Chagas disease: control, elimination and eradication. Is it possible?

From an epidemiological point of view, Chagas disease and its reservoirs and vectors can present the following characteristics: (i) enzooty, maintained by wild animals and vectors, with broad occurrence from southern United States of America (USA) to southern Argentina and Chile (42ºN 49ºS), (ii) anthropozoonosis, when man invades the wild ecotope and becomes infected with Trypanosoma cruzi from wild animals or vectors or when the vectors and wild animals, especially marsupials, invade the human domicile and infect man, (iii) zoonosis-amphixenosis and exchanged infection between animals and humans by domestic vectors in endemic areas and (iv) zooanthroponosis, infection that is transmitted from man to animals, by means of domestic vectors, which is the rarest situation in areas endemic for Chagas disease. The characteristics of Chagas disease as an enzooty of wild animals and as an anthropozoonosis are seen most frequently in the Brazilian Amazon and in the Pan-Amazon region as a whole, where there are 33 species of six genera of wild animals: Marsupialia, Chiroptera, Rodentia, Edentata (Xenarthra), Carnivora and Primata and 27 species of triatomines, most of which infected with T. cruzi . These conditions place the resident populations of this area or its visitors - tourists, hunters, fishermen and especially the people whose livelihood involves plant extraction - at risk of being affected by Chagas disease. On the other hand, there has been an exponential increase in the acute cases of Chagas disease in that region through oral transmission of T. cruzi , causing outbreaks of the disease. In four seroepidemiological surveys that were carried out in areas of the microregion of the Negro River, state of Amazonas, in 1991, 1993, 1997 and 2010, we found large numbers of people who were serologically positive for T. cruzi infection. The majority of them and/or their relatives worked in piassava extraction and had come into contact with and were stung by wild triatomines in that area. Finally, a characteristic that is greatly in evidence currently is the migration of people with Chagas disease from endemic areas of Latin America to non-endemic countries. This has created a new dilemma for these countries: the risk of transmission through blood transfusion and the onus of controlling donors and treating migrants with the disease. As an enzooty of wild animals and vectors, and as an anthropozoonosis, Chagas disease cannot be eradicated, but it must be controlled by transmission elimination to man.

Analysing deltamethrin susceptibility and pyrethroid esterase activity variations in sylvatic and domestic Triatoma infestans at the embryonic stage

The aim of the present work was to study the deltamethrin susceptibility of eggs from Triatoma infestans populations and the contribution of pyrethroid esterases to deltamethrin degradation. Insects were collected from sylvatic areas, including Veinte de Octubre and Kirus-Mayu (Bolivia) and from domiciliary areas, including El Palmar (Bolivia) and La Pista (Argentina). Deltamethrin susceptibility was determined by dose-response bioassays. Serial dilutions of deltamethrin (0.0005-1 mg/mL) were topically applied to 12-day-old eggs. Samples from El Palmar had the highest lethal dose ratio (LDR) value (44.90) compared to the susceptible reference strain (NFS), whereas the Veinte de Octubre samples had the lowest value (0.50). Pyrethroid esterases were evaluated using 7-coumaryl permethrate (7-CP) on individually homogenised eggs from each population and from NFS. The El Palmar and La Pista samples contained 40.11 and 36.64 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively, and these values were statistically similar to NFS (34.92 pmol/min/mg protein) and different from Kirus-Mayu and Veinte de Octubre (27.49 and 22.69 pmol/min/mg protein, respectively). The toxicological data indicate that the domestic populations were resistant to deltamethrin, but no statistical contribution of 7-CP esterases was observed. The sylvatic populations had similar LDR values to NFS, but lower 7-CP esterase activities. Moreover, this is the first study of the pyrethroid esterases on T. infestans eggs employing a specific substrate (7-CP).

La violencia contra la mujer en la pareja como factor asociado a una mala salud física y psíquica.

