Causa Maior – um modelo a seguir? Marketing e responsabilidade social

O presente artigo debruça-se sobre os conceitos de responsabilidade social e marketing, dando especial enfoque ao marketing relacionado a causas, servindo o sector lucrativo e não lucrativo. Focaliza-se a análise na campanha e projecto CAUSA MAIOR uma iniciativa do Modelo e Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa, com três anos de existência, dirigido a diversas franjas da população. Este é um projecto socialmente responsável por visar combater o isolamento e a exclusão social numa categoria demográfica especialmente frágil - os seniores, materializando-se em cirurgias, equipamentos ortopédicos de apoio, entre outros. O CAUSA MAIOR teve acções de marketing fortíssimas com vista à promoção do seu produto solidário, para isso recorreu à associação a figuras públicas, parceria com uma estação televisiva, surgimento em programas televisivos, de tal forma que o projecto per si garantiu a continuidade do mesmo e inputs muito importantes para a Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa.This article focus is on the concepts of social res ponsibility and marketing, giving special attention to cause related marketing, serving profit and nonprof it industries. Its focus is on the analysis and des ign of CAUSA MAIOR campaign, an initiative of Modelo and C ruz Vermelha Portuguesa, with three years of existence, designed to different segments of the po pulation. This is a social responsible project orie nted to battle isolation and social exclusion in a parti cular demographic category - seniors, materialized through surgeries, acquisition of orthopaedic equip ment, just to mention some examples. CAUSA MAIOR project had very strong marketing campaigns to prom ote its solidarity product, using well known public figures, a partnership with a television channel, a ppearance in television programs, in such a way tha t the project itself guaranteed its maintenance and t he inputs for Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa were very important

Memory and intelligence : Interdependence according to processes and content of tasks

Este trabajo procura analizar las características de los factores específicos de la memoria (procesos o contenidos) asociados a Gsm del modelo CHC. Para esto, a una muestra de estudiantes universitarios se le administraron tareas de memoria con diferentes contenidos, varios tests de aptitudes y una prueba de inteligencia general. Se evaluaron dos modelos que relacionan la aptitud general Gsm, bien con la memoria de trabajo y la amplitud de memoria, bien con aptitudes verbales-numéricas y viso-espaciales. Los resultados muestran, para ambos modelos, buenos índices de ajuste, sin embargo, se encontraron datos de regresión estandarizados con una regresión positiva superior entre Gsm y memoria de trabajo y entre Gsm y contenido viso-espacial. También se debe destacar que en ambos modelos se observaron valores de regresión estandarizados de 0.54 y 0.73 entre Gsm y el factor g. Teniendo en cuenta los resultados obtenidos, se discuten algunas implicaciones del estudio para comprender la relación entre inteligencia y memoria.This study investigates the characteristics of the specific memory factors (processes and content) that are associated to the Gsm from the CHC model. Memory tasks with different content, including various aptitude tests and a general intelligence test, were administered to a sample of university students. Two models that relate the general Gsm aptitude, with working memory and memory span, and with verbal-numerical and visual-spatial aptitudes were tested. Results indicate good fit indices for both models tested, as well as evidence for a positive regression between Gsm and working memory and between Gsm and visuospatial content. In both models we observed standardized regression of 0.54 and of 0.73 between Gsm and factor g. Implications for the understanding of the relation between memory and intelligence are discussed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

HIV indeterminate serology in a Portuguese blood donor population – review of seven years

