Accuracy of handgrip and respiratory muscle strength in identifying sarcopenia in older, community-dwelling, Brazilian women Luana Aparecida Soares, Liliana Pereira Lima, Ana Caroline Negreiros Prates, Arthur Nascimento Arrieiro, Leonardo Augusto Da Costa Teixeira, et al. Scientific Reports, 2023 Certain cut-off points for sarcopenia screening and diagnosis are arbitrary and based on European populations, with normative references often obtained from healthy young adults. Although respiratory skeletal muscle strength tests represent low-cost clinical measures commonly performed in clinical practice by health professionals, a gap remains regarding whether respiratory skeletal muscle strength tests are adequate and sensitive measures for sarcopenia screening. This study aimed to verify the value of handgrip and respiratory muscle strength as possible discriminators to identify sarcopenia and to establish cut-off points for sarcopenia screening in community-dwelling, Brazilian women. In a cross-sectional study, 154 community-dwelling, Brazilian women (65–96 years) were assessed for appendicular skeletal muscle mass, handgrip (HGS), and respiratory muscular strength, including maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP). The data were analyzed using the ROC curve and the Youden Index determined cut-off points. Statistical significance was set at 5%. 88 participants (57%) were sarcopenic. MEP (OR 0.98 [95%CI 0.97, 1.00], p = 0.023) and HGS (OR 0.82 [95% CI 0.75, 0.90], p < 0.001) were independent factors for sarcopenia in older. The optimal cut-off points for identifying sarcopenia were ≤ 77 cmH2O for MEP (AUC = 0.72), and ≤ 20 kg for HGS (AUC = 0.80). Simple muscular strength tests, including HGS and MEP, may be considered in the identification of sarcopenia in older, community-dwelling, Brazilian women. Future work is still needed to assess external validation of the proposed cut-offs before the clinical application.
Molecular tracking of pathogens in central venous catheter Maristela Oliveira Lara, Thabata Coaglio Lucas, Evanguedes kalapothakis, Ronaldo Luis Thomasini, Carla Jorge Machado Journal of Vascular Access, 2021 Background: Central venous catheter–related bloodstream infection is an important adverse event in health care. Molecular methods are not yet substitutive of microbiological in the detection of the pathogens responsible for the infection, but they can help in the epidemiological characterization. Aim: To detect bacteria by polymerase chain reaction, from material extracted from the tip of central catheters of patients suspected of infection at the intensive care unit. Methods: Catheters (n = 34) of patients suspected of central venous catheter–related infection were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. The findings were compared with culture of catheter tip and blood cultures performed by the hospital. Findings: The prevalence of bacteria was Staphylococcus aureus (50%), Enterococcus faecalis (41.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (32.4), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (20.6%), Acinetobacter baumannii (38.2%), Escherichia coli (2.9%), and Enterobacter cloacae (0%). No blood culture showed bacterial growth, the culture of catheter tip revealed bacteria in 21 (61.8%) and the polymerase chain reaction had positivity in 31 (91.2%) of the catheters. The mean central venous catheter time was 11 days, and the jugular vein was the site of insertion. Conclusion: The molecular method identified more bacteria than microbiological methods and revealed colonization of the catheters. The most commonly found bacteria are in the environment and in the microbiota of the skin, which suggests contamination by the hands of health professionals and points out the need for more efforts in preventive strategies.
Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Essential Oil From Cymbopogon densiflorus (Steud.) Stapf Flowers Paula V.D. Spencer, Silvia H. Libardi, Fernanda F.G. Dias, Wellington da S. Oliveira, Ronaldo L. Thomasini, et al. Journal of Essential Oil Bearing Plants, 2021 This study reports, for the first time, the chemical composition and biological activity of essential oil from Brazilian Cymbopogon densiflorus flowers. Thirty chemical compounds were identified by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS), corresponding to 95 % of total compounds from an essential oil chromatogram obtained by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID ). The essential oil was mainly composed of cis-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (26 %), trans-p-mentha-1(7),8-dien-2-ol (18 %), trans-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (13 %) limonene (9 %), cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-1-ol (7 %), cis-carveol (7 %) and carvone (5 %). The identity confirmation of the major compounds was performed by 1H/13C heteronuclear single-quantum coherence nuclear magnetic resonance (HSQC NMR). The essential oil exhibited a weak antioxidant activity by the DPPH method and a wide spectrum of antimicrobial activity against the pathogenic bacterial strains tested, showing some efficacy against 7 of the 10 strains with the greatest inhibition observed with the Gram-negative bacterium Shigella sonnei. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Influence of herpes viruses in the human periodontitis: The hypothesis of bacteria-virus synergy Current Trends in Periodontics and Implant Dentistry, 2013
