Seroprevalence and factors associated with herpes simplex virus type 2 among HIV-negative high-risk men who have sex with men from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a cross-sectional study

Submitted by Frederico Azevedo ([email protected]) on 2010-11-04T17:19:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 seroprevalence_and_factors.pdf: 273577 bytes, checksum: 742e51b14ff9ef765bf31b52f3fc8f1a (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2010-11-04T17:19:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 seroprevalence_and_factors.pdf: 273577 bytes, checksum: 742e51b14ff9ef765bf31b52f3fc8f1a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Comunicação e Informação Científica e Tecnológica em Saúde. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisa Clínica Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Background: Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is the leading cause of genital ulcer disease in developing countries, including Brazil, and is especially prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM). HSV-2 infection represents a risk factor for the acquisition and transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of the present cross-sectional study was to estimate HSV- 2 seroprevalence and to determine the factors associated with HSV-2 seropositivity in HIVnegative high-risk MSM from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Methods: Stored sera were tested to estimate HSV-2 seroprevalence, while socio-demographic and sexual behavior data were used to measure associations between risk factors and HSV-2 seropositivity. Using the Poisson regression model with robust variance, prevalence ratios (PR) were used to estimate de degree of association between risk factors and HSV-2 seropositivity in bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Seroprevalence of HSV-2 was of 45.7% (184 out of 403). Factors independently associated with HSV-2 seroprevalence in the multivariate model were: older age (≥ 26 years, PR: 1.41 95% Confidence Interval: 1.11–1.78), non-white race (PR: 1.32 95%CI: 1.06–1.64), positive serology for syphilis (PR: 1.65 95%CI: 1.33–2.05), positive serology for hepatitis B (PR: 1.25 95%CI: 0.99–1.57), stable male partner in the past 6 months (PR: 1.42 95%CI: 1.12–1.79), and unprotected anal sex with a stable female partner (PR: 1.46 95%CI: 1.05–2.04) in the 6 months preceding the crosssectional assessment. Conclusion: The present study made evident a high prevalence of HSV-2 infection in a sample of HIV-negative high-risk MSM from Rio de Janeiro. This finding indicates the need and urgency for implementing integrated programs for the prevention of HSV-2 and other sexually transmitted diseases, and, in particular, programs targeting high-risk MSM

APOEε4 associates with microglial activation independently of Aβ plaques and tau tangles

Animal studies suggest that the apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOEε4) allele is a culprit of early microglial activation in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we tested the association between APOEε4 status and microglial activation in living individuals across the aging and AD spectrum. We studied 118 individuals with positron emission tomography for amyloid-β (Aβ; [18F]AZD4694), tau ([18F]MK6240), and microglial activation ([11C]PBR28). We found that APOEε4 carriers presented increased microglial activation relative to noncarriers in early Braak stage regions within the medial temporal cortex accounting for Aβ and tau deposition. Furthermore, microglial activation mediated the Aβ-independent effects of APOEε4 on tau accumulation, which was further associated with neurodegeneration and clinical impairment. The physiological distribution of APOE mRNA expression predicted the patterns of APOEε4-related microglial activation in our population, suggesting that APOE gene expression may regulate the local vulnerability to neuroinflammation. Our results support that the APOEε4 genotype exerts Aβ-independent effects on AD pathogenesis by activating microglia in brain regions associated with early tau deposition

Solving the chemical master equation using sliding windows

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The chemical master equation (CME) is a system of ordinary differential equations that describes the evolution of a network of chemical reactions as a stochastic process. Its solution yields the probability density vector of the system at each point in time. Solving the CME numerically is in many cases computationally expensive or even infeasible as the number of reachable states can be very large or infinite. We introduce the sliding window method, which computes an approximate solution of the CME by performing a sequence of local analysis steps. In each step, only a manageable subset of states is considered, representing a "window" into the state space. In subsequent steps, the window follows the direction in which the probability mass moves, until the time period of interest has elapsed. We construct the window based on a deterministic approximation of the future behavior of the system by estimating upper and lower bounds on the populations of the chemical species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In order to show the effectiveness of our approach, we apply it to several examples previously described in the literature. The experimental results show that the proposed method speeds up the analysis considerably, compared to a global analysis, while still providing high accuracy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The sliding window method is a novel approach to address the performance problems of numerical algorithms for the solution of the chemical master equation. The method efficiently approximates the probability distributions at the time points of interest for a variety of chemically reacting systems, including systems for which no upper bound on the population sizes of the chemical species is known a priori.</p

Whales, dolphins or fishes? The ethnotaxonomy of cetaceans in São Sebastião, Brazil

The local knowledge of human populations about the natural world has been addressed through ethnobiological studies, especially concerning resources uses and their management. Several criteria, such as morphology, ecology, behavior, utility and salience, have been used by local communities to classify plants and animals. Studies regarding fishers' knowledge on cetaceans in the world, especially in Brazil, began in the last decade. Our objective is to investigate the folk classification by fishers concerning cetaceans, and the contribution of fishers' local knowledge to the conservation of that group. In particular, we aim to record fishers' knowledge in relation to cetaceans, with emphasis on folk taxonomy. The studied area is São Sebastião, located in the southeastern coast of Brazil, where 70 fishers from 14 communities were selected according to their fishing experience and interviewed through questionnaires about classification, nomenclature and ecological aspects of local cetaceans' species. Our results indicated that most fishers classified cetaceans as belonging to the life-form 'fish'. Fishers' citations for the nomenclature of the 11 biological species (10 biological genera), resulted in 14 folk species (3 generic names). Fishers' taxonomy was influenced mostly by the phenotypic and cultural salience of the studied cetaceans. Cultural transmission, vertical and horizontal, was intimately linked to fishers' classification process. The most salient species, therefore well recognized and named, were those most often caught by gillnets, in addition to the biggest ones and those most exposed by media, through TV programs, which were watched and mentioned by fishers. Our results showed that fishers' ecological knowledge could be a valuable contribution to cetaceans' conservation, helping to determine areas and periods for their protection, indicating priority topics for research and participating in alternative management related to the gillnet fisheries

