In common parlance, the term “initiation” may evoke images of secret ceremonies or mysterious rituals in which participants are inducted into hidden secrets. Far from esoteric practices and “mysterious” ceremonies, “Scientific Initiation”, or “Iniciação Científica”, as its known in Brazil, can be understood as an pedagogical activity that provides support for the early stages of undergraduate students’ scientific education. Unlike well-kept secrets, science is an open field accessible to all, and its methodology contributes to the development of critical thinking […]

Erney Felicio Plessmann de Camargo, Professor Emeritus at the Universidade de São Paulo , a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and honorary member of the National Academy of Medicine has passed. When Professor Erney took over Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico he revolutionized the agency, instituting many procedures that were fundamental to move Brazilian science forward. Despite the lack of appropriate funding, he managed to oversee an outstanding growth of scientific productivity in Brazil. Erney was […]

Salami papers are defined as those created by slicing research in as many parts as possible, looking for the minimal publishable unit. ( ) This type of conduct aims to publish more papers using the same research. Another trick of getting more publications and citations is by implementing a clearly unethical practice of duplicate submissions. ( ) Both are culpable of falsely inflating the citation index of authors, data dredging, cherry picking of data and worse, leading to systematic errors […]

Highlights Pool testing is simultaneously performed on multiple samples to efficiently and cost-effectively detect COVID-19. Pool testing can optimize resource utilization and expand diagnostic access, and is a viable alternative for developing countries with limited access to testing. To optimize resources, the pool size was determined by estimating COVID-19 prevalence in the study population. ABSTRACT This study proposes a strategy for large-scale testing among a large number of people for the early diagnosis of COVID-19 to elucidate the epidemiological situation. […]

Highlights Notification of complications of arterial surgeries is essential in identifying strategies to improve surgical outcomes. Screening of prevalent and/or morbid diseases allows early intervention and prevention of complications. Use of telemedicine in vascular follow-up allows optimizing the use of resources and reducing the burden on health services. Concentrating complex cases in reference hospitals leads to improved surgical outcomes. ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate outcomes of vascular surgeries and identify strategies to improve public vascular care. Methods This was a descriptive, […]

Highlights Telemedicine played a major role in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. A statistically significant number of physicians started using Telemedicine since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic. Most physicians approve its use and intend to continue using Telemedicine in their daily practice. Objective The primary aim of this study was to understand the difference in the use of Telemedicine by Brazilian physicians before and after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic and their intention to continue using it post the pandemic […]

Highlights Every research endeavor commences with a fundamental question. Sharing of findings by researchers and students contributes toward the expansion of knowledge. Teaching scientific methodology is a pivotal step in nurturing critical thinking skills. Science permeates our daily lives and plays a crucial role in addressing societal issues. ABSTRACT The Scientists of Tomorrow/Cientistas do Amanhã project is an immersive science training program developed by the Program of Post-Graduation in Health Sciences at Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. This program was conducted […]

Highlights The evaluated method showed moderate reproducibility when compared to the gold standard practice. This new method had a high specificity and a low sensitivity. The observed high range of SpO2 levels between the methods could lead to a wrong patient referral. The use of telemedicine to assess oxygen saturation in patient with dyspnea is a viable resource, although requiring improvement.   ABSTRACT Objective To calculate the positive likelihood ratio to determine whether telemedicine is able to optimize referral to […]

Highlights The levonorgestrel intrauterine system treatment prevents 67.7% of surgeries in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding and enlarged uteri.   ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the levonorgestrel intrauterine system in the treatment of patients with heavy menstrual bleeding and an enlarged uterus and to compare satisfaction and its complications with hysterectomy. Methods This was a comparative cross-sectional observational study of women with heavy menstrual bleeding and an enlarged uterus. Sixty-two women were treated and followed up for four […]

Highlights • Neurology trainees and program directors recognized a lack of structured breaking bad news training. • Program directors reported that many factors hinder the implementation of breaking bad news education. • Trainees felt capable of breaking bad news, but most did not have lectures, simulations, nor feedback. • Trainees acknowledged negative feelings when breaking bad news, including sadness and helplessness. ABSTRACT Objective We aimed to evaluate how breaking bad news training was implemented in neurology residency programs in Brazil […]

Highlights Seventy-four (33.18%) municipalities in the state of Paraíba registered live births with microcephaly. The highest proportion of cases (23.03%) was concentrated in the capital, João Pessoa. Number of inhabitants, number of cases of Zika virus, water supply, and average household income were associated with a higher proportion of new cases. ABSTRACT Objective To analyze the relationship between microcephaly and social inequality indicators in the state of Paraíba during the biennium January 2015 and December 2016. Methods Ecological study with […]

Highlights Two artificial neural networks, type of multilayer perceptron, and a random forest model were developed. Multilayer perceptron and random forest were compared to the OASIS, SAPS, SAPS II, SAPS III, LODS, SOFA, and EVCI Scores. Discrimination was assessed with the receiver operator characteristic and precision-recall curves. Calibration of the predictive models was evaluated with the Brier Score. ABSTRACT Objective The variation in mortality rates of intensive care unit oncological patients may imply that clinical characteristics and prognoses are very […]

Highlights Efforts should be made to improve all aspects of prenatal care. The criteria used in this study were multidimensional and cover different aspects of care. Prenatal care must include recognition of socioeconomic and cultural differences among users.   ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate prenatal and puerperium care levels received and identify their association with sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to December 2020 and included women who gave birth at the Municipal Hospital of […]

Highlights Karyotype was normal in 60% of patients and altered in 40%. The variants most often detected in the myeloid panel were: JAK2 (54%), ASXL1 (50%), TET2 (31%), and CALR (22%). The median follow-up of transplant patients was 2.4 years and the two-year overall survival was 80%.   ABSTRACT Objective To analyze the karyotype test and myeloid panel with next-generation sequencing findings in patients with myelofibrosis, and to compare transplant characteristics in patients referred for bone marrow transplantation. Methods Retrospective, […]

Highlights Teaching method preferences of medical students 162 and teachers 71 were evaluated. Both groups showed high satisfaction and a sense of learning in virtual classes. The virtual method resulted in worse retention of attention. The virtual method also showed higher interference from the external environment.   ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the perceptions of students and teachers regarding remote teaching modality in comparison with the traditional face-to-face method. Methods In this observational, retrospective, comparative, single-center study, questionnaires containing three major […]

Highlights Better oral hygiene improves aspects of social interaction. Care of teeth and dentures is beneficial for chewing and swallowing. Poor oral health is clearly related to frailty. ABSTRACT Objective This study aimed to correlate oral and general health in frail and non-frail older adults. Methods This observational study included 52 older adults, of whom 35 were frail (Frail Group), and 17 were non-frail (Non-Frail Group), according to Fried’s self-reported test addressing oral health variables, number of systemic diseases, and […]

Highlights Twenty-eight cases of bladder squamous cell carcinoma cases were evaluated for p16, p53, p63 immunohistochemistry, and HPV PCR. Neither direct HPV detection nor its indirect marker (p16) was identified in most cases. Decision trees constructed described the relationships of a variety of clinicopathological features with high classification accuracy.   ABSTRACT Objective To investigate the expression of human papillomavirus (HPV), p16, p53, and p63 in non-schistosomiasis-related squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder and to develop an accurate and automated tool […]

Highlights The incidence of acute myeloid leukemia was slightly higher in women. The most frequent aberrant marker in B-cell ALL was CD66c, followed by CD13 and CD33. Expression of CD34, HLA-DR, CD13, MPO, CD15, CD64, CD2 and CD7 was different in the non-APL and APL AML groups. Differences in expression of CD10, CD13, CD33, CD66c and CD34 were observed in different age groups with B-cell ALL.   ABSTRACT Objective To characterize the immunophenotypic profile of acute leukemias in the population […]

Highlights 43.4% of the cohort developed acute kidney injury. D-dimer and fibrinogen levels were high in both groups. Rotational thromboelastometry data were similar between groups. Serum levels of antithrombin activity and protein C were lower in patients who developed acute kidney injury. Objective The incidence of thrombotic events and acute kidney injury is high in critically ill patients with COVID-19. We aimed to evaluate and compare the coagulation profiles of patients with COVID-19 developing acute kidney injury versus those who […]

Highlights There were no differences in the physiological responses to walking between men and women with intermittent claudication. Sex per se is not a factor that demands changes in walking prescription for patients with intermittent claudication. ABSTRACT Objective: Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), anaerobic threshold, walking economy, and cardiovascular responses during walking are used to guide and monitor walking training in patients with peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication. Women with peripheral artery disease and intermittent claudication present greater impairments than […]