Review of technologies for the rapid detection of chemical and biological contaminants in drinking water

In the event of potential intentional contamination of drinking water, the risk to public health must be minimised, requiring confirmation of contamination, and, if possible, identification of the contaminant. A crucial step is to determine in the shortest possible time the type of contaminant. This review, developed within the framework of guidance for the production of a Water Security Plan (Teixeira et al. 2019), aims to help water utilities, laboratories and other stakeholders improve their analytical capacities to identify unknown contaminants in drinking water. An insight on sampling procedures in emergency situations is followed by a proposed approach for the use of non-targeted technologies to determine both toxicity and ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). Toxicity analysis quickly detects toxic chemical contaminants, while the measurement of the ATP is a first indicator of a contamination by microorganisms. The non-target technologies to determine toxicity and ATP in water that comply with the required characteristics for emergency response, i.e. quick, reliable, and easy to operate, are available now in the market, and could be adopted by most drinking water utilities and/or laboratories, in conjunction with the establishment of appropriate sampling capabilities. The subsequent step of contaminant identification requires the application of rapid analytical targeted technologies, such as immunological based methods, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing technologies, as well as field analysis by gas chromatography (GC/MS). These targeted technologies are based on tests available on the market with the focus on rapidness and reliability of results. The commercially available analytical tools and methodologies that detect and identify a chemical or biological contaminant are reviewed through a detailed description of the equipment, including the technology, equipment prices, testing cost, expected time to obtain a result, reagents and respective shelf-time and manufacturers. Information is provided on proficiency tests for analysis of unknown contamination events in drinking water that ensure the external quality control of the analytical process. To assist utilities and laboratories in their consideration of targeted and non-targeted technologies, an approach for identifying water contaminants in emergency situations is proposed comprising a series of steps of analysis to be adapted by each water utility in line with its business goals and risk assessment. This review of analytical technologies aims at supporting water utilities, laboratories, health authorities and other stakeholders in planning responses to emergency events in drinking water quality, in particular to enhance the rapid identification of unknown water contaminants. Consideration of these technologies, within the framework of a Water Security Plan, along with appropriate planning and protection measures, will enable water utilities to better respond to unexpected drinking water contaminations.JRC.E.2-Technology Innovation in Securit

A contratualização da autonomia e o seu impacto nas dinâmicas de gestão da escola: um estudo de caso numa unidade organizacional

Nas últimas décadas, o discurso político-legal propõe a ideia do reforço da autonomia escolar através dos Contratos de Autonomia. No entanto, é importante compreender em que medida se verifica esse reforço e de que forma a contratualização da autonomia demonstra, de facto, o reforço da autonomia escolar. A presente investigação prespetiva compreender o significado do Contrato de Autonomia, conhecer o desenvolvimento da autonomia escolar e quais os poderes e alterações nas dinâmicas de gestão que as escolas passaram a deter, com a assinatura desses contratos. Procuraremos, neste estudo, investigar se a contratualização da autonomia permitiu à escola o aumento da capacidade de decisão e de organização interna de forma a ajustar a consecução do seu projeto educativo às necessidades da comunidade em que está inserida. Esta investigação privilegia uma abordagem essencialmente de matriz qualitativa, com o estudo de caso em uma unidade organizacional da região centro. Privilegiámos como técnicas e instrumentos de recolha de dados a análise documental, entrevistas e inquéritos por questionário. Para a análise e tratamento de dados utilizámos a análise de conteúdo e tratamento estatístico. Os principais resultados obtidos permitiram verificar que a contratualização da autonomia não trouxe grandes mudanças administrativas e pedagógicas. O Contrato de Autonomia não contribuiu para um verdadeiro reforço da autonomia da escola.In the last decades, the political-legal discourse proposes the idea of the reinforcement of the school autonomy through the Contracts of Autonomy. However, it is important to understand to what extent this reinforcement takes place and how the contractualisation of autonomy demonstrates, in fact, the reinforcement of school autonomy. The present research prespective to understand the meaning of the Contract of Autonomy, to know the development of the school autonomy and what powers and changes in the management dynamics that the schools happened to hold, with the signing of these contracts. In this study, we will investigate whether the contractualisation of autonomy allowed the school to increase the capacity for decision and internal organization in order to adjust the achievement of its educational project to the needs of the community in which it is inserted. This research privileges an essentially qualitative matrix approach, with the case study in an organizational unit of the center region. We focused on document analysis, interviews and questionnaire surveys as techniques and instruments of data collection. For data analysis and treatment we used content analysis and statistical treatment. The main results obtained allowed to verify that the contractualisation of autonomy did not bring great administrative and pedagogical changes. The Agreement of Autonomy did not contribute to a true reinforcement of the autonomy of the school.Mestrado em Educação e Formaçã

