553 research outputs found
Myths of Multipolarity: The Sources of Brazil's Foreign Policy Overstretch
In this article, we provide a framework to analyze the foreign policy overstretch of middle powers, that is, their recent tendency to expand foreign policy goals and ambitions beyond their capabilities. We propose that overstretch results from the interaction of permissive international environments and the collusion of domestic actors to produce foreign policy myths. These myths, in turn, justify unsustainable swelling of foreign policy expenditures until they are shattered. After laying out our theory, we test it against the case of twenty-first-century Brazil. First, we document how interest groups logrolled to foster and capitalize on a “myth of multipolarity,” which, once entrenched in elite discourse and public opinion, resulted in a tangible overgrowth of foreign policy. Second, we show the extent of overstretch across four indicators—number of embassies, participation in peacekeeping operations, membership in international organizations, and aid projects overseas—using the synthetic control method to compare Brazil with a plausible counterfactual
Rastreio da Diabetes em Doentes com Doença Macrovascular Coronária: As Novas Guidelines Europeias são um Retrocesso?
BACKGROUND:
The new European guidelines on diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases propose that the FINnish Diabetes RIsk SCore should be used to evaluate the risk of diabetes mellitus and that diabetes mellitus screening in coronary artery disease patients should be based on fasting glucose and HbA1c. The 2 hour oral glucose tolerance test, recommended for all pts in the previous guidelines, is now only recommended for 'inconclusive' cases. We aimed to evaluate this new strategy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
Fasting glucose, HbA1c and glucose tolerance test (75 g, 2h) were prospectively evaluated in a consecutive group of pts with coronary artery disease. ADA criteria (both glucose tolerance test and HbA1c) were used to define diabetes mellitus and pre-diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus risk was evaluated according to the FINnish Diabetes RIsk SCore.
RESULTS:
A total of 135 patients were included (mean age 62.3 +/- 13.1 years, 99 males). Glucose tolerance test and HbA1c together diagnosed 18 (13.3%) new cases of diabetes mellitus and 77 (57.0%) patients with pre-diabetes mellitus. Fasting glucose + HbA1c (guidelines strategy) identified 12/18 patients with diabetes mellitus (Sens 66.7%; negative predictive value 95.1%; Kappa 0.78; p < 0.0001) and 83/95 patients with glucose anomalies (pre- diabetes mellitus + diabetes mellitus) (Sens 87.4%; negative predictive value 76.9%). Performing glucose tolerance test in the 29 patients with an elevated FINnish Diabetes RIsk SCore would allow identifying 15/18 patients with diabetes mellitus (Sens 83.3%; negative predictive value 97.5%; Kappa 0.85; p < 0.0001) and 86/95 patients with glucose anomalies (Sens 90.5%; negative predictive value 81.6%).
DISCUSSION:
Although this strategy improved the screening accuracy, one in each six patients with diabetes mellitus would still remain undiagnosed, as compared to measuring HbA1c and performing an glucose tolerance test in all patients.
CONCLUSION:
Using the FINnish Diabetes RIsk SCore to select candidates to additional glucose tolerance test improves the accuracy for identifying diabetic patients, as compared with fasting glucose + HbA1c alone. However, 1/6 patients diabetes mellitus is still left undiagnosed with this strategy proposed by the current guidelines.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Trends in percutaneous coronary intervention from 2004 to 2013 according to the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology
Introducção e objetivos: Foi nosso objetivo estudar as tendências da intervencção coronária percutânea
entre 2004-2013 e comparar Portugal com outros países europeus.
Métodos: Análise dos procedimentos coronários efetuados entre 2004-2013 com base num
registo prospetivo, multicêntrico, voluntário, doente a doente --- Registo Nacional de Cardiologia
de Intervenc¸ão (RNCI) da Associac¸ão Portuguesa de Intervenc¸ão Cardiovascular da Sociedade
Portuguesa de Cardiologia (APIC-SPC) --- e dos dados oficiais publicados pela Direc¸ão Geral de
Saúde (DGS).
Resultados: Em 2013 realizaram-se 36 810 cateterismos diagnósticos (3529 coronariografias por
milhão de habitantes), representando um aumento significativo de 34% relativamente ao ano
de 2007 (p < 0,001). As intervenc¸ões coronárias percutâneas (ICP) cresceram 64% desde 2004,
atingindo um total de 13 897 procedimentos e uma taxa de 1333 por milhão de habitantes no ano
de 2013 (p < 0,001). A angioplastia primária (ICP-P) cresceu 265% (1328 versus 3524) atingindo
uma taxa de 338/milhão, o que representou 25% do total de angioplastias efectuadas em 2013.
Os stents foram o dispositivo intracoronário mais utilizado, com uma taxa de stents eluidores
de fármaco de 73% em 2013. O acesso radial passou de 4,1% em 2004 para 57,9% em 2013
(p < 0,001).
Conclusões: A cardiologia de intervenc¸ão mantém uma tendência de crescimento desde 2004 a
2013. Neste ano, a totalidade dos centros de cardiologia de intervenc¸ão portugueses estavam
a exportar os dados para o RNCI, destacando-se o aumento relativo da angioplastia primária e
o incremento do acesso radial.Introduction and Objectives: The aim of the present paper is to report trends in Portuguese
interventional cardiology from 2004 to 2013 and to compare them with other European countries.
Methods: Based on the Portuguese National Registry of Interventional Cardiology and on official
data from the Directorate-General of Health, we give an overview of developments in coronary
interventions from 2004 to 2013.
Results: In 2013, 36 810 diagnostic catheterization procedures were performed, representing an
increase of 34% compared to 2007 and a rate of 3529 coronary angiograms per million population.
