Risk factors for infection with Giardia duodenalis in pre-school children in the city of Salvador, Brazil.

A cross-sectional study of 694 children aged 2 to 45 months selected from 30 clusters throughout the city of Salvador, Bahia (pop. 2.3 million) was carried out as part of a longitudinal study of diarrhoea in order to identify risk factors for infection with Giardia duodenalis. Variables studied included three social and demographic factors (such as mother's education and marital status), five relating to the peri-domestic environment (rubbish disposal, open sewers, paving of the street), seven relating to the home itself (house construction, susceptibility to flooding, water supply and sanitation) as well as a score for hygiene behaviour based on structured observation. After multivariate analysis using a hierarchical model, only four significant risk factors were found: (a) number of children in the household under five years (b) rubbish not collected from the house (c) presence of visible sewage nearby, and (d) absence of a toilet. All four were significant at the 1% level

Wheeled mobility: the perception of parents of children with cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often use mobility devices as facilitators of their functionality and independence, and these devices may have a positive impact on their caregivers’ quality of life. Considering a family-centered approach, parents assume a decisive role in different stages of the therapeutic process, guiding several actions of the rehabilitation professionals during the search, development and/or adaptation of equipment that meet the specific needs of customers. The aim of this research was to understand the perceptions of parents of children with CP on the use of the wheelchair in the daily routines of their children. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with 16 parents of CP children who were wheelchair users assisted at ‘Associação Mineira de Reabilitação’. Content analysis grounded the categorization of themes that emerged from the interviews. The results expressed in themes such as “The look on the daily routine” and “The look on the equipment” pointed out characteristics related to the benefits of the use of the wheelchair in promoting child participation at home, at school, and in community environments, as well as different features of wheelchairs that facilitate or hamper their use in children’s daily routine

Somatic embryogenesis from calli of sweet orange cultivars

A regeneração de plantas, por organogênese ou embriogênese somática, a partir do cultivo de células e tecidos vegetais in vitro, é a base para a utilização da biotecnologia no melhoramento. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a embriogênese somática a partir de calos embriogênicos das cultivares de laranjeiras doces 'Hamlin', 'Pêra', 'Natal', 'Lima Verde' e 'Westin', em função da composição dos meios de cultura relacionada à fonte e concentração de diferentes carboidratos, utilizando-se meio de cultura MT modificado com 500mg L-1 de extrato de malte, acrescido de sacarose, galactose, glicose, sorbitol, lactose ou maltose, nas concentrações de 18, 37, 75, 110 ou 150mM à 27°C. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial cinco (cultivares) x seis (fontes de carboidratos) x cinco (concentrações das fontes de carboidratos no meio de cultura), com cinco repetições. A formação de embriões somáticos variou conforme a cultivar, e as laranjeiras 'Hamlin' e 'Natal' registraram o maior número de embriões, enquanto 'Lima Verde' e 'Westin' apresentaram menores números. A melhor fonte de carboidratos para indução de embriogênese somática foi a maltose, seguida pela lactose, nas concentrações de 37 e 75mM. Embriogênese somática não foi observada nos meios de cultura contendo galactose, glicose ou sorbitol para nenhuma cultivar estudada.Plant regeneration, by organogenesis or somatic embryogenesis, from cell cultures and in vitro plant tissue culture is the basis for biotechnology usage in plant breeding. This research aimed to evaluate somatic embryogenesis from embryogenic calli of 'Hamlin', 'Pêra', 'Natal', 'Lima Verde', and 'Westin' sweet orange cultivars related to culture medium composition as source and concentration of carbohydrates with the use of MT culture medium modified with 500mg L-1 of malt extract, supplemented with sucrose, galactose, glucose, maltose, lactose, or sorbitol at concentrations of 18, 37, 75, 110 or 150mM at 27°C. Statistical design were complete randomized, in a factorial five (cultivars) x six (carbohydrate source) x six (carbohydrate concentration in culture medium) with five replicates. The production of somatic embryos varied with the genotype, as 'Hamlin' and 'Natal' cultivars registered higher number of embryos, whereas 'Lima Verde' and 'Westin' showed lower numbers. The best carbohydrate source was maltose, followed by lactose at concentrations of 37 and 75mM. Somatic embryogenesis was not observed on culture media supplemented with galatose, glucose or sorbitol in any studied cultivar

Emergência de relações ordinais em crianças

Nas relações entre estímulos em seqüências ensinadas independentemente uma da outra, deve-se considerar as propriedades definidoras da ordinalidade: irreflexividade, assimetria, transitividade e conectividade. O Estudo I replicou a emergência de classes ordinais com crianças normais, a partir de treino por encadeamento e o Estudo II ampliou esses resultados sob controle condicional. Um microcomputador forneceu suporte ao estudo. No Estudo I foi programado um procedimento com quatro conjuntos de estímulos não usuais e no Estudo II dois conjuntos de estímulos. Após ordenar um conjunto de estímulos, duas cores foram introduzidas e o responder deveria ocorrer em função da presença das cores verde ou vermelho. A tarefa do participante era tocar em uma figura e depois, na outra. Respostas corretas produziam uma animação gráfica na tela. Atingido o critério de acerto eram aplicados testes para avaliar a ordinalidade, transitividade e conectividade avaliando a emergência de classes ordinais ou de equivalência. Todos participantes responderam no treino. Nos testes de substitutabilidade do Estudo I todos responderam prontamente. No Estudo II, dois participantes responderam prontamente e um parcialmente. Esses resultados indicam que o procedimento utilizado foi efetivo e ampliou os obtidos em estudos anteriores. O presente estudo pode ser visto como importante no sentido de contribuir para análise de comportamentos conceituais numéricos.Palavras-chave: encadeamento; classes ordinais; crianças. In the study of the relationship between stimuli, across sequences trained independently of each other, one should consider the defining properties of common factors such as inflexibility, asymmetry, transivity, and connectedness. Study #I verified the presence of emergent ordinal classes in normal children by chaining teaching. Study #2 extended this research to conditional control, utilizing a microcomputer. In the first study, a chaining conditioning procedure was employed with four sets of uncommon stimuli. In study II, two sets of stimuli were used, after ordering a figures set two colors were introduced with responses occurring in the presence of two colors: "green" or "red". Figures appeared side by side on the screen, and the participant touched each in turn. If the figures were correctly ordered, an animated graphic appeared on the screen. After reaching criteria, ordinarily was tested, transivity and connectedness evaluating the emergence of ordinal classes or equivalency. Every participant responded consistently during the training phase. In study I, all participants responded readily to tests of substituitability. In study II, two participants responded readily and one partially. These results suggest that the procedure was effective and replicated findings obtained in a previous study with handicapped students. This investigation made an important contribution to research dealing with the analysis of numerical concepts.Keywords: chaining; ordinal classes; children

The use of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) and Crowdsourcing in Disaster Management: a Systematic Literature Review

The number of crisis events around the world has been increasing in the last years and suggests there is a real need to make communities more resilient to them. In addition to providing conventional authoritative data, ordinary citizens and residents in the affected areas are also voluntarily supplying information about the affected areas, in what has been called Crowdsourced or Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). This paper conducts a Systemic Literature Review aimed at assessing the current state of research in the use of VGI as a source of information to aid the management of disasters. The results suggest there is an increasing body of knowledge of VGI and the way it can improve disaster management. It also reveals gaps in the use of VGI in the research areas of ‘preparedness’ and ‘recovery’, as well as the need for more robust case studies and experimental research to support this promising field

