The hidden costs: Identification of indirect costs associated with acute gastrointestinal illness in an Inuit community

Background: Acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) incidence and per-capita healthcare expenditures are higher in some Inuit communities as compared to elsewhere in Canada. Consequently, there is a demand for strategies that will reduce the individual-level costs of AGI; this will require a comprehensive understanding of the economic costs of AGI. However, given Inuit communities’ unique cultural, economic, and geographic contexts, there is a knowledge gap regarding the context-specific indirect costs of AGI borne by Inuit community members. This study aimed to identify the major indirect costs of AGI, and explore factors associated with these indirect costs, in the Inuit community of Rigolet, Canada, in order to develop a case-based context-specific study framework that can be used to evaluate these costs. Methods: A mixed methods study design and community-based methods were used. Qualitative in-depth, group, and case interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify and describe indirect costs of AGI specific to Rigolet. Data from two quantitative cross-sectional retrospective surveys were analyzed using univariable regression models to examine potential associations between predictor variables and the indirect costs. Results/Significance: The most notable indirect costs of AGI that should be incorporated into cost-of-illness evaluations were the tangible costs related to missing paid employment and subsistence activities, as well as the intangible costs associated with missing community and cultural events. Seasonal cost variations should also be considered. This study was intended to inform cost-of-illness studies conducted in Rigolet and other similar research settings. These results contribute to a better understanding of the economic impacts of AGI on Rigolet residents, which could be used to help identify priority areas and resource allocation for public health policies and programs

Designation processes and semantic substitutions used by european portuguese children in a vocabulary test

This research study focus on the designation processes and semantic substitutions of each word on the vocabulary sub-task from the language test for children – ABFW, standardized in Brazil and adapted to European Portuguese, as well as the comparison of the results obtained in the two countries, to analyze the relevance of their extensibility to the Portuguese population. Methods: The test was applied to 150 children from 5 to 6 years old, of typical development. The test consists of 9 conceptual categories. Each category consists of different words, which were always assessed in the same sequential order. Results: The sample of this study showed a lower performance only in clothes, places and food semantic categories. All the other categories have outperformed the standard. The categories of vocabulary with higher percentage in the right designation of the words were colors and shapes, animals and toys and music instruments. The categories with a higher percentage of substitution processes, from the reference results, were: food and locations. The most recurrent substitution processes were the co-hyponym, words that designate semantic attributes, valorization of the visual stimulus, hypernym and parasynonyms Conclusion: Given the homogeneity of the results of this study with the results obtained with other studies in Brazil, this test reveal potentiality as an instrument for vocabulary assessment in Portugal.Objetivo: Este estudo teve por objetivo a análise e quantificação dos processos de designação e substituição semântica apresentados na prova do vocabulário do Teste de Linguagem Infantil ABFW, padronizado no Brasil e adaptado para Português Europeu (PE), assim como a comparação dos resultados obtidos nos dois países, de forma a analisar a pertinência da sua extensibilidade à população portuguesa. Métodos: A prova foi aplicada a 150 crianças de 5 e 6 anos de idade, de desenvolvimento típico, na Região Norte de Portugal. A prova é constituída por nove categorias conceituais e cada categoria formada por diferentes vocábulos, que foram avaliados sempre pela mesma ordem sequencial. Resultados: A amostra mostrou desempenho inferior, em relação à norma, apenas nas categorias semânticas vestuário, locais e alimentos. Todas as outras categorias revelaram desempenho superior. As categorias do vocabulário que apresentaram maior percentagem de respostas corretas foram: animais, formas e cores e brinquedos e instrumentos musicais. As categorias que apresentaram percentagem superior de processos de substituição, em relação à norma, foram alimentos e locais. Os processos de substituição mais utilizados foram: substituição por co-hipônimo, vocábulos que designam atributos semânticos, valorização do estímulo visual, hiperônimos e parassinônimos. Conclusão: Dada a homogeneidade dos resultados deste estudo com os resultados obtidos em outros estudos no Brasil, esta prova revela potencialidades como instrumento de avaliação do vocabulário em Portugal.This work is funded by CIEd – Research Centre on Education, projects UID/CED/1661/2013 and UID/CED/1661/2016, Institute of Education, University of Minho, through national funds of FCT/MCTESPT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MicroRNA and mRNA profiling in the idiopathic inflammatory myopathies

