Detection of Paracoccidioides spp. in environmental aerosol samples

Taking into account that paracoccidioidomycosis infection occurs by inhalation of the asexual conidia produced by Paracoccidioides spp. in its saprobic phase, this work presents the collection of aerosol samples as an option for environmental detection of this pathogen, by positioning a cyclonic air sampler at the entrance of armadillo burrows. Methods included direct culture, extinction technique culture and Nested PCR of the rRNA coding sequence, comprising the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region. In addition, we evaluated one armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) as a positive control for the studied area. Although the pathogen could not be isolated by the culturing strategies, the aerosol sampling associated with molecular detection through Nested PCR proved the best method for discovering Paracoccidioides spp. in the environment. Most of the ITS sequences obtained in this investigation proved to be highly similar with the homologous sequences of Paracoccidioides lutzii from the GenBank database, suggesting that this Paracoccidioides species may not be exclusive to mid-western Brazil as proposed so far. © 2013 ISHAM.

The resistivity piezocone for high resolution geo-environmental site investigation: A Brazilian example

A suit able decision-making on managing a contaminated site characterization program is strongly dependent of the diagnosis process. A detailed diagnosis can be done based on a Conceptual Site Model (CSM) elaboration using high resolution site characterization tools. The piezocone (CPTu) test is a high resolution tool which allows attaching several specific sensors, like the resistivity probe. This hybrid device is called the resistivity piezocone (RCPTu). A simulated geo-environmental site characterization program was performed on an erosion site using different tools (direct push tools soil samplers, hollow stem auger (HSA) drilling and RCPTu tests) to develop the CSM for a site similar to the Brazilian conditions. It was observed a good agreement between the site profiles interpreted by the different methods. The resistivity sensor attached to the piezocone improved the interpretation and the decision-making process on site was significantly better for the CSM elaboration. The RCPTu test data also allowed identifying the hydrogeological heterogeneities. The present study shows that the RCPTu test is also a useful and powerful tool to development an accurate CSM in a Brazilian condition, especially in an approach that prioritizes high resolution geo-environmental investigation. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group.

Assessment of the socioeconomic and environmental impact of hurricane Ivan on Jamaica

Includes bibliography

Assessment of the damage caused by flood rains and landslides in association with hurricane Michelle, october 2001: implications for economic, social and environmental development

Preface This study was prepared for the Government of Jamaica following the significant physical damage and economic losses that the country sustained as a result of flood rains associated with the development of Hurricane Michelle. The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) submitted a request for assistance in undertaking a social, environmental and economic impact assessment to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on 14 November 2001. ECLAC responded with haste and modified its work plan to accommodate the request. A request for training in the use of the ECLAC Methodology to be delivered to personnel in Jamaica was deferred until the first quarter of 2002, as it was impossible to mount such an initiative at such short notice. This appraisal considers the consequences of the three instances of heavy rainfall that brought on the severe flooding and loss of property and livelihoods. The study was prepared by three members of the ECLAC Natural Disaster Damage Assessment Team over a period of one week in order to comply with the request that it be presented to the Prime Minister on 3 December 2001. The team has endeavoured to complete a workload that would take two weeks with a team of 15 members working assiduously with data already prepared in preliminary form by the national emergency stakeholders. There is need for training in disaster assessment as evidenced by the data collected by the Jamaican officials engaged in the exercise. Their efforts in the future will be more focused and productive after they have received training in the use of the ECLAC Methodology. This study undertakes a sectoral analysis leading to an overall assessment of the damage. It appraises the macroeconomic and social effects and proposes some guidelines for action including mitigating actions subsequent to the devastation caused by the weather system. The team is grateful for the efforts of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the associated government ministries and agencies, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) for assistance rendered to the team. Indeed, it is the recommendation of the team that STATIN is poised to play a pivotal role in any disaster damage assessment and should be taken on board in that regard. The direct and indirect damages have been assessed in accordance with the methodology developed by ECLAC (1). The results presented are based on the mission's estimates. The study incorporates the information made available to the team and evidence collected in interviews and visits to affected locations. It is estimated that the magnitude of the losses exceeds the country's capacity to address reparations and mitigation without serious dislocation of its development trajectory. The government may wish to approach the international community for assistance in this regard. This appraisal is therefore designed to provide the government and the international community with guidelines for setting national and regional priorities in rehabilitation and reconstruction or resettlement programmes. A purely economic conception of the problem would be limited. A more integrated approach would have a human face and consider the alleviation of human suffering in the affected areas while attending to the economic and fiscal fallout of the disaster. Questions of improved physical planning, watershed management, early warning, emergency response and structural preparedness for evacuation and sheltering the vulnerable population are seen as important considerations for the post disaster phase. Special attention and priority should be placed on including sustainability and increased governance criteria in making social and productive investments, and on allocating resources to the reinforcing and retrofitting of vulnerable infrastructure, basic lifelines and services as part of the reconstruction and rehabilitation strategy. The Jamaican society and government face the opportunity of undertaking action with the benefit of revised paradigms, embarking on institutional, legal and structural reforms to reduce economic, social and environmental vulnerability. The history of flood devastation in the very areas of Portland and St. Mary shows a recurrence of flooding. Accounts of flooding from the earliest recorded accounts pertaining to 1837 are available. Recurrences in 1937, 1940, 1943 and 2001 indicate an ever-present probability of recurrence of similar events. The Government may wish to consider the probable consequences of a part of its population living in flood plains and address its position vis-à­¶is land use and the probability of yet another recurrence of flood rains. (1) ECLAC/IDNDR, Manual for estimating the Socio-Economic Effects of Natural Disasters, May,1999.

