Prevention of mental ill-health and suicide: Public health perspectives

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates for the year 2020, approximately 1.5 million people will commit suicide, and at least 10 times that many will make an attempt. This paper offers a brief overview of the current state of the epidemiology of suicide, a burgeoning public health problem. The information provided is based in large measure on reports of suicide mortality from 130/193 countries. In order to contextualize these data, this paper explores the contribution of both individual and sociocultural factors that influence suicidal behavior, from which much has been learned. Outlining the history of attempts by international and national organizations like WHO, United Nations, member states in the European community and other countries to regularize identification and suicide reporting procedures, this paper also demonstrates that serious knowledge gaps remain. Minimal requirements for successful evidence-based interventions are presented. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Common vampire bat attacks on humans in a village of the Amazon region of Brazil

Agressões de morcegos a pessoas vêm sendo notificadas em várias comunidades amazônicas nesta última década. Isto constitui um risco potencial para a raiva humana transmitida por morcegos. O objetivo deste estudo foi de analisar fatores associados a estas agressões em uma destas comunidades. Foi realizado um estudo transversal em um povoado de garimpeiros na Região Amazônica brasileira (160 habitantes). Foi realizada a captura de morcegos junto às casas e foram enviadas amostras para o laboratório. Das 129 pessoas entrevistas, 41% foram agredidas por morcegos pelo menos uma vez, com 92% das mordidas localizadas nos dedos dos pés. Por meio de regressão logística, encontrou-se que adultos eram agredidos ao redor de quatro vezes mais do que crianças (OR = 3,75, IC: 1,46-9,62, p = 0,036). Homens foram agredidos com maior freqüência do que mulheres (OR = 2,08, IC: 0,90-4,76, p = 0,067). Nove Desmodus rotundus e três morcegos frugívoros foram capturados e resultaram negativos para a raiva. O estudo sugere que, em áreas de garimpo, adultos do sexo masculino têm maior probabilidade de serem agredidos por morcegos. As ações de controle para a raiva humana a serem desenvolvidas nestes lugares devem dar ênfase especial a adultos homens. Recomendam-se mais investigações sobre o modo como o garimpo na Região Amazônica está colocando em risco as pessoas e o ambiente.

Characterization of the intrahospital transport of critically ill patients

Objective: Characterizing the transport of critically ill patients in an adult intensive care unit.Methods: Cross-sectional study in which 459 intra -hospital transports of critically ill patients were included. Data were collected from clinical records of patients and from a form with the description of the materials and equipment necessary for the procedure, description of adverse events and of the transport team.Results: A total of 459 transports of 262 critically ill patients were carried out, with an average of 51 transports per month. Patients were on ventilatory support (41.3 %) and 34.5 % in use of vasoactive drugs. Adverse events occurred in 9.4% of transports and 77.3 % of the teams were composed of physicians, nurses and nurse technicians.Conclusion: The transport of critically ill patients occurred in the morning period for performing computerized tomographies (CT scans) with patients dependent on mechanical ventilation and vasoactive drugs. During the transports the equipment was functioning, and the adverse events were attributed to clinical changes of patients.

Effect of raloxifene on the vaginal epithelium of postmenopausal women

Objective: The objective was to analyze the effect of raloxifene oil the vaginal epithelium of postmenopausal women.Study design: In this non-randomized clinical trial, 80 women (mean age = 60.6 years) were prospectively studied. Forty patients received 60 mg/day of raloxifene (RG), and 40 women constituted it non-treated control group (CG), paired by age and time since menopause. The treated group consisted of patients with osteoporosis of the lumbar spine. Those with a diagnosis of infection ill the lower genital tract and using hormone therapy (HT) up to 6 months prior to the study were excluded. Vaginal smears were collected at baseline and after 6 months of intervention. The vaginal maturation value (VMV) was determined, and counts of superficial, intermediate and parabasal cells were performed. Smears were analyzed by only one cytopathologist who was blinded to patient data. The t-test, Wilcoxon test, and Chi-Squared test were used in the statistical analysis.Results: The study groups were homogeneous regarding age, time since menopause, parity, HT use, smoking, and body mass index. No statistically significant differences were observed in VMV median values (RG, 39.7 and 35.7; CG, 50.0 and 50.0, respectively) or in the percentage of superficial, intermediate and parabasal cells between the groups at baseline and after 6 months (p > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between VMV and age, time since menopause, previous HT use, or body mass index, in either of the groups.Conclusion: Treatment with raloxifene for 6 months has no effect on the maturation of the vaginal epithelium ill postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new type of sternal gland present in Oxaea flavescens (Hymenoptera, Oxaeinae): location and histology

The sternal glands of the abdomen of Oxaea flavescens consist of class ill glandular cells, with the excretory canaliculus linking to the lateral intersegmental membrane of segments ill, TV and V. The intersegmental membrane is augmented and folded into several lobes forming a reservoir covered by secretory cells. The intersegmental membrane is then transformed into an intima that lines a reservoir space containing secretions of a type of mucus which is periodic acid-Schiff positive. The storage of a great amount of secretion suggests that it is not used continuously. These glands are absent from males, indicating that their products must have a specific function linked to the female sex.

SEX DETERMINATION IN BEES .30. EFFECTS OF JUVENILE-HORMONE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERGAL GLANDS IN MELIPONA

Worker larvae of Melipona rufiventris, M. quadrifasciata and M. compressipes were treated topically with juvenile hormone (JH) during the cocoon-spinning phase. Examination of the tergites of the queens obtained following JH application showed induced differentiation into adults with full female (queen) traits. Melipona workers had tergal glands only in tergite II, whereas natural and JH-induced queens had tergal glands in tergite II plus additional glands in at least one other of tergites Ill to VII.

Potential force of infection of human rabies transmitted by vampire bats in the Amazonian region of Brazil

Human rabies tansmitted by bats has acquired greater epidemiologic relevance in various Latin American countries, just when cases transmitted by dogs have decreased. Concern has been heightened by reports of increased rates of bats biting humans in villlages in the Amazonian region of Brazil. The aim of the present work was to estimate the potential force of infection (per capita rate at which susceptible individuals acquire infection) of human rabies transmitted by the common vampire bat if the rabies virus were to be introduced to a colony of bats close to a village with a high rate of human bites. The potential force of infection could be then used to anticipate the size of a rabies outbreak in control programs. We present an estimator of potential incidence, adapted from models for malaria. To obtain some of the parameters for the equation, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in Mina Nova, a village of gold prospectors in the Amazonian region of Brazil with high rates of bates biting humans. Bats were captured near dwellings and sent to the Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory at the Center for Control of Zoonoses (São Paulo, Brazil) to be examined. To estimate the force of infection, a hypothetical rabies outbreak among bats was simulated using the actual data obtained in the study area. of 129 people interviewed, 23.33% had been attacked by a vampire bat during the year prior to the study, with an average of 2.8 bites per attacked person. Males (29.41%) were attacked more often than females (11.36%); also, adults (29.35%) were attacked more often than children (8.33%). None of the 12 bats captured in Mina Nova tested positive for rabies, but the force of infection for a hypothetical outbreak was estimated to be 0.0096 per person per year. This risk represents 0.96 cases per 100 area residents, giving an incidence of 1.54 cases of bat-transimtted buman rabies per year in the village of Mina Nova (160 inhabitants). The estimated risk is comparable with what has been observed in similar Brazilian villages.

Evaluation of sample treatment for the simultaneous flow injection hydride generation and determination of As, Bi, Sb and Se by GRAS

A new method was developed for the simultaneous determination of As, Bi, Sb, and Se by flow injection hydride generation graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. An alternative two-step sample treatment procedure was used. The sample was heated (80degreesC) for 10 min in 6 M HCl to reduce Se(VI) to Se(IV), followed by the addition of 1% (m/v) thiourea solution to reduce arsenic and antimony from the pentavalent to the trivalent states.With this procedure, all analytes were converted to their most favorable and sensitive oxidation states to generate the corresponding hydrides. The pre-treated sample solution was then processed in the flow system for in situ trapping and atomization in a graphite tube coated with iridium. The impermanent modifier remained stable up to 300 firings and new coating out significant were possible wit changes in the analytical performance.The accuracy was checked for As, Bi, Sb, and Se determination in water standard reference materials NIST 1640 and 1643d and the results were in agreement with the certified values at a 95% confidence level. Good recoveries (94-104%.) of spiked mineral waters and synthetic As(V), Sb(Ill), mixtures of As(Ill), Sb(V), Se(VI), and Se(IV) were also found. Calculated characteristic masses were 32 mug As, 79 mug Bi, 35 mug Sb, and 130 pg Se, and the corresponding limits of detection were 0.06, 0.16, 0.19, and 0.59 mug L-1, respectively. The repeatability for a typical solution containing 5 mug L-1 As, Bi, Sb, and Se was in the 1-3% range.

The characterisation of the protective film formed by benzotriazole on the 90/10 copper-nickel alloy surface in H2SO4 media

The nature of the protective film formed by benzotriazole (BTAH) on the surface of the 90/10 CuNi alloy in deaerated 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 solution containing Fe(III) ions as oxidant was investigated by weight-loss, calorimetric measurements, and by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The SERS measurements show that the protective film is composed by the [Cu(I)BTA](n), polymeric complex and that the BTAH molecules are also adsorbed on the electrode surface. A modification of the BET isotherm for adsorption of gases ill solids is proposed to describe the experimental results obtained from weight-loss experiments that suggest an adsorption in multilayers. Electrochemical studies of copper and nickel in 0.5 mol L-1 H2SO4 in presence and absence of BTAH have also been made as an aid to interpret the results. The calculated adsorption free energy of the cuprous benzotriazolate on the surface of the alloy is in accordance with the value for pure copper. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A NEW SPECIES of THE BOKERMANNOHYLA MARTINSI GROUP FROM CENTRAL BAHIA, BRAZIL WITH COMMENTS on BOKERMANNOHYLA (ANURA: HYLIDAE)

