Rights, women's citizenship and religion

The text examines the complex relations between elements of modern culture of rights, the political proposals of contemporary feminists and the ideals and values of Catholicism. In the first part, the article analyzes the contribution of the Catholic Church in Brazil in constructing a certain 'rights culture,' during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, through the so-called 'Base Ecclesiastical Communities' - the CEBs. At the theoretical level, I explore the interminable conflict between the Catholic Church and the modern values that have formed the base of women's demands since the 18th century. Finally, returning to the sociohistorical reality of the women's movement, I approach the question of extending the concept of rights to include the recently emergent 'sexual and reproductive rights,' as a new, ma non troppo, field of conflict between feminist and Catholic ideas.O texto trabalha as complexas relações entre elementos da moderna cultura de direitos, as proposições políticas dos feminismos contemporâneos e os ideais e valores do catolicismo. Num primeiro momento, analisa-se a contribuição da Igreja católica no Brasil para a construção de uma certa "cultura de direitos", nos anos de 1960-1980, por meio das chamadas Comunidades Eclesiais de Base, as CEBs. No âmbito teórico, explora-se o interminável conflito dessa Igreja com os valores modernos que estão na base das reivindicações das mulheres, desde o século XVIII. Finalmente, voltando à realidade socioistórica do movimento de mulheres, aborda-se a questão da ampliação do conceito de direitos pela inclusão dos recém-denominados "direitos sexuais e direitos reprodutivos", como um novo, ma non troppo, campo de conflito entre o ideário feminista e o ideário católico

Feminismo, Gênero e Religião - Os desafios de um encontro possível

Estudiosas/os da temática “gênero e religião” apontam para o difícil encontro destes estudos com aqueles realizados na área da Ciência da Religião. Sublinham que estados da arte sobre a produção brasileira relativa às religiões não mencionam a temática de gênero ou feminismo enquanto, de modo similar, os balanços na área de estudos de gênero deixam de contemplar a produção acadêmica no campo da Ciência da Religião. O artigo trabalha resultados de pesquisa sobre essa dupla invisibilidade, analisando os programas de pós-graduação, grupos de pesquisa e periódicos brasileiros das duas áreas. Os principais achados sinalizam que o distanciamento entre os dois campos – Ciência da Religião e Gênero – pode decorrer da escassez de interação entre acadêmicas/os, o que se revela nos assuntos escolhidos para pesquisa, na avaliação institucional pelos pares que se processa em diferentes sub-comissões e no vínculo que estabelecem com Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) de caráter confessional ou leigo

Aptamer-Functionalized Gold Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery to Gynecological Carcinoma Cells

Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancers and is one of the major cause of deaths in women, especially in underdeveloped countries. The patients are usually treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. However, these treatments can cause several side effects and may lead to infertility. Another concerning gynecologic cancer is endometrial cancer, in which a high number of patients present a poor prognosis with low survival rates. AS1411, a DNA aptamer, increases anticancer therapeutic selectivity, and through its conjugation with gold nanoparticles (AS1411-AuNPs) it is possible to improve the anticancer effects. Therefore, AS1411-AuNPs are potential drug carriers for selectively delivering therapeutic drugs to cervical cancer. In this work, we used AS1411-AuNPs as a carrier for an acridine orange derivative (C8) or Imiquimod (IQ). The AS1411 aptamer was covalently bound to AuNPs, and each drug was associated via supramolecular assembly. The final nanoparticles presented suitable properties for pharmaceutical applications, such as small size, negative charge, and favorable drug release properties. Cellular uptake was characterized by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, and effects on cellular viability were determined by MTT assay. The nanoparticles were then incorporated into a gel formulation of polyethylene glycol, suitable for topical application in the female genital tract. This gel showed promising tissue retention properties in Franz cells studies in the porcine vaginal epithelia. These findings suggest that the tested nanoparticles are promising drug carriers for cervical cancer therapy

Country activities of Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD): focus presentations at the 11th GARD General Meeting, Brussels

© Journal of Thoracic Disease. All rights reserved.The Global Alliance against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) is a voluntary network of national and international organizations, institutions and agencies led by the World Health Organization (WHO), working towards the vision of a world where all people breathe freely (1). GARD is supporting WHO in successfully implementing the WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) 2013–2020. The GARD report on GARD activities is published on a regular basis. Collaboration among GARD countries is critical for sharing experiences and providing technical assistance to developing countries based on each country’s needs (2). The annual GARD meeting is a unique opportunity for assembling all of the GARD participants from developed and developing countries: European countries, North and South American Countries, China, Vietnam as well as Eastern Mediterranean, and African countries. Coordinator for Management of NCDs in the WHO Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention (Cherian Varghese) is present at this meeting. The annual meeting of GARD is a forum for exchanging opinions in order to improve care for chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and to achieve the GARD goal—a world where all people breathe freely. Experts—in collaboration with WHO—are helping developing countries to achieve their projects regarding teaching, research and programming for CRD. Each year, there is a poster presentation session on country activities. Each participant is able to present his/her country activities that have been achieved since the last meeting. This is followed by discussion. In this paper, we summarize the posters presented during the 11th GARD general meeting. We hope that this will give readers of the GARD section an opportunity to learn for their countries. We can find all posters on the link: https://gard-breathefreely.org/resources-poster/.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

Funder: European Society of Intensive Care Medicine; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100013347Funder: Flemish Society for Critical Care NursesAbstract: Purpose: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are particularly susceptible to developing pressure injuries. Epidemiologic data is however unavailable. We aimed to provide an international picture of the extent of pressure injuries and factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries in adult ICU patients. Methods: International 1-day point-prevalence study; follow-up for outcome assessment until hospital discharge (maximum 12 weeks). Factors associated with ICU-acquired pressure injury and hospital mortality were assessed by generalised linear mixed-effects regression analysis. Results: Data from 13,254 patients in 1117 ICUs (90 countries) revealed 6747 pressure injuries; 3997 (59.2%) were ICU-acquired. Overall prevalence was 26.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.9–27.3). ICU-acquired prevalence was 16.2% (95% CI 15.6–16.8). Sacrum (37%) and heels (19.5%) were most affected. Factors independently associated with ICU-acquired pressure injuries were older age, male sex, being underweight, emergency surgery, higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Braden score 3 days, comorbidities (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, immunodeficiency), organ support (renal replacement, mechanical ventilation on ICU admission), and being in a low or lower-middle income-economy. Gradually increasing associations with mortality were identified for increasing severity of pressure injury: stage I (odds ratio [OR] 1.5; 95% CI 1.2–1.8), stage II (OR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.9), and stage III or worse (OR 2.8; 95% CI 2.3–3.3). Conclusion: Pressure injuries are common in adult ICU patients. ICU-acquired pressure injuries are associated with mainly intrinsic factors and mortality. Optimal care standards, increased awareness, appropriate resource allocation, and further research into optimal prevention are pivotal to tackle this important patient safety threat

Correction to: Prevalence, associated factors and outcomes of pressure injuries in adult intensive care unit patients: the DecubICUs study

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries