Schistosomiasis mansoni in Bananal (State of São Paulo, Brazil): IV. Study on the public awareness of its risks in the Palha District

A rather high prevalence of mansoni schistosomiasis has been observed in some localities of Bananal, State of São Paulo, during the past decade. The highest prevalence of schistosomiasis was found in the Palha District; it was thus considered adequate for an evaluation of public awareness of the risks involved in acquiring schistosomiasis, a likely outcome of certain behavior patterns. We interviewed 542 district-dwellers. The 5-to-39 age-group constituted 65.5% of the whole sample. Concerning the infection, 69.2% had hearsay information; 46.1% know the infection; 69.6% know how it is acquired; 31.5% know about the symptoms and 57.1% know what can be done to avoid infection; 17.7% declared to have acquired the infection at least once in their lifetime; 62.3% reported total or partial immersion in collections of water of Bananal, once or twice a week, 53.9% of these for bathing or fishing. Although most (91.7%) households have treated running water, are connected to the sewage network or have septic tanks, 9% of the people interviewed use to defecate on the field. It became clear that the educational messages aimed at this population had not been adequate, having failed to fulfil any expectations. The local people received only piecemeal and subjective information about their problem. The control of schistosomiasis requires an integrated practice, which includes the analysis of macro-determinant factors, such as basic sanitation, habitation, education and health care. In short, we require a multidisciplinary vision of the mechanisms of transmission of the infection, which depends upon adequate planning and well trained personnel, intent on their educational work, to attain satisfactory results.

Els obrers industrials de Mataró 1870-1900 : una aproximació al seu entorn social, a partir de la premsa local de l'època

Aproximació a la realitat, influències i expectatives dels obrers de la ciutat de Mataró, durant el darrer terç del segle XIX, basada principalment en la lectura de la premsa local de l'època. Amb la intenció d'il·lustrar les llums i ombres de la industrialització i del liberalisme econòmic en una fase incipient, a través d'un col·lectiu social representatiu.

Policy Diffusion: An Agent-Based Approach

Methods like Event History Analysis can show the existence of diffusion and part of its nature, but do not study the process itself. Nowadays, thanks to the increasing performance of computers, processes can be studied using computational modeling. This thesis presents an agent-based model of policy diffusion mainly inspired from the model developed by Braun and Gilardi (2006). I first start by developing a theoretical framework of policy diffusion that presents the main internal drivers of policy diffusion - such as the preference for the policy, the effectiveness of the policy, the institutional constraints, and the ideology - and its main mechanisms, namely learning, competition, emulation, and coercion. Therefore diffusion, expressed by these interdependencies, is a complex process that needs to be studied with computational agent-based modeling. In a second step, computational agent-based modeling is defined along with its most significant concepts: complexity and emergence. Using computational agent-based modeling implies the development of an algorithm and its programming. When this latter has been developed, we let the different agents interact. Consequently, a phenomenon of diffusion, derived from learning, emerges, meaning that the choice made by an agent is conditional to that made by its neighbors. As a result, learning follows an inverted S-curve, which leads to partial convergence - global divergence and local convergence - that triggers the emergence of political clusters; i.e. the creation of regions with the same policy. Furthermore, the average effectiveness in this computational world tends to follow a J-shaped curve, meaning that not only time is needed for a policy to deploy its effects, but that it also takes time for a country to find the best-suited policy. To conclude, diffusion is an emergent phenomenon from complex interactions and its outcomes as ensued from my model are in line with the theoretical expectations and the empirical evidence.Les méthodes d'analyse de biographie (event history analysis) permettent de mettre en évidence l'existence de phénomènes de diffusion et de les décrire, mais ne permettent pas d'en étudier le processus. Les simulations informatiques, grâce aux performances croissantes des ordinateurs, rendent possible l'étude des processus en tant que tels. Cette thèse, basée sur le modèle théorique développé par Braun et Gilardi (2006), présente une simulation centrée sur les agents des phénomènes de diffusion des politiques. Le point de départ de ce travail met en lumière, au niveau théorique, les principaux facteurs de changement internes à un pays : la préférence pour une politique donnée, l'efficacité de cette dernière, les contraintes institutionnelles, l'idéologie, et les principaux mécanismes de diffusion que sont l'apprentissage, la compétition, l'émulation et la coercition. La diffusion, définie par l'interdépendance des différents acteurs, est un système complexe dont l'étude est rendue possible par les simulations centrées sur les agents. Au niveau méthodologique, nous présenterons également les principaux concepts sous-jacents aux simulations, notamment la complexité et l'émergence. De plus, l'utilisation de simulations informatiques implique le développement d'un algorithme et sa programmation. Cette dernière réalisée, les agents peuvent interagir, avec comme résultat l'émergence d'un phénomène de diffusion, dérivé de l'apprentissage, où le choix d'un agent dépend en grande partie de ceux faits par ses voisins. De plus, ce phénomène suit une courbe en S caractéristique, poussant à la création de régions politiquement identiques, mais divergentes au niveau globale. Enfin, l'efficacité moyenne, dans ce monde simulé, suit une courbe en J, ce qui signifie qu'il faut du temps, non seulement pour que la politique montre ses effets, mais également pour qu'un pays introduise la politique la plus efficace. En conclusion, la diffusion est un phénomène émergent résultant d'interactions complexes dont les résultats du processus tel que développé dans ce modèle correspondent tant aux attentes théoriques qu'aux résultats pratiques.