Estudo agroambiental de uma microbacia hidrográfica, visando sua sustentabilidade

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Análise da adesão ao tratamento em mulheres com lúpus eritematoso sistêmico

O lúpus eritematoso sistêmico (LES) é uma doença inflamatória crônica do tecido conjuntivo, de caráter auto-imune e natureza multissistêmica, podendo afetar diversos órgãos e sistemas. Há predomínio no sexo feminino e apresenta períodos de remissão e exacerbação. Embora de etiologia ainda desconhecida, vários fatores contribuem para o desenvolvimento da doença, dentre eles os fatores hormonais, ambientais, genéticos e imunológicos. Algumas manifestações clínicas têm desafiado os especialistas, como é o caso da associação do LES com estados depressivos. Este estudo teve como objetivo identificar variáveis relacionadas à adesão ao tratamento em mulheres com diagnóstico de LES. Foram feitas correlações entre características sociodemográficas, níveis de depressão, qualidade de vida, estratégias de enfrentamento e comportamentos de adesão ao tratamento. Foram usados os instrumentos: Roteiros de entrevista, Escalas Beck, International Quality of Life Assessment Project (SF-36), Escala Modos de Enfrentamento de Problemas (EMEP) e Inventário de Qualidade de Vida (WHOQOL-Breve). As participantes integravam um grupo de trinta pacientes assistidas no ambulatório de reumatologia de um hospital público. Foram distribuídas em dois grupos, de acordo com o uso ou não de medidas orientadas pelo médico: Adesão (n=17) e Não Adesão (n=13). O grupo Adesão, independentemente da idade e do tempo de diagnóstico, apresentou menores níveis de depressão se comparado com o grupo Não Adesão. Os resultados sugerem que, em ambos os grupos, nos primeiros cinco meses de convivência da paciente com o LES, o aspecto físico, a dor e o estado geral de saúde são percebidos como fatores difíceis de lidar. Entretanto, é possível afirmar que, nesse mesmo período, se o paciente não adere às prescrições médicas, o desconforto em relação aos fatores citados é intensificado. A correlação entre o domínio Vitalidade, o domínio Aspectos sociais (medidos pelo SF-36) e a adesão ao tratamento apresentou-se válida, pois as participantes do grupo Adesão também relataram que se sentiam amparadas, tanto pelo seu grupo social quanto pela equipe de saúde. Os resultados sugerem que o comportamento depressivo pode ocorrer pelo longo tempo de convivência dessas pacientes com a incontrolabilidade dos sintomas da doença, e também por conta das seqüelas do LES, que as atinge severamente, comprometendo órgãos vitais como rins, coração, pulmões, prejudicando a qualidade de vida das mesmas. Discutem-se as vantagens e limitações do uso de instrumentos para identificação de variáveis relevantes no estudo da adesão ao tratamento em doenças crônicas. Sugere-se a realização de estudos longitudinais, com delineamento do sujeito como seu próprio controle para investigar a relação entre estados depressivos, controle de sintomas e adesão ao tratamento.