Background The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are heterogeneous autoimmune conditions of skeletal muscle inflammation and weakness. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA which regulate gene expression of target mRNAs. The aim of this study was to profile miRNA and mRNA in IIM and identify miRNA-mRNA relationships which may be relevant to disease. Methods mRNA and miRNA in whole blood samples from 7 polymyositis (PM), 7 dermatomyositis (DM), 5 inclusion body myositis and 5 non-myositis controls was profiled using next generation RNA sequencing. Gene ontology and pathway analyses were performed using GOseq and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Dysregulation of miRNAs and opposite dysregulation of predicted target mRNAs in IIM subgroups was validated using RTqPCR and investigated by transfecting human skeletal muscle cells with miRNA mimic. Results Analysis of differentially expressed genes showed that interferon signalling, and anti-viral response pathways were upregulated in PM and DM compared to controls. An anti-Jo1 autoantibody positive subset of PM and DM (n = 5) had more significant upregulation and predicted activation of interferon signalling and highlighted T-helper (Th1 and Th2) cell pathways. In miRNA profiling miR-96-5p was significantly upregulated in PM, DM and the anti-Jo1 positive subset. RTqPCR replicated miR-96-5p upregulation and predicted mRNA target (ADK, CD28 and SLC4A10) downregulation. Transfection of a human skeletal muscle cell line with miR-96-5p mimic resulted in significant downregulation of ADK. Conclusion MiRNA and mRNA profiling identified dysregulation of interferon signalling, anti-viral response and T-helper cell pathways, and indicates a possible role for miR-96-5p regulation of ADK in pathogenesis of IIM

Nucleotide sequence of adenovirus 2 DNA fragment encoding for the carboxylic region of the fiber protein and the entire E4 region.

The entire nucleotide sequence between coordinates 89.5 and 100% of the Ad 2 DNA genome has been determined using the Maxam and Gilbert method. This sequence of 3766 bp contains information relative to the carboxylic end of the fiber protein and to the entire E4 region. The position within the nucleotide sequence of various open reading frames and of several consensus splicing sequences was correlated with the location by EM and Sl digestion of the E4 mRNA. This correlation allows to suggest an additional splicing event in the maturation process of i or f mRNA and to deduce the structure of most E4 mRNA. The aminoacid sequences of the corresponding proteins are deduced allowing the location of several glycosylation sites. The presence of several open reading frames with a substantial coding capacity permits to postulate on the existence of additional genes located at the 3' end of the fiber gene and the 3' end of the E4 region. The existence of these putative additional genes might explain that termination of transcription is several hundred nucleotides beyond the main known poly A addition sites of the L5 and E4 regions

Learning to read before you walk: Portuguese libraries for babies and toddlers

The aim of this paper is to present and analyse some examples of public libraries which have been especially designed for babies and toddlers in Portugal, termed bebetecas in Portuguese, highlighting the role the promotion of reading from a very young age plays in the reader's development. Some projects implemented in these areas, particularly those which target the family as an audience, but which in some cases are also intended for day care centres and nurseries, create an increased awareness of the role of the library in the dissemination of children's books, as well as creating dynamic reading habits at an early age. This strengthens family ties and promotes healthier and more balanced child development. Taking family and school as two important contexts for the development of the readers, the library becomes a privileged space and vehicle to promote good reading practices from a very young age, and where books can act as the backdrop for interaction between young children, their families and care givers

Structural beams from thick wood panels bonded industrially with formaldehyde-free tannin adhesives

Mimosa tannin hardened with hexamine at pH 10 has shown both at the laboratory and industrial level to be a formaldehyde-free system, within the limits of sensitivity of the method of Japanese standard JIS A 5908. This useful effect is based on the double mechanism of slow hexamine decomposition to reactive imino-amino methylene bases and their immediately subsequent very rapid reaction with the tannin. Decomposition to formaldehyde can never be reached under the conditions used. This yielded a long ambient temperature pot-life coupled with the fast hardening of the adhesive and fast pressing times of the thick panels by introducing a two-step steam-injection sequence during panel pressing. No formaldehyde emission was found in the panels bonded with such an adhesive system once tested according to the relevant Japanese standard. No free formaldehyde was detected by solid state 13C NMR, nor residual hexamine, in the hardened tannin-hexamine adhesive, although these spectra have to be taken with caution due to the usual peak enlargement and relative lack of sensitivity in solid state NMR spectra. The reactions involved were explained by 13C NMR. The panels obtained satisfied the relevant Japanese standard specification for both internal bond strength and formaldehyde emission