Dengue: clinical forms and risk groups in a high incidence city in the southeastern region of Brazil

INTRODUCTION: The article describes the epidemiologic profile of dengue cases in Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo, Brazil, from 2000 to 2009, aimed at identifying risk groups regarding the incidence and severity of the disease. METHODS: Confirmed cases of dengue among city residents during ten years were classified as dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever, dengue shock syndrome and dengue with complications, and analyzed according to sex, age, race-color and education. RESULTS: The proportion of dengue cases was highest among women aged 20 to 29 years-old and similar between whites and blacks. A gradual decrease occurred in the percentage of dengue cases in the population aged 15 years-old or more, in the historical series of 10 years, and a growing increase in individuals less than 15 years-old, showing statistical significance. The fatality rate ranged from zero to 0.3% for all forms of dengue and from 0.2% to 18.2% for severe forms. CONCLUSIONS: The profile of those affected by the disease in the municipality is similar to those affected in Brazil. The increasing number of cases in individuals under 15 years-old corroborates the results of recent studies in other Brazilian municipalities.

Portuguese business groups at the beginning of the 21st century: Trends, characteristics and configurations

This study considers the literature on the persistence of business groups in developed economies and analyzes the Portuguese case. The reconstruction of the largest business groups assembles information relevant to define characteristics that enable them to thrive. Increasing internationalization, more specialization in core activities and family control define these types of big businesses. New sectors also emerge as a characteristic of these business groups when compared to the ones existing 40 years ago.

Ecology of phlebotomines (Diptera, Psychodidae) in rural foci of leishmaniasis in tropical Brazil

INTRODUCTION: This work aimed to study the community structure of sandflies, with regard to the richness, constancy, abundance, and monthly frequency of the species with a focus on the transmission of leishmaniasis. METHODS: The study was conducted in the rural villages of Bom Jardim and Santa Maria, situated on the edge of a tropical rain forest in the municipality of São Jose de Ribamar, Maranhão, Brazil. The phlebotomines were captured in the intradomiciles and peridomiciles of each village, with Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps set in 10 homes in each village, for 1 year, once a month, from 18h to 6h. RESULTS: We collected 1,378 individuals of 16 sandfly species. The capture success rate was higher in Bom Jardim (0.61 specimens/hour/trap) than that of Santa Maria (0.35/specimens/hour/trap). The sandflies were more abundant in the peridomiciles (86.1%) and in the rainy season (77%). Five species were considered constants (occurring in more than 50% of samples), 5 accessory (25%-50%), and 6 accidental (<25%). The most abundant species were Lutzomyia longipalpis (59.7%) and L whitmani (28%). The permutation analysis showed differences between the species composition of the villages and no separation between the intradomicile and peridomicile of each village. The species that most contributed to the dissimilarity between the light traps of the 2 villages were L. longipalpis, L. whitmani, and L. evandroi, contributing to 80.8% of the variation among groups. CONCLUSIONS: The high level of richness and abundance of species and the presence of competent vectors throughout the year and around houses justify the occurrence of leishmaniasis cases reported in the area.

Empirical evidence on the difference between the effective and the statutory tax rates for listed groups in Germany

The difference between the statutory and effective tax rate for listed groups is a complex variable influenced by a variety of factors. This paper aims to analyze whether this difference exists for listed groups in the German market and tests which factors have an impact on it. Thus the sample consists of 130 corporations listed in the three major German stock indices. The findings suggest that the companies that pay less than the statutory rate clearly outweigh the ones that pay more, and that the income earned from associated companies has a significant impact on this difference.

Investigation of class 1 integrons in Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical and microbiota isolates belonging to different phylogenetic groups in Recife, State of Pernambuco

Introduction The high prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections is related to the ability of K. pneumoniae to acquire and disseminate exogenous genes associated with mobile elements, such as R plasmids, transposons and integrons. This study investigated the presence of class 1 integrons in clinical and microbiota isolates of K. pneumoniae belonging to different phylogenetic groups and correlated these results with the antimicrobial resistance profiles of the studied isolates. Methods Of the 51 isolates of K. pneumoniae selected for this study, 29 were from multidrug-resistant clinical isolates, and 22 were from children's microbiota. The susceptibility profile was determined using the disk diffusion method, and class 1 integrons were detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results The results showed that none of the 22 microbiota isolates carried class 1 integrons. Among the 29 clinical isolates, 19 (65.5%) contained class 1 integrons, and resistance to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim was identified in 18 of these isolates (94.7%). Among the K. pneumoniae isolates with class 1 integrons, 47% belonged to the KpI phylogenetic group, and one isolate (14.3%) carrying these genetic elements belonged to the KpIII group. Conclusions The wide variety of detected class 1 integrons supports the presence of high rates of antimicrobial resistance, genetic variability, and rapid dissemination of beta-lactamase genes among K. pneumoniae clinical isolates in recent years in hospitals in Recife-PE, Brazil. The findings of this study indicate that the surveillance of K. pneumoniae integrons in clinical isolates could be useful for monitoring the spread of antibiotic resistance genes in the hospital environment.

Psychological safety, authentic leadership and social networks : A psycho-structural approach to the study of groups

Tese de Doutoramento em Psicologia na área de especialização de Psicologia das Organizações apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto Universitário

High similarity of Trypanosoma cruzikDNA genetic profiles detected by LSSP-PCR within family groups in an endemic area of Chagas disease in Brazil

IntroductionDetermining the genetic similarities among Trypanosoma cruzi populations isolated from different hosts and vectors is very important to clarify the epidemiology of Chagas disease.MethodsAn epidemiological study was conducted in a Brazilian endemic area for Chagas disease, including 76 chronic chagasic individuals (96.1% with an indeterminate form; 46.1% with positive hemoculture).ResultsT. cruzi I (TcI) was isolated from one child and TcII was found in the remaining (97.1%) subjects. Low-stringency single-specific-primer-polymerase chain reaction (LSSP-PCR) showed high heterogeneity among TcII populations (46% of shared bands); however, high similarities (80-100%) among pairs of mothers/children, siblings, or cousins were detected.ConclusionsLSSP-PCR showed potential for identifying similar parasite populations among individuals with close kinship in epidemiological studies of Chagas disease.

Rating corporate groups a modelling experience

This paper aims to provide a model that allows BPI to measure the credit risk, through its rating scale, of the subsidiaries included in the corporate groups who are their clients. This model should be simple enough to be applied in practice, accurate, and must give consistent results in comparison to what have been the ratings given by the bank. The model proposed includes operational, strategic, and financial factors and ends up giving one of three results: no support, partial support, or full support from the holding to the subsidiary, and each of them translates in adjustments in each subsidiary’s credit rating. As it would be expectable, most of the subsidiaries should have the same credit rating of its parent company.

Contribution of Mental Health Service User Groups to Mental Health Services and Policy in Ghana : The Case of Mental Health Society of Ghana

RESUMO: Este estudo procurou documentar a perspectiva (s) dos utentes de saúde mental e das associações de prestadores de cuidados sobre a prestação, o papel e a contribuição de serviços de saúde mental da comunidade tal como foram percebidos por um número de informadores-chave, incluindo os utentes do serviço mentais e os próprios prestadores de cuidados. O caso específico da Sociedade Saúde Mental do Gana (MEHSOG) foi o foco deste estudo. O modelo foi o de um estudo de caso, utilizando discussões de grupo e entrevistas com informadores-chave como instrumentos de recolha de dados. Estas ferramentas de colheita de dados foram complementadas por observações dos participantes e pela revisão de documentos da MEHSOG e dos vários grupos de apoio da comunidade de auto-ajuda que compõem a associação nacional. O estudo revelou que os utentes dos serviços de saúde mental e seus prestadores de cuidados constituem um importante grupo de partes interessadas na prestação de serviços de saúde mental da comunidade e no desenvolvimento de políticas que tenham em conta as necessidades e os direitos das pessoas com doença mental ou epilepsia. O envolvimento da MEHSOG promove a mobilização de membros e famílias relacionadas com a doença mental de beneficiar de serviços de tratamento bem organizados com um impacto significativo na melhoria da saúde e da participação dos utentes dos serviços e seus prestadores de cuidados primários em processos de tomada de decisão da família e na comunidade processos de desenvolvimento. Os utentes dos serviços por beneficiarem de tratamento, e os prestadores de cuidados primários, por se tornarem mais livres e menos sobrecarregados com a responsabilidade de cuidar, podem passar a envolver-se mais em atividades que melhoramo seu estado, o de suas famílias e das comunidades. A advocacia dos membros da MEHSOG para conseguir que a “Mental Health Bill” se transforme numa Lei foi também um desenvolvimento significativo resultante da participação ativa dos utentes do serviço em chamar a atenção para uma nova e inclusiva legislação de saúde mental para o Gana. Entre os fatores e oportunidades que permitiram aos utentes dos serviços de saúde mental e aos prestadores de cuidados primários de pessoas com doença mental apoiar activamente a prestação de serviços de saúde mental comunitária e o desenvolvimento de políticas conta-se a contribuição da sociedade civil do Gana, particularmente o movimento da deficiência, e os esforços anteriores de ONGs em saúde mental e dos profissionais de saúde mental para ter uma nova lei em saúde mental. Observámos um certo número de desafios e barreiras que actuam de forma a limitar a influência dos utentes dos serviços de saúde mental na provisão da saúde mental comunitária e no desenvolvimento de políticas. Entre elas o estigma social contra a doença mental e pessoas com doença mental ou epilepsia e seus cuidadores primaries é um factor chave. O estigma tem alterado a percepção e as análises do público em geral, especialmente dos profissionais de saúde e das autoridades políticas afetando a priorização dos problemas de saúde mental nas políticas e programas. Outro desafio foi a deficiente infra-estrutura disponível para apoiar serviços de saúde mentais que assegurem aos utentes permanecerem em bom estado de saúde e bem-estar para serem advogados de si próprios. A recomendação do presente estudo é que os movimentos de utentes dos serviços de saúde mental são importantes e que eles precisam de ser apoiados e encorajados a desempenhar o seu papel como pessoas com experiência vivida para contribuir para a organização e prestação de serviços de saúde mental, bem como para a implementação, monitorização e avaliação de políticas e programas. ------------------------------------ ABSTRACT: This study sought to document the perspective(s) of mental health users and care-givers associations in community mental health service provision and their role and contribution as it was perceived by a number of key informants including the mental service users and care-givers themselves. The specific case of the Mental Health Society of Ghana (MEHSOG) was the focus of this study. A case study approach was used to with Focus Group Discussions and Key Informants Interviews being the data collection tools that were used. These data collection tools were complemented by participant observations and review of documents of the MEHSOG and the various community self-help peer support groups that make up the national association. The study revealed that mental health service users and their care-givers constitute an important stakeholder group in community mental health service provision and development of policies that factor in the needs and rights of persons with mental illness or epilepsy. MEHSOG’s involvement in mobilising members and education families to come forward with the relations with mental illness to benefit from treatment services were well made a significant impact in improving the health and participation of service users and their primary carers in family decision-making processes and in community development processes. Service users, on benefiting from treatment, and primary care-givers, on becoming freer and less burdened with the responsibility of care, move on to engage in secure livelihoods activities, which enhanced their status in their families and communities. The advocacy MEHSOG members undertook in getting the mental health Bill become Law was also noted as significant development that was realised as a result of active involvement of service users in calling for a new and inclusive mental health legislation for Ghana. Enabling factors and opportunities that enabled mental health service users and primary care-givers of people with mental illness to actively support community mental health service provision and policy development is with the vibrant civil society presence in Ghana, particularly the disability movement, and earlier efforts by NGOs in mental health in Ghana long-side mental health professionals to have a new law in mental health. A number of challenges were also noted which were found to limit the extent to which mental health service users can be influential in community mental health service provision and policy development. Key among them was the social stigma against mental illness and people with mental illness or epilepsy and their primary carers. Stigma has affected perceptions, analyses of the general public, especially health practitioners and policy authorities that it has affected their prioritisation of mental health issues in policies and programmes. Another challenge was the poor infrastructure available to support enhanced mental health care services that ensure mental health service users remain in a good state of health and wellbeing to advocate for themselves. The recommendation from the study is that mental health service user movements are important and need to be supported and encouraged to play their role as persons with lived experience to inform organisation and provision of mental health services as well as design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programes.

Effects of forest structure components on the occurence, group size and density of groups of bare-face tamarin (Saguinus bicolor - primates: Callitrichinae) in Central Amazonia

This study analyzed the influence of forest structural components on the occurence, size and density of groups of Bare-face Tamarin (Saguinus bicolor) - the most threatened species in the Amazon - and produced the first map of distribution of groups in large-scale spatial within the area of continuous forest. Population censuses were conducted between November 2002 and July 2003, covering 6400 hectares in the Ducke Reserve, Manaus-AM, Brazil. Groups of S. bicolor were recorded 41 times accordingly distributed in the environments: plateau (20); slopes (12); and lowlands (09). The mean group size was 4.8 indiv./group, and ranged from 2 to 11 individuals. In the sites where the groups were recorded, and in an equivalent number of sites where no tamarins were found located at least 500 m from those where they had been recorded, we placed 50 m x 50 m plots to record the following forest structural components: abundance of trees; abundance of lianas; abundance of fruiting trees and lianas; abundance of snags; abundance of logs; percentage of canopy opening; leaf litter depth; and altitude. Bare-face Tamarin more often uses areas with lower abundance of forest logs, smaller canopy opening and with higher abundance of snags, areas in the forest with smaller canopy opening present higher density of S. bicolor groups. Apparently this species does not use the forest in a random way, and may select areas for its daily activities depending on the micro-environmental heterogeneity produced by the forest structural components.

Using students’ learning style to create effective learning groups in MCSCL environments

Students have different ways for learning and processing information. Some students prefer learning through seeing while others prefer learning through listening; some students prefer doing activities while other prefer reflecting.Some students reason logically, while others reason intuitively, etc. Identifying the learning style of each student, and providing learning content based on these styles represents a good method to enhance the learning quality. However, there are no efforts onhow to detect the students’ learning styles in mobile computer supported collaborative learning (MCSCL) environments. We present in this paper new ways for automatically detecting the learning styles of students in MCSCL environments based on the learning style model of Felder-Silverman. The identified learning styles of students could be then stored and used at anytime toassign each one of them to his/her appropriate learning group.

Report to the government of Baroda on the marine zoology of Okhamandal in Kattiawar, by James Hornell ... With supplementary reports on special groups by other zoologists ...

pt. 2

Report to the government of Baroda on the marine zoology of Okhamandal in Kattiawar, by James Hornell ... With supplementary reports on special groups by other zoologists ...

pt. 1

Quality of Life on Arterial Hypertension: Validity of Known Groups of MINICHAL

Introductions: In the care of hypertension, it is important that health professionals possess available tools that allow evaluating the impairment of the health-related quality of life, according to the severity of hypertension and the risk for cardiovascular events. Among the instruments developed for the assessment of health-related quality of life, there is the Mini-Cuestionario of Calidad de Vida en la Hipertensión Arterial (MINICHAL) recently adapted to the Brazilian culture. Objective: To estimate the validity of known groups of the Brazilian version of the MINICHAL regarding the classification of risk for cardiovascular events, symptoms, severity of dyspnea and target-organ damage. Methods: Data of 200 hypertensive outpatients concerning sociodemographic and clinical information and health-related quality of life were gathered by consulting the medical charts and the application of the Brazilian version of MINICHAL. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare health-related quality of life in relation to symptoms and target-organ damage. The Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA with ranks transformation were used to compare health-related quality of life in relation to the classification of risk for cardiovascular events and intensity of dyspnea, respectively. Results: The MINICHAL was able to discriminate health-related quality of life in relation to symptoms and kidney damage, but did not discriminate health-related quality of life in relation to the classification of risk for cardiovascular events. Conclusion: The Brazilian version of the MINICHAL is a questionnaire capable of discriminating differences on the health‑related quality of life regarding dyspnea, chest pain, palpitation, lipothymy, cephalea and renal damage.

Collaboration process design for ideation in distributed environments : approaches to support collaborative ideation in global virtual groups using technological support

Magdeburg, Univ., Fak. für Informatik, Diss., 2012