Saving Young Lives: Pathfinder International’s Youth-Friendly Postabortion Care Project

As many as 2.5 million adolescent women seek abortion each year, and nearly 70,000 women die from complications related to unsafe abortion, of which almost half are women under the age of 25. A further 5 million women suffer disability due to unsafe abortion yearly. In most developing countries, abortion is legally restricted or highly inaccessible, which leads young women to seek services from unskilled practitioners often leading to incomplete, septic abortions and massive bleeding, which can result in permanent injury, infertility, and death. Based on our deeply held belief that all people, including adolescents, have a right to sexual and reproductive health services and the importance of addressing adolescent needs within Postabortion Care (PAC) services, Pathfinder used private funds to initiate a Youth-Friendly Postabortion Care (YFPAC) program in eight sub-Saharan African countries. Implemented between June 2007 and May 2008, the YFPAC program offered an opportunity to apply the PAC Consortium’s Technical Guidance on Youth-Friendly PAC, generating promising approaches and lessons learned. The goal of the YFPAC initiative was to increase access to PAC services that are responsive to adolescent needs in sub-Saharan Africa. While outcomes varied according to the country, the overall outcomes included: Increased community support for services and activities that prevent unwanted pregnancy, decreased stigma around abortion, and awareness of the issue of unsafe abortion among adolescent women: 311 peer educators reached almost 17,487 youth and other community members; 171 stakeholders (e.g., religious and traditional leaders, health officials, and local government officials) were sensitized on YFPAC, resulting in a positive shift in communities’ attitudes toward youth in need of PAC services. 125 service providers were trained to deliver YFPAC services and three doctors in Ghana were provided with a technical update on YFPAC. YFPAC services are available in Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Pathfinder introduced YFPAC services into 25 facilities (in 27 service delivery points), and provided more than 3,800 clients with YFPAC services throughout the eight countries. The number of adolescent PAC clients seen at the project facilities increased— 710 clients were seen in the first quarter, 1,144 were seen in the fourth. The number of adolescent PAC clients who adopt a contraceptive method to prevent future unintended pregnancies has increased. Statistics show an average postabortion contraceptive acceptance of 69%, with the highest acceptance being 83% and the lowest being 44%. Evidence-based approaches, tools, and lessons learned are being disseminated and used for scale-up or replication of YFPAC interventions.

Indian street drama

Ipas India worked with Contact Base, a local organization, to develop street drama that highlights where and how safe abortion services, including medical abortion, can be obtained. Ipas works globally to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights, and to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries

Health care providers' opinions on abortion: a study for the implementation of the legal abortion public policy in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina

Background: In Argentina, abortion has been decriminalized under certain circumstances since the enactment of the Penal Code in 1922. Nevertheless, access to abortion under this regulatory framework has been extremely limited in spite of some recent changes. This article reports the findings of the first phase of an operations research study conducted in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, regarding the implementation of the local legal and safe abortion access policy. Methods: The project combined research and training to generate a virtuous circle of knowledge production, decision-making, and the fostering of an informed healthcare policy. The project used a pre-post design of three phases: baseline, intervention, and evaluation. It was conducted in two public hospitals. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire (n = 157) and semi-structured interviews (n = 27) were applied to gather information about tacit knowledge about the regulatory framework; personal opinions regarding abortion and its decriminalization; opinions on the requirements needed to carry out legal abortions; and service’s responses to women in need of an abortion. Results: Firstly, a fairly high percentage of health care providers lack accurate information on current legal framework. This deficit goes side by side with a restrictive understanding of both health and rape indications. Secondly, while a great majority of health care providers support abortion under the circumstances consider in the Penal Code, most of them are reluctant towards unrestricted access to abortion. Thirdly, health care providers’ willingness to perform abortions is noticeably low given that only half of them are ready to perform an abortion when a woman’s life is at risk. Willingness is even lower for each of the other current legal indications. Conclusions: Findings suggest that there are important challenges for the implementation of a legal abortion policy. Results of the study call for specific strategies targeting health care providers in order to better inform about current legal abortion regulations and to sensitize them about abortion social determinants. The interpretation of the current legal framework needs to be broadened in order to reflect a comprehensive view of the health indication, and stereotypes regarding women’s sexuality and abortion decisions need to be dismantled.

Planificación familiar y modelo conyugal en Argentina (1960-1970) : Reflexiones sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos

El presente ensayo bibliográfico es la adaptación del coloquio presentado para un seminario de posgrado de la FaHCE-UNLP dictado por la Dra. Adriana Valobra, en el cual propongo recuperar de manera crítica los aspectos centrales de dos estudios que contribuyen a reflexionar sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en Argentina: un estudio de Karina Felitti en el cual aborda las políticas de planificación familiar en Argentina entre las décadas de 1960 y 1970 y un estudio de Isabella Cosse en el cual analiza las continuidades y rupturas en el modelo conyugal en Buenos Aires entre 1960-1975

Planificación familiar y modelo conyugal en Argentina (1960-1970) : Reflexiones sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos

El presente ensayo bibliográfico es la adaptación del coloquio presentado para un seminario de posgrado de la FaHCE-UNLP dictado por la Dra. Adriana Valobra, en el cual propongo recuperar de manera crítica los aspectos centrales de dos estudios que contribuyen a reflexionar sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en Argentina: un estudio de Karina Felitti en el cual aborda las políticas de planificación familiar en Argentina entre las décadas de 1960 y 1970 y un estudio de Isabella Cosse en el cual analiza las continuidades y rupturas en el modelo conyugal en Buenos Aires entre 1960-1975

Planificación familiar y modelo conyugal en Argentina (1960-1970) : Reflexiones sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos

El presente ensayo bibliográfico es la adaptación del coloquio presentado para un seminario de posgrado de la FaHCE-UNLP dictado por la Dra. Adriana Valobra, en el cual propongo recuperar de manera crítica los aspectos centrales de dos estudios que contribuyen a reflexionar sobre la matriz de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos en Argentina: un estudio de Karina Felitti en el cual aborda las políticas de planificación familiar en Argentina entre las décadas de 1960 y 1970 y un estudio de Isabella Cosse en el cual analiza las continuidades y rupturas en el modelo conyugal en Buenos Aires entre 1960-1975

The value of cultural assets. Maintenance Costs and economic sustainability at heritage

Under the 12th International Conference on Building Materials and Components is inserted this communication related to the field of management of those assets that constitute the Spanish Cultural Heritage and maintenance. This work is related to the field of management of those assets that constitute the Spanish Cultural Heritage which share an artistic or historical background. The conservation and maintenance become a social demand necessary for the preservation of public values, requiring the investment of necessary resources. The legal protection involves a number of obligations and rights to ensure the conservation and heritage protection. The duty of maintenance and upkeep exceeds the useful life the property that must endure more for their cultural value for its usability. The establishment of the necessary conditions to prevent deterioration and precise in order to fulfill its social function, seeking to prolong the life of the asset, preserving their physical integrity and its ability to convey the values protected. This obligation implies a substantial financial effort to the holder of the property, either public or private entity, addressing a problem of economic sustainability. Economic exploitation, with the aim of contributing to their well-maintained, is sometimes the best way to get resources. The work will include different lines of research with the following objectives. - Establishment of processes for assessing total costs over the building life cycle (LCC), during the planning stages or maintenance budgets to determine the most advantageous operating system. - Relationship between the value of property and maintenance costs, and establishing a sensitivity analysis.

