Characteristics of sexual violence against adolescent girls and adult women

Background: Sexual violence is considered a serious violation of human rights which affects mainly young women and adolescents. There is little information about the conditions under which sexual offences occur. We evaluated characteristics of sexual violence against adolescent girls and adult women.Method: This is a quantitative, retrospective, descriptive study of sexual violence against adolescent girls and adult women. Analyses were carried out on data collected from 1118 women, 546 adolescents (10-19 years) and 572 adults (>= 20 years), with a complaint of rape treated at Hospital Perola Byington, Sao Paulo, between 1994 and 1999. The age limit of the adolescent sample met the World Health Organization's (WHO) criteria. We analyzed the type of sexual contact, degree of intimidation, perpetrator and activity of the victim during the approach.Results: Crimes without penetration were five times more frequent in adolescents and use of threats of death or intimidation was common in both groups. Mental illness was more prevalent in adult victims and the majority of adolescent victims were aged < 14 years. Uncle and stepfather perpetrators were more frequent among adolescents and partners or former intimate partners in adult women. In most cases the approach occurred in public places, although sex crimes at the perpetrator's residence were more frequent amongst adolescents.Conclusions: Although children and adolescents require the same intervention measures and legal protection, a considerable proportion of adolescent sex offenders can face conditions similar to those of adult women.

Fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento de crianças atendidas em Unidades de Saúde da Família, ao final do primeiro ano de vida: aspectos sociodemográficos e de saúde mental materna

The scope of this article is to evaluate risk and protection factors for the development of 1-year-olds assisted at family health care units. It is a cross-sectional study involving 65 children of approximately 1 year of age and their mothers attended at two family health care units. The development was assessed using a developmental screening test (Denver II). The mothers filled out the SRQ-20 questionnaire to identify common mental disorder (CMD) indicators. After data collection, descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was performed. Global development was at risk in 43.1% of the children evaluated, and the most affected areas were language and fine motor development; 44.6% of mothers had results indicative of CMD when the child was 1 year of age. In bivariate analysis, reported depression, smoking, infections in pregnancy, CMD after birth and working outside the home were significantly associated with the children's development. After full statistical analysis, CMD was revealed as being a risk factor, and working away from home as being a protection factor. In order to increase the chances of success of programs targeted for children at health care units and avoiding the risk of impaired development, it is important to focus on two aspects: children's stimulation and maternal mental health.

Neonatally induced mild diabetes: influence on development, behavior and reproductive function of female Wistar rats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Thyroid Hormone Stimulates the Proliferation of Sertoli Cells and Single Type A Spermatogonia in Adult Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Testis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Post-Embryonic Development in Zaprionus indianus (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Combination Therapy for the Cardiovascular Effects of Perinatal Lead Exposure in Young and Adult Rats

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

Suicídio no Brasil e os contextos geográficos: contribuições para política pública de saúde mental

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Interleukin-6 polymorphism and Helicobacter pylori infection in Brazilian adult patients with chronic gastritis

Helicobacter pylori is recognised as the most common cause of chronic active gastritis and this bacterium is also an important pathogenic factor in peptic ulcer disease. The biological factors that influence clinical outcome in H. pylori infection have been extensively studied. In addition to immunological factors in the host, bacterial virulence determinants in H. pylori strains are likely to play a crucial role in gastric cancer development. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms at the 5' flanking region of the interleukin (IL)-6 gene promoter (G or C at -174 base) have been identified and individuals with the G allele at position -174 have been shown to produce higher levels of IL-6 than those with the C/C genotype. The mucosal levels of IL-6 were reported to be increased in H. pylori-associated gastritis. The present study was conducted to examine any relationship between inflammatory cytokine polymorphisms and the inflammatory process in mucosa infected by H. pylori. In our study we did not find any association between the C and G alleles in adult patients with chronic gastritis and inflammatory process in gastric mucosa.

Obesogenic environment by excess of dietary fats in different phases of development reduces spermatic efficiency of wistar rats at adulthood: correlations with metabolic status

This study compares the impact of obesogenic environment (OE) in six different periods of development on sperm parameters and the testicular structure of adult rats and their correlations with sex steroid and metabolic scenario. Wistar rats were exposed to OE during gestation (O1), during gestation/lactation (O2), from weaning to adulthood (O3), from lactation to adulthood (O4), from gestation to sexual maturity (O5), and after sexual maturation (O6). OE was induced by a 20% fat diet, and control groups were fed a balanced diet (4% fat). Serum leptin levels and adiposity index indicate that all groups were obese, except for O1. Three progressive levels of impaired metabolic status were observed: O1 presented insulin resistance, O2 were insulin resistant and obese, and groups O3, O4, and O5 were insulin resistant, obese, and diabetic. These three levels of metabolic damage were proportional to the increase of leptin and decreased circulating testosterone. The impairment in the daily sperm production (DSP) paralleled these three levels of metabolic and hormonal damage being marginal in O1, increasing in O2, and being higher in groups O3, O4, O5, and O6. None of the OE periods affected the sperm transit time in the epididymis, and the lower sperm reserves were caused mainly by impaired DSP. In conclusion, OE during sexual maturation markedly reduces the DSP at adulthood in the rat. A severe reduction in the DSP also occurs in OE exposure during gestation/lactation but not in gestation, indicating that breast-feeding is a critical period for spermatogenic impairment under obesogenic conditions.

High sodium intake during postnatal phases induces an increase in arterial blood pressure in adult rats

Coordenadoria de Aperfeiçoamento em Pesquisa (CAPES)

Da crise normal ao risco: produções da adolescência nos cenários da saúde mental no Brasil

Pós-graduação em Psicologia - FCLAS

Saúde mental e fatores emocionais nas campanhas brasileiras da semana mundial de aleitamento materno

The reduction of child mortality has been the focus of World Breastfeeding Week campaigns. On the other hand, breastfeeding and weaning are considered by psychoanalysis as key moments in the prophylaxis in mental health. Our goal is to investigate how the emotional aspects involved in breastfeeding have been addressed on the promotional material of Brazilian campaigns from 1999 (year of its creation) to 2010. The method adopted was the categorical content analysis and the results indicate that (1) the emotional benefits of breastfeeding are treated superficially, (2) weaning is depleted of its relational dimension (separation), being presented as a chronological and pragmatic concept, based on the introduction of new foods, (3) the term "mental health" is mentioned only once, without a precise definition. The relationship between breastfeeding and emotional development, besides the prophylaxis of mental health, has not been fully exploited in the analyzed campaigns.

A banalização da prescrição de psicofármacos em um ambulatório de saúde mental

The development of modern psychiatric medications coupled with the wide range currently gained by preventive emphasis in mental health changed the practices of psychiatry, which is no longer focused on treating insanity but is also dedicated to treat any psychiatric suffering through the prescription of psychopharmacos. This study discusses the current process in which medication has been generalized, and presents the results of an exploratory study aimed to examine the patients' medical files, the trajectory of users since they enter the service to the prescription of psychiatric medication in the scope of a Mental Health Outpatient Clinic, in a town in the west of the São Paulo state, Brazil. Results revealed that most (65%) users already arrive at the service with previous prescription of psychiatric medications, and nearly all (99%) of them receive prescriptions of psychiatric medication once forwarded to psychiatric consultations.

FIPRONIL promotes motor and behavioral changes in honey bees (APIS Mellifera) and affects the development of colonies exposed to sublethal doses

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The importance of relative humidity for telenomus remus (Hymenoptera: Platygastridae) parasitism and development on Corcyra cephalonica (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) eggs

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