Sexually transmitted diseases in homosexual and bisexual males from a cohort of human immunodeficiency virus negative volunteers (Project Horizonte), Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) are very frequent in the whole world. Males who do not use a condom during their sexual relations are at great risk. We report cases of STD during six months of observation, among homosexual/bisexual males who participate in the Project Horizonte. There were 16 cases of genital warts, 6 cases of human immunodeficiency virus infection, 24 cases of unspecific urethritis, 28 cases of herpes simplex virus infection, 30 cases of syphilis, 58 cases of gonorrhea and 84 cases of pediculosis. We concluded that a condom must be used in all sexual relations and new counseling techniques are needed, to avoid this situation.

Determinants of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevalence in homosexual and bisexual men screened for admission to a cohort study of HIV negatives in Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Project Horizonte

Project Horizonte, an open cohort of homosexual and bisexual human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) negative men, is a component of the AIDS Vaccine Program, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The objective of this study was to compare volunteers testing HIV positive at cohort entry with a sample of those who tested HIV negative in order to identify risk factors for prevalent HIV infection, in a population being screened for enrollment at Project Horizonte. A nested case-control study was conducted. HIV positive volunteers at entry (cases) were matched by age and admission date to three HIV negative controls each. Selected variables used for the current analysis included demographic factors, sexual behavior and other risk factors for HIV infection. During the study period (1994-2001), among the 621 volunteers screened, 61 tested positive for HIV. Cases were matched to 183 HIV negative control subjects. After adjustments, the main risk factors associated with HIV infection were unprotected sex with an occasional partners, OR = 3.7 (CI 95% 1.3-10.6), receptive anal intercourse with an occasional partner, OR = 2.8 (95% CI 0.9-8.9) and belonging to the negro racial group, OR = 3.4 (CI 95% 1.1-11.9). These variables were associated with an increase in the risk of HIV infection among men who have sex with men at the screening for admission to an open HIV negative cohort.

Environmental management for the control of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811), (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) in Costa Rica: a pilot project

An ecological control method, using environmental management operations, based on biological and behavioral characteristics of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811), was implemented as a pilot project in an area of Costa Rica where the bug is prevalent. The sample was represented by 20 houses with peridomestic colonies (two also had indoor infestation), divided in two equivalent groups of 10 each. In one group we intervened the houses, i.e. all objects or materials that were serving as artificial ecotopes for the bugs were removed, and the second group was used as control houses. After a year of periodic follow up, it became evident that in those houses with a modified environment the number of insects had decreased notoriously even after the first visits and this was more evident after a period of 12.5 to 13.5 months in which no insects were detected in eight of the houses. It also became clear that in this group of houses, recolonization by wild bugs from the surrounding areas, became more difficult, probably due to the absence of protection from bug predators. In the control houses, with the exception of three in which the inhabitants decided to intervene on their own, and another house with a peculiar situation, the insect populations remained the same or even showed a tendency to increase, as confirmed at the end of the experiment. We believe that the method is feasible, low costing and non contaminating. It could be used successfully in other places where T. dimidiata is common and also in countries where other species colonize peridomestic areas of homes. Environmental management of this kind should seek the participation of the members of the communities, in order to make it a more permanent control measure.

Ecological control of Triatoma dimidiata (Latreille, 1811): five years after a Costa Rican pilot project

An ecological pilot project for the control of Triatoma dimidiata allowed a new evaluation four and five years after environmental modifications in the peridomestic areas of 20 households. It was verified that the two groups of houses, 10 case-houses and 10 control-houses, were free of insects after those periods of time. In the first group, the owners started a chicken coop in the backyard and a colony of bugs was found there without infesting the house. In the second group, the inhabitants of one house once again facilitated the conditions for the bugs to thrive in the same store room, reaffirming that man-made ecotopes facilitates colonization. This ecological control method was revealed to be reliable and sustainable and it is recommended to be applied to those situations where the vectors of Chagas disease can colonize houses and are frequent in wild ecotopes.

What new cell biology findings could bring to therapeutics: is it time for a phenome-project in Toxoplasma gondii?