Emergy diagnosis and reflections towards Brazilian sustainable development

This paper presents an environmental emergy-based diagnosis of Brazil compared with Russia, India, China, South Africa and United States. Reflections on the Brazilian sustainable development are presented and discussed based on the evaluations published since 1979. The variation of the emergy per capita for Brazil from 1979 to 2007 indicates that the country's growth is tied to the exploitation of non renewable natural resources which do not directly reflect in the welfare of the population. The total emergy exported per unit of gross domestic product increased in the period, suggesting that the country exports more emergy than that contained in the money received for the exportation. With the help of the emergy indices, the future development of Brazil is explored and discussed. The comparison among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries and United States indicates that what may be appropriate and usable within one country may not be within another and that to achieve the global sustainability two concomitant actions may occur: (i) the reduction of the total emergy use in developed economies, and (ii) the reduction of indigenous resources exportation in developing economies. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diagnóstico ambiental do município de Ipeúna: subsídios para o planejamento do turismo

This study sought to address the tourism system in its various strands, compared to socioeconomic and environmental issues. Contextualizing the theme of sustainable tourism, or ecotourism, the reality of the city of Ipeúna, there is the incipient state of efforts in this activity because, predominantly, its territory is occupied by the monoculture of cane sugar and pastures, which damages the maintenance of vegetation fragments, as well as degrading areas that often could take a value tour. Through environmental planning, was intended to raise major issues of interface tourism / environment in order to seek alternatives to the implementation and development of tourism in Ipeúna. As a result, it presents an environmental diagnosis of the study area through which to assess the current status of tourist attractions in relation to environmental and socio-economic dynamics of the city.

Limitações humanas do operador de máquinas agrícolas e o ambiente socio-laboral na sojicultura

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Ciência do Solo) - FCAV

Planeamiento y análisis integral del paisaje de la cuenca hidrográfica del río buenavista provincia de Manabí-Ecuador para la implementación de políticas de incentivos a la restauración de ecosistemas con fines de conservación (programa socio Bosque-Ecuador)

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Socio-eco-efficiency of integrated and non-integrated systems of crop, forestry and livestock in the Ipameri city, at brazilian Cerrado

Pós-graduação em Ciências Ambientais - Sorocaba

Environmental and Farm Management Factors Associated with Tuberculosis on Cattle Farms in Northeastern Michigan

Objective—To identify major environmental and farm management factors associated with the occurrence of tuberculosis (TB) on cattle farms in northeastern Michigan. Design—Case-control study. Sample Population—17 cattle farms with infected cattle and 51 control farms. Procedure—Each case farm (laboratory confirmed diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection) was matched with 2 to 4 control farms (negative whole-herd test results within previous 12 months) on the basis of type of farm (dairy or beef) and location. Cattle farm data were collected from in-person interviews and mailed questionnaires. Wildlife TB data were gathered through state wildlife surveillance. Environmental data were gathered from a satellite image-based geographic information system. Multivariable conditional logistic regression for matched analysis was performed. Results—Major factors associated with increased farm risk of TB were higher TB prevalence among wild deer and cattle farms in the area, herd size, and ponds or creeks in cattle housing areas. Factors associated with reduced farm risk of TB were greater amounts of natural open lands in the surrounding area and reducing deer access to cattle housing areas by housing cattle in barns, barnyards, or feedlots and use of electrified wire or barbed wire for livestock fencing. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that certain environmental and management factors may be associated with risk of TB on cattle farms.