Avaliação das técnicas de massagem e ordenha no tratamento do ingurgitamento mamário por termografia

OBJETIVO: evaluar los métodos de masaje y bombeo en el tratamiento de la congestión mamaria posparto a través de la termografía. MÉTODO: el estudio se realizó en el Banco de Leche Humana de un hospital en Curitiba, Brasil. Se seleccionaron al azar 16 mujeres en periodo de lactancia con congestión con clasificación lobar, ampular y glandular, moderada e intensa. Se compararon los patrones diferenciales de temperatura, antes y después del tratamiento por medio de masaje y bombeo. RESULTADOS: se encontró un degradado negativo de 0,3°C de temperatura entre el pre y post-tratamiento en el grupo experimental. Las mamas con intensa congestión eran 0,7°C más caliente en comparación a aquellos con congestión moderada. CONCLUSIÓN: el masaje y el bombeo electromecánico fueron superiores a los métodos manuales cuando se evaluaron por termografía. REBEC: U1111-1136-9027.OBJETIVO: avaliar técnicas de massagem e ordenha no tratamento do ingurgitamento mamário puerperal, por meio da termografia. MÉTODO: a pesquisa foi realizada no Banco de Leite Humano de um hospital de Curitiba, Brasil. Selecionaram-se, aleatoriamente, 16 lactantes com ingurgitamento com classificação lobar, ampolar e glandular moderado e intenso. Compararam-se os padrões diferenciais de temperatura, antes e após o tratamento realizado, por meio de massagem e ordenha. RESULTADOS: constatou-se um gradiente negativo de 0,3ºC de temperatura entre o pré e o pós-tratamento no grupo experimental. Mamas com ingurgitamento intenso foram 0,7ºC mais quentes quando comparadas com ingurgitamento moderado. CONCLUSÃO: a massagem e ordenha eletromecânicas são superiores às manuais, quando avaliadas por termografia. REBEC: U1111-1136-9027.OBJECTIVE: to evaluate techniques of massage and pumping in the treatment of postpartum breast engorgement through thermography. METHOD: the study was conducted in the Human Milk Bank of a hospital in Curitiba, Brazil. We randomly selected 16 lactating women with engorgement with the classification lobar, ampullary and glandular, moderate and intense. We compared the differential patterns of temperature, before and after the treatment by means of massage and pumping. RESULTS: we found a negative gradient of 0.3°C of temperature between the pre- and post-treatment in the experimental group. Breasts with intense engorgement were 0.7°C warmer when compared with moderate engorgement. CONCLUSION: massage and electromechanical pumping were superior to manual methods when evaluated by thermography. REBEC: U1111-1136-9027

Captive-born collared peccary (Pecari tajacu, Tayassuidae) fails to discriminate between predator and non-predator models

Captive animals may lose the ability to recognize their natural predators, making conservation programs more susceptible to failure if such animals are released into the wild. Collared peccaries are American tayassuids that are vulnerable to local extinction in certain areas, and conservation programs are being conducted. Captive-born peccaries are intended for release into the wild in Minas Gerais state, southeastern Brazil. In this study, we tested the ability of two groups of captive-born collared peccaries to recognize their predators and if they were habituated to humans. Recognition tests were performed using models of predators (canids and felids) and non-predators animals, as well as control objects, such as a plastic chair; a human was also presented to the peccaries, and tested as a separate stimulus. Anti-predator defensive responses such as fleeing and threatening displayswere not observed in response to predator models. Predator detection behaviors both from visual and olfactory cues were displayed, although they were not specifically targeted at predator models. These results indicate that collared peccaries were unable to recognize model predators. Habituation effects, particularly on anti-predator behaviors, were observed both with a 1-h model presentation and across testing days. Behavioral responses to humans did not differ from those to other models. Thus, if these animals were to be released into the wild, they should undergo anti-predator training sessions to enhance their chances of survival

Obstructed Labor and Caesarean Delivery: The Cost and Benefit of Surgical Intervention

Background: Although advances in the reduction of maternal mortality have been made, up to 273,000 women will die this year from obstetric etiologies. Obstructed labor (OL), most commonly treated with Caesarean delivery, has been identified as a major contributor to global maternal morbidity and mortality. We used economic and epidemiological modeling to estimate the cost per disability-adjusted life-year (DALY) averted and benefit-cost ratio of treating OL with Caesarean delivery for 49 countries identified as providing an insufficient number of Caesarean deliveries to meet demand. Methods and Findings Using publicly available data and explicit economic assumptions, we estimated that the cost per DALY (3,0,0) averted for providing Caesarean delivery for OL ranged widely, from $251 per DALY averted in Madagascar to$3,462 in Oman. The median cost per DALY averted was $304. Benefit-cost ratios also varied, from 0.6 in Zimbabwe to 69.9 in Gabon. The median benefit-cost ratio calculated was 6.0. The main limitation of this study is an assumption that lack of surgical capacity is the main factor responsible for DALYs from OL. Conclusions: Using the World Health Organization's cost-effectiveness standards, investing in Caesarean delivery can be considered “highly cost-effective” for 48 of the 49 countries included in this study. Furthermore, in 46 of the 49 included countries, the benefit-cost ratio was greater than 1.0, implying that investment in Caesarean delivery is a viable economic proposition. While Caesarean delivery alone is not sufficient for combating OL, it is necessary, cost-effective by WHO standards, and ultimately economically favorable in the vast majority of countries included in this study