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat" (SunTzu the Art of War, 544-496 BC). Although written for the managing of conflicts and winning clear victories, this basic guideline can be directly transferred to our battle against apicomplexan parasites and how to focus future basic research in order to transfer the gained knowledge to a therapeutic intervention stratey. Over the last two decades the establishment of several key-technologies, by different groups working on Toxoplasma gondii, made this important human pathogen accessible to modern approaches in molecular cell biology. In fact more and more researchers get attracted to this easy accessible model organism to study specific biological questions, unique to apicomplexans. This fascinating, unique biology might provide us with new therapeutic options in our battle against apicomplexan parasites by finding its Achilles' heel. In this article we argue that in the absence of a powerful high throughput technology for the characterisation of essential gene of interests a coordinated effort should be undertaken to convert our knowledge of the genome into one of the phenome.

The contributions of the Genome Project to the study of schistosomiasis

In this paper we review the impact that the availability of the Schistosoma mansoni genome sequence and annotation has had on schistosomiasis research. Easy access to the genomic information is important and several types of data are currently being integrated, such as proteomics, microarray and polymorphic loci. Access to the genome annotation and powerful means of extracting information are major resources to the research community.

The Estrada Real project and endemic diseases: the case of schistosomiasis, geoprocessing and tourism

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a tool that has recently been applied to better understand spatial disease distributions. Using meteorological, social, sanitation, mollusc distribution data and remote sensing variables, this study aimed to further develop the GIS technology by creating a model for the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis and to apply this model to an area with rural tourism in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (MG). The Estrada Real, covering about 1,400 km, is the largest and most important Brazilian tourism project, involving 163 cities in MG with different schistosomiasis prevalence rates. The model with three variables showed a R² = 0.34, with a standard deviation of risk estimated adequate for public health needs. The main variables selected for modelling were summer vegetation, summer minimal temperature and winter minimal temperature. The results confirmed the importance of Remote Sensing data and the valuable contribution of GIS in identifying priority areas for intervention in tourism regions which are endemic to schistosomiasis.

The joint R&D project: The case of the first Brazilian microcontroller chip

ABSTRACT The interorganizational cooperation, through joint efforts with various actors, allows the high-tech companies to complement resources, especially in R&D projects. Collaborative projects have been identified in many studies as an important strategy to produce complex products and services in uncertain and competitive environments. Thus, this research aims at deepening the understanding of how the development dynamics of a collaborative R&D project in an industry of high technology occur. In order to achieve the proposed objective, the R&D project of the first microcontroller in the Brazilian semiconductor industry was defined as the object of analysis. The empirical choice is justified by the uniqueness of the case, besides bringing a diversity of actors and a level of complementarity of resources that were significant to the success of the project. Given the motivation to know who the actors were and what the main forms of interorganizational coordination were used in this project, interviews were carried out and a questionnaire was also made, besides other documents related to the project. The results presented show a network of nine actors and their roles in the interorganizational collaboration process, as well as the forms of social and temporal overlapping, used in the coordination of collective efforts. Focusing on the mechanisms of temporal and social integration highlighted throughout the study, the inclusion of R&D projects in the typology for interorganizational projects is proposed in this paper, which was also proposed by Jones and Lichtenstein (2008).

APPROACH AND TREATMENT OF SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR IN THE CLINICAL PRACTICE OF DIFFERENT GROUPS OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN SPAIN: RESULTS OF THE PROJECT EUREGENA.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) and the European Union, suicide is considered to be a health problem of prime importance and to be one of the principal causes of unnatural death. In Spain, the number of suicides has increased 12% since 2005 . The Research Project “European Regions Enforcing Actions against Suicide (EUREGENAS), funded by the Health Program 2008-2013, has as main objective the description of an integrated model of Mental Health orientated to the prevention of suicide. The differences that allow distinguishing the meaning of prevention in suicide behavior are described and explained through a qualitative methodological strategy and through the creation of discussion groups formed by different groups of health professionals. The results highlight the existing differences between the diverse health professionals who come more in contact with this problem and it shows as well the coincidence of meaning that suicide has to be considered as a priority in the field of health.

