102 research outputs found

    Híbridos e variedades de milho submetidos à inoculação de sementes com Herbaspirillum seropedicae.

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    Resumo: A fixação biológica de nitrogênio proporcionada por bactérias diazotróficas pode representar alternativa para a produção de milho em sistemas agrícolas mais sustentáveis ou de baixa utilização de insumos. Objetivando-se avaliar o crescimento, teor e acúmulo de nitrogênio em genótipos de milho, em função da inoculação das sementes com Herbaspirillum seropedicae, foi conduzido experimento em casa de vegetação avaliando-se 35 genótipos de milho híbridos simples, duplo, triplo e variedades. Para inoculação das sementes foi utilizado inoculante turfoso contendo a estirpe bacteriana de H. seropedicae (ZAE 94). Entre os genótipos comerciais de milho estudados, apenas nove híbridos apresentam ganhos de crescimento ou acúmulo de N com a inoculação das sementes com a estirpe Herbaspirillum seropedicae (ZAE 94). Há distinção de resposta entre cultivares de milho em termos de produção de biomassa e incremento de teor de N na parte aérea das plantas. Abstract: The biological nitrogen fixation provided by diazotrophic bacteria may represent an alternative to maize production in more sustainable agricultural systems or low use of technology. In order to evaluate the growth, content and accumulation of nitrogen in corn genotypes, depending on seed inoculation with Herbaspirillum seropedicae experiment was conducted in greenhouse evaluating 35 corn genotypes hybrid single, double, triple and varieties. For seed inoculation was used peat inoculant containing the bacterial strain of H. seropedicae (ZAE 94). Among the commercial corn genotypes studied, only nine hybrids show increase of growth or accumulation of N with the seed inoculation with Herbaspirillum seropedicae (ZAE 94). There is a distinction in response between maize cultivars in terms of biomass production and increase of N content in the shoots

    Effectiveness of skills-based training using the Drink-less package to increase family practitioner confidence in intervening for alcohol use disorders

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    BACKGROUND: Misuse of alcohol is second only to tobacco as a leading cause of preventable death in Australia. There is an opportunity in family practice to detect problems and intervene with people at risk of alcohol-related harm before complications occur. However, family practitioners (FPs) report low levels of confidence in managing patients with drinking problems. The aim of this study was to determine whether the interactive training session using the 'Drink-less' package led to improvement in FPs' self-reported level of confidence in detecting and providing interventions for risky alcohol consumption. METHOD: FPs in urban and rural New South Wales were invited to training sessions in their local area. An introductory overview preceded a practical skills- based session, using the Drink-less package. Participants completed before and after evaluation forms. RESULTS: While 49% (CI 43 – 55) of the attending FPs indicated at baseline that they felt confident in identifying at-risk drinkers, this proportion rose to 90% (95% CI: 87 – 93) post-session, and they also reported increases in confidence from 36% (95% CI: 31 – 41) to 90% in their ability to advise patients. Urban FPs reported lower levels of confidence than rural FPs, both pre- and post-session. CONCLUSION: Training sessions in the Drink-less intervention resulted in increased self-reported confidence in detection and brief intervention for alcohol problems. Further research is needed to determine the duration of this effect and its influence on practice behaviour

    Challenges to alcohol and other drug discussions in the general practice consultation

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    Background. There is a widely held expectation that GPs will routinely use opportunities to provide opportunistic screening and brief intervention for alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse, a major cause of preventable death and morbidity

    Hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in Friedreich Ataxia

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mitochondrial dysfunction due to respiratory chain impairment is a key feature in pathogenesis of Friedreich ataxia. Friedreich ataxia affects the nervous system, heart and pancreas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed hepatic mitochondrial function by <sup>13</sup>C-methionine-breath-test in 16 Friedreich ataxia patients and matched healthy controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients exhaled significantly smaller amounts of <sup>13</sup>CO<sub>2 </sub>over 90 minutes. Maximal exhaled percentage dose of <sup>13</sup>CO<sub>2 </sub>recovery was reduced compared to controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><sup>13</sup>C-methionine-breath-test indicates subclinical hepatic mitochondrial dysfunction in Friedreich ataxia but did not correlate with GAA repeat lengths, disease duration or disease severity.</p

    Cost-Effectiveness of an Opportunistic Screening Programme and Brief Intervention for Excessive Alcohol Use in Primary Care

