Being old-for-grade and drug use: not such a clear connection.

AIM: To assess whether repeating a grade was associated with drug use among adolescents after controlling for personal, family and school-related variables, and whether there were differences between students in mandatory and post-mandatory school. METHODS: Data were drawn from the Catalonia Adolescent Health Survey, a cross-sectional study of in-school adolescents aged 14-19 y. The index group included 366 subjects who were repeating a grade at the time the survey was carried out (old-for-grade, OFG). A control group matched by gender, school and being one grade ahead was randomly chosen among all the subjects who had never repeated a grade. All statistically significant variables in the bivariate analysis were included in a multivariate analysis. In a second step, all analyses were repeated for students in mandatory (14-16 y) and post-mandatory (17-19 y) school. RESULTS: After controlling for background variables, subjects in the index group were more likely to perceive that most of their peers were using synthetic drugs and to have ever used them, to have bad grades and a worse relationship with their teachers. OFG students in mandatory school were more likely to have divorced parents, bad grades and have ever used synthetic drugs, whereas they were less likely to be regular drinkers. OFG students in post-mandatory school were more likely to have below average grades, to be regular smokers and to perceive that most of their peers used synthetic drugs. CONCLUSIONS: When background variables are taken into consideration, the relationship between repeating a grade and drug use is not so clear. By increasing the familial and academic support of adolescents with academic underachievement, we could reduce their drug consumption.

New finding of Giardia intestinalis (Eukaryote, Metamonad) in Old World archaeological site using immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays

In this study, nine organic sediment samples from a medieval archaeological site at Pineuilh, France, were examined for Giardia intestinalis using two commercially available immunological kits [enzyme-linked immuno sorbent and immunofluorescence (IFA) assays]. Both techniques detected G. intestinalis in one sample, dated to 1,000 Anno Domini. This is the first time IFA was successfully used to detect protozoa in Old World archaeological samples. Such immunological techniques offer important perspectives concerning ancient protozoa detection and identification.

Ageing Prisoners' Disease Burden: Is Being Old a Better Predictor than Time Served in Prison?

Background: The number of older prisoners entering and ageing in prison has increased in the last few decades. Ageing prisoners pose unique challenges to the prison administration as they have differentiated social, custodial and healthcare needs than prisoners who are younger and relatively healthier. Objective: The goal of this study was to explore and compare the somatic disease burden of old and young prisoners, and to examine whether it can be explained by age group and/or time served in prison. Methods: Access to prisoner medical records was granted to extract disease and demographic information of older (>50 years) and younger (≤49 years) prisoners in different Swiss prisons. Predictor variables included the age group and the time spent in prison. The dependent variable was the total number of somatic diseases as reported in the medical records. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics and a negative binomial model. Results: Data of 380 male prisoners from 13 different prisons in Switzerland reveal that the mean ages of older and younger prisoners were 58.78 and 34.26 years, respectively. On average, older prisoners have lived in prison for 5.17 years and younger prisoners for 2.49 years. The average total number of somatic diseases reported by older prisoners was 2.26 times higher than that of prisoners below 50 years of age (95% CI 1.77-2.87, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study is the first of its kind to capture national disease data of prisoners with a goal of comparing the disease burden of older and younger prisoners. Study findings indicate that older inmates suffer from more somatic diseases and that the number of diseases increases with age group. Results clearly illustrate the poorer health conditions of those who are older, their higher healthcare burden, and raises questions related to the provision of healthcare for inmates growing old in prison. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Cumulative risk factors for adolescent alcohol misuse and its perceived consequences among 16 to 20 year old adolescents in Switzerland

Rapport de synthèse : OBJECTIF: évaluer l'impact cumulatif des facteurs individuels et environnementaux associés au mésusage d'alcool chez les adolescents et leurs corrélations avec ses conséquences perçues. METHODE : enquête scolaire transversale d'un échantillon représentatif de la population nationale, incluant 7548 apprentis et élèves ayant terminé l'école obligatoire âgés de 16 à 20 ans, en Suisse, en 2002. Le mésusage de l'alcool est fondé sur les réponses aux questions portant sur la fréquence 1) de sa consommation, 2) des épisodes d'ivresse et 3) de la conduite d'un véhicule sous son emprise. RÉSULTATS : quinze facteurs de risque significatifs ont été identifiés pour les adolescents des deux sexes. Un score individuel de facteurs de risques cumulés a été calculé en les additionnant. L'association entre ce score et la probabilité d'être engagé dans le mésusage d'alcool s'est révélée hautement significative et dose dépendante (p<0.001). Une proportion importante des adolescents rapporte des conséquences subjectives néfastes liées à leur consommation d'alcool. Il existe une corrélation linéaire (p<0.001) entre le score de facteurs de risque et la proportion d'adolescents rapportant des problèmes liés à la consommation d'alcool tels que mauvaises performances scolaires, comportements à risque, problèmes relationnels et comportements sexuels à risques. CONCLUSION : les facteurs de risque du mésusage d'alcool chez les adolescents sont cumulatifs et peuvent être synthétisés par un score individuel corrélé à la tendance à ce mésusage. La relation linéaire de ce score avec des problèmes subjectifs consécutifs à ce mésusage est un indicateur supplémentaire de sa validité.

