The multidimensional comprehension of chagas disease. Contributions, approaches, challenges and opportunities from and beyond the information, education and communication field

Chagas is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon in which political, economic, environmental, biomedical, epidemiological, psychological, and sociocultural factors intersect. Nonetheless, the hegemonic conceptualisation has long envisioned Chagas as primarily a biomedical question, while ignoring or downplaying the other dimensions, and this limited view has reinforced the disease’s long neglect. Integrating the multiple dimensions of the problem into a coherent approach adapted to field realities and needs represents an immense challenge, but the payoff is more effective and sustainable experiences, with higher social awareness, increased case detection and follow-up, improved adherence to care, and integrated participation of various actors from multiple action levels. Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) initiatives have great potential for impact in the implementation of multidimensional programs of prevention and control successfully customised to the diverse and complex contexts where Chagas disease persists.Fil: Sanmartino, Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológicos; ArgentinaFil: Forsyth, Colin J.. No especifíca;Fil: Avaria, Andrea. Universidad Autónoma de Chile; ChileFil: Velarde Rodriguez, Mar. Universidad de Basilea; SuizaFil: Gómez I Prat, Jordi. 6hospital Universitari Vall Dhebron; EspañaFil: Albajar Viñas, Pedro. Organización Mundial de la Salud; Suiz

Proyecto de sensibilización y visualización de las personas afectadas por la enfermedad de Chagas: encuestas, spots y un largo camino por delante

Según estimaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud, actualmente existen -al menos8 millones de personas infectadas con el parásito que causa la enfermedad de Chagas (el Trypanosoma cruzi). La mayor parte de estas personas se encuentra desde Estados Unidos hasta Argentina y Chile (WHO, 2013; 2010), principalmente en los 21 países de Latinoamérica incluidos en la zona considerada tradicionalmente endémica. La infección por T. cruzi se transmite principalmente por vía vectorial, a través de insectos conocidos como “vinchucas”, “chinches”, “barbeiros”, “chipos”, entre otros nombres, dependiendo de la región. Este parásito también puede transmitirse por transfusiones de sangre o trasplantes de algunos órganos de donantes infectados; por vía congénita, durante el embarazo o el parto de mujeres infectadas; o a través de la ingestión de bebidas o alimentos contaminados con deyecciones de vinchucas infectadas. Se estima que una tercera parte de las personas que presentan serología positiva para Chagas desarrollará la enfermedad propiamente dicha a partir de afectaciones cardiacas, digestivas (habitualmente con dilatación del esófago y/o del colon), neurológicas o mixtas; 20 ó 30 años después de haberse infectado.Instituto de Física de Líquidos y Sistemas Biológico

Bevacizumab dose adjustment to improve clinical outcomes of glioblastoma.

Background Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive and vascularized brain tumors in adults, with a median survival of 20.9 months. In newly diagnosed and recurrent GBM, bevacizumab demonstrated an increase in progression-free survival, but not in overall survival. Methods We conducted an in silico analysis of VEGF expression, in a cohort of 1082 glioma patients. Then, to determine whether appropriate bevacizumab dose adjustment could increase the anti-angiogenic response, we used in vitro and in vivo GBM models. Additionally, we analyzed VEGFA expression in tissue, serum, and plasma in a cohort of GBM patients before and during bevacizumab treatment. Results We identified that 20% of primary GBM did not express VEGFA suggesting that these patients would probably not respond to bevacizumab therapy as we proved in vitro and in vivo. We found that a specific dose of bevacizumab calculated based on VEGFA expression levels increases the response to treatment in cell culture and serum samples from mice bearing GBM tumors. Additionally, in a cohort of GBM patients, we observed a correlation of VEGFA levels in serum, but not in plasma, with bevacizumab treatment performance. Conclusions Our data suggest that bevacizumab dose adjustment could improve clinical outcomes in Glioblastoma treatment.post-print1360 K

Epidemiology and clinical features of vivax malaria imported to Europe: Sentinel surveillance data from TropNetEurop

BACKGROUND: Plasmodium vivax is the second most common species among malaria patients diagnosed in Europe, but epidemiological and clinical data on imported P. vivax malaria are limited. The TropNetEurop surveillance network has monitored the importation of vivax malaria into Europe since 1999. OBJECTIVES: To present epidemiological and clinical data on imported P. vivax malaria collected at European level. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data of primary cases of P. vivax malaria reported between January 1999 and September 2003 were analysed, focusing on disease frequency, patient characteristics, place of infection, course of disease, treatment and differences between network-member countries. RESULTS: Within the surveillance period 4,801 cases of imported malaria were reported. 618 (12.9%) were attributed to P. vivax. European travellers and immigrants were the largest patient groups, but their proportion varied among the reporting countries. The main regions of infection in descending order were the Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, South America and Western and Eastern Africa, as a group accounting for more than 60% of the cases. Regular use of malaria chemoprophylaxis was reported by 118 patients. With 86 (inter-quartile range 41–158) versus 31 days (inter-quartile range 4–133) the median symptom onset was significantly delayed in patients with chemoprophylaxis (p < 0.0001). Common complaints were fever, headache, fatigue, and musculo-skeletal symptoms. All patients survived and severe clinical complications were rare. Hospitalization was provided for 60% and primaquine treatment administered to 83.8% of the patients, but frequencies varied strongly among reporting countries. CONCLUSIONS: TropNetEurop data can contribute to the harmonization of European treatment policies

Balanç de competències professionals. : Grau d'Infantil

Aquest document ha estat elaborat per un grup de treball coordinat per Màrius Martínez Muñoz i Edelmira Badillo JiménezLa formació universitària en el Grau d'Educació Infantil és una oportunitat per conèixer i contrastar coneixements teòrics i pràctics per poder ser i fer de mestre. Aquesta formació ha de poder oferir-vos, com a estudiants, unes bases teòriques i estratègies capaces de donar resposta a una societat en canvi continu. A més, el perfil dels mestres en educació infantil requereix haver desenvolupat tot un seguit de competències claus de caràcter personal i relacional que es van desenvolupant durant el grau però que sovint són difícils d'avaluar en la seva totalitat en el marc de les assignatures cursades. Aquestes competències professionals són difícils d'entendre si no és en el context de les pràctiques; per això és important que, des de la coordinació, es planifiqui i s'acompanyi l'alumnat en el procés d'orientació professional durant tot el grau. Aquest document que us presentem pretén ser una eina útil per prendre consciència, de manera autònoma però acompanyada, d'aquestes necessitats professionals que requereix l'educació infantil. Hi trobareu la planificació de l'orientació professional que us oferirem durant el grau i també un qüestionari que us permetrà prendre consciència i saber quin és el vostre punt de partida. El qüestionari us pot ser útil per avaluar i conèixer les pròpies competències i el seu desenvolupament durant el grau. En definitiva, us permetrà aturar-vos i pensar, identificar, revisar i planificar millores o reptes de futur en el vostre procés de formació amb la voluntat de millorar a partir d' objectius assolibles a curt i a llarg termini

Balanç de competències interpersonals i acadèmiques. : Grau d'Infantil

Aquest document ha estat elaborat per un grup de treball coordinat per Màrius Martínez Muñoz i Edelmira Badillo Jiménez.La formació universitària en el Grau d'Educació Infantil és una oportunitat per conèixer i contrastar coneixements teòrics i pràctics per poder ser i fer de mestre. Aquesta formació ha de poder oferir-vos, com a estudiants, unes bases teòriques i estratègies capaces de donar resposta a una societat en canvi continu. A més, el perfil dels mestres en educació infantil requereix haver desenvolupat tot un seguit de competències claus de caràcter personal i relacional que es van desenvolupant durant el grau però que sovint són difícils d'avaluar en la seva totalitat en el marc de les assignatures cursades. Aquestes competències professionals són difícils d'entendre si no és en el context de les pràctiques; per això és important que, des de la coordinació, es planifiqui i s'acompanyi l'alumnat en el procés d'orientació professional durant tot el grau. Aquest document que us presentem pretén ser una eina útil per prendre consciència, de manera autònoma però acompanyada, d'aquestes necessitats professionals que requereix l'educació infantil. Hi trobareu la planificació de l'orientació professional que us oferirem durant el grau i també un qüestionari que us permetrà prendre consciència i saber quin és el vostre punt de partida. El qüestionari us pot ser útil per avaluar i conèixer les pròpies competències i el seu desenvolupament durant el grau. En definitiva, us permetrà aturar-vos i pensar, identificar, revisar i planificar millores o reptes de futur en el vostre procés de formació amb la voluntat de millorar a partir d' objectius assolibles a curt i a llarg termini

Municipal distribution of ovarian cancer mortality in Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Spain was the country that registered the greatest increases in ovarian cancer mortality in Europe. This study describes the municipal distribution of ovarian cancer mortality in Spain using spatial models for small-area analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Smoothed relative risks of ovarian cancer mortality were obtained, using the Besag, York and Molliè autoregressive spatial model. Standardised mortality ratios, smoothed relative risks, and distribution of the posterior probability of relative risks being greater than 1 were depicted on municipal maps.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>During the study period (1989–1998), 13,869 ovarian cancer deaths were registered in 2,718 Spanish towns, accounting for 4% of all cancer-related deaths among women. The highest relative risks were mainly concentrated in three areas, i.e., the interior of Barcelona and Gerona (north-east Spain), the north of Lugo and Asturias (north-west Spain) and along the Seville-Huelva boundary (in the south-west). Eivissa (Balearic Islands) and El Hierro (Canary Islands) also registered increased risks.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Well established ovarian cancer risk factors might not contribute significantly to the municipal distribution of ovarian cancer mortality. Environmental and occupational exposures possibly linked to this pattern and prevalent in specific regions, are discussed in this paper. Small-area geographical studies are effective instruments for detecting risk areas that may otherwise remain concealed on a more reduced scale.</p

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data

Imported malaria among African immigrants: is there still a relationship between developed countries and their ex-colonies?

© 2009 Millet et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Imported malaria in a cosmopolitan European city: A mirror image of the world epidemiological situation

© 2008 Millet et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens