Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre el tabaquismo en estudiantes de Enfermería y Obstetricia del Instituto “Dr. Andrés Barbero”- Año–2007

El estudio del tabaquismo en personas que se encuentran en fase de formación académica es de importancia, teniendo en cuenta que en el futuro serán quienes orienten sobre los riesgos de enfermedades crónicas. En este estudio observacional descriptivo con componente analítico de corte transverso se determinó la prevalencia, características del hábito de fumar, conocimientos y actitudes hacia el tabaquismo en estudiantes matriculados en el año 2007 en el Instituto “Dr. Andrés Barbero” de la Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Los alumnos que aceptaron participar del estudio recibieron un cuestionario semiestructurado que fueron llenados en forma anónima. La prevalencia de tabaquismo fue de 16,8%, siendo significativamente mayor en varones que en mujeres (35,1% vs 9,6%, prueba chi2, p<0,0001); en los que cursaban el 4º curso (34,8%) que los que estaban en 1º 2º y 3º cursos (7,5%, 10,6% y 16,9 prueba chi2, p<0,01). Más del90% de los estudiantes tenía información sobre las consecuencias nocivas del tabaco sobre la salud, siendo el colegio donde la mayoría (86,0%) recibió información referente al tabaquismo. Un alto porcentaje de estudiantes está a favor de la prohibición de fumaren lugares públicos y cerrados, como así también reconocen que el personal de salud tiene un rol importante para aconsejar a los pacientes en dejar de fumar. En conclusión, a pesar de que la mayoría conoce sobre los daños que produce el tabaquismo y tienen unaactitud negativa hacia él, la prevalencia de fumadores entre estudiantes de enfermería y obstetricia es alta. Por lo tanto, se debería hacer cumplir la Ley 825 – De Protección a los No Fumadores, fundamentalmente en escuelas o facultades y hospitales, considerandoque el personal de salud ejerce un modelo para los pacientes

Interleukin-18: A Mediator of Inflammation and Angiogenesis in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is a highly regulated inflammatory cytokine that is elevated in synovial tissues and synovial fluids of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and patients with other arthropathies. Within the RA joint, IL-18 can contribute to the inflammatory process by inducing leukocyte extravasation through upregulation of endothelial cell adhesion molecules, the release of chemokines from RA synovial fibroblasts, and directly as a monocytes, lymphocyte, and neutrophil chemoattractant. IL-18 can also help maintain and develop the inflammatory pannus by inducing endothelial cell migration and angiogenesis. IL-18 does this directly by binding and activating endothelial cells and indirectly by inducing RA synovial fibroblasts to produce angiogenic chemokines and vascular endothelial growth factor. IL-18 is present in RA synovial fluid in high levels, where it functions as an angiogenic mediator and leukocyte chemoattractant. IL-18 mediates all these inflammatory processes by binding to its receptor, IL-18 receptor, and initiating the activation of different signaling cascades leading to changes in target cells gene expression and behavior. IL-18 has been identified as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of RA.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90485/1/jir-2E2011-2E0050.pd

Developing countries and neglected diseases: challenges and perspectives

It is now commonly admitted that the so-called (most) neglected tropical diseases have been given little attention. According to World Health Organization, neglected diseases are hidden diseases as they affect almost exclusively extremely poor populations living in remote areas beyond the reach of health service. The European Parliament recognised that, to our shame, Neglected Diseases have not received the attention they deserve from EU actions. In the Millennium Development Goals they were given very little attention and mentioned just as other disease. Investing in drugs for these diseases is thought to be not marketable or profitable. However, despite their low mortality, neglected diseases are causing severe and permanent disabilities and deformities affecting approximately 1 billion people in the world, yielding more than 20 millions of Disability Adjusted Life Years (56.6 million according to Lancet's revised estimates) and important socio-economic losses. Urgent pragmatic and efficient measures are needed both at international and national levels

Characterization of dry-stack interlocking compressed earth blocks

Earth has been a traditional building material to construct houses in Africa. One of the most common techniques is the use of sun dried or kiln fired adobe bricks with mud mortar. Fired bricks are the main cause for deforestation in countries like Malawi. Although this technique is low-cost, the bricks vary largely in shape, strength and durability. This leads to weak houses which suffer considerable damage during floods and seismic events. One solution is the use of dry-stack masonry with stabilized interlocking compressed earth blocks (ICEB). This technology has the potential of substituting the current bricks by a more sustainable kind of block. This study was made in the context of the HiLoTec project, which focuses on houses in rural areas of developing countries. For this study, Malawi was chosen for a case study. This paper presents the experimental results of tests made with dry-stack ICEBs. Soil samples from Malawi were taken and studied. Since the experimental campaign could not be carried out in Malawi, a homogenization process of Portuguese soil was made to produce ICEBs at the University of Minho, Portugal. Then, the compression and tensile strength of the materials was determined via small cylinder samples. Subsequently, the compression and flexural strength of units were determined. Finally, tests to determine the compressive strength of both prisms and masonry wallets and to determine the initial shear strength of the dry interfaces were carried out. This work provides valuable data for low-cost eco-efficient housingThis work was carried out under the research project HiLoTec - Development of a Sustainable Self-Construction System for Developing Countries. The authors wish to thank Mota-Engil Constructing Group for supporting this project