Open Educational Resources : Experiences of use in a Latin-American context

This paper presents practical experiences using Open educational Resources (OER) for basic and elementary education (K12), educational research and research training on two inter-institutional projects with the collaboration of thirteen higher education institutions and with the support of the Corporación de Universidades para el Desarrollo del Internet (CUDI) and by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) of Mexico and hosted by the Tecnológico de Monterrey. The first initiative is titled "Knowledge Hub for K-12 Education" with the main goal of enrich a catalog of Open Educational Resources for basic and elementary education (K-12) for Mexico and Spanish speaking countries in Latin-America. The main goal of the second initiative is to build a collection of Open Educational Resources for Mobile Learning to address the issue of educational research and research training.

Participle Preposing and Other Related Phenomena in Old Spanish and Old Catalan

El participi i altres fenòmens relacionats en el Castellà i el Català antic

Performance levels of four Latin American laboratories for the serodiagnosis of Chagas disease in Mexican sera samples

In nearly all of the previous multicentre studies evaluating serological tests for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, sera samples from Central or South American countries have been used preferentially. In this work we compared the reliability of the serological tests using Mexican sera samples that were evaluated in four independent laboratories. This included a reference laboratory in Brazil and three participant laboratories, including one in Central America and two in Mexico. The kappa index between Brazilian and Honduran laboratories reached 1.0 and the index for the Mexican laboratories reached 0.94. Another finding of this study was that the source of antigen did not affect the performance of the serological tests.

'Greek' and 'Roman' in Latin Medical Texts. Studies in Cultural Change and Exchange in Ancient Medicine : [Proceedings of the 10th International Conference "Ancient Latin Medical Texts", Lausanne, 2010, November 3rd-6th November]

Latin medical texts transmit medical theories and practices that originated mainly in Greece. This interaction took place through juxtaposition, assimilation and transformation of ideas. 'Greek' and 'Roman' in Latin Medical Texts studies the ways in which this cultural interaction influenced the development of the medical profession and the growth of knowledge of human and animal bodies, and especially how it provided the foundations for innovations in the areas of anatomy, pathology and pharmacology, from the earliest Latin medical texts until well into the medieval world.

Current epidemiological trends for Chagas disease in Latin America and future challenges in epidemiology, surveillance and health policy

Chagas disease, named after Carlos Chagas, who first described it in 1909, exists only on the American Continent. It is caused by a parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to humans by blood-sucking triatomine bugs and via blood transfusion. Chagas disease has two successive phases: acute and chronic. The acute phase lasts six-eight weeks. Several years after entering the chronic phase, 20-35% of infected individuals, depending on the geographical area, will develop irreversible lesions of the autonomous nervous system in the heart, oesophagus and colon, and of the peripheral nervous system. Data on the prevalence and distribution of Chagas disease improved in quality during the 1980s as a result of the demographically representative cross-sectional studies in countries where accurate information was not previously available. A group of experts met in Brasilia in 1979 and devised standard protocols to carry out countrywide prevalence studies on human T. cruzi infection and triatomine house infestation. Thanks to a coordinated multi-country programme in the Southern Cone countries, the transmission of Chagas disease by vectors and via blood transfusion was interrupted in Uruguay in 1997, in Chile in 1999 and in Brazil in 2006; thus, the incidence of new infections by T. cruzi across the South American continent has decreased by 70%. Similar multi-country initiatives have been launched in the Andean countries and in Central America and rapid progress has been reported towards the goal of interrupting the transmission of Chagas disease, as requested by a 1998 Resolution of the World Health Assembly. The cost-benefit analysis of investment in the vector control programme in Brazil indicates that there are savings of US$17 in medical care and disabilities for each dollar spent on prevention, showing that the programme is a health investment with very high return. Many well-known research institutions in Latin America were key elements of a worldwide network of laboratories that carried out basic and applied research supporting the planning and evaluation of national Chagas disease control programmes. The present article reviews the current epidemiological trends for Chagas disease in Latin America and the future challenges in terms of epidemiology, surveillance and health policy.

Epidemiology, control and surveillance of Chagas disease: 100 years after its discovery

Chagas disease originated millions of years ago as an enzootic infection of wild animals and began to be transmitted to humans as an anthropozoonosis when man invaded wild ecotopes. While evidence of human infection has been found in mummies up to 9,000 years old, endemic Chagas disease became established as a zoonosis only in the last 200-300 years, as triatomines adapted to domestic environments. It is estimated that 15-16 million people are infected with Trypanosoma cruzi in Latin America, and 75-90 million are exposed to infection. Control of Chagas disease must be undertaken by interrupting its transmission by vectors and blood transfusions, improving housing and areas surrounding dwellings, providing sanitation education for exposed populations and treating acute and recently infected chronic cases. These measures should be complemented by surveillance and primary, secondary and tertiary care.

Immune Microenvironment in Colorectal Cancer: A New Hallmark to Change Old Paradigms

Impact of immune microenvironment in prognosis of solid tumors has been extensively studied in the last few years. Specifically in colorectal carcinoma, increased knowledge of the immune events around these tumors and their relation with clinical outcomes have led to consider immune microenvironment as one of the most important prognostic factors in this disease. In this review we will summarize and update the current knowledge with respect to this intriguing and complex new hallmark of cancer, paying special attention to infiltration by T-infiltrating lymphocytes and their subtypes in colorectal cancer, as well as its eventual clinical translation in terms of long-term prognosis. Finally, we suggest some possible investigational approaches based on combinatorial strategies to trigger and boost immune reaction against tumor cells.