Coronary interventions increased by 65% in the decade from 2004 to 2013, with a total of 13 897
procedures and a rate of 1333 coronary interventions per million population in 2013. Primary
percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) increased by 265% from 2004 to 2013 (1328 vs. 3524),
an adjusted rate of 338 primary PCIs per million, representing 25% of total angioplasties. Stents
were the most frequently used devices, drug-eluting stents being used in 73% in 2013. Radial
access increased from 4.1% in 2004 to 57.9% in 2013.
Conclusion: Interventional cardiology in Portugal has been expanding since 2004. We would
emphasize the fact that in 2013 all Portuguese interventional cardiology centers were participating
in the National Registry of Interventional Cardiology, as well as the growth in primary
PCI and increased use of radial access
CD19 LYMPHOCYTE PROLIFERATION INDUCED BY Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis IN C57BL/6 MICE EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH Toxoplasma gondii
Toxoplasmosis is frequently acquired through the oral route by the ingestion of cysts or oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii. Once ingested, the parasites penetrate the intestinal epithelial cells and rapidly disseminate to all organs in the host. During T. gondii infection, the intestinal microbiota plays an important role in stimulating a protective immune response against the parasite. In this sense the use of probiotics is worthy of note since they are live microorganisms that have beneficial effects on the host through stimulation of the immune response that can be important in the control of T. gondii proliferation and dissemination in the host. In the present study, the action of the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis was investigated in C57BL/6 mice infected with oocysts of ME49 strain of T. gondii. The probiotic had an immunomodulatory action, inducing CD19 lymphocyte proliferation and consequently increasing anti-T. gondii antibody level.Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactisprovided protection in supplemented mice, compared to the control group. In addition, supplemented animals had milder inflammatory process in the small intestine, indicating that the probiotic protects the intestinal mucosa during infection with T. gondii. It was concluded that the probioticB. animalis subsp. lactis induces humoral immune response capable of providing protection against T. gondii infection
Changes in grassland management and linear infrastructures associated to the decline of an endangered bird population
European grassland birds are experiencing major population declines, mainly due to changes in
farmland management. We analyzed the role of habitat availability, grazing management and
linear infrastructures (roads and power lines) in explaining spatial and temporal variation in the
population density of little bustards (Tetrax tetrax) in Portugal, during a decade in which the species
population size halved. We used data from 51 areas (totaling ca. 1,50,000 ha) that were sampled
in two different periods (2003–2006 and 2016). In 2003–2006, when the species occurred at high
densities, habitat availability was the only factor affecting spatial variation in bustard density. In the
2016 survey, variation in density was explained by habitat availability and livestock management,
with reduced bird numbers in areas with higher proportions of cattle. Population declines across the
study period were steeper in areas that initially held higher densities of bustards and in areas with a
higher proportion of cattle in the total stocking rate. Areas with higher densities of power lines also
registered greater density declines, probably due to avoidance behavior and to increased mortality.
Overall, our results show little bustards are currently lacking high quality grassland habitat, whose
persistence depends on extensive grazing regimes and low linear infrastructure densitiesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Humoral Response to the Anopheles gambiae Salivary Protein gSG6: A Serological Indicator of Exposure to Afrotropical Malaria Vectors
Salivary proteins injected by blood feeding arthropods into their hosts evoke a saliva-specific humoral response which can be useful to evaluate exposure to bites of disease vectors. However, saliva of hematophagous arthropods is a complex cocktail of bioactive factors and its use in immunoassays can be misleading because of potential cross-reactivity to other antigens. Toward the development of a serological marker of exposure to Afrotropical malaria vectors we expressed the Anopheles gambiae gSG6, a small anopheline-specific salivary protein, and we measured the anti-gSG6 IgG response in individuals from a malaria hyperendemic area of Burkina Faso, West Africa. The gSG6 protein was immunogenic and anti-gSG6 IgG levels and/or prevalence increased in exposed individuals during the malaria transmission/rainy season. Moreover, this response dropped during the intervening low transmission/dry season, suggesting it is sensitive enough to detect variation in vector density. Members of the Fulani ethnic group showed higher anti-gSG6 IgG response as compared to Mossi, a result consistent with the stronger immune reactivity reported in this group. Remarkably, anti-gSG6 IgG levels among responders were high in children and gradually declined with age. This unusual pattern, opposite to the one observed with Plasmodium antigens, is compatible with a progressive desensitization to mosquito saliva and may be linked to the continued exposure to bites of anopheline mosquitoes. Overall, the humoral anti-gSG6 IgG response appears a reliable serological indicator of exposure to bites of the main African malaria vectors (An. gambiae, Anopheles arabiensis and, possibly, Anopheles funestus) and it may be exploited for malaria epidemiological studies, development of risk maps and evaluation of anti-vector measures. In addition, the gSG6 protein may represent a powerful model system to get a deeper understanding of molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the immune tolerance and progressive desensitization to insect salivary allergens
Immunogenic Salivary Proteins of Triatoma infestans: Development of a Recombinant Antigen for the Detection of Low-Level Infestation of Triatomines
Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is a neglected disease with 20 million people at risk in Latin America. The main control strategies are based on insecticide spraying to eliminate the domestic vectors, the most effective of which is Triatoma infestans. This approach has been very successful in some areas. However, there is a constant risk of recrudescence in once-endemic regions resulting from the re-establishment of T. infestans and the invasion of other triatomine species. To detect low-level infestations of triatomines after insecticide spraying, we have developed a new epidemiological tool based on host responses against salivary antigens of T. infestans. We identified and synthesized a highly immunogenic salivary protein. This protein was used successfully to detect differences in the infestation level of T. infestans of households in Bolivia and the exposure to other triatomine species. The development of such an exposure marker to detect low-level infestation may also be a useful tool for other disease vectors
- …