The formative platform of the Congress of Panama (1810-1826): the Pan-American conjecture revisited

This article examines the formative platform of the Congress of Panama of 1826. It seeks to support the hypothesis that the nature and scope of the first test of integration in the Western Hemisphere depended critically on the platform created by Simón Bolívar and other Latin American Independence heroes from the Declaration of Independence of Venezuela in 1810 until the last bilateral agreement of 1826. In that respect, it corroborates the Latin American Identity of the initiative.

EVIDENCE OF Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum INFECTION IN DOGS FROM JUIZ DE FORA, MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL, BASED ON IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHIC DUAL-PATH PLATFORM (DPP®) AND PCR ASSAYS

In Brazil, domestic dogs are branded as the primary reservoir for zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis, due to the clear positive correlation observed between human and canine infection rates. This study aimed to carry out a serological survey of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in dogs housed at a public kennel in the municipality of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, using the immunochromatographic TR DPP® CVL rapid test. Additionally, conventional and/or real time PCR assay was used to detect and confirm L. infantum infection in the DPP positive dogs only. Of the 400 dogs studied, most did not present clinical signs for CVL (p < 0.05), and fifteen (3.8%) were seropositive in the DPP test. There was no statistically significant difference between the DPP seropositive dogs and the clinical signs of the disease (p > 0.05). Both conventional and real time PCR tests confirmed L. infantum infection in nine (75.0%) of the twelve DPP seropositive dogs that remained alive during the follow-up period. This study is the first seroepidemiologic survey of CVL held in the city of Juiz de Fora, and the results reinforce the idea that this disease is currently in a process of expansion and urbanization in Brazil. Furthermore, this study highlights the use of the DPP test as an alternative for diagnosing CVL in large and mid-sized cities, due to its ease of implementation.

USE OF LOPINAVIR/RITONAVIR ASSOCIATED WITH ERGOTAMINE RESULTING IN FOOT AMPUTATION: BRIEF COMMUNICATION

A 32-year-old female, was diagnosed in 2004 with a C1 HIV1 infection, using zidovudine/lamivudine 300/150 mg BID and lopinavir/ritonavir 400/100 mg BID, in addition to prophylaxis with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole 800/160 mg QD, but no prophylaxis with macrolide antibiotics. The patient presented with a severe headache and was prescribed two capsules of the anti-migraine drug Ormigrein™, which contained ergotamine tartrate 1 mg, caffeine 100 mg, paracetamol 220 mg, hyoscyamine sulfate 87.5 mcg, and atropine sulfate 12.5 mcg. Afterwards she was prescribed one capsule of Ormigrein every 30 minutes for a total of six capsules a day. The patient took the medication as prescribed but developed a pain in her left ankle three days later, which evolved to the need for amputation.

The stridulatory setae of Acanthoscurria suina (Araneae, Theraphosidae) and their possible role in sexual communication: an experimental approach

Specialized setae placed on proximal segments of appendages in tarantulas have been related to sound production (stridulation), used in defense or sexual communication. The surface structure of called stridulatory setae of Acanthoscurria suina Pocock, 1903 was studied by SEM. Three morphological types of setae were recognized and at least two of them could be involved in stridulation. Their role in sexual communication was tested by experimental removal. Our results showed no differences in the sexual success between the setaeless and control individuals. Consequently, a defensive function for stridulatory setae seems to be more likely than a sexual function.

Health education, public information, and communication in schistosomiasis control in Brazil: a brief retrospective and perspectives

In recent years, the strategy for the control of schistosomiasis has placed increased emphasis on the role of health education, public information, and communication. This should, not only bring about specific changes in behavior aiming at disease prevention, but also stimulate participation of the community in health programs. Beyond this, it is desirable that both community members and researchers should seek better life conditions through a transformative social action. The present paper addresses these concerns; first, by critically reviewing some health education programs that were developed in Brazil, and, secondly, by analyzing and suggesting ways to improve this area.

