Inducible Resistance to Pyrethroid Insecticide is Lacking in Adult Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes have evolved increased resistance to pyrethroid insecticides including permethrin, and studying their metabolic mechanisms of resistance is the window to human counteraction. If early exposure to insecticides can upregulate certain detoxification genes, this creates lower rates of mortality in a single mosquito’s lifetime. Yellow fever mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti) were exposed to a sublethal dosage of permethrin and mortality rates at a later LC50 dose exposure were recorded. Mortality rates of induced mosquitoes were not lower than the mortality rates of unexposed (control) mosquito groups. If early exposure did not increase mortality, either evidence for inducible same-generational resistance remains to be seen in Aedes aegypti, or other factors were responsible for under-stimulating inducible resistance that were not acknowledged in the experimental design. The experiment may be replicated with adjusted test intervals to find the exact interval at which the upregulated proteins are still active and can confer resistance

Afterschool Programs in America: Origins, Growth, Popularity, and Politics

The historical and recent growth of afterschool program (ASPs) in the U.S. is discussed in this article. Particular attention is given to the recent history of social and political influences that have led to growth and current popularity of ASPs. The article begins by reviewing changes in schooling and the labor force that created a supervision gap between the school day of children and work day of parents. This gap contributed to the need for afterschool child care. Next, influences leading to a growing recognition of the significance of school-age childcare for working families and their children, including research on the potential risks of self care and benefits of well-designed ASPs, are described. These discussions are contextualized alongside decades of social and political action and debate over the development of and funding for ASPs in America. Several key factors likely to affect after-school programming in the near future are discussed

Qualidade de vida em receptores de transplante de fígado e a influência dos fatores sociodemográficos

OBJETIVO Verificar a influência dos fatores sociodemográficos na qualidade de vida dos pacientes depois do transplante de fígado. MÉTODO Estudo transversal, com 150 pacientes submetidos ao transplante de fígado em um centro de referência. Aplicou-se um instrumento sociodemográfico e o questionário Liver Disease Quality of Life. Foi realizada Análise de Variância (ANOVA) e comparações múltiplas pelo teste de Tukey e Games-Howell, quando pOBJECTIVE To verify the influence of sociodemographic factors on the quality of life of patients after liver transplant. METHOD Cross-sectional study with 150 patients who underwent liver transplant at a referral center. A sociodemographic instrument and the Liver Disease Quality of Life questionnaire were applied. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed, as well as multiple comparisons by the Tukey test and Games-Howell tests when pOBJETIVO Verificar la influencia de los factores sociodemográficos en la calidad de vida de los pacientes después del trasplante de hígado. MÉTODO Estudio transversal, con 150 pacientes sometidos al trasplante de hígado en un centro de referencia. Se aplicó un instrumento sociodemográfico y el cuestionario Liver Disease Quality of Life. Se llevó a cabo el Análisis de la Varianza (ANOVA) y comparaciones múltiples mediante la prueba de Tukey y Games-Howell, cuando

TIME LAPSED BETWEEN SEXUAL AGGRESSION AND ARRIVAL AT THE BRAZILIAN HEALTH SERVICE

Background: We aimed to describe the social, demographic and medical characteristics of victims ofsexual violence and their association with the lapsed time between the aggression and the searchfor medical attention, and to identify the possible reasons for delay in access to hospital. Methods:We reviewed the records of 439 female cases of sexual violence, treated through the medical servicesin Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, during an eight-year period, from 2000 to 2007. Results: Of the439 patients, 374 arrived at the hospital within 72 hours after the aggression. The average age was24.5 years; 45.1% completed or were finishing high school. The most common form of sexualaggression was vaginal penetration in 43.9% of the cases, followed by multiple forms of penetrationsuch as vaginal plus anal, or vaginal plus oral in 31.4% of the patients. Patients who did not sufferextra-genital injury and those who did not notify the authorities were significantly more likely topresent to care after 72 hours: OR = 2.58 (95%CI: 1.04; 6.38) and OR = 2.74 (95%CI: 1.58; 4.78)respectively. Patients who had prior knowledge of their aggressor were significantly less likely topresent after 72 hours (OR = 0.51; 95%CI: 0.28; 0.96). Conclusions: patients who suffered fromextra-genital trauma and those who notified the authorities were more likely to seek care within 72hours whereas patients who knew their aggressor were more likely to suffer the consequences ofseeking care later than 72 hours. Public policies and efforts to educate women about the seriousnessof this crime and encourage them to notify the authorities and seek care immediately following theaggression, may reduce the complications involving such crime.Objetivo: Descrever as características sócio-demográficas e clínicas de vítimas de violência sexuale sua associação com o tempo decorrido entre a agressão sexual e a chegada ao serviço desaúde. Método: Estudo retrospectivo de 439 casos de mulheres vítimas de agressão sexual,atendidas por serviço público de São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brasil, no período de 2000a 2007. Resultados: De 439 pacientes incluídas, 374 chegaram antes de 72 horas ao hospital.A média de idade foi de 24,5 anos; 45,1% cursava ou havia concluído o segundo grau. A penetração vaginal foi a ocorrência mais comum, sendo exclusiva em 43,9% dos casos, enquantoque a associação desta com penetração anal ou oral ocorreu em 31,4% dos casos. Foram estatisticamente significantes para a chegada após 72 horas da agressão: a ausência de traumanão genital (OR = 2,58; IC95%: 1,04; 6,38), a não realização de denúncia policial (OR = 2,74; IC95%: 1,58; 4,78) e o agressor conhecido (OR = 0,51; IC95%: 0,28; 0,96). Conclusões: Otraumatismo não genital e a denúncia policial foram protetores para as vítimas, trazendo-as aohospital dentro das primeiras 72 horas após a ocorrência; já o agressor conhecido foi fatordeterminante no atraso à chegada ao serviço de saúde. Políticas públicas para capacitação,divulgação e integração entre os setores envolvidos na abordagem deste tipo de violência podemreduzir as complicações dela decorrentes

