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Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Brazil. The pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an independent cardiovascular risk factor detecting arterial stiffness, correlated to age, among other variables

The Xingu River Basin (XRB), located in the Brazilian Amazon, is of great importance both in national and international contexts, especially regarding hydroelectric generation in the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Complex and forest conservation policies, given that the XRB is home to important conservation areas, such as the Xingu Indigenous Park. This paper analyzes climate extreme indices in the XRB, a region that lacks this sort of information. Trends in 22 climate extreme indices were evaluated, 11 of them for air temperature and 11 for rainfall, based on spatially gridded and high resolution daily data, for the period from 1980 to 2016. The temperature indices showed significant upward trends in daily temperatures (both maximum and minimum), an indication that, in recent decades, the days and nights have become warmer in the XRB. For rainfall, the indices indicated a downward trend in the central and southern regions of the XRB (Middle and Upper Xingu), and increasing rainfall in the northern region of the basin (Lower Xingu), however, with lower statistical significance when compared to air temperature indices. Commonly, the areas that presented statistically significant trends in the assessed climate extreme indices correspond to areas where there have been alterations in land cover due to increasing use in recent decades (areas of forest that were modified for pasture and agriculture) and in areas still preserved. This paper is an important tool to support decision making in management and strategic planning of water resources (for power generation and multiple uses) and for the elaboration of forest conservation policies (for combatting and controlling deforestation) in the XRB, in times when the region is under constant pressure from agribusiness for the expansion of agriculture and livestock.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death worldwide. In this setting, Neck Circumference (NC) and Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) are simple and valuable tools for an early evaluation of cardiovascular risk through the assessment of upper body obesity and arterial stiffness. However, the associations between both measurements have not been systematically explored. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study representative of a neighborhood of Salvador-BA, Brazil. Data were collected between December 2016 and May 2019, and comprise 130 individuals for the present study. Variables such as age, sex, education levels and NC were analyzed to verify their associations with PWV status. Correlations between PWV and NC were performed to further depict their association. Results: There was a predominance of patients with elevated PWV. The subgroup of patients aged 60 years or older presented the largest proportion of PWV alterations over normal results. There was a majority of women in the study population and sex could not determine PWV status. There was a predominance of concomitant elevation of NC and PWV in the studied population. NC measurements could distinguish PWV status from women and the study population. NC and PWV had a positive and statistically significant correlation for women and for the general population. Conclusion: These findings suggest a possible association between upper body obesity and vascular homeostasis impairment. Therefore, screening patients with both measurements could prove relevant to better identify subclinical vascular perturbations and further delimitate prognosis related to cardiovascular events potentially associated with them. •Elevation of pulse wave velocity (PWV) was associated with the increase of age. •Frequency of patients with elevated PWV and neck circumference was predominant. •Neck circumference and pulse wave velocity were positively correlated.

Introduction: Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is considered a gold standard for assessment of arterial stiffness [1]; neck circumference (NC) is a good anthropometrical indicator of fat accumulation in the upper body region [2]. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study representative of a neighborhood of Salvador-BA, Brazil, distributed in 12 census tracts according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The overall sample is randomized in adults from the assigned area, from December 2016 to May 2019 comprise 145 people. Individual and household records are filled out PWV was the measuring velocity between the carotid and right femoral wave, coupled to the electrocardiogram. The committee for research on human subjects of the FTC approved the protocol (No1827621). The measurement equipment was the flattening tonometer SphygmoCor® apparatus (XCEL, AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia). The NC was obtained by using an inelastic fiberglass tape measure based on the height of the cricothyroid cartilage. The values ≥37 cm for men or ≥34 cm for women were used for their classification [3]. The frequency and descriptive measures, Spearman’s linear correlation coefficient between the laboratory tests and adjusted PWV. STATA v.12 software was used for treatment and generation of results. The level of statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: There was a predominance of women (70.3%). The correlation is the same for both sexes (r = 0.30), a weak positive, however it was statistically significant for women (p = 0.0031). Conclusion: The NC and PWV measurements showed a weakly positive. There was a statistically significant correlation for women.

