Women's acceptability of misoprostol treatment for incomplete abortion by midwives and physicians : secondary outcome analysis from a randomized controlled equivalence trial at district level in Uganda

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess women´s acceptability of diagnosis and treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by midwives, compared with physicians. METHODS: This was an analysis of secondary outcomes from a multi-centre randomized controlled equivalence trial at district level in Uganda. Women with first trimester incomplete abortion were randomly allocated to clinical assessment and treatment with misoprostol by a physician or a midwife. The randomisation (1:1) was done in blocks of 12 and stratified for health care facility. Acceptability was measured in expectations and satisfaction at a follow up visit 14-28 days following treatment. Analysis of women's overall acceptability was done using a generalized linear mixed-effects model with an equivalence range of -4% to 4%. The study was not masked. The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.org, NCT 01844024. RESULTS: From April 2013 to June 2014, 1108 women were assessed for eligibility of which 1010 were randomized (506 to midwife and 504 to physician). 953 women were successfully followed up and included in the acceptability analysis. 95% (904) of the participants found the treatment satisfactory and overall acceptability was found to be equivalent between the two study groups. Treatment failure, not feeling calm and safe following treatment, experiencing severe abdominal pain or heavy bleeding following treatment, were significantly associated with non-satisfaction. No serious adverse events were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of incomplete abortion with misoprostol by midwives and physician was highly, and equally, acceptable to women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01844024.

Wolves in sheeps' clothing: Creationist manipulation of Kansas science standards

So the question that animates this paper is this: what happens when a state's education policy seeks to make popular social and religious values a central part of its education standards in direct confrontation with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? I will try to answer that question in three ways. First, I will examine the tactics used in the manipulation of curricula to reflect social and religious values, with special focus on the Kansas case. Second, I will try to ascertain the determinants of success in these efforts; under what conditions are movements to impose creation science on public school curricula likely to succeed, and when to fail? Third, I will try to place these struggles over educational curricula, and between religion and science, in broader context, focusing on what they tell us about the nature of public policy making in the contemporary United States.

Growth Regulation and Other Secondary Effects of Herbicides

As all herbicides act on pathways or processes crucial to plants, in an inhibitory or stimulatory way, low doses of any herbicide might be used to beneficially modulate plant growth, development, or composition. Glyphosate, the most used herbicide in the world, is widely applied at low rates to ripen sugarcane. Low rates of glyphosate also can stimulate plant growth (this effect is called hormesis). When applied at recommended rates for weed control, glyphosate can inhibit rust diseases in glyphosate-resistant wheat and soybean. Fluridone blocks carotenoid biosynthesis by inhibition of phytoene desaturase and is effective in reducing the production of abscisic acid in drought-stressed plants. Among the acetolactate synthase inhibitors, sulfometuron-methyl is widely used to ripen sugarcane and imidazolinones can be used to suppress turf species growth. The application of protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors can trigger plant defenses against pathogens. Glufosinate, a glutamine syntherase inhibitor, is also known to improve the control of plant diseases. Auxin agonists (i.e., dicamba and 2,4-D) are effective, low-cost plant growth regulators. Currently, auxin agonists are still used in tissue cultures to induce somatic embryogenesis and to control fruit ripening, to reduce drop of fruits, to enlarge fruit size, or to extend the harvest period in citrus orchards. At low doses, triazine herbicides stimulate growth through beneficial effects on nitrogen metabolism and through auxin-like effects. Thus, sublethal doses of several herbicides have applications other than weed control.

Adapted Physical Education teachers and teaching knowledge

In the 1980's, there was a suggestion of including the Adapted Physical Education discipline in the Physical Education Graduation Course. In this perspective, starting from the Adapted Physical Education teacher's routine, the aim of this research was to verify what these teachers know and how they manage to plan, elaborate and apply their knowledge with their students with educational special needs. It's an exploring study that had in its interview and silabus analisis technics the source of its data. Among its most important results, it showed teaching, experimental and pedagogical knowledge as part of Physical Education and Adapted Physical Education, in the arrangement, building and knowledge apliance.

Frequency of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 in a group of patients with pituitary adenoma: genetic study and familial screening

The purpose of this study it was to evaluate the frequency of Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) in patients with pituitary adenoma and to perform genetic analysis and familial screening of those individuals afflicted with MEN1. 144 patients with pituitary adenoma at Botucatu Medical School, UNESP-Univ Estadual Paulista, were assessed retrospectively for MEN1 during the years of 2005-2011. The patients were evaluated for the presence of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) and enteropancreatic tumors. Genetic analysis was performed for the individuals with clinically diagnosed MEN1. Thirteen patients met the diagnostic criteria for MEN1, but three individuals belong to the same family and they were considered as a single MEN1 event, revealing 7.7 % frequency of MEN1 in this patient group. Genetic analysis showed MEN1 mutations in four index cases: IVS4+1 G>A, IVS3-6 C>T, c.1547insC and a new D180A mutation. One patient did not agree to participate in the genetic study and another one was referred for follow up in other hospital. Only polymorphisms were found in the other individuals, one of which was novel. We identified a high frequency of MEN1 in pituitary adenoma patients. Since PHP is one of the most common MEN1 tumor and patients are mostly asymptomatic, we suggest that all pituitary adenoma patients have their calcium profile analyzed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Instrumentos de ensino de valor histórico e seu papel no ensino secundário no Brasil (1931-1961)

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

Phenomenology of OCD: Lessons from a large multicenter study and implications for ICD-11

This study aimed to investigate the phenomenology of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), addressing specific questions about the nature of obsessions and compulsions, and to contribute to the World Health Organization's (WHO) revision of OCD diagnostic guidelines. Data from 1001 patients from the Brazilian Research Consortium on Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Disorders were used. Patients were evaluated by trained clinicians using validated instruments, including the Dimensional Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale, the University of Sao Paulo Sensory Phenomena Scale, and the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale. The aims were to compare the types of sensory phenomena (SP, subjective experiences that precede or accompany compulsions) in OCD patients with and without tic disorders and to determine the frequency of mental compulsions, the co-occurrence of obsessions and compulsions, and the range of insight. SP were common in the whole sample, but patients with tic disorders were more likely to have physical sensations and urges only. Mental compulsions occurred in the majority of OCD patients. It was extremely rare for OCD patients to have obsessions without compulsions. A wide range of insight into OCD beliefs was observed, with a small subset presenting no insight. The data generated from this large sample will help practicing clinicians appreciate the full range of OCD symptoms and confirm prior studies in smaller samples the degree to which insight varies. These findings also support specific revisions to the WHO's diagnostic guidelines for OCD, such as describing sensory phenomena, mental compulsions and level of insight, so that the world-wide recognition of this disabling disorder is increased. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermal study and characterization of nicotinates of some alkaline earth metals using TG-DSC-FTIR and DSC-system photovisual

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

Larvacean (Chordata, Tunicata) abundance and inferred secondary production off southeastern Brazil

We studied the temporal and vertical variability in larvacean abundance and secondary production on a fixed station off southeast Brazil, from January 2007 to December 2008. Larvacean biomass was derived from length weight regressions, and growth rates were estimated from an empirical model. We identified eleven larvacean species. Oikopleura longicauda occurred throughout the studied period and was the most abundant species, followed by Oikopleura fusiformis. Fritillaria haplostoma, O. fusiformis and O. longicauda were found mainly above the thermocline, whereas Oikopleura dioica and Fritillaria pellucida preferred bottom layers. Higher abundance and biomass were observed in warmer months, when the water column was stratified as a result of the bottom intrusions of the cold and nutrient-rich South Atlantic Central Water. Secondary production mirrored the biomass seasonal pattern. Larvacean biomass equaled to less than 10% of copepod biomass during the same period, but larvacean production comprised on average 77% that of copepods, whereas the production of discarded houses and fecal pellets comprised up to 2800% of larvaceans secondary production. This confirms the potential significance of larvaceans in the carbon flux in tropical and subtropical coastal regions. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study and characterization of starches isolated from unconventional tuber sources

Some properties of canna (Canna indica L.) and bore (Alocasia macrorrhiza) starches were evaluated and compared using cassava starch (Manihot esculenta Crantz) as a reference. Proximate analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and viscosity measurements were performed. Canna and bore starches showed a similar degree of purity as that of the cassava starch. Canna starch exhibited higher thermal stability and viscosity of solution values than those of bore and cassava starches. XRD spectra showed that canna starch crystallizes as a B-type structure; however, bore and cassava starches crystallize as an A-type structure. Results proved that canna and bore starches are promising bio(materials), obtained from unconventional sources, to be used for industrial applications, as their physicochemical properties are similar to those of cassava starch, which it is known has potential applications in this area.

When the Practice of Theorizing Meets the Theorizing of Practice. Social Knowledge Making in Organization Science Academia and Managerial Communities

The aim of the present work is to contribute to a better understanding of the relation between organization theory and management practice. It is organized as a collection of two papers, a theoretical and conceptual contribution and an ethnographic study. The first paper is concerned with systematizing different literatures inside and outside the field of organization studies that deal with the theory-practice relation. After identifying a series of positions to the theory-practice debate and unfolding some of their implicit assumptions and limitations, a new position called entwinement is developed in order to overcome status quo through reconciliation and integration. Accordingly, the paper proposes to reconceptualize theory and practice as a circular iterative process of action and cognition, science and common-sense enacted in the real world both by organization scholars and practitioners according to purposes at hand. The second paper is the ethnographic study of an encounter between two groups of expert academics and practitioners occasioned by a one-year executive business master in an international business school. The research articulates a process view of the knowledge exchange between management academics and practitioners in particular and between individuals belonging to different communities of practice, in general, and emphasizes its dynamic, relational and transformative mechanisms. Findings show that when they are given the chance to interact, academics and practitioners set up local provisional relations that enable them to act as change intermediaries vis-a-vis each other’s worlds, without tying themselves irremediably to each other and to the scenarios they conjointly projected during the master’s experience. Finally, the study shows that provisional relations were accompanied by a recursive shift in knowledge modes. While interacting, academics passed from theory to practical theorizing, practitioners passed from an involved practical mode to a reflexive and quasi-theoretical one, and then, as exchanges proceeded, the other way around.

No evidence for a genetic association between female mating preference and male secondary sexual trait in a Lake Victoria cichlid fish

Sexual selection by female mating preference for male nuptial coloration has been suggested as a driving force in the rapid speciation of Lake Victoria cichlid fish. This process could have been facilitated or accelerated by genetic associations between female preference loci and male coloration loci. Preferences, as well as coloration, are heritable traits and are probably determined by more than one gene. However, little is known about potential genetic associations between these traits. In turbid water, we found a population that is variable in male nuptial coloration from blue to yellow to red. Males at the extreme ends of the phenotype distribution resemble a reproductively isolated species pair in clear water that has diverged into one species with blue-grey mates and one species with bright red males. Females of the turbid water population vary in mating preference coinciding with the male phenotype distribution. For the current study, these females were mated to blue males. We measured the coloration of the sires and male offspring. Parents-offspring regression showed that the sires did not affect male offspring coloration, which confirms earlier findings that the blue species breeds true. In contrast, male offspring coloration was determined by the identity of the dams, which suggests that there is heritable variation in male color genes between females. However, we found that mating preferences of the dams were not correlated with male offspring coloration. Thus, there is no evidence for strong genetic linkage between mating preference and the preferred trait in this population [Current Zoology 56 (1): 57-64 2010].

A comparison of initial antiretroviral therapy in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and the recommendations of the International AIDS Society-USA

In order to facilitate and improve the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), international recommendations are released and updated regularly. We aimed to study if adherence to the recommendations is associated with better treatment outcomes in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS).

Genetic diversity of EBV-encoded LMP1 in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study and implication for NF-Κb activation

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with several types of cancers including Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). EBV-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), a multifunctional oncoprotein, is a powerful activator of the transcription factor NF-κB, a property that is essential for EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell survival. Previous studies reported LMP1 sequence variations and induction of higher NF-κB activation levels compared to the prototype B95-8 LMP1 by some variants. Here we used biopsies of EBV-associated cancers and blood of individuals included in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) to analyze LMP1 genetic diversity and impact of sequence variations on LMP1-mediated NF-κB activation potential. We found that a number of variants mediate higher NF-κB activation levels when compared to B95-8 LMP1 and mapped three single polymorphisms responsible for this phenotype: F106Y, I124V and F144I. F106Y was present in all LMP1 isolated in this study and its effect was variant dependent, suggesting that it was modulated by other polymorphisms. The two polymorphisms I124V and F144I were present in distinct phylogenetic groups and were linked with other specific polymorphisms nearby, I152L and D150A/L151I, respectively. The two sets of polymorphisms, I124V/I152L and F144I/D150A/L151I, which were markers of increased NF-κB activation in vitro, were not associated with EBV-associated HL in the SHCS. Taken together these results highlighted the importance of single polymorphisms for the modulation of LMP1 signaling activity and demonstrated that several groups of LMP1 variants, through distinct mutational paths, mediated enhanced NF-κB activation levels compared to B95-8 LMP1.