Density of Sand Flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) in Domestic and Wild Animal Shelters in an Area of Visceral Leishmaniasis in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

The objective of the present study was to determine the association of sand flies with the presence of domestic and wild animals in the peridomiciliary area. The sand flies were collected using direct aspiration and CDC light traps placed in animal shelters. The results suggest that different sand flies species have different behavioral characteristics in an apparent preference for animal baits and that Lutzomyia longipalpis and Lu. evandroi were the most eclectic species regarding their biotope choice. Lu. longipalpis showed a distinct preference for horses and Lu. evandroi for armadillos.

Sensitivity of a Vacuum Aspiratory Culture Technique for Diagnosis of Localized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in an Endemic Area of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis Transmission

Sixty eight patients with localized cutaneous leishmaniasis from an area with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis transmission had cultures performed with a modified Marzochi´s vacuum aspiratory puncture technique to establish sensitivity and contamination rate with this new method. Overall sensitivity of three aspirates was 47.1%; (CI95% 39.4; 59.4) significantly greater than the sensitivity of a single one aspirate. Fungal contamination was observed in 6/204 (2.9%) inoculated culture tubes. We recommend that this useful technique should be adopted as routine for primary isolation of L. (V.) braziliensis from localized cutaneous ulcers.

Validación de modificaciones en maniquí “Ambú®” para entrenamiento en el manejo de la vía aérea difícil mediante estudio comparativo con maniquí “Airsim®”

Per la pràctica del maneig de la via aèria s’utilitzen maniquins i simuladors. La dificultat de la intubació orotraqueal és poc habitual però pot comportar greus conseqüències. Vuit anestesiòlegs (cinc adjunts i tres residents) avaluem les diferències entre el maniquí Airsim®, dissenyat per situacions de via aèria difícil i el maniquí Ambú® modificat per reproduir situacions que dificulten la intubació orotraqueal. Les variacions en el maniquí Ambú® poden ser igual d’útils per la pràctica de la vía aèria difícil que el maniquí Airsim®, tot i que tècnicament és més difícil la intubació en el maniquí modificat.

Atypical Mucocutaneous Leishmaniasis Caused by Leishmania braziliensis in an Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Patient: T-cell Responses and Remission of Lesions Associated with Antigen Immunotherapy

An atypical case of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated mucocutaneous lesions due to Leishmania braziliensis is described. Many vacuolated macrophages laden with amastigote forms of the parasite were found in the lesions. Leishmanin skin test and serology for leishmaniasis were both negative. The patient was resistant to therapy with conventional drugs (antimonial and amphotericin B). Interestingly, remission of lesions was achieved after an alternative combined therapy of antimonial associated with immunotherapy (whole promastigote antigens). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were separated and stimulated in vitro with Leishmania antigens to test the lymphoproliferative responses (LPR). Before the combined immunochemotherapy, the LPR to leishmanial antigens was negligible (stimulation index - SI=1.4). After the first course of combined therapy it became positive (SI=4.17). The antigen responding cells were predominantly T-cells (47.5%) most of them with CD8+ phenotype (33%). Very low CD4+ cells (2.2%) percentages were detected. The increased T-cell responsiveness to leishmanial antigens after combined therapy was accompanied by interferon-g (IFN-g) production as observed in the cell culture supernatants. In this patient, healing of the leishmaniasis lesions was associated with the induction of a specific T-cell immune response, characterized by the production of IFN-g and the predominance of the CD8+ phenotype among the Leishmania-reactive T-cells.

Quantification of dose nonuniformities by voxel-based dosimetry in patients receiving 90Y-ibritumomab-tiuxetan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of nonuniform dose distribution within lesions and tumor-involved organs of patients receiving Zevalin, and to discuss possible implications of equivalent uniform biological effective doses (EU-BED) on treatment efficacy and toxicity. MATLAB? -based software for voxel-based dosimetry was adopted for this purpose. METHODS: Eleven lesions from seven patients with either indolent or aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma were analyzed, along with four organs with disease. Absorbed doses were estimated by a direct integration of single-voxel kinetic data from serial tomographic images. After proper corrections, differential BED distributions and surviving cell fractions were estimated, allowing for the calculation of EU-BED. To quantify dose uniformity in each target area, a heterogeneity index was defined. RESULTS: Average doses were below those prescribed by conventional radiotherapy to eradicate lymphoma lesions. Dose heterogeneity and effect on tumor control varied among lesions, with no apparent relation to tumor mass. Although radiation doses to involved organs were safe, unexpected liver toxicity occurred in one patient who presented with a pattern of diffuse infiltration. CONCLUSION: Voxel-based dosimetry and radiobiologic modeling can be successfully applied to lesions and tumor-involved organs, representing a methodological advance over estimation of mean absorbed doses. However, effects on tumor control and organ toxicity still cannot be easily predicted.

West Tyrone Area Plan 2019 Health Impact Assessment (2008)

IPH was commissioned by Western Investing for Health to conduct a HIA of the West Tyrone Area Plan 2019. Stage 1 of the HIA was submitted to the Department of the Environment, Planning Office in 2008 and part of this work involved developing a community profile. HIA seeks to inform the decision making process in favour of health by gathering evidence to identify the potential positive and negative health impacts of a proposal. A series of recommendations are then produced to maximize the positive health impacts and mitigate the potential negative health impacts of an identified proposal. West Tyrone Community A community profile provides an overview of the population structures and particular services in an identified area. This community profile provides an overview of West Tyrone and has been developed as part of a Health Impact Assessment which is currently being conducted on the West Tyrone Area Plan. This resource provides access to up-to-date information which community and voluntary groups in the West Tyrone area will find useful to support their work. Contact: Seamus Mullen, Public Health Agency Tel: +44 (0) 2871860086 Email: seamus.mullen@hscni.org

Screening for health impacts in Local Area Planning in Donegal County Council (2004)

In 2004 an interagency team consisting of members the North Western Health Board and Donegal County Council commissioned the IPH to conduct a HIA screening exercise on planning policy in Donegal. This involved an overview of literature, analysis of policy documents, contact with Planning Officers and observation of public consultation meetings. Following completion of the final report, the intention is to produce a user-friendly template to enable planners to incorporate a health dimension into their decision making.

IPH response to the National Transport Authority on the Greater Dublin Area Draft Transport Strategy 2011-2030

The remit of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) is to promote cooperation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in the areas of research and information, capacity building and policy advice. Our approach is to support Departments of Health and their agencies in both jurisdictions, and maximise the benefits of all-island cooperation to achieve practical benefits for people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.IPH has a keen interest in the interactions between transport and health. IPH has produced two papers in the recent past on this topic, the most recent being Active travel – healthy lives published in January 2011 which built on the 2005 publication Health impacts of transport. The IPH welcomes the draft transport strategy in terms of addressing each of the key messages outlined in the Active travel – healthy lives paper.IPH is interested in this area not only in terms of increasing ‘active travel’ for healthier lives, but also in terms of the environmental and social impacts of inequitable access to forms of private and public transport.

IPH response to Draft Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022

The Regional Planning Guidelines (RPG) for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022 (draft) is a policy document which aims to direct the future growth of the Greater Dublin Area over the medium to long term and works to implement the strategic planning framework set out in the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) published in 2002.  A series of recommendations have been made to Local Authorities clearly linked to and supporting the national investment in transport, particularly public transport, under Transport 21.  The draft was prepared and agreed for public consultation. The IPH response  to the consultation reports on how the RPG may impact on health and makes recommendations to maximise opportunities for health gain and minimise health loss.

Cell populations in lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis of leishmania (L.) amazonensis- infected rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta

The cellular nature of the infiltrate in cutaneous lesion of rhesus monkeys experimentally infected with Leishmania (L.) amazonensis was characterized by immunohistochemistry. Skin biopsies from infected animals with active or healing lesions were compared to non-infected controls (three of each type) to quantitate inflammatory cell types. Inflammatory cells (composed of a mixture of T lymphocyte subpopulations, macrophages and a small number of natural killer cells and granulocytes) were more numerous in active lesions than in healing ones. T-cells accounted for 44.7 ± 13.1% of the infiltrate in active lesions (versus CD2+= 40.3 ± 5.7% in healing lesions) and T-cell ratios favor CD8+ cells in both lesion types. The percentage of cells expressing class II antigen (HLA-DR+) in active lesions (95 ± 7.1%) was significantly higher (P < 0.005) from the healing lesions (42.7 ± 12.7%). Moreover, the expression of the activation molecules CD25 (@ 16%), the receptor for interleukin-2, suggests that many T cells are primed and proliferating in active lesions. Distinct histopathological patterns were observed in lesions at biopsy, but healing lesions contained more organized epithelioid granulomas and activated macrophages, followed by fibrotic substitution. The progression and resolution of skin lesions appears to be very similar to that observed in humans, confirming the potential for this to be used as a viable model to study the immune response in human cutaneous leishmaniasis.

Bioaccumulation of 210Pb and 210Po in fish tissues in a radioactive naturally enhanced area: the Peníscola marsh (Castelló, Spain)

210Pb and 210Po concentration in fish tissues from Peníscola marsh were analyzed, being this area a radioactive naturally enhanced marsh located in the East coast of Spain. Results showed that 210Po accumulation in tissues could reach values ranging from 28±8 Bq kg-1 in muscle of Cyprinus carpio, to 8558±6378 Bq kg-1 in gut content of Chelon labrosus. On the other hand, 210Pb concentrations ranged from 8±4 Bq kg-1 in muscle of Cyprinus carpio, to 475±481 Bq kg-1 in gut content of Chelon labrosus. Bioaccumulation pattern is generally 210Po&210Pb, except in spine, where more 210Pb than 210Po is accumulated. When comparing our samples to those collected as blanks, individuals from Peníscola marsh showed an enrichment in 210Po and 210Pb in their tissues compared to the blanks. Bioaccumulation factors showed that feeding is the major input route of 210Pb and 210Po into the fish body. Highest values of 210Pb and 210Po concentration in tissues were found on Chelon labrosus and Carassius auratus, being Cyprinus carpio the species with the lowest average values of 210Pb and 210Po accumulation.

Science education and popularization of science in the biomedical area: its role for the future of science and of society

This paper presents the main subjects discussed in the round-table: "Educational Base for Biomedical Research", during the International Symposium on Biomedical Research in the 21st century; two main aspects will be focused: (1) the importance of popularizing science in order to stimulate comprehension of the scientific process and progress, their critical thinking, citizenship and social commitment, mainly in the biomedical area, considering the new advances of knowledge and the resulting technology; (2) the importance to stimulate genuine scientific vocation among young people, by giving them opportunity to early experience scientific environment, throught the hands of well prepared master in a humanistic atmosphere.