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    Effective prevention of excessive alcohol use has the potential to reduce the public burden of disease considerably. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of Screening and Brief Intervention (SBI) for excessive alcohol use in primary care in the Netherlands, which is targeted at early detection and treatment of ‘at-risk’ drinkers.We compared a SBI scenario (opportunistic screening and brief intervention for ‘at-risk’ drinkers) in general practices with the current practice scenario (no SBI) in the Netherlands. We used the RIVM Chronic Disease Model (CDM) to extrapolate from decreased alcohol consumption to effects on health care costs and Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) gained. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis was employed to study the effect of uncertainty in the model parameters. In total, 56,000 QALYs were gained at an additional cost of €298,000,000 due to providing alcohol SBI in the target population, resulting in a cost-effectiveness ratio of €5,400 per QALY gained.Prevention of excessive alcohol use by implementing SBI for excessive alcohol use in primary care settings appears to be cost-effective

    Can screening and brief intervention lead to population-level reductions in alcohol-related harm?

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    A distinction is made between the clinical and public health justifications for screening and brief intervention (SBI) against hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption. Early claims for a public health benefit of SBI derived from research on general medical practitioners' (GPs') advice on smoking cessation, but these claims have not been realized, mainly because GPs have not incorporated SBI into their routine practice. A recent modeling exercise estimated that, if all GPs in England screened every patient at their next consultation, 96% of the general population would be screened over 10 years, with 70-79% of excessive drinkers receiving brief interventions (BI); assuming a 10% success rate, this would probably amount to a population-level effect of SBI. Thus, a public health benefit for SBI presupposes widespread screening; but recent government policy in England favors targeted versus universal screening, and in Scotland screening is based on new registrations and clinical presentation. A recent proposal for a national screening program was rejected by the UK National Health Service's National Screening Committee because 1) there was no good evidence that SBI led to reductions in mortality or morbidity, and 2) a safe, simple, precise, and validated screening test was not available. Even in countries like Sweden and Finland, where expensive national programs to disseminate SBI have been implemented, only a minority of the population has been asked about drinking during health-care visits, and a minority of excessive drinkers has been advised to cut down. Although there has been research on the relationship between treatment for alcohol problems and population-level effects, there has been no such research for SBI, nor have there been experimental investigations of its relationship with population-level measures of alcohol-related harm. These are strongly recommended. In this article, conditions that would allow a population-level effect of SBI to occur are reviewed, including their political acceptability. It is tentatively concluded that widespread dissemination of SBI, without the implementation of alcohol control measures, might have indirect influences on levels of consumption and harm but would be unlikely on its own to result in public health benefits. However, if and when alcohol control measures were introduced, SBI would still have an important role in the battle against alcohol-related harm

    Bridging evidence-practice gaps: improving use of medicines in elderly Australian veterans

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    BACKGROUND The Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) funds an ongoing health promotion based program to improve use of medicines and related health services, which implements interventions that include audit and feedback in the form of patient-specific feedback generated from administrative claims records. We aimed to determine changes in medicine use as a result of the program. METHODS The program provides targeted patient-specific feedback to medical practitioners. The feedback is supported with educational material developed by a clinical panel, subject to peer review and overseen by a national editorial committee. Veterans who meet target criteria also receive educational brochures. The program is supported by a national call centre and ongoing national consultation. Segmented regression analyses (interrupted time series) were undertaken to assess changes in medication use in targeted veterans pre and post each intervention. RESULTS 12 interventions were included; three to increase medicine use, seven which aimed to reduce use, and two which had combination of messages to change use. All programs that aimed to increase medicine use were effective, with relative effect sizes at the time of the intervention ranging from 1% to 8%. Mixed results were seen with programs aiming to reduce inappropriate medicine use. Highly specific programs were effective, with relative effect sizes at the time of the intervention of 10% decline in use of NSAIDs in high risk groups and 14% decline in use of antipsychotics in dementia. Interventions targeting combinations of medicines, including medicine interactions and potentially inappropriate medicines in the elderly did not change practice significantly. Interventions with combinations of messages targeting multiple components of practice had an impact on one component, but not all components targeted. CONCLUSIONS The Veterans’ MATES program showed positive practice change over time, with interventions increasing use of appropriate medicines where under-use was evident and reduced use of inappropriate medicines when single medicines were targeted. Combinations of messages were less effective, suggesting specific messages focusing on single medicines are required to maximise effect. The program provides a model that could be replicated in other settings.Elizabeth E Roughead, Lisa M Kalisch Ellett, Emmae N Ramsay, Nicole L Pratt, John D Barratt, Vanessa T LeBlanc, Philip Ryan, Robert Peck, Graeme Killer and Andrew L Gilber
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