Multimedia materials for education, training, and advocacy in international health: experiences with the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative CD-ROM

We describe an innovative use of multimedia materials to support training and advocacy within a schistosomiasis control programme. The Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI) at Imperial College London works with selected sub-Saharan African countries to develop schistosomiasis control programmes. Two elements of the SCI programme were supported by multimedia materials developed at the Wellcome Trust in collaboration with the SCI: (1) training of programme managers, district health officers, and those delivering practical elements of the programme; and (2) advocacy targeted at decision-makers and donors. Evaluation of the materials revealed high reported ratings for both user satisfaction and impact from use of the product. From this experience we draw out several general messages about development of multimedia materials and how these will play a growing future role in promoting training within international health.

The ability to innovate in international entrepreneurship

ABSTRACT In this article, the purpose was to analyze the ability to innovate in international entrepreneurship. Thus, a qualitative study of multiple cases was developed. Data was collected mainly by semi-structured interviews with 30 social subjects, and ATLAS.ti software supported content analysis. We observed that the entrepreneurs' innovative actions were focused on the product and production. As a result, it was found that the presence of the ability to innovate was intermittent throughout the internationalization process, except in only one of the companies, where it occurred continuously.

The concept of emerging power in international politics and economy

ABSTRACT This paper aims to analyze the concept of emerging power established to the understanding of international affairs. The work observes that the use of the lexicon emerging - regarding to markets, countries or powers - as qualifier for a range of international relations phenomena became a constituent part of the matter. In spite of that, the empirical denotation of the predicate is ahead of the amount of efforts on its theoretical contextualization. Our methodological hypothesis is that the rational denial of the concepts prevailing connotative spectrum by acknowledging the embedded wisdom about cognate phenomena synthesizes a theoretical framework on its accurate use.

Uprootedness and the protection of migrants in the International Law of Human Rights

The article attempt to demonstrate the evolution of international law in connected to the subject of the forced immigrants'. The author supported by several texts, cases and resolutions of the regional level, through interamerican court and European court, and the global level, through the international court. It's shown the evolution that occurred in international law in millennium turn over, which recognize the immigrants' rights. However, it's stressed the necessity of the development of those laws connected to the theme e the recognition, from the States; the importance of law's that effort to ensure the respect to human rights relative to the immigrants and their families.

Climate governance in an international system under conservative hegemony: the role of major powers

In the last five years, climate change has been established as a central civilizational driver of our time. As a result of this development, the most diversified social processes - as well as the fields of science which study them - have had their dynamics altered. In International Relations, this double challenge could be explained as follows: 1) in empirical terms, climate change imposes a deepening of cooperation levels on the international community, considering the global common character of the atmosphere; and 2) to International Relations as a discipline, climate change demands from the scientific community a conceptual review of the categories designed to approach the development of global climate governance. The goal of this article is to discuss in both conceptual and empirical terms the structure of global climate change governance, through an exploratory research, aiming at identifying the key elements that allow understanding its dynamics. To do so, we rely on the concept of climate powers. This discussion is grounded in the following framework: we now live in an international system under conservative hegemony that is unable to properly respond to the problems of interdependence, among which - and mainly -, the climate issue.

Environmental issues and international relations, a new global (dis)order - the role of International Relations in promoting a concerted international system

Is it possible to talk about the rise of a new global (dis)order founded on the challenges posed by environmental issues? Through the review of the state of the art on the subject, this article analyzes the growing importance of the environment, and natural resources in particular, in international relations; and aims to raise awareness among International Relations scholars to the potential positive impact of the development of the discipline in integration with global environmental change studies.

Trends in the use of antidepressants among older adults: Bambuí Project

OBJECTIVE To analyze the trends and factors associated with the antidepressant use among older adults. METHODS This population-based study evaluated older adults in 1997 (n = 351, baseline) and the survivors at the 15th follow-up year (n = 462, in 2012) among the aging cohort of Bambuí. The prevalence of antidepressant use was estimated, and the most commonly used antidepressants each year were identified. Prevalence ratios with 95% confidence intervals were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance to investigate differences in the prevalence of use between 1997 and 2012. RESULTS The overall consumption of antidepressants (PR = 2.87, 95%CI 1.94;4.25) and of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (PR = 7.50, 95%CI 3.74;15.02) was significantly higher in 2012. However, no significant difference was observed in the use of tricyclic antidepressants between the two cohorts (PR = 0.89, 95%CI 0.49;1.62). In the 2012 cohort, antidepressant use was associated with females, increased age, increased income (≥ 4 minimum wages), self-assessment of health as reasonable, and attending ≥ 5 medical consultations in the last 12 months. CONCLUSIONS The increased consumption of antidepressants in the period due to increased use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors was consistent with results observed in international studies of different population groups and contexts. The positive correlation observed between antidepressant use and family income may be a warning of possible inequalities in access to mental health services.