Hungry for Change: Social Exclusion, Food Poverty and Homelessness in Dublin

This study investigates the impact of poverty and social exclusion on the food, diet and nutrition of people out-of-home in Dublin. The research involved a food frequency survey carried out with 75 people out of home, qualitative interviews with 12 individuals as well as a self-completion questionnaire administered to 18 food service providers in Dublin city. One of the main findings from the study was that the extent and experience of food poverty among homeless people was not only conditioned by income inadequacy and other socio-economic and cultural determinants, but particularly, by access to accommodation, as well as the quality of that accommodation. The report makes a number of practice and policy recommendations to tackle food poverty and homelessness. The qualitative approaches to food poverty employed for use with this sample of people out-of-home aimed to deal in depth with issues around food consumption. Through drawing a sub-sample from those who participated in the survey research (a process of recapture), the authors sought to expand on the survey questionnaire information on food issues. The themes for the Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) emerged from the analysis of the survey questionnaires and 4 key thematic areas were selected. i) Access to cooking, preparation and storage facilities ii) Access, choice and constraints in food purchase and consumption iii) Access to information about healthy diet, food preparation and storage iv) Expectations, cultures, values and choice concerning eating The qualitative aspect of the research enquiry eventually generated one FGD and seven semi-structured interviews representing the views of a total of 12 persons all of whom had completed the initial survey questionnaire.This resource was contributed by The National Documentation Centre on Drug Use.

Fine-scale spatial genetic structure and gene dispersal in Silene latifolia.

Plants are sessile organisms, often characterized by limited dispersal. Seeds and pollen are the critical stages for gene flow. Here we investigate spatial genetic structure, gene dispersal and the relative contribution of pollen vs seed in the movement of genes in a stable metapopulation of the white campion Silene latifolia within its native range. This short-lived perennial plant is dioecious, has gravity-dispersed seeds and moth-mediated pollination. Direct measures of pollen dispersal suggested that large populations receive more pollen than small isolated populations and that most gene flow occurs within tens of meters. However, these studies were performed in the newly colonized range (North America) where the specialist pollinator is absent. In the native range (Europe), gene dispersal could fall on a different spatial scale. We genotyped 258 individuals from large and small (15) subpopulations along a 60 km, elongated metapopulation in Europe using six highly variable microsatellite markers, two X-linked and four autosomal. We found substantial genetic differentiation among subpopulations (global F(ST)=0.11) and a general pattern of isolation by distance over the whole sampled area. Spatial autocorrelation revealed high relatedness among neighboring individuals over hundreds of meters. Estimates of gene dispersal revealed gene flow at the scale of tens of meters (5-30 m), similar to the newly colonized range. Contrary to expectations, estimates of dispersal based on X and autosomal markers showed very similar ranges, suggesting similar levels of pollen and seed dispersal. This may be explained by stochastic events of extensive seed dispersal in this area and limited pollen dispersal.

