estancia hospitalaria influye en la modulación autonómica de la frecuencia cardiaca en pacientes pediátricos. METODOLOGÍA: Estudio longitudinal, cuantitativo y prospectivo, realizado en una planta de pediatría. La muestra consistió en pacientes entre 4 y 11 años, de ambos sexos, hospitalizados dentro de las primeras 48 horas. La recogida se inició tras la firma del TCLE por el tutor, seguida de la recogida de los datos personales y clínicos de los pacientes, seguida de la recogida de la VFC, repetida el último día de hospitalización. La captura de la VFC se realizó con el monitor Polar RS800CX. Los datos se transfirieron y pasaron por un análisis matemático en el programa Kubios HRV2.2. Finalmente, los datos fueron tabulados y analizados utilizando Microsoft Excel 2013 y el software BioEstat® 5.3, respectivamente. RESULTADOS: Se obtuvieron valores lineales en el dominio temporal medios pre (TIR=644,7 con P=0,42; RMSSD=46,1 con P=0,017 y SDNN=43,5 con P=0,017) y post (TIR=656,3; RMSSD=34. 8; SDNN=35,38) y en el dominio de la frecuencia media pre (LF=41,9 con P=0,013; HF=58,0 con P=0,013; LF/HF=1,03 con P=0,04) y polvos (LF=52,2; HF=47,7; LF/HF=3,56). La correlación de Pearson en el análisis tanto de la RMSSD post x duración de la estancia como de la SDNN post x duración de la estancia mostró R=0,55 y R=0,59 respectivamente. CONCLUSIÓN: Se observó que la duración de la estancia influye negativamente en la modulación autonómica de la frecuencia cardíaca en pacientes pediátricos.

Influence of previous Zika virus infection on acute dengue episode.

BACKGROUND: The co-circulation of flaviviruses in tropical regions has led to the hypothesis that immunity generated by a previous dengue infection could promote severe disease outcomes in subsequent infections by heterologous serotypes. This study investigated the influence of antibodies generated by previous Zika infection on the clinical outcomes of dengue infection. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We enrolled 1,043 laboratory confirmed dengue patients and investigated their prior infection to Zika or dengue. Severe forms of dengue disease were more frequent in patients with previous Zika infection, but not in those previously exposed to dengue. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that previous Zika infection may represent a risk factor for subsequent severe dengue disease, but we did not find evidence of antibody-dependent enhancement (higher viral titer or pro-inflammatory cytokine overexpression) contributing to exacerbation of the subsequent dengue infection.

Doação de sangue durante a pandemia da Covid-19: conhecimentos, práticas e atitudes dos estudantes de medicina / Blood donation during the Covid-19 pandemic: knowledge, practices and attitudes of medical students

Doação voluntária de sangue é um ato desafiador, em especial, durante períodos de crise sanitária. O propósito deste estudo transversal foi analisar os conhecimentos, práticas e atitudes dos estudantes de medicina, do ciclo básico ao internato, quanto à doação de sangue durante a pandemia da Covid-19. O trabalho foi realizado entre maio e dezembro de 2021, via Google forms. Para motivo de comparação, a amostra (n=327) foi dividida em do-adores (n=183) e não doadores (n=144) de sangue e utilizado teste qui-quadrado e teste exato de Fisher, sendo considerado estatisticamente significantes perguntas que obtiveram valores com p<0,05. Os resultados indicam que, mesmo sendo a minoria de ambos os grupos, ainda há uma quantidade significativa de estudantes de medicina que apresentam pouco domínio sobre o processo de doação de sangue, além de estarem permeados por medo e desinformação sobre a segurança da coleta. Fatos estes, ainda mais perceptíveis durante o período da pandemia, no qual o percentual de doadores foi de 30,6%. Desta forma, ressalta-se a necessidade de estratégias educacionais criativas e contextualizadas para esclarecer e sensibilizar melhor os jovens para este ato de solidariedade (AU).

Voluntary blood donation is a challenging act, especially during a health crisis. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the knowledge, practices, and attitudes of medical students, from the basic cycle to the internship, regarding blood donation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The work was carried out between May and December 2021 via Google Forms. For comparison, the sample (n=327) was divided into blood donors (n=183) and non-donors (n=144). The chi-square and Fisher's exact tests were used, considering statistically significant questions with p<0.05 p-value. The results indicate that, even though they are a minority of both groups, there is still a significant number of medical students who do not know much about the blood donation process and are permeated by fear and misinformation about blood collection safety. These facts were even more noticeable during the pandemic, in which the percentage of donors was 30.6%. In this way, the need for creative and contextualized educational strategies is highlighted to clarify and better sensitize young people to this act of solidarity (AU).

Authentication and discrimination of new Brazilian Canephora coffees with geographical indication using a miniaturized near-infrared spectrometer.

New Brazilian Canephora coffees (Conilon and Robusta) of high added value from specific origins have been protected by geographical indication to guarantee their origin and quality. Recently, benchtop near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics has demonstrated its usefulness to discriminate them. It was the first study, however, and therefore the possibility exists to develop a new portable NIR method for this purpose. This work assessed a miniaturized NIR as a cheaper spectrometer to discriminate and authenticate new Brazilian Canephora coffees with certified geographical origins and to differentiate them from specialty Arabica. Discriminant chemometric and class modeling techniques have been applied and have obtained good predictive ability on external test sets. In addition, models with similar classification purpose were compared with those obtained in previous research carried out with benchtop NIR for the same samples, obtaining comparable results. In this context, the portable method was used as a laboratory technique and has the advantage of being cheaper than benchtop NIR spectrometer. Furthermore, it brings a high possibility to be implemented in small coffee cooperatives, industries or control agencies in the future that do not have high economic resources.

Complete Genome Sequence of Pantoea stewartii RON18713 from Brazil Nut Tree Phyllosphere Reveals Genes Involved in Plant Growth Promotion.

The Amazonian rainforest is a hyper-diverse ecosystem in the number of species and the myriad of intertaxon relationships that are mostly understudied. In order to characterize a dominant and economically important Amazonian species, the Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.), at the genome level, wegenerated high-coverage long-read sequencing data from the leaves of a single individual. The genome assembly revealed an unexpected discovery: two circular contigs that could be assigned to the chromosome and a plasmid of a Pantoea stewartii strain. Comparative genomics revealed that this strain belongs to the indologenes subspecies and displays high synteny with other strains isolated from diseased leaves of the neotropical palm Bactris gasipaes Kunth. Investigation of pathogenicity-related genes revealed the absence of the entire type III secretion system gene cluster in the plasmid, which was otherwise highly similar to a plasmid from an isolate known to cause disease in Dracaena sanderiana Mast. In contrast, several genes associated with plant-growth promoting traits were detected, including genes involved in indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production, phosphate solubilization, and biosynthesis of siderophores. In summary, we report the genome of an uncultivated P. stewartii subsp. indologenes strain associated with the Brazil nut tree and potentially a plant growth-promoting bacteria.

Reasons for disagreement between screening and standard echocardiography in primary care: data from the PROVAR + study : Disagreement between screening and standard echo.

We aimed to evaluate the reasons for disagreement between screening echocardiography (echo), acquired by nonexperts, and standard echo in the Brazilian primary care (PC). Over 20 months, 22 PC workers were trained on simplified handheld (GE VSCAN) echo protocols. Screening groups, consisting of patients aged 17-20, 35-40 and 60-65 years, and patients referred for clinical indications underwent focused echo. Studies were remotelyinterpreted in US and Brazil, and those diagnosed with major or severe HD were referred for standard echoperformed by an expert. Major HD was defined as moderate to severe valve disease, ventriculardysfunction/hypertrophy, pericardial effusion or wall-motion abnormalities. A random sample of exams wasselected for evaluation of variables accounting for disagreement. A sample of 768 patients was analyzed, 651(85%) in the referred group. Quality issues were reported in 5.8%, and the random Kappa for major HD between screening and standard echo was 0.51. The most frequent reasons for disagreement were: overestimation of mitral regurgitation (MR) (17.9%, N=138), left ventricular (LV) dysfunction (15.7%, N=121), aortic regurgitation (AR) (15.2%, N=117), LV hypertrophy (13.5%, N=104) and tricuspid regurgitation (12.7%, N=98). Misdiagnosis of mitral and aortic morphological abnormalities was observed in 12.4% and 3.0%, and underestimation of AR and MR occurred in 4.6% and 11.1%. Among 257 patients with suspected mild/moderate MR, 129 were reclassified to normal. In conclusion, although screening echo with task-shifting in PC is a promising tool in low-income areas, estimation of valve regurgitation and LV function and size account for considerable disagreement with standard exams.

Genomic and physiological characterization of Novosphingobium terrae sp. nov., an alphaproteobacterium isolated from Cerrado soil containing a mega-sized chromid.

A novel bacterial strain, designated GeG2T, was isolated from soils of the native Cerrado, a highly biodiverse savanna-like Brazilian biome. 16S rRNA gene analysis of GeG2T revealed high sequence identity (100%) to the alphaproteobacterium Novosphingobium rosa; however, comparisons with N. rosa DSM 7285T showed several distinctive features, prompting a full characterization of the new strain in terms of physiology, morphology, and, ultimately, its genome. GeG2T cells were Gram-stain-negative bacilli, facultatively anaerobic, motile, positive for catalase and oxidase activities, and starch hydrolysis. Strain GeG2T presented planktonic-sessile dimorphism and cell aggregates surrounded by extracellular matrix and nanometric spherical structures were observed, suggesting the production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). Despite high 16S rDNA identity, strain GeG2T showed 90.38% average nucleotide identity and 42.60% digital DNA-DNA hybridization identity with N. rosa, below species threshold. Whole-genome assembly revealed four circular replicons: a 4.1 Mb chromosome, a 2.7 Mb extrachromosomal megareplicon, and two plasmids (212.7 and 68.6 kb). The megareplicon contains a few core genes and plasmid-type replication/maintenance systems, consistent with its classification as a chromid. Genome annotation shows a vast repertoire of carbohydrate-active enzymes and genes involved in the degradation of aromatic compounds, highlighting the biotechnological potential of the new isolate. Chemotaxonomic features, including polar lipid and fatty acid profiles, as well as physiological, molecular, and whole-genome comparisons showed significant differences between strain GeG2T and N. rosa, indicating that it represents a novel species, for which the name Novosphingobium terrae is proposed. The type strain is GeG2T (= CBMAI 2313T = CBAS 753 T).

Arboviral Infections in Neurological Disorders in Hospitalized Patients in São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.

Arbovirus infections are increasingly important causes of disease, whose spectrum of neurological manifestations are not fully known. This study sought to retrospectively assess the incidence of arboviruses in cerebrospinal fluid samples of patients with neurological symptoms to inform diagnosis of central and peripheral nervous system disorders. A total of 255 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples collected from January 2016 to December 2017 were tested for dengue virus (DENV 1-4), Zika virus (ZIKV), and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in addition to other neurotropic arboviruses of interest, using genetic and serologic assays. Of the 255 CSF samples analyzed, 3.53% (09/255) were positive for arboviruses presenting mainly as meningitis, encephalitis, and cerebrovascular events, of which ZIKV was detected in 2.74% (7/255), DENV in 0.78% (2/255), in addition to an identified ILHV infection that was described previously. All the cases were detected in adults aged 18 to 74 years old. Our findings highlight the scientific and clinical importance of neurological syndromes associated with arboviruses and demonstrate the relevance of specific laboratory methods to achieve accurate diagnoses as well as highlight the true dimension of these diseases to ultimately improve public health planning and medical case management.

Recovery of neural dynamics criticality in personalized whole-brain models of stroke.

The critical brain hypothesis states that biological neuronal networks, because of their structural and functional architecture, work near phase transitions for optimal response to internal and external inputs. Criticality thus provides optimal function and behavioral capabilities. We test this hypothesis by examining the influence of brain injury (strokes) on the criticality of neural dynamics estimated at the level of single participants using directly measured individual structural connectomes and whole-brain models. Lesions engender a sub-critical state that recovers over time in parallel with behavior. The improvement of criticality is associated with the re-modeling of specific white-matter connections. We show that personalized whole-brain dynamical models poised at criticality track neural dynamics, alteration post-stroke, and behavior at the level of single participants.

Reduction of Cardiac Autonomic Modulation and Increased Sympathetic Activity by Heart Rate Variability in Patients With Long COVID.

Although several clinical manifestations of persistent long coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been documented, their effects on the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous system over the long term remain unclear. Thus, we examined the presence of alterations in cardiac autonomic functioning in individuals with long-term manifestations. The study was conducted from October 2020 to May 2021, and an autonomic assessment was performed to collect heart rate data for the heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. The study participants were divided into the long COVID clinical group, the intragroup, which included patients who were hospitalized, and those who were not hospitalized and were symptomatic for different periods (≤3, >3, ≤6, and >6 months), with and without dyspnoea. The control group, the intergroup, comprised of COVID-free individuals. Our results demonstrated that the long COVID clinical group showed reduced HRV compared with the COVID-19-uninfected control group. Patients aged 23-59 years developed COVID symptoms within 30 days after infection, whose diagnosis was confirmed by serologic or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (swab) tests, were included in the study. A total of 155 patients with long COVID [95 women (61.29%), mean age 43.88 ± 10.88 years and 60 men (38.71%), mean age 43.93 ± 10.11 years] and 94 controls [61 women (64.89%), mean age 40.83 ± 6.31 and 33 men (35.11%), mean age 40.69 ± 6.35 years] were included. The intragroup and intergroup comparisons revealed a reduction in global HRV, increased sympathetic modulation influence, and a decrease in parasympathetic modulation in long COVID. The intragroup showed normal sympathovagal balance, while the intergroup showed reduced sympathovagal balance. Our findings indicate that long COVID leads to sympathetic excitation influence and parasympathetic reduction. The excitation can increase the heart rate and blood pressure and predispose to cardiovascular complications. Short-term HRV analysis showed good reproducibility to verify the cardiac autonomic involvement.