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Introduction: The nose and throat are areas of high viral load, which could place otolaryngologists at an even higher risk for COVID-19 than other health-care workers., Objective: To investigate the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in otorhinolaryngologists in southern Brazil, its relationship to demographic data, professional practice and reported symptoms of COVID-19, and compare it with official data on other health-care workers of the state and the general population in the same period., Methods: In this cross-sectional multicenter study, otolaryngologists actively practicing officially registered in Rio Grande do Sul were screened for IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 from August 1 to September 15, 2020. A questionnaire was also applied., Results: We screened 358 (80.1%) of 447 actively practicing otolaryngologists (195 [54.5%] male; mean [SD] age, 47.77 [13.57] years; range, 26-84 years). Twenty-three were positive for IgM and/or IgG (6.4%). This result was significantly associated with reports of infected household contacts (19/315 negatives and 8/23 positives; p < 0.001). From 23 seropositive participants, 14 were asymptomatic (60.9%; p < 0.001). There were no significant associations between seroconversion and age, sex, number of patient appointments and surgical procedures, workplace (hospital or private practice), patients with or without respiratory symptoms, or level of personal protective equipment used. The rate of COVID-19 in all health-care workers in the state was 7.69% at the end of the same period. Data from state government seroprevalence was 5.26 (risk ratio [RR]; 95% CI 3.27-8.45) and 4.66 (RR; 95% CI 2.93-7.43) times higher in otolaryngologists than in the general population in August and September, respectively., Conclusion: Otolaryngologists had a higher seroconversion rate than the general population. Using personal protective equipment, the level of occupational exposure did not result in higher rates of infection than other health-care workers, but the presence of infected household contacts was associated with higher rates of seroconversion., (Copyright © 2021 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway obstruction during sleep., Objective: The objective of this study is to verify the craniofacial characteristics and craniocervical posture of OSA and healthy subjects, determining possible relationships with the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI)., Methods: This case-control study evaluated 21 subjects with OSA, who comprised the OSA group (OSAG), and 21 healthy subjects, who constituted the control group (CG). Cephalometry analyzed head posture measurements, craniofacial measurements, and air space. Head posture was also assessed by means of photogrammetry., Results: The groups were homogeneous regarding gender (12 men and 9 women in each group), age (OSAG = 41.86 ± 11.26 years; GC = 41.19 ± 11.20 years), and body mass index (OSAG = 25.65 ± 2.46 kg/m2; CG = 24.72 ± 3.01 kg/m2). We found significant differences between the groups, with lower average pharyngeal space and greater distance between the hyoid bone and the mandibular plane in OSAG, when compared with CG. A positive correlation was found between higher head hyperextension and head anteriorization, with greater severity of OSA as assessed by AHI., Conclusion: OSAG subjects showed changes in craniofacial morphology, with lower average pharyngeal space and greater distance from the hyoid bone to the mandibular plane, as compared with healthy subjects. Moreover, in OSA subjects, the greater the severity of OSA, the greater the head hyperextension and anteriorization.

Complexity is increasingly the hallmark in environmental management practices of sandy shorelines. This arises primarily from meeting growing public demands (e.g., real estate, recreation) whilst reconciling economic demands with expectations of coastal users who have modern conservation ethics. Ideally, shoreline management is underpinned by empirical data, but selecting ecologically-meaningful metrics to accurately measure the condition of systems, and the ecological effects of human activities, is a complex task. Here we construct a framework for metric selection, considering six categories of issues that authorities commonly address: erosion; habitat loss; recreation; fishing; pollution (litter and chemical contaminants); and wildlife conservation. Possible metrics were scored in terms of their ability to reflect environmental change, and against criteria that are widely used for judging the performance of ecological indicators (i.e., sensitivity, practicability, costs, and public appeal). From this analysis, four types of broadly applicable metrics that also performed very well against the indicator criteria emerged: 1.) traits of bird populations and assemblages (e.g., abundance, diversity, distributions, habitat use); 2.) breeding/reproductive performance sensu lato (especially relevant for birds and turtles nesting on beaches and in dunes, but equally applicable to invertebrates and plants); 3.) population parameters and distributions of vertebrates associated primarily with dunes and the supralittoral beach zone (traditionally focused on birds and turtles, but expandable to mammals); 4.) compound measurements of the abundance/cover/biomass of biota (plants, invertebrates, vertebrates) at both the population and assemblage level. Local constraints (i.e., the absence of birds in highly degraded urban settings or lack of dunes on bluff-backed beaches) and particular issues may require alternatives. Metrics - if selected and applied correctly - provide empirical evidence of environmental condition and change, but often do not reflect deeper environmental values per se. Yet, values remain poorly articulated for many beach systems; this calls for a comprehensive identification of environmental values and the development of targeted programs to conserve these values on sandy shorelines globally., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)