Decoupled post-glacial history in mutualistic plant-insect interactions: insights from the yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris) and its associated oil-collecting bees (Macropis europaea and M-fulvipes)

AimWe take a comparative phylogeographical approach to assess whether three species involved in a specialized oil-rewarding pollination system (i.e. Lysimachia vulgaris and two oil-collecting bees within the genus Macropis) show congruent phylogeographical trajectories during post-glacial colonization processes. Our working hypothesis is that within specialized mutualistic interactions, where each species relies on the co-occurrence of the other for survival and/or reproduction, partners are expected to show congruent evolutionary trajectories, because they are likely to have followed parallel migration routes and to have shared glacial refugia. LocationWestern Palaearctic. MethodsOur analysis relies on the extensive sampling of 104 Western Palaearctic populations (totalling 434, 159 and 74 specimens of Lysimachiavulgaris, Macropiseuropaea and Macropisfulvipes, respectively), genotyped with amplified fragment length polymorphism. Based on this, we evaluated the regional genetic diversity (Shannon diversity and allele rarity index) and genetic structure (assessed using structure, population networks, isolation-by-distance and spatial autocorrelation metrics) of each species. Finally, we compared the general phylogeographical patterns obtained. ResultsContrary to our expectations, the analyses revealed phylogeographical signals suggesting that the investigated organisms demonstrate independent post-glacial trajectories as well as distinct contemporaneous demographic parameters, despite their mutualistic interaction. Main conclusionsThe mutualistic partners investigated here are likely to be experiencing distinct and independent evolutionary dynamics because of their contrasting life-history traits (e.g. dispersal abilities), as well as distinct hubs and migration routes. Such conditions would prevent and/or erase any signature of co-structuring of lineages in space and time. As a result, the lack of phylogeographical congruence driven by differences in life-history traits might have arisen irrespective of the three species having shared similar Pleistocene glacial refugia.

Do brief alcohol motivational interventions work like we think they do?

BACKGROUND: Questions remain about how brief motivational interventions (BMIs) for unhealthy alcohol use work, and addressing these questions may be important for improving their efficacy. Therefore, we assessed the effects of various characteristics of BMIs on drinking outcomes across 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). METHODS: Audio recordings of 314 BMIs were coded. We used the global rating scales of the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code (MISC) 2.1: counselor's acceptance, empathy, and motivational interviewing (MI) spirit, and patient's self-exploration were rated. MI proficiency was defined as counselor's rating scale scores ≥5. We also used the structure, confrontation, and advice subscale scores of the Therapy Process Rating Scale and the Working Alliance Inventory. We examined these process characteristics in interventions across 1 U.S. RCT of middle-aged medical inpatients with unhealthy alcohol use (n = 124) and 2 Swiss RCTs of young men with binge drinking in a nonclinical setting: Swiss-one (n = 62) and Swiss-two (n = 128). We assessed the associations between these characteristics and drinks/d reported by participants 3 to 6 months after study entry. RESULTS: In all 3 RCTs, mean MISC counselor's rating scales scores were consistent with MI proficiency. In overdispersed Poisson regression models, most BMI characteristics were not significantly associated with drinks/d in follow-up. In the U.S. RCT, confrontation and self-exploration were associated with more drinking. Giving advice was significantly associated with less drinking in the Swiss-one RCT. Contrary to expectations, MI spirit was not consistently associated with drinking across studies. CONCLUSIONS: Across different populations and settings, intervention characteristics viewed as central to efficacious BMIs were neither robust nor consistent predictors of drinking outcome. Although there may be alternative reasons why the level of MI processes was not predictive of outcomes in these studies (limited variability in scores), efforts to understand what makes BMIs efficacious may require attention to factors beyond intervention process characteristics typically examined.

Terms of Reference for Project: Review of AHP Support for Children with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Special Schools and Mainstream Education

This is the Terms of Reference for the review of Allied Health Professional (AHP) support for children/young people with statements of special educational needs.It outlines expectations of the review and should be read in conjunction with the Project Initiation Document (PID) for Phase 1of the review, the Terms of Reference for the Project Board and the Engagement Plan for phase 1.

Extremal properties of certain risk models

Cette thèse s'intéresse à étudier les propriétés extrémales de certains modèles de risque d'intérêt dans diverses applications de l'assurance, de la finance et des statistiques. Cette thèse se développe selon deux axes principaux, à savoir: Dans la première partie, nous nous concentrons sur deux modèles de risques univariés, c'est-à- dire, un modèle de risque de déflation et un modèle de risque de réassurance. Nous étudions le développement des queues de distribution sous certaines conditions des risques commun¬s. Les principaux résultats sont ainsi illustrés par des exemples typiques et des simulations numériques. Enfin, les résultats sont appliqués aux domaines des assurances, par exemple, les approximations de Value-at-Risk, d'espérance conditionnelle unilatérale etc. La deuxième partie de cette thèse est consacrée à trois modèles à deux variables: Le premier modèle concerne la censure à deux variables des événements extrême. Pour ce modèle, nous proposons tout d'abord une classe d'estimateurs pour les coefficients de dépendance et la probabilité des queues de distributions. Ces estimateurs sont flexibles en raison d'un paramètre de réglage. Leurs distributions asymptotiques sont obtenues sous certaines condi¬tions lentes bivariées de second ordre. Ensuite, nous donnons quelques exemples et présentons une petite étude de simulations de Monte Carlo, suivie par une application sur un ensemble de données réelles d'assurance. L'objectif de notre deuxième modèle de risque à deux variables est l'étude de coefficients de dépendance des queues de distributions obliques et asymétriques à deux variables. Ces distri¬butions obliques et asymétriques sont largement utiles dans les applications statistiques. Elles sont générées principalement par le mélange moyenne-variance de lois normales et le mélange de lois normales asymétriques d'échelles, qui distinguent la structure de dépendance de queue comme indiqué par nos principaux résultats. Le troisième modèle de risque à deux variables concerne le rapprochement des maxima de séries triangulaires elliptiques obliques. Les résultats théoriques sont fondés sur certaines hypothèses concernant le périmètre aléatoire sous-jacent des queues de distributions. -- This thesis aims to investigate the extremal properties of certain risk models of interest in vari¬ous applications from insurance, finance and statistics. This thesis develops along two principal lines, namely: In the first part, we focus on two univariate risk models, i.e., deflated risk and reinsurance risk models. Therein we investigate their tail expansions under certain tail conditions of the common risks. Our main results are illustrated by some typical examples and numerical simu¬lations as well. Finally, the findings are formulated into some applications in insurance fields, for instance, the approximations of Value-at-Risk, conditional tail expectations etc. The second part of this thesis is devoted to the following three bivariate models: The first model is concerned with bivariate censoring of extreme events. For this model, we first propose a class of estimators for both tail dependence coefficient and tail probability. These estimators are flexible due to a tuning parameter and their asymptotic distributions are obtained under some second order bivariate slowly varying conditions of the model. Then, we give some examples and present a small Monte Carlo simulation study followed by an application on a real-data set from insurance. The objective of our second bivariate risk model is the investigation of tail dependence coefficient of bivariate skew slash distributions. Such skew slash distributions are extensively useful in statistical applications and they are generated mainly by normal mean-variance mixture and scaled skew-normal mixture, which distinguish the tail dependence structure as shown by our principle results. The third bivariate risk model is concerned with the approximation of the component-wise maxima of skew elliptical triangular arrays. The theoretical results are based on certain tail assumptions on the underlying random radius.

A mi què m'expliques?

Els alumnes i les alumnes de primer cicle d'ESO s'enfronten amb les dificultats de la nova etapa i la necessitat de demostrar les seves competències lingüístiques, quant al redactat i la correcció en l'elaboració de textos diversos. Les noves tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació poden ajudar (i han de propiciar-ho) a desenvolupar aquestes capacitats, i han de ser un element motivador perquè els nois i les noies sentin la necessitat de crear produccions escrites pròpies, adequades lingüísticament, coherents i amb les idees ben organitzades.És necessari, a més, que l'avaluació d'aquestes tasques els serveixi per millorar l'expressió en llengua catalana, gramaticalment i ortogràficament, tot ajudant-los a establir sistemes d'autocorrecció i rectificació d'errors.L'exposició pública (en un mitjà com el d'internet) de les seves obres hauria de reblar l'aspecte de la motivació en la creació d'escrits, de manera que els aporti noves expectatives de comunicació i els animi a participar de l'espai virtual que els ofereix aquesta finestra oberta al món. El meu treball té la intenció de ser un projecte educatiu per aconseguir una millora en l'expressió escrita dels alumnes del primer curs d'ESO amb l'ajuda de les eines de les Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació.

