ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: The thrombin generation test (TGT) has shown promise for investigation of hemorrhagic and thrombotic diseases. However, despite its potential, it still needs standardization. Moreover, few studies have established reference values for TGT parameters. In Brazil, these values have not yet been established. OBJECTIVE: To determine TGT performance and reference intervals for TGT parameters in healthy individuals. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted among participants in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (Estudo Longitudinal de Saúde do Adulto, ELSA-Brasil). METHODS: The reference sample consisted of 620 healthy individuals. The calibrated automated thrombogram (CAT) method, under low and high tissue factor (TF) conditions, was used to assess thrombin generation. Test performance was analyzed using intra and interassay coefficients of variation (CV) and reference intervals were calculated using the nonparametric method proposed by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. RESULTS: The intraassay CV ranged from 1.4% to 2.2% and the interassay CV, 6.8% to 14.7%. The reference intervals for TGT parameters under low and high TF conditions were, respectively: lagtime: 3.0-10.3 and 1.4-3.7 min; endogenous thrombin potential (ETP): 1134.6-2517.9 and 1413.6-2658.0 nM.min; normalized ETP: 0.6-1.3 and 0.7-1.4; peak: 103.2-397.7 and 256.4-479.0 nM; normalized peak: 0.3-1.3 and 0.7-1.2; and time-to-peak: 5.6-16.0 and 3.4-6.7 min. These parameters were categorized relative to sex. Conclusion: TGT performance was adequate and the proposed reference intervals were similar to those of other studies. Our findings may be useful for consolidating the TGT, through contributing to its standardization and validation.

RESUMO Este artigo discute teoricamente intersecções entre noções de raça e língua em sociedades racializadas devido ao violento processo de colonização europeia nas Américas, como o Brasil. Essa racialização subalterniza corpos em detrimento de outros considerados universais e não racializados: homem, branco, europeu, heterossexual. Contudo, considero aqui que todos os corpos são racializados, pois este é um marcador de diferença que gera desigualdades sociais. Partindo da perspectiva decolonial (MIGNOLO, 2003; LUGONES, 2014), que destaca a importância de considerar a diferença colonial como espaço físico e imaginário onde emerge e atua a colonialidade do poder, a exposição será sobre os conceitos de ideologias linguísticas (BAUMAN; BRIGGS, 2000; BLOMMAERT; VERSCHUEREN, 1998; KROSKRITY, 2004; IRVINE, 1989), e como tais ideologias são mobilizadas para justificar hierarquias raciais impostas na sociedade (PINTO, 2014; 2018; ROSA; FLORES, 2017; ROSA, 2019; NASCIMENTO, 2019), atendendo a um projeto de nação colonial hegemônico, advindo da modernidade, centrado na tríade: uma nação, um povo, uma língua. Tal projeto moderno colonial nega a existência de outras cosmologias e ontologias, como um mecanismo de controle dos corpos. Finalmente, apresento estudos que partem do pensamento liminar, no sentido atribuído por Mignolo (2003), indicando saídas contra-hegemônicas e processos de contra colonização, conforme hooks (2008); Bispo dos Santos (2015) e outras/os que partem desse lugar historicamente subalternizado para desestabilizar a tradição colonial acadêmica. Assim, farei uma reflexão sobre a importância da produção do conhecimento gerado por acadêmicas/os indígenas e quilombolas visando à retomada de suas histórias, lutando contra desigualdades que têm sido justificadas pela história única (ADICHIE, 2019).

ABSTRACT This paper makes a theoretical discussion about the intersections between notions of race and language in racialized societies because of the violent process of european colonization in the Americas, such as Brazil. This racialization subordinates bodies to the detriment of others considered universal and not racialized: white man, european, heterosexual. However, I consider here that all bodies are racialized, as this is a mark of difference that generates social inequalities. Starting from the decolonial perspective (MIGNOLO, 2003; LUGONES, 2014), which highlights the importance of considering the colonial difference as a physical and imaginary space where the coloniality of power emerges and operates, the exhibition will focus on the concepts of linguistic ideologies (BAUMAN; BRIGGS, 2000; BLOMMAERT; VERSCHUEREN, 1998; KROSKRITY, 2004; IRVINE, 1989) and how such ideologies are mobilized to justify racial hierarchies imposed on society (PINTO, 2014; 2018; ROSA; FLORES, 2017; ROSA, 2019; NASCIMENTO, 2019), serving a hegemonic colonial nation project, arising from modernity, centered on the triad: one nation, one people, one language. Such a modern colonial project denies the existence of other cosmologies and ontologies, as a mechanism for controlling bodies. Finally, I present studies that start from border thinking, in the Mignolo (2003) sense, indicating counter-hegemonic solutions and processes of counter colonization, according to hooks (2008); Bispo dos Santos (2015) and others who leave this historically subordinate place to destabilize the academic colonial tradition. Thereby, I will think about the importance of knowledge production generated by academic indigenous and quilombolas aiming at the resumption of their stories, fighting against inequalities that have been justified by the single story (ADICHIE, 2019).