Hematological and Renal Function Evaluation in Dogs with IMHA

Background: The IMHA is a common cause of anemia in dogs and characterized by direct destruction or phagocytosis of erythrocytes opsonized by IgG, IgM and/or complement. The diagnosis is based on the identification of erythrocytes destruction in the presence of anti-erythrocyte antibodies, producing spherocytes, auto-agglutination, Coomb’s test or flow cytometry test positive, in addition to anemia and clinical signs of hemolysis. The renal biochemical profile and urinalysis may reveal important changes due to the severity of the kidney demage. The aim of this study were to evaluate the incidence of hematological and renal abnormalities, and the prevalence of immunoglobulin’s classes involved in IMHA.Materials, Methods & Results: In a total of 87 anemic dogs were selected and tested by Coomb’s test, flow cytometry (FC), and auto-agglutination, along with CBC, reticulocyte count, renal profile (ureia and creatinine), hemoparasite search in peripheral blood smears, and Ehrlichia sp. and leptospirosis tests. The results were analyzed by t test or Mann-Whitney with 5% of significance. Therefore, 61 dogs (70.11%) were positive for IMHA by FC, 31 (35.63%) by Coomb’s test, and 24 (27.58%) by auto-agglutination. There was not a predominance of IgG or IgM involvement. The hematological and clinical changes in dogs with IMHA included macrocytic, hypochromic regenerative anemia, and reticulocytosis, as well as icterus, fever, auto-agglutination, hyperglobulinemia and bilirrubinuria. Spherocytosis was found in 9.8% of dogs with IMHA, and 29.5% of dogs had leukocytosis, 39.6% neutrophilia, and 72.1% thrombocytopenia. Mostly of cases of IHMA (74.6%) were attributed to infectious diseases and associated with Ehrlichia sp. (secondary IMHA), 21.4% of dogs with IMHA had azotemia, and 51.8% had increased urine protein creatinine ratio.Discussion: The FC was confirmed as a more sensitive technique for the diagnosis of IMHA compared to auto-agglutination and Coomb’s tests. The auto-agglutination test was more specific than the Coomb’s test, however the last one was more sensitive. The similar prevalence of IgG and IgM in IMHA did not indicate which class of immunoglobulin would be a better choice for diagnosis by the FC technique. Antibodies are produced against normal red cells (primary or idiopathic IMHA) or to red cells that are antigenical changed by the action of drugs, neoplasia or infectious diseases (leptospirosis, babesiosis, canine ehrlichiosis), known as secondary IMHA. This study alerts for the high prevalence of IMHA in dogs, in most cases characterized by a regenerative anemia associated with intense thrombocytopenia and secondary to Ehrlichia sp. in areas endemic to this infectious disease. In Brazil, the presence of endemic areas for various infectious diseases may contribute to the high prevalence of secondary IMHA. Kidney damage may occurs because tissue hypoxia increases the risk of progressive injury, due to acute hematocrit decrease (below 22%), leading to renal tubular necrosis, whereas the deposition of immune complexes, mainly in the renal parenchyma, may aggravate the renal injury, further complicating the clinical state of the animal. Direct renal injury caused by crystallization of free hemoglobin in the renal tubules may result in renal azotemia. Hypoxia and nephrotoxicity caused by hemoglobinemia reflects increased liver enzymes and azotemia, respectively. Significant proteinuria and the increase in urine protein creatinine ratio revealed evidence of renal injury in dogs with IMHA

Low-level laser therapy (808 nm) contributes to muscle regeneration and prevents fibrosis in rat tibialis anterior muscle after cryolesion

Muscle regeneration is a complex phenomenon, involving replacement of damaged fibers by new muscle fibers. During this process, there is a tendency to form scar tissue or fibrosis by deposition of collagen that could be detrimental to muscle function. New therapies that could regulate fibrosis and favor muscle regeneration would be important for physical therapy. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been studied for clinical treatment of skeletal muscle injuries and disorders, even though the molecular and cellular mechanisms have not yet been clarified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of LLLT on molecular markers involved in muscle fibrosis and regeneration after cryolesion of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle in rats. Sixty Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: control, injured TA muscle without LLLT, injured TA muscle treated with LLLT. The injured region was irradiated daily for four consecutive days, starting immediately after the lesion using an AlGaAs laser (808 nm, 30 mW, 180 J/cm[superscript 2]; 3.8 W/cm[superscript 2], 1.4 J). The animals were sacrificed on the fourth day after injury. LLLT significantly reduced the lesion percentage area in the injured muscle (p < 0.05), increased mRNA levels of the transcription factors MyoD and myogenin (p < 0.01) and the pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (p < 0.01). Moreover, LLLT decreased the expression of the profibrotic transforming growth factor TGF-β mRNA (p < 0.01) and reduced type I collagen deposition (p < 0.01). These results suggest that LLLT could be an effective therapeutic approach for promoting skeletal muscle regeneration while preventing tissue fibrosis after muscle injury.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01AI050875)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorConselho Nacional de Pesquisas (Brazil)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paul

The role of food processing in the inflammatory potential of diet during pregnancy