ADOLESCÊNCIA E SEXUALIDADE: UMA ANÁLISE DO DISCURSO DA MÍDIA SEGMENTADA

Esse estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre o tratamento dado ao tema sexualidade nas revistas Atrevida e Capricho, destinadas a adolescentes. Nosso corpus constitui-se de 62 edições, veiculadas nos anos de 1996 e 2006. No contexto social, há uma preocupação crescente com as questões de saúde sexual e reprodutiva, gravidez precoce e aborto inseguro entre os menores de 18 anos. O objetivo do presente trabalho é, portanto, verificar qual é a contribuição dessas revistas adolescentes no que diz respeito à informação e ao esclarecimento sobre sexualidade e indicar se, em virtude do tempo, houve uma variação na forma de tratar o assunto. Também é nosso interesse verificar de que maneira os discursos sobre sexualidade são construídos nestes espaços e, para tanto, utilizamos a análise do discurso como eixo teórico-metodológico. Concluímos que, embora o assunto tenha espaço nas duas revistas, sua cobertura é restrita e não há freqüência ou continuidade nos temas abordados. Nota-se um esforço em esclarecer sobre sexualidade e disseminar comportamentos seguros, porém, a cobertura do temas é feita, em grande parte das vezes, de modo bastante superficial e seguindo padrões de abordagem que não são capazes de abranger o tema em toda a sua complexidade.(AU)

ADOLESCÊNCIA E SEXUALIDADE: UMA ANÁLISE DO DISCURSO DA MÍDIA SEGMENTADA

Esse estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre o tratamento dado ao tema sexualidade nas revistas Atrevida e Capricho, destinadas a adolescentes. Nosso corpus constitui-se de 62 edições, veiculadas nos anos de 1996 e 2006. No contexto social, há uma preocupação crescente com as questões de saúde sexual e reprodutiva, gravidez precoce e aborto inseguro entre os menores de 18 anos. O objetivo do presente trabalho é, portanto, verificar qual é a contribuição dessas revistas adolescentes no que diz respeito à informação e ao esclarecimento sobre sexualidade e indicar se, em virtude do tempo, houve uma variação na forma de tratar o assunto. Também é nosso interesse verificar de que maneira os discursos sobre sexualidade são construídos nestes espaços e, para tanto, utilizamos a análise do discurso como eixo teórico-metodológico. Concluímos que, embora o assunto tenha espaço nas duas revistas, sua cobertura é restrita e não há freqüência ou continuidade nos temas abordados. Nota-se um esforço em esclarecer sobre sexualidade e disseminar comportamentos seguros, porém, a cobertura do temas é feita, em grande parte das vezes, de modo bastante superficial e seguindo padrões de abordagem que não são capazes de abranger o tema em toda a sua complexidade.(AU)

Who has a repeat abortion? Identifying women at risk of repeated terminations of pregnancy : analysis of routinely collected health care data

Peer reviewed

A mitogen-activated protein kinase of the corn leaf pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus is involved in conidiation, appressorium formation, and pathogenicity: Diverse roles for mitogen-activated protein kinase homologs in foliar pathogens

Fungal pathogens perceive and respond to molecules from the plant, triggering pathogenic development. Transduction of these signals may use heterotrimeric G proteins, and it is thought that protein phosphorylation cascades are also important. We have isolated a mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog from the corn pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus to test its role as a component of the transduction pathways. The new gene, CHK1, has a deduced amino acid sequence 90% identical to Pmk1 of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea and 59% identical to Fus3 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A series of chk1 deletion mutants has poorly developed aerial hyphae, autolysis, and no conidia. No pseudothecia are formed when a cross between two Δchk1 mutants is attempted. The ability of Δchk1 mutants to infect corn plants is reduced severely. The growth pattern of hyphae on a glass surface is strikingly altered from that of the wild type, forming coils or loops, but no appressoria. This set of phenotypes overlaps only partially with that of pmk1 mutants, the homologous gene of the rice blast fungus. In particular, sexual and asexual sporulation both require Chk1 function in Cochliobolus heterostrophus, in contrast to Pmk1, but perhaps more similar to yeast, where Fus3 transmits the mating signal. Chk1 is required for efficient colonization of leaf tissue, which can be compared with filamentous invasive growth of yeast, modulated through another closely related mitogen-activated protein kinase, Kss1. Ubiquitous signaling elements thus are used in diverse ways in different plant pathogens, perhaps the result of coevolution of the transducers and their targets.

