As Áreas de Risco de Desastres nos Bairros Mucuripe e Manoel Dias Branco:: um desafio às políticas públicas de defesa civil

A presente pesquisa trabalha as políticas públicas de defesa civil junto às áreas de risco de desastres nos bairros Mucuripe e Manoel Dias Branco e, cuja realidade pode ser replicada em outros bairros, cidades e Estados do Brasil, guardadas as devidas proporções e especificidades. Desta feita introdutoriamente trata-se dos desastres, correlacionando-os com a realidade cearense e na cidade de Fortaleza, em sequência didática abrange-se as atividades em si da Defesa Civil e suas fundamentações normativas, as quais norteiam as políticas públicas de Defesa Civil no Brasil e no Ceará. No que, em continuidade envereda-se pela pertinente realidade da Cidade de Fortaleza, afunilando-se pelos bairros de Mucuripe e Manoel Dias Branco com ênfase às suas áreas de risco de desastres, expondo-se suas principais mazelas com imagens e descrições técnicas. E, para finalizar arremata-se a pesquisa em comento por meio de reflexões e sugestões de soluções às problemáticas apresentadas, em subsídios e fomentos a outras discussões, tudo ora num prisma metodológico de cunho bibliográfico, com uma utilização de resultados, de ordem pura, num viés descritivo e qualitativo e cujo beneficiado mor é a própria sociedade, haja vista a viabilidade de fomento a políticas públicas as quais se direcionam a tutelar o maior de todos os bens sociais, qual seja, a vida.    &nbsp

Parenting for lifelong health:A pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial of a non-commercialised parenting programme for adolescents and their families in South Africa

Objective To assess the impact of ‘Parenting for Lifelong Health: Sinovuyo Teen’, a parenting programme for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, on abuse and parenting practices. Design Pragmatic cluster randomised control trial. Setting 40 villages/urban sites (clusters) in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Participants 552 families reporting conflict with their adolescents (aged 10-18). Intervention Intervention clusters (n=20) received a 14-session parent and adolescent programme delivered by trained community members. Control clusters (n=20) received a hygiene and hand-washing promotion programme. Main outcome measures Primary outcomes: abuse and parenting practices at one and 5-9 months post-intervention. Secondary outcomes: Caregiver and adolescent mental health and substance use, adolescent behavioural problems, social support, exposure to community violence, and family financial wellbeing at 5-9 months post-intervention. Blinding was not possible. Results At 5-9 months post-intervention, the intervention was associated with lower abuse (caregiver report incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.55 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.75, p Conclusions This parenting programme shows promise for reducing violence, improving parenting and family functioning in low-resource settings.</p

Genome Sequence of a Lancefield Group C Streptococcus zooepidemicus Strain Causing Epidemic Nephritis: New Information about an Old Disease

Outbreaks of disease attributable to human error or natural causes can provide unique opportunities to gain new information about host-pathogen interactions and new leads for pathogenesis research. Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN), a sequela of infection with pathogenic streptococci, is a common cause of preventable kidney disease worldwide. Although PSGN usually occurs after infection with group A streptococci, organisms of Lancefield group C and G also can be responsible. Despite decades of study, the molecular pathogenesis of PSGN is poorly understood. As a first step toward gaining new information about PSGN pathogenesis, we sequenced the genome of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus strain MGCS10565, a group C organism that caused a very large and unusually severe epidemic of nephritis in Brazil. The genome is a circular chromosome of 2,024,171 bp. The genome shares extensive gene content, including many virulence factors, with genetically related group A streptococci, but unexpectedly lacks prophages. The genome contains many apparently foreign genes interspersed around the chromosome, consistent with the presence of a full array of genes required for natural competence. An inordinately large family of genes encodes secreted extracellular collagen-like proteins with multiple integrin-binding motifs. The absence of a gene related to speB rules out the long-held belief that streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin B or antibodies reacting with it singularly cause PSGN. Many proteins previously implicated in GAS PSGN, such as streptokinase, are either highly divergent in strain MGCS10565 or are not more closely related between these species than to orthologs present in other streptococci that do not commonly cause PSGN. Our analysis provides a comparative genomics framework for renewed appraisal of molecular events underlying APSGN pathogenesis

A parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in South Africa:Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

An estimated one billion children experience child abuse each year, with the highest rates in low- and middle-income countries. The Sinovuyo Teen programme is part of Parenting for Lifelong Health, a WHO/UNICEF initiative to develop and test violence-prevention programmes for implementation in low-resource contexts. The objectives of this parenting support programme are to prevent the abuse of adolescents, improve parenting and reduce adolescent behavioural problems. This trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Sinovuyo Teen compared to an attention-control group of a water hygiene programme.This is a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with stratified randomisation of 37 settlements (rural and peri-urban) with 40 study clusters in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Settlements receive either a 14-session parenting support programme or a 1-day water hygiene programme. The primary outcomes are child abuse and parenting practices, and secondary outcomes include adolescent behavioural problems, mental health and social support. Concurrent process evaluation and qualitative research are conducted. Outcomes are reported by both primary caregivers and adolescents. Brief follow-up measures are collected immediately after the intervention, and full follow-up measures collected at 3-8 months post-intervention. A 15-24-month follow-up is planned, but this will depend on the financial and practical feasibility given delays related to high levels of ongoing civil and political violence in the research sites.This is the first known trial of a parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in a low- or middle-income country. The study will also examine potential mediating pathways and moderating factors. Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry PACTR201507001119966

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Antinociceptive activity of crude extracts and atranorin obtained from the Lichen Cladina dendroides (des Abb.) Ahti

El objeto de este estudio fue el aislamiento y la caracterización de atranorina, uno de los principales constituyentes presentes en Cladina dendroides (des Abb.) y analizar su efecto antinociceptivo. La actividad antinociceptiva fue verificada por medio del ensayo en ratones de las contorsiones inducidas por ácido acético (1%, 10 ml/Kg; i.p.). Tanto los extractos crudos (50 mg/Kg; i.p.) como la atranorina (25 mg/Kg; i.p.) demostraron tener una actividad significativa contra la nocicepción inducida por ácido acético. El extracto etéreo fue el más activo y con el mayor contenido de atranorina (72,4%) y menor cantidad de ácido fumarproto-cetrárico (27,5%). El extracto acetónico contuvo 55,5% de atranorina y 44,5% de ácido fumarprotocetrárico y también mostró una destacada acción antinociceptiva. El extracto clorofórmico, que presentó similar contenido de atranorina que el extracto etéreo, pero no ácido fumarprotocetrárico en su composición, exhibió la menor actividad antinociceptiva, indicando que la presenecia de este ácido en el extracto parece ser importante para que se manifieste la actividad antinociceptiva. Todos los extractos y la atranorina exhibieron bajo potencial toxicológico y un efecto antinociceptivo más pronunciado que la aspirina (50 mg/Kg; i.p.). Los datos sugieren que la actividad antinociceptiva de los extractos crudos es debida principalmente a atranorina, aunque un rol facilitador del ácido fumarprotocetrárico no debería ser descartado.The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize atranorin, one of the major constituents presents in Cladina dendroides (des Abb.) Ahti., and analyze its antinociceptive effect. The antinociceptive activity was verified in acetic acid-induced (1%, 10 ml/Kg; i.p.) writhing test with mice. Both crude ex-tracts (50 mg/Kg; i.p.) as well as atranorin (25 mg/Kg; i.p.) were found to have a significant activity against acetic acid-induced nociception. The ether extract was the most active, and with the highest content of atranorin (72.4%), and low amount of fumarprotocetraric acid (27.5%). The acetone extract that contained 55.5% atranorin and 44.5% fumarprotocetraric acid also showed a remarkable antinociceptive action. The chloroform extract that presented similar content of atranorin as of ether extract, but no fumarprotocetraric acid in its composition, exerted lowest antinociceptive activity indicating that the presence of this acid in the extract seem be important to antinociceptive activity. All the extracts and atranorin exhibited low toxicity potential, and an antinociceptive effect more pronounced than aspirin (50 mg/Kg; i.p.). Taken together, the data suggest that the antinociceptive activity of crude extracts are primarily due to atranorin. A facilitator role for fumarprotocetraric acid should not be ruled out.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Whole genome sequence of Mycobacterium kansasii isolates of the genotype 1 from Brazilian patients with pulmonary disease demonstrates considerable heterogeneity.

Mycobacterium kansasii is an opportunistic pathogen and one of the most commonly encountered species in individuals with lung disease. We here report the complete genome sequence of 12 clinical isolates of M. kansasii from patients with pulmonary disease in Brazil

Additional file 1: of A parenting programme to prevent abuse of adolescents in South Africa: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

SPIRIT 2013 checklist: recommended items to address in a clinical trial protocol. (DOC 122 KB