Caminhos do cuidado: itinerários de pessoas que convivem com HIV Routes to care: the itineraries of people living with HIV

O adoecimento pelo HIV na atualidade apresenta-se como crônico e controlável. Assim, torna-se pertinente considerar as implicações das trajetórias individuais da busca de cuidado na vida cotidiana de seus portadores. Essas trajetórias são configuradas pelos caminhos que os usuários fazem em busca de respostas a seu adoecimento. Este estudo, de caráter qualitativo, objetivou analisar o itinerário terapêutico das pessoas convivendo com HIV/Aids. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram homens e mulheres com o vírus HIV, assistidos em um Serviço de Assistência Especializada e no Hospital Universitário, ambos públicos localizados em um município de Minas Gerais. A abordagem dos participantes deu-se por meio de entrevista e para análise dos dados elegeu-se a técnica de análise temática. Dos caminhos singulares que desenharam essas narrativas, emergiram os itinerários dessas pessoas que convivem com o HIV. Estes abrangeram temas como as peregrinações e a forma de entrada no sistema de atendimento, as implicações do custo e acesso, a gestão do tratamento e a importância das relações de vínculo. Essas questões que nortearam a organização do trabalho permitiram inferir sobre as fragilidades e as fortalezas presentes no sistema de atendimento ao portador do HIV, ao ser considerada a vivência pessoal desses indivíduos em primeiro plano.<br>Living with HIV infection is currently chronic but manageable. Therefore, it is important to consider the implications of individual trajectories of seeking care for the disease in the daily life of its carriers. These trajectories are in the routes followed by users seeking answers to their illness. This qualitative study sought to analyze the therapeutic itinerary of people living with HIV/AIDS. The subjects studied were men and women with HIV attended in a Specialized Healthcare unit and the University Hospital, both public services located in a municipality of Minas Gerais state, Brazil. The participants were approached through interviews and data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique. From the individual routes that permeated these narratives, the itineraries of individuals living with HIV emerged. These covered topics such as being sent from place to place and finally discovering how to enter the care system, the implications of cost and access, management of treatment and the importance of affiliation bonds. These questions that oriented the work made it possible to infer the strengths and weaknesses in the healthcare service to the HIV carrier, by considering the personal experience of these individuals

Molding and Replication of Ceramic Surfaces with Nanoscale Resolution

The design of reproducible and more efficient nanofabrication routes has become a very active research field in recent years. In particular, the development of new methods for micro- and nanopatterning materials surfaces has attracted the attention of many researchers in industry and academia as a consequence of the growing relevance of patterned surfaces in many technological fields, ranging from optoelectronics to biotechnology. In this work we explore, discuss, and demonstrate the possibility of extending the well-known molding and replication strategy for patterning ceramic materials with nanoscale resolution. To achieve this goal we have combined physical deposition methods, molecule-thick antisticking coatings, and nanostructured substrates as master surfaces. This new perspective on an “old technology”, as molding is, provides an interesting alternative for high-resolution, direct surface-relief patterning of materials that currently requires expensive and time-consuming lithographic approaches.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicada

Assessment of PCR-DGGE for the identification of diverse Helicobacter species, and application to faecal samples from zoo animals to determine Helicobacter prevalence

Helicobacter species are fastidious bacterial pathogens that are difficult to culture by standard methods. A PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique for detection and identification of different Helicobacter species was developed and evaluated. The method involves PCR detection of Helicobacter DNA by genus-specific primers that target 16S rDNA and subsequent differentiation of Helicobacter PCR products by use of DGGE. Strains are identified by comparing mobilities of unknown samples to those determined for reference strains; sequence analysis can also be performed on purified amplicons. Sixteen DGGE profiles were derived from 44 type and reference strains of 20 Helicobacter species, indicating the potential of this approach for resolving infection of a single host by multiple Helicobacter species. Some more highly related species were not differentiated whereas in highly heterogeneous species, sequence divergence was observed and more than one PCR-DGGE profile was obtained. Application of the PCR-DGGE method to DNA extracted from faeces of zoo animals revealed the presence of Helicobacter DNA in 13 of 16 samples; a correlation was seen between the mobility of PCR products in DGGE analysis and DNA sequencing. In combination, this indicated that zoo animals are colonized by a wide range of different Helicobacter species; seven animals appeared to be colonized by multiple Helicobacter species. By this approach, presumptive identifications were made of Helicobacter bilis and Helicobacter hepaticus in a Nile crocodile, Helicobacter cinaedi in a baboon and a red panda, and Helicobacter felis in a wolf and a Taiwan beauty snake. All of these PCR products (400 bp) showed 100 % sequence similarity to 16S rDNA sequences of the mentioned species. These results demonstrate the potential of PCR-DGGE-based analysis for identification of Helicobacter species in complex ecosystems, such as the gastrointestinal tract, and could contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of helicobacters and other pathogens with a complex aetiology