Spoligotyping and variable number tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from cattle in Brazil

We performed spoligotyping and 12-mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTRs) typing to characterise Mycobacterium bovis isolates collected from tissue samples of bovines with lesions suggestive for tuberculosis during slaughter inspection procedures in abattoirs in Brazil. High-quality genotypes were obtained with both procedures for 61 isolates that were obtained from 185 bovine tissue samples and all of these isolates were identified as M. bovis by conventional identification procedures. On the basis of the spoligotyping, 53 isolates were grouped into nine clusters and the remaining eight isolates were unique types, resulting in 17 spoligotypes. The majority of the Brazilian M. bovis isolates displayed spoligotype patterns that have been previously observed in strains isolated from cattle in other countries. MIRU-VNTR typing produced 16 distinct genotypes, with 53 isolates forming eight of the groups, and individual isolates with unique VNTR profiles forming the remaining eight groups. The allelic diversity of each VNTR locus was calculated and only two of the 12-MIRU-VNTR loci presented scores with either a moderate (0.4, MIRU16) or high (0.6, MIRU26) discriminatory index (h). Both typing methods produced similar discriminatory indexes (spoligotyping h = 0.85; MIRU-VNTR h = 0.86) and the combination of the two methods increased the h value to 0.94, resulting in 29 distinct patterns. These results confirm that spoligotyping and VNTR analysis are valuable tools for studying the molecular epidemiology of M. bovis infections in Brazil.

A pilot study combining individual-based smoking cessation counseling, pharmacotherapy, and dental hygiene intervention.

BACKGROUND: Dentists are in a unique position to advise smokers to quit by providing effective counseling on the various aspects of tobacco-induced diseases. The present study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of integrating dentists in a medical smoking cessation intervention. METHODS: Smokers willing to quit underwent an 8-week smoking cessation intervention combining individual-based counseling and nicotine replacement therapy and/or bupropion, provided by a general internist. In addition, a dentist performed a dental exam, followed by an oral hygiene treatment and gave information about chronic effects of smoking on oral health. Outcomes were acceptability, global satisfaction of the dentist's intervention, and smoking abstinence at 6-month. RESULTS: 39 adult smokers were included, and 27 (69%) completed the study. Global acceptability of the dental intervention was very high (94% yes, 6% mostly yes). Annoyances at the dental exam were described as acceptable by participants (61% yes, 23% mostly yes, 6%, mostly no, 10% no). Participants provided very positive qualitative comments about the dentist counseling, the oral exam, and the resulting motivational effect, emphasizing the feeling of oral cleanliness and health that encouraged smoking abstinence. At the end of the intervention (week 8), 17 (44%) participants reported smoking abstinence. After 6 months, 6 (15%, 95% CI 3.5 to 27.2) reported a confirmed continuous smoking abstinence. DISCUSSION: We explored a new multi-disciplinary approach to smoking cessation, which included medical and dental interventions. Despite the small sample size and non-controlled study design, the observed rate was similar to that found in standard medical care. In terms of acceptability and feasibility, our results support further investigations in this field. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN67470159.

Time-based distribution of Staphylococcus saprophyticus pulsed field gel-electrophoresis clusters in community-acquired urinary tract infections

The epidemiology of urinary tract infections (UTI) by Staphylococcus saprophyticus has not been fully characterised and strain typing methods have not been validated for this agent. To evaluate whether epidemiological relationships exist between clusters of pulsed field gel-electrophoresis (PFGE) genotypes of S. saprophyticus from community-acquired UTI, a cross-sectional surveillance study was conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In total, 32 (16%) female patients attending two walk-in clinics were culture-positive for S. saprophyticus. Five PFGE clusters were defined and evaluated against epidemiological data. The PFGE clusters were grouped in time, suggesting the existence of community point sources of S. saprophyticus. From these point sources, S. saprophyticus strains may spread among individuals.

Schistosoma mansoni in a low-prevalence area in Brazil: the importance of additional methods for the diagnosis of hard-to-detect individual carriers by low-cost immunological assays

Schistosomiasis diagnosis is based on the detection of eggs in the faeces, which is laborious and lacks sensitivity, especially for patients with a low parasite burden. Immunological assays for specific antibody detection are available, but they usually demonstrate low sensitivity and/or specificity. In this study, two simple immunological assays were evaluated for the detection of soluble Schistosoma mansoni adult worm preparation (SWAP) and egg-specific IgGs. These studies have not yet been evaluated for patients with low parasite burdens. Residents of an endemic area in Brazil donated sera and faecal samples for our study. The patients were initially diagnosed by a rigorous Kato-Katz analysis of 18 thick smears from four different stool samples. The ELISA-SWAP was successful for human diagnosis with 90% sensitivity and specificity, confirming the Kato-Katz diagnosis with nearly perfect agreement, as seen by the Kappa index (0.85). Although the ELISA-soluble S. mansoni egg antigen was 85% sensitive, it exhibited low specificity (80%; Kappa index: 0.75) and was more susceptible to cross-reactivity. We believe that immunological assays should be used in conjunction with Kato-Katz analysis as a supplementary tool for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis for patients with low infection burdens, which are usually hard to detect.

Alcohol consumption and social inequality at the individual and country levels--results from an international study.

BACKGROUND: International comparisons of social inequalities in alcohol use have not been extensively investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of country-level characteristics and individual socio-economic status (SES) on individual alcohol consumption in 33 countries. METHODS: Data on 101,525 men and women collected by cross-sectional surveys in 33 countries of the GENACIS study were used. Individual SES was measured by highest attained educational level. Alcohol use measures included drinking status and monthly risky single occasion drinking (RSOD). The relationship between individuals' education and drinking indicators was examined by meta-analysis. In a second step the individual level data and country data were combined and tested in multilevel models. As country level indicators we used the Purchasing Power Parity of the gross national income, the Gini coefficient and the Gender Gap Index. RESULTS: For both genders and all countries higher individual SES was positively associated with drinking status. Also higher country level SES was associated with higher proportions of drinkers. Lower SES was associated with RSOD among men. Women of higher SES in low income countries were more often RSO drinkers than women of lower SES. The opposite was true in higher income countries. CONCLUSION: For the most part, findings regarding SES and drinking in higher income countries were as expected. However, women of higher SES in low and middle income countries appear at higher risk of engaging in RSOD. This finding should be kept in mind when developing new policy and prevention initiatives.

Individual, family and environmental factors associated with pediatric excess weight in Spain: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND There is a growing worldwide trend of obesity in children. Identifying the causes and modifiable factors associated with child obesity is important in order to design effective public health strategies.Our objective was to provide empirical evidence of the association that some individual and environmental factors may have with child excess weight. METHOD A cross-sectional study was performed using multi-stage probability sampling of 978 Spanish children aged between 8 and 17 years, with objectively measured height and weight, along with other individual, family and neighborhood variables. Crude and adjusted odds ratios were calculated. RESULTS In 2012, 4 in 10 children were either overweight or obese with a higher prevalence amongst males and in the 8-12 year age group. Child obesity was associated negatively with the socio-economic status of the adult responsible for the child's diet, OR 0.78 (CI95% 0.59-1.00), girls OR 0.75 (CI95% 0.57-0.99), older age of the child (0.41; CI95% 0.31-0.55), daily breakfast (OR 0.59; p = 0.028) and half an hour or more of physical activity every day. No association was found for neighborhood variables relating to perceived neighborhood quality and safety. CONCLUSION This study identifies potential modifiable factors such as physical activity, daily breakfast and caregiver education as areas for public health policies. To be successful, an intervention should take into account both individual and family factors when designing prevention strategies to combat the worldwide epidemic of child excess weight.

Individual monitoring of internal exposure for nuclear medicine workers in Switzerland.

Monitoring of internal exposure for nuclear medicine workers requires frequent measurements due to the short physical half-lives of most radionuclides used in this field. The aim of this study was to develop screening measurements performed at the workplace by local staff using standard laboratory instrumentation, to detect whether potential intake has occurred. Such measurements do not enable to determine the committed effective dose, but are adequate to verify that a given threshold is not exceeded. For radioiodine, i.e. (123)I, (124)I, (125)I and (131)I, a calibrated surface contamination monitor is placed in front of the thyroid to detect whether the activity threshold has been exceeded. For radionuclides with very short physical half-lives (≤6 h), such as (99m)Tc and those used in positron emission tomography  imaging, i.e. (11)C, (15)O, (18)F and (68)Ga, screening procedures consist in performing daily measurements of the ambient dose rate in front of the abdomen. Other gamma emitters used for imaging, i.e. (67)Ga, (111)In and (201)Tl, are measured with a scintillation detector located in front of the thorax. For pure beta emitters, i.e. (90)Y and (169)Er, as well as beta emitters with low-intensity gamma rays, i.e. (153)Sm, (177)Lu, (186)Re and (188)Re, the procedure consists in measuring hand contamination immediately after use. In Switzerland, screening procedures have been adopted by most nuclear medicine services since such measurements enable an acceptable monitoring while taking into account practical and economic considerations.

