Paediatric biobanks: opinions, feelings and attitudes of parents towards the specimen donation of their sick children to a hypothetical biobank.

Over the last years, the storing of biological materials from children for research purposes in biobanks has become the subject of an intense debate in the scientific and ethical communities on a global level. Paediatric biobanks are an important resource for the development of translational research. At the same time, paediatric biobanks are ethically 'sensitive' due to the unique issues they raise. In this study, we explore opinions, feelings and attitudes of parents towards the specimen donation of their sick children to a hypothetical biobank. According to a qualitative methodology based on focus groups, we analysed parents' views, perceptions and inclinations towards typical ethical, legal and social aspects of paediatric biobanks such as proxy consent, minor assent, privacy protection and return of results. Our study confirms the need for specific policies dedicated to paediatric biobanks by highlighting how the nature of the disease affecting children may influence the parents' opinions and decisions towards the enrolment of their children in biobank-based research studies.

Socio-economic factors related to moral reasoning in childhood and adolescence: the missing link between brain and behavior.

Neuroscientific and psychological research on moral development has until now developed independently, referring to distinct theoretical models, contents, and methods. In particular, the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors on morality has been broadly investigated by psychologists but as yet has not been investigated by neuroscientists. The value of bridging these two areas both theoretically and methodologically has, however, been suggested. This study aims at providing a first connection between neuroscientific and psychological literature on morality by investigating whether socio-economic dimensions, i.e., living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and socio-economic status (SES), affect moral reasoning as operationalized in moral domain theory (a seminal approach in psychological studies on morality) and in Greene et al. (2001) perspective (one of the main approaches in neuroethics research). Participants were 81 primary school (M = 8.98 years; SD = 0.39), 72 middle school (M = 12.14 years; SD = 0.61), and 73 high school (M = 15.10 years; SD = 0.38) students from rural and urban areas. Participants' immigrant status (native vs. immigrant) and family SES level were recorded. Moral reasoning was assessed by means of a series of personal and impersonal dilemmas based on Greene et al. (2001) neuroimaging experiment and a series of moral and socio-conventional rule dilemmas based on the moral domain theory. Living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and SES mainly affected evaluations of moral and, to a higher extent, socio-conventional dilemmas, but had no impact on judgment of personal and impersonal dilemmas. Results are mainly discussed from the angle of possible theoretical links and suggestions emerging for studies on moral reasoning in the frameworks of neuroscience and psychology.

Neumopatías agudas comunitarias: relevamiento etiológico Julio 96 - setiembre 97 / Community acquired acute pneumopathies: etiological survey July 96 - September 97

Con el objetivo de determinar tendencias en la etiología de las neumonías agudas comunitarias, así como la sensibilidad de las cepas bacterianas halladas, se llevó a cabo en la región centro-sur del país, durante 15 meses, un estudio multicéntrico y prospectivo, durante el cual ingresaron a protocolo 109 pacientes provenientes de áreas urbanas y rurales. En todos se realizó estudio bacteriológico de expectoración y análisis serológico para Chlamidia pn y Mycoplasma pn., así como hemocultivos en aquellos pacientes con criterios de severidad y estudio de líquido pleural en quienes lo presentaron. En 52 casos se hizo diagnóstico (de certeza o presuntivo). En el grupo de bacterias, el Streptococo pn fue prácticamente el único germen encontrado (23 casos), con una leve tendencia al incremento del número de casos en relación a la comorbilidad y severidad; no se hallaron cepas resistentes a la penicilina. Hubo 25 casos de M pn y 12 de C pn, que predominaron en los pacientes con menos severidad y morbilidad agregada. En el 20 por ciento de los casos hubo asociaciones de gérmenes. No se observó correlación con la forma clínica de presentación, con el área geográfica ni con las estaciones del año