The Homeostasis of Iron, Copper, and Zinc in Paracoccidioides Brasiliensis, Cryptococcus Neoformans Var. Grubii, and Cryptococcus Gattii: A Comparative Analysis

Iron, copper, and zinc are essential for all living organisms. Moreover, the homeostasis of these metals is vital to microorganisms during pathogenic interactions with a host. Most pathogens have developed specific mechanisms for the uptake of micronutrients from their hosts in order to counteract the low availability of essential ions in infected tissues. We report here an analysis of genes potentially involved in iron, copper, and zinc uptake and homeostasis in the fungal pathogens Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Cryptococcus neoformans var. grubii, and Cryptococcus gattii. Although prior studies have identified certain aspects of metal regulation in Cryptococcus species, little is known regarding the regulation of these elements in P. brasiliensis. We also present amino acid sequences analyses of deduced proteins in order to examine possible conserved domains. The genomic data reveals, for the first time, genes associated to iron, copper, and zinc assimilation and homeostasis in P. brasiliensis. Furthermore, analyses of the three fungal species identified homologs to genes associated with high-affinity uptake systems, vacuolar and mitochondrial iron storage, copper uptake and reduction, and zinc assimilation. However, homologs to genes involved in siderophore production were only found in P. brasiliensis. Interestingly, in silico analysis of the genomes of P. brasiliensis Pb01, Pb03, and Pb18 revealed significant differences in the presence and/or number of genes involved in metal homeostasis, such as in genes related to iron reduction and oxidation. The broad analyses of the genomes of P. brasiliensis, C. neoformans var. grubii, and C. gattii for genes involved in metal homeostasis provide important groundwork for numerous interesting future areas of investigation that are required in order to validate and explore the function of the identified genes and gene pathways

COMPORTAMENTOS SEXUAIS E O USO DE MÉTODOS CONTRACEPTIVOS EM UNIVERSITÁRIAS DA ÁREA DA SAÚDE

RESUMO Objetivou-se descrever o comportamento sexual e o uso de métodos contraceptivos por universitárias da área da saúde em uma instituição de ensino superior público. Trata-se de estudo transversal desenvolvido com 177 estudantes dos cursos de Educação Física, Enfermagem, Farmácia, Medicina, Nutrição e Odontologia. Utilizou-se questionário composto por questões fechadas. Os dados foram dispostos para análise mediante a utilização do software Statistical Package for the Social Science, versão 19.0. Foram realizadas análises univariadas, por meio de estatísticas descritivas simples. Na estatística inferencial foi aplicado teste de hipóteses bivariado (qui-quadrado e exato de Fischer). O nível de significância foi fixado em p≤0,05. Os resultados mostraram que as universitárias possuíam, em média, 20,5 anos, eram pardas, católicas, procedentes de Teresina, cursaram ensino médio em instituições públicas, residiam com a família, não possuíam filhos e com renda familiar de até três salários mínimos. O uso de métodos contraceptivos na primeira relação sexual foi referido pela maioria das universitárias e o preservativo masculino o método de escolha. Quanto à frequência da escolha do preservativo masculino, nos últimos 30 dias, significativa parcela afirma que nunca optou por esse método. Observou-se que o uso de álcool e outras drogas antes da última relação sexual possui associação significativa com o uso de métodos contraceptivos. O estudo pode auxiliar os profissionais da saúde na implantação de ações preventivas, curativas e educativas, considerando-se que na juventude há um sentimento de empoderamento em relação à saúde, que se reflete em demanda retraída desse grupo na busca pelos serviços

Anisotropy and chemical composition of ultra-high energy cosmic rays using arrival directions measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Collaboration has reported evidence for anisotropy in the distribution of arrival directions of the cosmic rays with energies $E>E_{th}=5.5\times 10^{19}$ eV. These show a correlation with the distribution of nearby extragalactic objects, including an apparent excess around the direction of Centaurus A. If the particles responsible for these excesses at $E>E_{th}$ are heavy nuclei with charge $Z$, the proton component of the sources should lead to excesses in the same regions at energies $E/Z$. We here report the lack of anisotropies in these directions at energies above $E_{th}/Z$ (for illustrative values of $Z=6,\ 13,\ 26$). If the anisotropies above $E_{th}$ are due to nuclei with charge $Z$, and under reasonable assumptions about the acceleration process, these observations imply stringent constraints on the allowed proton fraction at the lower energies

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO