Brain activity underlying negative self- and other-perception in adolescents: The role of attachment-derived self-representations

One of teenagers' key developmental tasks is to engage in new and meaningful relationships with peers and adults outside the family context. Attachment-derived expectations about the self and others in terms of internal attachment working models have the potential to shape such social reorientation processes critically and thereby influence adolescents' social-emotional development and social integration. Because the neural underpinnings of this developmental task remain largely unknown, we sought to investigate them by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We asked n = 44 adolescents (ages 12.01-18.84 years) to evaluate positive and negative adjectives regarding either themselves or a close other during an adapted version of the well-established self-other trait-evaluation task. As measures of attachment, we obtained scores reflecting participants' positive versus negative attachment-derived self- and other-models by means of the Relationship Questionnaire. We controlled for possible confounding factors by also obtaining scores reflecting internalizing/externalizing problems, schizotypy, and borderline symptomatology. Our results revealed that participants with a more negative attachment-derived self-model showed increased brain activity during positive and negative adjective evaluation regarding the self, but decreased brain activity during negative adjective evaluation regarding a close other, in bilateral amygdala/parahippocampus, bilateral anterior temporal pole/anterior superior temporal gyrus, and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These findings suggest that a low positivity of the self-concept characteristic for the attachment anxiety dimension may influence neural information processing, but in opposite directions when it comes to self- versus (close) other-representations. We discuss our results in the framework of attachment theory and regarding their implications especially for adolescent social-emotional development and social integration

2 nd Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease, 2015

Abstract Chagas disease is a neglected chronic condition with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. It has considerable psychological, social, and economic impacts. The disease represents a significant public health issue in Brazil, with different regional patterns. This document presents the evidence that resulted in the Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease. The objective was to review and standardize strategies for diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of Chagas disease in the country, based on the available scientific evidence. The consensus is based on the articulation and strategic contribution of renowned Brazilian experts with knowledge and experience on various aspects of the disease. It is the result of a close collaboration between the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine and the Ministry of Health. It is hoped that this document will strengthen the development of integrated actions against Chagas disease in the country, focusing on epidemiology, management, comprehensive care (including families and communities), communication, information, education, and research

High frequency of resistance to the drugs isoniazid and rifampicin among tuberculosis cases in the city of Cabo de Santo Agostinho, an urban area in Northeastern Brazil.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the frequency and risk factors for developing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, PE. This was a prospective study conducted from 2000 to 2003, in which suspected cases were investigated using bacilloscopy and culturing. Out of 232 confirmed cases of tuberculosis, culturing and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed on 174. Thirty-five of the 174 cultures showed resistance to all drugs. The frequencies of primary and acquired resistance to any drug were 14% and 50% respectively, while the frequencies of primary and acquired multidrug resistance were 8.3% and 40%. Previous tuberculosis treatment and abandonment of treatment were risk factors for drug resistance. The high levels of primary and acquired resistance to the combination of isoniazid and rifampicin contributed towards the difficulties in controlling tuberculosis transmission in the city

Column Generation for Extended Formulations

Working in an extended variable space allows one to develop tighter reformu- lations for mixed integer programs. However, the size of the extended formulation grows rapidly too large for a direct treatment by a MIP-solver. Then, one can work with inner approximations defined and improved by generating dynamically vari- ables and constraints. When the extended formulation stems from subproblems' reformulations, one can implement column generation for the extended formulation using a Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition paradigm. Pricing subproblem solutions are expressed in the variables of the extended formulation and added to the current re- stricted version of the extended formulation along with the subproblem constraints that are active for the subproblem solutions. This so-called "column-and-row gen- eration" procedure is revisited here in a unifying presentation that generalizes the column generation algorithm and extends to the case of working with an approximate extended formulation. The interest of the approach is evaluated numerically on ma- chine scheduling, bin packing, generalized assignment, and multi-echelon lot-sizing problems. We compare a direct handling of the extended formulation, a standard column generation approach, and the "column-and-row generation" procedure, high- lighting a key benefit of the latter: lifting pricing problem solutions in the space of the extended formulation permits their recombination into new subproblem solutions and results in faster convergence

Avaliação dos efeitos adversos clínicos e alterações laboratoriais em pacientes com acne vulgar tratados com isotretinoína oral Evaluation of clinical adverse effects and laboratory alterations in patients with acne vulgaris treated with oral isotretinoin

FUNDAMENTOS: A isotretinoína oral revolucionou o manejo da acne. Os efeitos adversos observados, durante o tratamento, são divididos em dois grupos: mucocutâneos e sistêmicos. Anormalidades laboratoriais, principalmente, as dislipidemias e aumento das enzimas hepáticas são relatados. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a tolerabilidade da isotretinoína oral, com atenção, no metabolismo lipídico, função hepática e reações adversas clínicas. MÉTODOS: Foram incluídos 150 pacientes com diagnóstico clínico de acne submetidos a tratamento com isotretinoína oral. Avaliações clínicas e laboratoriais foram feitas, após um mês e a cada três meses, até completar o tratamento. RESULTADOS: Dos 150 pacientes 48% eram do sexo feminino e 52% do sexo masculino. A idade variou de 15 a 32 anos. Quanto aos efeitos adversos cutâneos e mucosos da isotretinoína, queilite foi o mais frequente, ocorrendo em 94% pacientes. Efeitos clínicos sistêmicos foram bem menos comuns. Os níveis de colesterol, triglicerídeos, transaminases, foram avaliados e não mostraram alterações significativas, ao longo do tratamento. CONCLUSÃO: Os pacientes apresentaram efeitos adversos, compatíveis com os da literatura, e, em sua maioria, controlados com medicações sintomáticas. Podemos concluir que a isotretinoína é uma droga segura, em relação a seus efeitos adversos, tanto clínicos como laboratoriais.<br>BACKGROUND: Oral isotretinoin therapy has completely changed the treatment of acne. The clinical adverse effects of isotretinoin are classified into two groups: mucocutaneous and systemic toxic. Laboratory alterations such as dyslipidemia and increase of hepatic enzymes are reported. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the tolerability of oral isotretinoin with special attention to lipid metabolism, hepatic function, and clinical adverse reactions. METHODS: 150 patients clinically diagnosed with acne being treated with oral isotretinoin were included in the study. Clinical and laboratory evaluations were conducted before the start of therapy, one month after, and every three months thereafter until the completion of treatment. RESULTS: Of the 150 patients evaluated, 48% were female and 52%, male. They were aged from 15 to 32 years. The most prevalent mucocutaneous adverse reaction associated with isotretinoin therapy was cheilitis, reported by 94% of the patients. Systemic clinical effects were much less common. Cholesterol, triglyceride, and transaminase levels were assessed and significant changes were not observed during treatment. CONCLUSION: Patients showed adverse effects compatible to those described in the literature, which are mostly controlled with symptomatic medication. Isotretinoin is a safe drug and adverse and laboratory effects are well tolerated