Clusters of leprosy transmission and of late diagnosis in a highly endemic area in Brazil: focus on different spatial analysis approaches

Objective The Brazilian National Hansens Disease Control Program recently identified clusters with high disease transmission. Herein, we present different spatial analytical approaches to define highly vulnerable areas in one of these clusters. Method The study area included 373 municipalities in the four Brazilian states Maranha o, Para ', Tocantins and Piaui '. Spatial analysis was based on municipalities as the observation unit, considering the following disease indicators: (i) rate of new cases / 100 000 population, (ii) rate of cases < 15 years / 100 000 population, (iii) new cases with grade-2 disability / 100 000 population and (iv) proportion of new cases with grade-2 disabilities. We performed descriptive spatial analysis, local empirical Bayesian analysis and spatial scan statistic. Results A total of 254 (68.0%) municipalities were classified as hyperendemic (mean annual detection rates > 40 cases / 100 000 inhabitants). There was a concentration of municipalities with higher detection rates in Para ' and in the center of Maranha o. Spatial scan statistic identified 23 likely clusters of new leprosy case detection rates, most of them localized in these two states. These clusters included only 32% of the total population, but 55.4% of new leprosy cases. We also identified 16 significant clusters for the detection rate < 15 years and 11 likely clusters of new cases with grade-2. Several clusters of new cases with grade-2 / population overlap with those of new cases detection and detection of children < 15 years of age. The proportion of new cases with grade-2 did not reveal any significant clusters. Conclusions Several municipality clusters for high leprosy transmission and late diagnosis were identified in an endemic area using different statistical approaches. Spatial scan statistic is adequate to validate and confirm high-risk leprosy areas for transmission and late diagnosis, identified using descriptive spatial analysis and using local empirical Bayesian method. National and State leprosy control programs urgently need to intensify control actions in these highly vulnerable municipalities.

Quality of life among Brazilian women living with HIV/AIDS

The purpose of the present study was to assess quality of life (QoL) in Brazilian women living with HIV/AIDS, according to the World Health Organization Quality of Life HIV-BREF (WHOQoL-HIV-BREF) domains. A quantitative-based, cross-sectional, analytical study was carried out in healthcare centers specialized in assisting people living with HIV/AIDS, located in a municipality of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. One hundred and six women of age 18 years or more, users of the public healthcare system, participated in the study. Socio-demographic and clinical variables were collected using a specific questionnaire. Quality of life related variables were collected by means of the WHOQoL-HIV-BREF instrument. As per the QoL domains, study results show that the Spirituality domain reached a standardized mean score of 65.7, followed by the Physical (64.7), Psychological (60.6), Social Relationships (59.5), Independence (58.6), and Environment (54.5) domains. Results of the multiple regression analysis indicate that the women's employment or retirement, income greater than the minimum wage, and higher educational level were associated with a higher standardized mean score of QoL. However, recent HIV/AIDS diagnosis and exposure to antiretroviral agents for a period shorter than two years were negatively associated with QoL. It is critical that public policies favor an all-embracing social inclusion of these women, thus promoting better social conditions. Counseling, clinical follow-up immediately after the infection diagnosis, and initiation of antiretroviral treatment are crucial moments in the lives of these individuals.

Delay in the search for health services for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo

The scope of this paper is to analyze delays in locating health services for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in Ribeirao Preto in 2009. An epidemiological and cross-sectional study was conducted with 94 TB patients undergoing treatment. A structured questionnaire, based on the Primary Care Assessment Tool adapted for TB care was used. A median (15 days or more) was established to characterize delay in health attendance. Using the Prevalence Ratio, the variables associated with longer delay were identified. The first healthcare services sought were the Emergency Services (ES) (57.5%). The longest period between seeking assistance occurred among males, aged between 50 and 59, who earned less than five minimum wages, had pulmonary TB, were new cases, were not co-infected with TB/HIV, did not consume alcohol, had satisfactory knowledge about TB before diagnosis (with a statistically significant association with delay) and who did not seek healthcare close to home before developing TB. There is a perceived need for training healthcare professionals about the signs and symptoms of the disease, reducing barriers of access to timely diagnosis of TB and widely disseminating it to the community in general.