Investigació sobre la modificació de la conducta d'un subjecte que rep sessions d'art plàstica i expectatives dels pares

Hipòtesi afirmativa de partida amb l'objectiu de justificar i demostrar les dades que la confirmin, sobre dos temes principals (conducta i expectatives). Presentació de la mostra, de les variables, del procediment, resultats, discussió, conclusions i prospectiva. Les conclusions és que si Influeix en la conducta del subjecte les expectatives externes, amb la conseqüent modificació de la conducta.

Paternity and health services. Qualitative research on men's experiences during pregnancy, delivery and postpartum of theirs partners

Background: Little research has been carried out with regards to the inclusion of men during the birth process. The objective of this paper involves exploring the needs and expectations of the health services manifested by a group of fathers as a result of their experience during the birth process. Methods: Qualitative research was carried out in Granada in 2004 via individual interviews with fathers who showed shared responsibility in the upbringing. The profile is: employment, medium-high educational level, one or more child: 0-6 months of age. The transcript was subsequently submitted to hermeneutic analysis. Results: Some semantic constructs are: 1) Health Services do not concede the women as protagonists, 2) Birth process is depending on the body. Fathers can only support and fight for the relevance of men, 3) Men seem like “invisible”, 4) Health services inhibit their participation, and 5) have dealings with fathers according to their gender roles. The participants address the relationship between expectations of care during the birth process and unsatisfied demands, and the manner in which they employ the obstacles encountered within health services that inhibit their participation as arguments that confirm their separation from the process. Conclusions: This paper draws attention to the limited scope of the provision of healthcare during the birth process in terms of protagonism afforded to fathers. Indeed, despite their requisitory discourse, the interviewees manifest contradictory attitudes in the face of changes that require them to make commitments. We identify elements that could be improved to adapt services to the needs of fathers and vice versa.

The Role of Information in Contemporary Migration. More Sources but Less Informed

La migració internacional contemporània és integrada en un procés d'interconnexió global definit per les revolucions del transport i de les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació. Una de les conseqüències d'aquesta interconnexió global és que les persones migrants tenen més capacitat per a processar informació tant abans com després de marxar. Aquests canvis podrien tenir implicacions inesperades per a la migració contemporània pel que fa a la capacitat de les persones migrants per a prendre decisions més informades, la reducció de la incertesa en contextos migratoris, el desdibuixament del concepte de distància o la decisió d'emigrar cap a llocs més llunyans. Aquesta recerca és important, ja que la manca de coneixement sobre aquesta qüestió podria contribuir a fer augmentar la distància entre els objectius de les polítiques de migració i els seus resultats. El paper que tenen els agents de la informació en els contextos migratoris també podria canviar. En aquest escenari, perquè les polítiques de migració siguin més efectives, s'haurà de tenir en compte la major capacitat de la població migrant de processar la informació i les fonts d'informació en què es confia. Aquest article demostra que l'equació més informació equival a més ben informat no es compleix sempre. Fins i tot en l'era de la informació, les fonts no fiables, les expectatives falses, la sobreinformació i els rumors encara són presents en els contextos migratoris. Tanmateix, defensem l'argument que aquests efectes no volguts es podrien reduir complint quatre requisits de la informació fiable: que sigui exhaustiva, que sigui rellevant, que s'hi confiï i que sigui actualitzada.

The andalusian comprehensive cancer plan 2002-2006 : Andalusian Public Health System

Cancer is a major health problem in our Autonomous Community and is the second cause of death in both males and females. The incidence, mortality, potential years of life lost and resource consumption alongside the suffering endured by patients and families call for a commitment to be made by the Health Administration, healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers. This Plan is based on updated analyses of the mortality, incidence and survival of Cancer in Andalusia, of the situation of Cancer care and the resources available and of the expectations of patients and main caregivers, and on the conclusions of different Work Groups on the Management of Processes related to Cancer. The Andalusian Comprehensive Cancer Plan establishes an action programme that involves organisational and functional changes, new proposals for the training of professionals and a specific funding base.

Comprehensive heart disease action plan for Andalusia 2005-2009 : Andalusian Public Health System

The Comprehensive Heart Disease Action Plan for Andalusia 2005-2009 has been prepared within the framework of the presentations made both in the 3rd Andalusian Health Action Plan and in the Quality Plan of the Public Health System. Consequently, as with these two referral instruments, the improvement in the health results for the citizens of Andalusia continues to be sought without wavering, specifically with regard to meeting the needs and expectations of the population affected by health problems in this area.