The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to affect all individuals, however in a heterogeneous way. In this sense, identifying specificities of each location is essential to minimize the damage caused by the disease. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the vulnerability of the 853 municipalities in the second most populous state in Brazil, Minas Gerais (MG), in order to direct public policies. Then, an epidemiological study was carried out based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) using indicators with some relation to the process of illness and death caused by COVID-19. The indicators were selected by a literature review and categorized into: demographic, social, economic, health infrastructure, population at risk and epidemiological. The variables were collected in Brazilian government databases at the municipal level and evaluated according to MCDA, through the Program to Support Decision Making based on indicators (PRADIN). Based on this approach, the study performed simulations by category of indicators and a general simulation that allowed to divide the municipalities into groups of 1 to 5, with 1 being the least vulnerable and 5 being the most vulnerable. The groupings of municipalities were exposed in their respective mesoregions of MG in a thematic map, using the software Tabwin 32. The results revealed that the mesoregion of Norte de Minas stands out with more than 40% of its municipalities belonging to group 5, according to economic, social and health infrastructure indicators. Similarly, the Jequitinhonha mesoregion exhibited almost 60% of the municipalities in this group for economic and health infrastructure indicators. For demographic and epidemiological criteria, the Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte mesoregion is the most vulnerable, with 42.9% and 26.7% of the municipalities in group 5, respectively. Considering the presence of a population at risk, Zona da Mata reported 42.3% of the municipalities in the most vulnerable group. In the joint analysis of data, the Jequitinhonha, Vale do Mucuri and Vale do Rio Doce mesoregions were the most vulnerable in the state of MG. Thus, through the outlined profile, the present study proved how socioeconomic diversity affects the vulnerability of the municipalities to face COVID-19 outbreak, highlighting the need for interventions directed to each reality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to affect all individuals, however in a heterogeneous way. In this sense, identifying specificities of each location is essential to minimize the damage caused by the disease. Therefore, the aim of this research was to assess the vulnerability of 853 municipalities in the second most populous state in Brazil, Minas Gerais (MG), in order to direct public policies. An epidemiological study was carried out based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) using indicators with some relation to the process of illness and death caused by COVID-19. The indicators were selected by a literature search and categorized into: demographic, social, economic, health infrastructure, population at risk and epidemiological. The variables were collected in Brazilian government databases at the municipal level and evaluated according to MCDA, through the Program to Support Decision Making based on Indicators (PRADIN). Based on this approach, the study performed simulations by category of indicators and a general simulation that allowed to divide the municipalities into groups of 1–5, with 1 being the least vulnerable and 5 being the most vulnerable. The groupings of municipalities were exposed in their respective mesoregions of MG in a thematic map, using the software Tabwin 32. The results revealed that the mesoregion of Norte de Minas stands out with more than 40% of its municipalities belonging to group 5, according to economic, social and health infrastructure indicators. Similarly, the Jequitinhonha mesoregion exhibited almost 60% of the municipalities in this group for economic and health infrastructure indicators. For demographic and epidemiological criteria, the Metropolitana de Belo Horizonte was the most vulnerable mesoregion, with 42.9 and 26.7% of the municipalities in group 5, respectively. Considering the presence of a population at risk, Zona da Mata reported 42.3% of the municipalities in the most vulnerable group. In the joint analysis of data, the Jequitinhonha, Vale do Mucuri and Vale do Rio Doce mesoregions were the most vulnerable in the state of MG. Thus, through the outlined profile, the present study proved how socioeconomic diversity affects the vulnerability of the municipalities to face COVID-19 outbreak, highlighting the need for interventions directed to each reality.

