How are gender equality and human rights interventions included in sexual and reproductive health programmes and policies: A systematic review of existing research foci and gaps

The importance of promoting gender equality and human rights in sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programmes and policies has been affirmed in numerous international and regional agreements, most recently the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Given the critical role of research to determine what works, we aimed to identify research gaps as part of a broader priority setting exercise on integrating gender equality and human rights approaches in SRH programmes and policies. A systematic literature review of reviews was conducted to examine the question: what do we know about how research in the context of SRH programmes and policies has addressed gender equality and human rights and what are the current gaps in research. We searched three databases for reviews that addressed the research question, were published between 1994-2014, and met methodological standards for systematic reviews, qualitative meta-syntheses and other reviews of relevance to the research question. Additional grey literature was identified based on expert input. Articles were appraised by the primary author and examined by an expert panel. An abstraction and thematic analysis process was used to synthesize findings. Of the 3,073 abstracts identified, 56 articles were reviewed in full and 23 were included along with 10 from the grey literature. The majority focused on interventions addressing gender inequalities; very few reviews explicitly included human rights based interventions. Across both topics, weak study designs and use of intermediate outcome measures limited evidence quality. Further, there was limited evidence on interventions that addressed marginalized groups. Better quality studies, longer-term indicators, and measurement of unintended consequences are needed to better understand the impact of these types of interventions on SRH outcomes. Further efforts are needed to cover research on gender equality and human rights issues as they pertain to a broader set of SRH topics and populations.Scopu

Biological variation in Anopheles darlingi root

Behavioural variation in the South American malaria vector Anopheles darlingi is described. At the centre of its distribution, in forest areas close to the city of Manaus, Brazil, it is primarily exophagic and exophilic. Mosquitoes from this area are chromosomally diverse. Towards the northern edge of its distribution (in Guyana and Venezuela) it is more endophagic and less diverse chromosomally. Similarly in the south (in the state of Minas Gerais) it is less polymorphic. In this area, however, it is primarily zoophilic and exophagic. Evidence is presented that female wing size may vary between populations. The possibility that this widely distributed species may be a complex could have important implications for future malaria control schemes

Institutional and matrix support and its relationship with primary healthcare

OBJECTIVE To analyze whether the level of institutional and matrix support is associated with better certification of primary healthcare teams.METHODS In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated two kinds of primary healthcare support – 14,489 teams received institutional support and 14,306 teams received matrix support. Logistic regression models were applied. In the institutional support model, the independent variable was “level of support” (as calculated by the sum of supporting activities for both modalities). In the matrix support model, in turn, the independent variables were the supporting activities. The multivariate analysis has considered variables with p RESULTS The teams had institutional and matrix supporting activities (84.0% and 85.0%), respectively, with 55.0% of them performing between six and eight activities. For the institutional support, we have observed 1.96 and 3.77 chances for teams who had medium and high levels of support to have very good or good certification, respectively. For the matrix support, the chances of their having very good or good certification were 1.79 and 3.29, respectively. Regarding to the association between institutional support activities and the certification, the very good or good certification was positively associated with self-assessment (OR = 1.95), permanent education (OR = 1.43), shared evaluation (OR = 1.40), and supervision and evaluation of indicators (OR = 1.37). In regards to the matrix support, the very good or good certification was positively associated with permanent education (OR = 1.50), interventions in the territory (OR = 1.30), and discussion in the work processes (OR = 1.23).CONCLUSIONS In Brazil, supporting activities are being incorporated in primary healthcare, and there is an association between the level of support, both matrix and institutional, and the certification result.</sec

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

The V471A polymorphism in autophagy-related gene ATG7 modifies age at onset specifically in Italian Huntington disease patients

The cause of Huntington disease (HD) is a polyglutamine repeat expansion of more than 36 units in the huntingtin protein, which is inversely correlated with the age at onset of the disease. However, additional genetic factors are believed to modify the course and the age at onset of HD. Recently, we identified the V471A polymorphism in the autophagy-related gene ATG7, a key component of the autophagy pathway that plays an important role in HD pathogenesis, to be associated with the age at onset in a large group of European Huntington disease patients. To confirm this association in a second independent patient cohort, we analysed the ATG7 V471A polymorphism in additional 1,464 European HD patients of the “REGISTRY” cohort from the European Huntington Disease Network (EHDN). In the entire REGISTRY cohort we could not confirm a modifying effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism. However, analysing a modifying effect of ATG7 in these REGISTRY patients and in patients of our previous HD cohort according to their ethnic origin, we identified a significant effect of the ATG7 V471A polymorphism on the HD age at onset only in the Italian population (327 patients). In these Italian patients, the polymorphism is associated with a 6-years earlier disease onset and thus seems to have an aggravating effect. We could specify the role of ATG7 as a genetic modifier for HD particularly in the Italian population. This result affirms the modifying influence of the autophagic pathway on the course of HD, but also suggests population-specific modifying mechanisms in HD pathogenesis

Alterações citopatológicas e fatores de risco para a ocorrência do câncer de colo uterino Alteraciones citopatológicas y factores de riesgo para la ocurrencia del cáncer de cuello de útero Citopathological alterations and risk factors for uterine cervical neoplasm

O objetivo do estudo foi verificar alterações citopatológicas e fatores de risco para o câncer de colo uterino em mulheres usuárias do Sistema Único de Saúde de um município de pequeno porte do norte do Paraná, de 2001 a 2006. Trata-se de um estudo observacional transversal descritivo. A coleta de dados foi realizada com os resultados dos exames, prontuários e entrevistas. Foram realizados 6.356 exames e 65(1,02%) apresentaram alterações. Dos exames realizados, 4.869 (70,8%) foram em mulheres de 25 a 59 anos. 38,5% dos exames apresentaram Neoplasia Intraepitelial Cervical (NIC) I, 32,3% NIC II e 18,5% NIC I e Papiloma Vírus Humano (HPV). Foram entrevistadas 25 mulheres, a maioria apresentou algum fator de risco como: tabagismo, doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, uso de anticoncepcional hormonal, número de parceiros, início precoce da atividade sexual. Conclui-se pela necessidade de ações educativas mais efetivas no sentido de reduzir as alterações principalmente entre as mulheres adolescentes.<br>El objetivo del estudio fue verificar alteraciones citopatológicas y factores de riesgo para la ocurrencia del cáncer de cuello de útero en mujeres atendidas por el Sistema Único de la Salud de una ciudad de pequeño porte en la Región Norte de la Provincia del Paraná, Brasil en el período de 2001 al 2006. Se trata de un estudio observacional transversal descriptivo. La colección de los datos fue realizada con los resultados de los exámenes, prontuarios y entrevistas. Fueron realizados 6.356 exámenes y 65(1,02%) presentaron alteraciones. De los exámenes hechos 4.869 (70,8%) fue compuesto de mujeres con edad entre los 25 a los 59 años. Un total de 38,5% de los exámenes presentaron Neoplasia Intra-epitelial del Cuello Uterino (NIC) I, 32,3% NIC II y 18,5% NIC I y Virus de Papiloma Humano (HPV). Fueron entrevistadas 25 mujeres, la mayoría presentó factores de riesgo como: tabaquismo, enfermedades de transmisión sexual, uso de anticonceptivo hormonal, número de parejas sexuales, inicio precoz de la actividad sexual. Concluyese ser necesarias acciones educativas para efectivamente producir la reducción de las alteraciones antes de todo entre mujeres más jóvenes.<br>The aim of the present study was to verify the occurrence of citopathological alterations and risk factors of Uterine Cervical Neoplasm in women attended by SUS - the Public Healthcare System - in a district situated in the North of Paraná State, Brazil from 2001 to 2006. It was a descriptive transversal observational study. The data collection consisted in collection of test results from medical records and interviews. It was achieved 6.356 tests and, 1.02% (65) of the women examined presented alterations. From the tests made 4.869 (70,8%) were from women aged between 25 and 59 years. And 38,5% of the tests presented Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasm (CIN) I, 32,3% CIN II, 18,5% CIN I and Human Papiloma Virus (HPV). It was interviewed 25 women from the total sample. Most of them presented a risk factor as: smoking habits, sexually transmitted diseases, use of hormonal contraceptive, number of sexual partners, early sexual intercourse. This study concludes that is required educative and more effective actions in order to reduce the alterations, meanly among teenagers

Resultados auditivos com o implante coclear multicanal em pacientes submetidos a cirurgia no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo Auditory results with multicanal cochlear implant in patients submitted to cochlear implant surgery at University of São Paulo Medical School - Hospital das Clínicas

A surdez profunda é uma deficiência que afeta a personalidade, o relacionamento e todo o estilo de vida do paciente. Incapacita os indivíduos de escutarem sons ambientes como sirenes e alarmes que constituem alerta em situações da vida diária e não permite a modulação vocal, tornando a voz esteticamente ruim. A prótese auditiva convencional é eficiente no tratamento de grande parte das deficiências auditivas, porém existem pacientes que não conseguem obter discriminação de palavras e sentenças mesmo com uma prótese auditiva potente. O implante coclear é a alternativa atual para estes pacientes. OBJETIVO: Avaliar o resultado auditivo dos pacientes adultos implantados com o implante coclear multicanal pelo Grupo de Implante Coclear da Disciplina de Otorrinolaringologia da Faculdade de medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. FORMA DE ESTUDO: Estudo de série. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODO: Foram selecionados 61 pacientes com surdez profunda bilateral que utilizam o implante coclear multicanal por pelo menos seis meses e estudados os resultados auditivos através de testes de reconhecimento de palavras e sentenças. RESULTADOS: O PTA médio obtido pelos pacientes foi 38.7 dB NPS. A média em reconhecimento de sentenças em formato aberto foi de 71.3%, vogais em 86.5%, monossílabos em 52.60% e consoante medial em 52.6%. A maioria dos pacientes está apta ao uso do telefone. CONCLUSÃO: A avaliação auditiva obtida seis meses após a primeira programação do implante demonstra que pacientes de língua portuguesa obtêm excelentes resultados em testes de reconhecimento de palavras e sentenças em apresentação aberta, readquirindo uma audição útil.<br>Complete hearing loss is a very important handicap resulting in sensory deprivation and affecting an individual's personality, relationships and life style. Individuals with profound deafness are unable to hear environmental sounds as doorbells, telephones, traffic noises and sirens that are an important alert for dangerous situations in the daily life. They are also unable to hear their own voices and for this people with profound deaf do not modulate their voices. The hearing aids are the first choice to treat deafness, but there are patients with severe damage of the auditory systems who cannot receive a useful hearing from normal hearing aids. The cochlear implant is the alternative for patients that cannot have good discriminatory ability wearing a powerful hearing aid and wish or need a better hearing. AIM: To study the hearing results of the adult patients who are using a multichannel cochlear implant system at the Department of Otolaryngology - University of Sao Paulo. STUDY DESIGN: Series study. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We selected 61 patients with a severe bilateral hearing loss that have been using the cochlear implant for at least six months. The hearing evaluation performed after using the device for six months included word and sentence recognition tests. RESULTS: The PTA of four patients reached 38.7 dB. Speech perception tests showed 713% recognition of open set sentences, 86.5% of vowels and 52.60% of monosyllabic. Most of our patients are able to speak on the telephone. CONCLUSION: Most of patients showed excellent results in open-set sentence and word tests