RESUMEN Los mecanismos físicos involucrados en el desarrollo y pronóstico de nubes y precipitación son bastante complejos y dependen del ambiente atmosférico local, especialmente cuando condiciones severas son inminentes. Investigaciones destinadas a comprender los mecanismos favorables para los diferentes escenarios atmosféricos pueden ayudar a los meteorólogos operativos a emitir alertas. Este trabajo proporciona contribuciones cualitativas y cuantitativas a partir de datos de radiosondas y radar y simulaciones numéricas para evaluar la formación de nubes convectivas, estratiformes y no precipitantes sobre el área metropolitana de Río de Janeiro, Brasil. La energía potencial disponible para convección (CAPE) y el índice Liftex (LI) mostraron valores más altos en los días convectivos (CAPE = 2600 J Kg-1 y LI = -4 ºC), seguidos de los días sin precipitación (CAPE = 1500 J Kg-1 y LI = -2 ºC) y días nublados estratiformes (CAPE = 1400 J Kg-1 y LI = -1.5 ºC). Se observó una alta convergencia del viento a niveles bajos (1000-850 hPa) y medios (850-700 hPa) en días convectivos (-16.5 s-1 y -9.6 s-1, respectivamente). En contraste, se observó divergencia del viento a los mismos niveles en días estratiformes (6.4 s-1 y 6.9 s-1) y sin precipitación (9.7 s-1 y 7.3 s-1). Se observó una mayor divergencia del viento (8.3 s-1) en los días convectivos en los niveles superiores (300-200 hPa) en comparación con los días estratiformes (3.2 s-1) y sin precipitación (2.8 s-1). Los resultados muestran un acoplamiento de la convergencia del viento, la humedad y la energía en la troposfera inferior y la divergencia en los niveles superiores en los días convectivos. A pesar de la disponibilidad de humedad en los días estratiformes y de energía termodinámica en los días sin precipitación, no se observó el acoplamiento respectivo entre estas condiciones y los forzantes dinámicos.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Chronic urticaria is a debilitating disease that considerably affects health-related quality of life, and the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire is the only questionnaire specifically designed for its evaluation. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality of life of patients with chronic urticaria, using the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire. METHODS: The Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire was self-administered in 112 chronic urticaria patients and disease activity was assessed through the Urticaria Activity Score. Clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients were studied, such as: age, sex, etiologic diagnosis of chronic urticaria, duration of disease and Urticaria Activity Score. RESULTS: The population studied was composed 85.72% of women with a mean age of 46 years (18-90), while the median disease duration period was 10 years (3 months-60 years). Regarding the etiologic diagnosis, 48.22% had chronic spontaneous urticaria; 22.32% associated with inducible urticaria, 28.57% with chronic autoimmune urticaria, and 23.21% had physical urticaria alone. Disease activity evaluated using the Urticaria Activity Score was 1.04 ± 1.61 (0-6). The total score for the Chronic Urticaria Quality of Life Questionnaire was 36 (0-100) and dimension I (sleep/mental status/eating) had a greater impact on quality of life. The items with the highest mean scores were nervousness and shame over lesions, while the items with the lowest scores were lip swelling and limitations on sporting activities. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic urticaria compromises patients' quality of life, mainly those with more severe disease or who are diagnosed with chronic autoimmune urticaria.

Aims: To determine the frequency of viral pathogens causing upper respiratory tract infections in non-hospitalized, symptomatic adults in the city of Rio de Janeiro.Methods:Respiratory samples (nasal/throat swabs) were collected between August 2010 and November 2012 and real time PCR was used to detect different viral pathogens.Results:Viruses were detected in 32.1% (43/134) of samples from 101 patients. Specifically, 9% (12/134) were positive for HBoV, 8.2% (11/134) were positive for HAdV, 5.2% (7/134) were positive for HRV, and 1.5% (2/134) were positive for FLUBV or HMPV, as single infections. HRSV-A, HPIV-3, and HCoV-HKU1 were detected in one (0.75%) sample each. Co-infections were detected in 4.8% (6/134) of the samples. Peaks of viral infections were observed in March, April, May, August, and October. However, positive samples were detected all year round. Only 23.3% (10/43) of the positive samples were collected from patients with febrile illness.Conclusion:Results presented in this report suggest that respiratory viral infections are largely under diagnosed in immunocompetent adults. Although the majority of young adult infections are not life-threatening they may impose a significant burden, especially in developing countries since these individuals represent a large fraction of the working force.

BACKGROUND: atopic dermatitis is directly related to psychological stress, reduced quality of life and psychosomatic symptoms. The Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis is the only questionnaire developed specifically for assessment of psychosomatization in atopic dermatitis. OBJECTIVES: the objective of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis. METHODS: adaptation consisted of independent translation and backtranslation by three bilingual translators, followed by a pre-test. The Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis and the Dermatology Life Quality Index were self-administered to 47 patients with atopic dermatitis. Disease severity was evaluated using the Eczema Area and Severity Index. Factor analysis was used to identify the dimensions of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis. Internal consistency and convergence validity were also analyzed. Reproducibility was assessed using the Kappa coefficient. RESULTS: factor analysis revealed a two-dimensional structure: stress/laziness/insecurity (I) and maladjustment/social relationships (II), explaining 54.4% of total variance. All dimensions revealed excellent internal consistency. External construct validity was confirmed by positive correlations between the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis and the Dermatology Life Quality Index. Test-retest reliability was excellent, with k>0.7 for all questions. CONCLUSIONS: the Brazilian Portuguese version of the Psychosomatic Scale for Atopic Dermatitis demonstrated acceptable psychometric properties and can be used for the evaluation of psychosomatic symptoms in patients with atopic dermatitis and as a tool in clinical and epidemiological research.

O Angioedema Hereditário é uma doença autossômica dominante. A pesquisa de rotina para autoanticorpos não é recomendada para pacientes com Angioedema Hereditário; entretanto, a prevalência desses anticorpos em pacientes com Angioedema Hereditário não está bem documentada. Objetivamos determinar a prevalência de autoanticorpos para identificar indivíduos sob risco de desenvolver doenças autoimunes. Quinze pacientes com Angioedema Hereditário atendidos no Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho aceitaram participar do estudo. A prevalência de autoanticorpos foi de 40%. Nossos dados indicam alta prevalência de autoanticorpos em pacientes com Angioedema Hereditário. Estudos de maior escala deveriam ser considerados para determinar a significância desses autoanticorpos no acompanhamento clínico de pacientes com Angioedema Hereditário.

Hereditary Angioedema is a dominantly inherited disease. Routine screening of autoantibodies (AAB) is not recommended for individuals with Hereditary Angioedema; however, prevalence of these antibodies in Hereditary Angioedema patients is not well documented. We aim to determine the prevalence of AAB so that individuals at risk of developing autoimmune diseases can be identified. Fifteen patients with Hereditary Angioedema attended at Clementino Fraga Filho University Hospital accepted to participate in this study. Prevalence of AAB was 40%. Our data indicate high prevalence of AAB in patients with Hereditary Angioedema. Large-scale studies should be considered to determine the significance of these AAB in the follow-up care of patients with Hereditary Angioedema.