Significant competitive advantage conferred by meiosis and syngamy in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The presumed advantages of genetic recombinations are difficult to demonstrate directly. To investigate the effects of recombination and background heterozygosity on competitive ability, we have performed serial-transfer competition experiments between isogenic sexual and asexual strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The members of these diploid pairs of strains differed only in being heterozygous (sexual) or homozygous (asexual) at the mating type or MAT locus. Competing pairs had either a completely homozygous or a heterozygous genetic background, the latter being heterozygous at many different loci throughout the genome. A round of meiotic recombination (automixis) conferred a large and statistically significant enhancement of competitive ability on sexual strains with a heterozygous genetic background. By contrast, in homozygous background competitions, meiosis decreased the sexual strains' initial relative competitive ability. In all cases, however, the sexual strains outcompeted their isogenic asexual counterparts, whether meiotic recombination had occurred or not. In some genetic backgrounds, this was due in part to an overdominance effect on competitive advantage of heterozygosity at the MAT locus. The advantage of the sexual strains also increased significantly during the course of the homozygous background competitions, particularly when meiosis had occurred. This latter effect either did not occur or was very weak in heterozygous background competitions. Overall, sexual strains with heterozygous genetic backgrounds had a significantly higher initial relative competitive ability than those with homozygous backgrounds. The advantage of mating type heterozygosity in this organism extends far beyond the ability to recombine meiotically.

Esferas vaginales: función terapéutica

Introducción: Las esferas vaginales también son conocidas como bolas chinas, bolas vaginales, bolas del amor, bolas de geisha, Rin no tama, bolas Ben Wa. Ayudan a fortalecer el suelo pélvico. Estas producen una microvibración al moverse la bola del interior, favoreciendo la musculatura del suelo pélvico y aumentando el riego sanguíneo a nivel de la pelvis. Hay esferas de diferente peso, par su indicación el suelo pélvico debe estar tónico. Objetivo: Revisar la literatura sobre la efectividad de las esferas vaginales e incrementar los conocimientos de los profesionales sobre este tipo de tratamiento propioceptivo, que resulta eficaz para muchas mujeres por su fácil utilización. Metodología: Búsqueda bibliográfica en las bases de datos: Cochrane Plus, Medline, Gerion, Scielo, Cuiden, Biblioteca de Salud Reproductiva de la OMS y google académico. Resultados: Las esferas vaginales son eficaces en el tratamiento de la incontinencia urinaria y fecal y para el entrenamiento del suelo pélvico. La incontinencia urinaria es un problema frecuente y molesto, que puede llegar a interferir en el trabajo, en la vida social y sexual. Hay necesidad de más ensayos para evaluar los métodos y protocolos de entrenamiento adecuados para la prevención de la incontinencia, del prolapso y de la disfunción sexual. Conclusión: Se ha evidenciado que las esferas vaginales son eficaces en el tratamiento de mujeres con incontinencia urinaria de esfuerzo e igualmente efectivas, en el entrenamiento muscular del suelo pélvico.

Cyber-security, privacy and trust: trends in the Latin American and Caribbean region and the way forward

Este artigo é parte do relatório Cybersecurity Are We Ready in Latin America and the Caribbean?

The open secret: Hiding and revealing sexuality in the roman de moeurs (1880-1905)

Beginning with the sole literary text that does figure at any length in the first volume of Foucault's history--Diderot's Les Bijoux indiscrets, which dates from 1748--Cryle examines some semiotic routines involved in that telling of secrets, and to understand more about scientia sexualis through its literary development. He tries to show that narratives of the time tended to gather the mysterious, the unknown, and the generally inscrutable in the same functional place, holding them close to a thematics of the sexual. And returns to eighteenth-century texts from time to time in order to mark this as a fundamental shift in the literary constitution of sexual knowledge.