Despite a widespread agreement on the importance of transparency in science, a growing body of evidence suggests that both the natural and the social sciences are facing a reproducibility crisis. In this paper, we present seven reasons why journals and authors should implement — transparent guidelines. We argue that sharing replication materials, which include full disclosure of the methods used to collect and analyze data, the public availability of raw and manipulated data, in addition to computational scripts, may generate the following positive outcomes: 01. production of trustworthy empirical results, by preventing intentional frauds and avoiding honest mistakes; 02. making the writing and publishing of papers more efficient; 03. enhancing the reviewers’ ability to provide better evaluations; 04. enabling the continuity of academic work; 05. developing scientific reputation; 06. helping to learn data analysis; and 07. increasing the impact of scholarly work. In addition, we review the most recent computational tools to work reproducibly. With this paper, we hope to foster transparency within the political science scholarly community.

Introduction: Central Pressure (PC) has shown to be more reliable in cardiovascular (CV) mortality (1); Salt intake and excretion seems to lead to an increase in this pulsatile component of the arterial flow (2, 3). C entral Pulse Pressure (PPc) data is very few. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study representative of a poor and mixed-race neighborhood of Salvador-B A, Brazil, distributed in 12 census tracts according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The overall sample is randomized in adults from the assigned area, from December 2016 to May 2018 comprise 110 people. Individual and household records are filled out. The central pressure, measured in the radial artery, obtained through aplanation tonometry, using the SphygmoCor® (XCEL, AtCor Medical, Sydney, Australia (2), with operation index ≥85%. PP c measured by systolic central pressure minus diastolic central pressure. 24-hour urine samples were collected. Urinary sodium (US) measured by the selective ion electrode, ADVIA1800® (SiemensHealthcare Japan/Canada). The committee for research on human subjects of the FTC approved the protocol (No1827621). Median, interquartile range, Spearman’s linear correlation coefficient between PPc and sodium stratified by sex, using STATA v.12 software for data base management and statistical analysis. The level of statistical significance was set at 5%. Results: 71,8% female, mean age 49,7 ± 16y. Median excretion rate of sodium was, in male,133,2 ± 82 mEq/l (In general 126,4 ± 84). In male was a significance negative correlation (r = −0,43;p = 0,01)between PPC and US excretion. Conclusion: There was a correlation between the values of PPc and UR in men (fig.1). These results need future best understanding.

This paper aims to present solutions to Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) using techniques of Machine Learning (ML). In the research about Distance Education (DE), in spite of having a expressive growth in the last years it was found that the students don't realize the proposed activities by instructors/tutors/teachers, and one of the main reasons is the lack of interest from the student whether by subject or the system itself is not so attractive. An alternative is motivated the students interest on DE courses, so that they attend, learn throughout the course consequently improve their performance and interest.

This paper presents a method for automated content analysis of students’ messages in asynchronous discussions written in Portuguese. In particular, the paper looks at the problem of coding discussion transcripts for the levels of cognitive presence, a key construct in a widely used Community of Inquiry model of online learning. Although there are techniques to coding for cognitive presence in the English language, the literature is still poor in methods for others languages, such as Portuguese. The proposed method uses a set of 87 different features to create a random forest classifier to automatically extract the cognitive phases. The model developed reached Cohen’s \(\kappa \) of .72, which represents a “substantial” agreement, and it is above the Cohen’s \(\kappa \) threshold of .70, commonly used in the literature for determining a reliable quantitative content analysis. This paper also provides some theoretical insights into the nature of cognitive presence by looking at the classification features that were most relevant for distinguishing between the different phases of cognitive presence.

Background: Arterial Hypertension (AH) is an uncertain and complex physiopathological disease with the Arterial Stiffness (AS) as one of the main cardiovascular alterations. Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) is the gold standard marker for assessment of the vascular aging and an important predictor of cardiovascular risk. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based studies, in the restricted area of Vale do Ogunjá, Salvador-Bahia. Sociodemographic data, through questionnaire and clinical data were obtained. A PWV was evaluated by applanation tonometry using the device SphygmoCor® (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd, New South Wales, Australia). Frequency and descriptive measurements of central and dispersion were obtained, and the Chi-square test to statistical analysis. Results: PWV presented a higher mean in hypertensive patients (10.0 ± 2.2 m/s). There was a higher prevalence of AS in male individuals with advanced age and presence of risk factors. The prevalence ratio of AS was 3.7 times higher in hypertensive patients (p = 0.002; 95% CI: 1.6–8.5) and 7.5 times higher in patients aged above 40–74 years (p = 0.015; 95% CI: 2.4–23.1). Conclusion: There was an important relation between AS and increased of PWV in the presence of hypertension. The relevance of this study is associated with the use of non-invasive clinical evaluation of PWV, contributing to improve morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. HIGHLIGHTS •Important association between arterial stiffness and arterial hypertension. •Prevalence of arterial stiffness in the male gender, advanced age. •Prevalence of arterial stiffness with high BMI, dyslipidemia and dysglycemia DM. •Arterial stiffness associated to age, schooling level, BMI and arterial hypertension.

The monoterpene perillyl alcohol (POH) a Ras inhibitor with potential capacity to arrest gliomagenesis is being used in a phase I/II clinical trial in adults with recurrent malignant glioma. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of intranasal administration of monoterpene POH upon survival rate of patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) in comparison with historical control group of GBM patients.It was included 89 adults with recurrent GBM receiving daily intranasal administration of 440 mg POH and 52 matched GBM patients as historical control untreated group only with supportive treatment.Patients with recurrent primary GBM treated with POH survived significantly longer (log rank test, P 0.0001) than untreated group. Patients with recurrent primary GBM in deep location survived significantly longer than with lobar location (log rank test, P 0.0001). Median survival rate of secondary GBM was 11.2 months, longer (log rank test, P = 0.0366) than primary GBM (5.9 months). Radiographic improvement and reduction of corticosteroid dosage (36%) further associated with a delay towards progression.Intranasal administration of POH increased the overall survival of patients with recurrent GBM in comparison with historical untreated controls, but especially patients with secondary GBM and primary GBM with tumor localized in deep regions of the brain. The side effects of POH treatment were almost nonexistent, even in patients treated for over 4 years.

Background: The aim of this study was to establish a correlation of tumor topography and peritumoral brain edema with the therapeutic response to intranasal administration of perillyl alcohol (POH) in a cohort of patients with recurrent malignant gliomas. Methods: The retrospective study reviewed clinical and neuroradiological data from patients with recurrent malignant gliomas who received intranasal daily administration of POH 440 mg. The following parameters were assessed: demographic characteristics, initial symptoms, overall survival, tumor topography and tumor size, presence of midline shift and extent of peritumoral edema. Statistical analysis was carried out with log rank tests and overall survival as assessed by Kaplan–Meier method including 95% confidence intervals. Results: A cohort of 67 patients included 52 (78%) with glioblastoma (GBM), ten (15%) with anaplastic astrocytoma (AA) and five (7%) with anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO). Accordingly to tumor topography lobar localization was present in all (5/5) AO; eight (8/10) and 41 GBM patients whereas in the basal ganglia two AA and 11 GBM patients. It was also observed a relation between the tumor size and area of peritumoral brain edema (PTBE). Patients with good therapeutic response showed reduction of tumor size and PTBE area, but poor prognosis was associated with lack of response to treatment and persistence of high PTBE. Patients with tumor in the basal ganglia survived significantly longer than those with lobar gliomas (log rank test, p = 0.0003). Presence of midline shift (>1 cm) was a statistically significant risk factor for shorter survival (log rank test, p = 0.0062) Conclusions: This study suggests that: (1) patients with recurrent gliomas with localization in the basal ganglia survive significantly longer than those with tumors at lobar localization; (2) presence of PTBE contributes to symptoms, likely to be implicated in the morbidity and invading potential of malignant gliomas. These findings support the theory that interaction between glioma cells at distinct brain microenvironment can influence the oncobiological behavior of glioma cells and ultimately to the prognosis.