Parasiticidal combination comprising indoxacarb and deltamethrin

The invention relates to antiparasitic compositions comprising a combination of indoxacarb and deltamethrin and their use in a method to control parasite insect- and acarid- infestations on animals

Parasiticidal combination comprising indoxacarb and deltamethrin

The invention relates to antiparasitic compositions comprising a combination of indoxacarb and deltamethrin and their use in a method to control parasite insect- and acarid-infestations on animals

“I didn’t know that…” patient perceptions of print information, education, and communication related to HIV/AIDS treatment

Improving health literacy is a necessary intervention for people with chronic health conditions to ensure adherence with long or life therapies and increase participation in self-care.  While adherence is a multifactorial process, increasing health literacy among HIV-infected patients at all stages of living with HIV has been shown to improve treatment outcomes. In the era of rapid scale up of HIV care and treatment, little has been done to evaluate the utility of IEC materials for increasing patient health literacy and how patients perceive such materials. Four patient-oriented print IEC brochures in Swahili were designed to be read at the clinic waiting areas and also carried home by patients to supplement the knowledge received from routine counseling during clinic visits. Brochures detail antiretroviral therapy and address common myths, side effects, types and management of opportunistic infections, and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV. We conducted focus group discussions with HIV-infected patients to explore patient perceptions of IEC materials in the urban congested HIV care setting of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Groups of participants were recruited from eight public PEPFAR-supported HIV care and treatment centers in the city (N=50).  In this paper we present the results of those focus group discussions and introduce the print IEC materials as a pilot intervention in a Swahili-speaking setting where a need for additional health literacy exists.  Further evaluation of these materials will follow as the data becomes available

Toward an Understanding of Disengagement from HIV Treatment and Care in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Qualitative Study

Background: The rollout of antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa has brought lifesaving treatment to millions of HIV-infected individuals. Treatment is lifelong, however, and to continue to benefit, patients must remain in care. Despite this, systematic investigations of retention have repeatedly documented high rates of loss to follow-up from HIV treatment programs. This paper introduces an explanation for missed clinic visits and subsequent disengagement among patients enrolled in HIV treatment and care programs in Africa. Methods and Findings: Eight-hundred-ninety patients enrolled in HIV treatment programs in Jos, Nigeria; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Mbarara, Uganda who had extended absences from care were tracked for qualitative research interviews. Two-hundred-eighty-seven were located, and 91 took part in the study. Interview data were inductively analyzed to identify reasons for missed visits and to assemble them into a broader explanation of how missed visits may develop into disengagement. Findings reveal unintentional and intentional reasons for missing, along with reluctance to return to care following an absence. Disengagement is interpreted as a process through which missed visits and ensuing reluctance to return over time erode patients' subjective sense of connectedness to care. Conclusions: Missed visits are inevitable over a lifelong course of HIV care. Efforts to prevent missed clinic visits combined with moves to minimize barriers to re-entry into care are more likely than either approach alone to keep missed visits from turning into long-term disengagement

Ultrastructure of the Intramandibular Gland of Workers and Queens of the Stingless Bee, Melipona quadrifasciata

The intramandibular glands of workers and queens of Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae), at different ages and from different functional groups, were studied using light and transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that these glands are composed of two types of secretory structures: 1.A hypertrophied epidermis on the dorsal side of the mandible that is an epithelial gland. 2. Free secretory cells filling the inner spaces of the appendices that constitute a unicellular gland. The epithelial gland is larger in the young (1-2-day-old workers), and the gland becomes involuted during the nurse worker stage. The unicellular glands of the workers posses some secretion during all of the studied phases, but secretory activity is more intensive in the foraging workers. Vesicles of secretion are absent in the unicellular glands of queens. These results demonstrate that these glands show functional adaptations in different castes corresponding to the functions of each caste

Avaliação físico - Funcional de Atletas da Ginástica Ritmica: História de Lesoes e Estabilidade Postural

Poucas pesquisas têm avaliado o perfil físico e os riscos de lesão de atletas da ginástica rítmica (GR), principalmente no aspecto de lesões ortopédicas. O estudo teve como objetivo traçar o perfil físico-funcional, histórico de lesão e avaliar a estabilidade postural de atletas da GR. A amostra foi composta por sete atletas praticantes de GR. Utilizou-se o questionário FAOS (Foot and Ankle Outcome Score) para avaliação da função e sintomas de tornozelo e pé. Para avaliação do equilíbrio postural estático utilizou-se a plataforma de força e para avaliação do equilíbrio postural dinâmico foram utilizados dois testes funcionais, Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) e teste de figura em oito. Para o questionário FAOS, foi obtido em média uma pontuação de 90±11 para domínio de dor, e de 96±5 para outros sintomas. No teste SEBT obteve uma porcentagem de alcance de 95±9 para o membro inferior direito e 96±9 para o esquerdo, e para a figura em oito um tempo de 13±3 segundos para membro direito e 12±3 segundos para esquerdo. Com relação às medidas da plataforma de força, a média para a variável de velocidade do membro direito foi de 2,41±0,49 cm/s na direção ântero posterior (A/P) e 2,83±0,67 cm/s para direção médio-lateral (M/L), enquanto para o esquerdo de 2,69±0,46 cm/s A/P e 2,57±0,33 cm/s M/L. Embora não comparado com um grupo controle, os resultados do presente estudo para as atletas de GR caracterizaram-se por uma estabilidade postural adequada observada pelos dados obtidos nos testes funcionais e na plataforma de força. Few studies have examined the physical profile and the risk of injury to athletes of Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG), especially in the aspect of orthopedic. The study aimed to evaluation physical and functional history of injury and to evaluate postural stability of the RG athletes. The sample was composed of seven in RG athletes. We used the FAOS (Foot and Ankle Outcome Score) to assess the function and symptoms of ankle and foot. To evaluate the static postural balance used the force platform assessment of balance and dynamic postural tests were used two functional tests, Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and figure of eight. For functionality of the ankle evaluated by means of the FAOS, we obtained an average score of 90±11 for the area of pain, and 95±5 for the other symptoms, the SEBT test got the range of 95±9 to the right lower limb and 96±9 to the left, and the figure eight in a time of 13±3 s to the right limb and 12±3 seconds to the left. With the measurements of the force platform, the average for the right limb was 2,41±0,49 cm/s in the anteroposterior (A/P) direction and 2,83±0,67 cm/s in the mediolateral (M/L) direction, while to the left of 2,69±0,46 cm/s A/P and 2,57±0,33 cm/s M/L. Although not compared to control group, the results of the present study for RG athletes related to a suitable postural stability observed with data from functional tests and force platform measurements

Monitoring fungal burden and viability of Sporothrix spp. in skin lesions of cats for predicting antifungal treatment response

Skin lesions in feline sporotrichosis usually present a high fungal burden, making cats an important source of infection. This study evaluated the fungal burden and isolation in skin lesions of feline sporotrichosis during treatment with itraconazole (ITZ), combined with or without potassium iodide (KI). Treatment-naïve cats with culture-confirmed sporotrichosis and presenting skin ulcers were treated for up to 40 weeks with oral ITZ alone (n = 74) or combined with KI (n = 56). These cats were submitted to monthly sampling of the same lesion for mycological culture and cytopathology until healing of lesion or up to twelve weeks. The fungal burden was expressed as the mean yeast cell count in three microscopic fields from imprint smears. The fungal burden before treatment was significantly higher in cats in which the lesion persisted and in cases of treatment failure when using ITZ alone. After twelve weeks, the median fungal burden decreased to zero in both treatment protocols, suggesting a potential decrease in the risk of transmission of Sporothrix spp. from cats. These findings encourage the early treatment of feline sporotrichosis as a control measure. Moreover, the fungal burden in feline sporotrichosis lesions can be a prognostic indicator and a parameter for choosing appropriate therapeutic regimen

Evaluation of the 2021 ESC recommendations for family screening in hereditary transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis

AIMS: The 2021 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) screening recommendations for individuals carrying a pathogenic transthyretin amyloidosis variant (ATTRv) are based on expert opinion. We aimed to (i) determine the penetrance of ATTRv cardiomyopathy (ATTRv-CM) at baseline; (ii) examine the value of serial evaluation; and (iii) establish the yield of first-line diagnostic tests (i.e. electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, and laboratory tests) as per 2021 ESC position statement.METHODS AND RESULTS: We included 159 relatives (median age 55.6 [43.2-65.9] years, 52% male) at risk for ATTRv-CM from 10 centres. The primary endpoint, ATTRv-CM diagnosis, was defined as the presence of (i) cardiac tracer uptake in bone scintigraphy; or (ii) transthyretin-positive cardiac biopsy. The secondary endpoint was a composite of heart failure (New York Heart Association class ≥II) and pacemaker-requiring conduction disorders. At baseline, 40/159 (25%) relatives were diagnosed with ATTRv-CM. Of those, 20 (50%) met the secondary endpoint. Indication to screen (≤10 years prior to predicted disease onset and absence of extracardiac amyloidosis) had an excellent negative predictive value (97%). Other pre-screening predictors for ATTRv-CM were infrequently identified variants and male sex. Importantly, 13% of relatives with ATTRv-CM did not show any signs of cardiac involvement on first-line diagnostic tests. The yield of serial evaluation (n = 41 relatives; follow-up 3.1 [2.2-5.2] years) at 3-year interval was 9.4%.CONCLUSIONS: Screening according to the 2021 ESC position statement performs well in daily clinical practice. Clinicians should adhere to repeating bone scintigraphy after 3 years, as progressing to ATTRv-CM without signs of ATTRv-CM on first-line diagnostic tests or symptoms is common.</p

Infectivity in Skeletal Muscle of Cattle with Atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

The amyloidotic form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) termed BASE is caused by a prion strain whose biological properties differ from those of typical BSE, resulting in a clinically and pathologically distinct phenotype. Whether peripheral tissues of BASE-affected cattle contain infectivity is unknown. This is a critical issue since the BASE prion is readily transmissible to a variety of hosts including primates, suggesting that humans may be susceptible. We carried out bioassays in transgenic mice overexpressing bovine PrP (Tgbov XV) and found infectivity in a variety of skeletal muscles from cattle with natural and experimental BASE. Noteworthy, all BASE muscles used for inoculation transmitted disease, although the attack rate differed between experimental and natural cases (∼70% versus ∼10%, respectively). This difference was likely related to different prion titers, possibly due to different stages of disease in the two conditions, i.e. terminal stage in experimental BASE and pre-symptomatic stage in natural BASE. The neuropathological phenotype and PrPres type were consistent in all affected mice and matched those of Tgbov XV mice infected with brain homogenate from natural BASE. The immunohistochemical analysis of skeletal muscles from cattle with natural and experimental BASE showed the presence of abnormal prion protein deposits within muscle fibers. Conversely, Tgbov XV mice challenged with lymphoid tissue and kidney from natural and experimental BASE did not develop disease. The novel information on the neuromuscular tropism of the BASE strain, efficiently overcoming species barriers, underlines the relevance of maintaining an active surveillance