Intracortical connectivity of layer VI pyramidal neurons in the somatosensory cortex of normal and barrelless mice.

In mice, barrels in layer IV of the somatosensory cortex correspond to the columnar representations of whisker follicles. In barrelless (BRL) mice, barrels are absent, but functionally, a columnar organization persists. Previously we characterized the aberrant geometry of thalamic projection of BRL mice using axonal reconstructions of individual neurons. Here we proceeded with the analysis of the intracortical projections from layer VI pyramidal neurons, to assess their contribution to the columnar organization. From series of tangential sections we reconstructed the axon collaterals of individual layer VI pyramidal neurons in the C2 barrel column that were labelled with biocytin [controls from normal (NOR) strain, 19 cells; BRL strain, nine cells]. Using six morphological parameters in a cluster analysis, we showed that layer VI neurons in NOR mice are distributed into four clusters distinguished by the radial and tangential extent of their intracortical projections. These clusters correlated with the cortical or subcortical projection of the main axon. In BRL mice, neurons were distributed within the same four clusters, but their projections to the granular and supragranular layers were significantly smaller and their tangential projection was less columnar than in NOR mice. However, in both strains the intracortical projections had a preference for the appropriate barrel column (C2), indicating that layer VI pyramidal cells could participate in the functional columnar organization of the barrel cortex. Correlative light and electron microscopy analyses provided morphometric data on the intracortical synaptic boutons and synapses of layer VI pyramidal neurons and revealed that projections to layer IV preferentially target excitatory dendritic spines and shafts.

Spontaneous NA+ transients in individual mitochondria of intact astrocytes.

Mitochondria in intact cells maintain low Na(+) levels despite the large electrochemical gradient favoring cation influx into the matrix. In addition, they display individual spontaneous transient depolarizations. The authors report here that individual mitochondria in living astrocytes exhibit spontaneous increases in their Na(+) concentration (Na(mit)(+) spiking), as measured using the mitochondrial probe CoroNa Red. In a field of view with approximately 30 astrocytes, up to 1,400 transients per minute were typically detected under resting conditions. Na(mit)(+) spiking was also observed in neurons, but was scarce in two nonneural cell types tested. Astrocytic Na(mit)(+) spikes averaged 12.2 +/- 0.8 s in duration and 35.5 +/- 3.2 mM in amplitude and coincided with brief mitochondrial depolarizations; they were impaired by mitochondrial depolarization and ruthenium red pointing to the involvement of a cation uniporter. Na(mit)(+) spiking activity was significantly inhibited by mitochondrial Na(+)/H(+) exchanger inhibition and sensitive to cellular pH and Na(+) concentration. Ca(2+) played a permissive role on Na(mit)(+) spiking activity. Finally, the authors present evidence suggesting that Na(mit)(+) spiking frequency was correlated with cellular ATP levels. This study shows that, under physiological conditions, individual mitochondria in living astrocytes exhibit fast Na(+) exchange across their inner membrane, which reveals a new form of highly dynamic and localized functional regulation.

The influence of individual, social and physical environment factors on physical activity in the adult population in Andalusia, Spain.

A person's physical and social environment is considered as an influencing factor in terms of rates of engagement in physical activity. This study analyses the influence of socio-demographic, physical and social environmental factors on physical activity reported in the adult population in Andalusia. This is a cross-sectional study using data collected in the Andalusia Health Survey in 1999 and 2003. In addition to the influence of the individual's characteristics, if there are no green spaces in the neighbourhood it is less likely that men and women will take exercise (OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.13, 1.41). Likewise, a higher local illiteracy rate also has a negative influence on exercise habits in men (OR = 1.39; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.59) and in women (OR = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.07, 1.40). Physical activity is influenced by individuals' characteristics as well as by their social and physical environment, the most disadvantaged groups are less likely to engage in physical activity.

Subjective health assessments and active labor market participation of older men: evidence from a semiparametric binary choice model with nonadditive correlated individual-specific effects

We use panel data from the U. S. Health and Retirement Study, 1992-2002, to estimate the effect of self-assessed health limitations on the active labor market participation of older men. Self-assessments of health are likely to be endogenous to labor supply due to justification bias and individual-specific heterogeneity in subjective evaluations. We address both concerns. We propose a semiparametric binary choice procedure that incorporates nonadditive correlated individual-specific effects. Our estimation strategy identifies and estimates the average partial effects of health and functioning on labor market participation. The results indicate that poor health plays a major role in labor market exit decisions.

Inferring about individual drug and schizotypy effects on cognitive functioning in polydrug using mephedrone users before and after clubbing

Objective: Mephedrone has been recently made illegal in Europe, but little empirical evidence is available on its impact on human cognitive functions. We investigated acute and chronic effects of mephedrone consumption on drug-sensitive cognitive measures, while also accounting for the influence of associated additional drug use and personality features. Method: Twenty-six volunteers from the general population performed tasks measuring verbal learning, verbal fluency and cognitive flexibility before and after a potential drug-taking situation (pre- and post-clubbing at dance clubs, respectively). Participants also provided information on chronic and recent drug use, schizotypal (O-LIFE) and depressive symptoms (Beck depression inventory), sleep pattern and premorbid IQ. Results: We found that i) mephedrone users performed worse than non-users pre-clubbing, and deteriorated from the pre-clubbing to the post-clubbing assessment, ii) pre-clubbing cannabis and amphetamine (not mephedrone) use predicted relative cognitive attenuations, iii) post-clubbing, depression scores predicted relative cognitive attenuations, and iv) schizotypy was largely unrelated to cognitive functioning, apart from a negative relationship between cognitive disorganisation and verbal fluency. Conclusion: Results suggest that polydrug use and depressive symptoms in the general population negatively affect cognition. For schizotypy, only elevated cognitive disorganisation showed potential links to a pathological cognitive profile previously reported along the psychosis dimension.

Percepção de mudança individual e organizacional: o papel das atitudes, dos valores, do poder e da capacidade organizacional

Neste trabalho, pretendeu-se verificar os fatores que influenciaram as mudanças individuais e organizacionais percebidas pelos funcionários de uma organização pública que sofreu intervenções durante quatro anos. O estudo foi desenvolvido em três etapas: mensuração das características organizacionais anteriores às intervenções, por meio de questionários; investigação dos objetivos de uma intervenção específica e das demandas de mudanças levantadas pelos funcionários da organização, para construir um instrumento de avaliação da percepção de mudança; e investigação dos fatores que influenciam a percepção de mudança individual e organizacional. Os fatores preditores da percepção de mudanças na organização foram: características da organização, entendidas como variáveis culturais - valores organizacionais e configurações de poder (mensurados antes e depois da intervenção); características organizacionais facilitadoras de mudança; e variáveis individuais como atitudes diante da mudança organizacional (mensuradas após a intervenção). A variável-critério, ou dependente, para a pesquisa foi a percepção de mudanças organizacional e individual. Foram usadas regressões hierárquicas para analisar as relações postuladas pela pesquisa. Os resultados indicaram os valores organizacionais de autonomia e igualitarismo, além das atitudes de aceitação e temor, como os preditores mais frequentes das mudanças percebidas.

Retest reliability of individual p3 topography assessed by high density electroencephalography.

BACKGROUND Some controversy remains about the potential applicability of cognitive potentials for evaluating the cerebral activity associated with cognitive capacity. A fundamental requirement is that these neurophysiological parameters show a high level of stability over time. Previous studies have shown that the reliability of diverse parameters of the P3 component (latency and amplitude) ranges between moderate and high. However, few studies have paid attention to the retest reliability of the P3 topography in groups or individuals. Considering that changes in P3 topography have been related to different pathologies and healthy aging, the main objective of this article was to evaluate in a longitudinal study (two sessions) the reliability of P3 topography in a group and at the individual level. RESULTS The correlation between sessions for P3 topography in the grand average of groups was high (r = 0.977, p<0.001). The within-subject correlation values ranged from 0.626 to 0.981 (mean: 0.888). In the between-subjects topography comparisons, the correlation was always lower for comparisons between different subjects than for within-subjects correlations in the first session but not in the second session. CONCLUSIONS The present study shows that P3 topography is highly reliable for group analysis (comprising the same subjects) in different sessions. The results also confirmed that retest reliability for individual P3 maps is suitable for follow-up studies for a particular subject. Moreover, P3 topography appears to be a specific marker considering that the between-subjects correlations were lower than the within-subject correlations. However, P3 topography appears more similar between subjects in the second session, demonstrating that is modulated by experience. Possible clinical applications of all these results are discussed.