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's physical and psychological health. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING:Primary care centers in 3 Andalusian provinces. PATIENTS: A total of 425 women, aged 18 to 65 years, were recruited following the same randomisation process in 6 primary care centers. MEASUREMENTS: A self-administered structured questionnaire for this study was used to gather the information. As well as sociodemographic variables, the instrument included questions about IPV, physical health indicators (chronic disease and type, lifetime surgeries, days in bed), psychological health (psychological morbidity, use of tranquilizers, antidepressants, pain killers, alcohol and recreational drugs), self-perceived health and social support. RESULTS: Of 425 women, 31.5% ever experienced any type of partner violence. Women experiencing IPV were more likely to suffer a chronic disease. IPV was significantly associated with a number of adverse health outcomes, including spending more than 7 days in bed in the last three months (ORa=2.96; CI 95%, 1.00-8.76), psychological morbidity (ORa=2.68; CI 95%, 1.60-4.49) and worse self-perceived health (ORa=1.89; CI 95%, 1.04-3.43), after controlling for potential confounding variables. CONCLUSION: This study shows that ever experiencing IPV is associated with a worse psychological and self-perceived health. Physical injuries are not the only "evidence" of the presence of IPV. Primary health care professionals are in a privileged position to help women who are abused by their partners.

Phlebotomine fauna, natural infection rate and feeding habits of Lutzomyia cruzi in Jaciara, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Brazil is transmitted by the phlebotomine Lutzomyia longipalpis and in some midwestern regions by Lutzomyia cruzi. Studies of the phlebotomine fauna, feeding habits and natural infection rate by Leishmania contribute to increased understanding of the epidemiological chain of leishmaniases and their vectorial capacity. Collections were performed in Jaciara, state of Mato Grosso from 2010-2013, during which time 2,011 phlebotomines (23 species) were captured (68.70% Lu. cruzi and 20.52% Lutzomyia whitmani). Lu. cruzi females were identified by observing the shapes of the cibarium (a portion of the mouthpart) and spermatheca, from which samples were obtained for polymerase chain reaction to determine the rates of natural infection. Engorged phlebotomines were assessed to identify the blood-meal host by ELISA. A moderate correlation was discovered between the number of Lu. cruzi and the temperature and the minimum rate of infection was 6.10%. Twenty-two females were reactive to the antisera of bird (28%), dog (3.30%) and skunk (1.60%). We conclude that Lu. cruzi and Lu. whitmani have adapted to the urban environment in this region and that Lu. cruzi is the most likely vector of VL in Jaciara. Moreover, maintenance of Leishmania in the environment is likely aided by the presence of birds and domestic and synanthropic animals.

Risk factors associated with Trypanosoma cruziexposure in domestic dogs from a rural community in Panama

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, is a zoonosis of humans, wild and domestic mammals, including dogs. In Panama, the main T. cruzi vector is Rhodnius pallescens, a triatomine bug whose main natural habitat is the royal palm, Attalea butyracea. In this paper, we present results from three T. cruzi serological tests (immunochromatographic dipstick, indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA) performed in 51 dogs from 24 houses in Trinidad de Las Minas, western Panama. We found that nine dogs were seropositive (17.6% prevalence). Dogs were 1.6 times more likely to become T. cruziseropositive with each year of age and 11.6 times if royal palms where present in the peridomiciliary area of the dog’s household or its two nearest neighbours. Mouse-baited-adhesive traps were employed to evaluate 12 peridomestic royal palms. All palms were found infested with R. pallescens with an average of 25.50 triatomines captured per palm. Of 35 adult bugs analysed, 88.6% showed protozoa flagellates in their intestinal contents. In addition, dogs were five times more likely to be infected by the presence of an additional domestic animal species in the dog’s peridomiciliary environment. Our results suggest that interventions focused on royal palms might reduce the exposure to T. cruzi infection.

Sobre la facticitat de la consideració moral dels animals no humans

Aquest treball s'enquadra en l'àmbit del que s'anomena bioètica animal i es desenvolupa al voltant de la consideració moral dels animals no humans a partir d'un tractament interdisciplinari que implica l'encontre de disciplines tan diverses com filosofia, història, psicologia o estudis de gènere, entre d'altres.

Domestic and International Research Joint Ventures: The Effect of Collusion

We analyze the effect of research joint ventures (RJVs) on consumer welfare in an international context when collusion can occur. The main novelty of our analysis is to study the differentiated effect of domestic and international RJVs. The recent literature shows that RJVs with collusion harm consumers. However, our results introduce a qualifi cation to this statement: international RJVs with collusion might be bene ficial for consumers when internationalization costs are high. The EU and US competition policy advises against RJVs that facilitate collusion on the grounds of their expected negative effects. Our results suggest that antitrust authorities should distinguish between domestic and international RJVs and, in certain cases, be more benevolent with international RJVs. Keywords: collusion; domestic research joint venture; international research joint venture JEL Classi fication Numbers: K21, L24, L44, O32

[Archives de la Parole]. , Domestic happiness : récit fantaisiste (dravidien, Tamoul, Province de Madras / [Sir George Grierson], éd. ; Linguistic survey of India ; [Krishnamacharya Ranga Nath], voix

[Traditions. Asie. Inde. Province de Madras [i.e. Chennai]. Etat du Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur]

Genetic causes of transitions from sexual reproduction to asexuality in plants and animals.

The persistence of sexual reproduction in the face of competition from asexual invaders is more likely if asexual lineages are produced infrequently or have low fitness. The generation rate and success of new asexual lineages will be influenced by the proximate mechanisms underlying transitions to asexuality. As such, characterization of these mechanisms can help explain the distribution of reproductive modes among natural populations. Here, we synthesize the literature addressing proximate causes of transitions from sexual to asexual reproduction in plants and animals. In cyclical and facultatively asexual taxa, individual mutations can cause obligate asexuality. The evolution of asexuality in obligately sexual groups is more complex, requiring the simultaneous acquisition of two traits generally controlled by different genetic factors: unreduced gamete formation and spontaneous development of unfertilized gametes. At least three 'pre-adaptations' could favour transitions to obligate asexuality in obligate sexuals. First, linkage among loci affecting separate key components of asexuality facilitates its spread, with evidence for these linkage blocks in plants. Second, asexuality should evolve more readily in haplodiploids; support for this hypothesis comes from two examples where a single locus causes transitions to asexuality. Third, standing genetic variation for the production of unreduced gametes could facilitate transitions to asexuality, but whether the ability to produce unreduced gametes contributes to the evolution of obligate asexuality remains unclear. We close by reviewing the associations between asexuality, hybridization and polyploidy, and argue that current data suggest that hybridization is more likely to play a causal role in transitions to asexuality than polyploidy.

The Effect of occupational sex-composition on earnings: job-specialisation, sex-role attitudes and the division of domestic-labour in Spain

Important theoretical controversies remain unresolved in the literatire on occupational sex-segregation and the gender wage-gap. A useful way of summarising these controversies is viewing them as a debate between - cultural -socialisation. The paper discusses these theories in detail and carries out a preliminary test of the relative explanatory performance of some of their most consequential predictions. This is done by drawing on the Spanish sample of the second wave of the European Social Survey, ESS. The empirical analysis of ESS data illustrates the notable analytical pay-offs that can stem from using rich individual-level indicators, but also exemplifies the statistical llimitations generated by small sample size and high rates of non-response. Empirical results should, therefore, be taken as preliminary. They seem to suggest that the effect of occupational sex-segregation on wages could be explicable by workers' sex-role attitutes, their relative input in domestic production and the job-specific human capital requirements of their jobs. Of these three factors, job-specialisation seeems clearly the most important one.

Social support from the perspective of adolescent victims of domestic violence

Objective: Assess the understanding of adolescents regarding the social support received in situations of domestic violence. Method: A qualitative study with data collection carried out through focus groups with 17 adolescent victims of domestic violence, institutionally welcomed in Campinas-SP, and through semi-structured interviews with seven of these adolescents. Information was analyzed by content analysis, thematic modality. Results: Observing the thematic categories it was found that social support for the subjects came from the extended family, the community, the Guardianship Council, the interpersonal relationships established at the user embracement institution and from the religiosity/spirituality. Conclusion: The mentioned sources of support deserve to be enhanced and expanded. With the current complexity of the morbidity and mortality profiles, especially in children and adolescents, the (re)signification and the (re)construction of health actions is imperative.



Development of Implantable Flow-Through Left Ventricular Pressure Telemetric Transmitter for small Rodent Animals

Objective: Although 24-hour arterial blood pressure can be monitored in a free-moving animal using pressure telemetric transmitter mostly from Data Science International (DSI), accurate monitoring of 24-hour mouse left ventricular pressure (LVP) is not available because of its insufficient frequency response to a high frequency signal such as the maximum derivative of mouse LVP (LVdP/dtmax and LVdP/dtmin). The aim of the study was to develop a tiny implantable flow-through LVP telemetric transmitter for small rodent animals, which can be potentially adapted for human 24 hour BP and LVP accurate monitoring. Design and Method: The mouse LVP telemetric transmitter (Diameter: _12 mm, _0.4 g) was assembled by a pressure sensor, a passive RF telemetry chip, and to a 1.2F Polyurethane (PU) catheter tip. The device was developed in two configurations and compared with existing DSI system: (a) prototype-I: a new flow-through pressure sensor with wire link and (b) prototype-II: prototype-I plus a telemetry chip and its receiver. All the devices were applied in C57BL/6J mice. Data are mean_SEM. Results: A high frequency response (>100 Hz) PU heparin saline-filled catheter was inserted into mouse left ventricle via right carotid artery and implanted, LV systolic pressure (LVSP), LVdP/dtmax, and LVdP/dtmin were recorded on day2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 in conscious mice. The hemodynamic values were consistent and comparable (139_4 mmHg, 16634_319, - 12283_184 mmHg/s, n¼5) to one recorded by a validated Pebax03 catheter (138_2mmHg, 16045_443 and -12112_357 mmHg/s, n¼9). Similar LV hemodynamic values were obtained with Prototype-I. The same LVP waveforms were synchronically recorded by Notocord wire and Senimed wireless software through prototype-II in anesthetized mice. Conclusion: An implantable flow-through LVP transmitter (prototype-I) is generated for LVP accurate assessment in conscious mice. The prototype-II needs a further improvement on data transmission bandwidth and signal coupling distance to its receiver for accurate monitoring of LVP in a freemoving mouse.

Protect Yourself from Domestic Violence

This booklet is a general summary of domestic abuse law and procedures in Iowa.

Social representation of domestic violence against women among Nursing Technicians and Community Agents

OBJECTIVE To analyze the social representations of the Nursing Technicians and Community Health Agents about domestic violence against women. METHOD A qualitative study carried out in the city of Rio Grande, RS, in which evocations and interviews were collected between July and November 2013. For the treatment of data were used the EVOC 2005 software and the context analysis. RESULT It is a structured representation, in which the central nucleus contains conceptual, imaging and attitudinal elements, namely: abuse, aggression, physical aggression, cowardice and lack of respect. Such terms were present in the context of the interviews. The professionals acknowledged that violence is not limited to physical aspects and were judgemental about the acts of the aggressor. CONCLUSION This knowledge may enable the problematization of the studied phenomenon with the team, and facilitate the search for prevention and intervention strategies for victims, offenders and managers of health services.

Domestic radon exposure and risk of childhood cancer: a prospective census-based cohort study

BACKGROUND: In contrast with established evidence linking high doses of ionizing radiation with childhood cancer, research on low-dose ionizing radiation and childhood cancer has produced inconsistent results. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between domestic radon exposure and childhood cancers, particularly leukemia and central nervous system (CNS) tumors. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide census-based cohort study including all children < 16 years of age living in Switzerland on 5 December 2000, the date of the 2000 census. Follow-up lasted until the date of diagnosis, death, emigration, a child's 16th birthday, or 31 December 2008. Domestic radon levels were estimated for each individual home address using a model developed and validated based on approximately 45,000 measurements taken throughout Switzerland. Data were analyzed with Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for child age, child sex, birth order, parents' socioeconomic status, environmental gamma radiation, and period effects. RESULTS: In total, 997 childhood cancer cases were included in the study. Compared with children exposed to a radon concentration below the median (< 77.7 Bq/m3), adjusted hazard ratios for children with exposure ≥ the 90th percentile (≥ 139.9 Bq/m3) were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.74, 1.16) for all cancers, 0.95 (95% CI: 0.63, 1.43) for all leukemias, 0.90 (95% CI: 0.56, 1.43) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and 1.05 (95% CI: 0.68, 1.61) for CNS tumors. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find evidence that domestic radon exposure is associated with childhood cancer, despite relatively high radon levels in Switzerland.