Do Topical Repellents Divert Mosquitoes Within a\ud Community?

Repellents are compounds which interfere with the mosquito’s olfactory system hindering them to identify their hosts and succeeding in taking a blood-meal [1]. However, repellents do not eliminate the host-seeking mosquitoes, they simply reduce human-vector contact. Consequently, there is a possibility that individuals, who do not use repellents, experience more bites than usual because mosquitoes are diverted from the repellent users. The objective of this study was to measure if diversion occurs from households that use repellents to those that don’t within a community with incomplete topical repellent coverag An interventional study was performed in three villages of southern Tanzania using 15%-DEET (N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide) and a placebo lotion. Three coverage scenarios were investigated: complete repellent coverage (all households were given 15%-DEET), incomplete repellent coverage (80% of households were given DEET-15% and 20% were given a placebo lotion) and no repellent coverage (all households were given a placebo lotion). The coverage scenarios were rotated between villages. Mosquito densities were measured through aspiration of indoor and outdoor resting mosquitoes respective to each enrolled household. Data was analysed using mixed-effects models and the no coverage scenario was used as reference. Placebo users living in a village where 80% of the households used 15%-DEET were likely to have nearly three times more mosquitoes (p<0.001) resting in their dwellings in comparison to households in a village where nobody uses repellent (Table 1) There is strong evidence that mosquitoes are diverted between households that use repellent to those that don’t. This study arises questions on health equity associated with repellent usage. Policy makers should take into consideration these results while devising vector control programs, as less privileged individuals are likely to suffer more mosquito bites and therewith be more exposed to vector-borne diseases if universal coverage is not reached

Ethnological inquiry into sexual behaviours at risk to homosexuals in Portugal

WOS:000278329600162In Portugal, since 1982 homosexuality is not any more a crime. However, the population remains homophobe. Marriage isn’t allowed between persons of the same sex and crimes or attacks against homosexuals, transsexual or transgender punctuate actuality. The condition of oppressed minority predominates in their group identity but also in their own identity, in their self-definition. As a result, these practices are considered twice more transgressive. The socially transgressive context in which take place these sexual exchanges sets the individuals in a territory considered “out of limits”.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Risk management of occupational exposure to nanomaterials during metal additive manufacturing

Programa doutoral em Engenharia Industrial e de SistemasA manufatura aditiva, também chamada impressão 3D, de metais deixou de ser um processo de prototipagem e está agora integrada em diversas indústrias, com trabalhadores alocados a estes postos de trabalho. Esta tecnologia emergente apresenta diversos riscos ocupacionais, nomeadamente a exposição dos trabalhadores a nanomateriais incidentais libertados durante este processo de manufatura. Estudos recentes evidenciam a libertação de nano-objetos e muitas têm sido as abordagens utilizadas para estudar a exposição aos mesmos. Alguns autores optam por uma abordagem quantitativa, que inclui a utilização de equipamentos de leitura direta, análise laboratoriais às características físico-químicas das emissões e/ou indicadores biológicos. Foram ainda publicados alguns estudos com uma abordagem qualitativa, nomeadamente a aplicação de métodos baseados na abordagem por bandas de controlo. Independentemente do tipo de abordagem, tem havido lugar a descobertas relevantes neste campo ainda pouco explorado. No entanto, estes estudos revelam também algumas limitações e pouco se sabe ainda acerca do controlo adequado deste risco. Motivada pela necessidade e importância de gerir o risco nestes postos de trabalho e de proteger os trabalhadores envolvidos, esta tese debruçou-se sobre o estado-da-arte e teve como principal questão de investigação qual a abordagem a adotar para gerir o risco ocupacional de exposição a nanomateriais incidentais na impressão 3D de metais. Para esse efeito, foram testadas diferentes abordagens em casos de estudo, culminando na criação de um método de gestão do risco ocupacional de exposição a nanomateriais incidentais na impressão 3D de metal, intitulado IN Nanotool. Esta ferramenta, baseada no CB, permite alcançar um nível de risco, com base na pontuação atribuída a diferentes fatores de risco quer na banda de perigo, quer na de exposição. A IN Nanotool fornece ainda recomendações para o controlo do risco, propondo assim uma solução para a abordagem a ter na gestão deste risco ocupacional. Esta ferramenta foi testada num caso de estudo concreto, apresentando resultados coerentes com o estado-da-arte e mostrando-se promissora. Não obstante, este método carece de mais aplicações práticas e de validação, apresentando algumas limitações também exploradas no decorrer da presente tese.Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, of metals is no longer a prototyping process and is now integrated in several industries, with workers allocated to these workplaces. This emerging technology presents various occupational hazards, namely the exposure of workers to incidental nanomaterials (INM) released during this manufacturing process. Recent studies show this release of nano-objects and many approaches have been used to study exposure to these INM. Some authors prefer quantitative approaches, including the use of direct reading equipment, laboratory analysis of the physicochemical characteristics of emissions and/or biological indicators. Other studies provided a qualitative approach, namely the application of methods based on control banding. Regardless of the type of approach, relevant discoveries have been made in this still unexplored field. However, these studies also reveal some limitations, and little is known about the adequate control of this risk. Motivated by the need and the importance of managing risk in these workplaces and protecting the workers involved, this thesis focused on the state-of-the-art and had as main research question what approach to adopt to manage the occupational risk exposure to incidental nanomaterials in 3D printing of metals. For this purpose, different methodologies were tested in case studies, culminating in the design of a method for occupational risk management of exposure to incidental nanomaterials in metal 3D printing, entitled IN Nanotool. This CB-based tool allows reaching a risk level, based on the score assigned to different risk factors, either in the hazard band and the exposure band. IN Nanotool also provides recommendations for risk control, thus proposing a solution for the approach to be taken in the management of this occupational risk. This tool was tested in a specific case study, presenting promising results, consistent with the state-of-the-art. However, this method requires more practical applications and validation, presenting some limitations also explored in the course of this thesis