Viability study of a multiplex diagnostic platform for Chagas disease

A new multiplex assay platform was evaluated to detect Trypanosoma cruzi infection using the recombinant antigens CRA, FRA, CRAFRA fusion and parasite lysate. The antigens presented different sensitivity and specificity in a singleplex test when compared to a serial dilution of two pools comprising 10 positive serum samples and one pool of 10 negative samples. The recombinant protein CRA presented lower sensitivity (55%) in contrast to the 100% specificity and sensitivity of FRA, CRAFRA and T. cruzi lysate. These antigens also showed good results in a duplex test and the duplex test with CRAFRA/T. cruzi lysate showed better performance with 100% specificity and sensitivity, as well as a lower cut-off value in comparison to the other duplex test, FRA/T. cruzi lysate. Hence, when the antigens were used in duplex format, both tests showed decreased cut-off values and no interference between different bead sets, resulting in increasing sensitivity and specificity. The results of these multiplex tests show that they could be an alternative to singleplex detection for Chagas disease, and also indicate the necessity of using multiplex diagnostic tools to increase the sensitivity and specificity for diagnostic tests. Emerging data from the T. cruzi genome and from its ORFeome project will also allow the identification of new antigens for this disease detection application.

Malaria diagnosis from pooled blood samples: comparative analysis of real-time PCR, nested PCR and immunoassay as a platform for the molecular and serological diagnosis of malaria on a large-scale

Malaria diagnoses has traditionally been made using thick blood smears, but more sensitive and faster techniques are required to process large numbers of samples in clinical and epidemiological studies and in blood donor screening. Here, we evaluated molecular and serological tools to build a screening platform for pooled samples aimed at reducing both the time and the cost of these diagnoses. Positive and negative samples were analysed in individual and pooled experiments using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nested PCR and an immunochromatographic test. For the individual tests, 46/49 samples were positive by real-time PCR, 46/49 were positive by nested PCR and 32/46 were positive by immunochromatographic test. For the assays performed using pooled samples, 13/15 samples were positive by real-time PCR and nested PCR and 11/15 were positive by immunochromatographic test. These molecular methods demonstrated sensitivity and specificity for both the individual and pooled samples. Due to the advantages of the real-time PCR, such as the fast processing and the closed system, this method should be indicated as the first choice for use in large-scale diagnosis and the nested PCR should be used for species differentiation. However, additional field isolates should be tested to confirm the results achieved using cultured parasites and the serological test should only be adopted as a complementary method for malaria diagnosis.

Platform for Plasmodium vivax vaccine discovery and development

Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent malaria parasite on the American continent. It generates a global burden of 80-100 million cases annually and represents a tremendous public health problem, particularly in the American and Asian continents. A malaria vaccine would be considered the most cost-effective measure against this vector-borne disease and it would contribute to a reduction in malaria cases and to eventual eradication. Although significant progress has been achieved in the search for Plasmodium falciparum antigens that could be used in a vaccine, limited progress has been made in the search for P. vivax components that might be eligible for vaccine development. This is primarily due to the lack of in vitro cultures to serve as an antigen source and to inadequate funding. While the most advanced P. falciparum vaccine candidate is currently being tested in Phase III trials in Africa, the most advanced P. vivax candidates have only advanced to Phase I trials. Herein, we describe the overall strategy and progress in P. vivax vaccine research, from antigen discovery to preclinical and clinical development and we discuss the regional potential of Latin America to develop a comprehensive platform for vaccine development.

Acoustic communication in insect disease vectors

Acoustic signalling has been extensively studied in insect species, which has led to a better understanding of sexual communication, sexual selection and modes of speciation. The significance of acoustic signals for a blood-sucking insect was first reported in the XIX century by Christopher Johnston, studying the hearing organs of mosquitoes, but has received relatively little attention in other disease vectors until recently. Acoustic signals are often associated with mating behaviour and sexual selection and changes in signalling can lead to rapid evolutionary divergence and may ultimately contribute to the process of speciation. Songs can also have implications for the success of novel methods of disease control such as determining the mating competitiveness of modified insects used for mass-release control programs. Species-specific sound “signatures” may help identify incipient species within species complexes that may be of epidemiological significance, e.g. of higher vectorial capacity, thereby enabling the application of more focussed control measures to optimise the reduction of pathogen transmission. Although the study of acoustic communication in insect vectors has been relatively limited, this review of research demonstrates their value as models for understanding both the functional and evolutionary significance of acoustic communication in insects.