Automação de Escritórios e Secretariado

O presente projeto tem como objetivo: o estudo das expectativas de expatriados da América Latina em relação ao processo de expatriação. Tais expectativas podem ocasionar dificuldade de adaptação ao país anfitrião e à sua cultura ou até mesmo a repatriação antecipada, significando a falha e rompimento do contrato. A pesquisa apresenta uma discussão inicial com embasamento teórico que contextualiza as dificuldades que podem ser encontradas pelo futuro expatriado no país anfitrião e que muitas vezes são ignoradas devido às expectativas ou à falta de informações suficientes antes da concretização da expatriação. A metodologia é constituída por uma pesquisa bibliográfica e de levantamento utilizando questionários para coleta de dados das pessoas que trabalham com, ou, se tornaram expatriados. Este estudo tem como justificativa contribuir para que as empresas auxiliem o expatriado com todas as informações necessárias antes da mudança para o novo país, evitando assim que expectativas irreais sejam criadas, atrapalhando sua adaptação. Além disso, este trabalho pode tornar-se um referencial aos futuros expatriados que se interessarem em se preparar para este processo longo e desafiador que é a expatriação

The Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health context (CQ-CMH) : A measure inspired by the capabilities approach and constructed through consumer–researcher collaboration

The involvement of people with psychiatric disabilities in research and service evaluation has traditionally been rare, especially in the construction of outcome measures. This study documents a collaborative process with consumers from 2 Portuguese community mental health services in the construction of the Capabilities Questionnaire for the Community Mental Health context (CQ-CMH). The measure is inspired by Nussbaum's capabilities approach and aims to measure consumers' capabilities when supported by the community mental health services

Validating a scoring system for the diagnosis of smear-negative pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-infected adults.

BACKGROUND: The challenge of diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary TB (tuberculosis) in people living with HIV justifies the use of instruments other than the smear test for diagnosing the disease. Considering the clinical-radiological similarities of TB amongst HIV-infected adults and children, the proposal of this study was to assess the accuracy of a scoring system used to diagnose smear-negative pulmonary TB in children and adolescents, in HIV-infected adults suspected of having smear-negative pulmonary TB. METHODS: A Phase III validation study aiming to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a scoring system for diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary TB in HIV-infected adults. The study assessed sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and positive and negative predictive values of the scoring system. Three versions of the scoring system were tested. RESULTS: From a cohort of 2,382 (HIV-infected adults), 1276 were investigated and 128 were diagnosed with pulmonary TB. Variables associated with the diagnosis of TB were: coughing, weight loss, fever, malnutrition, chest X-ray, and positive tuberculin test. The best diagnostic performance occurred with the scoring system with new scores, with sensitivity = 81.2% (95%-CI 74.5% -88%), specificity = 78% (75.6% -80.4%), PPV = 29.2% (24.5% -33.9%) and NPV = 97.4% (96.4% -98.4%), LR+ = 3.7 (3.4-4.0) and LR- = 0.24 (0.2-0.4). CONCLUSION: The proposed scoring system (with new scores) presented a good capacity for discriminating patients who did not have pulmonary TB, in the studied population. Further studies are necessary in order to validate it, thus permitting the assessment of its use in diagnosing smear-negative pulmonary TB in HIV-infected adults

A National Wide Collaborative Study

INTRODUCTION: Even though the risk of COVID-19 in pregnancy may be increased, large-scale studies are needed to better understand the impact of the infection in this population. The aim of this study is to describe obstetric complications and the rate of vertical transmission in pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2 infection. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Detected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy were registered in Portuguese hospitals by obstetricians. Epidemiological, pregnancy and childbirth data were collected. RESULTS: There were 630 positive cases in 23 Portuguese maternity hospitals, most at term (87.9%) and asymptomatic (62.9%). The most frequent maternal comorbidity was obesity. The rates of preterm birth and small-to-gestational-age were 12.1% and 9.9%, respectively. In the third trimester, 2.9% of pregnant women required respiratory support. There were eight cases (1.5%) of fetal death, including two cases of vertical transmission. There were five cases of postpartum respiratory degradation, but no maternal deaths were recorded. The caesarean section rate was higher in the first than in the second wave (68.5% vs 31.5%). RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 positivity among newborns was 1.3%. CONCLUSION: SARS-Cov-2 infection in pregnancy may carry increased risks for both pregnant women and the fetuses. Individualized surveillance and the prophylaxis of this population with vaccination. is recommended in these cases.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

The incidence of exposure to antibiotics in children less than 6 years of age: a survey in a Portuguese metropolitan Area

Background: The contact with antibiotics at an early age may lead to a number of nefarious consequences. Nevertheless, the amount of literature available on the usage of antibiotics in children is scarce. Taking into account the increasing emergence of resistant bacterial strains, it is imperative to study and make society aware of the excessive exposure of children to antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence of antibiotic therapy in children under the age of six, in the metropolitan area of Oporto. Methods: Surveys (concerning children born in the metropolitan area of Oporto since 2010) were conducted in several nursery schools, and its answers (n=1031) were subsequently analysed. Our primary outcome was the incidence of exposure to antibiotics in children under 6 years of age in the metropolitan area of Oporto. Statistical significance was set as a p value inferior to 0.05. Results: We verified that 958 children (92.9%) were exposed to antibiotics before the age of six. Additionally, five associations were found between the considered variables: cessation of treatment and number of times the child has resorted to antibiotics in his/her lifetime (p<0,0001); cessation of treatment and average of intake per year (p=0,021, R=0,082); child with chronic disease and number of times of usage during his/her lifetime (p=0,02); eldest child’s age and cessation of treatment (p=0,018); eldest child’s age and number of times of usage during the child’s lifetime (p=0,014, R=0,096). Conclusion: Our study revealed that the exposure to antibiotics in children under six years of age is exceptionally high. Furthermore, the presence of chronic disease seems to be associated with a higher frequency of antibiotic intake. Couples with older children had better antibiotic therapy compliance, as well as higher frequency of antibiotic intake.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Agroindustrialização de frango caipira no estado do Maranhão: Caracterização socioeconômica de agricultores familiares e elaboração de planta baixa / Agroindustrialization of free-range chicken in the state of Maranhão: Socioeconomic characterization of family farmers and preparation of floor plans

Objetivou-se com o estudo elaborar estratégia para fortalecimento da agroindustrialização de frango caipira no estado do Maranhão por meio da caracterização socioeconômica dos agricultores familiares e posterior elaboração de planta baixa. Para isso, o estudo foi realizado em duas etapas: (i) pesquisa documental para a caracterização socioeconômica dos agricultores familiares por meio de levantamento de informações no órgão de defesa do estado; e, (ii) elaboração de perfil simplificado de planta baixa individual seguindo as normas da engenharia e da produção de alimentos por meio de uma equipe multidisciplinar. A caracterização do público alvo possibilitou obter informações inéditas, como: (i) predominância do gênero masculino na atividade; (ii) a maioria dos avicultores possui o ensino médio completo; (iii) renda familiar não ultrapassa, em sua maioria, dois salários mínimos; e, (iv) a avicultura é a principal fonte de renda para a maioria das famílias. Portanto, com a planta do abatedouro elaborada gera-se um quadro de prospecção de desenvolvimento local das famílias com a agroindustrialição do frango caipira que se reverterá em renda, além de contribuir com o desenvolvimento regional e econômico do Estado, pilares da agricultura familiar. Com a estratégia proposta espera-se que esta se reverta em mudanças positivas do perfil socioeconômico dos agricultores familiares. 