RESUMO A obesidade, o diabetes e a hipertensão arterial são fatores de risco para as doenças cardiovasculares (DCV) por promoverem um estado de hipercoagulabilidade. É sabido que as plaquetas desempenham um importante papel no desenvolvimento da aterosclerose. Diante disso, estudos recentes têm avaliado os índices de volumes plaquetários (IVPs) em indivíduos com fatores de risco para DCV, para melhor se entenderem os mecanismos plaquetários envolvidos no seu desenvolvimento. Os IVPs estimam indiretamente a função plaquetária e são facilmente obtidos a partir de analisadores hematológicos automáticos, que fornecem contagens de plaquetas, volume médio de plaquetas (VPM), largura de distribuição de plaquetas (PDW) e a proporção de plaquetas grandes (P-LCR). O presente trabalho tem por objetivo revisar na literatura estudos que investigaram a associação entre os IVPs e obesidade, diabetes e hipertensão arterial, a fim de avaliar o seu uso como potencial marcador subclínico das DCV. Estudos demonstraram resultados promissores quanto ao VPM, um índice que permite uma detecção precoce da ativação de plaquetas e que pode ser útil na identificação de pacientes antes do início do desenvolvimento de DCV, de tal forma que estratégias preventivas possam ser implantadas. O PDW, embora tenha sido avaliado por um número menor de estudos, também demonstrou resultados promissores. Entretanto, ainda existe um longo caminho a se percorrer para que o VPM e o PDW sejam utilizados na prática clínica, pois ainda são necessárias mais evidências epidemiológicas, o estabelecimento de valores de referência e a padronização da forma de expressar os resultados.

SUMMARY Obesity, diabetes and hypertension are risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) because they promote a state of hypercoagulability. It is known that platelets play an important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Recent studies have evaluated platelet volume indexes (PVIs) in individuals with risk factors for CVD to better understand the platelet mechanisms involved in their development. The IVPs indirectly estimate platelet function and are easily obtained from automated hematology analyzers, which provide platelet counts, mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and the platelet-large cell ratio (P-LCR). The present study aims to review literature studies that investigated the association between PVIs and obesity, diabetes, and arterial hypertension, in order to evaluate its use as a potential subclinical marker of CVD. Studies have shown promising results for MPV, an index that allows for early detection of platelet activation and may be useful in identifying patients before the onset of CVD development so that preventive strategies can be implemented. The PDW, although evaluated by a smaller number of studies, also showed promising results. However, there is still a long way to go in order for the MPV and PDW to be used in clinical practice, since there is still a need for more epidemiological evidence, establishing reference values, and standardizing the way results are presented.

The efficacy of oral praziquantel in the treatment of schistosomiasis has been considered low by most public health institutions. In this paper, we compared the efficacy of two dosages of praziquantel (80 mg/kg vs. 50 mg/kg) in patients with chronic schistosomiasis mansoni. Two hundred eighty-eight patients with schistosomiasis from a community in Brazil were randomly divided into two groups: 145 patients (Group 1) received 80 mg/kg body weight of oral praziquantel divided in two equal doses with 1 h interval and 143 patients (Group 2) received 50 mg/kg body weight of oral praziquantel. To keep the study masked, patients in Group 2 received placebo 1 h after the first dose. All patients were subjected to clinical and ultrasonographic examination. Cure assessment was performed by repeating two stool examinations, by a quantitative method, at 30, 90 and 180 days after treatment. The morbidity of schistosomiasis was low, with a few cases of light periportal thickening and 16 cases of mild splenomegaly. The cure rates were 89.7% for Group 1 and 83.9% for Group 2. There was no difference in the efficacy of both therapeutic dosages of praziquantel assayed. The adverse reactions were more frequent with higher dosage.

The best way to appraise the size of abdominal organs remains undefined. Herein we compare the size of liver and spleen in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis using clinical and ultrasound (US) examination, and the size of the organs measured by US with their visualization below the costal margin ("palpable by US"). For this study, 411 individuals from an endemic area for schistosomiasis mansoni in Brazil have been selected. We found that palpable spleens and left liver lobes are larger than non palpable ones. Also, 23% of normal spleens measured by US were palpable on clinical examination, and 22% of spleens increased in size on US were non palpable. A total of 21% of normal spleens were "palpable by US". We also found 54% of normal sized right liver lobes palpable on clinical examination, whilst 54% of the increased livers, measured by US, were non palpable. About 76% of normal right liver lobes were "palpable by US". We conclude that the association of clinical, ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations, in the near future, should give the investigators the necessary tools to perform a more accurate clinical diagnosis of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni.

O comportamento da infecção pelo Schistosoma mansoni não foi explorado em pacientes com AIDS. Relatamos aqui o caso de uma paciente com esquistossomose mansoni, AIDS, e doença pelo citomegalovírus. Os autores sugerem que o helminto não foi apenas um espectador neste caso, mas, que, ao interferir na resposta imune do hospedeiro, promoveu o surgimento e/ou agravamento da infecção causada pelo citomegalovírus.

The behavior of the Schistosoma mansoni infection in patients with AIDS has not been explored. The case of a young woman with schistosomiasis mansoni, AIDS, and cytomegalovirus disease is reported. The authors suggest that the helminth was not a bystander in this case, or rather, by interfering with the host's immune response, it set the stage for the development and/or aggravation of the viral infection.

In this paper we describe an aspect-oriented infrastructure to handle dynamic AOP based on the Lua language. This infrastructure is composed of AspectLua, a Lua extension that allows the declaration of aspects, and a meta-object protocol, LuaMOP, that unifies the introspective and reflective mechanisms provided by Lua. Aspects are defined in isolation using AspectLua and then they are weaved through LuaMOP. An important feature of AspectLua is to allow the association of aspects with undeclared elements of the application code (anticipated join points). Furthermore, it combines a range of features to make AOP easier and powerful.