Early childhood caries in Switzerland: a marker of social inequalities

BACKGROUND: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a marker of social inequalities worldwide because disadvantaged children are more likely to develop caries than their peers. This study aimed to define the ECC prevalence among children living in French-speaking Switzerland, where data on this topic were scarce, and to assess whether ECC was an early marker of social inequalities in this country. METHODS: The study took place between 2010 and 2012 in the primary care facility of Lausanne Children's Hospital. We clinically screened 856 children from 36 to 71 months old for ECC, and their caregivers (parents or legal guardians) filled in a questionnaire including items on socioeconomic background (education, occupation, income, literacy and immigration status), dental care and dietary habits. Prevalence rates, prevalence ratios and logistic regressions were calculated. RESULTS: The overall ECC prevalence was 24.8 %. ECC was less frequent among children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds than children from lower ones (prevalence ratios ≤ 0.58). CONCLUSIONS: This study reported a worrying prevalence rate of ECC among children from 36 to 71 months old, living in French-speaking Switzerland. ECC appears to be a good marker of social inequalities as disadvantaged children, whether from Swiss or immigrant backgrounds, were more likely to have caries than their less disadvantaged peers. Specific preventive interventions regarding ECC are needed for all disadvantaged children, whether immigrants or Swiss

Effect of wind and atmospheric pressure variations on the mean sea level of salt marshes and estuaries

Se presentan tres formulaciones para predecir las variaciones de largo periodo en el nivel del mar debidas no a la marea astronómica, sino a fenómenos meteorológicos como el viento y los cambios de presión tanto de carácter estacionario como dinámico. Para validar estas fórmulas, se analiza una serie de datos del nivel del mar de tres meses de duración tomada en dos puntos del caño de Sancti Petri separados 5 km entre sí. Se advierten importantes variaciones del nivel medio diario y se demuestra que dichas variaciones son causadas por cambios en la presión atmosférica. Las diferencias son tan importantes (llegan a ser de 26 cm en cuatro días y de 50 cm en un mes y medio) que no pueden ser explicadas únicamente por el factor barométrico invertido (FBI) estático y debemos acudir a la hipótesis dinámica. Los valores ajustados del FBI real oscilan entre 1.9 y 2.2 cm/mb, el doble de lo generalmente utilizado. Se proporciona una acotación superior de la fórmula, de fácil aplicación, para el FBI dinámico. Debido a la morfología y dimensiones del caño, el efecto del viento fue despreciable en este caso. Como conclusión, debe destacarse que cualquier estudio que persiga encontrar la determinación de niveles máximos del mar en estuarios y marismas, con vistas a la delimitación del dominio público marítimo terrestre o de zonas inundables, deberá considerar series de datos de un año mínimo de duración. En caso contrario, la predicción será siempre inferior a los valores reales.The article presents three formulas to predict long-term variations in sea level due not to astronomical tide but to weather effects such as the wind and changes in pressure of both seasonal and dynamic nature. In order to validate these formulas, an analysis was made of a series of sea level data recorded, over a period of three months, at two points in the Sancti Petri Channel spaced 5 km apart. Considerable variations were noted in the daily mean sea level and these variations have been shown to have been caused by changes in the atmospheric pressure. The differences are so large (as much as 26 cm in four days and 50 cm in six weeks) that they cannot be purely explained by the static inverted barometer effect (IBE) and we must then resort to a dynamic hypothesis. The adjusted values of the real IBE vary between 1.9 and 2.2 cm/mb, twice that generally employed. An easily applicable upper limit of the formula for the dynamic IBE is provided. On account of the form and the dimensions of the channel, the wind effect is negligible in this case. By way of conclusion it is indicated that any study attempting to establish the maximum sea levels in estuaries and salt marshes, in order to mark the boundaries of public-owned coastal zones or floodable areas, would require an examination of a series of data covering at least one year. If this is not the case, the forecast will always be lower than the real values

An NR2B-Dependent Decrease in the Expression of trkB Receptors Precedes the Disappearance of Dopaminergic Cells in Substantia Nigra in a Rat Model of Presymptomatic Parkinson's Disease

Compensatory changes occurring during presymptomatic stages of Parkinson's disease (PD) would explain that the clinical symptoms of the disease appear late, when the degenerative process is quite advanced. Several data support the proposition that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) could play a role in these plastic changes. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of the specific BDNF receptor, trkB, in a rat model of presymptomatic PD generated by intrastriatal injection of the neurotoxin 6-OHDA. Immunohistochemical studies revealed a decrease in trkB expression in SN pars compacta (SNc) seven days after 6-OHDA injection. At this time point, no change in the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactive (TH-IR) cells is detected, although a decrease is evident 14 days after neurotoxin injection. The decrease in TH-positive cells and trkB expression in SNc was significantly prevented by systemic administration of Ifenprodil, a specific antagonist of NR2B-containing NMDA receptors. Therefore, an NR2B-NMDA receptor-dependent decrease in trkB expression precedes the disappearance of TH-IR cells in SNc in response to 6-OHDA injection. These results support the idea that a functional coupling between NMDA receptors and BDNF/trkB signalling may be important for the maintenance of the dopaminergic phenotype in SNc during presymptomatic stages of PD

Dorothea Lange, el Nuevo Trato de FDR y la fotografía como herramienta política

En 1933, la fotógrafa de retratos Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), dejó su estudio de San Francisco por primera vez y se aventuró a las calles de la ciudad para retratar a hombres y mujeres atrapados en el desempleo masivo y la pobreza. Dos años más tarde, Lange se incorporaba a la sección fotográfica de la Dirección Nacional de Recolonización (Resettlement Administration), que luego pasaría a llamarse Dirección Nacional de Seguridad Agropecuaria (Farm Security Administration), creada por el Nuevo Trato de Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hasta 1939, Lange formó parte de un equipo de fotógrafos que abandonaron sus carreras profesionales para dedicarse a un proyecto colectivo por la justicia social. En 1942, pocos meses después del ataque japonés a Pearl Harbor, el gobierno federal la convocó nuevamente: Lange tendría la tarea de registrar el traslado de 120.000 estadounidenses de descendencia japonesa a los denominados “campos de reubicación”. Este sería el gran desafío de su vida profesional: “documentar” un programa de la Administración Roosevelt al que se oponía rotundamente

ARTE RUPESTRE EN LLAPLLAQ’ATA – TAMBOBAMBA: Y SU CONFIGURACIÓN GEOGRÁFICA

En este artículo presentamos una hipótesis sobre el arte rupestre y la forma en que hay que entenderla, para luego introducirme en el proceso de domesticación y pastoreo de camélidos en nuestra área de estudio, basado los enfoques de la arqueología simbólica y estructuralista así como la del paisaje, de tal forma que podamos asimilar el significado de la cultura material y los conflictos en la identificación de especies de camélidos en el arte rupestre, los colores utilizados y la reutilización de este espacio, en una época determinada y sobre la interrogante del por qué, prefirieron estos espacios para colocar a sus difuntos y contextualizarnos con el espacio inmediato en la que se desarrolló esta sociedad de pastores de camélidos de altura.In this article we present a hypothesis about rock art and the way in which it is to be understood, and then introduce myself to the process of domestication and grazing of camelids in our area of study, based on the approaches of symbolic and structuralist archeology as well as the Landscape, so that we can assimilate the meaning of material culture and conflicts in the identification of species of camelid in rock art, the colors used and the reuse of this space, at a given time and on the question of why , Preferred these spaces to place their dead and contextualize us with the immediate space in which this society of shepherds of tall camelids developed