Comparação de taxas de erosão em estradas florestais estimadas pelo modelo WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) modificado em relção a medições experimentais

O objetivo do trabalho foi testar o modelo WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project), através de comparações entre volume de enxurrada e perda de solo observados experimentalmente, provenientes dos segmentos de estradas florestais submetidas à chuva natural com inclinações de 1 e 7% e comprimentos de rampa de 20 e 40 m, e aqueles preditos pelo aplicativo, visando o desenvolvimento de um modelo brasileiro de predição de erosão em estradas florestais. Na determinação da quantidade do material erodido foram instalados tambores coletores, com capacidade de 209,25 litros, localizados na parte inferior das estradas, onde foram inseridas tubulações de PVC de 2 polegadas para coleta dos sedimentos provenientes da estrada propriamente dita. Nos tambores coletores foram feitos orifícios nivelados e perfeitamente iguais, posicionados a 0,65 m do fundo do primeiro e a 0,60 m do fundo do segundo, que funcionaram como um divisor Geib. Nas parcelas de 20 e 40 m de comprimento foram feitos cinco e sete orifícios, respectivamente, no primeiro e segundo tambores. O terceiro tambor foi utilizado para coletar o excedente da enxurrada proveniente do segundo tambor. Os tambores foram ligados em série, através de cano PVC de 2 polegadas. Os dados de volume e intensidade de precipitação diária foram obtidos com a instalação de pluviômetro e pluviógrafo no local. O período de coleta de dados foi de um ano, concentrando-se na época das chuvas. Posteriormente, os arquivos de clima, precipitação, solo, inclinação e comprimento do segmento foram introduzidos e adaptados ao modelo de predição de erosão WEPP com o propósito de testá-lo, visando a confecção de um modelo apropriado às condições brasileiras.

Teaching project: a low-cost swine model for chest tube insertion training

Objective: to describe and evaluate the acceptance of a low-cost chest tube insertion porcine model in a medical education project in the southwest of Paraná, Brazil. Methods: we developed a low-cost and low technology porcine model for teaching chest tube insertion and used it in a teaching project. Medical trainees - students and residents - received theoretical instructions about the procedure and performed thoracic drainage in this porcine model. After performing the procedure, the participants filled a feedback questionnaire about the proposed experimental model. This study presents the model and analyzes the questionnaire responses. Results: seventy-nine medical trainees used and evaluated the model. The anatomical correlation between the porcine model and human anatomy was considered high and averaged 8.1±1.0 among trainees. All study participants approved the low-cost porcine model for chest tube insertion. Conclusion: the presented low-cost porcine model for chest tube insertion training was feasible and had good acceptability among trainees. This model has potential use as a teaching tool in medical education.

Epidemiological studies in the information and genomics era: experience of the Clinical Genome of Cancer Project in São Paulo, Brazil

Genomics is expanding the horizons of epidemiology, providing a new dimension for classical epidemiological studies and inspiring the development of large-scale multicenter studies with the statistical power necessary for the assessment of gene-gene and gene-environment interactions in cancer etiology and prognosis. This paper describes the methodology of the Clinical Genome of Cancer Project in São Paulo, Brazil (CGCP), which includes patients with nine types of tumors and controls. Three major epidemiological designs were used to reach specific objectives: cross-sectional studies to examine gene expression, case-control studies to evaluate etiological factors, and follow-up studies to analyze genetic profiles in prognosis. The clinical groups included patients' data in the electronic database through the Internet. Two approaches were used for data quality control: continuous data evaluation and data entry consistency. A total of 1749 cases and 1509 controls were entered into the CGCP database from the first trimester of 2002 to the end of 2004. Continuous evaluation showed that, for all tumors taken together, only 0.5% of the general form fields still included potential inconsistencies by the end of 2004. Regarding data entry consistency, the highest percentage of errors (11.8%) was observed for the follow-up form, followed by 6.7% for the clinical form, 4.0% for the general form, and only 1.1% for the pathology form. Good data quality is required for their transformation into useful information for clinical application and for preventive measures. The use of the Internet for communication among researchers and for data entry is perhaps the most innovative feature of the CGCP. The monitoring of patients' data guaranteed their quality.

Boulevard to broken dreams, Part 1: the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon, and the World Bank's environmental and indigenous peoples' norms

ABSTRACT Before the mid 1980s the World Bank conceived "nature" as something to be "conquered" and "environment" as a source of resources for "development". By the late 1980s the Bank incorporated norms of environmental sustainability and indigenous peoples' protection into its mandate, and other development-oriented IOs followed. This two-part paper describes how a fight over the Polonoroeste road project in the Brazilian Amazon - inside the Bank, between the Bank and NGOs supported by the US Congress, and between the Bank and the government of Brazil -helped to generate the far-reaching change of policy norms. The first part describes how the project was designed as an innovation in sustainable development in rainforests; and how it provoked a firestorm inside the Bank as it moved towards project approval.