Fracture rates lower in rural than urban communities : the Geelong Osteoporosis Study

Background: Urban and rural communities differ in the incidence of several diseases including coronary heart disease and some cancers. Lower hip fracture rates among rural than urban populations have been reported but few studies have compared rural and urban fractures at sites other than the hip.

Objective: To compare total and site specific fracture rates among adult residents of rural and urban communities within the same population.

Design and setting: This is a population based study on osteoporosis in Australia. All fractures occurring in adult residents over a two year period were ascertained using radiological reports. The rural and urban areas are in close proximity, with the same medical, hospital, and radiological facilities permitting uniform fracture ascertainment.

Main outcome measures: All fracture rates were age adjusted and sex adjusted to the Australian population according to the 1996 census of the Australian Bureau of Statistics and described as the rate per 10 000 person years. The p values refer to the adjusted rate difference.

Results: The hip fracture rate (incidence per 10 000 person years) was 32% lower (39 v 57, p<0.001), and the total fracture rate 15% lower (160 v 188, p=0.004) among rural than urban residents, respectively. The lower fracture rates in the rural population were also apparent for pelvic fractures.

Conclusion: In the older rural population, lower fracture rates at sites typically associated with osteoporosis suggest environmental factors may have a different impact on bone health in this community. If the national rate of hip fracture could be reduced to that of the rural population, the projected increase in hip fracture number attributable to aging of the population could be prevented.

Australia's health 2006 : the tenth biennial report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The report shows that Australians generally have good health and are privileged to have a range of health care services available to them. There are stark exceptions to this that can be confronting—even if well-known already—notably the generally much poorer health status of Indigenous Australians.

Health care service provider and funding arrangements are both increasingly complex and increasingly costly to both individuals and taxpayers. A continuing challenge is how to balance both the complementary and competitive perspectives of government and non-government agencies, professional groups, and small businesses. Overall, national expenditure on health was 9.7% of GDP in 2003–04; and average health expenditure per person has grown by an average 3.8% each year between 1997–98 to 2002–03. Expenditure on aids and appliances, health research and pharmaceuticals contributed more to this growth than other areas.

While the ageing of the population is having a significant impact on the number and type of health care services delivered, high quality services for children continue to be a priority. Australia’s health 2006 has a special chapter focusing on children and their health. The chapter highlights the fact that while our children are generally very healthy, there are concerns that their ongoing health could be affected by more and more of them becoming overweight or obese. Levels of diabetes are now rising among our children and it is a continuing concern that asthma and mental health problems affect so many of them.

Aspects of the biology of Galaxias maculatus

The biology of three landlocked and a riverine population of Galaxias maculatus were examined in western Victoria, Australia. All systems supported reproducing populations of these fish, including Lake Corangamite which had salinities that on occasion reached 82. Spawning sites in Lake Corangamite were located in adjacent tributaries and not in the main lake as was the case for other populations. The smallest fish were found in the fresh water Lake Purrumbete and the largest in the hypersaline Lake Corangamite. The size at which 50% of the population attained sexual maturity varied across sites, with fish maturing at a smaller size in Lake Purrumbete, followed by the Merri River, Lake Bullen Merri and Lake Corangamite. Condition was higher in the freshwater Lake Purrumbete and there was no relationship between condition and temperature, conductivity, turbidity and pH; but there was a positive relationship between condition and dissolved oxygen. Length frequency analysis suggested that the majority of fishes live for a year.

Monitoring and conservation of the critically endangered Alaotran gentle lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis

The Alaotran gentle lemur Hapalemur alaotrensis is a Critically Endangered lemur, which exclusively inhabits the marshes around Lac Alaotra in northeast Madagascar. In the past decades the population of H. alaotrensis has experienced a dramatic decline due to poaching, habitat destruction and degradation. Surveys have been carried out periodically to follow the status of the population. Here we present the results of a survey carried out between May and June 2008 in the southwestern part of the marshes around Alaotra and discuss the key findings derived from the analysis of the data collected. Our study indicates that the probability of detecting the species in an area where it is present is very low and depends on factors that vary in space and time. These results stress the need to account for imperfect detection when monitoring this species, an issue especially relevant when reporting population trends. Our analyses also show that habitat fragmentation is a key determinant of habitat suitability for H. alaotrensis, with fragmented areas of marsh showing low suitability. Finally, our observations and analysis suggest that the protection provided by the local community to H. alaotrensis in Andreba is contributing to the conservation of this Critically Endangered species. This highlights the need to continue working on engaging the local communities in the conservation of the marshes at Lac Alaotra as a critical element to secure the future of H. alaotrensis.

Injuries and envenoming by aquatic animals in fishermen of Coxim and Corumbá municipalities, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: identification of the causative agents, clinical aspects and first aid measures

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Scientific pedagogy at the end of the 19th century: Some readings and writings in the Portuguese debate

Through the text presented we intend to outline the debate that occurred in Portugal in the transition from the 19th to the 20th centuries. At the time, the imperatives of scientific development had reached education as a basis for the national prosperity. It was believed that Portugal had fallen behind in comparison to the other European countries because it was not capable of constructing a civilization directed by scientific criteria, through the expansion and spreading of culture. The debate over the extension of schools to increasingly broader segments of the population acquires a different meaning when the theorist of Education make use of language from several other areas of knowledge in order to create a mosaic of what has become known, since that time, as the Science of Education.