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

The pain and pleasure of being what one is: Viewpoints of health professionals and patients about being overweight/obese

The objective of this article is to discuss the meanings that health professionals and patients in treatment attribute to obesity. The research consisted of a qualitative survey in health, based on in-depth interviews with patients and professionals at an out-patient clinic at the University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain. Here, we discuss the concept of obesity, the meanings of diagnoses, the singularities involved in managing treatment, and the process of becoming ill, all in the light of the anthropology of health that has a sociocultural orientation. Obesity is usually seen by the professionals as a risk-factor disease. For patients, the incorporation of this rationality is procedural and is mixed in with other meanings attributed to being overweight/obese that have been gradually developed throughout life. A patient's autonomy in choosing to be fat, or obese, and to adhere to treatment, is defined as a process that requires support in order to come to joint proposals in caring for these problems.

A mini review of Candida species in hospital infection: epidemiology, virulence factor and drugs resistance and prophylaxis

The introduction of more efficient diagnostic methods, new techniques in surgery and transplantation, antibiotics and chemotherapeutics more potent and novel materials for prostheses, catheters and probes significantly increased the life expectancy and quality of life of critically ill patients, on the other hand, hospital-acquired infections emerged as important iatrogenic complications. Invasive infections are a growing problem in public health hospitals in Brazil and worldwide. Among the various etiological agents found in the hospital environment, the genus Candida has been the third most frequently isolated pathogen. In general, invasive fungal infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality, difficulties in diagnosis, antimicrobial resistance, length of hospital stay and increased hospital costs. This mini review of the literature describes about epidemiology of hospital infection of Candida species, as well as its virulence factors and drugs resistance

Marcadores sociais da diferença nas experiências travestis de enfrentamento à aids

Os argumentos apresentados neste artigo partem de apontamentos etnográficos oriundos de pesquisa antropológica realizada entre travestis que se prostituem. A partir da análise dessas notas, apresentam-se as categorias classificatórias acionadas pelas travestis que se prostituem a fim de, por esses termos, demarcarem diferenças pouco consideradas pelos formuladores de políticas de saúde, mas que são significativas para elas, pois se referem a maneiras singularizadas de subjetividades nas quais gênero, geração, classe e raça estão implicadas. Assim, procura-se explorar como esses marcadores sociais da diferença operam contextual e relacionalmente nas respostas que esses sujeitos têm elaborado frente à sistemática associação entre travestis e aids, e como esses eixos se enfeixam compondo experiências específicas do adoecer e do sofrimento, ao mesmo tempo em que permitem que as travestis mobilizem diversas estratégias de resistência e enfrentamento a processos de estigmatização. A discussão a ser empreendida vale-se do escopo teórico pós-estruturalista, bem como das contribuições do feminismo como crítica epistemológica.

Nutrição de micronutrientes em mudas de goiabeira em resposta ao uso de soluções nutritivas

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different nutrient solutions oil the development and concentration of micronutrients ill guava cuttings. Two cultivars - Paluma and Seculo XXI - and four nutritional solutions were evaluated, using a factorial scheme (2x4) with three repetitions. At 90 days of hydroponic culture, dry mass and micronutrient nutrition in the cuttings were evaluated. The Paluma guava cuttings displayed greater development and nutritional requirements for boron, iron and manganese, as compared to cultivar Seculo M. The studied nutrient solutions did not affect accumulation, absorption or use efficiency of micronutrients in guava cuttings, except for copper and zinc, regardless of cultivar.

Experiências de famílias na imunização de crianças brasileiras menores de dois anos

O objetivo foi descrever as experiências de famílias sobre imunização de crianças menores de dois anos. É estudo de natureza descritiva, com análise qualitativa dos dados, entrevistas não estruturadas com 22 sujeitos. Os resultados foram agrupados em: conhecimentos práticos sobre imunização, responsabilidade e obrigatoriedade na imunização e ampliação da prática de imunização. Foram destacados elementos que fortalecem a imunização: experiência e realização pessoal no papel de ser mãe, temor de adoecimento, reconhecimento como um bom cuidado, acesso, flexibilidade do horário, divulgação, cartão de vacinas, campanhas de vacinação e disponibilidade de vacinas, e elementos da não imunização: inexperiência dos pais, recusa de aplicações simultâneas de vacinas, assistência fragmentada, ausência de diálogo, discriminação, falsas contraindicações e obrigatoriedade. A imunização centrada no cumprimento do calendário vacinal, ou em situações autoritárias, está descolada do cuidado familiar. O vínculo com as famílias precisa ser fortalecido para ampliação da adesão às medidas de proteção e promoção da saúde da criança.