Road safety: implications for sustainable development in Latin America

Road accidents cause more deaths than homicides in Latin America, nevertheless it is not highlighted as a major concern by media and society. World Health Organization put this issue in high priority by releasing the Decade of Action in Road Safety that establishes five pillars to guide national road safety plans and activities. This paper addresses the drawbacks in the implementation of these actions in Latin American countries and its implications to achieve a sustainable development. The main concerns are: lack of empowerment of the road safety management organisations; lower vehicular standards; corruption related to the enforcement of traffic safety laws to and to the construction of safer roads; absence of safety vehicular inspections; vehicle fleet increase, decrease of public transportation demand; and the absence of a safety culture. Without facing these problems, sustainable development in Latin America will be impaired, once road safety is a fundamental link to achieve sustainability.

A divulgação científica na mídia impressa: as ciências biológicas em foco

Este artigo tem como objetivo discutir algumas características da divulgação científica que toma as ciências biológicas como tema central. Optou-se pela análise de livros que, no contexto brasileiro, alcançaram sucesso público e que são, freqüentemente, mencionados por alunos universitários, tanto em sala de aula quanto em seus escritos. O enfoque dado à pesquisa é de cunho antropológico, enfatizando-se que, na pós-modernidade, fluem paralelamente duas culturas, rotuladas por Giddens (2002) de a cultura da segurança e a cultura de risco.

Análise geoambiental da baixada santista da Ponta de Itaipu ao Maciço de Itatins (SP)

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE

Acidentes de trabalho em hospital público de alta complexidade no interior paulista: estudo das concepções de segurança

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Demonstration of the cellular viability and safety of Enterococcus faecium CRL 183 in long-term experiments

Enterococcus faecium CRL 183, a strain isolated from NSLAB cheese starter, has been the focus of much research on its potential probiotic capacity, although its survival through the gastrointestinal tract has not been demonstrated so far. In order to determine the capacity of E. faecium CRL 183 to survive such conditions, this strain was administered daily to rats for 30 weeks. The experimental animals were divided into Group I: those that did not receive E. faecium, Group II: those that received a pure culture of E. faecium CRL 183 and Group III: animals that received E. faecium CRL 183 in the form of a fermented soy-based product. Faecal samples were collected at the beginning and at the 50%, 75% and 100% stages of the experimental period. Isolation and counts of Enterococcus were carried out on KF selective media. To distinguish the various Enterococcus species in the faeces, biochemical (API Strep 20) and molecular (PCR) tests were performed. Initially, E. faecium was absent from the intestinal flora of the rats; however, after 15 weeks of administration, E. faecium could be recovered from the faeces of Groups II and III, demonstrating that E. faecium CRL 183 was able to survive gastrointestinal transit under the study conditions. This is further evidence of the probiotic qualities of this strain. The safety of the strain was also investigated with regard to body weight and serum biochemical analysis.

Efficacy, safety and tolerability of terbinafine for Tinea capitis in children: Brazilian multicentric study with daily oral tablets for 1, 2 and 4 weeks

Background: Tinea capitis is a common skin disease seen predominantly in children. The standard therapies for this disease are griseofulvin and ketoconazole. Nevertheless, these drugs have drawbacks in that they are only fungistatic and require treatment for at least 6 weeks. Previous studies with oral terbinafine for the treatment of Tinea capitis have shown that this agent is effective when given for 4 weeks, comparable to an 8-week regimen with griseofulvin. To date there is no data on the use of oral terbinafine in Brazilian children. Objectives: To assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of oral terbinafine in short-term treatments (1-, 2- and 4-week treatment) of Tinea capitis in children. Patients and methods: One hundred and thirty-two children aged 1-14 years were enrolled in this study, but only 107 were considered for the final efficacy analysis. Diagnosis included clinical assessment and examination by Wood's light. Confirmation was obtained by direct microscopy and culture for fungus. Terbinafine dosage (125 or 250 mg/day) was adjusted according to patient weight. Efficacy was evaluated both by clinical and mycological assessment. Safety and tolerability variables included data on adverse reaction and clinical laboratory evaluations. Results: Mycological evaluation in the follow-up visit at week 12 showed negative direct microscopy and culture results in 48.6, 60.5 and 69.7% patients in groups 1-, 2- and 4-week, respectively (n.s.). At week 12, 84.8% patients in group 4-week achieved clinical cure with a significant difference compared to groups 1- and 2-week, 54.3 and 60.5%, respectively (P < 0.01). Adverse reactions were present in 4.8, 6.8 and 10.9% of patients in groups 1-, 2- and 4-week, respectively. Terbinafine was not associated with clinically relevant increases in liver function tests. Conclusions: Terbinafine is an effective, well tolerated and safe antifungal agent for the treatment of Tinea capitis m children. The shorter duration of treatment resulted in lower cure rates. However, it is important to note that depending on the severity of the disease, a 1-week-only treatment can also be effective in this indication.

Bio-safety technology in production of bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BoHV-5) using an alternative serum-free medium

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

In vitro evaluation of the safety profile of cosmeceuticals containing growth factors and their analogues

Introduction: Aging skin is a condition that affects (or will affect) all people, and its treatment is considered a clinical challenge. Growth factors and their analogues are emerging as a promising therapeutic option. Objectives: To evaluate the safety profile of some dermocosmetic products with formulations based on growth factors - or their analogs intended for that purpose - using in vitro human skin cell culture models. Methods: Two types of cell cultures were studied, and the effects of the study products on the proliferation of melanoma cells and normal human fibroblasts were evaluated. Results: No significant morphological alterations were found in the cultured human melanoma, and no significant decrease in the number of healthy cells was verified in the normal fibroblasts culture. In some cases there was even a proliferation of those cells. Conclusions: These preliminary data demonstrate that cosmeceutical products containing growth factors as an active principle can be considered safe for topical application.

Organizational safety climate and adherence to standard precautions among dentists

Objective: Check the perception of dentists about safety climate at work in relation to adherence to standard precautions.Methods: It is a quantitative, cross-sectional study conducted through the application of the Safety Climate Scale to a population of 224 dentists who worked in units of primary health care in six municipalities of Parana.Results: The total score of 3.43 (SD = 0.88) reveals that dentists have a poor perception of the incentives and organizational support for adopting standard precautions.Conclusion: Unsatisfactory safety climate, where the perception of dentists about safety in their work environment is deficient, demonstrating fragile management actions of support to safety, lack of a training program in occupational health and deficient feedback to favor the adoption of safe practices.

Improvement of submerged culture conditions to produce colorants by Penicillium purpurogenum

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)