A molecular platform for the diagnosis of multidrug-resistant and pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis based on single nucleotide polymorphism mutations present in Colombian isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Developing a fast, inexpensive, and specific test that reflects the mutations present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates according to geographic region is the main challenge for drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) control. The objective of this study was to develop a molecular platform to make a rapid diagnosis of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant TB based on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) mutations present in therpoB, katG, inhA,ahpC, and gyrA genes from Colombian M. tuberculosis isolates. The amplification and sequencing of each target gene was performed. Capture oligonucleotides, which were tested before being used with isolates to assess the performance, were designed for wild type and mutated codons, and the platform was standardised based on the reverse hybridisation principle. This method was tested on DNA samples extracted from clinical isolates from 160 Colombian patients who were previously phenotypically and genotypically characterised as having susceptible or MDR M. tuberculosis. For our method, the kappa index of the sequencing results was 0,966, 0,825, 0,766, 0,740, and 0,625 forrpoB, katG, inhA,ahpC, and gyrA, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were ranked between 90-100% compared with those of phenotypic drug susceptibility testing. Our assay helps to pave the way for implementation locally and for specifically adapted methods that can simultaneously detect drug resistance mutations to first and second-line drugs within a few hours.

Tradução e validação da escala Partner Communication Scale – versão brasileira com adolescentes do sexo feminino

O objetivo do estudo é descrever o processo de adaptação e validação da escala Partner Communication Scale -PCS com adolescentes do sexo feminino em Fortaleza, CE. Pesquisa metodológica, de abordagem quantitativa, realizada com 313 adolescentes, entre 14 a 18 anos, que já haviam tido o primeiro intercurso sexual. O processo de adaptação transcultural seguiu as etapas: tradução, retrotradução, avaliação das traduções por um comitê de juízes e teste da versão pré-final. A escala foi aplicada com um questionário sociodemográfico e de variáveis sexuais e reprodutivas, via computador, em novembro/2010 a janeiro/2011. A confiabilidade foi verificada por meio do teste alfa de Cronbach (0.86) e demonstrou que pode ser aplicada no cenário da atenção primária à saúde, durante as consultas de enfermagem ao adolescente, e que permite identificar fatores que dificultam/facilitam a comunicação, principalmente em relação às DST/HIV. A escala mostrou-se adequada para verificar a comunicação entre os parceiros sexuais na adolescência.

Communication Strategies Of The Nursing Team In The Aphasia After Cerebrovascular Accident

This is an exploratory, cross-sectional study of quantitative design that aimed to identify the communication strategies used and reported by the nursing staff in the care of aphasic patients after a stroke. The techniques used were the participant observation and interviews with 27 subjects of the nursing staff of neurological units in a general hospital. The most frequently mentioned strategies were gestures (100%), verbal communication (33.3%), written communication (29.6%) and the touch (18.5 %). Among the observed strategies, the gestures reached 40.7% and the touch was present in all situations, given its instrumental character essential to care. The findings show lack of knowledge of nonverbal, proxemics , kinesics and tacesics communication. No significant differences were observed among the professional categories depending on the length of experience with respect to the strategies reported by members of the nursing staff in the care for aphasic patients.


Mediate evaluation of replicating a Training Program in Nonverbal Communication in Gerontology

OBJECTIVE Replicating the training program in non-verbal communication based on the theoretical framework of interpersonal communication; non-verbal coding, valuing the aging aspects in the perspective of active aging, checking its current relevance through the content assimilation index after 90 days (mediate) of its application. METHOD A descriptive and exploratory field study was conducted in three hospitals under direct administration of the state of São Paulo that caters exclusively to Unified Health System (SUS) patients. The training lasted 12 hours divided in three meetings, applied to 102 health professionals. RESULTS Revealed very satisfactory and satisfactory mediate content assimilation index in 82.9%. CONCLUSION The program replication proved to be relevant and updated the setting of hospital services, while remaining efficient for healthcare professionals.

Mathématique et statistique en science de l’information et en science de la communication: infométrie mathématique et infométrie statistique des revues scientifiques

L’application de la mathématique et de la statistique à l’étude des phénomènes informationnels a entraîné la naissance en science de l’information d’un nouvel axe de recherche et de développement, l’infométrie. Après avoir montré l’intérêt de cette application mais aussi avoir mis en garde contre certains abus et contre certains mauvais usages, nous présentons quelques exemples d’infométrie mathématique et d’infométrie statistique appliquées aux revues scientifiques. Ils illustrent l’étendue et l’efficacité des analyses qui peuvent être faites sur une ou plusieurs variables informationnelles.