Plant-based insect repellents: a review of their efficacy, development and testing

Plant-based repellents have been used for generations in traditional practice as a personal protection measure against host-seeking mosquitoes. Knowledge on traditional repellent plants obtained through ethnobotanical studies is a valuable resource for the development of new natural products. Recently, commercial repellent products containing plant-based ingredients have gained increasing popularity among consumers, as these are commonly perceived as “safe” in comparison to long-established synthetic repellents although this is sometimes a misconception. To date insufficient studies have followed standard WHO Pesticide Evaluation Scheme guidelines for repellent testing. There is a need for further standardized studies in order to better evaluate repellent compounds and develop new products that offer high repellency as well as good consumer safety. This paper presents a summary of recent information on testing, efficacy and safety of plant-based repellents as well as promising new developments in the field

Grupos de entreajuda de doentes com hepatite C no ciberespaço

Este artigo descreve experiências de pessoas com hepatite C, como expressam a sua vivência da doença em grupos franceses de entreajuda na internet, como esta doença e o seu tratamento afetam o seu quotidiano e também a sua identidade, e como se percecionam em relação aos não­-doentes. Faz-se também uma reflexão sobre a identidade das pessoas que utilizam estes grupos de entreajuda online na sua gestão da doença (os “hépatants”). O ciberespaço é um lugar onde os doentes podem buscar informações e expressar-se. Os diálogos que aí se tecem tornam-se para muitos uma narrativa terapêutica.This article describes the experience of French people who have a hepatitis C, how they feel the disease and express their experiment online ; how the disease and its treatment influence the daily life of people infected by the virus of hepatitis C and also their identity, the way they are considering themselves, and how they are considering the non-sick people. This article also re­flects on the personal identity, the feeling of belonging to a group, the “hépatant” people, as they call themselves. Forums on internet are a space where the sick persons can pick up information, find help and express themselves. The dialogue on those forums becomes, for many of them, a therapeutic narrative

The other side of COVID-19: preliminary results of a descriptive study on the COVID-19-related psychological impact and social determinants in Portugal residents

No abstract availableThis study was supported by FEDER through the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Internationalization and national funding from the Foundation for Science and Technology – FCT (Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education) under the Unidade de Investigação em Epidemiologia – Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (EPIUnit; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006862; Ref. info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/6817 - DCRRNI ID/UID/DTP/04750/2013/PT). This study was also supported by the PhD Grant 2020.09390.BD (Ana Aguiar), cofunded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and the Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) Program. Isabel Maia holds a PhD Grant (Ref.info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/FCT/POR_NORTE/SFRH/BD/117371/2016/PT), co-funded by the FCT and the POCH/FSE Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation