Adubação mineral, orgânica e biodinâmica de yacon (Polymnia sonchifolia Poep & Endl): rendimento, qualidade e armazenamento

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

O silêncio como metáfora: o uso de agrotóxicos e a saúde de agricultores no município de Igarapé-Açú/Pará

Na Amazônia, mais particularmente no Estado do Pará, a utilização de agrotóxicos vem se consolidando como prática nos últimos 20 anos e se intensificando na última década, a partir da re-configuração da agricultura no município, com a maximização das culturas permanentes, com as mudanças tecnológicas inseridas nas práticas agrícolas e nas relações de trabalho, sendo o uso predominante, no que concerne ao município de Igarapé-Açu, de produtos de médio e alto risco de intoxicação, inclusive substâncias proibidas em outros países que sob o rótulo de “transferência de tecnologia” vem sendo utilizadas sem a avaliação de seus impactos sobre a saúde, o ambiente e a cadeia alimentar da qual o homem é partícipe. Entende-se ser esta uma questão de saúde pública em interface com as referenciadas na saúde ocupacional e na saúde ambiental em uma tríade a ser colocada em defesa da vida. A pesquisa que norteou este estudo foi desenvolvida no ramal do Cumaru, no município de Igarapé-Açu, no Estado do Pará, com 20 agricultores em situação de exposição prolongada aos agrotóxicos. Teve como objetivo primordial traçar o perfil de morbidade do grupo em foco, mais especificamente o aparecimento de sintomas de ansiedade e/ou depressão nas situações de intoxicação crônica a partir do regime de uso e de exposição, bem como, reconhecer a percepção destes acerca dos riscos aos quais estão submetidos a partir do uso destas substâncias em sua prática laboral. Partiu-se da premissa que os aportes teórico-conceituais de trabalho, saúde e ambiente se entrelaçam, entendendo a saúde como indo além da ausência de doença ou do contínuo bem estar, se inserindo de forma singular na vida de cada indivíduo que compartilha com a coletividade eventos que adoecem, porém que se expressam de forma única a partir de co-fatores que se inserem na biografia de cada um, agravando ou minimizando os efeitos dos riscos compartilhados. O trabalho, entendido como elemento estruturante da identidade e da subjetividade do indivíduo, repleto de significados transformados culturalmente se configurando em meio de vida e meio de morte. A partir da escolha do método clínico qualitativo, a pesquisa de campo realizou-se em duas etapas, sendo a primeira de reconhecimento dos espaços e das práticas cotidianas do grupo, a partir de um recorte de gênero e faixa etária, através de observação participante e de conversas informais com os agricultores e suas famílias nos espaços domésticos e nos laborais. A segunda etapa realizou-se através de entrevista(s) de avaliação psicológica com os agricultores. Foi evidenciada a situação de intoxicação crônica e a incidência de um grupo de sintomas, dentre estes, alguns vinculados a expressões de ansiedade e/ou depressão, sendo estes nomeados como “nervoso” pelos agricultores. Estes conhecem parte dos riscos inerentes ao uso dos agrotóxicos sobre sua saúde e sobre o ambiente mas os relativizam, não relacionando o uso de agrotóxicos aos sintomas apresentados e os minimizam, bem como, aos riscos, ancorando-se em representações sociais que os sustentam nas suas crenças sobre os riscos inerentes ao trabalho e a saúde em estratégias defensivas compartilhadas pelos seus pares.

Depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use in hepatitis C patients: prevalence and correlates

Introduction It is important to understand the characteristics and vulnerabilities of people who have hepatitis C because this disease is currently an important public health problem. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use in patients with hepatitis C and to study the association between these outcomes and demographic, psychosocial and clinical variables. Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive and analytical study involved 82 hepatitis C patients who were being treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin at a public university hospital. The primary assessments used in the study were the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test and the Beck Depression Inventory. Bivariate analyses were followed by logistic regression. Results The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 30.5% (n=25), and that of harmful alcohol use was 34.2% (n=28). Logistic regression analysis showed that individuals who were dissatisfied with their social support (OR=4.41; CI=1.00-19.33) and were unemployed (OR=6.31; CI=1.44-27.70) were at a higher risk for depressive symptoms, whereas harmful alcohol use was associated with the male sex (OR=6.78; CI=1.38-33.19) and the use of illicit substances (OR=7.42; CI=1.12-49.00). Conclusions High prevalence rates of depressive symptoms and harmful alcohol use were verified, indicating vulnerabilities that must be properly monitored and treated to reduce emotional suffering in this population.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in the prodromal stages of dementia

Purpose of reviewTo critically discuss the neuropsychiatric symptoms in the prodromal stages of dementia in order to improve the early clinical diagnosis of cognitive and functional deterioration.Recent findingsCurrent criteria for cognitive syndrome, including Alzheimer's disease, comprise the neuropsychiatric symptoms in addition to cognitive and functional decline. Although there is growing evidence that neuropsychiatric symptoms may precede the prodromal stages of dementia, these manifestations have received less attention than traditional clinical hallmarks such as cognitive and functional deterioration. Depression, anxiety, apathy, irritability, agitation, sleep disorders, among other symptoms, have been hypothesized to represent a prodromal stage of dementia or, at least, they increase the risk for conversion from minor neurocognitive disorder to major neurocognitive disorder. Longitudinal investigations have provided increased evidence of progression to dementia in individuals with minor neurocognitive disorder when neuropsychiatric symptoms also were present.SummaryAlthough neuropsychiatric symptoms are strongly associated with a higher risk of cognitive and functional deterioration, frequently the clinician does not acknowledge these conditions as increasing the risk of dementia. When the clinician accurately diagnoses neuropsychiatric symptoms in the prodromal stage of dementia, he could early establish appropriate treatment and, may be, delay the beginning of clinical and functional deterioration.

Exaggerating, mislabeling or simulating obsessive-compulsive symptoms: Case reports of patients claiming to have obsessive-compulsive disorder

Background: There are no reported cases of factitious or simulated obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). However, over the last years, our clinic has come across a number of individuals that seem to exaggerate, mislabel or even intentionally produce obsessive and/or compulsive symptoms in order to be diagnosed with OCD.Methods: In this study, experienced clinicians working on a university-based OCD clinic were requested to provide clinical vignettes of patients who, despite having a formal diagnosis of OCD, were felt to display non-genuine forms of this condition.Results: Ten non-consecutive patients with a self-proclaimed diagnosis of OCD were identified and described. Although patients were diagnosed with OCD according to various structured interviews, they exhibited diverse combinations of the following features: (i) overly technical and/or doctrinaire description of their symptoms, (ii) mounting irritability, as the interviewer attempts to unveil the underlying nature of these descriptions; (iii) marked shifts in symptom patterns and disease course; (iv) an affirmative yes pattern of response to interview questions; (v) multiple Axis I psychiatric disorders; (vi) cluster B features; (vii) an erratic pattern of treatment response; and (viii) excessive or contradictory drug-related side effects.Conclusions: In sum, reliance on overly structured assessments conducted by insufficiently trained or naive personnel may result in invalid OCD diagnoses, particularly those that leave no room for clinical judgment. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plaque control improves the painful symptoms of oral lichen planus gingival lesions. A short-term study

BackgroundLichen planus is a mucocutaneous disease with manifestation in the oral mucosa, the gingiva being one of the most affected regions. In some cases, the lesion may be painful and lead to fragility of the tissues, so that precise diagnosis and adequate treatment are indispensible factors for improving the clinical condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of plaque control in the improvement of clinical features and painful symptoms of oral lichen planus with gingival involvement.MethodsTwenty patients diagnosed with gingival lichen planus confirmed by histopathological examination were selected. The patients were evaluated by a trained examiner, with regard to the clinical features of the lesions [Index of Escudier etal. (Br J Dermatol, 157, 2007, 765)]; painful symptoms (Visual Analog Scale); and periodontally, as regards the visible plaque and gingival bleeding indices. Periodontal treatment consisted of supragingival scaling and oral hygiene instruction, with professional plaque removal afterward for a period of 4weeks. The entire sample was evaluated at the baseline and at the conclusion of treatment, and the results were analyzed by the Wilcoxon nonparametric test.ResultsThe data demonstrated that the majority of patients were women (90%), with a mean age of 55.9years. Periodontal treatment resulted in statistically significant reduction (P<0.05) in the periodontal indices, with consequent improvement in the clinical features and painful symptoms of the lesions.ConclusionsIt was demonstrated that plaque control was effective in improving the clinical features and painful symptoms of oral lichen planus with gingival involvement.

Prevalence of obesity and relationship wit body mass index and symptoms of asthma in adolescents

To investigate the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and asthma symptoms in adolescents between 13 and 14 years, to estimate the prevalence of obesity in this age group. This is a crosssectional study with a quantitative approach which was rated the Body Mass Index (BMI) and applied the Questionnaire International Study of asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) phase III (asthma module) to determine the prevalence of asthma and related symptoms, as well as its severity in 85teenagers. According to the assessment of asthma in relation to BMI, it was found that there were significant findings, as well as in males and females. However, the association between BMI and asthma symptoms, there was a significant association to present as disturbed sleep and impaired speech. Conclusions: In this sample the prevalence of obesity was low, this fact may have contributed to the nonsignificant findings betweenasthma and BMI.

ADHD and medicalization: consideration of the senses and meanings of symptoms presented by children diagnosed

The present paper is a reflection on the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its relations to the process of medicalization as well as the meanings and perspectives apprehended through three case studies of children diagnosed with such disorder in a doctoral research in which the main purpose was to understand the meanings and peculiarities of ADHD symptomatology .We’ve utilized the model of qualitative research, grounded in psychoanalytic perspective, and conducted the psychodiagnosis for three children who were referred for psychological treatment. The survey found that those children had few experiences of both continence and frustration tolerance. It was evidenced how the school uses the logic of medicalization to try solving the problems with their children when it came to the school dimension. The variety of symptomatic manifestations and psychic dynamics presented by the cases that were studied revealed the weaknesses and inconsistencies of the referred diagnosis.

Host-specificity and morphometrics of female Haemonchus contortus, H. placei and H. similis (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae) in cattle and sheep from shared pastures in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Shared Escovopsis parasites between leaf-cutting and non-leaf-cutting ants in the higher attine fungus-growing ant symbiosis

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

Caregiver report versus clinician impression: disagreements in rating neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease patients

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

Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in medical students: prevalence, severity, and correlates

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