31 research outputs found
Recent Developments in the Interactions Between Caveolin and Pathogens
The role of caveolin and caveolae in the pathogenesis of infection has only recently been appreciated. In this chapter, we have highlighted some important new data on the role of caveolin in infections due to bacteria, viruses and fungi but with particular emphasis on the protozoan parasites Leishmania spp., Trypanosoma cruzi and Toxoplasma gondii. This is a continuing area of research and the final chapter has not been written on this topic
Brazilian adolescents' knowledge and beliefs about abortion methods: A school-based internet inquiry
Background: Internet surveys that draw from traditionally generated samples provide the unique conditions to engage adolescents in exploration of sensitive health topics.Methods: We examined awareness of unwanted pregnancy, abortion behaviour, methods, and attitudes toward specific legal indications for abortion via a school-based internet survey among 378 adolescents aged 12-21 years in three Rio de Janeiro public schools.Results: Forty-five percent knew peers who had undergone an abortion. Most students (66.0%) did not disclose abortion method knowledge. However, girls (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 2.4-7.2), those who had experienced their sexual debut (aOR1.76, 95% CI 1.1-3.0), and those attending a prestigious magnet school (aOR 2.7 95% CI 1.4-6.3) were more likely to report methods. Most abortion methods (79.3%) reported were ineffective, obsolete, and/or unsafe. Herbs (e.g. marijuana tea), over-the-counter medications, surgical procedures, foreign objects and blunt trauma were reported. Most techniques (85.2%) were perceived to be dangerous, including methods recommended by the World Health Organization. A majority (61.4%) supported Brazil's existing law permitting abortion in the case of rape. There was no association between gender, age, sexual debut, parental education or socioeconomic status and attitudes toward legal abortion. However, students at the magnet school supported twice as many legal indications (2.7, SE.27) suggesting a likely role of peers and/or educators in shaping abortion views.Conclusions: Abortion knowledge and attitudes are not driven simply by age, religion or class, but rather a complex interplay that includes both social spaces and gender. Prevention of abortion morbidity and mortality among adolescents requires comprehensive sexuality and reproductive health education that includes factual distinctions between safe and unsafe abortion methods
A Novel Method for Inducing Amastigote-To-Trypomastigote Transformation In Vitro in Trypanosoma cruzi Reveals the Importance of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate Receptor
Background Trypanosoma cruzi is a parasitic protist that causes Chagas disease, which is prevalent in Latin America. Because of the unavailability of an effective drug or vaccine, and because about 8 million people are infected with the parasite worldwide, the development of novel drugs demands urgent attention. T. cruzi infects a wide variety of mammalian nucleated cells, with a preference for myocardial cells. Non-dividing trypomastigotes in the bloodstream infect host cells where they are transformed into replication-capable amastigotes. The amastigotes revert to trypomastigotes (trypomastigogenesis) before being shed out of the host cells. Although trypomastigote transformation is an essential process for the parasite, the molecular mechanisms underlying this process have not yet been clarified, mainly because of the lack of an assay system to induce trypomastigogenesis in vitro. Methodology/Principal Findings Cultivation of amastigotes in a transformation medium composed of 80% RPMI-1640 and 20% Grace\u27s Insect Medium mediated their transformation into trypomastigotes. Grace\u27s Insect Medium alone also induced trypomastigogenesis. Furthermore, trypomastigogenesis was induced more efficiently in the presence of fetal bovine serum. Trypomastigotes derived from in vitro trypomastigogenesis were able to infect mammalian host cells as efficiently as tissue-culture-derived trypomastigotes (TCT) and expressed a marker protein for TCT. Using this assay system, we demonstrated that T. cruzi inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (TcIP3R) - an intracellular Ca2+ channel and a key molecule involved in Ca2+ signaling in the parasite - is important for the transformation process. Conclusion/Significance Our findings provide a new tool to identify the molecular mechanisms of the amastigote-totrypomastigote transformation, leading to a new strategy for drug development against Chagas disease
ViolĂȘncia sexual contra mulheres no Brasil: conquistas e desafios do setor saĂșde na dĂ©cada de 2000
O artigo traz uma revisĂŁo sobre as polĂticas pĂșblicas
para o enfrentamento da violĂȘncia sexual contra
mulheres desenvolvidas ao longo da década de 2000.
Analisa o embate sobre os avanços, retrocessos e
desafios do tema à luz das proposiçÔes do setor
saĂșde. Foram analisados documentos institucionais
e artigos selecionados sobre o assunto, apontando
variadas estratégias para intervençÔes propostas
e realizadas pelo Sistema Ănico de SaĂșde. O texto
apresenta ainda questÔes emblemåticas que nos
fazem refletir sobre os desafios a serem superados
pelos gestores de saĂșde na dĂ©cada atual, tais como
a cobertura e continuidade dos serviços de atenção
e capacitação permanente dos profissionais, bem
como o atendimento para a interrupção da gravidez,
prevista em lei.The article brings a revision on the public politics
for the confronting of the sexual violence against
women developed along the decade of 2000s. It
analyzes the collision on the progress, retreats and
challenges of the theme to the light of the proposi-tions of the section health. Institutional documents
and articles were analyzed selected on the subject,
pointing varied strategies for intervention proposed
and accomplished by the Brazilian National Health
System. The text still presents emblematic ques-tions that send us to think on the challenges to be
overcome by the managers of health in the current
decade, such as the covering and continuity of the
services of attention, the professionalsâ permanent
training, as well as the service to the legal abortion