HIV indeterminate serology in a Portuguese blood donor population – review of seven years Fernanda Leite,1 Francisco Dias,1 Carla Ferreira,1 Adelina Marques,1 Fátima Oliveira,1 and Ana Mota1 1Clinical Haematology, Hospital Santo António, Porto, Portugal Corresponding author. Fernanda Leite: [email protected] Supplement 2006 International Meeting of The Institute of Human Virology http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1742-4690-3-S1-info.pdf Conference 2006 International Meeting of The Institute of Human Virology 17–21 November 2006 Baltimore, USA Other Sections▼ Background Results Conclusion Background To study the meaning of HIV indeterminate serology (HIVi), evaluating the deferral criteria of HIV screening test, we looked for donors (D) whose blood donations (BD) were discarded for HIVi from 1/1/1999 till 31/12/2005. The test system of blood donations is Prism Abbott Anti-HIV 1/2; HIV supplemental test was New Lav-Blot I/II-Bio-Rad till 2002 and Inno-Lia™ HIV I/II-Innogenetics afterwards. We perform a NAT test in all single donation since 2000, detecting HIV-1 and HCV RNA; since 2/2004 we perform Procleix® Ultrio™ Assay. Grey zone (GZ) for HIV screening test means 20% inferior to the cutoff (ICO). D that have been deferred for HIV serology but didn't obey to these criteria were excluded. Results In seven years, we find in a body of 25 024 D, 145 with HIVi; 8 were excluded and 18 had no follow-up. 64 D showed a confirmed result and 55 D didn't confirm. 77 cases had the supplemental test negative, 52 showed an indeterminate pattern and one a positive pattern. This case became negative after 1 year of follow-up. None of D seroconverted. 50 cases of the indeterminate supplemental test have occurred before 2002. None of BD or D had a reactive NAT test. The ICO value showed a direct relation with the confirmation rate. Conclusion We found 0,58% indeterminate HIV donors, 41,6% in GZ ICO and 54% didin't confirm. ICO hadn't shown predictive value for HIV infection. A positive supplemental test in a low prevalence population may not correspond to HIV infection. Inno-Lia™ HIV I/II showed a specificity of 92,9% compared to 47,4% of New Lav-Blot I/II. GZ in anti-HIV test hasn't brought more security. There isn't HIV-1 infection without a NAT test reactive and we save 23,8% of HIVi donors. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Articles from Retrovirology are provided here courtesy of BioMed Centra

Diabetes Mellitus - Estudo de AEQ dos Parâmetros Glicose e HbA1c (2008-2012)

Segundo o Internacional Diabetes Federation (IDF) (2012), a Diabetes atinge 371 milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo, correspondendo a 8,3% da população mundial. Estima-se que em cerca de 50% dessas pessoas a diabetes ainda não foi diagnosticada. Em 2012 morreram devido à diabetes 4,8 milhões de pessoas, sendo que metade tinha idade inferior a 60 anos. Segundo a IDF, Portugal posiciona-se entre os países europeus com maior taxa de prevalência de diabetes. A prevalência de diabéticos em Portugal em 2011, numa população entre os 20 e 79 anos foi de 12.7%, sendo que 7,2% diziam respeito a prevalência de diabetes diagnosticada e 5,5% a diabetes não diagnosticada. Em 2009, a percentagem de diabéticos em Portugal rondava os 11,7% e em 2010 os 12,4%. Dado a incidência a nível mundial da Diabetes Mellitus, torna-se de elevada importância avaliar toda a sua envolvência e estudar bem quais os critérios a ter em consideração. Propusemo-nos estudar os parâmetros bioquímicos relacionados com esta patologia - Glicose e Hemoglobina Glicada A1c (HbA1c), recorrendo à análise dos resultados dos últimos cinco anos (2008-2012) dos ensaios interlaboratoriais e metodologias utilizadas do Programa Nacional de Avaliação Externa da Qualidade, do Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge (PNAEQ-INSA), Lisboa, Portugal

