Promoting ethical and environmental awareness in vulnerable communities: a research action plan

Urban populations that live in the outskirts of major Latin American cities usually face conditions of vulnerability attached to complex environmental issues, such as the lack of sewerage, floods, pollution and soil and water contamination. This article reports an intervention research programme in Sao Paulo, Brazil that combines a moral education approach with sustainability awareness in vulnerable communities. The main conceptual foundations of the project, designed to empower the community and promote ethical and environmental awareness are: strengthening the ties between the school and the surrounding community in order to construct 'moral atmosphere'; adoption of Problem- and Project-based Learning and the Design Thinking approach to reach the proposed goals.

Functional independence in patients with chronic kidney disease being treated with haemodialysis

Purpose: This study has described and analysed the functional independence of the patients served in the haemodialysis services of a countryside town in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Method: The population considered was that of 214 patients being treated with haemodialysis, assessed in 2011, by means of a social, demographic and clinical report, a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and also the FIM. Results: The mean age of the population under study was 58.01 years, while the mean FIM point score was 118.38 points, showing a level of complete or modified independence within this population. Even though the level of dependence found has been low, this can be highlighted, within the locomotion domain, in the activity of going up and down stairs (10.28%). Age, complications arising from haemodialysis, and comorbidities show a negative correlation with FIM. Conclusion: Awareness of the level of functional independence of the patients being subjected to treatment with haemodialysis is essential in order to back up intervention for the improvement of nursing assistance provided to this population.

Vitrification of primordial germ cells using whole embryos for gene-banking in loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus

In gene-banking, primordial germ cells (PGCs), which are embryonic precursor cells of germ cells, are useful for cryopreservation because PGCs have a potential to differentiate into both eggs and sperm via germ-line chimera. Here, we have established vitrification methods for PGCs cryopreservation using 12- to 17-somite stage embryos in loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, which were dechorionated, removed their yolk and injected with green fluorescent protein (GFP) -nos1 3'UTR mRNA to visualize their PGCs. In order to optimize cryopreservation medium for vitrification, the toxicity of cryoprotectants was analyzed. Different concentrations (2, 3, 4, 5 m) of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol (MeOH), ethylene glycol (EG) and propylene glycol (PG) as cryoprotectants were tested. Then, 5 m DMSO showed significantly-high toxicity. Based on this information, combinations called DMP (2 m (14.2% [v/v]) DMSO, 2 m (8.1% [v/v]) MeOH and 2 m (14.4% [v/v]) PG), DP (2 m (14.2% [v/v]) DMSO and 4 m (28.7% [v/v]) PG) and DE (2.1 m (15% [v/v]) DMSO and 2.7 m (15% [v/v]) EG) were evaluated for their toxicities and efficacy of PGCs cryopreservation using two types of equilibration step: direct immersion of cryopreservation media (one-step) and serial exposure to half and full concentration of cryopreservation media (two-step). Viable PGCs were obtained from post-thaw embryos which were cryopreserved by DP and DE with both 1- and 2-step equilibrations. Despite DP showing the highest toxicity, it gave the highest survival rate of embryonic cells after cryopreservation. When PGCs recovered from vitrified embryos were transplanted into host embryos at the blastula stage, the transplanted PGCs were able to migrate to a host genital ridge similarly as endogenous PGCs. It suggests that our methods could be useful to create a germ-line chimera for the production of gametes from PGCs of cryopreserved embryos.

Awareness and knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines in young women after first delivery in São Paulo, Brazil - a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background The success of HPV vaccination programs will require awareness regarding HPV associated diseases and the benefits of HPV vaccination for the general population. The aim of this study was to assess the level of awareness and knowledge of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, cervical cancer prevention, vaccines, and factors associated with HPV awareness among young women after birth of the first child. Methods This analysis is part of a cross-sectional study carried out at Hospital Maternidade Leonor Mendes de Barros, a large public maternity hospital in Sao Paulo. Primiparous women (15-24 years) who gave birth in that maternity hospital were included. A questionnaire that included questions concerning knowledge of HPV, cervical cancer, and vaccines was applied. To estimate the association of HPV awareness with selected factors, prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM). Results Three hundred and one primiparous women were included; 37% of them reported that they "had ever heard about HPV", but only 19% and 7%, respectively, knew that HPV is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and that it can cause cervical cancer. Seventy-four percent of interviewees mentioned the preventive character of vaccines and all participants affirmed that they would accept HPV vaccination after delivery. In the multivariate analysis, only increasing age (P for trend = 0.021) and previous STI (P < 0.001) were factors independently associated with HPV awareness ("had ever heard about HPV"). Conclusions This survey indicated that knowledge about the association between HPV and cervical cancer among primiparous young women is low. Therefore, these young low-income primiparous women could benefit greatly from educational interventions to encourage primary and secondary cervical cancer prevention programs.

HEALTH PROBLEMS AWARENESS DURING TRAVEL AMONG FACULTY MEMBERS OF A LARGE UNIVERSITY IN LATIN AMERICA. PRELIMINARY REPORT

Health safety during trips is based on previous counseling, vaccination and prevention of infections, previous diseases or specific problems related to the destination. Our aim was to assess two aspects, incidence of health problems related to travel and the traveler’s awareness of health safety. To this end we phone-interviewed faculty members of a large public University, randomly selected from humanities, engineering and health schools. Out of 520 attempts, we were able to contact 67 (12.9%) and 46 (68.6%) agreed to participate in the study. There was a large male proportion (37/44, 84.1%), mature adults mostly in their forties and fifties (32/44, 72.7%), all of them with higher education, as you would expect of faculty members. Most described themselves as being sedentary or as taking occasional exercise, with only 15.9% (7/44) taking regular exercise. Preexisting diseases were reported by 15 travelers. Most trips lasted usually one week or less. Duration of the travel was related to the destination, with (12h) or longer trips being taken by 68.2% (30/44) of travelers, and the others taking shorter (3h) domestic trips. Most travelling was made by air (41/44) and only 31.8% (14/44) of the trips were motivated by leisure. Field research trips were not reported. Specific health counseling previous to travel was reported only by two (4.5%). Twenty seven of them (61.4%) reported updated immunization, but 11/30 reported unchecked immunizations. 30% (9/30) reported travel without any health insurance coverage. As a whole group, 6 (13.6%) travelers reported at least one health problem attributed to the trip. All of them were males travelling abroad. Five presented respiratory infections, such as influenza and common cold, one neurological, one orthopedic, one social and one hypertension. There were no gender differences regarding age groups, destination, type of transport, previous health counseling, leisure travel motivation or pre-existing diseases. Interestingly, the two cases of previous health counseling were made by domestic travelers. Our data clearly shows that despite a significant number of travel related health problems, these highly educated faculty members, had a low awareness of those risks, and a significant number of travels are made without prior counseling or health insurance. A counseling program conducted by a tourism and health professional must be implemented for faculty members in order to increase the awareness of travel related health problems.

Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS) in patients with fibromyalgia

Background Mindful-based interventions improve functioning and quality of life in fibromyalgia (FM) patients. The aim of the study is to perform a psychometric analysis of the Spanish version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in a sample of patients diagnosed with FM. Methods The following measures were administered to 251 Spanish patients with FM: the Spanish version of MAAS, the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire, the Pain Catastrophising Scale, the Injustice Experience Questionnaire, the Psychological Inflexibility in Pain Scale, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and the Euroqol. Factorial structure was analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA). Cronbach's α coefficient was calculated to examine internal consistency, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to assess the test-retest reliability of the measures. Pearson’s correlation tests were run to evaluate univariate relationships between scores on the MAAS and criterion variables. Results The MAAS scores in our sample were low (M = 56.7; SD = 17.5). CFA confirmed a two-factor structure, with the following fit indices [sbX2 = 172.34 (p < 0.001), CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.90, SRMR = 0.05, RMSEA = 0.06. MAAS was found to have high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.90) and adequate test-retest reliability at a 1–2 week interval (ICC = 0.90). It showed significant and expected correlations with the criterion measures with the exception of the Euroqol (Pearson = 0.15). Conclusion Psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the MAAS in patients with FM are adequate. The dimensionality of the MAAS found in this sample and directions for future research are discussed.