Prenatal exposures and exposomics of asthma

This review examines the causal investigation of preclinical development of childhood asthma using exposomic tools. We examine the current state of knowledge regarding early-life exposure to non-biogenic indoor air pollution and the developmental modulation of the immune system. We examine how metabolomics technologies could aid not only in the biomarker identification of a particular asthma phenotype, but also the mechanisms underlying the immunopathologic process. Within such a framework, we propose alternate components of exposomic investigation of asthma in which, the exposome represents a reiterative investigative process of targeted biomarker identification, validation through computational systems biology and physical sampling of environmental medi

Limitação de atividades em idosos: estudo em novos usuários de próteses auditivas por meio do questionário APHAB Activity limitations in the elderly: a study of new hearing aid users using the APHAB questionnaire

OBJETIVO: Avaliar limitações auditivas de idosos com perda auditiva sensorioneural de grau moderado a severo segundo variáveis escolaridade e grau da perda auditiva, por meio do questionário de auto-avaliação Abbreviate Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB). MÉTODOS: Foi aplicado o questionário em 30 idosos antes e após três meses de uso da amplificação. A amostra foi composta por 60% mulheres e 40% homens, com média de idade de 71,6 anos. O grau de escolaridade foi distribuído em três categorias: não-alfabetizado, ensino fundamental e ensino médio. Os dados foram analisados estatisticamente. Os escores foram comparados por sub-escala, e a avaliação geral pela subtração desses escores. Além disso, foi calculada a associação entre benefício e grau de escolaridade e grau de perda auditiva. RESULTADOS: O estudo comparativo entre os escores obtidos na aplicação do questionário sem e com prótese auditiva revelou diferença nas sub-escalas Facilidade de Comunicação, Reverberação e Ruído Ambiental, com valores de p<0,001. Na sub-escala Aversão aos Sons ocorreu piora com a amplificação. Houve melhora no desempenho com prótese auditiva na avaliação geral nas três sub-escalas. Não houve associação entre o benefício obtido com a prótese auditiva, grau de escolaridade e grau de perda auditiva. CONCLUSÃO: Há benefício nas sub-escalas: Facilidade de Comunicação, Reverberação e Ruído Ambiental. Não há associação entre benefício, escolaridade e grau da perda auditiva. O benefício obtido na sub-escala Ruído Ambiental é menor que nas sub-escalas Facilidade de Comunicação e Reverberação.<br>PURPOSE: To evaluate hearing limitations among elderly individuals with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss according to the variables educational level and degree of hearing loss, using the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit self-assessment questionnaire. METHODS: The questionnaire was applied to 30 elderly subjects before and after three months of use of amplification. The sample was composed of 60% females and 40% males, with mean age of 71.6 years. Educational level was divided into three categories: illiterate, elementary school, and high school education. Data were analyzed statistically. Scores were compared by subscale and an overall assessment was conducted by subtracting these scores. Moreover, it was calculated the association between benefit and educational level and degree of hearing loss. RESULTS: The comparative study between scores obtained in the questionnaire with and without hearing aid revealed difference in the subscales Ease of Communication, Reverberation and Background Noise, with values p<0.001. In the Aversion to Sounds subscale, it was observed a decline with amplification. Performance improved with the hearing aid in the overall evaluation for all three subscales. There was no association between benefits obtained with the hearing aid, educational level, and degree of hearing loss. CONCLUSION: Benefits were reported in the subscales: Ease of Communication, Reverberation, and Background Noise. No association was found between benefits, educational level and degree of hearing loss. The benefit obtained in the Background Noise subscale is smaller than that observed in Reverberation and Ease of Communication

Surgical Management of Transverse Maxillary Deficiency in Adults

Transverse maxillary deficiencies are a common occurance, prevalent in both syndromic and non syndromic patients. Treatment usually combines a orthodontic-surgical intervention in adults. This article reviews the procedures along with the experience of the authors in the correction of maxillary transverse deficiency in adults