Clinical evaluation of the association of noncarious cervical lesions, parafunctional habits, and TMD diagnosis

Objective: To verify a potential association between the presence of noncarious cervical lesions, parafunctional habits, and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) diagnosis. Method and Materials: Sample-size calculation provided a value of 130 participants with a confidence level of 95% and an error margin of 5%. A population of 132 volunteers (30 men: mean age, 23.7 +/- 3.05 years; 102 women: mean age, 24.9 +/- 5.86 years) underwent an oral examination and was interviewed by a trained dentist. The following parameters were registered: personal details, TMD diagnosis, parafunctional habits, and noncarious cervical lesion presence. The population was then divided into a noncarious cervical lesion group and a control group and subjected to the t test, chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and Spearman correlation (alpha = .05). Results: Noncarious cervical lesions were present in 39% of the population, with the largest concentrations found in the maxillary premolars (32%). The data showed a significant association between noncarious cervical lesion presence, tooth clenching (P = .03), and nail biting (P = .02), as well as a relation with TMD diagnosis (Fonseca Index [P = .01] and Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD) [P = .004] ). In the noncarious cervical lesion group, direct rank correlation was found between maxillary premolars and clenching (P = .03), mandibular canines and nail biting (P = .05), and mandibular incisors and parafunctional habits without dental contacts (P = .02). Conclusion: Parafunctional habits and TMD presence should be taken into account in the diagnosis and treatment plan of noncarious cervical lesions.

Determination of neutral polymorphisms (frameworks) of the human beta globin gene in beta thalassaemias by PCR/DGGE

Purpose: Considering the importance of type beta thalassaemias as hereditary syndromes of high significance in different populations of Mediterranean origin and, by extension, in the Brazilian population, the objective of the present study was to determine by PCR/DGGE the gene structures responsible for neutral polymorphisms (frameworks) observed in the human beta globin gene associated with the mutations responsible for type beta thalassaemias in a sample of the Brazilian population and, more specifically, of the population of the State of São Paulo. Patients and methods: Thirty individuals with beta thalassaemic mutations were analyzed: 22 mutations were in codon 39 (C->T), 5 in IVS1-110 (G->A), 2 in IVS1-6 (T->C) and 1 in IVS1-1 (G->A). DNA was extracted and selective amplification was performed by PCR extending from position IVS1 nt 46 to IVS2 nt 126 (474 pb). The product was then analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on a denaturing 10-60% urea/formamide gradient. Results: The results demonstrated that, as expected, the mutations responsible for type beta thalassaemia observed in this population are of Mediterranean origin, with 73% distribution represented by codon 39,17% by IVS1-110, 7% by IVS1-6 and 3% by IVS1-1. In turn, framework distribution seems to indicate a higher frequency of Fr 1-1 in codon 39 and IVS1-110, of Fr 1-3 in IVS1-6 and of Fr 1-2 in IVS1-1. Conclusions: These results permit us to conclude that gene amplification by PCR followed by DGGE is an appropriate method for the separation of DNA molecules that differ even by a single base change and therefore can be utilized to detect the alterations observed in the human beta globin gene. This methodology shows that, using only a pair of primers, it is possible to define the frameworks that are observed in the beta globin gene.

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2004

Includes bibliography

Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2008

Includes bibliography

Color stability after accelerated aging of two silicones, pigmented or not, for use in facial prostheses

One of the greatest challenges faced by buccomaxillofacial prosthetists is to reproduce the patient's exact skin color and provide adequate esthetics. To reach this objective, professionals must use materials with easy characterization and that maintain color over long periods of time. The objective of this study was, thus, to evaluate the color stability of two types of silicones, Silastic 732 and Silastic MDX4-4210. Twenty-four test specimens were made from each type of silicone and were divided into a colorless group and groups intrinsically pigmented with ceramics, cosmetics or iron oxide. The specimens were submitted to an accelerated system of aging for non-metallic materials. Readings were carried out initially and after periods corresponding to 163, 351, 692 and 1,000 hours of aging, using a reflection spectrophotometer analysis, and color alterations were calculated by the CIE L*a*b* system. The data were submitted to variance analysis and Tukey's test at a 5% level of probability. The results demonstrated that, irrespective of the period of time analyzed, all the materials underwent some type of chromatic alteration (ΔE > 0). The test specimens made with Silastic 732 and MDX4-4210, without pigmentation, presented the lowest color alteration values after 1,000 hours of aging. Of the pigments, ceramic presented the lowest color alteration values and cosmetic powder presented the highest values. Thus, it may be concluded that the materials without the incorporation of pigments presented similar color alteration values, and did not differ statistically. The cosmetic powder used in this study was the pigment that most altered the color of the test specimens. © 2009 Sociedade Brasileira de Pesquisa Odontológica.

Summit of the Americas 1994-2009: selected indicators

Includes bibliography

Appraisal and conclusions from the 1994-2009 review of the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action in the Caribbean

Incluye Bibliografía

Hunger and malnutrition in the countries of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS)

Includes bibliography

Sociodemographic vulnerability in the Caribbean: an examination of the social and demographic impediments to equitable development with participatory citizenship in the Caribbean at the dawn of the twenty-first century

Includes bibliography