Search

Copyright of Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies is the property of PC TECHNOLOGY CENTER and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: This cross-sectional study serves as a first Brazilian inventory about overweight as a marker for metabolic health and risk factor to develop noncommunicable chronic diseases in prison populations. The prevalence of overweight, and its associated factors in prisoners of the Fifth Regional State Penitentiary of Rio Grande do Sul (5th DPR) in the extreme South of Brazil were investigated using a precoded questionnaire with sociodemographic, behavioral, and health questions, applied to proportional stratified random sampled prisoners. Methods: Five hundred eighty male prisoners (70%) in the closed regime agreed to answer the questionnaire and allowed anthropomorphic body measurement, carried out by trained scientists. We used bivariate Pearson's chi-squared test and adjusted multinomial logistic regression for analyses. Results: Considering that the studied incarcerated population is young (mean age 33 years) it is concerning that already 43.6% of them are overweight, report regular sweets and sugary soft drink consumption (77.7%, and 81.4%, respectively), 60.2% are smokers, and 19.4% are at elevated risk to develop cardiovascular diseases. Further, 13.8% of the respondents reported a diagnosis of hypertension, 4.9% hypercholesterolemia, and 2.7% diabetes mellitus type 2. Among those who reported not smoking, excess weight was almost four times higher (prevalence ratio: 3.79; 95% confidence interval: 2.61-5.50). Conclusions: Our study suggests that the prison environment promotes modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases. These data deserve attention and intervention, aiming to prevent and reduce the current levels of excess weight.

Despite significant technological and conceptual advances over the last century, evaluation of the efficacy of anti-malarial vaccines or drugs continues to rely principally on direct microscopic visualisation of parasites on thick and/or thin Giemsa-stained blood smears. This requires technical expertise of the microscopist, is highly subjective and error-prone, and does not account for aberrations such as anaemia. Many published methods have shown that flow cytometric analysis of blood is a highly versatile method that can readily detect nucleic acid-stained parasitised red blood cells within cultured cell populations and in ex-vivo samples. However several impediments, including the difficulty in distinguishing reticulocytes from infected red blood cells and the fickle nature of red blood cells, have precluded the development and universal adoption of flow-cytometric based assays for ex-vivo sample analysis. We have developed a novel high-throughput assay for the flow cytometric assessment of blood that overcomes these impediments by utilising the unique properties of the nucleic acid stain DAPI to differentially stain RNA and DNA, combined with novel fixation and analysis protocols. The assay allows the rapid and reliable analysis of multiple parameters from micro-volumes of blood, including: parasitaemia, platelet count, reticulocyte count, normocyte count, white blood cell count and delineation of subsets and phenotypic markers including, but not limited to, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, and the expression of phenotypic markers such as PD-L1 or intracellular cytokines. The assay requires less than one drop of blood and is therefore suitable for short interval time-course experiments and allows the progression of infection and immune responses to be closely monitored in the laboratory or cytometer-equipped field locations. Herein, we describe the technique and demonstrate its application in vaccinology and with a range of rodent and human parasite species including Plasmodium yoelii, Plasmodium chabaudi, Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium falciparum., (Copyright © 2011 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Forty-five individuals with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni were studied with the aim of measuring levels of von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag), detecting abnormalities in platelet morphology and aggregation, and identifying changes to surface antigens. Haemograms, platelet aggregation tests, flow cytometry investigations of CD41/CD42b antibody and vWF:Ag assays were performed. Mean platelet counts were low (77,522/mm3) and 82.2% of patients presented thrombocytopenia. An inverse relationship between spleen size and platelet count was seen. Macroplatelets were found in 57.1% of patients, indicating good bone-marrow response, but were insufficient to compensate for the decrease in platelets due to splenomegaly. Decreased or absent platelet aggregation was seen in 50% of patients, probably due to low platelet counts. Markers for GPIIb/IIIa were normal in more than 90% of patients, not supporting the increased capture and destruction of platelets in the spleen that is hypothesized to occur with cirrhosis. Similar to cirrhosis, vWF:Ag levels were high or very high in 70.5% of patients. High levels of vWF:Ag were associated with platelet counts <100,000/mm3, larger spleen diameter and oesophageal varices. In conclusion, hepatosplenic schistosomiasis leads to a lower platelet count due to pooling in the spleen and, consequently, impaired aggregation, but not to increased capture and destruction of platelets in the spleen. High vWF:Ag levels probably promote stabilization of platelet microaggregates and prevent minor manifestations of thrombocytopenia such as petechiae, ecchymosis and gingival bleeding.