A simple and cheaper in house varicella zoster virus antibody indirect ELISA

We have developed a cheaper an simple in house indirect ELISA that uses the live attenuated VZV vaccine as a coating antigen. The alternative ELISA had an agreement of 94% when compared with a commercial VZV ELISA kit. Moreover, our ELISA proved to be more reliable than the kit when assessing true negative samples. By adding a standard serum, we were able to produce results in international units per millilitre. Also, the addition of an extra step with 8M urea allowed the assessment of VZV IgG avidity without excessive costs. The cost per sample to test VZV IgG was 2.7 times cheaper with our ELISA, allowing the testing of many samples without the burden of production of VZV antigen in the laboratory.

Benzodiazepine use and associated factors in elderly in the city of Dourados, MS, Brazil

ABSTRACT Objective The use of benzodiazepines (BZD) and associated factors in the elderly of Dourados, MS, Brazil was investigated. Methods This is a cross-sectional population-based study using a multistage sampling design. Participants were 1,022 individuals aged ≥ 60 years. Measurements socioeconomic status, schooling, demographic aspects, marital status, physical activity, hospitalizations, self-rated health, use of alcohol beverages and smoking were assessed by standard questionnaire. The drugs used were obtained by checking the prescription or package and classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Index. Chi-square test, Chi-square for linear tendency, Fisher's exact test and Poisson regression were used to assess association between variables. Results The prevalence of use of BZD was 6.5% (CI95%: 5.1-8.2%). The oldest group (PR: 1.60 for 70-79 years and PR: 1.79 for ≥ 80 years), non-use of alcohol (PR: 4.14) and use of antidepressants (PR: 8.73) were the statistically associated characteristics. Conclusions The prevalence of use of BZD in the study population was low, similar to findings of more recent Brazilian studies and lower than those obtained in international studies. The prevalence of use of BZD increased with aging and use of antidepressants.

Use of automated external defibrillators in a Brazilian airline. A 1-year experience

After the incorporation of automated external defibrilators by other airlines and the support of the Brazilian Society of cardiology, Varig Airlines Began the onboard defibrilation program with the initial purpose of equiping wide-body aircrafts frequently used in international flights and that airplanes use in the Rio - São Paulo route. With all fight attendants trained, the automated. External defibrilation devides were incorporated to 34 airplanes of a total pleet of 80 aircrats. The devices were intalled in the bagage compartments secured with velero straps and 2 pairs of electrods, one or which pre-conected to the device to minimize application time. Later, a portable monitor was addres to the ressocitation kit in the long flights. The expansion of the knowledge of the basic life support fundamentors and the correted implantation of the survival chain and of the automated external defibrilators will increase the extense of recovery of cardiorespiratory arrest victins in aircrafts.

Risk of symptomatic dengue for foreign visitors to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Brazil will host the FIFA World Cup™, the biggest single-event competition in the world, from June 12-July 13 2014 in 12 cities. This event will draw an estimated 600,000 international visitors. Brazil is endemic for dengue. Hence, attendees of the 2014 event are theoretically at risk for dengue. We calculated the risk of dengue acquisition to non-immune international travellers to Brazil, depending on the football match schedules, considering locations and dates of such matches for June and July 2014. We estimated the average per-capita risk and expected number of dengue cases for each host-city and each game schedule chosen based on reported dengue cases to the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the period between 2010-2013. On the average, the expected number of cases among the 600,000 foreigner tourists during the World Cup is 33, varying from 3-59. Such risk estimates will not only benefit individual travellers for adequate pre-travel preparations, but also provide valuable information for public health professionals and policy makers worldwide. Furthermore, estimates of dengue cases in international travellers during the World Cup can help to anticipate the theoretical risk for exportation of dengue into currently non-infected areas.

Dosimetric evaluation of X-ray examinations of paranasal sinuses in pediatric patients

Abstract Objective: To estimate the entrance surface air kerma (Ka,e) and air kerma in the region of radiosensitive organs in radiographs of pediatric paranasal sinuses. Materials and Methods: Patient data and irradiation parameters were collected in examinations of the paranasal sinuses in children from 0 to 15 years of age at two children's hospitals in the city of Recife, PE, Brazil. We estimated the Ka,e using the X-ray tube outputs and selected parameters. To estimate the air kerma values in the regions of the eyes and thyroid, we used thermoluminescent dosimeters. Results: The Ka,e values ranged from 0.065 to 1.446 mGy in cavum radiographs, from 0.104 to 7.298 mGy in Caldwell views, and from 0.113 to 7.824 mGy in Waters views. Air kerma values in the region of the eyes ranged from 0.001 to 0.968 mGy in cavum radiographs and from 0.011 to 0.422 mGy in Caldwell and Waters views . In the thyroid region, air kerma values ranged from 0.005 to 0.932 mGy in cavum radiographs and from 0.002 to 0.972 mGy in Caldwell and Waters views. Conclusion: The radiation levels used at the institutions under study were higher than those recommended in international protocols. We recommend that interventions be initiated in order to reduce patient exposure to radiation and therefore the risks associated with radiological examination of the paranasal sinuses.