Decentralization and corruption: evidence from primary health-care programmes

The aim of this article is to evaluate whether there is an association between decentralization and corruption. In order to do so we analyse Brazilian health-care programmes that are run locally. To construct objective measures of corruption, we use the information from the reports of the auditing programme of the local governments of Brazil. Results point that there is no relationship between decentralization and corruption, whatever the measure of decentralization used.

A Bayesian analysis of the Conway-Maxwell-Poisson cure rate model

The purpose of this paper is to develop a Bayesian analysis for the right-censored survival data when immune or cured individuals may be present in the population from which the data is taken. In our approach the number of competing causes of the event of interest follows the Conway-Maxwell-Poisson distribution which generalizes the Poisson distribution. Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are used to develop a Bayesian procedure for the proposed model. Also, some discussions on the model selection and an illustration with a real data set are considered.

Recent shift from forest to savanna burning in the Amazon Basin observed by satellite

The numbers of fires detected on forest, savanna and transition lands during the 2002-10 biomass burning seasons in Amazonia are shown using fire count data and co-located land cover classifications from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The ratio of forest fires to savanna fires has varied substantially over the study period, with a maximum ratio of 0.65:1 in 2005 and a minimum ratio of 0.27:1 in 2009, with the four lowest years occurring in 2007-10. The burning during the droughts of 2007 and 2010 is attributed to a higher number of savanna fires relative to the drought of 2005. A decrease in the regional mean single scattering albedo of biomass burning aerosols, consistent with the shift from forest to savanna burning, is also shown. During the severe drought of 2010, forest fire detections were lower in many areas compared with 2005, even though the drought was more severe in 2010. This result suggests that improved fire management practices, including stricter burning regulations as well as lower deforestation burning, may have reduced forest fires in 2010 relative to 2005 in some areas of the Amazon Basin.

A Poisson mixed model with nonnormal random effect distribution

In this paper, we propose a random intercept Poisson model in which the random effect is assumed to follow a generalized log-gamma (GLG) distribution. This random effect accommodates (or captures) the overdispersion in the counts and induces within-cluster correlation. We derive the first two moments for the marginal distribution as well as the intraclass correlation. Even though numerical integration methods are, in general, required for deriving the marginal models, we obtain the multivariate negative binomial model from a particular parameter setting of the hierarchical model. An iterative process is derived for obtaining the maximum likelihood estimates for the parameters in the multivariate negative binomial model. Residual analysis is proposed and two applications with real data are given for illustration. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes CH138+apoptosis evaluation in milk with high and low somatic cell count - preliminary data

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) apoptosis is central to the successful resolution of inflammation. Since Somatic Cell Count (SCC) is an indicator of the mammary gland's immune status, this study sought to clarify the influence that these factors have on each other and on the evolution of the inflammatory process. Milk samples were stained with annexin-V, propidium iodide (PI), primary antibody anti-CH138A. Negative correlation between SCC and PMNL apoptosis was found, and a statistical difference between high SCC group and low SCC group was observed concerning the rate of viable PMNL, apoptotic PMNL, necrotic PMNL and necrotic and/or apoptotic PMNL. Overall, the high cellularity group presented lower proportions of CH138+ cells undergoing apoptosis and higher proportions of viable and necrotic CH138+ cells. Thus, it can be concluded that PMNL apoptosis and SCC are related factors, and that in high SCC, milk apoptosis is delayed. Although there is a greater amount of active phagocytes in this situation, apoptosis' anti-inflammatory effects are decreased, while necrosis' pro-inflammatory effects are increased, which can contribute to chronic inflammation.

Changes in Complete Blood Count in Patients With Surgically Treated Facial Fractures

The purpose of this prospective study was to verify the changes in the preoperative and postoperative complete blood counts of patients with surgically treated facial fractures. Fifty consecutive patients with a mean age of 34 years who presented facial fractures and underwent surgical treatment were included. A complete blood count was performed, comprising the red and white blood cell count (cells/mu L), hemoglobin (g/dL), and hematocrit (%) levels. These data were obtained preoperatively and postoperatively during a 6-week period. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests to identify the possible differences among the groups and among the periods of observation using the Friedman and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks tests. The most common location of the fractures was the mandible (42.3%), followed by the zygomatic-orbital (36.5%) and associated locations (21.2%). Leukocytosis was associated with neutrophilia in the immediate postoperative period in all of the groups. There were no values below the reference limits of the values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and erythrocytes, and no values above the reference limits for the remaining white blood cells, although significant differences among periods were observed in most cells, depending on the type of fracture. The primary findings were leukocytosis associated with neutrophilia, verified in the immediate postoperative period in all of the groups, and the influence of the type of fracture on the significant alterations observed among studied periods on the values of hemoglobin, hematocrit, erythrocytes, leukocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes.

WBC count and functional changes induced by co-administration of clofazimine and clarithromycin, in single and multiple doses, in Wistar rats

Clofazimine and clarithromycin are used to treat leprosy and infections caused by Mycobacterium avium complex. Little data on the toxicity of co-administration of these two drugs are available. Here we evaluated the potential adverse effects of polytherapy with these two drugs in male Wistar rats by determining WBCs counts and other blood cell counts, neutrophilic phagocytosis, and burst oxidative, by flow cytometry. We observed an increase in WBCs, in multiple-dose regimens, and in polymorphonuclear cells, in both single- clarithromycin only and multiple dose regimens. We also observed a reduction in mononuclear cell counts in single and multiple doses. The drugs seem to reverse the mononuclear and polymorphonuclear cell ratio. An increase in oxidative burst was observed in animals treated with the drugs administered either individually or combined. In conclusion, clofazimine and clarithromycin change WBCs counts. Our results may contribute for a better understanding of the mechanisms related to the effects of co-administrating the two drugs.