Objectives: To describe the molecular and epidemiological profile of HIV-1 in patients followed at the University Hospital of Rio Grande, Brazil., Design and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September to December 2002. Plasma viral RNA of 85 patients was extracted and protease and reverse transcriptase genes were polymerase chain reaction-amplified and sequenced. Sequences were subtyped and examined to antiretroviral resistance mutations. Laboratory data and past history of antiretroviral treatment were also collected., Results: Most viruses were either subtype B (42%) or subtype C (45%). No risk behaviour, sexual orientation or laboratory parameter was associated with any specific subtype, but subtype C tended to be more frequently found in women (P = 0.06). The prevalence of subtype C has increased over the HIV/AIDS epidemic, accounting for almost 60% of cases diagnosed in 2002. Intra-subtype genetic distances were smaller in subtype C than in subtype B, suggesting a more recent introduction of the former in the epidemic. Of patients under treatment, 60% had at least one antiretroviral drug resistance mutation, but no mutation was specifically associated with any HIV-1 subtype. Only one resistance mutation each was found in drug-naive patients with subtypes B and C., Conclusion: Despite the fact that subtype C appeared in southern Brazil more recently than subtype B, it is now the predominant strain in Rio Grande. The epidemic spread of subtype C could be taking place in Brazil, and possibly in south America, a phenomenon similar to that seen in other countries where this subtype is now totally dominant.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of major sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and gynaecological morbidity in women of reproductive age living in rural communities in north-east Brazil and to assess risk factors associated with the presence of STIs., Methods: A total of 341 women (84%) were examined gynaecologically and colposcopically. The gynaecological history was taken by means of a standardized, pre-tested questionnaire. Cervical smears were obtained and vaginal fluid was collected. Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VC), bacterial vaginosis (BV), trichomoniasis (TV) and syphilis seroreactivity were determined by standard laboratory techniques. Infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis and human papilloma virus (HPV) were diagnosed by hybrid capture assays using vaginal lavage fluid. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated to assess risk factors associated with STIs., Results: The prevalence of HPV, BV and TV was 26%, 15% and 10%, respectively. VC as well as infections with N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis were detected in 6%; syphilis seroreactivity, in 3%. Multiple infections were very common, and 51% of women had at least one STI. Vaginal discharge, the predominant morbidity (56%), was significantly associated with BV (OR = 6.3; P < 0.001), vulvovaginal itching with VC (OR = 3.5; P < 0.05) and lower abdominal pain with C. trachomatis infection (OR = 2.6; P < 0.04). Colpitis was diagnosed in 27% of women and significantly associated with TV (OR = 3.5%; P < 0.001) and VC (OR = 2.9; P < 0.05). Being unmarried was a significant risk factor for having an STI (OR = 2.4; P < 0.05). Among unmarried women, age (<20 years) was a significant risk factor (OR = 3.3; P = 0.01)., Conclusions: The STIs are highly prevalent in this female population in the rural hinterland of north-east Brazil and associated with considerable morbidity. In view of the expected spread of HIV from the urban centres at the coast to the interior there is an urgent need for providing STI-related health care and health education for adolescents and women in rural Brazil.

A prospective builder in Czech Republic has to apply for approval by local (regional, state) authorities and is liable, in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process to make an accurate statement of stress factor values produced during the life cycle of the construction work.These data should be kept in the information system, as only a substantial amount of relevant high quality data can be used in the decision-making process.Identifying and quantifying stress factors produced by a given construction activity can present a problem due to inadequate knowledge and opinion in this field. For large construction works, a knowledge-based system proposed in the second part of this paper may be useful; small structures can be covered by the information given as to local factors, which form part of the information system proposed by Vlcek and Moos (1991).