Clinical score scale for outcomes of aesthetic surgery of the abdomen

INTRODUÇÃO: A padronização da avaliação de resultados após cirurgia estética é uma dificuldade em Cirurgia Plástica, por ser baseada em critérios geralmente subjetivos. OBJETIVO: O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma escala de uso clínico simples, de fácil reprodução e que forneça critérios objetivos para a avaliação de resultados estéticos de cirurgias plásticas no abdome. MÉTODO: A escala foi desenvolvida pela Disciplina de Cirurgia Plástica da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. O avaliador dá uma nota (0 = insatisfatório, 1 = regular, 2 = bom e/ou cicatriz inexistente) para cada um de cinco parâmetros: volume do abdome, contorno lateral, excesso de pele, aspecto do umbigo e qualidade da cicatriz em parede abdominal. Um quadro orienta a pontuação para cada parâmetro. DISCUSSÃO: A escala é sensível na identificação de diferentes alterações anatômicas no abdome, pode ser utilizada no pré e pós-operatório para comparação de variadas técnicas cirúrgicas, seja abdominoplastia, lipoaspiração e suas variações, ou mesmo para padronizar resultados a serem apresentados em Congressos Médicos ou publicações. A avaliação pode ser feita por fotografias ou pela própria paciente, nas consultas de pré e pós-operatório, documentando de forma objetiva em prontuário a melhora proporcionada pelo procedimento cirúrgico, ferramenta útil como defesa em processos médico-legais.INTRODUCTION: The standardization of evaluation of outcomes after aesthetic surgery is still a challenge in Plastic Surgery, being mostly of the times based on subjective criteria. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to present a clinical score scale for evaluation of aesthetic results of plastic surgery in the abdomen that is simple, easily reproducible and provides objective criteria. METHODS: The scale was developed in the Division of Plastic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo. The evaluator gives a score (0 = unsatisfactory, 1 = fair, 2 = good and / or scar absent) for each of five parameters: volume of the abdomen, lateral contour, excess of skin, aspect of navel and quality of the scar. A table helps to choose the score on each parameter. DISCUSSION: The scale is sensitive in identifying different anatomical abnormalities in the abdomen, may be used to compare pre and postoperative results in various surgical techniques, like abdominoplasty, liposuction and its variations, and may help to standardize results presented in meetings or publications. The evaluation can be done using photos or directly with the patient, both before and after surgery appointments, documenting objectively in medical records the improvement provided by the surgical procedures

Rat prostate: practical tips for ultrasonographic monitoring

Background: Prostate is the largest accessory gland of the male reproductive tract. The prostate of men over 40 years-old is frequently affected by several pathologies, like benign prostate hyperplasia and cancer. Rats have been used as model to study prostate cancer. This study intended to address the usefulness of ultrasonography for rat prostate monitoring. Material and methods: Eight male Wistar Unilever rats were acquired from Charles River Laboratories and maintained under controlled conditions of temperature, humidity, air system filtration and light/dark cycle. The prostate was evaluated by ultrasonography in awake animals. The animals were restrained by a researcher and placed in supine position. The skin of the inguinal region was shaved using a machine clipper (AESCULAP® GT420 Isis, USA). A real-time scanner (Logic P6®, GE, USA) and a 12 MHz linear transducer were used. Acoustic gel (Parker Laboratories Inc., USA) was applied. A complete transverse scan using B mode was performed from the cranial to the caudal region of the prostate, and a sagittal scan was performed moving the probe from the right to the left side. Procedures were approved by the Portuguese Ethics Committee (no.021326). Results: Prostate was easily evaluated by ultrasonography in all animals. In the transverse scan, the urinary bladder presents as a round to oval shape filled with urine (anechoic structure) and the prostate lobes were visible around it. The ventral prostate lobes appear as hypoechoic elongated structures (one right and one left) with a hyperechoic capsule, placed ventrally to the urinary bladder. In this scan, the dorsal prostate was observed close to the urinary bladder neck, as a round hypoechoic structure with a hyperechoic capsule, dorsally to the urinary bladder. In the sagittal scan, the urinary bladder was observed as an elongated structure filled with urine (anechoic content). The ventral prostate lobes were occasionally observed ventrally to the neck of the urinary bladder, as previously described. The dorsal prostate was observed dorsally to the neck of the urinary bladder, presenting as a round to elongated shape, with a hypoechoic appearance and a hyperechoic capsule. Conclusions: The ultrasonography is a non-invasive and accessible tool for prostate monitoring in the rat model

