Experimentação e uso regular de drogas ilícitas por estudantes no município de Bragança, nordeste do Pará

Este estudo determinou a prevalência e os fatores associados ao uso de drogas ilícitas entre estudantes de escolas de ensino médio do município de Bragança, Pará, norte do Brasil. Estudo transversal de base escolar, totalizando cinco escolas públicas e 1.632 estudantes do município de Bragança. O questionário auto-aplicável foi adaptado de outros estudos epidemiológicos adequados ao grupo populacional, com rigoroso procedimento, garantindo anonimato e sigilo. A prevalência de uso de drogas ilícitas entre estudantes foi 4,37%. Diversos fatores de risco ao uso de drogas lícitas e ilícitas foram detectados, dos quais destacam-se: a ausência de participação dos pais na vida escolar dos estudantes, renda familiar superior a 3 salários mínimos, pais, amigos e familiares que usam droga ilícita e a falta de incentivo para não usar droga ilícita. Em suma, este estudo identificou que o uso regular de drogas ilícitas está associada a fatores sociais e econômicos, os quais deverão ser considerados na elaboração de medidas para controle e prevenção ao uso de drogas ilícitas no município de Bragança

Nutritional status of pre-school children from low income families

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We evaluated growth and nutritional status of preschool children between 2 and 6 years old from low income families from 14 daycare centers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional study with 1544 children from daycare centers of Santo Andre, Brazil. Body weight (W), height (H) and body mass index (BMI) were classified according to the 2000 National Center for Health Statistics (CDC/NCHS). Cutoff points for nutritional disorders: -2 z scores and 2.5 and 10 percentiles for malnutrition risk, 85 to 95 percentile for overweight and above BMI 95 percentile for obesity. Stepwise Forward Regression method was used including age, gender, birth weight, breastfeeding duration, age of mother at birth and period of time they attended the daycare center.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Children presented mean z scores of H, W and BMI above the median of the CDC/NCHS reference. Girls were taller and heavier than boys, while we observed similar BMI between both genders. The z scores tended to rise with age. A Pearson Coefficient of Correlation of 0.89 for W, 0.93 for H and 0.95 for BMI was documented indicating positive association of age with weight, height and BMI. The frequency of children below -2 z scores was lower than expected: 1.5% for W, 1.75% for H and 0% for BMI, which suggests that there were no malnourished children. The other extremity of the distribution evidenced prevalence of overweight and obesity of 16.8% and 10.8%, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Low income preschool children are in an advanced stage of nutritional transition with a high prevalence of overweight.</p

Sugarcane (Saccharum X officinarum): A Reference Study for the Regulation of Genetically Modified Cultivars in Brazil

Global interest in sugarcane has increased significantly in recent years due to its economic impact on sustainable energy production. Sugarcane breeding and better agronomic practices have contributed to a huge increase in sugarcane yield in the last 30 years. Additional increases in sugarcane yield are expected to result from the use of biotechnology tools in the near future. Genetically modified (GM) sugarcane that incorporates genes to increase resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses could play a major role in achieving this goal. However, to bring GM sugarcane to the market, it is necessary to follow a regulatory process that will evaluate the environmental and health impacts of this crop. The regulatory review process is usually accomplished through a comparison of the biology and composition of the GM cultivar and a non-GM counterpart. This review intends to provide information on non-GM sugarcane biology, genetics, breeding, agronomic management, processing, products and byproducts, as well as the current technologies used to develop GM sugarcane, with the aim of assisting regulators in the decision-making process regarding the commercial release of GM sugarcane cultivars