Resumo: Introdução: Diante da pandemia da Covid-19, os(as) estudantes de Medicina tornaram-se ainda mais fragilizados(as) e vulnerabilizados(as) pelo contexto de isolamento social, uma vez que tiveram suas rotinas alteradas. Assim, a Associação Atlética Acadêmica Marcel Resende Davi (AAAMRD), visando cumprir com a sua responsabilidade social de promoção da saúde, buscou incentivar a prática desportiva ao valorizar esse hábito em prol do bem-estar físico e mental dos(as) estudantes. Desse modo, este artigo objetiva relatar a experiência da atlética com a realização de um desafio esportivo virtual entre suas equipes. Relato de experiência: O desafio foi elaborado e executado remotamente para 112 atletas de 14 equipes esportivas. Nos grupos de WhatsApp®, particulares de cada time, os(as) atletas deveriam enviar mídias dos exercícios físicos realizados e contabilizá-los em uma lista. Ressalta-se que foram disponibilizados treinos nas redes sociais da atlética, em parceria com profissional capacitado, como forma de proporcionar treinos seguros. Ao final das 11 semanas de desafio, as três melhores equipes foram premiadas. Aplicou-se também um formulário de feedback para verificar a efetividade da ação. Discussão: A tecnologia, importante aliada na organização do desafio, permitiu que a promoção da saúde ocorresse remotamente, respeitando o distanciamento social. Ao estimular a constância de treinos, a atlética contribuiu para a manutenção de parte da rotina dos(as) graduandos(as), prejudicada pelo contexto pandêmico. Além disso, o espírito de coletividade e a interação entre os(as) atletas dentro dos grupos contribuíram para que esse distanciamento não fosse total, formando uma rede de apoio ao compartilharem também seus medos, inseguranças e saudades. Conclusão: Os resultados alcançados com o desafio e os feedbacks positivos confirmaram a efetividade da promoção da saúde proposta pela AAAMRD. Ademais, em conformidade com as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais e apesar do momento adverso, a instituição mostrou-se presente na formação pessoal e profissional dos(as) estudantes.

BackgroundThe inactivation of the tumor-suppressor homeodomain-only protein X (HOPX) usually involves promoter methylation in several cancer types. This study aimed to investigate the HOPX-β mRNA expression and promoter methylation and their clinical relevance in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).Patients and methodsClinicopathological data and paraffin-embedded thyroid tumor tissues from 21 patients with DTC and 6 with benign tumors (T) and their non-tumor parenchyma (NT) were investigated. Tumor cell lines (FTC238, FTC236 and WRO) were treated with demethylating agent. HOPX-β mRNA expression was assessed by qRT-PCR and methylation status by Q-MSP. Thyroid cancer data from Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was also collected.ResultsHOPX-β mRNA re-expression in two cell lines treated with demethylating agent was observed concomitantly with reduced promoter methylation. Reduced mRNA expression in T group compared to their NT was observed, and reduced protein expression in T compared to NT was observed in three cases. Low mRNA expression with high methylation status was detected in 6/14 DTC samples. High methylation status was associated with older age at diagnosis, recurrent or progressive disease and with the presence of new neoplasm event post initial therapy while hyper-methylation correlated with worse overall survival, worse disease-free status and older age.ConclusionA moderate coupling of downregulation of HOPX-β mRNA expression in DTC followed by high HOPX-β promoter methylation was observed however; high HOPX promoter methylation status was associated with the worse prognosis of DTC patients.

O objetivo deste relato é descrever a experiência dos discentes do curso de graduação em Medicina em uma ação extensionista que abordou o malefício do uso tabágico. A ação teve como público-alvo estudantes de 10 a 15 anos de idade, matriculados em uma escola pública. Os objetivos foram: compartilhar conhecimento científico sobre os malefícios do uso tabágico e sensibilizar os estudantes acerca dos danos desse hábito. No planejamento da ação, adotou-se o Arco de Maguerez, um método para conhecer a realidade dos estudantes para os quais a atividade foi preparada, além de Teatro Invisível, quizes e rodas de conversa, com intuito de abordar de forma efetiva a temática. A ação teve duração de cerca de 90 minutos e foi executada em cinco classes da escola. Observou-se que, apesar de grande parte dos estudantes ter relatado contato prévio com o tabaco, poucos sabiam os impactos negativos acarretados por esse hábito. Os estudantes demonstraram surpresa ao ouvir sobre os prejuízos oriundos do uso do tabaco para a saúde e puderam sanar dúvidas com os discentes que conduziram a ação, a qual, acredita-se, tenha colaborado para promoção de saúde.