Immunology and mammary cancer development: addressing the role of mast cells

Background: Mammary cancer is one of the most frequent cancers worldwide. Mast cells are among the cells of tumor microenvironment and have been associated with increased angiogenesis and poor prognosis. Despite this, the role of mast cells on mammary cancer is not fully elucidated. In this way, this work studied the role of mast cells in a rat model of mammary cancer chemically-induced. Material and methods: All experiments were performed in accordance with the Portuguese and European legislation on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The experiments were approved by the Portuguese (no.008961) and University (CE_12-2013) Ethics Committees. Thirty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups. At seven weeks of age, mammary tumors’ development was induced in animals from groups I, II, III (n=10+10+10) by a single intraperitoneal injection of the carcinogen N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). Groups II and IV (n=2) were treated with ketotifen in drinking water (1 mg/kg/day, 7 days/week) immediately after the MNU administration for 18 weeks, while the group III received the ketotifen after the development of the first mammary tumor. Groups I and V (n=2) received only water. Animals were sacrificed at 25 weeks of age by an overdose of ketamine and xylazine, followed by an exsanguination by cardiac puncture. Mammary tumors were collected and immersed in formalin for posterior analysis. Tumors’ vascularization, proliferation and apoptosis were also assessed by immunohistochemistry (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-A, Ki-67, and caspases-3 and -9). Results: Animals from groups IV and V did not develop any mammary tumor. Twenty-one animals (six animals from group I, eight animals from group II and seven animals from group III) developed a total of 58 mammary tumors, mainly classified as papillary non-invasive carcinomas. Tumors’ vascularization was similar among groups (p>0.05). Mammary tumors from group II exhibited the lowest proliferation (p<0.05) and apoptotic indexes. Conclusions: The mainly positive effect of the ketotifen administration seems to be the reduction of tumor proliferation when the drug was administered before mammary tumor development

N-methyl-N-nitrosourea as a mammary carcinogen: practical application

Introduction: N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) is the oldest member of the nitroso compounds. It is considered a complete, potent and direct alkylating compound, able to alkylate the DNA without metabolic activation. The administration of chemical carcinogens is one of the most frequently used methods to induce tumors’ development in laboratory animals. The target organ depends on the animals’ species, strain and age, dose and route of administration (1-3). This work intended to describe the effects of MNU administration in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Material & Methods: Procedures followed the European legislation and were approved by the Portuguese Competent Authority (approval nº008961). Twenty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats were used in two experimental protocols. The first experiment intended to evaluate the effects of exercise training on mammary carcinogenesis (n=15) and the second one intended to evaluate the effect of ketotifen on mammary carcinogenesis (n=10). At seven weeks of age, all animals were intraperitoneally injected with the carcinogen MNU (50 mg/kg). Mammary tumors development was weekly assessed by palpation of both mammary chains. Animals were humanely sacrificed, through the intraperitoneal administration of ketamine and xylazine, 35 and 18 weeks after MNU administration, respectively. Results: All animals from the first experiment and six animals from the second experiment developed mammary tumors (incidence of 100% and 60%, respectively). In the first experiment, the first mammary tumor was identified ten weeks after MNU administration. A shorter latency period was observed in the second experiment, with the development of the first mammary tumors eight weeks after MNU administration. At the end of the experiment, animals from the first experiment developed a total of 28 mammary tumors (28/15; 1.9 tumors/animal), while the animals from the second experiment developed 21 mammary tumors (21/6; 3.5 tumors/animal). At the same time (18 weeks after MNU administration), the animals from the first experiment developed only five mammary tumors. Conclusions: Although the carcinogen was administered to the animals of the same strain at the same age and dose, using the same route, the latency period and incidence were different between the experiments. The different incidence may be related with the duration of the studies and the individual variations