PERFIL DOS CASOS DE SÍFILIS EM GESTANTES NO PERÍODO DE 2008 A 2018 NO MUNICÍPIO DE PARNAÍBA-PI

Introduction: Syphilis is a STI and despite having a well-established diagnosis and therapeutic resource and at a lower cost, it is considered a public health problem by the WHO. General objective: To know the profile of cases of gestational syphilis in the city of Parnaíba-PI in the years 2008 to 2018. Methods: This is a descriptive, retrospective documentary research with a quantitative approach, identifying the profile of pregnant women with syphilis, through the data that were obtained through the Investigation forms of gestational syphilis. Results and discussions: It was found that in the period 2008 to 2018, an amount of 139 cases of syphilis in pregnant women was reported, with this increase in the age group from 20 to 34 years old with a total of 92 cases, 44 with incomplete primary education , 107 considered themselves brown, 117 lived in urban areas, 43 had the primary stage of infection, of which 71 were diagnosed in the second trimester of pregnancy, 59 pregnant women used penicillin G benzathine 2,400,000UI and 33 of the partners did not undergo the treatment. Final considerations:&nbsp;Therefore, it is expected that this work awakens in health professionals the importance of carrying out the measures recommended by the MS, as well as correctly filling out the notification forms, to facilitate the implementation of measures to combat the disease.Introducción: La sífilis es una ITS y a pesar de presentar un recurso diagnóstico y terapéutico bien establecido y de menor coste es considerado un problema de salud pública por la OMS. Objetivo general: Conocer el perfil de casos de sífilis gestacional en el municipio de Parnaíba-PI en los años 2008 a 2018. Métodos: Se trata de una investigación documental descriptiva, retrospectiva con enfoque cuantitativo, identificando el perfil de gestantes con sífilis, a través de datos que se lograron a través de formularios de investigación de sífilis gestacional. Resultados y discusiones: Se encontró que de 2008 a 2018 se reportaron 139 casos de sífilis en mujeres embarazadas, y este incremento se reportó en el grupo de edad de 20 a 34 años, con un total de 92 casos, 44 con educación primaria incompleta, 107 se consideraron morenos, 117 vivían en el área urbana, 43 tenían la fase primaria de infección, de las cuales 71 fueron diagnosticadas en el segundo trimestre del embarazo, 59 mujeres embarazadas usaron penicilina G benzatenina 2,400,000 UI y 33 de las parejas no se sometieron a tratamiento. Consideraciones finales: Por ello, se espera que esta labor despierte en los profesionales sanitarios la importancia de realizar las medidas recomendadas por el Ministerio de Sanidad, así como de rellenar correctamente los formularios de notificación, para facilitar la implementación de medidas de lucha contra la enfermedad.Introdução: A sífilis é uma IST e apesar de apresentar diagnóstico e recurso terapêutico bem estabelecido e de custo inferior é considerada um problema de saúde pública pela OMS. Objetivo geral: Conhecer o perfil dos casos de sífilis gestacional no município de Parnaíba-PI nos anos de 2008 a 2018. Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa de caráter documental do tipo descritiva, retrospectiva com abordagem quantitativa, identificando o perfil de gestantes com sífilis, por meio dos dados que foram alcançados através das fichas de Investigação de sífilis gestacional. Resultados e discussões: Constatou-se que foi notificado no período de 2008 a 2018, um montante de 139 casos de sífilis em gestante, sendo esse aumento na faixa etária de 20 a 34 anos com o total de 92 casos, 44 com ensino fundamental incompleto, 107 se consideravam pardas, 117 residiam na área urbana, 43 possuíam a fase primária da infecção, dos quais 71 foram diagnosticadas no segundo trimestre de gestação, 59 gestantes fizeram uso de penicilina G benzatina 2.400.000UI e 33 dos parceiros não realizaram o tratamento. Considerações finais: Portanto, espera-se que esse trabalho desperte nos profissionais de saúde a importância de realizar as medidas preconizadas pelo MS, assim como preenchimento correto das fichas de notificações, para facilitar a implantação de medidas para combate da doença

An evaluation of factors associated with taking and responding positive to the tuberculin skin test in individuals with HIV/AIDS

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tuberculin skin test (TST) is still the standard test for detecting latent infection by <it>M tuberculosis </it>(LTBI). Given that the Brazilian Health Ministry recommends that the treatment of latent tuberculosis (LTBI) should be guided by the TST results, the present study sets out to describe the coverage of administering the TST in people living with HIV at two referral health centers in the city of Recife, where TST is offered to all patients. In addition, factors associated with the non-application of the test and with positive TST results were also analyzed.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was carried out with HIV patients, aged 18 years or over, attending outpatient clinics at the Correia Picanço Hospital/SES/PE and the Oswaldo Cruz/UPE University Hospital, who had been recommended to take the TST, in the period between November 2007 and February 2010. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to establish associations between the dependent variable - taking the TST (yes/no), at a first stage analysis, and the independent variables, followed by a second stage analysis considering a positive TST as the dependent variable. The odds ratio was calculated as the measure of association and the confidence interval (CI) at 95% as the measure of accuracy of the estimate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 2,290 patients recruited, 1087 (47.5%) took the TST. Of the 1,087 patients who took the tuberculin skin test, the prevalence of TST ≥ 5 mm was 21.6% among patients with CD4 ≥ 200 and 9.49% among those with CD4 < 200 (p = 0.002). The patients most likely not to take the test were: men, people aged under 39 years, people with low educational levels and crack users. The risk for not taking the TST was statiscally different for health service. Patients who presented better immunity (CD4 ≥ 200) were more than two and a half times more likely to test positive that those with higher levels of immunodeficiency (CD4 < 200).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Considering that the TST is recommended by the Brazilian health authorities, coverage for taking the test was very low. The most serious implication of this is that LTBI treatment was not carried out for the unidentified TST-positive patients, who may consequently go on to develop TB and eventually die.</p