The situation of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis in Brazil today

Specific chemotherapy against schistosomiasis together with environmental changes occurring in endemic areas of Brazil are causing a revolution in the clinico-pathological presentation of the disease when comparing to date from 10 to 15 years ago. To update the subject, an inquire was made among the most experienced Brazilian investigators in this field. They agree that a decrease of about 50 to 70% in prevalence, and an even higher decrease in incidence are taking place in Brazil today. The prevalence of schistosome-infection has decreased in some areas and increased in other, with spreading sometimes occurring to peri-urban regions, indicating that schistosomiasis control depends on the application of multiple measures. General clinical and pathological manifestations related to hepatosplenic disease, such as ascites, gastric hemorrhages, big-spleen syndrome, cor pulmonale, glomerulopathy, etc. are also less severe nowadays than they used to be in the past

Programmed Cell Death in Procyclic Form Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense - Identification of Differentially Expressed Genes during Con A Induced Death

Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense can be induced to undergo apoptosis after stimulation with Con A. As cell death in these parasites is associated with de novo gene expression we have applied a differential display technique, Randomly Amplified Differential Expressed Sequence-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RADES-PCR) to the study of gene expression during Con A induced cell death in these organisms. Twenty-two differentially displayed products have been cloned and sequenced. These represent the first endogenous genes to be identified as implicated in cellular death in trypanosomatids (the most primitive eukaryote in which apoptosis has been described). Evidence for an ancestral death machinery, `proto-apoptosis' in single celled organisms is discussed.

Department for Social Development, Belfast City Centre Northside Urban Village, Draft Regeneration Framework. Health Impact Assessment Report

IPH conducted a rapid HIA appraisal in response to the consultation on DSD Draft Regeneration Framework. The Department for Social Development (DSD) has developed a Draft Regeneration Framework for the North West Quarter Part 2 area of Belfast City Centre, to be known as the Northside Urban Village. The Framework, which outlines the vision for the redevelopment of an inner city area of Belfast was released for public consultation in April 2008. In responding to this consultation, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) conducted a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) in order to assess how the proposed Framework might impact on the health of those living in or close to the area as well as the wider Belfast population. The key recommendations which resulted from this process have been presented to the Department. This paper presents an overview of the HIA conducted.

IPH response to DSD Urban Regeneration and Community Development Policy Framework Consultation

The Urban Regeneration and Community Development Policy Framework for Northern Ireland sets out for DSD and its partners, clear priorities for urban regeneration and community development programmes, both before and after the operational responsibility for these is transferred to councils under the reform of local government. Four policy objectives have been developed, which will focus on the underlying structural problems in urban areas and also help strengthen community development throughout Northern Ireland. The policy objectives are as follows: Policy Objective 1 – To tackle area-based deprivation: Policy Objective 2 – To strengthen the competitiveness of our towns and cities: Policy Objective 3 – To improve linkages between areas of need and areas of opportunity: and Policy Objective 4 –To develop more cohesive and engaged communities. Key points from IPH response Urban regeneration and community development provide a basis for addressing the social determinants of health and reducing inequalities in health. This policy framework presents an opportunity for coherence and complementarity with ‘Fit and Well - Changing Lives’ as part of government’s overall approach to tackling health inequalities. It is now well established that a focus on early years’ interventions and family support services yields significant returns, so prioritising action in these areas is essential. Defined action plans on child poverty are essential if this policy framework is to make a real and lasting difference in deprived urban areas. Development of the environmental infrastructure to improve health in deprived areas should be supported by well-planned monitoring and evaluation. Linking the policy framework to economic development and local community plans will enhance effectiveness in the areas of education, job creation, commercial investment and access to services, which in turn are critical for the economic growth and stability of urban communities. Community profile data and health intelligence (as available through IPH Health Well) could usefully inform central and local government in terms of resource allocation and targeted service delivery.

Reconstructing the origins of high-alpine niches and cushion life form in the genus Androsace S.L. (Primulaceae).

Relatively, few species have been able to colonize extremely cold alpine environments. We investigate the role played by the cushion life form in the evolution of climatic niches in the plant genus Androsace s.l., which spreads across the mountain ranges of the Northern Hemisphere. Using robust methods that account for phylogenetic uncertainty, intraspecific variability of climatic requirements and different life-history evolution scenarios, we show that climatic niches of Androsace s.l. exhibit low phylogenetic signal and that they evolved relatively recently and punctually. Models of niche evolution fitted onto phylogenies show that the cushion life form has been a key innovation providing the opportunity to occupy extremely cold environments, thus contributing to rapid climatic niche diversification in the genus Androsace s.l. We then propose a plausible scenario for the adaptation of plants to alpine habitats.

IPH Submission: Belfast City Centre Northside Urban Village Regeneration Framework - June 2008

IPH welcome the opportunity to comment on the Department for Social Development, Draft Regeneration Framework for the North West Quarter Part 2 area of Belfast City Centre, the ‘Northside Urban Village’. The Framework outlines the vision for the redevelopment of an inner city area of Belfast.    It is recognized that a number of social, economic and environmental factors influence health. Urban regeneration has major implications for health as it includes not only physical redevelopment but also issues such as education, employment, environmental conditions, housing, welfare and healthcare.   Urban regeneration can also help to address health inequalities at a local level, as the areas where regeneration is undertaken are usually marked by poor economic and social conditions. The North West Quarter Part 2 area of Belfast is a historic part of the city. The identified area is one of the most socio-economically deprived areas of not only Belfast but Northern Ireland. The area is characterised by the large number of people who receive income and housing benefits, have low levels of educational qualifications, high rates of long-term illnesses and it is also an area of high long-term unemployment.

Submission to the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government: Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland is an all-island body which aims to improve health in Ireland by working to combat health inequalities and influence public policies in favour of health. The Institute promotes co-operation in research, training, information and policy in order to contribute to policies which tackle inequalities in health.   Over the past ten years the Institute has worked closely with the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland to build capacity for public health across the island of Ireland.   The Institute takes the view that health is determined by policies, plans and programmes in many sectors outside the health sector as well as being dependent on access to and availability of first class health services. The importance of other sectors is encapsulated in a social determinants of health perspective which recognises that health is largely shaped and influenced by the physical, social, economic and cultural environments in which people live, work and play. Figure 1 illustrates these multi-dimensional impacts on health and also serves to highlight the clear and inextricable links between health and sustainable development. Factors that impact on long-term sustainability will thus also impact on health.

Home Childcarer Approval Scheme Application Form HCC1 (PDF 62.3KB)

Home Childcarer Approval Scheme Application Form HCC1

Notification of a disability or long term health condition (Guidance notes and form) (PDF 133KB)

Provides guidance and advice on notifying a disability/long-term health condition to PMB and on requesting a reasonable adjustment, if you have previously declared a disability/long-term health condition.

Organizational form and business performance

This project deals with the generation of profitability and the distribution of its benefits. Inspired by Davis (1947, 1955), we define profitability as the ratio of revenue to cost. Profitability is not as popular a measure of business financial performance as profit, the difference between revenue and cost. Regardless of its popularity, however, profitability is surely a useful financial performance measure. Our primary objective in this project is to identify the factors that generate change in profitability. One set of factors, which we refer to as sources, consists of changes in quantities and prices of outputs and inputs. Individual quantity changes aggregate to the overall impact of quantity change on profitability change, which we call productivity change. Individual price changes aggregate to the overall impact of price change on profitability change, which we call price recovery change. In this framework profitability change consists exclusively of productivity change and price recovery change. A second set of factors, which we refer to as drivers, consists of phenomena such as technical change, change in the efficiency of resource allocation, and the impact of economies of scale. The ability of management to harness these factors drives productivity change, which is one component of profitability change. Thus the term sources refers to quantities and prices of individual outputs and inputs, whose changes influence productivity change or price recovery change, either of which influences profitability change. The term drivers refers to phenomena related to technology and management that influence productivity change (but not price recovery change), and hence profitability change.

Hepatitis E virus infection in selected Brazilian populations

A retrospective study on the prevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection was conducted in selected populations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A total of 1,115 subjects were tested including 146 patients with acute Non-A Non-B Non-C (NANBNC) viral hepatitis, 65 hemodialysis patients, 93 blood donors, 102 intravenous drug users (IVDUs), 304 pregnant women, 145 individuals living in the rural area and 260 individuals living in the urban area. In order to characterize a favorable epidemiological set for enterically transmitted infection in the studied populations we also evaluated the prevalence of anti-HAV IgG (hepatitis A virus) antibodies. Specific antibodies to HEV (anti-HEV IgG) were detected by a commercial EIA and specific antibodies to HAV (anti-HAV IgG) were detected using a competitive "in house" EIA. We found a high prevalence of anti-HAV IgG in these populations, that could indicate some risk for infections transmitted via the fecal-oral route. The anti-HEV IgG prevalence among the different groups were: 2.1% in patients with acute NANBNC viral hepatitis, 6.2% in hemodialysis patients, 4.3% in blood donors, 11.8% in IVDUs, 1% in pregnant women, and 2.1% in individuals form the rural area. Among individuals living in the urban area we did not find a single positive serum sample. Our results demonstrated the presence of anti-HEV IgG in almost all studied populations; however, further studies are necessary to establish the real situation of HEV epidemiology in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Enteropathogens associated with diarrheal disease in infants of poor urban areas of Porto Velho, Rondônia: a preliminary study

One hundred and thirty cases of diarrhea and 43 age-matched controls, 0 to 5 years old, were studied in a pediatric outpatient unit from a poor peri urban area of Porto Velho, Rondônia. Eighty percent of diarrheal cases were observed in the groups under 2 years of age. Rotavirus (19.2%) was the most frequent enteropathogen associated with diarrhea, followed by Shigella flexneri (6.15%) and S. sonnei (1.5%) and Salmonella sp. (6.9%). Four cases of E. coli enterotoxigenic infections (3.1%), E. coli enteropathogenic (EPEC)(2.3%) one case of E. coli enteroinvasive infection (0.8%) and one case of Yersinia enterocolitica (0.8%) were also identified. Mixed infections were frequent, associating rotavirus, EPEC and Salmonella sp. with Entamoeba histolytica and Giardia lamblia.