Evaluation of urban ants (hymenoptera: formicidae) as vectors of microorganisms in residential and industrial environments: II. Fungi

Collections in households and industrial kitchens were done aiming at evaluating the potential of urban ants in spreading fungi. The most abundant ant species in households were Tapinoma melanocephalum and Paratrechina longicornis. In industrial kitchens Paratrechina longicornis and Monomorium floricola were the most common. Tapinoma melanocephalum was the species that most carried fungi, followed by Paratrechina longicornis, Tetramorium sp., Monomorium pharaonis and Monomorium floricola. An aflatoxigenic strain of Aspergillus flavus was isolated.

Rational use of residential digesters for sewage treatment with Carbon Credits

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Potentially inappropriate medications used by the elderly: Prevalence and risk factors in Brazilian care homes

Abstract. Background: The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) among the elderly is a serious public health problem because it is intrinsically linked to increased morbidity and mortality, causing high costs to public health systems. This study's objective was to verify the prevalence of and the factors associated with the use of PIMs by elderly Brazilians in institutional settings. Methods. We performed a transversal study, by consulting the case files of elderly people living in Long Term Care for the Elderly (LTC) in towns in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, as well as structured interviews with the nurses responsible for them.We identified PIMs using the list of recently updated Beers criteria developed by a group of specialists from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), who reviewed the criteria based on studies with high scientific evidence levels. We defined the factors studied to evaluate the association with PIM use prior to the statistical analyses, which were the chi-square test and multiple logistic regression. Results: Among the elderly who used drugs daily, 82.6% were taking at least one PIM, with antipsychotics (26.5%) and analgesics (15.1%) being the most commonly used. Out of all the medications used, 32.4% were PIMs, with 29.7% of these being PIMs that the elderly should avoid independent of their condition, 1.1% being inappropriate medication for older adults with certain illnesses or syndromes, and 1.6% being medications that older adults should use with caution. In the multivariate analysis, the factors associated with PIM use were: polypharmacy (p = 0.0187), cerebrovascular disease (p = 0.0036), psychiatric disorders (p < 0.0001) and dependency (p = 0.0404). Conclusions: The results of this study showed a high prevalence of PIM use in institutionalized elderly Brazilian patients. and the associated factors were polypharmacy, psychiatric disorders, cerebrovascular diseases and dependency. © 2013 Lima et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Situação nutricional de idosos institucionalizados no município de Araraquara/SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Depression and Cognitive Decline: Factors Related to Demographics and Psycho Pharmacotherapy on Elderly in Nursing Homes

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders, especially DP and CD, on a sample of nursing home residents, relating this prevalence with some aspects of the demographics and psycho pharmacotherapy. Methods: 48 elders from two different nursing homes were selected. The collection of demographic and pharmacological data was made utilizing medical records. The medication was classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Code (ATC) criteria. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS 30) and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) tests were utilized to determine the prevalence of DP and CD. Results: It was observed in the sample a high incidence of DP and CD among the researched elders. More schooling individuals tend to present less CD. Individuals with less CD indicatives present less symptomatology for DP. Of all the researched elders, 54,2% are submitted to psycho pharmacotherapy. Of all the consumed medicine, 16,5% belonged to the class of neuropsychiatric medicine. The medicated elders present, in average, a larger symptomatology for DP (12 points/average/GDS) than the non-medicated elders (9,9 points/average/GDS). The inverse occurs in relation to the CD indicatives. The use of psychotropics, especially in association, can have negative effects related to depression and cognition. Discussion: The pharmacotherapy, characterized for the polymedication and chronicity, especially of neuropsychiatric medicines, deserves special attention among elders, because the data suggest a significant relation between the utilization of medicines, singly or in association, and the increase of CD and DP. In addition, the data suggest that DP is a risk factor for CD and DM.

O Programa Minha Casa Minha Vida, o mercado imobiliário e o direito à cidade: análise dos impactos do programa na cidade de São Carlos - SP

This article discusses, in general matters, the economic and social motivations, the organization and development of the program Minha Casa Minha Vida, made in 2009, by Federal Government of Brazil. The objective of this work was to analyse the Brazilian economic and housing context, and the program relation with the Subprime international crisis, which has been started at United States in 2008, as well as analysing and discussing the logistics and the program accessibility. The MCMV program, part of the PAC – Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento – has the intention to combat the economic crisis that had been installed and also minimize the deficit housing of the country. From PAC's initial estimate, US$250 Bi, it has been spent US$129 Bi and it has already been approved more than US$125 Bi designated for the second stage of the program, whose the estimate of PAC2 is about one trillion and a half of brazilian reais. One million homes were built between 2009 and 2012, and the goal for 2014 is two million and a half of new residences. If comparing the current program with the oldest programs, progress were observed ,however, problems and inconsistences are clearly seen: in the real concernment, the truly beneficiary, and contradiction between a social and economic program to urban demands, among other situational factors. It’s also evident, the incentivation for a new residential and closed neighbourhoods, thereby adding to the fragmentation of the urban space, beyond of the exclusion socioespacial caused financing of residences in farest allotments. The capitalist production of the space it’s clearly thriving in analysis of thisfinancing package of the urban habitation, where the biggest glebas rise between central neighbourhood and the newest generated suburb, they evidence the negligence of the authorities in well managing the space, not executing the application of urban instruments of planning the social function, and...

Produção do espaço e controle social: os espaços residenciais populares fechados como novo modelo de moradia. -

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effects of residential energy-saving lamps on the attraction of nocturnal insects

Many species of insects display a disposition to move towards light. As a consequence, nocturnal artificial lighting often contributes to an increase in insect population among humans. We tested the hypothesis that residential white lamps can evoke significantly different attraction to insects even when their light outputs are nearly indistinguishable to humans. In a two-choice experiment using insect traps equipped with either a compact fluorescent or a LED light source with similar photometric specifications, about three times more insects were captured in the trap with a compact fluorescent lamp than in the LED trap. The results suggest that LED lamps are preferable to compact fluorescent lamps when the objective is to avoid attracting nocturnal insects to households.