SHE mapping report Lessons learnt from policies and practices of SHE member countries

The Schools for Health in Europe Network Foundation mapping (SHE mapping) survey is a cross-national study to map the level of implementation of health promotion in schools of the SHE member countries and how this implementation is carried out. SHE mapping collected international data on: the integration of the national Health Promoting School (HPS) policy into other national policies; how national policies frame school practices in the whole school approach of HPS; how national policies contribute to a healthy physical environment in the school setting; the contributions of national policies to a school’s social environment, favourable to health promotion; the guidelines, tools and resources for a school to become a HPS; the national process of monitoring / evaluation of HPS; health topics included in the national HPS policy; health promoting school label; sources of funding for national HPS; main expectations of the SHE national coordinators for their national HPS scheme; number of HPS in SHE member countries; HPS facilities; how inclusion of health promotion is done in the school curriculum; health topics worked regularly in HPS; learning methods / strategies in HPS; practices and suggestions for the SHE School Manual and its two accompanying tools; facilitating factors and barriers faced by HPS in the SHE member countries. Data were collected using the Survey Monkey. All SHE national and regional coordinators from the 37 SHE member countries were invited to complete a questionnaire, upon completion of a statement of informed consent. Data were received from 75.7% of countries, but after removal of the incomplete questionnaires and two SHE regional coordinators who responded in duplicate for their country, because it was not possible to gather information from regions as there were only three regional coordinators who answered, 64.9% of countries were analysed.Este trabalho é financiado por Fundos Nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia no âmbito do projeto do CIEC (Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança da Universidade do Minho) com a referência UID/CED/00317/2019

Getting in sync: Exploring and supporting peer interaction in an autistic child with inconsistent access to speech

Challenges in peer interaction are commonly associated with autism, both within research literature and through first-person accounts. Related intervention studies have tended toward a skills-based approach that emphasizes remediating perceived social deficits in the autistic individual, with most of the literature focusing on children who are classified as “high functioning” due to their verbal skills and/or typical IQ scores. Limitations in this skills-based approach have led to the development of a supports-based approach—based largely on a distributed model of communication—as an alternative way to facilitate peer interactions involving autistic students (Vidal, Robertson, & DeThorne, 2018). This supports-based approach prioritizes egalitarian interactions, participation in shared activities, and flexible access to multimodal communicative resources. The present mixed methods study was designed to examine the communication profile and peer interactions of John, a 9-year-old autistic child with inconsistent access to speech and concomitant diagnoses of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections (PANDAS) and apraxia. In addition to behavioral assessments of John, data collection included interviews of John and 8 other adult and peer participants as well as 20 video-taped observations during art class. An ABAB design was employed to assess the functional relation between the social supports provided during art class and differences in peer interaction, measured via communicative offers and interpersonal synchrony between John and one of his non-autistic peers. In regard to key findings, John’s speech-language profile was characterized by use of single words, emergent word combinations, some conventional gestures, concomitant language comprehension challenges, and poor intelligibility associated with motor speech impairment. His sensory-motor profile included fine motor impairments, gross motor strengths, and sensory differences across visual, hearing, and tactile modalities. John’s peer interactions at the beginning of the study were relatively limited and characterized as single-turn and non- egalitarian with a prominence of eye gaze. The implementation of social supports during art class was associated with increased peer interactions characterized by increases in shared eye gaze, eye contact, shared activity, turn-taking, and emergent egalitarian interactions. In addition, peers and other adults were noted to adopt routines and strategies introduced by the examiner. The present study is pioneering in providing a detailed description of the communicative profile and peer interactions of an autistic child with limited speech. It also contributes to the evidence base for use of a supports-based approach to facilitating peer interaction for autistic students in the classroom. Additional considerations for clinical practice and future research are also discussed

Shared musical performance as a means of facilitating peer interaction in the classroom including a child with autism