Immunology and mammary cancer development: addressing the role of mast cells

Background: Mammary cancer is one of the most frequent cancers worldwide. Mast cells are among the cells of tumor microenvironment and have been associated with increased angiogenesis and poor prognosis. Despite this, the role of mast cells on mammary cancer is not fully elucidated. In this way, this work studied the role of mast cells in a rat model of mammary cancer chemically-induced. Materials and Methods: All experiments were performed in accordance with the Portuguese and European legislation on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. The experiments were approved by the Portuguese (no.008961) ABSTRACTS and University (CE_12-2013) Ethics Committees. Thirty- four female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five experimental groups. At seven weeks of age, mammary tumors’ development was induced in animals from groups I, II, III (n = 10+10+10) by a single intraperitoneal injection of the carcinogen N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). Groups II and IV (n = 2) were treated with ketotifen in drinking water (1 mg/kg/day, 7 days/week) immediately after the MNU ad- ministration for 18 weeks, while the group III received the ketotifen after the development of the first mammary tumor. Groups I and V (n = 2) received only water. Animals were sacrificed at 25 weeks of age by an overdose of ketamine and xylazine, followed by an exsanguination by cardiac puncture. Mammary tumors were collected and immersed in formalin for posterior analysis. Tumors’ vascularization, proliferation and apoptosis were also assessed by immunohistochemistry (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF)-A, Ki-67, and caspase-3 and caspase-9). Results: Animals from groups IV and V did not develop any mammary tumor. Twenty-one animals (six animals from group I, eight animals from group II and seven animals from group III) developed a total of 58 mammary tumors, mainly classified as papillary non-invasive carcinomas. Tumors’ vascularization was similar among groups (P > 0.05). Mammary tumors from group II exhibited the lowest prolif- eration (P < 0.05) and apoptotic indexes. Conclusions: The mainly positive effect of the ketotifen administration seems to be the reduction of tumor prolifera- tion when the drug was administered before mammary tumor development

N-methyl-N-nitrosourea as a mammary carcinogen: practical application

ntroduction: N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) is the oldest member of the nitroso compounds. It is considered a complete, potent and direct alkylating compound, able to alkylate the DNA without metabolic activation. The administration of chemical carcinogens is one of the most frequently used methods to induce tumors’ development in laboratory animals. The target organ depends on the animals’ species, strain and age, dose and route of administration (1-3). This work intended to describe the effects of MNU administration in female Sprague-Dawley rats. Material & Methods: Procedures followed the European legislation and were approved by the Portuguese Competent Authority (approval no008961). Twenty-five female Sprague-Dawley rats were used in two experimental protocols. The first experiment intended to evaluate the effects of exercise training on mammary carcinogenesis (n=15) and the second one intended to evaluate the effect of ketotifen on mammary carcinogenesis (n=10). At seven weeks of age, all animals were intraperitoneally injected with the carcinogen MNU (50 mg/kg). Mammary tumors development was weekly assessed by palpation of both mammary chains. Animals were humanely sacrificed, through the intraperitoneal administration of ketamine and xylazine, 35 and 18 weeks after MNU administration, respectively. Results: All animals from the first experiment and six animals from the second experiment developed mammary tumors (incidence of 100% and 60%, respectively). In the first experiment, the first mammary tumor was identified ten weeks after MNU administration. A shorter latency period was observed in the second experiment, with the development of the first mammary tumors eight weeks after MNU administration. At the end of the experiment, animals from the first experiment developed a total of 28 mammary tumors (28/15; 1.9 tumors/animal), while the animals from the second experiment developed 21 mammary tumors (21/6; 3.5 tumors/animal). At the same time (18 weeks after MNU administration), the animals from the first experiment developed only five mammary tumors. Conclusions: Although the carcinogen was administered to the animals of the same strain at the same age and dose, using the same route, the latency period and incidence were different between the experiments. The different incidence may be related with the duration of the studies and the individual variations