The aim was to investigate the relationship between the energy contribution (E%) of foods according to the degree of industrial processing and the energy-adjusted dietary inflammatory index (E-DII) in pregnancy. Two 24-hour dietary recalls were obtained from each of the 784 pregnant women. Adjusted linear regression models allowed observing an inverse association between E-DII scores and E% from minimally processed foods β = -0.049 (95%CI -0.055– -0.042) and a direct association with the E% of ultra-processed foods β = 0.052 (95%CI 0.045–0.058), indicating a relationship between the dietary inflammatory potential and the degree of industrial processing of foods

Cross-cultural adaptation of the assessment protocols of the Modèle Ludique

The objective of this study was to conduct a cross-cultural translation of the assessment protocols of the Modèle Ludique created by Francine Ferland. The assessment tool "Evaluation of the Play Behavior" cover five areas of observation: the child's general interest; basic play interests; basic play capacities; play attitude and the capacity to express needs and feelings. The "Parents Initial Interview" assesses nine areas with questions about the child's play behavior. Both protocols were translated and adapted according to a methodology that included translation and back translation, followed by the verification of the semantic, idiomatic and conceptual equivalence. The translated version was administered to a sample of 13 children with cerebral palsy and their caretakers. The results indicated that the protocols respond to the need for assessment tools that are valid and reliable, therefore, further studies to advance into the process of validating the two protocols are recommended.O objetivo desse estudo foi realizar a adaptação transcultural dos protocolos de avaliação do Modèle Ludique desenvolvidos por Francine Ferland. O instrumento "Avaliação do Comportamento Lúdico" abrange cinco áreas de observação: interesse geral da criança; interesses lúdicos básicos; capacidades lúdicas básicas; atitude lúdica e expressão das necessidades e dos sentimentos. A "Entrevista Inicial com os Pais" abrange nove áreas, avaliadas por meio de perguntas sobre o comportamento lúdico da criança. Os dois protocolos foram traduzidos e adaptados seguindo metodologia que incluiu a tradução e a retrotradução, seguidas da avaliação da equivalência semântica, idiomática e conceitual. A versão traduzida foi aplicada em amostra de 13 crianças com paralisia cerebral e seus pais ou responsáveis. Os resultados indicam que os protocolos atendem à necessidade de instrumentos de avaliação validos e confiáveis, sendo recomendada a ampliação e aprofundamento de estudos para avançar no processo de validação dos dois protocolos

Estratégias utilizadas por cuidadores informais frente aos sintomas neuropsiquiátricos de idosos com demência.

This study aims to discuss strategies used by informal caregivers regarding neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly people with dementia. A sample of 26 caregivers answered a demographic questionnaire, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), and reported on the psycho-social strategies used against neuropsychiatric disorders. The results were described in frequency. The mean age of the caregivers was 57.54 years old; 84.61% were women; 50% were the elderly son or daughter; and the mean time as caregivers was 7.51 years. The most prevalent symptoms were apathy, agitation/aggression, anxiety, and depression. The caregivers reported their own strategies to address behavior changes, and among the most frequent ones there were: not to confront the elderly but to distract them, to involve them in activities or to use dialog. Psychosocial interventions can facilitate the management of behavior changes in dementia and reduce care overload, Also, offering caregivers information that contributes to coping with such alterations is of great importance.Estudo objetiva discutir as estratégias que os cuidadores informais utilizaram frente aos sintomas neuropsiquiátricos de idosos com demência. Uma amostra de 26 cuidadores respondeu um questionário sociodemográfico, o Inventário Neuropsiquiátrico (NPI) e informou sobre as estratégias psicossociais utilizadas frente aos distúrbios neuropsiquiátricos. Os resultados foram descritos em frequência. A média de idade dos cuidadores foi de 57,54 anos; 84,61% do sexo feminino; 50% filhos dos idosos; e o tempo médio como cuidador foi de 7,51 anos. Os sintomas mais prevalentes foram apatia, agitação/agressividade, ansiedade e depressão. Os cuidadores relataram estratégias próprias para abordar as alterações de comportamento, e dentre as mais frequentes destacaram-se não confrontar o idoso; distraí-lo; envolvê-lo em atividades; utilizar o diálogo. As intervenções psicossociais podem facilitar o gerenciamento das alterações comportamentais na demência e diminuir a sobrecarga em relação ao cuidado, sendo importante oferecer aos cuidadores informações que contribuam para o enfrentamento dessas alterações