Based on a social-ecological approach to intervention, the present proof of concept study examined the potential of an Activity-based Musical Program (AMP) to facilitate peer interactions between a child with autism, Aaron, and each four peers in an early grade school setting. This project was inspired by an existing music education program in Chile (“Creando a través de señas”), that promotes interaction through a combination of gestures, physicality, and shared experiences between children with autism and professional musicians and builds on the inherent musical interest/talent of many children with autism (Heaton, 2009; Overy & Molnar-Szakacs, 2009). Like the Chilean program, the Activity-based Musical Program designed for this study focused on using a shared interest in music to explore instruments, learn shared conducting gestures, and develop a final culminating performance that could be shared with the class. Leveraging the strengths of both single subject and qualitative methodologies, this study collected single-case data on the frequency of communicative offers during multiple probe across participants and conducted semi-structured interviews of child participants, classroom teachers, and Aaron’s mother. In sum, the intervention appeared to be well-perceived by all participants and led to increased communicative offers between Aaron and 3 out of 4 peers during the course of intervention. The generalization of effects outside of the intervention were not supported by experimental data, but participants reported increased awareness of each other and positive changes in peer interactions. Clinically, this proof of concept study offers interdisciplinary implications for speech-language pathologists and related professionals in regard to how one might facilitate peer interactions for children with autism using a social-ecological perspective and shared interest in music.BecasChile Scholarship, Conicyt, ChileGoldstick FellowshipOpe

Fist report on fumagillin production by Aspergillus fumigatus sensu stricto gliotoxigenic strains recovered from raw cow milk and clinical samples in Argentina

En Argentina no existen reportes sobre cepas de Aspergillus fumigatus productoras de fumagilina. En este trabajo se describe el aislamiento y la producción de dicha micotoxina por 10 cepas, provenientes del medioambiente rural y aisladas de muestras clínicas. Las cepas de origen rural fueron aisladas de vacas lecheras en tambos de la provincia de Córdoba, y algunas de esas cepas se asociaron a casos de mastitis subclínica. Se definió la composición de un medio de cultivo para optimizar la producción de fumagilina y se desarrolló un método de cromatografía HPLC para su determinación. Es conocido que, además del estado inmunitario del huésped, la virulencia de la cepa es una de las características fundamentales que determinan su potencial patogénico y, en este sentido, la fumagilina es considerada un factor de virulencia. En el presente trabajo todas las cepas estudiadas fueron capaces de sintetizarla y la cepa A. fumigatus RC2243, proveniente de leche de una vaca con mastitis subclínica, se destacó como la cepa más productora. La existencia de cepas productoras de fumagillina representa un riesgo potencial por el pasaje de dicha micotoxina a la leche, lo cual constituye un problema para la salud pública.In Argentina there are no reports on Aspergillus fumigatus fumagillin producing strains. In this work we describe the isolation and mycotoxin production capacity of ten A. fumigatus strains, associated with farm and clinical origin. Farm strains were isolated in dairy calves in Córdoba province from dairy cow milk, some of which were associated with sub clinical mastitis. A culture medium was defined to optimize fumagillin production and a detection method was developed by HPLC chromatography. It is known that in addition to the immune status of the host, the virulence of the strain is a fundamental characteristic that will determine its pathogenicity and in this sense, fumagillin is considered within the virulence factors. In the present work, all the strains tested for the production of fumagillin were able to synthesize it, highlighting that the strain A. fumigatus RC2243, from a sample of cow´s milk with clinical mastitis, was the most productive. The existence of fumagillin-producing strains represents a potential risk of passing mycotoxins into raw milk, constituting a risk to public health.Fil: Alonso, Veronica Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Agronomia y Veterinaria. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Cordoba. Instituto de Ciencias Veterinarias.; ArgentinaFil: Velasco Manini, Marina Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tucumán. Centro de Referencia para Lactobacilos; ArgentinaFil: Pena, Gabriela Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigación en Micología y Micotoxicología. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación en Micología y Micotoxicología; ArgentinaFil: Cavaglieri, Lilia Reneé. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Microbiología e Inmunología. Cátedra de Micología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Successful strategies implemented towards the elimination of canine rabies in the Western Hemisphere

Almost all cases of human rabies result from dog bites, making the elimination of canine rabies a global priority. During recent decades, many countries in the Western Hemisphere have carried out large-scale dog vaccination campaigns, controlled their free-ranging dog populations and enforced legislation for responsible pet ownership. This article reviews progress in eliminating canine rabies from the Western Hemisphere. After briefly summarizing the history of control efforts and describing the approaches listed above, we note that programs in some countries have been hindered by societal attitudes and severe economic disparities, which underlines the need to discuss measures that will be required to complete the elimination of canine rabies throughout the region. We also note that there is a constant threat for dog-maintained epizootics to re-occur, so as long as dog-maintained rabies "hot spots" are still present, free-roaming dog populations remain large, herd immunity becomes low and dog-derived rabies lyssavirus (RABLV) variants continue to circulate in close proximity to rabies-naïve dog populations. The elimination of dog-maintained rabies will be only feasible if both dog-maintained and dog-derived RABLV lineages and variants are permanently eliminated. This may be possible by keeping dog herd immunity above 70% at all times, fostering sustained laboratory-based surveillance through reliable rabies diagnosis and RABLV genetic typing in dogs, domestic animals and wildlife, as well as continuing to educate the population on the risk of rabies transmission, prevention and responsible pet ownership. Complete elimination of canine rabies requires permanent funding, with governments and people committed to make it a reality. An accompanying article reviews the history and epidemiology of canine rabies in the Western Hemisphere, beginning with its introduction during the period of European colonization, and discusses how spillovers of viruses between dogs and various wild carnivores will affect future eradication efforts (Velasco-Villa et al., 2017)

La progettazione scolastica orientata alla promozione della salute. Un percorso di dialogo intersettoriale per l’allineamento delle competenze chiave per l’apprendimento e «life skill»

In health promotion area, the integration of the school and health sectors is essential. The objective of this work is to introduce a logical framework to «align» educational concepts and objectives, starting from international and national indications on school curricula, with health promotion concepts and objectives (in particular life skill and life skill education). A working group composed of 26 school representatives and health promotion professionals has been set up and in a participatory way they have produced alignment tables for different school orders. The tables propose an alignment between: European key competences for lifelong learning, student profile competences, targets for competence development, life skills and LifeSkills Training objectives. The logical framework offers a comparison between different conceptualisations of competences useful for learning and people’s well-being. It can also serve as a guideline for school planning competence-based oriented towards health promotion and it can represent an operationalisation of  cross-sectoral collaboration

Implementación de una Jefatura de relaciones públicas en la Cruz Roja Ecuatoriana de la ciudad de Milagro.

En el Ecuador la sociedad establece y mantiene un nivel social variable, en donde nosotros cómo individuos estamos dispuesto a mantener una relación personal con todos y sin discriminaciones. Las Jefaturas de Relaciones Públicas han logrado dentro de los medios que los individuos se informen de manera directa de los aconteceres que se proporcionan día a día en nuestra vida cotidiana. Las Relaciones Públicas han hecho que las personas puedan satisfacer sus curiosidades y necesidades tanto en el campo laboral como el informal, es así que muchas de las instituciones del estado principalmente las del área de la salud, deberían contar con una Jefatura de Relaciones Públicas para que puedan darse a conocer internamente, una de ella es la Cruz Roja del cantón Milagro, es por ello que tememos la necesidad de implementar ésta dependencia para que la sociedad esté dispuesta a ayudar y ser ayudadas, la comunidad en general se vería beneficiada con el desarrollo de sus funciones y así ser reconocida en amplios sectores de la localidad, superando el poco interés de la ciudadanía o cada una de las acciones o programas que desarrolla ésta noble institución

Removal of Phenolic Compounds from Water by Adsorption and Photocatalysis

Phenolic compounds are important industrial wastes, and are classified as hazardous substances contaminating groundwater resources. Therefore, the removal or diminish of these organics compounds in order to reach the permitted levels before discharging becomes a challenging. Several processes have been developed to remove phenolic compounds from waters, including electrochemical oxidation, redox reactions, membrane separation and photocatalytic degradation. Recently, tendency of phenolic compounds removal involves adsorption and photocatalytic process, using synthetic or natural particles, such as carbon materials and clays. Actually, materials in nanometric scale play an important role in the processes previously mention due to their unique chemical and physical properties. In this book chapter, the first part shows the chemical properties of phenolic compounds that play an important role in the removal process. In the second part, different materials in macro, micro and nanosize used as adsorbents or photocatalysts are reviewed. In addition, other removal processes of phenolic compounds as electrochemistry and redox reactions are included. The removal conditions in these process, such as pH, adsorbate and adsorbent concentration are analyzed and discussed. Furthermore, special emphasis is included in micro and nanocarbon materials, used as adsorbents or photocatalyst to remove phenol from water in recently researches

Proposal for Austere Light Attack Aircraft – Project Aardvark

The WickedAir senior design team at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is developing the preliminary design of an aircraft for the AIAA Undergraduate Team Aircraft Design Competition. The RFP calls for an affordable light attack aircraft capable of executing missions currently only feasible with attack helicopters. The aircraft must be able to operate from short austere fields and accommodate a crew of two. Additional design goals include enhanced survivability and the ability for deploying a variety of weapons including an integrated gun for ground targets. The aircraft must accomplish an attack mission with a full weapons load and a long-range ferry mission with a 60% weapons load. Through evaluation of existing attack aircraft and helicopters and initial trade studies, the team has produced a conceptual design for the ZA-13 “Aardvark”. The 12,000 lbf Aardvark has twin turboprop engines mounted on a 6.9 aspect ratio swept wing. Two sponsons offer weapons attachment points similar to those of a helicopter. This design offers low speed performance, a high payload capacity, and a short takeoff length. Specific consideration was given to the effects of foreign object debris and particulate matter pollution with regards to the lifespan and vulnerability of the aircraft in various austere environments. This paper summarizes the detailed design, cost analysis, and mission capabilities behind the current aircraft

Long-COVID Symptoms in Individuals Infected with Different SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern:A Systematic Review of the Literature

The association of SARS-CoV-2 variants with long-COVID symptoms is still scarce, but new data are appearing at a fast pace. This systematic review compares the prevalence of long-COVID symptoms according to relevant SARS-CoV-2 variants in COVID-19 survivors. The MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases, as well as the medRxiv and bioRxiv preprint servers, were searched up to 25 October 2022. Case-control and cohort studies analyzing the presence of post-COVID symptoms appearing after an acute SARS-CoV-2 infection by the Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617.2) or Omicron (B.1.1.529/BA.1) variants were included. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. From 430 studies identified, 5 peer-reviewed studies and 1 preprint met the inclusion criteria. The sample included 355 patients infected with the historical variant, 512 infected with the Alpha variant, 41,563 infected with the Delta variant, and 57,616 infected with the Omicron variant. The methodological quality of all studies was high. The prevalence of long-COVID was higher in individuals infected with the historical variant (50%) compared to those infected with the Alpha, Delta or Omicron variants. It seems that the prevalence of long-COVID in individuals infected with the Omicron variant is the smallest, but current data are heterogeneous, and long-term data have, at this stage, an obviously shorter follow-up compared with the earlier variants. Fatigue is the most prevalent long-COVID symptom in all SARS-CoV-2 variants, but pain is likewise prevalent. The available data suggest that the infection with the Omicron variant results in fewer long-COVID symptoms compared to previous variants; however, the small number of studies and the lack of the control of cofounders, e.g., reinfections or vaccine status, in some studies limit the generality of the results. It appears that individuals infected with the historical variant are more likely to develop long-COVID symptomatology