Hirschsprung's disease prevalence in Europe: A register based study.

BACKGROUND: Hirschsprung's disease is a congenital gut motility disorder, characterised by the absence of the enteric ganglion cells along the distal gut. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of Hirschsprung's disease, including additional congenital anomalies, total prevalence, trends, and association with maternal age. METHODS: Cases of Hirschsprung's disease delivered during 1980 to 2009 notified to 31 European Surveillance of Congenital Anomaly registers formed the population-based case-series. Prevalence rates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated as the number of cases per 10,000 births. Multilevel Poisson regression was performed to investigate trends in prevalence, geographical variation and the association with maternal age. RESULTS: There were 1,322 cases of Hirschsprung's disease among 12,146,210 births. The total prevalence was 1.09 (95% confidence interval, 1.03-1.15) per 10,000 births and there was a small but significant increase in prevalence over time (relative risk = 1.01; 95% credible interval, 1.00-1.02; p = 0.004). There was evidence of geographical heterogeneity in prevalence (p < 0.001). Excluding 146 (11.0%) cases with chromosomal anomalies or genetic syndromes, there were 1,176 cases (prevalence = 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.03 per 10,000 births), of which 137 (11.6%) had major structural anomalies. There was no evidence of a significant increased risk of Hirschsprung's disease in cases born to women aged ≥35 years compared with those aged 25 to 29 (relative risk = 1.09; 95% credible interval, 0.91-1.31; p = 0.355). CONCLUSION: This large population-based study found evidence of a small increasing trend in Hirschsprung's disease and differences in prevalence by geographic location. There was also no evidence of an association with maternal age. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 100:695-702, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Exigências térmicas de Brevicoryne brassicae e previsão de picos populacionais

O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar as exigências térmicas do pulgão-da-couve, Brevicoryne brassicae L., Hemiptera: Aphididae, em condições de laboratório e campo, e prever a ocorrência de picos populacionais de adultos, por meio de um modelo de graus-dia. Em laboratório, os experimentos foram conduzidos em câmaras climatizadas reguladas a 15, 20, 25, 27 e 30ºC, obtendo-se o limite térmico inferior de desenvolvimento (Tb = 4,5ºC) e a constante térmica (K = 176,1 graus-dia). Na determinação das exigências térmicas sob condições de campo, realizaram-se seis experimentos, a partir dos quais obteve-se o tempo médio de desenvolvimento de ninfas e a temperatura média ambiental. Os resultados estimados de Tb e K foram 3,5ºC e 180,0 graus-dia, respectivamente. Os resultados de Tb e K obtidos em laboratório possibilitam prever com maior precisão a ocorrência de adultos de B. brassicae do que os resultados de Tb e K determinados a partir de experimentos em campo.

Role of reactive hyperreninemia in blood pressure changes induced by sodium depletion in patients with refractory hypertension

Sixteen patients with refractory hypertension were submitted to vigorous sodium depletion while cardiovascular homeostasis was monitored with measurements of hormonal and hemodynamic parameters and repeat saralasin tests. This regimen resulted in a negative sodium balance by an average of 300 mEq. The loss of sodium closely correlated to the decrease of body weight (r = 0.70, p less than 0.005). Blood pressure (BP) decreased from 176/166 +/- 8/3 to 155/109 +/-6/3 mm Hg. There was a significant correlation between percent increments in plasma renin activity (PRA) and the rise in plasma norepinephrine (r = 0.68, p less than 0.05) and a close negative correlation between percent increase in PRA and the ratio of fall in mean blood pressure (MAP) per unit of weight loss (r = -0.73, p less than 0.005). Thus, patients with the least percent increase in PRA demonstrated the greatest fall in BP per unit of weight loss, indicating that relative rather than absolute elevation of renin may be the factor limiting antihypertensive efficacy of sodium depletion. Sodium depletion induced increase in peripheral resistance and decrease in cardiac output, both mostly attributable to relative hyperreninemia. Indeed, the adverse hemodynamic changes were reversed by angiotensin inhibition, during which BP normalized. It is concluded that vigorous sodium depletion complemented by angiotensin blockade or suppression with sympatholytic agents improves management of otherwise refractory hypertension.

Genetic linkage maps of 'Pêra' sweet orange and 'Cravo' mandarin with RAPD markers

The objective of this work was to construct linkage maps of 'Pêra' sweet orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] and 'Cravo' mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) using RAPD markers and the pseudo-testcross strategy. The parents were chosen according to the resistance/susceptibility to citrus variegate chlorosis (CVC). The segregation of 176 markers was analyzed in 94 progeny of F1 hybrids, which were obtained from controlled crossings. The linkage map of 'Pêra' sweet orange had 117 markers defined by 12 linkage groups, which spanned 612.1 cM. Only six markers could not be linked to the linkage group and 48.7% of the markers showed segregation distortion. The linkage map of 'Cravo' mandarin had 51 markers defined by 12 linkage groups, which spanned 353.3 cM. Only two markers did not link to the groups and 15.7% showed segregation distortion. The construction of linkage maps is relevant to future mapping studies of the inheritance of CVC, citrus canker and leprosis.

Iowa Department of Transportation Major Items - Preliminary Quantity Report, March 17, 2015; With Addendums

Weekly letting report.

Adaptabilidade e estabilidade de populações de milho-pipoca

A identificação de cultivares com maior estabilidade torna o processo de recomendação de cultivares mais seguro. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a adaptabilidade e estabilidade de oito populações de milho-pipoca quanto a produtividade e capacidade de expansão em dois locais no norte do Estado do Paraná. As populações e a testemunha (ZÉLIA) foram avaliadas em Londrina e Faxinal em dois anos agrícolas, utilizando delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso com três repetições. Na análise de variância, consideraram-se os parâmetros de produtividade e capacidade de expansão e a adaptabilidade e estabilidade foram estimadas com base no modelo proposto por Eberhart e Russell. O híbrido ZÉLIA e as populações UEL PAPA, UE PASHA, UEL PO, UEL PAMPGA, UEL PAPCB e UEL PAPYY apresentaram os melhores resultados de produtividade, 3.203,50, 3.733,41, 3.512,08, 3.176,25, 2.847,49, 2.764,75 e 2.421,66 kg ha-1 e capacidade de expansão 27,68, 25,05, 27,41, 27,17, 27,64, 28,60 e 27,36, respectivamente, apresentando comportamento previsível para o cultivo com baixos riscos na região.

Exposition des travailleurs agricoles aux pesticides : revue systématique de la littérature scientifique disponible sur les expositions aux pesticides des travailleurs agricoles en France

Le présent rapport rend compte d'une partie du travail déjà réalisé sur l'inventaire des données disponibles dans la littérature scientifique sur l'exposition des travailleurs agricoles aux pesticides en France. La possibilité de tirer parti de la littérature produite sur d'autres pays que la France est également explorée dans deux études de cas (réentrée en arboriculture et insecticides en élevages ovins). Les résultats seront exposés par ailleurs car le recueil et l'analyse de données produites par ces études sur les situations d'exposition des personnes travaillant en milieu agricole dans des pays étrangers posent des problèmes méthodologiques spécifiques si on veut pouvoir en tirer des enseignements pour la France. En matière de revue de la littérature scientifique, l'idéal de l'exhaustivité est généralement impossible à atteindre pour des raisons qui tiennent à la croissance exponentielle du nombre de publications scientifiques, à la pluralité des langues de publication, à la fragmentation et à l'accessibilité limitée des bases documentaires ... Nous pensons avoir recueilli tous les documents accessibles, mais peut-être certains nous ont-il échappé. C'est pourquoi le présent rapport est à la fois un exposé de résultats et un appel à contributions complémentaires. Il explicite les détails de la démarche adoptée (critères de sélection des articles, traçabilité des étapes de l'analyse ...) sous une forme qui permet à chacun d'avoir prise sur les résultats mais aussi de proposer des compléments au recensement réalisé. Il vise à être la première brique d'une base de connaissances partagée qui permette de capitaliser les données disponibles et qui puisse être mise à jour régulièrement.

Iowa Department of Transportation Major Items - Preliminary Quantity Report, June 16, 2015; With Addendums

Weekly letting report

La démarche diagnostique des troubles cognitifs chez l'âgé

Cet article retrace une recherche qualitative pluridisciplinaire. Les cinq auteurs - anthropologues, médecin psychiatre, psychologue et sociologue - ont développé une collaboration autour d'une problématique récurrente chez les personnes âgées: les troubles cognitifs associés à l'âge, les difficultés à les diagnostiquer et à communiquer le diagnostic aux patients et à leurs proches. Huit patients et leurs proches se sont rencontrés séparément lors de deux séries d'entretiens sur l'annonce du diagnostic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Les résultats montrent que la communication du diagnostic MCI n'insuffle pas un tournant dans la trajectoire des patients. Les propos des experts semblent n'avoir qu'un faible impact sur la compréhension qu'ont les patients et leurs accompagnants de la santé mentale des sujets diagnostiqués.