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aste collectors are exposed to a wide variety of bacteria, endotoxins, fungi, allergens, particulate matter, irritating inhalants, and vehicle exhaust, making them more prone to development of chronic diseases. Although several studies described the impact of occupational exposure on the overall health of waste collectors, few investigations were conducted regarding cellular and molecular changes that may occur due to exposure. The aim of this study was to assess biomarkers of oxidative stress such as levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipoperoxidation, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), apoptosis, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity and mitochondrial function (MitoTrackerTM Green FM and MitoTrackerTM Red) using the peripheral blood from individuals occupationally exposed to recyclable solid waste in Southern Brazil. The study included 30 waste collectors and 30 control individuals, who did not perform activities with recognized exposure to biological and chemical substances. Waste collectors were found to exhibit in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) higher rates of apoptosis, increased production of ROS, and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), associated with decreased total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and elevated activity of BChE in plasma. Therefore, evidence indicates that cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses may be involved in the multiplicity of adverse health outcomes related to contaminant exposure in waste collectors. It is thus necessary to implement and/or improve occupational health programs aimed at workers as well as mandatory inspections for the use of personal protective equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potability of water, including underground sources, is constantly affected by human activities. To assess water quality and water security in rural and urban areas of southern Brazil, a quantitative, retrospective analysis of water samples collected monthly by the Brazilian health authorities (19,687 samples from 2013 to 2021) was performed. In rural areas, 5,979 water samples (77.54%) were found to be contaminated by coliform bacteria and 3,431 (44.50%) by Escherichia coli. In addition, 1,616 (20.95%) of the contaminated samples were significantly correlated with rainfall amount. In urban areas, 1,268 (10.95%) of the samples contained coliform bacteria and 293 (2.53%) of these samples contained E. coli, with the factor of rainfall associated with 1,081 samples (9.33%) with bacterial contamination. In terms of physicochemical parameters, turbidity exceeded the national standard (5 uT) in 448 (2.32%) samples and fluoride fell below the required level (0.8 mg/L) in 106 samples (0.54%). The presence of free residual chlorine (0.2–2.0 mg/L) was verified in 846 samples (14.38%) in rural areas and in 10,825 samples (56.13%) in urban areas. These results suggest a strong association between rainfall factors and physicochemical alterations, as well as the risk of greater microbial contamination of water for human consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and clonal relationships in Proteus mirabilis isolated from chicken meat, beef, pork, and community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI-CA). Chicken meat isolates showed the highest multidrug resistance (MDR), followed by those from pork and UTI-CA, whereas beef had relatively few MDR strains. All sources had strains that carried blaCTX-M-65, whereas blaCTX-M-2 and blaCMY-2 were only detected in chicken meat and UTI-CA isolates. This indicates that chicken meat should be considered an important risk factor for the spread of P. mirabilis carrying ESBL and AmpC. Furthermore, ESBL/AmpC producing strains were resistant to a greater number of antimicrobials and possessed more resistance genes than non-producing strains. In addition, the antimicrobial resistance genes qnrD, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, sul1, sul2, fosA3, cmlA, and floR were also found. Molecular typing showed a genetic similarity between chicken meat and UTI-CA isolates, including some strains with 100% similarity, indicating that chicken can be a source of P. mirabilis causing UTI-CA. It was concluded that meat, especially chicken meat, can be an important source of dissemination of multidrug-resistant P. mirabilis in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia, Cuidado e Saude is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: High intensity functional training (HIFT), usually called CrossFit, is a physical training that has gained much popularity in the past few years. The risk of acute and overuse injuries in HIFT is unclear. This study evaluated the incidence of injuries in HIFT, characterizing severity, location, and associated risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January and May 2021. HIFT practitioners were recruited through social media and answered an online questionnaire on training characteristics and injury history. Results: A total of 606 subjects (264 male and 342 female) were included. The average age of the participants was 29.78 ± 7.14 years. The mean height was 169.60 ± 8.96 cm, and the mean body mass was 73.69 ± 13.11 kg. Overall, participants were involved in HIFT for an average of 25.36 ± 20.29 months. A total of 58.6% of participants took part in 5 to 6 training sessions per week, 31.7% practiced 5 to 6 h per week. 62.7% of the responders performed other physical activities in parallel, 98.2% performed warm-up before the training, and a formal cooldown was accomplished by 29.4% of participants. 6.8% of athletes followed individual worksheets. 45.9% of participants participated in competition. Conclusions: The overall rate of injuries was 3.51/1000 h. 59.2% of subjects experienced two or more injuries. The shoulder was involved in 21.3% of cases, lower back in 18.3%, and the knee in 13.4%. No difference was found in injury rate between males and females. Experienced athletes were more prone to injury compared to those who trained under 12 months. Approximately the half of injuries did not cause training interruption. No difference was found in injury rate between males and females. The purpose of the participant did not impact the injury rate, nor did the practice of warm-up and cooldown, the time of weekly training, the league and level of competition. Finally, the participation in other sports in parallel did not demonstrated association with the injury occurrence. Trial registration: The present study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee by Plataforma Brazil and follows the Resolution 466/2012/CNS/MS/CONEP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Estudios y Perspectivas en Turismo is the property of Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Turisticos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Archives of Dental Science / Arquivos em Odontologia is the property of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Faculdade de Odontologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Schizomida is an arachnid order widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, commonly found in humid and warm environments such as leaf litter, on the underside of rocks, and in caves. Stenochrus portoricensis has been observed in association with termite and ant nests. In this study, we report for the first time S. portoricensis living within a nest of the fire ant Solenopsis saevissima. This new interaction triggers interest in the mechanisms used by the schizomid to deceive and be undetected by fire ants, as well as the potential advantages for the schizomid in living within Solenopsis nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) actively hydrolyzes carbapenems, antibiotics often used a last-line treatment for multidrug-resistant bacteria. KPC clinical relevance resides in its widespread dissemination. In this work, we report the genomic context of KPC coding genes blaKPC-2, blaKPC-3 and blaKPC-30 in multidrug-resistant Klebsiellapneumoniae isolates from Brazil. Plasmids harboring blaKPC-3 and blaKPC-30 were identified. Fifteen additional carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae isolates were selected from the same tertiary hospital, collected over a period of 8 years. Their genomes were sequenced in order to evaluate the prevalence and dissemination of blaKPC–harboring plasmids. We found that blaKPC genes were mostly carried by one of two isoforms of transposon Tn4401 (Tn4401a or Tn4401b) that were predominantly located on plasmids highly similar to the previously described plasmid pKPC_FCF3SP (IncN). The identified pKPC_FCF3SP-like plasmids carried either blaKPC-2 or blaKPC-30. Two K. pneumoniae isolates harbored pKpQIL-like (IncFII) plasmids, only recently identified in Brazil; one of them harbored blaKPC-3 in a Tn4401a transposon. Underlining the risk of horizontal spread of KPC coding genes, this study reports the prevalence of blaKPC-2 and the recent spread of blaKPC-3, and blaKPC-30, in association with different isoforms of Tn4401, together with high synteny of plasmid backbones among isolates studied here and in comparison with previous reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soybean crop is a source of great economic and social importance in Brazil, being an extremely profitable agricultural product. However, such profitability can be limited by a variety of factors, including plant disease. The more efficient the crop treatment applications, the greater the reduction in incidence of disease, resulting in higher and better-quality yield, as well as increased profitability. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify the better of two methods for determining optimal fungicide application timing as it relates to soybean (Glycine max) crops utilizing a ground bar sprayer. The experiment examined fungicide spraying efficiency based on a calendar schedule as compared to application as indicated by the AgroDetecta® program which monitors agrometeorological data. The study design involved randomized blocks with three treatments and twelve replicates. The treatments consisted of a control (without application of fungicides), application of fungicides on a calendar-based schedule (sprayed every 15 days after the phenological stage V5), and application of fungicides as indicated by the program AgroDetecta® (based on agrometeorological data). The experiment was carried out at Mutuca Farm (Arapoti-PR, Brazil) during crop year 2013-14. The planting of BMX Apollo® RR variety soybean seeds occurred on November 20, 2013 and December 12, 2013. The variables evaluated were disease incidence and severity, area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC), plant height, total and viable internodes, final population, pods per plant, grains per pod, and 1000-grain mass and yield. In the November sowing, the decisions regarding when to spray fungicides according to the calendar and agrometeorological data were similar, resulting in four sprays. Three applications of fungicides based on the calendar, and four sprays recommended by the AgroDetecta® program, were performed for the December sowing. It was concluded that the application of fungicide to the soybean crop utilizing ground bar sprayer technology produced similar results for the analyzed variables regardless if the application decision was based on following the calendar or on agrometeorological data. • The objective was to determine the best method for the timing of fungicide application. • The sprays were compared by a calendar and based on agrometeorological data. • The variables evaluated were disease, plant parameters and yield components. • It was similar following the calendar or the agrometeorological data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) and global health. They suggest that the international influence of BRICS countries has increased greatly in recent decades. They argue that while inter-BRICS cooperation has the potential to make a positive contribution to global health, the impact of BRICS countries will depend on their ability to strengthen and develop their health policies.