Stepwise strategy to improve Cervical Cancer Screening Adherence (SCAN-CC): automated text messages, phone calls and face-to-face interviews: protocol of a population-based randomised controlled trial

Introduction Screening is highly effective for cervical cancer prevention and control. Population-based screening programmes are widely implemented in high-income countries, although adherence is often low. In Portugal, just over half of the women adhere to cervical cancer screening, contributing for greater mortality rates than in other European countries. The most effective adherence raising strategies are based on patient reminders, small/mass media and face-to-face educational programmes, but sequential interventions targeting the general population have seldom been evaluated. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a stepwise approach, with increasing complexity and cost, to improve adherence to organised cervical cancer screening: step 1a-customised text message invitation; step 1b-customised automated phone call invitation; step 2-secretary phone call; step 3-family health professional phone call and face-to-face appointment. Methods A population-based randomised controlled trial will be implemented in Portuguese urban and rural areas. Women eligible for cervical cancer screening will be randomised (1: 1) to intervention and control. In the intervention group, women will be invited for screening through text messages, automated phone calls, manual phone calls and health professional appointments, to be applied sequentially to participants remaining non-adherent after each step. Control will be the standard of care (written letter). The primary outcome is the proportion of women adherent to screening after step 1 or sequences of steps from 1 to 3. The secondary outcomes are: proportion of women screened after each step (1a, 2 and 3); proportion of text messages/phone calls delivered; proportion of women previously screened in a private health institution who change to organised screening. The intervention and control groups will be compared based on intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses. Ethics and dissemination The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Northern Health Region Administration and National Data Protection Committee. Results will be disseminated through communications in scientific meetings and peer-reviewed journals.This work is supported by the groups of primary healthcare units involved in the study (ACeS Porto Ocidental and Marao e Douro Norte) and the Instituto de Saude Publica da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP). The groups of primary care units contribute with the human resources involved in the field work and data collection. The cost of text messages and phone calls are supported by ACeS Porto Ocidental and ISPUP

Translating Evidence into Practice: Insights on the Reporting of Trial Results to Health Professionals and Institutions

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Drivers for annual cork growth under two understory management alternatives on a podzolic cork oak stand

ArticleUnderstory management practices and stand density characteristics allow one to distinguish a cork oak traditional silvopastoral system (known as a montado) from a cork oak forest system. Although understanding the manner in which different management practices affect cork growth is imperative, there are still only a few outputs from experimental research that contribute to this knowledge. The effect of potential drivers on annual cork growth was analyzed using a linear mixed model approach. Two dimensions of drivers were considered: intraspecific competition, assessed by tree level distance-dependent indices; and interspecific competition, assessed by variables characterizing understory management. The present dataset was collected from an experimental trial established on a cork oak stand in Podzolic soil on the Tagus river basin, covering two different cork growth cycles over the period from 2003 to 2015. The adjusted models considered two understory management alternatives: spontaneous shrubs maintenance and forage application. In both models, annual precipitation displayed a positive effect on annual cork growth, as expected. However, no significant effect of intraspecific competition was found. Additionally, there was a positive effect on annual cork growth associated with the spontaneous shrubs growth and a negative effect associated with lupine presence; both effects linked to different cork ring ages’ thresholds. The study main contributions are the following: (i) the introduction of the interaction between cork growth cycle stage and understory management practices, only possible with cork sample collections from different cork rotation cycles; (ii) the finding that there was no significant effect of intraspecific competition on cork growthinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Biological control of the bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus, in eucalyptus plantations in Brazil.

Edição dos abstracts do 24º IUFRO World Congress, 2014, Salt Lake City. Sustaining forests, sustaining people: the role of research

Electrochemical feasibility study of methyl parathion determination on graphite-modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode

A low-cost electrochemical method was developed for the determination of trace-level of methyl parathion (MP) based on the properties of graphite-modified basal plane pyrolytic graphite electrode (graphite-bppg). A combination of graphite-bppg with square-wave voltammetric (SWV) analysis resulted in an original, sensitive and selective electrochemical method for determination of MP pesticide in drinking water. The electrode was constructed and the electrochemical behavior of MP was studied. Immobilization is achieved via film modification from dispersing graphite powder in deionized water and through pipeting a small volume onto the electrode surface allowing the solvent to volatilize. The strong affinity of the graphite modifier for the phosphorous group of the MP allowed the deposition of a significant amount of MP in less than 60 seconds. The cyclic voltammetric results indicate that the graphite-bppg electrode can enhance sensitivity in current intensity towards the quasi-reversible redox peaks of the products of the cathodic reduction of the nitro group at negative potential (peak I = 0.077 V and peak II = -0.062 V) and that the cathodic irreversible peak (peak III = -0.586 V) in comparison with bare bppg electrode and is also adsorption controlled process. Under optimized conditions, the concentration range and detection limit for MP pesticide are respectively 79.0 to 263.3 μmol L-1 and 3.00 μmol L-1. The proposed method was successfully applied to MP determination in drinking water and the performance of this electrochemical sensor has been evaluated in terms of analytical figures of merit.Um método eletroquímico de baixo custo foi desenvolvido para a determinação de traços de metil paration (MP) baseado nas propriedades do eletrodo de grafite pirolítico de plano basal modificado com grafite (grafite-bppg). A combinação do grafite-bppg com voltametria de onda quadrada (VOQ) resultou em um método eletroquímico seletivo, sensível e original para a determinação do pesticida MP em água potável. O eletrodo foi construído e o comportamento eletroquímico do MP foi estudado. A imobilização foi feita através de modificação por formação de filme a partir da dispersão de pó de grafite em água destilada e através de pipetagem de um volume pequeno sobre a superfície do eletrodo, permitindo que o solvente volatilizasse. A forte afinidade do modificador grafite com o grupo fósforo do MP permitiu o depósito de uma quantidade significativa de MP em menos de 60 segundos. Os resultados de voltametria cíclica mostraram que o eletrodo de grafite-bppg pode aumentar a sensibilidade na intensidade de corrente para os picos redox quasi-reversíveis dos produtos da redução catódica do grupo nitro em potencial negativo (pico I = 0,077 V e o pico II = -0,062 V) e para o pico catódico irreversível (pico III = -0,586 V) em comparação com o eletrodo não modificado bppg e que o processo é também controlado por adsorção. Sob condições otimizadas, o intervalo de concentração e limite de detecção para o pesticida MP são 79,0 a 263,3 μmol L-1 e 3,00 μmol L-1, respectivamente. O método proposto foi aplicado com sucesso → determinação do MP em água potável e o desempenho deste sensor eletroquímico foi avaliado em termos de figuras de mérito analíticas