Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples from hospitals treating COVID-19 patients during the first wave of the pandemic in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global health crisis, and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as an important tool to assist public health decision-making. Recent studies have shown that the SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater samples is a reliable indicator of the severity of the pandemic for large populations. However, few studies have established a strong correlation between the number of infected people and the viral concentration in wastewater due to variations in viral shedding over time, viral decay, infiltration, and inflow.

Long-term monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage samples from specific public places and STPs to track COVID-19 spread and identify potential hotspots.

Coronavirus pandemic started in March 2020 and since then has caused millions of deaths worldwide. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can be used as an epidemiological surveillance tool to track SARS-CoV-2 dissemination and provide warning of COVID-19 outbreaks. Considering that there are public places that could be potential hotspots of infected people that may reflect the local epidemiological situation, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was analyzed by RT-qPCR for approximately 16 months in sewage samples from five public places located in the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil: the sewage treatment plant of Confins International Airport (AIR), the main interstate bus terminal (BUS), an upscale shopping centre (SHC1), a popular shopping centre (SHC2) and a university institute (UNI).

Prevalence and distribution of the main cardiovascular risk factors in Portugal--the AMALIA study.

Objectives: To assess the self-reported prevalence of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Portugal and their distribution by gender, age-group and region.

Methods: We surveyed 38,893 individuals aged 40 or over, with a distribution by region and age-group proportional to the national population, through a questionnaire applied in the community in a household approach using the random route method, between October 2006 and February 2007.

Results: The self-reported prevalence of hypertension was 23.

Portuguese study of familial dilated cardiomyopathy: the FATIMA study.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a myocardial disease, characterized by ventricular dilatation and impaired systolic function, that in more than 30% of cases has a familial or genetic origin. Given its age-dependent penetrance, DCM frequently manifests in adults by signs or symptoms of heart failure, arrhythmias or sudden death. The predominant mode of inheritance is autosomal dominant, and in these cases mutations are identified in genes coding for cytoskeletal, sarcomeric or nuclear envelope proteins.

Self-reported cerebrovascular and heart diseases and cardiovascular risk factors in Portugal: the AMALIA study.

Introduction: There is a high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and associated risk factors in the European population. In order to decrease their incidence, it is necessary to adopt healthy lifestyles and to apply appropriate therapeutic measures. There is therefore a need to inform, to motivate, and to evaluate attitudes and the effectiveness of the measures put into practice.

Acute heart failure--intra-aortic balloon: a forgotten treatment.

Acute heart failure (AHF) is a serious clinical condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. The authors present the case of a 61-year-old man, with a past history of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy with heart failure, who came to the emergency room due to acute decompensation. During hospital stay he developed cardiogenic shock and inotropic support was initiated, followed by mechanical circulatory assistance with intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation, as a bridge to heart transplantation.

Evidence of prolonged disturbances in the haemostatic, hemorheologic and inflammatory profiles in transmural myocardial infarction survivors.

Haemostatic, hemorheologic and inflammatory disturbances have been associated with acute coronary syndromes. Most knowledge is reported in cross sectional studies and are without time dependent evolution of these profiles. The aim of this study was to evaluate, during the first year, the evolution of the haemostatic, hemorheologic and inflammatory profiles determined at hospital discharge in survivors with transmural myocardial infarction (MI).

Long-term prognostic value of the hemorheological profile in transmural myocardial infarction survivors: 60-month clinical follow-up.

Unlabelled: Previous reports have shown several hemorheological and hemostatic abnormalities in acute coronary syndrome survivors. Some of these abnormalities were related to cardiovascular events during a 24-month follow-up. The aim of the present work is to evaluate, in transmural myocardial infarction survivors, the long-term (60 months) prognostic value of the biohemorheological profile determined at hospital discharge.

[Biohemorheologic factors and cardiovascular events curve in survivors of transmural acute myocardial infarct--24-month follow-up].

Introduction: Previous reports have shown several biohemorheological disturbances in acute myocardial infarction (AMI), either in the acute phase and after hospital discharge. There is no clearly established relationship between these parameters and the patients' clinical outcome.

Objective: To evaluate in transmural AMI survivors, a relationship between biohemorheological parameters and the cardiovascular events curve during a 24 month follow-up period.